Scarisbrick
Encyclopedia
Scarisbrick is a village
and civil parish in West Lancashire
, England
. It is spread out along the A570
(the main road between Ormskirk
and Southport
) so there is no real village centre, though the junction with the A5147
is close to the geographic centre. On the main road are three eating places and pubs: the Elephant (formerly the Red Lion), the Morris Dancers, and Master McGraths. On the back road through the village is another canalside pub, the Heaton's Bridge Inn. It also boasts a rainbow trout
fishery
and an 18-hole championship golf course
. According to the 2001 census, the population of Scarisbrick was 3,504.
Scarisbrick parish
, the largest in Lancashire
, was, in early times, an area much avoided by travellers. With its vast tracts of poorly drained peat marshes and the huge lake of Martin Mere
, it was difficult terrain to cross. Much of the flat land between Southport and Liverpool
is polder
reclaimed from marshes and the lake. The original small scattered farmsteads of the parish now form the basis of today's hamlets
of Barson Green, Bescar, Carr Cross, Drummerdale, Hurlston, Pinfold, and Snape.
Many interesting features of Scarisbrick's past can still be seen today. The Old School House opposite the Morris Dancers (once the Maypole Inn) was built in 1809 and has, in the past, been a school, a doctor's house, a post office, and a shop. It is a listed building and is now divided into two dwellings. The canal is now used for leisure purposes, and the Blue Elephant (formerly the Red Lion) is the base for the popular Mersey Motor Boat Club. At Heatons Bridge, over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
, there remains one of the many defensive pillboxes
erected as a precaution against invasion during the Second World War. It was from Pinfold, where the canal is closest to Southport, that William Sutton picked up waterway passengers for transport to his "Original Hotel", known better as "Duke's Folly" - the foundation of Southport. The only Catholic church there, St Elizabeth's, was founded by the Montage of Casteja and was named after his wife. There are many other churches there as well. The oldest person to live here in local times was May Massam who died at the age of 103.
.
The placename itself comes from the Old Norse
, and literally denotes "(the Norseman called) Skar's hill-slope". Scarisbrick appears to have been a village of some size during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, being first mentioned c. 1200, with the first person known to have had a bye-name derived from it being Gilbert de Scaresbrec in the early thirteenth century. Succeeded by his son Walter, his family continued to hold Scarisbrick for centuries to come, and the historian Richard McKinley notes that "Most, and possibly all, the people named Scarisbrick found in Lancashire during the Middle Ages
were members of the land-owning family" (per The Surnames of Lancashire, English Surnames Series, IV).
References to the name after this date include one to Thomas Scarysbrig, Doctor of Divinity
registered at the University of Oxford
in 1508, and one to the marriage of Anthony Scarisbrick, mercer of London
, to Jane Glascocke in 1615. Some branches of the Scarisbrick family remained recusant. The surname did not in fact become prolific until the late 16th century, when it multiplied in the parish of Ormskirk
, spreading from there, albeit in small numbers, to the neighbouring parishes, such as Halsall
and West Derby
. Finally, it is interesting to note that when it reached London, the name became Scarysbrig, and also that it was among the first surnames to reach the New World
, a list of passengers on the ship 'Paul', bound for St Christopher's out of London in April 1635, including one William Scarisbrick. It is believed that the Scarisbrick Coat of Arms was granted to Sir Henry de Scarisbrick, who fought at the Battle of Agincourt
, and died in 1420. He was knighted by Henry V
shortly after the battle, which would probably be when he received the coat of arms. However, there is no recorded incident of him using these arms.
The first recorded instance of the arms is in a deed by Sir Henry de Scarisbrick's son, another Henry de Scarisbrick, dated 1440. This deed has an armorial shield displaying three mullets between two bendlets engrailed; the helmet is surmounted by a dove; the legend is "sigillum henrici scaresbrec".
There is a brass of an unknown member of the Scarisbrick family in Ormskirk Parish Church
, discovered beneath the floor of the Scarisbrick chapel during a renovation of the church, and now hanging in the chapel. There is no inscription remaining so the name and date of the piece is unknown, but the style of the armour fixes the date to the end of the 15th century. The surcoat of the figure is embellished with the Scarisbrick Coat of Arms. There has been some debate concerning the identity of this Scarisbrick family member, with the current consensus being that it is of James Scarisbrick, who died in 1495, the son of Henry and grandson of Sir Henry de Scarisbrick, above.
Some branches of the Scarisbrick family became recusants
, remaining Roman Catholic, despite the Reformation. The Coat of Arms has continued to be used through to the 19th century, where the last of the male line of the Scarisbrick family was Charles Scarisbrick (1801–60), who was the High Sheriff of Lancashire
in 1834 and 1839.
Tom Glover.
Websites dedicated to the Scarisbrick name
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish in West Lancashire
West Lancashire
West Lancashire is a non-metropolitan district with the status of a borough in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Ormskirk. The other town in the borough is Skelmersdale....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is spread out along the A570
A570 road
The A570 is a primary route in northern England, that runs from St Helens to Southport. The road begins at junction 7 of the M62 motorway in Merseyside, and runs in a northerly direction as a dual carriageway through the centre of St Helens, meeting the A58 road, then the A580 road to the north of...
(the main road between Ormskirk
Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...
and Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
) so there is no real village centre, though the junction with the A5147
A5147 road
The A5147 is a road in northern England that runs from Maghull in Merseyside to Scarisbrick in Lancashire.-Merseyside:It begins off the A59 road in Maghull, where it is called Liverpool Road North. After leaving the town, it crosses over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Lydiate...
is close to the geographic centre. On the main road are three eating places and pubs: the Elephant (formerly the Red Lion), the Morris Dancers, and Master McGraths. On the back road through the village is another canalside pub, the Heaton's Bridge Inn. It also boasts a rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
fishery
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
and an 18-hole championship golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
. According to the 2001 census, the population of Scarisbrick was 3,504.
Scarisbrick parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
, the largest in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, was, in early times, an area much avoided by travellers. With its vast tracts of poorly drained peat marshes and the huge lake of Martin Mere
WWT Martin Mere
WWT Martin Mere is a wetland nature reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Tarlscough, Burscough, Lancashire, England, on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, from Ormskirk and from Southport...
, it was difficult terrain to cross. Much of the flat land between Southport and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
is polder
Polder
A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
reclaimed from marshes and the lake. The original small scattered farmsteads of the parish now form the basis of today's hamlets
Hamlets
Hamlets is the name of an open source system for generating web-pages originally developed by René Pawlitzek at IBM...
of Barson Green, Bescar, Carr Cross, Drummerdale, Hurlston, Pinfold, and Snape.
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
, there remains one of the many defensive pillboxes
British hardened field defences of World War II
British hardened field defences of World War II were small fortified structures constructed as a part of British anti-invasion preparations. They were popularly known as pillboxes by reference to their shape.-Design and development:...
erected as a precaution against invasion during the Second World War. It was from Pinfold, where the canal is closest to Southport, that William Sutton picked up waterway passengers for transport to his "Original Hotel", known better as "Duke's Folly" - the foundation of Southport. The only Catholic church there, St Elizabeth's, was founded by the Montage of Casteja and was named after his wife. There are many other churches there as well. The oldest person to live here in local times was May Massam who died at the age of 103.
Family name
The English surname Scarisbrick, also found as Scarsbrick, Scarsbrook, Scaysbrook, Scarasbrick, and Scarrisbrick, is local in origin, belonging to that category of surnames derived from the name of the place where an original bearer dwelt or where he once held land. In this instance, therefore, the surname signifies simply "(descendant of) one who hails from Scarisbrick", this being the name of the township in the Lancashire parish of Ormskirk, in what was formerly known as the West Derby HundredWest Derby (hundred)
The hundred of West Derby was an ancient division of the historic county of Lancashire, in northern England. It was sometimes known as West Derbyshire, the name alluding to its judicial centre being the township of West Derby .It covered the southwest of Lancashire, containing the ancient...
.
The placename itself comes from the Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
, and literally denotes "(the Norseman called) Skar's hill-slope". Scarisbrick appears to have been a village of some size during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, being first mentioned c. 1200, with the first person known to have had a bye-name derived from it being Gilbert de Scaresbrec in the early thirteenth century. Succeeded by his son Walter, his family continued to hold Scarisbrick for centuries to come, and the historian Richard McKinley notes that "Most, and possibly all, the people named Scarisbrick found in Lancashire during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
were members of the land-owning family" (per The Surnames of Lancashire, English Surnames Series, IV).
References to the name after this date include one to Thomas Scarysbrig, Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
registered at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1508, and one to the marriage of Anthony Scarisbrick, mercer of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, to Jane Glascocke in 1615. Some branches of the Scarisbrick family remained recusant. The surname did not in fact become prolific until the late 16th century, when it multiplied in the parish of Ormskirk
Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...
, spreading from there, albeit in small numbers, to the neighbouring parishes, such as Halsall
Halsall
Halsall is a village and civil parish in West Lancashire, England, located close to Ormskirk on the A5147 and Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The parish has a population of 1,921 and covers an area of 28.31 square kilometres...
and West Derby
West Derby
West Derby is a suburb in the north of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2001 Census, the population of the ward was 14,801 .-History:...
. Finally, it is interesting to note that when it reached London, the name became Scarysbrig, and also that it was among the first surnames to reach the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, a list of passengers on the ship 'Paul', bound for St Christopher's out of London in April 1635, including one William Scarisbrick. It is believed that the Scarisbrick Coat of Arms was granted to Sir Henry de Scarisbrick, who fought at the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
, and died in 1420. He was knighted by Henry V
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
shortly after the battle, which would probably be when he received the coat of arms. However, there is no recorded incident of him using these arms.
The first recorded instance of the arms is in a deed by Sir Henry de Scarisbrick's son, another Henry de Scarisbrick, dated 1440. This deed has an armorial shield displaying three mullets between two bendlets engrailed; the helmet is surmounted by a dove; the legend is "sigillum henrici scaresbrec".
Church of St Peter and St Paul, Ormskirk
-External links:...
, discovered beneath the floor of the Scarisbrick chapel during a renovation of the church, and now hanging in the chapel. There is no inscription remaining so the name and date of the piece is unknown, but the style of the armour fixes the date to the end of the 15th century. The surcoat of the figure is embellished with the Scarisbrick Coat of Arms. There has been some debate concerning the identity of this Scarisbrick family member, with the current consensus being that it is of James Scarisbrick, who died in 1495, the son of Henry and grandson of Sir Henry de Scarisbrick, above.
Some branches of the Scarisbrick family became recusants
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
, remaining Roman Catholic, despite the Reformation. The Coat of Arms has continued to be used through to the 19th century, where the last of the male line of the Scarisbrick family was Charles Scarisbrick (1801–60), who was the High Sheriff of Lancashire
High Sheriff of Lancashire
The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales...
in 1834 and 1839.
- BlazonBlazonIn heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
of Arms: GulesGulesIn heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....
three mulletsMullet (heraldry)In heraldry, the term star may refer to any star-shaped charge with any number of rays, which may appear straight or wavy, and may or may not be pierced...
in bendBend (heraldry)In heraldry, a bend is a coloured band running from the upper right corner of the shield to the lower left . Writers differ in how much of the field they say it covers, ranging from one-fifth up to one-third...
between two bendlets engrailed argentArgentIn heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...
. - CrestCrest (heraldry)A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....
: A doveDovePigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
sable beaked and legged gules holding in the beak an olive branch proper. - Origin: England.
Wheelwrights House
Located on Southport Road, opposite the 'Blue Elephant' Indian Restaurant (formerly 'The Red Lion'). Built in 1801,One of many listed buildings in Scarisbrick, a former workshop and home of wheelwrightTom Glover.
See also
- Michael Hastings, Baron Hastings of ScarisbrickMichael Hastings, Baron Hastings of ScarisbrickMichael John Hastings, Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE is KPMG’s Global Head of Citizenship and Diversity. He was previously the BBC’s first Head of Corporate Social Responsibility having been the BBC’s Head of Public Affairs...
- Sir Thomas Scarisbrick, 1st BaronetSir Thomas Scarisbrick, 1st BaronetSir Thomas Talbot Leyland Scarisbrick, 1st Baronet was a British Liberal Party politician.He was Liberal Member of Parliament for South Dorset from 1906 to 1910.Mayor of Southport 1902-1903; JP Lancashire...
- Scarisbrick HallScarisbrick HallScarisbrick Hall is a country house situated just to the south-east of the village of Scarisbrick in Lancashire, England.-History:Scarisbrick Hall was the ancestral home of the Scarisbrick family and dates back to the time of King Stephen . The Scarisbrick family lived on the site from 1238 until...
- Bescar Lane railway stationBescar Lane railway stationBescar Lane railway station is on the Manchester to Southport Line, east of Southport in the village of Scarisbrick. Bescar Lane is an old cottage-style station, operated by the Northern Rail franchise...
External links
Scarisbrick villageWebsites dedicated to the Scarisbrick name