Friday 14th March, 2008
Between 1230-1235, The Cockersand Abbey Chartulary confirms a gift of land named "the land of Occleshaw". It delineates it thus:
"Confirmation by John de Abram (to the canons of Cockersand) the land of Ockelshaw with the appurtenances which his ancestors had formerly given to the said abbey, within these bounds, beginning where Deep Leach (Depe Lache) runs down from Bageley-head (Balelegeheued), following the said leach into Glazebrook, going up Glazebrook into Ockelshaw-brook going up the said brook to the rushy-leach (Russilache) going up that leach into Bickershaw, and going up the leach into the Slavi-leach, (slauilache), following that leach to within the Bageley-wood Eves, (leEuese de Begelegewde) and so by the ditched ground to the afore said Deep-leach (depe lache)..."
But where was it?
A map from the "Genealogist's Atlas of Lancashire" marks Occleshaw in the south-east of the township of Abram. But this seems to be an unlikely position as the one location on the map which is instantly recognisable in a modern context is Bickershaw, which is in the north-east of Abram.
The other recognizable name is Glazebrook, but this is a stream which is several miles to the south- east. However, if the course of Glazebrook is traced upstream, it can be seen that it is called Pennington Brook as it flows through Pennington, and Heybrook as it flows through Abram. It is, therefore, highly likely that the stream was once named Glazebrook throughout its entire course. This means that the modern Heybrook is the stream referred to in the above delineation of the "land of Occleshaw".
Yates' map of Lancashire (1786) shows a stream flowing from Bickershaw into Hey Brook in the north-west of Abram. This was possibly "Occleshaw Brook". It no longer exists.
To locate other features it is necessary to look for field name evidence in historic documents. The Abram Tithe Map of 1844 shows "Occleshaw meadow" in the north-west of the township. It is almost due west of Bickershaw. This strongly indicates that Occleshaw was located in the northern part of Abram.
Boggy Land
It is even more difficult to find traces of the other features mentioned. Three of them, however, contain the word "lache" in the original Latin - "Depe Lache", "Russilache" and "Slauilache".
The "Oxford Dictionary" (current) defines "lache" in this way: "Lache variation letch, dialect lach, a stream going through boggy land; a muddy ditch or hole, a bog."
The "English Dialect Dictionary, vol 3" (1902) defines it thus: "1. a pond; a pool 2. A swamp, a quagmire"
It appears that much of Occleshaw was boggy land, and the north of Abram remains so today.
A little more work is needed to find the location of any of the "laches".
A field named "Slabby Sleack Meadow" is mentioned as part of the Bickershaw Esate in a document of 1758/59. This is entitled "A Survey and Value of Captain Duckenfield's Land". Could this be the "Slauilache" mentioned above? Certainly, if allowance is made for a sound shift over time in the pronunciation of "Slauilach", it seems feasible. Unfortunately, this document does not contain an accompanying map.
Further evidence is supplied by the "English Dialect Dictionary" which gives one of the meanings of "Slabby" as "sloppy, muddy", strengthening the "bog" meaning of "lache".
Perhaps "Slauilache" had been drained by this time and described as "meadow". But can its location be narrowed even further?
The Abram Tithe map (1844) lists the fields on the Bickershaw estate and shows their position on a large scale map. Unfortunately there is no mention of a "Slabby Sleack" meadow. However, many of the field names in the 1758/1759 document are mentioned in the Tithe Map survey, and it is obvious that several fields have been combined. By comparing the acreage of fields from the two surveys, it seems likely that "Slabby Sleack meadow" had become part of "Big Moss meadow" by 1844. Its position, therefore, can be fairly accurately determined.
(Comparing the two sets of acreages was not an easy task as the 18th century survey used the "Cheshire Acre" of 10,240 sq yds and the Tithe Map used the standard acre of 4,840 sq yds.)
Occleshaw Rediscovered
The position of Occleshaw meadow and three features of the delineation of the "The Land of Occleshaw" have now been determined.
By consulting a current Ordnance Survey Pathfinder map and following features such as ditches and field boundaries from the 1844 Tithe Map, with passing reference to the 1786 Yates Map, it is possible to draw a feasible map of "The Lost Land of Occleshaw".
Complicated