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Colne Wills: Water Meetings:
James Hargreaves of Watermeetings 1674
William Hartley 1800 Weaver
Ellen Thornley 1696
Nicholas Dugdale 1818 Carter
Extract from The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire:
15th July 1652 - John Bannister of Park Hill, gentleman, borrowed £200 from Henry Hargreaves, alias Hall, of Barrowford, Clothier. Hargreaves is described as a very rich and able man in estate who set out much money on hire, lending to Bannister at 8%, Bannister finding him a very hard, oppressing and vigorous man .
The Poll Tax records of 1660 shows only one Henry Hargreaves, he lives with James Hargreaves of Watermeetings. Henry is possibly the illegitimate son of a daughter of James Hargreaves and a Hall, as Christopher Hall, of Watermeetings, had an illegitimate son in 1637.
15th December 1656: Lawrence Hargreaves, Clothier, son of James Hargreaves, married Ann Robinson of Marsden.
5th August 1657: Baptism of John Hargreaves, son of Lawrence Hargreaves of Watermeetings.
Lawrence now moves to Marsden, probably as James Hargreaves leaves, in his will of 1673, one red pinter to John, son of Lawrence of Marsden Chapel. This James could have been the son of Lawrence Hargreaves who died in 1618.
Joseph Robinson of Little Marsden, Yeoman, possibly the father of Ann Robinson (wife of Lawrence), is one of the appraisers of the goods and chattels of James Hargreaves on his death. The will of 25th March 1673 shows that he devised (inter alia) Watermeetings, a field of 8 acres called Whitelee and 12 acres in Blacko on copyhold rent of 13/4 to James, his eldest son and heir. He left his tenements in Barrowford and Salterforth to his youngest son, William.
Other legacies were the sum of £21 to James Hilton and £20 to Elizabeth Hilton, the children of Margaret (Jamess daughter0 wife of Edward Hilton. His Worldly Goods went to his wife, Ann, five shillings to his grandaughter Alice, daughter of his daughter Elizabeth Dickinson, and five shillings to all his other grandchildren. His son, James Hargreaves, was the Executor.
Jamess belongings were valued by James Hartley of Wanless – John Hartley of Roughlee – John Blakey of Colne – Joseph Robinson of Little Marsden. The rooms in his property were: The Parlour, The Chambersova, The House, The Lower Parlour, The Workshop and The Stairs, The Workshop, The Lower Parlour, The Milkhouse, The Kitchen, The Little Buttery, The House, Barn and other Outbuildings.
The Court Rolls show that in 1527 and 1539 a Lawrence Hargreaves had the second highest rent of anyone in the whole of Lower and Higher Barrowford.
James, the eldest son of James Hargreaves inherited the Watermeetings estate but does not live there, instead he lives in Barrowford and rents the Farm out to George Hartley.
In 1687 Jamess son John died. Either James or John had built Hargreaves Great House (the White Bear) in Barrowford. In 1667 John mentioned his new house, and other properties, in his will. However, if the date of the Great House is, in fact, 1667 then it must have been built by his father, James, as John was not born until 1664. This is probably the reason that James was not living at Watermeetings in 1674. Johns elder brother James became the owner of The Great House and Heirs House, Colne, and went on to become the father of the later Hargreaves families of Abraham Hargreaves etc. James died in 1791 and his will of 1778 mentions his dwelling house as of Hargreaves Great House and his inventory shows his effects are still at Watermeetings Farm.
On his death John Hargreaves left his infant son James, born 1684, in the care of his father James. John also had a son John, born 1685, and a daughter Jennet, born 1686. This son John was later given as living at Laund, it is possible that this property came into Johns possession through marriage. The son James had two surviving daughters, Catherine, born 1709, who married her cousin John and later lived at Laund. The other daughter, Jennet, married James Lonsdale of Marsden and they inherited the lower part of Hargreaves Great House.
November 1713 - inventory of yeomen's houses: James Hargreaves of Barrowford, yeoman for the White Bear. John Hargreaves of barrowford for the White bear: James Hargreaves of the Watermeetings
The 1803 Survey of Barrowford shows that Abraham Hargreaves owned the White Bear (here called Charles Farm) and Brew House. He also owns Greenhill Farm, on the right, part-way up Pasture Lane, the farm track past this property was given as the occupation road to Higher Ridge and the Watermeetings.
In the later 19th century Watermeetings Farm, along with the Fleece Inn, Barrowford, was purchased by William Farrington Esquire of Leyland. The farm was occupied by Nicholas Dugdale. Later occupants were the Sharp family.
Fields attached to Watermeetings Farm were:
Meadow – Parrock – Coppice – Barley Croft – Wood South of the River – Holme of Bridge End – Bowling Green Holme – White Lees – White Lees Top – Rough Ing – Cock Hill – Wood Field – Lowest Dole Field – Middle Dole Field – Highest Dole Field – the latter four contain an occupation road :
Buildings were:
The Farmhouse – The Barn – One Cottage – One Loomshop (in occupation of Aaron Nelson) – One Cottage (in occupation of William Holme).
John A Clayton
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