of Hurstwood and Foxstones (1680)
Birth recorded in 1654.
In 1690 he bought Spencer's House, Hurstwood, from John Spencer ofMarsden - see Memories of Hustwood p31.
Spencer's House was reputedly the dwelling of the poet Spencer between1576 and 1579.
The Spencer Family had lived here since 1292.Married Mary Halstead of Hurstwood Hall.
By this marriage the Ormerods after two hundred years recovered theHurstwood house and land they had lost when Barnard Townley abductedAgnes Ormerod.In 1708, on the death of his father, Lawrence inherited Foxstones.
Buried on 15 March 1741/42.
Lawrence is possibly the Ormerod that according to local tradition wasinvolved in a famous cockfight at The Fighting Cocks in Mereclough.
The following is taken from notes made by Ian Ormerod, though theoriginal source is unknown:
"The Fighting Cocks Inn at Mereclough - As its name implies it owesits early notoriety to the cruel sport of cock fighting. This wasentirely maintained and supported by the squires and landowners ofmatching gamecocks against each other in specially prepared cockpitsfrom which there was no escape. This was a "sport" that was soprevelant in the 17th and 18th centuries. Landlords required theirtenants to rear fighting birds from which the strongest and mostaggressive cocks were chosen. Matches were arranged and widelyadvertised between the rival owners. These were popular events andwell attended.
It is said that the Fighting Cocks Inn owes its name to a contestbetween Ormerod's "Butterfly" and Towneley's "Caesar" the accountrecorded by Masseys Burnley Brewery reads as follows. "Round afterround was fought, until at length Butterfly lay prostate on theground, seemingly in a dying condition, while Caesar was also in asimilar state. Ormerod having lost the fight, as far as appearancewent, mounted his horse and rode away in the direction home, expectingthat he was a ruined man. Having proceeded along the highway as far asthe High Style, midway between Ormerod and Mereclough, he heard agreat shout arise from the vicinity of the cockpit. Turning his headhe espied a man running at top speed and throwing his cap in the airshouting "Come back, Butterfly's won". The bird had suddenly risenfrom the ground and by a spasmodic effort at the last jump had drivenhis spur through the head of his opponent, thus snatching a victoryfor his master."
There was a big celebration at the inn and its name was changed to"Fighting Cocks". A sign has hung for many generations outside theinn. On one side is a painting of two cocks in the attitude ofpreparing to fly at each other, and underneath the words;
"For heaps of gold and silver do we fight
Death comes at every blow when it hits right"
On the reverse side is a cock crowing over the dead body of its rival,with the words;
"Brave Towneley's "Caesar" here doth bleeding lye
Killed by Ormerod's gallant "Butterfly"".
There is a tradition that the contestants had wagered their estatesupon the fight so its possible that the relevant Towneley was not ofTowneley but of Hurstwood. It can be confirmed that Hurstwood Hallpassed from Towneley into Ormerod hands in the 18th century. If thiswere so the Ormerod in question would have been Lawrence Ormerod(1654-1721) of Foxstones and the wager could have been the Ormerodproperty of Foxstones against the Towneley's Hurstwood Hall.
of Worsthorne Hall (1680)
Buried in Burnley on 24 December 1731.
of Foxstones, nr Ormerod
Also described as of Lawhouse?Lawhouse, built about 1645, was the property of Peter Ormerod ofOrmerod (mentioned in his will dated 1650). It was Oliver's home in1659.
The house had been occupied by the Ormerods from at least 1648 (Johnand George).
The land was reclaimed from the wasteland of Cliviger, and was builton the site of a Roman station.
A considerable number of Roman coins were discovered there in 1659,and the heap of stones (heap meaning tumulus) remained there until1763, when it was removed as materials for the turnpike road. It isbelieved that a kiskraen and a skeleton were discovered beneath it.Foxstones lies within a mile of Ormerod itself and had come into thefamily from the Barcrofts, i.e. through Elizabeth Barcroft, Peter(5O1)'s mother.
Youngest son of Peter and his second wife Margaret, Oliver was born atOrmerod in 1625.
His birth was recorded on 26 May 1625.He is described as of Lawhouse, and in 1650 married Mary Spenser ofHurstwood, daughter of Edmund Spenser.
Their eldest son, Lawrence, married Mary Halstead of Hurstwood Hall.
By this marriage the Ormerods after two hundred years recovered theHurstwood house and land they had lost when Barnard Townley abductedAgnes Ormerod.Later in life Oliver bought the estate called Foxstones, where he diedin 1708.
He was buried on 30 May 1708.Ancestor of the Ormerods of Foxstones.
FamilySearch IGI Index gave five separate records for Oliver'schristening as follows:
Batch #: P005201, Source Call #: 0844794, Printout Call #: 6904234(Oliver Ormeroid [sic] son of Peter Ormeroid);
Film Number: 184324; Page Number: 98; Reference Number: 2163;
Film Number: 456370 (shows Oliver's parents as Peter Ormerod andJohanna Howarth);
Film Number: 184708; Page Number: 740; Reference Number: 25979 (showsOliver's parents as Peter Ormerod and Mrs Peter Ormerod);
Film Number: 177935; Page Number: 616; Reference Number: 23519.FamilySearch Ancestral File submitted by Medieval Families, c/o FamilyHistory Department, 50E North Temple Street, Salt Lake City UT, USA84150 and Adam C. Moore of Waco TX, shows Oliver's parents as Peterand Margaret Ormerod.
of Hurstwood
Buried on 11 November 1695.
It is possible that Mary is related to Edmund Spenser the author/poet(1552?-1599), known for "The Faerie Queen".
His father came from Burnley, and he [Edmund] lived in Hurstwood for atime from 1576.
It is known from his writing that whilst at Hurstwood, and before hewas married, he fell in love with a lady but lost her to another man,she turning him down. She was "Rosalind" (not her real name), andthere is reference to her in the poem "The Shepherds' Calender".
Spencer is buried in Westminster Abbey, near Chaucer.
He claimed he was related to the Spencers of Althrop.
Lived at 1 Felix Street, Burnley.
Birth recorded in Burnley.
Bombardier in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War.
Fought in Ceylon, Egypt and Italy.Photographs of Walter and Lily's grave can be found in the scrapbookfor Henry Waddington, Lily's father.
The following notes regarding the army record of Walter Ormerod weretaken by Ian Ormerod in October 1998 in Edmonton, Canada:
In 1940 Walter was working as a clay moulder at Ducketts, BlannelStreet, Burnley, when he received his call up papers.
He joined the Army at Daveyhulme in Manchester on 15 July 1940, andremembered an air raid occurring while he was there.
Walter was a member of 183 Battery, 65th Manchester Regiment, RoyalArtillery (Heavy Ack Ack) Territorial Regiment.
There were 60 members of each battery with 3 guns - 181, 182 and 183Batteries.From July 1940 to January 1941 he was based at a gunsite in Moston.
In 1941, after 8 months, he was sent to Scapa Flow in the Orkneys.They boarded ship in Aberdeen.
One of their jobs in the Orkneys was to fill sandbags with pebblesfrom the beach to make roadways to the guns, Nissen huts and billets.Warnings of attack were sounded on empty shell cases. The guns usedaround Scapa Flow were 4.5 inch.
Clifford Harrison, a cousin of Walter's, was the organist at thechurch at Kirkwall (Stromness).On the journey from the Orkneys to Aberdeen the 183rd Battery took thefirst place on the ship. The 181st got on the next ship, and a Germanplane dropped a bomb down the funnel.
After 12 months in the Orkneys the battery was sent to Kinloss RAFStation, where they manned the 3 inch guns for 1 month.Walter's next posting was to Birmingham, for eight months, where hewas on the anti-aircraft guns at the rear of the Tennis Courts PublicHouse in Perry Barr, Aston.
Walter and Ian went to see the gunsite in about 1956-57, when Burnleywere playing at Aston Villa's ground in an FA Cup Match.
There were bulldozers there ready to start demolishing the pill boxesand gun emplacements in order to build the new Alexander AthleticStadium, which now occupies the site.From Birmingham they were sent to Aberdeen for 4 months, where theywere billeted in the Ballroom, and manned two 3.7 inch guns on thepromenade.
They then letf for Chepstow for kitting out to go abroad.A week's embarkation leave enabled Walter to get to Burnley aroundthis time.
The regiment embarked from Liverpool on 2 January 1942 aboard the S.S.Woodlark, stopping at Sierra Leone, Cape Town (for 3 days) and Durban.
From there they were making their way to Singapore in the the Far Eastwhen news of the fall of Singapore came through.
The ship was then diverted to Ceylon.During this voyage there was a Japanese attack, and the Repulse waslost. 76 Japanese aircraft were shot down.
Walter remembered having corned beef and McConachies mixed vegetablesas their rations.After 3 weeks in Ceylon the regiment was sent to the southern end ofthe Suez Canal, and then by train to Suez.
Walter remembered passing Italian prisoner of war camps on the way.
They stayed in Suez, in the desert at Tel el Kebir, for 4 or 5 months,watching over the withdrawal of Germans and Italians from NorthAfrica.Walter saw Churchill, Roosevelt and Montgomery at the surrender ofNorth Africa.
Between 14 July 1942 and 20 July 1943 he had a week's leave in Cairo.
Between 15 December 1943 and 22 December 1943 Walter was in Hospitalin Alexandria suffering from sandfly disease.
The next move was to the Turkish border through Palestine and Syria,passing through Gaza, Haifa, Tyre and Beirut. There they were trainingin preparation for an attack on Crete.
Walter went to Damascus at one point and remembered seeing snow on theway.The regiment was then stationed in Cyprus for 6 months.
On the 29 January 1944 Walter had a leave pass for 1400-2145 hours inHaifa.
Walter's regiment moved to Italy following their time in the MiddleEast.
During his time in Rome Walter refereed a football match between theManchester Regiment and Royal Marines.
The Manchester Regiment were winning 1-0, but Walter gave a penalty tothe Marines to make sure that it was a draw.
He also went to see Tosca on Saturday February 17 1945 at the SanCarlo Theatre in Rome.Prior to a planned embarkation for the Far East, Walter got homeleave. He sailed from Milan to England.
Whilst on leave he went to Manchester with Lily.
Japan surrendered whilst Walter was still on leave. He travelled backto Italy by train, leaving Newhaven and travelling via Switzerland.Walter was then in Italy for about another two months, beforereturning to England and being demobbed in January 1946.
Birth recorded at St James', Burnley.
Photographs of Walter and Lily's grave can be found in the scrapbookfor Henry Waddington, Lily's father.
Living at 103 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley, at the time of the 1891 Census.
Living at 101 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley, at the time of the 1901 Census,and at the time of his marriage in 1912.
Served in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War, duringwhich he sustained a serious injury test-firing a field gun.
The Burnley Roll of Honour for the Burnley Men Who Served in, andSurvived, the Great War by Andrew Gill and Alan Mackay(http://burnleyinthegreatwar.info/burnleyservedindex.htm), recordsthat Herbert served with 39 Bty, RFA, and was resident at 4 PineStreet, Burnley.
39 Battery, Royal Field Artillery, was originally part of XIV Brigade,Royal Field Artillery, with 4th Division.
39 Battery moved to XIX Brigade in February 1915, with 27th Division.The Division subsequently fought in the Action of St Eloi and theSecond Batle of Ypres, before moving to Salonika in November 1915.
Herbert's mother worked at Towneley Hall, and Herbert attendedChristmas parties at the hall.
Living at 103 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley, at the time of the 1891 Census.
Living at 101 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley, at the time of the 1901 Census,and at the time of his marriage in 1912.
Served in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War, duringwhich he sustained a serious injury test-firing a field gun.
The Burnley Roll of Honour for the Burnley Men Who Served in, andSurvived, the Great War by Andrew Gill and Alan Mackay(http://burnleyinthegreatwar.info/burnleyservedindex.htm), recordsthat Herbert served with 39 Bty, RFA, and was resident at 4 PineStreet, Burnley.
39 Battery, Royal Field Artillery, was originally part of XIV Brigade,Royal Field Artillery, with 4th Division.
39 Battery moved to XIX Brigade in February 1915, with 27th Division.The Division subsequently fought in the Action of St Eloi and theSecond Batle of Ypres, before moving to Salonika in November 1915.
Herbert's mother worked at Towneley Hall, and Herbert attendedChristmas parties at the hall.
Born at 4 Pine St, Burnley, on 11 February 1890.
Her birth was registered by her father, William, a month after herbirth.Living at 4 Pine St, Burnley, at the time of the 1891 and 1901Censuses, and at the time of her marriage in 1912.
Died at 4 Pine Street, Burnley, aged 26 years.
Buried in Haggate Baptist Cemetery, Burnley. The grave is directlybehind the church.
John was a stone mason and was killed when a stone fell on him whileunloading a cart during the building of Lebanon Street, Burnley.
John was buried in a public grave in Burnley Cemetery, Rossendale Rd,Burnley - Grave Ref A9529.
1861 Census - Saville Green, Worsthorne
1871 Census - Saville Green, Worsthorne, employed as a carterLiving at 1 Holme Street, at the time of his marriage in 1879.
1881 Census - 111 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley - Stone mason
1891 Census - 103 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley - Stone masonDied aged 40, at 101 Brunshaw Road, Burnley.
Mary was the maid to Lady O'Hagan at Towneley Hall.
Living at 17 Golbourn St, Preston, at the time of the 1861 Census.
Living at 101 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley, at the time of the 1871 and 1901Censuses.
Living at 1 Holme Street, at the time of her marriage in 1879.
In 1881 she was living at 111 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley, with her husband,John, and nine month old baby son, George.
Living at 103 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley, at the time of the 1891 Census.Mary is buried in Burnley Cemetery - Grave Number 1644.
Originally noted as having been born in Bacup.
Living at 103 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley, at the time of the 1891 Census.
Living at 101 Brunshaw Rd, Burnley, at the time of the 1901 Census.
A Sergeant during the First World War, in the Accrington and BurnleyHowitzer Brigade, in which he enlisted on 18 February 1915.
Harry won the Distinguished Conduct Medal during this conflict.
He served in France between 1 February 1916 and 1 April 1919.The following information is taken from the London Gazette (2September 1919):
"L/304 . Cpl. H. Ormerod, C/157th Bde., R.F.A. (Burnley).
During the period 25th February to 16th September, 1918, he has showngreat gallantry and devotion to duty, and has done most excellentwork, particularly when his battery was heavily shelled at Poelcapelleon 25th February 1918, he showed the utmost disregard of his ownsafety, controlling his gun detatchment and keeping his gun in action.Again on 26th March, near Bray, he was left in charge of a gun,fighting a rearguard action. Though under heavy shell fire hecontinued in action until he had finished his ammunition, inflictingheavy casualties on the enemy, and then retired as ordered."The 157th Brigade, R.F.A. was attached to the 35th Division, a NewArmy Division, from its formation in April-May 1915.
Harry's Statement of the Services gives his unit as C Bty, 158th RFA,which was also attached to the 35th Division.Ian Ormerod remembers his parents, Walter and Lily, going on annualvisits to Harry in a Burnley mental hospital. They would never allowIan to go with them.
He believes that Harry went into the hospital immediately after theFirst World War, and that his war service was largely responsible forhis subsequent breakdown.
of Worsthorne
Born in Hurstwood Hall, Burnley.
Birth recorded on 27 July 1806, in Burnley, according to Ian Ormerod.In the 1851 Census described as a stonegetter (Cottage 48 in 1851).
William was already a widower by the time of the 1851 Census and wasliving with his three sons.
A servant, Elizabeth Smith, aged 34, was also living at the familyhome at this time.In 1861 described as a farmer of 200 acres, employing 1 man and 1 boy.
Living at Saville Green, Worsthorne, at the time of this census.
William's grandson, John (aged 4), and a servant, Thomas Redman (aged31, carter), were also living at his address.
of Ormerod (1612)
An administration document, dated 1612 (York), passed administrationof Lawrence's estate to his widow, Elizabeth.
Baptised on 30 March 1564 (and birth recorded) in Burnley.
By his marriage to Elizabeth Barcroft, Lawrence was able to rebuildOrmerod Hall, according to the Rev. Thomas Ormerod in Calderdale.
Buried 21 August 1612 in Burnley.
of Barcroft Hall, Burnley (1587)
Daughter of Robert Barcroft of Barcroft.
Died an infant.
Died aged 15.