Vicar Clegg, of Kirkham, seems to have grown very wrathful at what he doubtless regarded as the presumption of Cuthbert Harrison, in taking upon himself the right to baptize children and solemnize matrimony, and presented him before the ecclesiastical court on a charge of “marrying one James Benson, of Warles, and baptizing a child of his.” The inquiry resulted in both Harrison and Benson being excommunicated; but the former was not deterred by this ban from repairing to the church of Kirkham, much to the indignation of Mr. Clegg, who on one occasion was so much disturbed on seeing the irrepressible excommunicant in the chancel, whilst he engaged with the sermon, that he lost the thread of his discourse, and being unable to find the place amongst his notes, “was silent for some time.” Smarting under the additional annoyance the vicar ordered the churchwardens to eject Mr. Harrison from the building at once, but that gentleman refused to leave unless Mr. Clegg in person performed the duty of turning him out; incensed at his show of obstinacy, the vicar appealed to Christopher Parker, esq., of Bradkirk Hall, a justice of the peace, who was seated within six feet of Mr. Harrison, to remove him, but the magistrate refused to act in the matter, and Mr. Clegg was obliged to descend from the pulpit and undertake the unpleasant task himself. He walked up to the offender, and, taking him by the sleeve, desired him to go out from the church; Mr. Harrison went peaceably with the vicar, but had no sooner passed out through the chancel door than he exclaimed in a loud voice “It is time to go when the devil drives.”
Shortly after this episode Mr. Clegg sued Cuthbert Harrison for the sum of 120s., being a fine of 20s. per month extending over six months, for non-attendance at the parish church. The defendant pleaded that when he had attempted to attend the service at Kirkham he had been ejected from the church by the plaintiff himself, and the judge who summed up the evidence in favour of the defendant, remarked—“There is fiddle to be hanged and fiddle not to be hanged.” The verdict went against Mr. Clegg, who reaped only the payment of his own and defendant’s costs from this piece of persecution.
Cuthbert Harrison died in 1681, and “a great entreaty,” writes his son, “was made to Mr. Clegg to suffer his body to be buried in the church; he-was prevailed with, and Mr. Harrison was interred a little within the great door, which has since been the burial place of the family.” The first epitaph below is said, by his son, to have been fixed upon “Cuth. Harrison’s grave by Mr. Clegg”; the second one is a retaliation, reported to have been substituted by some local rhymester, after effacing the original one:—
1
“Here lies Cud,
Who never did good,
But always was in strife;
Oh! let the Knave
Lie in his grave,
And ne’er return to life.”