The Orrells c. 1420-1628
THE ORRELLS c. 1420-1628
The Torbocs did not give up their claim to Turton until 1500 and, of course, during this time the Orrells of Turton laid claim to the Torboc estates at Tarbuck. But the Torbocs were not the only critics that the Orrells had to face. When Henry VIII attacked the Roman Catholic Church and confiscated the wealth of the monasteries, the Orrells of Turton chose to remain Catholic. John, the head of the family at the time, was the grandson of the original William and Elizabeth's grandson.
The scene of life at the Tower in John Orrell's time was not one of great luxury. He owned horses, cattle and sheep. Sheep-breeding was a traditional source of income in Lancashire. There were stores of wool and flax at the Tower and, on a more peaceful note, the family were able to relax to the music of a virginal.
But John was not a quiet man. Instead of hiding from the new religious order, he demanded recognition that several items in the local chapel, including a bell and a chalice, were his heirlooms. This was the chapel, on the site of Chapeltown Church, that was to change the village of Turton's name to Chapeltown.
And John found himself at odds with his neighbours again but not about religion. According to court records of 1560, he, ". . . of his great might and power, with force of arms, entered upon Turton Moor and enclosed certain parcels of ground, to the utter disinheritance of Christopher Horrocks." This was provocation! Christopher Horrocks retaliated. He, ". . . and about twenty others, armed with long pikes, staves, bows, arrows, swords, spades and short daggers, did assemble at the enclosure and did cast down and destroy the same."
The enclosure movement, which was to change the face of the eighteenth century English countryside, had in Elizabethan Turton already begun.
CHANGE
At some time during the sixteenth century the timbered south-wing and hallway were added to the Tower. This work may have been carried out while John Orrell was Lord of the Manor. It was certainly continued after he had been laid to rest in Bolton Parish Church. The man responsible then was John's son and successor, William.
About 1596 the stone tower itself was altered. Its height was increased by a third. This was not to add an extra storey to the building but to raise the height of the floors that were already there. The difference in the stonework can be seen from outside, and on the top floor you can see traces of earlier windows on a level with your feet.
The only signs of the mediaeval interior to survive are parts of a stone spiral staircase and a garde-robe or toilet.
In two ways William succeeded in putting Turton on the map. The first of these he could perhaps have wished to do without. In 1590 a chart of Lancashire was prepared for Queen Elizabeth's adviser, Lord Burghley, marking the homes of prominent Roman Catholics. On this map, not far from a stream called "Turton Water", stands a building with the words, "Orel de Turton".
The Tower's second geographical reference was made a few years later when Turton was visited by the chronicler William Camden. This inveterate traveller had set out from Bury, in the hope of discovering the site of the Roman settlement of Coccium. Instead he found himself "among precipices and wastes" at Turton Chapel and at Turton Tower, "the residence of the illustrious family of Orell".
Sad to say, the Orrells had only a few years left at the Tower. William, in making his improvements, had overspent. Possibly also John, his son and heir, was weak with money. The truth is that the year after the death of this second John, his younger brother was obliged to sell the estate.
The Torbocs
The Orrells
Humphrey Chetham
George Chetham
George's Descendants
The Kay Family
1890 - Today
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