A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Another local family was that of Orme, of numerous 

 branches ; in the reign of Elizabeth there were Ormes 

 at the Lee, in the Portway, and at Wheathill, in 

 Little Woolton. There was a succession of Thomas 

 Ormes at the Lee; 1 one died in March, 1622-3, 

 leaving as heir his granddaughter Jane, daughter of 

 his son Thomas, whose wardship was undertaken by 

 Sir William Norris of Speke. She married Edward 

 Fairhurst of Liverpool. 8 



The Little Woolton court rolls of the middle 

 of the sixteenth century have many interesting 

 features. 8 The officers appointed were the con- 

 stables, burleymen, hill bailiffs, 4 lay layers, affeerers, 

 bailiff of the vill, and ale fonders ; surveyors 

 of the highway also occur. The ' cross in the 

 Oak lane ' is mentioned ; there were two stone 

 bridges Astowe bridge and Benet bridge and it was 

 forbidden to rete hemp or flax at either of them, or to 

 wash clothes or yarn at the former. Breaches of 

 manorial customs were duly brought before the court 

 for punishment such as obstructing or diverting the 

 water-courses, fishing in other men's waters, and dis- 

 regarding the orders of the officers of the manor. 

 The morals of the people were also cared for. 5 In 

 1559 it was ordered that no tenant, free or copyhold, 

 should suffer any crow, commonly called ' ruckes or 

 Whytebyll croeys,' to eyre or breed within his tene- 

 ment. Hugh Whitfield of Gateacre had broken 

 the pinfold and taken a lamb seized in distraint ; 

 perhaps, as a result of this, it was ordered that ' an 

 able pinfold ' be made on the green. Transfers of 

 land made by sale or on the death of a tenant were, 

 of course, important parts of the business of the 

 court. Cases of assault and trespass, and also of debt, 

 came up for trial and sentence. Hospitallers' privi- 

 leges were guarded by an order that every tenant 

 should have a cross set upon his house as was accus- 



tomed. At the same court the 'reeves of our Lady's 

 stock at Huyton ' were summoned for a debt. 



In 1785 the land was owned by a large number of 

 persons, as shown by the land-tax returns ; the prin- 

 cipal were James Okill for Lee, who paid about a 

 fifth of the tax ; James Brettargh for the Holt, and 

 William Barrow. 



In connexion with the Established Church, St. 

 Stephen's was built in 1873 as a chapel of ease to 

 Childwall, and made a separate ecclesiastical parish in 

 1893. The bishop of Liverpool is patron. 



GARSTON 



Gerstan, usual to the end of xv cent. ; Gerston, 

 1201 ; Garston, common from 1500; Gahersteng, 

 1205, and final g occasionally, leading to confusion 

 with Garstang. 



The township, bounded on the south-west by the 

 River Mersey, has an area of 1,625 acres. 6 The 

 division between Garston and Toxteth is marked by 

 Otterspool, a name now given to the waters of the 

 Mersey, where a brook flowing through Toxteth falls 

 into that river. Another brook flows or did flow 

 diagonally through the township ; and a third used 

 to pass through the village and discharge by a narrow 

 gorge into the Mersey ; a small portion is still visible. 



The country is flat, covered with the pleasant subur- 

 ban colonies of Aigburth and Grassendale, with streets 

 of houses set in flowery gardens, many running at right 

 angles to the principal main roads, and leading down 

 to the river bank. Grazing fields are scattered 

 amongst the houses and streets, especially near the 

 river. Garston itself is a seaport town, with docks, 

 iron and copper works, and large gas works. On the 

 outlying land are cultivated fields where some crops 

 are grown. These include potatoes and corn. 



