"BROUGHTON, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Preston, hundred of Amounderness, N. division of the county of Lancaster; comprising the townships of Broughton, Barton, and Haighton; and containing 1320 inhabitants, of whom 695 are in the township of Broughton, 3¼ miles (N. by W.) from Preston, on the road to Lancaster. This place is supposed to have received its name from a small Roman fort. In the reign of John, Theobald Walter claimed against Ralph, son of Utred, and Robert his brother, the whole town of "Brocton;" and in the 19th of Edward II., Gilbert de Singleton held a messuage here, probably Broughton Tower, a strong heavy structure of stone, which was taken down about 40 years ago: this property passed to the Rawstornes, by whom it was sold to the Rothwell family, of Hoole. The township contains 2341 acres, the soil of which is in general a retentive clay; the surface is elevated, and there are fine views of the surrounding country, and the river Ribble. Here is a station of the Preston and Lancaster railway. Broughton Hall, an old dwelling, formerly belonged to the Atherton family: Bank House is the property of J. W. R. Wilson, Esq.; and Uplands, the seat of Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Whitehead. Mr. Thornborrow, also, has a residence here. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £106, including a house; patrons, the Trustees of Hulme's estate; impropriators, Messrs. Rothwell and Mr. Richard Seed. The rectorial tithes have been commuted for £157. 10., and the vicarial for £12. 12. The chapel is in the early English style, and has a noble square tower bearing the date 1533; the body of the edifice, the interior of which is very neat, was rebuilt in 1822 at a cost of £2000. At Fernyhalgh is a Roman Catholic chapel, erected in 1795, principally at the expense of the Rev. Anthony Lund, V.G., who also built a house for the priest, and endowed the chapel with five acres of land. A school in the chapelry, which was rebuilt in 1845, has an endowment of £120 per annum; and adjacent to the Roman Catholic chapel is a school built by the Rev. Richard Gillow. There are some small charities/."
From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 409-412.
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