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One story says that a very young William Shakespeare formed part of the Hesketh Players and acted for the Hesketh family at the hall.

Rufford is a small village near Ormskirk, on the banks of the River Douglas at the place of a "rough ford" in the river. The ford existed until the River Douglas was made navigable in 1720, when a bridge was put in its place. The course of the River Douglas was further changed to make the Rufford Branch of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal which runs past the gardens of Rufford Old Hall.

See my Hesketh Family Research Page

Anderton

There are no people named Anderton either living in Rufford in 1881 or who cite Rufford as their place of origin.