Kirkmans in Lancashire
Introduction to the name "Kirkman"
The name "Kirkman", meaning keeper of the church or church caretaker, seems most likely to derive from a combination of the old Norse word "Kirkja", or the English word "Cerce", both meaning church, and the old English word "man", of which the meaning is obvious.
The earliest recorded reference to a Kirkman is in the Great Roll for the 28th year of Henry the 3rd. This Kirkman lived in Yorkshire in 1230.
Another early reference is to a "Roger Kirkeman" in the Calverley Charters in 1259.
There are two coats of arms for the name.
Although nowadays everyone associates the word "Kirk" with the Scottish church it seems likely that the name Kirkman started in the north of England. Evidence of Kirkmans in the area around Bolton and Bury goes back to 1515 when a George Kirkman was a witness in a court case.
Legal documents from 1620 relate to a yeoman farmer "John Kirkman", in Ainsworth (between Bolton and Bury), to whom three people were bound over to keep the peace.
In 1678 an act was passed to stop the burying of anyone wrapped in imported linen (and thus protect local industry). A Sarah Kirkman was caught by this act in 1683, as were many others. The act quickly fell into disrepute and was finally repealed in 1814.
The Kirkmans in this area contributed to the rebuilding of St Paul's cathedral, with John, William, James and Alice giving a total of 10 pence, which was considerable in 1706, especially when you consider that the whole of Ainsworth gave a total of 2 shillings and 6 pence.
Births, deaths and marriages are numerous in Bolton, Ainsworth (Cockey Moor) and Bury.
A quick assessment of the present day telephone directories, and the UK 1881 census records will show by far the majority of Kirkmans living in Lancashire, with only a few elsewhere in Britain.
A present day visit to Ainsworth would soon convince the reader of the Kirkman connections in this village. The graveyards of both the Church of England and the Presbyterian chapel bear witness to lots of Kirkmans long dead. The parish church registers go back to 1727 but there are other records back to 1579. The Presbyterian chapel started regular recording in 1769, but has odd records from before that. From these dates onwards the Kirkmans in the records are too numerous to mention.
To give the reader a taste of how the poor lived I have attached extracts from the Apprenticeship documents of William Kirkman in 1763. Read to the end; his salary was not generous.