A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Five years later the whole plough-land was confirmed 

 to Roger de Heaton by Theobald Walter, the rent 

 of 4-f. being apparently unaltered. 16 It was held by 

 Roger's heir in i zi 2, ir and in 1262 a later Roger 

 de Heaton was found to have held in chief of the 

 king 8 oxgangs of land in Wesham, 2 in demesne 

 and 6 in service, rendering 4*. yearly. 18 The estate 

 passed to the lord of Mowbreck, who in 1557 was 

 holding lands, windmill, &c., in Wesham of the king 

 and queen by the rent of 4/. 19 ; but the mesne lord- 

 ship, like that of Mowbreck itself, was vested in the 

 Botelers of Ireland, 20 perhaps in virtue of the grant 



wvw\ 



BOTELER. Or a chief 

 indented azure. 



STANLEY. Argent on 

 a bend azure three stags' 

 heath caboshed or. 



of Amounderness, and as an appurtenance of their 

 lordship of Weeton was acquired by the Stanleys. 21 



The Earl of Derby remains the chief landowner to 

 the present time. For a long time part of Wesham 

 was held by the Greenhalgh family, 22 but was sold 

 to the Masons in the time of Elizabeth. 23 One or 

 two other holders occur. 24 



MOWBRECK was from an early time in the 

 possession of the Botelers of Ireland. 25 Of them it 

 was held, like Wesham, by the Heaton family, the 

 immediate tenant in 1286 being Adam de Bradkirk, 

 who rendered \s. yearly, 26 which continued to be the 

 service due from the manor. The manor was settled 

 on William de Heaton and 

 Anilla his wife in 1328-30, 

 the free tenants being Nicholas 

 del Marsh, John de Bradkirk, 

 Thomas de Greenhalgh and 

 John son of Roger de 

 Wesham. 27 About I 50 years 

 later the manor was held by 

 one William Westby, 28 per- 

 haps by descent from Nicholas 

 del Marsh, and in 1479 he 

 settled it upon his son John 

 and Mabel daughter of 

 Richard Boteler. They had 

 issue two daughters Beatrice, 

 who married Lawrence Pres- 

 ton, and Alice but John by a second marriage had 



WESTBY of Mow- 

 breck. Argent on a 

 ckeveron azure three 

 cinquefoils pierced of the 

 field. 



16 Farrer, op. cit. 439. The homage 

 ind service of Alexander de Wesham was 

 included. 



^~' Lanci. Inq. and Extents, i, 48. Sabina 

 widow of Roger de Heaton had dower 

 from Wesham in 1203-4 ; Farrer, Lanes. 

 Fife R. 1 8 1. 



18 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 231. The 

 value was 161. a year. 



19 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. x, no. 17. 



20 In 1286 William de Hoton (Heaton) 

 was mesne tenant between Theobald le 

 Boteler and Adam de Bradkirk ; Lanes. 

 Inq. and Extents, i, 265. 



Two plough-lands in Wesham and 

 Mowbreck were included in the Earl of 

 Ormond's estate in 1346 ; Survey (Chet. 

 Soc.), 52-4. The two plough-lands may 

 have been composed thus : Wesham, one ; 

 Mowbreck, half ; Bradkirk, half. 



21 Sir John Stanley held the Boteler 

 estate in 1431 ; Feud. Aids, iii, 95. 



The Derby rental (at Lathom) for 1522 

 shows that 41. was paid to the king as the 

 free rent of the vill of Wesham. The 

 tenants at will paid 441. a year and eight 

 hens (each worth 1 1<^.). The 41. paid to 

 the Crown in 1557 by William Westby 

 was no doubt the same rent, he being 

 immediate tenant. 



22 In 1292 Thomai son of William de 

 Greenhalgh claimed the third part of 

 certain moor and turbary in Wesham 

 against John de Sotehill and Denise. his 

 wife, William le Boteler of Warrington 

 and others. Denise replied that she held 

 indower, of the inheritance of Christiana, 

 daughter of Roger de Heaton, and that 

 plaintiff had common of pasture and 

 turbary. The father of the plaintiff 

 married Alice daughter of Roger de Heaton 

 (called Hoghton) and Roger gave her in 

 marriage 3 oxgangs of land out of the 8 

 he held in the rill ; Assize R. 408, m. 45. 

 From another pleading it appears that 

 Denise was the widow of Roger. 



Thomas de Greenhalgh, John de 

 Marays and John son of Roger de Brad- 

 kirk brought a claim against William de 



Heaton and others in 1334, but did not 

 prosecute it ; Coram Rege R. 297, m. 122. 



James Greenhalgh died in 1 559 holding 

 messuages, &c., in Wesham of John 

 Westby in socage, by a rent of I 8t/. yearly; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xii, no. 23. 

 The rent was the proportion of the 41. 

 due for 3 oxgangs. George Greenhalgh 

 grandson of James succeeded. 



William Westby in 1547 complained 

 that James Greenhalgh and others had 

 made encroachments on the waste of 

 Wesham lordship; Ducatus Lane, i, 231. 



28 Richard Mason in 1564 purchased a 

 messuage, &c., in Wesham from George 

 Greenhalgh and Agnes his wife ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 28, m. 266. 

 Gregory Mason purchased a messuage 

 perhaps the same from Hugh Mason, 

 Anne his wife and Margaret Mason 

 widow in 1571 ; ibid. bdle. 33, m. 13. 

 Gregory died in 1581 holding his land, 

 &c., of John Westby by the rent of i8</. 

 Cuthbert his son and heir was thirteen 

 years old ; his widow was Ellen Pleasing- 

 ton 5 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, 

 no. 55. Cuthbert secured his inheritance, 

 or made a further purchase, by agreement 

 with James Greenhalgh in 1585 ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 47, m. 104. 



Peter Mason 'of Wesham' was a. 

 recusant in 1607; Cal. 5. P. Dom. 

 1603-10, p. 383. Ralph son of Peter 

 Mason 'of Lathom' in 1612 held, in 

 addition to his father's lands, a messuage 

 and 40 acres of land, &c., in Wesham of 

 Thomas Westby in socage by i 8d. rent ; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 237. His heirs were two 

 daughters. The estate may have passed 

 to the Fleetwood family. 



24 The local surname was used. John 

 son of Roger de Wesham was a free tenant 

 in 1330; Final Cone, ii, 78. In 1350 

 Roger son of John de Wesham granted to 

 Cecily daughter of Richard le Spencer of 

 Newton, whom he married, an oxgang 

 of land in the place for life ; Towneley 

 MS. C8s (Chet. Lib.), Edw. Ill, no. n. 



William Aspinwall purchased a mes- 

 suage, &c., in Roseacre and Wesham from 

 the Earl of Derby and Lord Strange in 

 1591 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 53, 

 m. 209. Edward Aspinwall died at Toxteth 

 Park in 1632 holding an estate in Rose- 

 acre and Wesham of the king as of his 

 duchy, by knight's service ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. xxviii, no. i. It seem 1 

 to have descended to Edward AspinwaJ 

 of Hale in 1698 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet ' 

 F. bdle. 240, m. 116. 



Thomas Hesketh of Rufford in 152^ 

 held land in Wesham, but the tenure was 

 not known ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 

 v, no. 1 6. 



' Mr. Robert Fleetwood of Wessum ' 

 was buried at Kirkham 19 March 1641-2; 

 Reg. A ' Mr. Fleetwood ' was buried 

 there 21 Oct. 1 66 <; and Mrs. Mary 

 Fleetwood 22 Aug. 1667 ; ibid. 



Richard Fleetwood of Rossall held 

 Wesham Hall and the demesne lands in 

 1696 ; Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.),iii, 252, 

 quoting R. 5 of Geo. II at Preston. 



25 In 1249 the land of Theobald 

 le Boteler in Mowbreck and Bradkirk 

 rendered 41. yearly ; Lanes. Inq. and 

 Extents, i, 172, 265. 



26 Ibid. 265. In 1276 Denise widow 

 of Roger de Heaton complained that 

 William de Heaton, Adam de Bradkirk 

 and John de Goosnargh had broken her 

 grange at Mowbreck ; De Banco R. i 5, 

 m. 58. 



A year later William de Heaton com- 

 plained of waste by Denise in Weham 

 and Mowbreck ; ibid. zi, m. 74. 



*7 Final Cone, ii, 78. This fine con- 

 firmed a charter dated at Mowbreck in 

 1326 ; Memo. R. (L.T.R.), 128, m. xv. 



In 1334 Thomas de Greenhalgh, John 

 del Marsh and John son of Roger de 

 Bradkirk were tenants ; Coram Rege R. 

 297, m. 122. 



28 One William Westby and Ellen his 

 wife had lands in Lancaster and Urswick 

 in 1413 ; Final Cone, iii, 71. Ellen 

 Westby, probably a widow, held Burn in 



