AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



of Staining and Carlcton. He left two daughters " ; 

 but the manors went to a brother George, who died 

 in 1 598, and was followed by his son Thomas, aged 

 six." The religious history of the family is not 

 known. Thomas wa no doubt a Protestant, for he 

 was a justice of the peace," but his son Thomas was 

 a Roman Catholic " ; he raised a troop for Charles I 

 at the outbreak of the Civil War " and was killed at 

 the battle of Newbury in 1643." His children were 

 very young, as appears by the pedigree recorded in 

 1 664 " ; four of them succeeded John, Thomas, 

 George and Anne." The last-named died in 1719, 

 and Staining went to John MayfielJ, son of her sister 

 Mary. The history then becomes obscure." The 

 manor in 1 8 1 o was purchased by Edward Birley, by 

 whose daughter it passed to her husband, William 

 Henry Hornby of Blackburn." He was succeeded 

 by his son Sir William Henry Hornby, bart. 



Thornber states that the hall had its ' boggart,' the 

 wandering ghost of a Scotchman murdered near a 

 tree which has since recorded the deed by perfuming 

 the ground near it with the odour of thyme. 1 * 



TODDERST4FFE " was another estate of import- 

 ance in former times," but of Hardhorn and Newton, 

 which give a name to the township," practically nothing 



POULTON-LE- 

 FYLDE 



can be stated, though from the former was derived a 

 surname varying between Hardern and Hordern. 



The Abbot of Stanlaw obtained leave to have an 

 oratory at the manor of Staining," but this does not 

 seem to have led to a permanent chapel. 



A barn in Hardhorn was in 1689 licensed as a 

 meeting-place for Presbyterians." 



MARTON 



Meretun, Dom. Bk. ; Merton, 1176; Mereton, 

 Merton, 1212 ; Marlon, 1297. 



The hamlets of Great Marton and Little Marton 

 stand on slight elevations, to west and east respectively, 

 near the northern boundary of the township. 

 Marton Mere lies on the boundary itself. The 

 two-thirds of the area to the south of the hamlets 

 named is a level and comparatively dreary district, 

 largely sand-covered and moss land extending west to 

 the sea ; but in the extreme south-east corner is the 

 ancient homestead called Peel on ground about 40 ft. 

 above sea level. Revoe adjoins Blackpool. The town- 

 ship contains 4,707$ acres, 1 of which Great Marton 

 has 1,973 and Little Marton 2,734$. ' n '9' 

 the population was 1,603 for the reduced township. 1 



will, dated 1558, ii uid to have been 

 proved at Richmond in thil year ; Fish- 

 wick, op. cit. 183. 



A grant by the father to Jamei Master 

 of Layton and Richard Houghton of 

 Kirkham, compriiing a windmill at 

 Hardhorn and lands at Staining, was the 

 subject of dispute soon after Thomas 

 Singleton's death ; Ducatia Lane, ii, 296. 



u Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. XT, no. 47. 

 In addition to the manors the estate com- 

 prised sixty messuages, three windmills, 

 6cc., in Staining, Hardhorn, Newton, 

 Plumpton, Great and Little Carlct' n and 

 Poulton ; also a free fishery in Marton 

 Mere. In 1 583 he had settled the manors, 

 &c., on his wife Thomasine for life, with 

 remainder to his brother George, making 

 provision also for his daughters Alice and 

 Elizabeth, who at their father's death 

 were aged ten and five years respectively. 

 The tenure of Staining was recorded as 

 before, by the third pan of a knight's fee. 

 John Singleton's will (1589) is printed in 

 frilli (Chet Soc. new ser.), i, 106. 



In 1 592 Thomasine was wife of 

 Thomas Dutton, and in possession of 

 part of the estate ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of 

 F. bdle. 54, m. 142. 



14 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. rrii, 

 no. 26. George Singleton had married 

 Margaret Houghton, who survived him. 

 A family dispute led to the death of 

 Thomas Hoghton of Lea in 1 590 ; see 

 the account of Lea in Preston. 



The estates were in 1604 in the hands 

 of Henry Birkheved the younger and 

 Alice his wife ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdle. 65, no. 41. Alice was one of the 

 daughters of John Singleton ; Ormerod, 

 Chn. ii, 368. 



14 Fishwick, op. cit. 188 (pedigree). 

 He had a dispute about tithes in 1616; 

 F.xch. Drf. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), 1 8. 



10 Thomas Singleton in 1631 com- 

 pounded with the Crown for the two- 

 thirds of hii estates liable to be seques- 

 tered for his recusancy by an annual fine 

 of 10 ; Tram. Hut. Soc. (new ser.), xxiv, 

 176. 



' Lanci. War (Chet. Soc.), 19, 25. 



u Pedigree of 1664. The estate does 



not appear to have been sequestered by 

 the Parliament. 



" Dugdale, yiut. (Chet Soc.), 174 j 

 John the eldest son of Captain Thomas 

 was twenty-nine years old in 1664. He 

 married Jane Fleetwood and died in 1668, 

 after which his widow married Thomas 

 Cole (Fishwick), from whom Thomas 

 Singleton, brother and heir of John, 

 recovered the manors of Staining and 

 Singleton in 1681 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of 

 F. bdle. 1 87, m. 29. 



A settlement of the manors was made 

 by George Singleton, Christopher Ander- 

 ton, Alexander Butler, Dorothy (Single- 

 ton) his wife and Anne Singleton in 1686 

 (ibid. bdle. 216, m. 18) ; yet Thomas 

 Cole and Jane his wife were deforciants in 

 fine of 1689 ; ibid. bdle. 224, m. I 50. 



10 As a ' Papist ' she registered her 

 estate in Little Carlcton and 'Newton in 

 1717 ; the value was 75 51. lod. a 

 year ; Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath. 

 Nonjurort, 133. She also had a house 

 at Crank in Rainford. 



In 1722 Christopher Gradwell, trustee, 

 conveyed to new trustees the capital 

 messuage of Staining, late the inheritance 

 of George Singleton ; Piccope MSS. 

 (Chet Lib.), iii, 212, from R. 5 (2) of 

 Geo. I at Preston. 



fl The story is given in Fishwick, op. 

 cit. 187-8 : Mary Singleton, widow of 

 John Marneld, was buried at Poulton, 

 1694 ; her son John died without issue, 

 the estate going to a nephew, William 

 Blackburn of Great Eccleston, whose son 

 James, dead in 1784, left as heir a sister 

 Anne wife of John Fielding. Their son 

 Gabriel, who married an actress, left the 

 neighbourhood. 



John Mayfield, ' Papist,' was heir in 

 1722 ; Gastrell, Notitia Ctitr. ii, 458. 

 A deed of 1734 recites that Anne 

 Singleton, late of Singleton, spinster, had 

 by her will of 1719 directed lands in 

 Carleton, Staining and elsewhere to be 

 sold. John Mayfield and Mary his wife had 

 Staining Hall, with remainder to Mary, 

 and then to John eldest son of William 

 Blackburn of Singleton, &c. ; Piccope 

 MSS. iii, 248, from R. 5 (i) of Geo. II. 

 See ibid. 336, from R. 9 of Geo. II. 



239 



By fine in 1781 John Hankinson ob- 

 tained from John Fielding, Anne his wife, 

 James Law and Mary his wife various 

 messuages, lands, <tc., in Staining, Hard- 

 horn with Newton, Poulton and Carleton ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 405, m. 

 167. 



" Fishwick, loc. cit William Henry 

 Hornby, 1805-84, married Margaret 

 Susannah daughter and heir of Edward 

 Birley of ICirkham, and had issue ; Burke, 

 Landed Gentry. 



" Hist, of Blackpool (written 1837), 38. 

 He also mentions a tradition that John, 

 when Count of Mortain, sometimes 

 visited the place. 



" Taldrestath, 1332. 



15 Fishwick, op. cit 168. It became 

 part of the Singleton estate of Mr. T. H. 

 Miller. 



Todderstaffe was at one time tenanted 

 by the Aliens of Rnsiall, for in 1543 it 

 was given by George Singleton of Mithop 

 to Elizabeth widow of George Allen ; 

 Worthington of Blainscough abstract 

 Afterwards it reverted to the Singletons 

 and was part of the Staining estate given 

 to Dorothy wife of Alexander Butler { 

 she had a daughter and heir Elizabeth, who 

 'married Robert Worswick ; Gillow in 

 Mia. (Cath. Rec. Soc,), iv, 173. See 

 also N. and Q. (Ser. 10), v, 468, $17. In 

 Urswick Church there is a monument 

 to Dorothy daughter of Alexander and 

 Dorothy Butler of Todderstaffe, dated 

 1687 ; North Ijini. Mag. ii, 160. 



By the will of Richard Worswick of 

 Preston in 1746 land in Great Singleton 

 and the capital messuage of Todderstafle 

 were ordered for sale ; Piccope MSS. iii, 

 350, from R. 20 of Geo. II at Preston. 



K So called in 1332 ; Kxck. Lay Subt. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), $9. 



" H^kalley Couth, ii, 428-9. 



" Itht. MSS. Com. Rip. xiv, App. iv, 

 232. 



1 The Centia Rrf. of 1901 gives the 

 portion outside Blackpool as follows i 

 3, co} acres, including 10 of inland water. 



1 To these should be added 7,659 in 

 Blackpool and 31 in St Anne's, making 

 a total population for the old township of 



