Thomas Edelston, Margaret Rigby, of Cartwright Street, Westminster, spinster, John Cullis, of the parish of St. Anne in the connty of Middlesex and Mary wife of the said John Cullis, and Alice Rigby of Wigan, spinster, have quitclaimed &c. to John Prescott of Hindley, co. Lanc. yeoman, surviving executor of Richard Arrowsmith, late of Pemberton, co. Lanc. gent. as well all legacies, bequests, &c. bequeathed to us by

the will of the said Richard Arrowsmith &c. &c.

(Signed)

THO. EDELSTON.

ALICE RIGBY.

ELIZABETH EDELSTON. JOHN CULLIS. MARGARET RIGBY. Sealed signed and delivered by Elizabeth Edelston John Cullis and Margaret Rigby in the presence of WILL DANDY. ELIZABETH CLAYTON × her mark.

Sealed signed and delivered by Thomas Edleston and Alice Rigbie in the presence of JAMES MOLLYNOUX. JOHN DICCONSON.

No. V. 1 January 1707.-Lease from John Prescott of Hindley, gent. and Mathew Astley of Hindley, yeo

man, to Anne Platt, of Hindley spinster. Lease of property in Hindley called Bimson's formerly occupied by

Katharine Platt deceased, mother of Anne. For the lives

of said Anne Platt, James Ince, son of Richard Ince, late of Hindley deceased, and George, son of Alice Roobottom of Wigan, widow. The rent to go towards the maintenance of a minister at Hindley Chapel.

P. WORTHINGTON. JON RANICARS. JO. JACKSON. No. VI. 21 Decr., 1709. Articles of Agreement between Peter Worthington of Hindley, gent. and William Taylor, of Hindley, maltster.

Peter Worthington leases to Wm. Taylor, a messuage and tenement in Hindley, now in the possession of the said Peter Worthington and Thomas Leyland, badger, except a parlour which he retains for his own use, for twelve years. Further agreements with regard to the buildings, land, &c., and a fine of £50 for non-fulfilment.

(Signed)

Sealed and delivered in the presence of

WILLIAM ROSCOE his mark. ALEXR. LEIGH. No. VIII. Copy of an indenture dated 29 January 1730 between John Green of Atherton, co. Lanc. gent. on the one part and Thomas Clare of Leverpool, sadler, and James Pendlebury of Astley, co. Lanc. scholemaster of the other part, by which land &c in Hindley in the occupation of John Hyton, is conveyed by John Green to Thomas Clare and James Pendlebury absosolutely. At the bottom is written "Examined with the Drought and found to be a true copy by Jas. BRETTARGH.”

No. IX. 20 August 1742. Indenture tripartite between John Walmesley of Wigan, Esquire, Alexander Leigh of Wigan, gent., Henry Hampson of West Leigh, gent., Hugh Stirrip of Lowton, gent., Jonathan Thomason, Henry Smith, Thomas Needham, and John Southworth of Hindley, yeomen, Feoffees and Trustees for the Lands, Revenues, and Stocks belonging to Hindley Chapel, of the first part, Samuel Lever,

clerk, Curate of the said chapel of the second part, and John Whittle of Hindley, weaver of the third part. Lease of property in Hindley for the lives of said John Whittle, Mary his wife, and Mary their daughter. &c. (Signed) JOHN WHITTLE, his mark. Sealed and delivered in the presence of us ROBT. LEIGH

JOHN CHADWICK.

[634.] THE HOLCROFT FAMILY, OF HOLCROFT, NEAR WARRINGTON, &C., (Concluded from Nos. 620, 621, 624, 628, and 630.) THE ARMS OF HOLCROFT.

In the year 1340 the seal of Adam de Holcroft exhibits, upon a heater-shaped shield, a lion rampant, with the legend SIGILLUM ADE DE HOLCROFT. Like the Culcheths, however, who abandoned their original coat of a bend between six fleurs-de-lys for a griffin segreant, the Holcrofts ceased to bear the lion rampant, and in 1382 we find upon the seal of John de Holcroft a cross and bordure both engrailed. In 1455 Thomas Holcroft seals with the crest of his family, a raven close; in after years the raven was represented sometimes close and sometimes with wings expanded, but always grasping a sword in the dexter claw.

The coat borne by the later Holcrofts was argent a cross and bordure engrailed sable, and it is almost invariably found accompanied in he second quarter, by Argent an eagle with wings expanded Sable, standing upon an infant proper, swaddled Gules, banded Or. This quartering, which is common to the Holcrofts,

Culcheths, and Risleys, was most probably invented by the medieval heralds to denote their descent from Gilbert de Culcheth and his wife the Lady Cecilia de Lathom. In reference to this bearing an admirable paper by J. R. Planché, Esquire, F.S.A., now Somerset Herald, will be found in the Journal of the British Archæological Association, vol. VI., pp. 199-209, and plates 22, 23, 24, and 25. In this paper the quartering of Holcroft, Culcheth, and Risley is noticed.

In 1533 in the Visitation of Lancashire the arms of Holcroft appear without any pedigree. They would be entered by the first Sir John, and appear with Holcroft in the first and fourth quarters and Horton (Argent a squirrel sejant gules) in the second and third. This Horton quartering was assumed on account of Sir John's maternal great-great-great grandfather Hamo Mascy of Rixton, Esquire, having married Ellen, daughter and coheir of William Horton, of Horton, Esquire. The Horton quarter ought to have been preceded by Mascy, Rixton, and Pennington.

In 1567, in Flower's Visitation of Lancashire, the arms of Holcroft of Holcroft are entered as:-"ARMS: Quarterly: 1 & 4. Argent, a cross engrailed, sable, the whole within a bordure engrailed of the second. 2. Argent, a squirrel erect, gules, holding an apple (?) Or. 3. Argent, an eagle, sable, preying upon an infant, gules, swathed and apparelled of the first. CREST: An eagle with wings expanded, sable, holding in the dexter claw a sword in pale, argent, hilt and pomel, or."

In an Heraldic MS. of the seventeenth century the arms of Holcroft of Vale Royal are given as quarterly of eight. 1. Argent, a cross and bordure engrailed, Sable. [Holcroft.] 2. Argent, an eagle, wings expanded, Sable, standing upon an infant proper, swaddled Gules, banded Or. [Culcheth quarter.] 3. Argent, a squirrel, sejant Gules [Horton.] 3. Quarterly, Gules and Argent, in the second a mullet Sable. Mascy vf Rixton.] 5. Argent, on a bend sable three covered cups of the field. [Rixton of Rixton.] 6. [Argent] a fesse [vert], sometimes charged with an annulet, between three parrots [Gules]. [Penington.] 7. Argent, on a fesse Gules, three bezants. Jennings.] 8. Gules, a bull's head cabossed Argent, armed Or. [Dunston.] The two last quarterings having been brought in by Sir Thomas Holcroft's wife, Juliana Jennings. The drawing in the MS. is surmounted by this crest: On a wreath A demi lion rampant, erased at the loins Or, grasping in the paws a spear erect goldheaded Argent, which is called "Holcroft's new crest." In 1605 Sir Thomas Holcroft, of Vale Royal, uses a

seal of the raven holding the sword, inscribed "SIGIL: THO: HOLCROFT: MIL."

The next example that I have found is in the Paradise Room at Bramhall Hall; in it there are six quarters: 1. Holcroft, with a white crescent in the centre of the cross. 2. The Culcheth quartering. 3. Horton. 4. Jennings, with a black mullet in middle chief. 5. Dunston; and 6, Holcroft.

Another quartered Holcroft shield exists in a MS now at Lyme Hall which was probably written about 1730, the quarters are, 1. Holcroft. 2. Culcheth quartering. 3. Horton. 4. Mascy. 5. Rixton. 6. Gules, a fesse Argent, which may be intended for Hindley. 7. Jennings. 8. Holcroft.

The Holcrofts of Hurst entered a pedigree at the Visitation of 1664-5 with the arms Quarterly 1 and 4 Holcroft, 2 and 3 the Culcheth quartering. The members of this latter family were very numerous about the beginning of the last century, and I think it probable that many of the Holcrofts now living in Lancashire and Cheshire descend from the Hurst branch of the family.

It would be very interesting to ascertain what became of the children of Thomas Holcroft, Esq. son of Sir Thomas of Vale Royal. Thelwall.

J. PAUL RYLANDS, F.S.A.

REPLY.

[635] Two LANCASHIRE RECANTATION SERMONS. [See No. 628, Nov. 9; No. 631, Nov. 16.] With regard to Col. Fishwick's explanation, it was of course obvious that of the three dates at which the Rev. John Threlfall is stated hy him to have died, one only could by any possibility be correct, and it is satisfactory now to know which is to be so considered.

I am also obliged for the new fact, with regard to Mr. Threlfall's University career, that he received the greater part of his education at Dublin, which rendered a longer residence at Oxford unnecessary. Had this been stated in his History of Kirkham, it would have rendered my comment superfluous.

Colonel Fishwick complains of the dearth of materials as regards the Bradkirk family, but according to his History, the Kirkham Registers are full of Bradkirk entries, and as it is highly probable that many Bradkirk wills are to be found at Chester, &c., it would possibly not have been very difficult to have printed a more connected account of this local family.

In the last paragraph of Col. Fishwick's reply he states that he "might have invented a pedigree, but that he much prefers to stick to facts." I can only say that a like preference for facts led me to note the "discrepancies" in the account of the life of the Rev. John Threlfall. If Col. Fishwick will refer to page 80 of his History he will see that, in a similar manner, the Rev. John Fisher, Vicar of Kirkham, is made to die on two separate occasions, and that the short "pedigree" of his issue given on page 81 contains some curious "facts." It is there stated that Edward was baptised in December 1651, and yet James, whose birth is recorded on page 150 as having taken place in November 1655, is there stated to be the "eldest son."

Again, although the baptism of Mary is given in August 1653, five lines lower down we have an only"

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. [637.] HAMLET WINSTANLEY, A WARRINGTON ARTIST; DIED 1756.

In this week's Notes and Queries some very interesting notes, which are reprinted below, are contributed by George Scharf, Esq., F.S.A., the able and learned Secretary to the National Portrait Gallery. They throw fresh light upon the career of Hamlet Winstanley, who in his day and generation was a well-known Lancashire artist, but whose legitimate claim to fame has been injured by the mistakes made by Horace Walpole and others.

The letter addressed to the Editor of the Gentleman's Magazine in 1776 appears never to have been printed, so that the details of Winstanley's life there given are of much interest. Another name is thereby added to the list of those educated at Warrington Grammar School.

To Mr. J. Paul Rylands, of Warrington, we are indebted for the transcript of Winstanley's gravestone, which also bears some memorials to the Cock family, from a descendant of which, Edward Cock, Esq., of Kingston-on-Thames, Mr. Scharf received the documents here printed. EDITOR.

HAMLET WINSTANLEY.

The few events which compose the life of Hamlet Winstanley, a meritorious painter, have been so inaccurately represented by Horace Walpole, in his Anecdotes, and by Redgrave, in his Dictionary, that the following rough memoranda made by Winstanley's brother will be serviceable to future biographers of art. The MS. notes from which these are transcribed belong to Mr. Edward Cock, the eminent surgeon, of Kingston-onThames, who has kindly permitted me to use them for publication. He possesses a head of Winstanley, well painted. The two families were in some way connected, by which means several drawings and sketches made their way into the hands of Mr. Cock's predecessors. The sketches of Rome and studies of antique figures drawn by Winstanley are very masterly, but quite in the artistic gusto of the period when he lived. Many of his paintings are at Knowsley, consisting of family portraits and views in the neighbourhood. He executed large copies of the Graces, by Raphael, in the Farnesina Palace at Rome, and of the Triumph of Bacchus, by Caracci, in the Farnese. His etchings alone, from pictures by old masters in the possession of the Earl of Derby, constituting the "Knowsley Gallery,"