The England Tour of the 1600s: The Home of John Prescott, Shevington, Standish, Wigan

How Are the Prescotts Related to the Fairbanks Family

You may wonder why John Prescott’s history and locations are added to the Fairbanks history in The Tour of 1600s England. There are several reasons. John Prescott and his family became friends of the Jonathan Fairbank family. They both left Sowerby, West Yorkshire, England, in the early 1600s, probably not at the same time.

John Prescott married Mary Gawroger Platts in 1629, a relative of Grace and likely a relative of Jonathan. John and Mary (Gawkroger Platts) Prescott became the father and mother-in-law of Jonas Fairbanks, Jonathan and Grace’s third son.

John Prescott of Wigan

There are questions about the origin of John Prescott, the emigrant. There was a John Prescott born to Ralph Prescott of Shevington, Lancashire, England, who is believed to have died in England. The John Prescott we are discussing, left for New England between 1638 and 1640. The ancestors of John Prescott, the emigrant, have not been identified.

Here, we will explore Shevington, Standish, and Wigan which have documentation of many Prescotts. We will look at other families from around that area that emigrated and had important relationships with John Prescott, the emigrant, in New England.

John Prescott is believed to be born about 1604. He married Mary Gawkroger Platts and probably registered in both in Halifax and Wigan. It was traditional at that time to have the marriage registered in both the husband and the wife’s location. There would be one in Wigan or possibly in Standish and the other in Halifax in 11 April 1629. I have not checked these records but am relying on other resources at this time. When I start working on the Prescott book in detail, I’ll do my due diligence on this type of information and bring it to you.

John Prescott, a Blacksmith

It is believed that John Prescott was apprenticed as a blacksmith in Wigan by a relative, perhaps Richard Prescott. Regardless of who taught him, it is clear that John Prescott was a blacksmith. He bought the homestall and blacksmith shop of Daniel Pierce in Watertown about 1640. Pierce had left Watertown in 1638 to resettle in Newbury.

John Prescott, among other ambitious men involved in iron in Massachusetts Bay Colony, formed the Nashaway Company to purchase land from Sholan, the chief of the Nashuag of the Weshakim Pond areas (around Lancaster, Massachusetts). Prescott and others hoped to find iron there. Stones were sent back to England for assay that confirmed there could be metals to mine in the area. Early, it was found that a stable town needed to be built before undertaking mining and ore refining. In 1657, the Massachusetts Bay Colony granted both Lancaster and Concord the rights to set up a forge and finery.

John Prescott taught all three of his sons the skills of a blacksmith. They used their skills successfully along with milling for the betterment of the family, Lancaster, and Groton, MA. communities. Blacksmiths were perhaps the best known men in any village and the busiest. Every farmer, squire, traveler or wayfarer needed the skill of a blacksmith.

Others Who Came to Lancaster, Massachusetts from

Lancashire County, near Wigan, England

Athertons, Barrons, Brecks, Houghtons, Moores, Rigbys, Rowlandsons and Buttons came from Lancashire near Wigan. From Yorkshire, the Drapers, Fairbanks, Farrers, Deane and Rugg came to Lancaster, MA.

Three people who had strong connections to John Prescott were Jonathan Fairbanks, Joseph Rowlandson and Elias Barron. Jonathan Fairbanks and Prescott left England from Sowerby, West Yorkshire and Jonathan’s son married John Prescott’s daughter. Joseph Rowlandson, the son of Thomas from Lancashire, England, was enticed to Lancaster to be first, their spiritual teacher, and later, ordained as their minister. Joseph Rowlandson brought his father and mother to Lancaster. Many have heard of the minister’s wife, Mary Rowlandson who wrote, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. This was a description of the raid of Lancaster, MA, during the King Philip’s War and Mary’s Captivity and eventual release.

Elias Barron, Senior, originally from the Wigan area, likely knew John Prescott in Lancashire County, England. During King Philip’s War, when the settlers of Lancaster had to flee to the more secure coastal towns, some of John Prescott’s family stayed in Watertown with families there. Lydia, John and Mary Prescotts fifth daughter, lost her husband, Jonas Fairbanks, during a raid on Lancaster. Later, she married Elias Barron II of Watertown.

James Atherton, from near the Wigan area, was an early settler in Lancaster, Massachusetts. He became a magistrate. His brother, General Major Humphrey Atherton, may have been instrumental in getting support of the MBC government for the new town of Lancaster.

John Rugg, from the Sowerby, England area, married the Prescott’s second daughter, Martha. She died early. John Rugg then married their fourth daughter, Hannah.

Richard Prescott, perhaps the relative who taught John Prescott the trade of blacksmith, purchased a messuage and lands in the township of Shevington, England, from Robert Rigby, John, his son, and Ellen, wife of John who immigrated to New England and settled in lancaster. (Pal. of Lane., Feet of F. bdle. 57 m 109). (Also VCH Lane. VI 199-203).

John Houghton, another from the Lancashire area, bought the first house John Prescott built in Lancaster. It was initially for Prescott’s own family. Instead, John Prescott’s family continued to live in the trucking house, trading store, on George Hill.

The Drapers and Farrers first settled in Dedham, Massachusetts before they moved on to Lancaster. The Brecks and Deanes from the Lancashire and Yorkshire areas were very early settlers settled in Lancaster a bit later.

St. Wilfrid’s Church
Standish Parish, Lancashire, England

St. Wilfrid’s Church, Standish Parish, Lancashire, England

Niche for inkwell and quill pen

St. Wilfrid’s Church in Standish, England is a Grade I building, meaning it has been changed little over time. It was the parish church for eleven villages. Two of the villages were Standish and Shevington.

A church has stood on this land since 1190. The current church is the second replacement and is dated 1584. It would have been here during the time John Prescott was in Lancashire. If John and Mary Gawkroger Platts registered their marriage here in 1629, the ceremony would have taken place in the porch of church. A niche in the wall of the foyer was used for the inkwell and quill pen for signatures. This would also be the location for registration of christenings and land transactions.

The Standish family in that area was Catholic and covertly remained Catholic during time of Protestant rulers. However, the church would have reformed to the Monarchy’s choice of religion through the years.

Over the entrance to the church are words in Latin, “Let no passing cloud of bitterness thine accustomed serenity overshadow.” John Prescott seems to have lived by that adage.

There was a stone ledge around the inside of the church. Parishioners were required to stand during the services prior to pews being added in the 1800s. The older or weaker were to “Go to the Wall” for support of the ledge during the services.

Many Prescotts would have had occasion to attend this St. Wilfrid’s Church for christenings, marriages, and burial. There is a record of Ralph Prescott being buried at St. Wilfrid’s Church in 1569. We found one other recent (1963) Prescott headstone in the vast cemetery. We spent much of our time inside the church.

Market Cross and Stocks in front of St. Wilfrid’s Church, Standish, Lancashire, England

Outside the church is the Standish market cross. The base and steps date to the 14th century. Those committing lesser crimes would be placed in a stocks at the base and displayed for all market goers to see and heckle. The guilty were shamed and those going to market were entertained.

A village well was also adjacent to the cross and stocks. It now houses historical information about the town.

Another building of note in Standish is the Boar’s Head Inn. Some believed it to be one of the oldest pubs in the country. It was said to be built in the 13th century. However, according to the NGR, it was built in the 17th century and is a grade II listed building, meaning there have been changes. The Boar’s Head Inn’s NGR number is SD5767708626.

Miles Standish was the hired military officer for the Separatists (Pilgrims). Some believe he came from this village. However other area with the family name of Standish also exist in Lancashire.

If Miles was from this town of Standish, he predated John Prescott by twenty years. John Prescott was probably also adept in military exercises.

Shevington

From Standish and St. Wilfrid’s Church, it is two miles to Shevington. It’s almost a continual gentle slope downwards. Shevington was a farming community sloped down to the slow moving Douglas River.

The will of Ralph Prescott of Shevington indicates flax was produced in this area. Unlike Yorkshire, there are no rock walls to divide the farmland, only dense hedges.

The Prescott families of Shevington would have been tenants to the Lord of the Manor, the Standish family.

In review of the renters in Shevington in the Manor of Standish in 1582, we find the names James and Roger Prescott, Relic John Prescott (widow), Thurston Prescott and five Rigbys among other renters. In the Recusant Rolls of 1628, recusant meaning those who continued to follow the Catholic religion, there were Robert, Ellen, Alice (spinster), and several Rigbys among others.

The oldest building in Shevington is the Crook Hall built in 1608. It would have been grand in the time of John Prescott. It was owned by the prestigious Catterall family. The house lay on the north bank of the River Douglas. It was a two-story half-timber building of the early 17th century. There was a central hall and projecting gabled end wings.

The whole Wigan area of Lancashire is known for its collieries (coal mines). This village that supported the collerie lies close to the Crook Hall. Today, one must traverse a pasture and be rewarded with only the original base of the Crook Hall. We chose to stop into the more recently built Plough and Harrow Pub instead of walking further. .

The River Douglas divided Shevington from Wigan in the 1600s. Now a canal also occupies that space.

Wigan, Lancashire, England

Half Timber-frame house Wigan.

All Saints Church, oldest church in Wigan. The earliest church was built in 1086.

Old Town of Wigan, Lancashire, England.

In 1246, Wigan was a small village, but by the Middle Ages, it had grown to, 2,500 -3,000. It was the center of the weekly market.

A high grade coal was mined around the Wigan area. Wells near the coal mines were sometimes seen to burn. It was the escaping coal gas from underneath that could be set aflame..

By the 1600s, there were about 4,000 people and a grammar school in Wigan. This could be where John Prescott got his education. When he died in Lancaster, Massachusetts, he had many books in his inventory.

Wigan was a Royalist town during the 1640s Civil War. Probably the other nearby towns followed suit. If John Prescott was from this area, he may have been called upon during the Civil War on the side of King Charles I. Prescott left England between 1638 and 1640. He is known to have made and repaired weapons in Sowerby for those preparing for the Civil War. Information from Halifax Antiquarian Society, David Glover President.

Meat Pies of Lancashire

All over Lancashire, from Kendal to Wigan, we found meat pies to be the specialty. We tried several.

Pork Pies seemed to be the most popular. However, a ground beef pie or potato and beef pie were readily available. The pies we received were a single serving size. The crust was much denser than the fruit pies made in the USA. These little jewels of Lancashire were delicious. Whole bakeries were dedicated to making them.

Up Next

We will say farewell and “ta” (thank you) to England for now, as the Fairbanks and Prescott families did when they emigrated to New England by 1640.

We will arrive at a land inhabited by Indigenous People for many many years before the English, French, Dutch and Spanish arrived. The English relied on these people for help understanding the land and for survival. although I am not Indigenous, I have family members who have descended from Indigenous People. Both the Fairbanks and Prescott families lived within a short distance of the original people of this continent when they settled. Without these ancient people , history may have been a much different story.