The threads of the Grail Family Lineage are as branches to a Vine. These branches have forked and forked again in its growth throughout time. Its roots stem from The Sacred Marriage and Lineage of Christ.
One such thread or branch of The Grail Family was said to run through the Stuart Royal Family of Scotland. The Jacobean cause was an attempt to protect and allow for the growth of this important branch of the Vine. The Merovingian symbol of the Bee was often engraved on Jacobean glassware (Laurence Gardner).
The off-shoots of the Sangreal could often be found in the Halls of Norman-French descent.
Here is the tale of one such family that has become local folklore:-
"In 1537 William Ramsden bought Extwistle Hall and later sold the hall to the Parker family, who were then said to be residing at Monk Hall. In 1666 Extwistle Hall was recorded as being the largest house in the township noting that "that of John Parker, Extwistle Hall, which had eleven hearths".
It continued to be the home of he Parker family until a tragic accident on the 17th March 1718 which caused the family to abandon the Hall. Captain Robert Parker went out shooting on a day that turned out to be wet and stormy. Consequently at the end of the day's sport he returned to the house thoroughly drenched. He removed his greatcoat and laid it in front of the fire to dry. Unfortunately, he had omitted to remove his powder flask that still contained a large quantity of gunpowder, and the result was that an explosion took place. Captain Parker, and two of his daughters, Mary Towneley, Betty Atkinson and a child, were seriously injured. There was considerable damage to the dining room where the accident happened, and two other rooms were damaged by fire. Unfortunately, Captain Parker succumbed to his injuries and died a month later.
After this tragedy the family moved to Cuerden Hall, near Preston and the old house at Extwistle abandoned, although one part of the hall was occupied as a farmhouse, until the early 1980’s
Legend tells us: That when Captain Parker was returning from a Jacobite meeting late one evening, he saw a goblin funeral procession pass through the gate at the top of Netherwood Fields. The ghostly cavalcade passed by in silence, a train of little men bearing a coffin, on top of which, he saw his own name inscribed.
In 1902 Mr. Tattersall Wilkinson (The sage of Roggerham) gave a lecture to the Burnley Literary and Scientific Club, saying: "In bygone days it was a generally accepted superstition that the devil could be raised by reciting the Lord's Prayer backwards, and woe betide the raisers who did not manage to give him a task he could not do.
It is said that some country people raised his satanic majesty at Lee Green, near Extwistle. In this instance the devil accomplished every task put before him. Terror and dismay filled the minds of the unlucky bumpkins, as the time was fast drawing nigh when he would claim his recompense. At this awful moment they bethought themselves to fetch a priest from Towneley, who arrived just in the nick of time when the devil vanished in a flash of lightning at the sight of his mortal enemy, who duly laid the foe of man with bell and book at the foot of Lee Green Scar, where he rests till this day."
Click above image for diaries
Elizabeth Parker was born on 16 December 1726. the only daughter of John Parker of Browsholme (near Clitheroe). Her mother died in 1745 and from then until 1753, she was mistress of Browsholme. The Diaries span a 17 year period from 1746-1781 and show Elizabeth to be an intelligent woman who read widely, was capable of keeping household accounts, and interested in current affairs.
She married firstly her second cousin Robert Parker of Alkincoats, who was a Jacobite. Far from being an arranged marriage, Elizabeth's father opposed the match and we read in Robert's letters of clandestine meetings at Browsholme, with the connivance of servants. Why was Robert Parker considered unsuitable? - perhaps because of his Jacobite sympathies. Elizabeth, however, was quite determined to marry the man of her choice. She was 27 before her father finally relented - a sign of her strong will in days when to remain a spinster was considered positively disastrous.
The marriage to Robert Parker appears to have been a happy one - 3 bovs were born within 3 vears and a daughter, Bettv, was born the following year but died within hours. Sadly Robert died a year later, aged 38, leaving Elizabeth a widow with three young sons aged 4, 3 and 2.
The Diaries begin six years later, in 1764. The following year a tantalising entry baldly states "Changed my name" and describes a hasty journey to Gretna Green. The runaway marriage to John Shackleton, a local wool trader, undoubtedly caused a scandal in Colne. Not only was John Shackleton of very inferior social standing, he was also young enough to be her son. Her brother, Edward, who had inherited Browsholme, cut her off completely and it was to be ten years before they were reconciled.
The marriage was an obvious mistake and both suffered the consequences. Perhaps it is not surprising. Elizabeth was a middle-aged woman living at a time when people aged quickly. She was frequently ill and often bad tempered. John Shackleton was still a young man. The Diaries record the deterioration in the marriage.
During the 60s Ralph Cross transcribed and edited the 39 volumes of Elizabeth's diaries and these were copied into two volumes by Allen Dalby, a founder member of th Colne Local History Society.
The diaries provide a vivid insight into life in Colne in the 18th century. She comments on everything - the progress of the Leeds & Liverpool canal, the food she ate and the local gentry including the Emmots, Cunliffes of Wycoller and Waltons of Marsden Hall. from: Wightman, P, Bonnie Colne, Hedon Publishing Co. Ltd
The Parkers also kept a "secret" prescription for the treatment of Hydrophobia in humans and animals. This prescription had belonged to William Hill of Ormskirk, at one time concerned in the affairs of Alkincoats Hall, who had bequethed it by will to the Parkers. People came from distances of forty or fifty miles to take the medicine. from: Bentley, John,(1975) Portrait of WycollerNelson Local History Society
"He who possesses the Philosopher's Stone possesses Truth, the greatest of all treasures, and is therefore rich beyond the calculation of man; he is immortal because Reason takes no account of death and he is healed of Ignorance the most loathsome of all diseases." (from The Secret Teachings of All Ages).
(Perchance they should give some unto Mr. Shakleton?)