LEYLAND, a parish in the hundred of LEYLAND,
county palatine of LANCASTER, comprising the chapelries
of Euxton, Heapey, Hoghton, and Whittle le Woods,
and the townships of Clayton le Woods, Cuerden, Leyland,
Wheelton, and Withnell, and containing 12,959
inhabitants, of which number, 3173 are in the township
of Leyland, 4 miles (N. W.) from Chorley. The living
is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester,
rated in the king's books at £11, and in the patronage
of Thomas James Baldwin, Esq. The church, dedicated
to St. Andrew, like Westminster and many other ancient
halls, was originally erected without a single pillar; ft
Was rebuilt and enlarged in 1817, and contains several
marble monuments; adjoining the chancel is an ancient
chapel belonging to the Faringtons, beneath which is
the burial vault of that family. A place of worship for
Wesleyan Methodists was erected in 1814. The petty
sessions for the division are held here once in five weeks,
on Monday. A considerable manufacture of cotton is
carried on in the parish. Near the churchyard a free
grammar school was founded by Queen Elizabeth, with
an endowment of £3. 18. per annum, in aid of which
the Rev.Thomas Armetriding, in 1718, bequeathed £250,
in support of the master and an usher; the annual income,
with subsequent benefactions, amounts to about
£27, for which thirty children are taught to read only.
Another school was erected, in 1785, by the late Mr.
Balshaw, and endowed by him with lands now producing
an annual income of £180, in which one hundred and
ten boys and seventy girls are instructed on the National
system, and are gratuitously supplied with books, stationery,
&c. There is also a small endowment left by the
late Samuel Crook, Esq., for the education of children.
An almshouse for six poor persons was founded, in 1607,
by William Farington, Esq., and further endowed, in
1665, by John Osbaldeston, Esq., the inmates of which
receive each about £2 per annum, in money and fuel.
A savings bank was established in 1821. There are
at Shawe hall, the seat of William Farington, Esq., a
choice museum of natural curiosities, and a collection
of valuable paintings, some of which were found in the
ruins of Herculaneum.