In the parish church of Chorley, within the porch of the chancel, which belongs to the Standish family of Duxbury, _four_ bones were shown, apparently thigh bones, said to have belonged to Saint Lawrence, the patron saint, which were brought over from Normandy by Sir Rowland Standish, in 1442, along with the head of that saint, which skull has, amongst the _Harl. MSS._,[104] a certificate of a vicar of Croston, to which Chorley was then subject, preserved with the arms of the knight (azure, 3 plates) rudely tricked:--"Be it known to all men that I, Thomas Tarlton [or Talbot] vicar of the church of Croston, beareth witness and certify, that Mr. James Standish, of Duxbury, hath delivered a relique of St. Laurence's head unto the church of Chorley, the which Sir Rowland of Standish, knight, brother of the said James, and Jane his wife, brought out of Normandy, to the worship of God and St. Lawrence, for the profit and avail of the said church; to the intent that the foresaid Sir Rowland Standish, and Dame Jane his wife, with their predecessors and successors, may be in the said church perpetually prayed for. And in witness of the which to this my present writing I have set my seal. Written at Croston aforesaid, the 2nd day of March, in the year of our Lord God, 1442." [20 Hen. VI.][105] St. Lawrence's Day is August 10. As his martyrdom was said to be roasting alive upon a gridiron, it is not clear how his thigh bones should be preserved. But when we find there are _four_ of them, the miraculous character of the relics is at once exhibited. THE DEAD MAN'S HAND. At Bryn Hall, now demolished, once the seat of the Gerards, was a Roman Catholic Chapel and a priest, who continued long after the family had departed, having in his custody "The Dead Man's Hand," which is still kept by the same or another priest, now residing at Garswood. Preserved with great care, in a white silk bag, it is still resorted to by many diseased persons, and wonderful cures are said to have been wrought by this saintly relic. It is said to be the hand of Father Arrowsmith,--a priest who is stated to have been put to death at Lancaster for his religion, in the time of William III. The story goes, that when about to suffer, he desired his spiritual attendant to cut off his right hand, which should then have the power to work miraculous cures on those who had faith to believe in its efficacy. Not many years ago, a female sick of the small-pox had this dead hand lying in bed with her every night for six weeks, in order to effect her recovery, which took place.[106] A poor lad, living in Withy Grove, Manchester, afflicted with scrofulous sores, was rubbed with it; and though it had been said he was miraculously restored, on inquiry the assertion was found incorrect, inasmuch as he died in about a fortnight after the operation.[107] Not less devoid of truth is the tradition that Arrowsmith was hanged for "witnessing a good confession."