Standish (St. Wilfrid)

STANDISH (St.Wilfrid), a parish, in the unions of Wigan and Chorley, hundred of Leyland, N. division of Lancashire; containing 8686 inhabitants, of whom 2565 are in the township of Standish with Langtree, 3¼ miles (N. W. by N.) from Wigan. According to Whitaker, the historian of Manchester, Standish, anciently Stanedich, was one of the twelve considerable towns in the south of Lancashire in which the Saxons erected fortified castles for the residence of their chiefs, and the protection of the country. Of the castle of Standish, however, there are no remains, nor can its site even be ascertained. Jordan de Standish is named in connexion with the manor in the 16th of Edward I.; but whether his progenitors gave their name to the parish, or received it from the castle, is by no means evident: it is believed that the family have been settled here from the Conquest, or from a very short period after that event. The parish comprises the townships of Adlington, Anderton, Charnock-Richard, Coppull, Duxbury, Heath-Charnock, Shevington, Standish with Langtree, Welsh-Whittle, and Worthington. It measures from north to south eight miles, and from east to west six miles six furlongs, forming an area of 9432 acres: of these, 3040 acres are in Standish with Langtree. The greater portion of the land is in pasture, not more than a fourth part being in arable cultivation. Ordinary coal and cannel-coal mining employs a great number of hands; there are several stone-quarries; and cotton and silk weaving is extensively carried on. The Roman Watling-street passes through the parish; the Leeds and Liverpool canal winds along its south and east sides, and it is intersected by the North-Union and the Bolton and Preston railways.

The principal Halls in the parish, are those of Standish, Duxbury, Adlington, and Chisnal. Standish Hall is a large brick mansion of irregular form, long the seat of the Standish family, and now the residence of John Lord, Esq., mayor of Wigan in 1846; the moat encircling it was filled up in 1780, and much of the original building itself was then removed. The Lancashire Plot of 1694, which had for its object the dethronement of William III. and the re-establishment of the Stuarts and the Roman Catholic religion, is supposed to have been concocted in this house. The village is seated on high ground, and commands fine views: in its centre is an ancient relic, consisting of a single shaft springing from a tier of steps; and adjoining the village, in obscure lanes, are many other headless crosses. Fairs for horses, cattle, and toys, are held on June 29th and Nov. 22nd.

The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £45. 16. 8.; net income, £1874: patron, Charles Standish, Esq. The tithes of Standish with Langtree have been commuted for £384, and the glebe consists of 271 acres. The church was built in 1584, by Richard Moodie, the first Protestant rector, on the site of a much older edifice, of which the tower and spire remain attached to the present building. It is a large and elegant structure of the Tuscan order, and consists of a nave, chancel, and aisles: the nave is divided from the aisles by seven arches on each side, upheld by Tuscan columns; and there is an arch of noble span, and of fine proportions, between the nave and chancel. At Adlington and Coppull are other churches, and at Standish Hall is a Roman Catholic chapel. The free grammar school at Standish was founded in 1603, by Mary Langton, and is endowed with lauds, &c.: the master has £87 per annum, with a house and garden; and an usher receives £22 per annum. Mary Smalley, in 1794, bequeathed £1000 for a girls' school, of which the income is £50 per annum. In the parish are various other schools; and several bequests are appropriated to charitable purposes.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.