Page:The History of the Church & Manor of Wigan part 2.djvu/85

264 said old chauncel, and the organs have stood over the same, where of old time the Rood loft was; therefore I thought good not to wrong the parish by charging them with flagging that chauncel, but caused Hindly, the mason, with some of those stones wherewith I build the new chauncel, to make that footpace or stair which is on the west side of that old chauncel, and I flagged it with stone at my own cost, and I purpose to make divers other such steps at the east side of that old chauncel which shall go from thence into the new chauncel." "On 27th July, we began the flagging of the south Ile of the body of the church, and we removed the font to a pillar on the south side of the middle Ile near the west end of the church, which till now hath stood in the midst of that Ile at the said west end, between the two lowest pillars a little nearer to the west door, ever since the building of the church." In November, 1619, the bishop had given permission to Peter Plat, of Wigan, chandler, to drain the water from a coalpit he had made near the Millgate into his street, for a short time, to see if that would enable him to get rid of the water and work the pit. And a few months later his widow, Anne Plat, begged leave to continue this privilege, so that the water might run down the side of the street to the river, and agreed with the bishop to pay a rent of 52s., that is, 12d, a week, and 50 loads of coals, and to pave the way all along so that the water from the pit should not hurt the said highway of Millgate. She now comes, on the 1st of September, 1620, with Roger Bullock, of Wigan, gent, and her son, Oliver Plat, to say that owing to the increase of water they were unable to get the coal, and asked the bishop to release her from her agreement, which he did accordingly. In October, 1620, bishop Bridgeman was appointed one of the commissioners for causes ecclesiastical in the province of York.