AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



In 1852 it was purchased from the trustees of Hugh 



Hornby by Thomas Miller, one of the great cotton 



manufacturers of Preston," 



who resided at Singleton and 



did much for the material 



improvement of the district. 



Dying on 24 June 1865, he 



was followed by his son, Mr. 



Thomas Horrocks Miller, the 



present lord of the manor, 



who resides at Singleton Park, 



having built the mansion there. 



He also owns the Avenham 



estate." 



LITTLE SINGLETON, as 

 half a plough-land, was, as 



above stated, granted in serjeanty.* 1 The holders 

 adopted the local surname, but their principal 

 manor was Broughton in Preston, with which Little 

 Singleton descended to the heirs and representatives 

 of the Balderston family.* 1 On the partition in 1565 

 it was assigned to the Earl of Derby." In 1602 it 

 was sold by Alice Countess of Derby and the heirs of 

 Ferdinando the fifth earl to William Hesketh of Little 

 Poulton," who was probably already the occupier. 



The manor-house, known as MAINS, thencefor- 

 ward became the chief residence of this branch of the 



LANCASTIH. England 

 differenced "witk a label 

 ofFranei. 



KIRKHAM 



Heskeths. George Heskcth, who has already occurred 

 in the account of Aughton at half-brother of Gabriel 

 son of Bartholomew Hesketh,** 

 had a considerable estate in 

 the town of Kirkham and the 

 neighbourhood, and in 1566 

 was described as of Rossall. 

 He died in 1571, and was 

 succeeded by his son William, 

 aged thirty." This William 

 died at Mains in 1622, but 

 as nothing is said in the in- 

 quisition as to his holding 

 land in Little Singleton, the 

 purchaser in 1602 may have 

 been his son William, aged 

 sixty at his father's death. 



William died in 1623 holding the manor of Little 

 Singleton, and was succeeded by his son Thomas." 

 Pedigrees were recorded in 1613 and 1664." 



The family were distinguished by their fidelity to 

 Roman Catholicism even in the days of Elizabeth." 

 In the Civil War it was a matter of course that they 

 took the king's side ; one of the sons was killed in a 

 skirmish at Hrindle in 165 1," and the family estates 

 were by the Parliament sequestered for recusancy as 

 early as 1643." A later William Hcsketh registered 



HUIITI of Main*. 



Argent on a bend table 

 three garbs or, canton 

 of the second. 



10 Bainet, Land. (ed. 1870), ii, 495. 

 Mr. CunlifFe Shawe presented to the 

 curacy in 1797, and Mr. Hornby wai 

 lord of the manor in 1809, rebuilding 

 the church. 



Mr. Miller greatly improved the estate 

 by draining the earn and in other ways. 



" Information of Meuri. J. W. Fair 

 ind Rea. 



" Lanes. Inj. and Extents, i, 52, 151. 

 See the account* of Broughton and 

 Balderston. 



n William ion of Alan de Singleton 

 had a mill and fishery at Singleton in 

 114; ; final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, gi. Thomas de Singleton 

 proved hii title in 1292; Plot, dt Quo 

 rfarr. (Rec. Com.), }88. 



Joan (de Singleton) widow of Thomat 

 Banaitre held the manor of Little 

 Singleton in 1303 ; Final Cone, i, 201. 



William Banaitre died in 1323 holding 

 of the Earl of Lancaster the hamlet of 

 Little Singleton by icrjeanty of the baili- 

 wick of Amounderneii and Blackburn- 

 shire ; Lanes. In'/, and Extents, ii, 159. 

 In 1346 Thomai ton of Adam Banastre 

 held a plough-land in Little Singleton 

 by the tame terjeanty, paying 1 a year ; 

 Survey, 50. 



Richard Balderiton held the manor of 

 Little Singleton by serjeanty in 14(7 ; 

 Lanes. lay. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 63. 



In or about 1460 a petition wai 

 addressed to the Bishop of Exeter at 

 Chancellor by John Pilkington and 

 Robert Harrington, at lordt of Singleton, 

 in right of their wivet ; Early Chan. Proc. 

 bdle. 28, no. 224. 



Thomas son of Gilbert de Singleton put 

 in a claim to the manor of Little Singleton 

 in I 344 against John and Nicholas soni 

 of Thomai Banaitre ; De Banco R. 338, 

 m. 337. The story shows that the claim 

 failed ; nevertheless the Singletons of 

 Broughton Tower and Chingle Hall appear 

 to have retained certain land in Little 

 Singleton; Final Cone, iii, 164 (ico8). 

 Thii ii not mentioned in the inquisition*, 

 but ii laid to hare been the eitate called 



the Lodge, once the residence of William 

 Cunliffe Shawe ; Raines, loc. cit. 



Robert Hesketh and John Talbot were 

 in 1466 appointed to arbitrate between 

 William Singleton and Joan widow of 

 Richard Balderiton ; Kuerdcn MSS. 

 iv, S 12. 



14 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 216, m. 10. 



Little Singleton occurs, as part of 

 the Balderiton estates, in the inquisi- 

 tions of Edmund Dudley, Thomai Rad- 

 cliffe of Winmarleigh and hii successor!, 

 Thomai Earl of Derby and Sir Alexander 

 Otbaldeiton. In that of the Earl of 

 Derby in 1521 the' moiety of the manor' 

 it itated to have been held of the king at 

 of hit duchy by serjeanty, viz. being 

 bailiff of the king of hit wapentakei of 

 Amoundernett and Blackburnthire ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 68. The 

 tenure of * the manor of Singleton alias 

 Little Singleton ' wai recorded in similar 

 terms after the death of Ferdinando, fifth 

 earl ; Add. MS. 32104, fol. 426. 



" Brockholei of Claughton D. A con- 

 firmatory fine thowi that the manort 

 of Little Singleton and Eliwick, with 

 lands there and in Mains, Great Eccleiton, 

 Newton-with-Scalet, lee., were purchaied 

 by a large number of persons ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 65, no. 69. The 

 deforcianti were Thomai Lord EUeimere, 

 Chancellor of England, Alice hit wife, 

 Grey Bridget Lord Chandot, Anne hit 

 wife, Sir Thomai Leigh and Thomai 

 Spencer. Alice (Spencer) wai the widow 

 of Ferdinando Earl of Derby, and Anne 

 wai one of hit daughters and co-heirs. 

 The twenty plaintiff! (or purchasers) 

 include Richard Burgh, William Hetketh, 

 nd Cuthbert Sharpies. On the other 

 hand it should be noticed that a manor 

 of Singleton -"-probably titular only 

 occurs among the Earl of Derby's estate! 

 in 1631 ; ibid. bdle. 118, no. I. 



William Heiketh held the manor of 

 Little Singleton in 1712, and Thomai 

 Brockholei, lately called Thomai Heiketh, 

 in 1737 ; 1'al. of Lane. Plea R. 493,01. J j 

 544, m. 12. 



I8 5 



" Bartholomew Hetketh wai described 

 i of RurTbrd'; Anct. D. (P.R.O.), 

 A i 3476. He seems to be the founder 

 of the chantry at RurTbrd. 



17 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiii, no. i 5. 

 He held nothing in Little Singleton. 



*> Lanes. Iny. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Chet.), iii, 365. 



n Brockholei of Claughton D. 



*> Yisit. (Chet, Soc.), 21 (1613), 136 

 (1664). They give the detcent as: 

 Bartholomew Heiketh -t. George -s. 

 William -t. William, d. 1628 -t. Thomai, 

 d. 1 65 3 -t. William, aged forty-six in 

 1664 -*. Thomai, aged five. A more 

 extended pedigree may be teen in Fith- 

 wick, op. cit. 197. 



11 For tome notei on the family tee 

 Gillow, BiU. Diet, of Engl. Calk, iii, 285, 

 290 ; Foley, Rec. S. J. vi, 493 ; vii, 



William Heiketh, who wai a brother- 

 in-law of Cardinal Allen, wai in 1577 a 

 recusant, ' in landi /2O and in goodt poor'; 

 G i bson, Lydiate Hall, 2 1 5 from S. P. Dom. 

 Eliz. cxviii, 451. In 1584 he had, at 

 a recusant, to provide a light horteman 

 for the queen's service ; ibid. 231, from 

 S. P. Dom. Eliz. cluxiv, 33. He was 

 fined the /'j6o a year in I {86 ; ibid. 238, 

 from S. P. Dom. Eliz. cxc, 43. Hit arreit 

 wai deiired in 1593 i ibid. 261. 



" Thii wai Thomai Heiketh, ton of the 

 Thomai who died in 1653 ; I 'int. of 1664 

 (Chet. Soc.), 136; War in Lanes. (Chet. 

 Soc.), 74. 



n Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Chrt.), iii, 218-21. Thomat 

 Heiketh, who died in Oct. 1653, had two- 

 thirds of hit ettatet sequestered for recu- 

 tancy in 1643. William at ton and heir 

 tucceeded to the remaining third, but had 

 not been convicted of recusancy, nor had 

 he been charged with an offence againit 

 the State, though hii father had aided ' the 

 King of Scoti' in 1651 and hit brother 

 had died in armi againit the Parliament. 

 The petition of 1654 wai on behalf of 

 William's Kven daughtert, of whom the 

 eldett wit twelve yean old. 



