of Rowley or Bentley Clough
Bentley Clough was in Walmerseley, north of Bury, and Rowley a farmjust south west of it.John appears to have lived at Bentley Clough, which is in Bury parishand the records of his family are found in the Bury Parish Registers.
One of Richard Ormerod's last acts in the Court Rolls was to surrenderland in Cowpe of yearly rent 12/2d to his son John.
He may also have purchased the estate at Bentley Clough for John.In May 1640 John surrendered his Cowpe land to his brother, Lawrence,and John Halstead of "Rowley" as feoffees for this land to stand asdower for Mary, his second wife.
John drowned in 1650.
of Worsthorne
Buried on 29 January 1638.
of Worsthorne
Baptised in April 1641.
The Court Roll of 1651 informs us that Oliver's father had died, andthat Oliver, aged about ten years, who is his son and heir and thatJohn Hitcheon of Worsthorne was his guardian.
This makes it likely that Oliver's mother was a Hitcheon.It is only when Oliver, still described as of Worsthorne, died circa1670 that we are told that Richard was his brother and heir.
It is likely that Oliver's mother went to home to Hurstwood to haveher first child, and it was only later that he was brought to BentleyClough, when his father had him baptised, or rebaptised.
It is unclear who Oliver's mother is, but if it was Elizabeth, whodied in January 1638/39, it would explain why Oliver was kept andbrought up at Hurstwood.Oliver was a minor when his father died, and it appears that he neverleft his guardian at Worsthorne to claim his own father's land atBentley Clough.
Milton Ormerod in The Ormerods suggests that this may have been as hewas afraid for his life, given the "accidents" that had befallen hisfather and uncle.
Lawrence started his married life at Cowpe after he married AnnWhittaker on 27 February 1719.
He presumably occupied the land of yearly rent 7/4d which his fatherhad leased for 21 years in 1707.The baptisms of eight children of Lawrence and Ann were recordedbetween 1720 and 1737 - the first five up to 1730 whilst the familywere living at Cowpe.
In six months from February 1730/31 to July 1731 Lawrence and Annburied three of their children.
They then moved to Newhallhey and later to Constablee.
When their second daughter to be called Mary was buried in 1740 theywere living at Oakenheadwood, and when their eldest son, Lawrence, wasburied in 1741 they are described as 'of Crawshawbooth'.
Then the very high fee of 5/9d was paid to the parson for the burial.In 1775 when the land at Edgeside passed to Lawrence's eldestsurviving son, John, and his cousin Lawrence, Lawrence is described asbeing 'of Meadowhead'.
Mentioned in the will of John (8Cp1) of Edgeside.
Baptised on 26 December 1720.
Buried on 29 November 1741.
Baptised on 15 April 1722.
Buried on 22 July 1731.
Baptised on 25 December 1725 at Cowpe.
Mentioned in the will of John (8Cp1) of Edgeside.
Baptised on 26 December 1727.
Buried at Cowpe on 7 February 1730/31.
Baptised on 29 September 1730.
Buried on 17 February 1730/31.
Baptised on 16 June 1733 at Newhallhey.
Mentioned in the will of John (8Cp1) of Edgeside.
Baptised on 30 August 1737 at Constablee.
Mentioned in the will of John (8Cp1) of Edgeside.
Baptised on 3 December 1737.
Buried on 7 June 1740.
of Cowpe & Edgeside
Baptised on 1 January 1655/56.
Immediately after the death of George Ormerod, his father, Lawrenceand his mother sold the land he had owned at Hoyledean for £157.
They are then described as "of Tunstead".In 1697 Lawrence leased land of yearly rent 11/3d (i.e. almost 34Lancashire acres) for 21 years, and in 1707 he leased a further 22acres for 21 years.
In the Court Roll of 1714 Lawrence is noted to have bought land ofyearly rent 3/6d in Edgeside in the neighbourhood of Piercy for £144.
In his will of 28 April 1722 Lawrence appointed two trustees tosupervise his copyhold estate in Wolfendenbooth, which had to go tohis wife Mary until his youngest son, John, was 21, and thereafter toprovide her with an income of £4 p.a. as well as to pay legacies tohis brothers and sisters.
One of these trustees was George Ormerod of Wolfendenbooth -presumably Lawrence's cousin George (7L/E1), the eldest son of Peterof Newchurch. The other trustee was Richard Ashworth of Lench, andthis would suggest that Mary was also an Ashworth.
Lawrence left £50 to his brothers and sisters, including £10 each tohis two sisters.
If his youngest son, John, died without issue - which he eventuallydid in 1774 - the Edgeside land had to go to his brothers, George andLawrence.
Of his goods Lawrence left his two daughters £40 each and only £3 tohis son George and 10/- to his son Lawrence.
The 'tuition' of his daughters was left to Mary, his wife, and George,his son.Buried in May 1722.
Will proved in 1725.
Buried on 22 March 1754.
In his will of 1722 Lawrence Ormerod appointed two trustees tosupervise his copyhold estate in Wolfendenbooth, which had to go tohis wife Mary until his youngest son, John, was 21, and thereafter toprovide her with an income of £4 p.a. as well as to pay legacies tohis brothers and sisters.
One of these trustees was George Ormerod of Wolfendenbooth -presumably Lawrence's cousin George (7L/E1), the eldest son of Peterof Newchurch. The other trustee was Richard Ashworth of Lench, andthis would suggest that Mary was also an Ashworth.
of Cowpe
Richard was a substantial landowner in Cowpe and had been marriedtwice before he married Elizabeth Ormerod.
He probably dabbled in the cloth trade since his great grandfather,Robert Ashworth of Brex, had left him a pair of 'looms warping woakesand a spool wheel' in his will of 1666/67.Richard seems to have been a slippery character for on 5 August 1682the Court Roll records that Elizabeth Ormerod of Newchurch, widow, bySamuel Mills of Cowpe (a neighbour of Richard's) surrendered land inGambleside of y.r. 6/8d, i.e. almost all her inheritance, to the useand behoof or Richard Ormerod of Cowpe his heirs and assigns inperpetuity. This was ten days before their marriage.
She was obviously besotted with him and the transaction was, in anycase, illegal.
A coheiress was not the outright owner of the land but only a lifetenant. The land had to go to her eldest son, George, if he survived,or her next eldest son by her first marriage if he did not.
However Richard and Elizabeth did succeed in selling all theGambleside land for £202 according to the Court Roll for Easter 1687.
Elizabeth could well have argued that she needed the money to bring upher growing family.
Peter, her first husband had still got four vigorous brothers tocontend such an action and it is inconceivable that they wouldcountenance it without a watertight guarantee that some of theproceeds of the sale would go to Elizabeth's eldest son, George, therightful heir to the property.Buried on 12 December 1696, according to Milton Ormerod.
On the burial notice for Richard in the Parish Register it states 'notcertified'.
This meant that the Parish officers could not verify that he had been'buried in no other shroud or winding sheet save one made of woollencloth'.
Buried on 31 August 1678.
Baptised on 16 April 1682.
Buried in March 1691/92.
of Wolfenden
Appears to have spent most of his life in Wolfenden on the land thatwas bought by his grandfather, John (2,1) of Wolfenden, and whichseems to have been centered on the 'Maister Ing'.
In 1571 George's father had bought and settled on him land in Cowpe ofyearly rent 21/3d, retaining the use of it for life.
In a sorting out after Oliver's death, George's elder brother,Richard, got about half of this, probably for making over theWolfenden land and house to George.
George eventually passed the rest of the Cowpe land onto his secondson, another Richard.Buried on 4 October 1627.
His will was proved in the same year.The date of George's burial is in the Bishops' Transcript.
Both the wills and inventories of George and his wife, Margaret, havebeen preserved.
From his will and land transactions George appears to have been almostas prosperous as his brother Richard.
His eldest three sons received land: Oliver, the ancestral land inWolfenden; Richard, the land of yearly rent 10/- in Cowpe, which hisfather, Oliver, had bought for George himself; and for his thirdsurviving son, John, land in Yatebank, of yearly rent 7/2d, whichGeorge himself had bought in 1623.
Margaret had the right to half of the last two lots of premises,together with the usual one third of her husband's goods in lieu ofher dower.
To his three youngest surviving sons, Henry, Peter and Lawrence,George left £120 each payable by his eldest son, Oliver, out of theresidue of the estate.
Besides all this land George was the effective owner of land in Bacopof yearly rent 10/- which had been mortgaged to him by James Lord, thewealthiest landowner in Bacop, in various pieces for over £200.George's inventory shows the usual ample amount of farming gear plusbooks worth 10/- and silver spoons worth 24/-. Two items arenoteworthy - sheep worth £11/10s, i.e. between 50 and 100 and a greatdeal of butter and cheese worth £10/6s.
Thus it would appear that George, like his brother, Richard, wasinvolved in the cloth trade.One of George's sons, also called George, received nothing in hisfather's will, although he was appointed with his brother, John, as atrustee.
In her will of 1603 Ellen Ormerod mentions Elizabeth Ormerod the wifeof Richard and Margaret Ormerod the wife of George Ormerod.
By the way she refers to other wives by their maiden names in thetraditional Rossendale fashion, it would appear that both Elizabethand Margaret were Ormerods by birth.
According to Milton Ormerod in The Ormerods they were probably thedaughters of John (5J1) of Littlehouse in Gambleside.Will proved in 1640.
It is certain who Margaret is because of the will of Peter Ormerod(6J1), M.A., vicar of Whalley.
This has not been preserved in full, but details from it were given ina footnote by the Rev. F.R. Raines in the Journal of Nicholas Asshetonpp. 69-70.
This will was made on 22 January 1631/32. In it Peter leaves xx s.each to the seven sons of his sister, Margaret (by then a widow),which he lists by name - as usual in the order of their seniority.
George and his brother, Lawrence, are both mentioned in the will oftheir mother, Margaret.
In his father's will George received neither land nor money.
With Henry, George was the witness of their brother, Richard's will in1632 and both signed their names very legibly.
Both were appointed the feoffees of Richard's estate and both wereexecutors of the will of their mother, Margaret.George was also appointed an executor of his eldest brother,Oliver(5W1)'s will in 1658 and signed it in a very clear and educatedhand as a witness.
He may even have written it out for the writing is very similar.According to Milton Ormerod in The Ormerods the most likelyexplanation for George being omitted from his father's will is thatthe equivalent of £120 had already been spent on him in some way.
He believes that George may have attended Cambridge or Oxford, andbecome a clergyman on graduating from there. (The Ormerods, pp. 158-9)
In his father's will Lawrence received £120, payable by his elderbrother, Oliver, out of the residue of the estate.
Inherited Gambleside as a minor and only lived until about 1810.
He apparently never married, but managed to beget one illegitimateson, John, by a Betty Farrer, and two other sons, William Lord of Heynear Gambleside, and John Lord @ Ormerod, who became a butcher inBacup, together with three daughters, Ann, Mary and Nancy by anothermistress, Jane Lord.
A written account of John's descendants ends "Much of the estate ofJohn Ormerod, junior, and John Ormerod Lord, his natural son, waswasted in legal costs and wild living."
It looks as though John tried to pass on Gambleside to hisillegitimate son, but that he failed through improvidence and theweight of debt on the property.
Milton Ormerod writes "John was obviously a weak character, tainted byinbreeding and brought up mainly by women, who probably underestimatedthe legal difficulties he faced, but part of the failure must also belaid at the door of his father. The latter should have known that theburden of legacies of £2,500 was to great for a property likeGambleside to bear, even augmented by the land he inherited from hisfather-in-law, but with which there were legal problems.
John (10G1) had evidently abandoned trade, adopted the role ofgentleman and his son had been brought up to do the same, but with thelanded wealth at their disposal, this role could not be sustained. Theson also succeeded to the estate as a minor without the guidance ofresponsible paternal uncles and probably with a misguided idea of thereal extent of his wealth.The house at Gambleside disappeared with the building of Clowbridgereservoir in 1890.
John was a deacon at Waterbarn Baptist Church and also a 'reciter',i.e. he recited poems of a sentimental, humourous or elevating natureat Sunday School entertainments.
The book in which he copied out these pieces is now in Bacup Library.Living at Bk Blackwood Rd, Spotland, at the time of the 1881 Census.
Living at Bk Blackwood Rd, Spotland, at the time of the 1881 Census.
of Barrowford
Coheiress of George Ormerod late of Knotts in Hapton.