A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



in Halewood in place of certain tenements in Waver- 

 tree and Liverpool. 1 Sir John died 29 July, 1525, 

 seised of the manors of Hutt and Hale, held of the 

 earl of Derby in socage by a rent of two roses, the 

 value being 4.0.' 



His son and heir was Thomas Ireland, then aged 

 2 2 years, whose mother is said to have been an illegiti- 

 mate daughter of James Stanley, bishop of Ely. 

 Thomas Ireland married (in 1508-9) Margaret, 

 daughter of Sir Richard Bold,* by whom he had 

 two sons John, who left an only daughter 

 Margaret and George, who succeeded him. He 

 died 27 August, 1 54.5, leaving his possessions by 

 will to his son George and his heirs, with remainder 

 to the above-named Margaret. 4 



George Ireland married for his first wife Elizabeth, 

 one of the two daughters and heirs of Ralph Birken- 

 head, of Crowton near Northwich, whereby he came 

 into possession of considerable lands in Cheshire. He 

 died 15 July, 1596.* 



His eldest son, John, then aged 38, who succeeded, 

 is said to have been lieutenant of the Isle of Man in 

 1 6 1 1 . He died 1 7 October, 1614, being buried at 

 Hale on 1 5 November following. 6 



Gilbert Ireland, his younger brother, 7 succeeded 

 him, being then about fifty-five years of age. He 

 was made a knight at Lathom in 1617, during King 

 James's stay there. 8 He served as sheriff of Lan- 

 cashire in 1622,' and died at the Hutt in April, 

 1626.' John, the son and heir, said to have been 

 aged 29 at his father's death, sold his share of the 

 Crowton estates, and dying at the Hutt 5 May, 

 1633," was buried at Hale." 



Gilbert, the eldest son of John Ireland, succeeded, 

 He was born 8 April, 1624, and married Margaret, 

 only child and heir of Thomas Ireland, of Bewsey, 



but there were no children. He took the side 

 of the Parliament in the Civil War, with the rank of 

 colonel, and was nominated upon the committee of 

 the county in 1645 ; he was high sheriff of Lancashire 

 in 1 648," governor of Liverpool Castle, governor of 

 Chester, member for Lancashire in 1654 and 1656, 

 and for Liverpool from 1658 till his death." Like 

 many of his Presbyterian brethren he aided the resto- 

 ration of Charles II in 1660, when he received 

 knighthood, and was appointed a deputy lieutenant of 

 Lancashire in 1665.'* He was a 'man of unbounded 

 hospitality ; .... his disposition, however, was 

 haughty, and his demeanour stately. He was fond 

 of elections, and maintained a contest for Liverpool 

 on several occasions, the last of which, from exces- 

 sive drinking and an extravagant expenditure of 

 money, proved as fatal to his 

 health as injurious to his purse.' " 

 He assigned his estates to trustees 

 for thirty years to pay his debts, 

 and, it is said, to prevent his 

 sister Elizabeth enjoying them. 

 He died at Bewsey 30 April, 

 1675, and was buried at Hale; 

 his widow following him two 

 months later." 



Hale then passed to his 



nephew Gilbert Aspinwall, who 

 died in 1717, and whose son 



ASPINWALL OF HALI. 

 Per pale gules and azure, 

 afess dancettee ermine. 



Edward ls died two years later. 



Ireland Aspinwall, son of Edward," died unmarried 



in 1733, and the Hale estate devolved on his sister 



Mary. 



She married Isaac Greene of Childwall, and had 

 three daughters. The eldest died unmarried ; the 

 youngest married Bamber Gascoyne ; !0 while the 



