Ainscough - Catholic Tradition

Catholic Tradition

Many branches of the family maintained the Catholic tradition after the Reformation, for 300 years till religious tolerance eased in the 19th century, members of the family being charged with recusancy, as recorded in "Return of the Papists". Many became priests, most prominently Anthony Ainscough, Prior of Ampleforth Abbey. Business men H&R Ainscough Hugh and Richard Ainscough were the benefactors of the RC Church, Our Lady & All Saints, Parbold founded 1884 and also the local Catholic primary school.

The Catholicism or otherwise of the Lancashire Ainscoughs in general is also open to speculation. Prior to the Reformation, of course, all English people were Catholic by default. Evidence suggests that the Lincolnshire-based line Ayscough families turned away from Catholicism and towards Lutheran beliefs through the turbulent Reformation and Tudor religious periods. Many other Lancashire Ainscoughs were baptised in the Anglican churches of St. Katherine in Blackrod, and St. Peter in Bolton-le-Moors (now modern Bolton). Wesleyan Methodism also appealed to many working-class people in the mid-19th century, who saw the Anglican church as a bastion of the upper, ruling class, and there were Wesleyan chapels in many towns - such as Chorley - in Lancashire - where Ainscoughs were married.