A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Adam, then sixteen years of age. 14 Soon afterwards 

 it was sold to Sir Richard Hoghton, 16 and then 

 acquired by Thomas Stanley, 16 whose son Richard 

 died in 1640 holding of William Butler the capital 

 messuage called Eccleston Hall in the Fylde, a wind- 

 mill and lands, and leaving a son and heir Robert, 

 aged five years. 17 Thomas, the father, died in 1641, 

 and his grandson Robert following him about six 

 weeks later, the heir was another grandson, Thomas, 

 aged six. 13 



The Stanleys were Roman Catholics, 19 but the 

 youth of the heir probably saved his estates from 

 sequestration during the Commonwealth period. 20 

 Thomas Stanley recorded a pedigree in l664, 21 and 

 left a son and heir Richard. He married Anne 

 daughter and eventual co-heir of Thomas Culcheth 

 of Culcheth, by whom he had a son Thomas, a 



Jacobite attainted in 1716, when the Eccleston Hall 

 estates were forfeited. 22 The hall was advertised for 

 sale in 1796, the owner at that time being James 

 Greenhalgh of Heysham. 2 '' It was in 1891 owned 

 by the Misses Westby, but it does not appear that 

 any manor is claimed. 



Among the minor families of the place were 

 Heriz, 24 Peacock 26 and Whittingham 26 in earlier 

 times, and Blackburne, Gaunt, 27 Leckonby, Shire- 

 burne, 28 White and others 29 later. The Blackburnes 

 of Stockenbridge in Upper RawclifFe so were also land- 

 owners in Great Eccleston ; their estates descended 

 to the Leckonbys, another recusant family long resi- 

 dent in Eccleston and Elswick, who were ' ruined by 

 the dissipation or extravagance of Richard Leckonby,' 

 a prisoner for debt in Lancaster Castle from 1762 to 

 1783, when he died. 31 



with the earlier tenants. The father of 

 Thomas was named William and died in 

 or before 1563 ; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 

 J64. A John Eccleston of London, 

 grocer, obtained land in the township in 

 1538 ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 820. 



Thomas Eccleston's estate spread over 

 several neighbouring townships and in- 

 cluded Singleton Grange. He purchased 

 Ellison House in 1582 from Henry 

 Ellison, and acquired other land ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 44, m. 13 ; 45, 

 m. 44; 51, m. 60; Add. MS. 32106, 

 no. 958. 



14 A settlement of the moiety of the 

 manors of Great Eccleston and Elswick, 

 with various lands, &c., was made by 

 Adam Eccleston in 1596 ; Dods. MSS. 

 cxlii, fol. 56^. 



lj The sale took place in 1598 ; ibid. ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 60, m, 359. 

 In the following year Sir Richard Hoghton 

 made a further agreement respecting a 

 moiety of the manor with James Worth- 

 ington and Anne his wife ; ibid. bdle. 61, 

 no. 23, 328. It appears to have been 

 sold or mortgaged in 1602, Sir Richard 

 Molyneux and Sir Richard Hoghton being 

 deforciants ; ibid. bdle. 64, m. 17. The 

 real purchaser in 1602 was Sir Edward 

 Brabazon ; Raines D. in Chet. Lib. 



A number of references to the estate, 

 15931601, will be found in Ducatus 

 Lane, iii, 280, &c. 



From the contemporary pedigree it 

 appears that Anne Worthington was a 

 daughter of Adam Eccleston and co-heir 

 to her nephew Adam Eccleston ; Dug- 

 dale, Visit, of 1613 (Chet. Soc.), 126. 

 From this the relationship of the two 

 Adams is left obscure, but the elder was 

 probably great-grandfather of the younger. 



16 Thomas Stanley was an illegitimate 

 son of Henry fourth Earl of Derby 

 (d. 1593). The purchase is recorded in 

 Richard Stanley's inquisition. Thomas 

 Stanley was * of Eccleston' in 1622; 

 Preston Guild R. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), 79. He in 1631 compounded for 

 refusing knighthood by a payment of 

 13 6j. 8J. ; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 222. 



17 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxviii, 

 no. 73 ; the marriage settlement (1629) 

 for Richard Stanley and Mary Tyldesley 

 is recited. Thomas, the father, was still 

 living at Eccleston in 1639. The lands 

 were held of William Butler of Rawcliffe 

 in socage. 



16 Ibid, xxix, no. 14. The lands in 

 Ecclcston were held of Henry Butler in 

 socage. 



19 Fishwick, St. Michael's (Chet. Soc.), 

 187, where there is a pedigree. 



** Mrs. Stanley, probably the widow of 

 Richard, showed hirsclf friendly to the 

 Cavaliers ; War in Lanes. (Chet. Soc.), 61, 



74- 



" Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 286 ; 

 Richard the son of Thomas was three 

 years of age. 



M Fishwick, loc. cit. ; Lanes, and Ches. 

 Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 175. 



In 1724 an annual charge of ^30 on 

 the lands in favour of Henry Stanley was 

 operative, but the lands had passed to 

 William Greenhalgh. The pedigree is 

 thus given : Thomas Stanley -s. Richard, 

 who married Anne Culcheth -s. Thomas 

 and Henry ; Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), 

 iii, 228, from R. 10 of Geo. I <t Preston. 

 Henry was a priest, S.J. 



13 Preston Guard. Loc. Sketches, no. 

 1273. 



** In 1249 50 Mabel widow of Geoffrey 

 Heriz claimed dower in 3 oxgangs of land 

 in Eccleston, a fishery being appurtenant, 

 against Richard Heriz ; Curia Regis 

 R. 137, m. i6d., I7d. Again in 1314 

 dower was claimed by Margery widow of 

 Richard de Heriz in seven messuages, 

 5 oxgangs of land, &c., in Great Eccleston 

 against Henry de Croft the elder ; De 

 Banco R. 204, m. 3. 



* 5 In 1315 Anabil widow of Alan son 

 of William dc Eccleston obtained dower 

 in half an oxgang of land, &c., in Great 

 Eccleston against John Pacok ; De Banco 

 R. 211, m. 48. John Pacok and John 

 Pacok the younger occur in 1332 ; Exch. 

 Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 62. In 1369 Robert Pacok and Agnes 

 his wife obtained an oxgang of land, &c., 

 from John Pacok ; Final Cone, ii, 175. 



K Geoffrey de Whittingham in 1297 

 had a rent of 41. from Eccleston ; Lanes. 

 Inj. and Extents, i, 283. Adam de Whit- 

 tingham in 1401 granted to Robert de 

 Urswick the younger two messuages and 

 5 acres of land in Mickle Eccleston, which 

 Thomas de Whittingham, grantor's uncle, 

 formerly had of the gift of Clemency 

 sometime wife of Sir Gilbert de Kighley ; 

 Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 92*. 



* John Gaunt and Nicholas White were 

 freeholders in 1600; Misc. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 232-3. 



Four messuages, &c., were in 1563 

 held by John Lawson, Joan his wife, Joan 

 Lawson, widow, Roger Gaunt and William 

 Thornton ; the remainders were to Roger 

 Gaunt, Isabel his wife, William Thornton, 

 Joan his wife, to the right heirs of Joan 

 wife of John Lawson and Joan Lawson, 



2 7 8 



widow ; Pal, of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 25, 

 m. 41. A moiety of four messuages, &c., 

 was in 1594 held by John Gaunt; ibid, 

 bdle. 56, m. 45. William Thornton had 

 a son John ; ibid. bdle. 57, m. 163. See 

 Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), ii, 214. 



** Robert Shireburne of Stonyhurst in 

 1492 held land, &c., in Great Ecclestcn 

 of Sir Henry Kighley in socage ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 93. 



19 Henry Beesley of Goosnargh and 

 Jane his wife had land in Great Eccleston 

 in 1578 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 



40, m. 8 1. Jane Beesley died in I 585, but 

 the tenure of her land was not recorded 5 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xvi, no. 24. 

 Francis Beesley in 1609 held of the heir 

 of Henry Kighley ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 1389. 



William Pleasington of Dimples held 

 of the king in socage in 1621 ; ibid, ii, 

 240. This family had held lands as early 

 as 1489 ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 68, 

 m. 6d. 



The tenure was not recorded in regard 

 to the tenement of Richard Burgh of 

 Larbreck, 1639 ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. xxx, no. 100. 



Thomas Taylor of Freckleton held land 

 in Eccleston in 1640 of the king as of 

 his duchy in socage ; ibid, xxx, no. I ;. 



30 In 1579 Joan wife of William 

 Thornton (named in a former note) was 

 called daughter and co-heir of Richard 

 Blackburne ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 



41, m. 179. 



A later Richard Blackburne held a 

 cottage and land in Eccleston of Henry 

 Butler in socage ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. xxix, no. 8 1. 



John Blackburne, who had sons Richard 

 and Edward, had his estate sequesteied for 

 recusancy under the Commonwealth. After 

 his death (about 1649), his son Richard 

 being also a recusant, the younger son 

 Edward, apprentice at York, applied to 

 have a messuage and land which had been 

 assigned to him by his father ; Royalist 

 Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 186-9. 



sl Fishwick, op. cit. 188-9, where a full 

 pedigree is given, showing the descent 

 thus: John Leckonby, d. 1650 s. Richard, 

 d. 1675 -s. John -neph. William (son of 

 Richard), d. 1729 -s. Richard, d. 1783 

 -gd.-dr. Mary (da. of William), who 

 married Thomas Henry Hele Phipps ol 

 Leighton House, Wilts. 



John Leckonby of Eccleston and Richard 

 his son were burgesses of Preston in 1642, 

 and other members of the family in 1662 ; 

 Preston Guild R. 115, 148. 



