A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



policy, but an infeudation before the commencement of Roger's tenure of the 

 land between Ribble and Mersey remains a possibility. In the absence of 

 details in the survey it is only possible to hazard a guess that the i$ hide in 

 West Derby hundred comprised the manors of Knowsley, Roby, and Kirkby, 

 and the 2| hides and i carucate in Warrington hundred, the manors of 

 Widnes, Appleton, Cronton, Cuerdley, Sutton, Eccleston, and Rainhill. 

 After the date of Domesday, but whether by Roger of Poitou or by Henry I. 

 is uncertain, some eight additional manors between Ribble and Mersey, and 

 perhaps also the manor of Staining in Amounderness, were added to William 

 fitz Nigel's fief, which was thereafter known as the lordship of Widnes, and 

 is described in the Inquest of Service of 1212 as 'four knights' fees of 

 the barony of the constable of Chester within the Lyme,' l that is, of the 

 Cheshire honour of Halton. This lordship or barony occupied the curious 

 position of being territorially dependent upon the Cheshire honour of Halton 

 and feudally dependent upon the honour of Lancaster. 8 



Few acts of William fitz Nigel in connexion with his Lancashire manors 

 remain upon record. An obscure manuscript compiled by Christopher 

 Towneley contains a copy of a charter, executed before 1117, by which 

 William fitz Nigel founded a priory of Austin canons at Runcorn, 8 and 

 endowed it with the churches of Periton, co. Oxford, and of Castle Donning- 

 ton, co. Leicester, lands in the counties of Chester, Lincoln, and Leicester, 

 and in this county two oxgangs of land in Widnes, with common right of 

 the underwoods and feeding grounds belonging to Appleton and in Cuerdley, 

 with two-thirds of the demesne tithes in ' Sutton beyond Meree ' (in the 

 parish of Prescot), which Thurstan gave, and two-thirds of the demesne 

 tithes in Staining, in Amounderness, with the moiety of that vill, namely 

 three ploughlands. 4 His death probably occurred before H3O, 6 but he was 

 certainly living in 1125, when he attested Walter de Gant's confirmation of 

 his former gifts to Bardney. 8 He is described in another charter 7 of Walter 

 de Gant as 'nepos meus,' which suggests that he was cousin-german of Walter. 

 This is rendered the more probable from the cousin's sister being styled Agnes 

 de Gant. 8 The connexion may have been by descent from common grand- 

 parents. His son and successor, William fitz William, removed the priory 

 of Runcorn to Norton, and further endowed it with the vill of Norton in 

 exchange for Runcorn and Staining, 9 which latter vill was afterwards bestowed 

 upon the abbey of Stanlaw. He also confirmed his father's gifts to Norton 

 Priory by a charter executed between 1138 and ii5o, 10 and he or his suc- 

 cessor also gave the moiety of the demesne tithes of Widnes and two oxgangs 

 of land in Tarbock. All these gifts were confirmed by Henry II. in a charter 

 which passed at Wallingford about 10 April, 1155." William fitz William 

 died in Normandy, so says the chronicler of Norton, 13 presumably before 1 149, 

 when Eustace fitz John, his successor, attested a charter of Ranulf, earl of 



1 Testa de Nevill (Rec. Com), 403^. 



8 Dep. Keeper's 43^ Rep. App. 212-30 ; P.R.O. Lists and Indices, v. 1-9, 75-88. 



Towneley MS. Chetham Lib. C. 8, 8. * Ibid. 



1 An entry under co. Leicester, in the Pipe R. 0/31 Hen. 7. (Rec. Com.), p. 88, seems to show that he 

 was dead before 1 1 30. It records that William fitz William, the constable, rendered account of 40 marks 

 for a final agreement which the king had made for him against the earl of Chester. 



Mm. Angl. \. 6306. 1 Ibid. 629^. Ormerod, Hist, of Ches. (edit. Helsby), i. 69 ij. 



Ibid. 10 Ibid. 



11 MM. Angl. vi. 3 1 4*. w Ibid. 3 1 5 J. 



298 



