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Edward instigated the draining of Marton Mere as in this account:-
The following agreement, entered into in 1731, furnishes evidence as to the state of the Mere at that time.
Whereas there is a great lake or standing poole or water, called Marton Mear, adjoyning to Staineing, Weeton, Marton, and Layton, in the county of Lancaster, which for want of the water courses being duely sunk and cleansed, on a sudden access of rain is very subject to overflow a great quantity of the lands and grounds adjoyning, not only to the said Mear but also to the watercourse which ought to draine and carry away the water therefrom, which goes or runs from the north end of the said Mear eastwards, and so in its circuit and several turnings, thro Weeton- cum-Preese, Hardhorn-cum-Newton, and Singleton to Skippoole, and thence to the river Wyer, and if duely sunk, widned, and cleansed, would carry of a great weight of water from the said Meer and thereby keep the lands adjoyning to it and to the said water course dry and free from overflowing, which Edward Jolly of Methop, in the said county, yeoman, is willing and doth hereby undertake to doe and performe. Now we, whose names are subscribed, being owners of land lying contiguous and adjoyning to the said Meer, and being willing and desirous to promote the said worke, doe hereby covenant, agree, and promise, for our selves, our Executors, Administrators, and Assigns severally, and not one for another, nor for the Executors or Administrators of one another, to and with the said Edward Jolly, his Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, that we will severally on his the said Edward Jolly's cleansing, widening, and sinking the said watercourse, or causeing the same to be done soe as to carry of a yard in height or depth of the said Meer, contribute and pay unto the said Edward Jolly, his Executors, Administrators, or Assigns, the severall and respective sums of money to each of our names adjoyned, when, and as soon as the said work shall be performed, and the said Edward Jolly, for himselfe, his Heirs, Executors, and Administrators, doth hereby covenant and agree, to and with the said subscribers or parties hereto their Heirs, Executors, and Administrators, that he the said Edward Jolly, his Executors, Administrators, or Assigns, shall and will cleanse, widen, and sink, the said water-course, soe as to carry of such weight or depth of water therefrom, as afore mentioned within the space of three months, now next ensuing else the agreement and everything therein contained to be null and void. As witness the hands and seals of the said parties the twenty-first day of May, 1731.
WM. HORNBY.
ROBT. WHITESIDE, SEN.
GEORGE COWBERN.
JOHN WALSH.
RICHARD SANDERSON.
THOMAS BAMBER.
Sealed, signed, and delivered, it being first agreed that each of the several owners of land above-mentioned, shall and will contribute and pay to the said Edward Jolly, rateably and proportionably, according to the breadth of each ones Estate, in the presence of or by William Hornby, Robt. Whiteside eldest, George Cowbern, John Walsh, Richard Sander- son, Thomas Bamber.
WM. HIGGINSON.
WILLIAM JOLLY. Sealed, signed, and delivered by John Hull, of Marton-in-the-Fylde.
[Witnesses] JOHN HULL.
MARGERY HOULDIN. HENRY WHITESIDE.
Edward Jolly died in 1737. The work appears to have gone on slowly, as ten years later another agreement was made, the wording of which was as follows:
By an order from a Court of Sewers to us directed, whose names are hereunto subscribed, we are ordered to widen the ditch running from Martin Mear to Mythop or Presse Carr, to two yards and a half at the bottom of the said ditch. Now, in order to get this done, we agree that William Jolly shall get workmen and see it done equal on all sides at the least expence he can, and we do hereby promise to repay him the charge of widening according to each of our proportions, considering the length of the ditch lying to the land we each of us have, and to allow him each day he is employed in overseeing the workmen as much as one of the workmen's wages. As witness our hands, the 2ist July, 1741.
JAMES JOLLY.
SETH JOLLEY.
HENREY JOLLEY.
RICHD. DICKSON.
WILLIAM FAYLE.
EDMUND ROE.
Baptism: 7 Aug 1664 St Michael, St Michael's On Wyre, Lancashire, England Edward Jolly - Son of John Jolly Abode: Inskip Source: LDS Film 1470824
Marriage: 15 Feb 1689 St Michael, St Michael's On Wyre, Lancashire, England Edward Jolly - Inskippe Elizabeth Hall - Inskippe Married by Lycence Source: LDS Film 1470824
Burial: 3 Jan 1737/8 St Michael, Kirkham, Lancashire, England Edward Jolley - Abode: Weeton Source: LDS Film 1502433
From Wikipedia: One of the most notable local families were the Jollys of Mythop who dominated village life for more than three hundred years. Members of the family were largely responsible for the draining of Marton Mere in the eighteenth century. Their most renowned son was Edward Jolly (1664–1738) declared Master of Mythop in 1715 for his exploits in the Battle of Preston (known colloquially as the Preston Fight). The family was also related to Major James Jolly, Oliver Cromwell's Provost-Marshal General for Lancashire, and Thomas Jolly, founder of Congregationalism.
Thank you to Barry Cartmell for creating Jolly-375 on 8 Aug 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Barry and others.
Book: Maryages in the... (Marriage)
Collection: Lancashire: St. Michael-On Wyre & Woodplumton - St Michael's On Wyre Parish Register, 1659-1707 and Woodplumpton Parish Register, 1604-1659
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Edward Jolly (1664-1738) was a leading figure in the life of Fylde during the early eighteenth century. He and his four sons came to dominate the life of Weeton-with-Preese. As landowners and farmers, they played a major role in draining Marton Mere during the 1730s, a process that would contribute significantly to the development of Amounderness as the "granary of Lancashire" (Clarke 1916, 1917).
Edward Jolly also performed a more famous act. In November 1715, the Jacobite army of Old Pretender Prince James Francis Edward Stuart seized Preston where it was besieged and surrendered to the forces of King George I under Generals Wills and Carpenter. Thornber (1837) recounts this tale of "the Fifteen": On taking possession of the town, as the [King's] troops marched along the streets, they were fired upon, from behind a chimney, by an individual of the name of Mayfield... and many were wounded or killed. The young men of our district, inspired with zeal in the cause of the reigning prince, with guns and various rustic arms, had assembled on Spitab's Moss for the purpose of rendering their aid. The boldest of them joined the soldiers as they entered the town, amongst whom was a yeoman, of the name of Jolly, from Mythorp, near Blackpool, armed with a long duck gun, celebrated for its destruction of game on Marton Mere, and at the Fleet [the adjacent meadows liable to be flooded with water]. Thornber continues (p. 74): The keen eye of the sportsman detected the ambush of the assassin, and, perhaps unwilling himself to shed human blood, delivered his gun into the hands of a soldier, whose musket had not been able to reach the desired object. A steady aim, from the yeoman's shoulder, rolled the coward into the street, who was struck with the ball on his re-appearance to repeat his fire. 'The bird is fallen', shouted the delighted countryman, which was re-echoed by the soldiery. The family of the Jollys, for many a year, treasured up this gun, which is still in existence, and the tale of its exploit is known almost to every child in the county.
For this exploit, Edward Jolly became known as The Master of Mythop - an honorific used by his heirs to this day. The episode was later celebrated in a Lancashire anti-Jacobite ballad known as Lo! The Bird is Fallen.
For further information, see:
Clarke, A Windmill Land (Dent: London 1916) More Windmill Land (Dent: London 1917) Thornber, W The History of Blackpool and its Neighbourhood (1837; Blackpool and Fylde Historical Society reprint 1985) The Jollys of Mythop