A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 





assessed as four plough-lands, forming part of the 



demesne of the honour of Lancaster ' attached to 



West Derby, until it was sold by Charles I in 1625 



to Lord Mandeville and others. 1 



From this time it descended 



with Sefton until in 1798 it 



was sold, the purchaser being a 



trustee of the Blundells of Little 



Crosby. 1 The present lord of 



the manor is Mr. William Joseph 



Blundell. 4 



This family's connexion with 

 the place began in the twelfth 

 century, John, count of Mortain, 

 having granted it between 1 1 89 

 and 1 1 94 to his forester, Robert 

 de Ainsdale, at a yearly rent ol 

 loo/.* This grant was probably revoked after John's 

 rebellion in H94, 6 foron coming to the throne he 

 confirmed it. 7 It was, however, very soon resigned 

 or forfeited, for in 1212 it was found that Robert 

 de Ainsdale held only an eighth part of the manor, 

 that is four oxgangs of land, and that by the service 

 of being steward ; 8 the tenure was converted during 

 the reign of Henry III into fee farm, for IO/. yearly. 9 



ID ODD 



D D D 



DD 



D, 



, LITTLE 



CROSBY. Sable, ten bil- 

 lets, 4, 3, 2 and ., ar- 

 gent. 



This portion remained with Robert's descendants,'* 

 whose history is given in the account of the adjacent 

 manor of Little Crosby. 



Another eighth portion or the manor was in 1212 

 held by Simon de Crosby." He was followed about 

 1225 by Robert de Crosby; 11 Richard de Crosby '* 

 and others bearing the local name " occur later ; but 

 during the thirteenth century one Sturmi de Crosby 

 succeeded, and sold it to William son of Henry de 

 Walton. 14 This William was followed by his son 

 Simon" and grandson Henry, the latter being re- 

 turned as holding half a plough-land here in 1323-4." 

 Yet it would seem clear that before this date Simon 

 de Walton had sold his lands to Nicholas Blundell, 1 " 

 for they were settled as dower upon Agnes, 19 the 

 widow of Nicholas's son David ; and were after- 

 wards granted to his grandson Richard, who married 

 Emma daughter of Thomas de Molyneux of Sefton.** 

 They were in I 346 held by Emma's brother Thomas 

 de Molyneux, perhaps as trustee. 81 There were no 

 children by the marriage, and in 1352 William, as 

 son and heir of Nicholas Blundell, a brother of David, 

 claimed from Thomas son of Thomas de Molyneux 

 two oxgangs of land in Great Crosby which he alleged 

 should have descended to him." It does not appear 



92 



