Whatmore Family History

The moors above Burnley  Photograph copyright: Charles Joynson  Source : Geograph website and reproduced here under the terms of the site license which can be read at this link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

(All original material is from: ‘Richard Townley, Farmer of the King’s Coal Mines in Brunley waste ground versus Hugh Habergham and others the Kings’ tenants re claim to coal for fuel in the soil called Brodehedd, in Brunley’ ‘Pleadings and Depositions in the Duchy Court of Lancaster. Time of Henry VII and Henry VIII’ Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society Volume 32  Published 1896)  

 We know that Thomas had a son called Henry and that he devised and set up a windlass on the moor to bring the coal out of the ground. ‘He mined coals upon the said Brodheide and sold them and set up the first Turne or Wyndgasse that ever was set there’   

 For the next eighty years the Watmough family successfully extracted and sold coal from their diggings on the moor. 

Broadhead Moor was presumably  part of the estates of the Towneley family of nearby Towneley Hall.  By 1526, the Towneley family had decided it was time to cash in on this resource on their land, for in that year Richard Towneley acquired letters patent from the King giving him the sole right to mine coal on Broadhead Moor.  When Richard Towneley attempted to exercise his new prerogative he was met by a group of angry townsmen led by Alexander Watmough claiming their ancient rights to mine on Broadhead Moor.  In their anger, the townsmen damaged the coal beds and prevented  Towneley’s men from repairing them.  Alexander Watmough would appear to be a descendant of the earlier Watmoughs who were involved in mining at Burnley.  

 Richard Townsley’s response was a complaint to Sir Thomas More, Knight, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster:

 ‘To the Right Worshipful Sir Thomas More, Knight, the Kynge’s Chauncelor of his Duchie of Lancastre. Richard Towneley, gentleman, complains that where the King is seized in his demesne as of fee of a certain waste ground in Brunley, in the county of Lancaster, called the Brode Hedd, in right of his Duchy of Lancaster, within which waste ground there are divers coal mines otherwise called Coal Beddes. So seized, his Majesty, by Letters Patent, in Hilary term last, demised to plaintiff all the said coal mines with liberty to dig and work in the said waste ground and to get up the coals there, for 20 years then next following, by force thereof plaintiff has divers men digging up coal there; But so it is that about the 7^th May 18 Hen VIII, Hugh Habyrjam, Laurence Shottleworth, Nicholas Shotilworth, gentlemen, Nicholas Bancroft, Henry Herger, William Whitacre, William Foldes, Giles Wilkynson, Richard Towen, Robert Smyth, Thomas Holgate, William Pecoppe and Edward Tatersall, with 80 more of the Kings’s Tenants and other inhabitants of Blakeburnshire, unlawfully assembled at Bromeley, aforesaid, riotously entered the said waste grounds and the said coal mines and coal beds brake and hewed in peces and them utterly hurte, brake and destroyed, and the same still keep in such a forcible manner that neither plaintiff nor his servants dare repair thither to take the profits thereof. Prays that writ of Privy Seal may be directed to the said riotous persons, commanding them to appear to answer the premises, and that Sir Richard Tempest, Knight, the King’s Steward of Blakeburnshire, may have commandment to order  the said tenants to meddle no more with the said coal beds. Easter term 17 and 18 Henry VIII.

Hereupon a Privy seal to Hugh Habyrjambe, gentleman, to appear xv Michaelmas next; Another to Henry Herger to appear on the same day; Another to William Whiteacre to appear on the said day; another to Alex Watmowe to appear on the said day.

Towneley Hall  Photograph copyright: Kevin Rushton    Source: the Geograph website and reptoduced her under the terms of the site licence which can be viewed at this link:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

As a result of the complaint of Richard Townley the following writ was issued against Alexander Watmough:

 ‘A byll of informacion  for the Kynge’s grace ayenst Alexandre Whatmowe, of Bromley, in the countie of Lancastre, before Sir Thomas Moore, Knyght, Chauncellor of the Duchie of Lancastre.Fisrt the said Alexander, of his owne wronge and without any authority, about 8 years ago or more, took it upon him to enter the King’s waste ground called Broddhedd in Bromley, and there digged and hewed Coles within the King’s several coal beds and pits, and sold the same for great sums of money, as well as to the King’s tenants and inhabitants of the town of Bromley, as to other people of the towns adjoining, and has taken all the profits of the said coal beds and pits for more than 8 years without paying anything to the king’s grace for the same, to the great frawd and disceyte of his Majesty who lost all the issues of the same during the time aforesaid.ITEM. The said Alexander perceiving that the King had demised the said beds and pits to Richard Towneley, Esq, for certain years, he yielding a yearly farm for the same, of his malicious and Cruell mynde  hath craftely and subtylley stered and moved divers of the King’s tenants  and others, inhabitants of the said town of Bromley, to make claim unto and also riotously to enter the said waste ground, and there to dig coals where they have no suche auctorytie right ne title soo to doo, to the great loss of the said Richard Towneley, being the King’s famer there. T michis A xxiij Md Upon an affidavit &c attachment is awarded against Alex Watmowe to apper Xv. Hill Prox

Broadhead Moor    Photograph copyright: Peter Worrell  Source: the Geograph website and reproduced here in accortsance withe terms of the site licence which can be read at this link:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 The defendants made the following reply: ‘

They have long been tenants to the King as of his manor of Ighnyll, and also the inhabitants within the  said town of Brunley; which said town of Brunley has from time immemorial been a village and town, and the tenants of the said manor and their predecessors have always been accustomed to have sufficient coal for their fuel, for their necessary occupation and burning within their houses to be taken from coal pits and coal mines in the said common and waste ground, as to them should seem meet and convenient, and to take the same at their pleasure, without paying anything for it; by force whereof all the defendants, on the said 7^th May, in a peaceable manner, came to the said ground and dug for coal as they were wont to do’. Richard Towneley made the following reply: ‘Plaintiff says that the said tenants have not been accustomed to have any coal for their fuel from any of the mines within the said waste ground, and submitted a Commission dated 18^th Nov. 18 Hen VIII directed to Sir Richard Tempest, Knight, Henry Farington Esq, Nicholas Tempest Esq, and Richard Smythe, clerk, parson of Bury-I, have received the King’s commandment directed to me from London, 25^th May last, and executed the same at Burneley, the 7^th June, at a court held there. I called before me Hugh Habringham and others, and enquired why they so  misused themselves to Richard Towneley, Esq, the Kings’ farmer of the coal mines called Brodheyde. They denied any riot and said that their ancestors had always been accustomed to have their coals free from the said ground without paying anything, which they can prove. I therefore commanded them not to intromyt themselves any further with the said coal mines until your Mastership’s further pleasure was known therein, which command they have obeyed up to the present time. Divers of the said persons have come up to know your pleasure.From Bollyng, 20^th June. 

So we move on to the inevitable outcome – victory for Richard Towneley. The Certificate of Sir Richard Tempest and other Commissioners states that they called the parties before them at Colne, near adjoining the said coal mine called Brodheyde, the 18^th day of March last past and took their answers: 

‘Robert Rushton of Antley aged 35, says that there were quite 80 persons at Brodheide, as is submitted in the said bill, and that the plaintiff came there and showed to them the King’s lease of the said coal mines, commanding them by virtue there not to meddle with them nor to dig up coals there, whereon Richard Towneley, Hugh Habringham and others of the defendants answered: ‘ TheLeasse is of non attorite to discharge us withal except ye will discharge us by the Sworde’. That plaintiff said he would not do, whereupon defendants occupied the said coal mines untl the steward of the county did take them from dyggyng of the seyd Collery. Deponent was present when the above took place. 

John Nowell, of Pendill, aged 46 years, and John Parker, of the same age, depose as above. 

Laurence Flecher, of Habringham Evez, says, that about 80 years ago Thomas Watmowghe and William Watmowgh searched for yren stone, and found Myne Colles. Before that time he had never heard of any coals being found there, but since then they have been found freely without any rent being paid for them.

 Alexander Watmogh, of Habringham Eves, aged 30, says that he and his father have gotten coals at Brodheyde for 17 years, and have sold them amongst the inhabitants of Burneley town by a certain price.

 James Robert, aged 79, of the parish of Burneley where he has lived 60 years, says that Edward Robert, his father, told him that William Watmoghe and Thomas Bretheram occupied a blomsethe for many years in Bently Wood, and about 80 years ago searched for iron stone in Brodheide and their a doing found a coal bed which was the first time to his knowledge that coal was ever found there. After the emparking of Bentley Wood the said smithy could no longer be occupied, so Henry Watmoghe, son of the said Thomas, in order to get a living, mined coals upon the said Brodheide, and sold them, and set up the first Turne or Wyndglass that ever was set there. Neither deponent or any others had need to get coal for their fuel, because they had plenty of wood from the forests and turves at their liberty which are now decayed and restrained from them. All the inhabitants there could freely get coals in the same manner as the said Watmoghe. 

Robert Wittacre, of Burneley, aged 84, says that to his remembrance coals were got for 60 years and more by William Watmoghe, and after him by John Tattershall and divers others, without paying any rent. 

John Dugdale, of Chatburne, aged 84, deposes that he bought coals of Alexander Watmowgh and paid for them. Some 68 other inhabitants of the township of Brunley deposed as above.

 A list of 119 persons fined then follows of whom ‘ it is orderd that every of the persones aboue namyd  shall pay to the Kynges fferms for every ffother above expressed.

Signed : Thomas More, Knyght 

The list of those fined includes:

Alysander Watmogh   xij fother

William Watmogh        vij fother

Lawrence Watmogh    ij fother. 

A fother equalled 19 cwts. 

The Watmough family continued to live in Burnley, even working in the coal mines under  licence from the Towneley family, but of Alexander there is no further trace.

Chart showing a specualtive link between the Watmough family at Burnley and that at Prescot. All birth dates (apart from that of Alexander of Burnley in 1496) are conjectural.

John Grosvenor Laing, writing in his book ‘The Wadmore Family of London’ suggests that Alexander is to be identified as the elder brother of the William Watmoughe of Prescot who migrated to Shropshire. He points out that a William Watmough and a Lawrence Watmough were involved with Alexander in the riot at Broadhead, and thinks it possible that these were the three sons of John Watmoughe of  Prescot. This cannot, however, be the case. William Watmoughe of Prescot had been in Shropshire for many years by 1526. There was no reason for him to have been up in Burnley. Alexander, we know, was aged 30 in 1526, but a birth about 1596 makes him too young to have been the Alexander of Prescot. Nevertheless the names Alexander and Lawrence do appear in the Prescot family and there was most likely a close family link between the Prescot and Burnley families. It is not impossible that Richard Watmoughe, the earliest known member of the Prescot family, born about 1420, was a brother of the William and Thomas who prospected on the moors above Burnley! 

I have taken the story of the mining at Burnley from ‘Watmough People’ by Geoffrey Whatmore, which contains many stories of the family of the north of England. Only a few copies of this book remain so if anyone would like to purchase a copy (£10.99 post free in the UK, or £13.99 Overseas Airmail post free) please e-mail me at rhyswhatmore@btinternet.com and I will check  if Geoffrey can supply the book.

The content of this post is supplemented with transcripts of the original documents which appear in ‘The Wadmore Family of London’ by John G Laing.