A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



John Moore had a good position in the county, and 

 being at Lathom in 1554 did his best to convince 

 George Marsh of error by lending him Fr. A. de 

 Castro's book on heresies. 1 He died in October, 1575,' 

 and was succeeded by his son William Moore, then 

 thirty-seven years of age, who died in 1602.* 



John Moore, his son and heir, aged thirty- eight in 

 1604, left several daughters as co-heirs, 4 but Bank 

 Hall, with the manors of Kirkdale and Bootle, by 

 William Moore's settlement, went to the younger son 

 Edward. 5 This latter, almost the only Protestant 

 among the gentry of the district, distinguished himself 

 by his zeal against recusants, 6 who were inclined to 

 consider his sudden death in 1632 as a divine 

 judgement. 7 His son, Colonel John Moore, played a 

 prominent part in the Civil War and signed Charles I's 

 death warrant. His personal character does not seem 

 to have been of the consistently moral type associated 

 with the designation of Puritan. 8 He died of the 

 plague in Ireland in 1650. 



Edward Moore, his son and successor, was em- 

 barrassed by his father's debts. 9 His conduct after 

 the death of Cromwell seems to have been purely 

 selfish, and at the Restoration the influence of his 

 wife and her family, zealous Royalists, saved him from 

 the consequences of his father's actions. 10 In 1675 he 

 was made a baronet. 11 He had many quarrels with 

 the corporation of Liverpool, and in his Rental gave 

 free expression to his opinion of the people of the 

 town." He died in l678, 13 and was succeeded by 

 his only surviving son Cleave, fifteen years of age. 

 He is known chiefly for his scheme for supplying 

 Liverpool with water from the springs at Bootle." 

 His debts, however, finally overwhelmed him, and the 

 whole of the family estates in the Liverpool district 

 were sold, the manor of Kirkdale and all or most of 

 the lands there being purchased in 1724-5 by the earl 

 of Derby. 15 Like Bootle, it has since descended, with 

 Knowsley, to the present earl, who is lord of the manor. 

 The old hall was demolished about I76o. 16 



