History of the Fylde of LancashirePorter, John (Writer on the Fylde of Lancashire)
History
History of the Fylde of Lancashire
Porter, John (Writer on the Fylde of Lancashire)
Lancashire (England) -- History
yeoman named Jolly, from Mythorp, near Blackpool, was instrumental in
doing good service to the besiegers by slaying one Mayfield, of the
Ashes, Goosnargh. The rebel had secreted himself behind a chimney on one
of the houses, and was engaged in picking off the loyal soldiers as they
made their way along the thoroughfare below. His murderous fire was at
length put an end to by a charge from the famed gun of Jolly, whose keen
eye had detected the assassin in his hiding place. Jolly himself appears
to have had an aversion to causing the death of a fellow-creature in
cold blood, even though a rebel, and the credit of the shot is due to
a soldier, whose own weapon failed in reaching the object. The Rev. W.
Thornber tells us in his History of Blackpool, that the family of the
Jollys, for many years, treasured up the wonderful gun, and that the tale
of its exploit was circulated far and wide in the neighbourhood of their
home. From the remarks of the Rev.—Patten, who accompanied the army of
the Chevalier, as chaplain to General Forster, we learn that those who
joined the insurgents in Lancashire were chiefly Papists, and that the
members of the High-church party held aloof, much to the disappointment
and chagrin of General Forster, who, in his anger, declared “that for
the time to come he would never again believe a drunken tory.” Edward
Tyldesley, Henry Butler, of Rawcliffe Hall, and his son Richard Butler,
were the most distinguished personages amongst the small body of men
belonging to this section who openly espoused the cause of the Pretender.
The paucity of the recruits attracted by the insurgent standard from our
neighbourhood is easily to be accounted for, when it is remembered that
for many years the county of Lancashire had enjoyed an immunity from
strifes and disturbances, so that the inhabitants of the rural districts,
such as the Fylde, had settled down to the cultivation of the soil, and
would care little to assist in a work which as far as they were privately
concerned, could only terminate in the devastation of their fields,
and, probably, in the ruin of many of their households. Especially,
in 1715, would the people be disinclined to take part in or encourage
insurrectionary and warlike proceedings, for in that year extraordinarily
bountiful harvests had rewarded their labours, and general prosperity
had taught them the blessings of peace.[44] After the rebellion of 1715
many Papists registered their estates and the respective yearly values
thereof, according to an Act of Parliament passed in the reign of George
I., and amongst the number may be observed the names of sundry local
personages as:—
Annual Value.
Sherburne, Sir Nicholas, of Carleton, Hambleton, and
Stonyhurst £1210 6s. 3½d.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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