A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Henry, earl of Lancaster, granted a charter at 

 Knowsley in 1343.' 



The manors held by Uctred in 1066 

 M4NOR take precedence in Domesday after the 

 royal manor of Derby ; and the first of 

 them were Roby and KNOWSLET. These were 

 together rated at I hide, Knowsley by itself being 

 4 plough-lands. 1 



Before 1212 the whole parish of Huyton had 

 become part of the barony of Widnes, as the Lanca- 

 shire part of the Halton fee is called. Its four manors 

 were by the lords of Halton considered as one only 

 Knowsley ; so that this must very soon have become 

 the principal residence of those lords or their under- 

 tenant. The superior lordship of Halton is recognized 

 in all the inquisitions ; Knowsley with its members, 

 Huyton, Roby, and Tarbock, being considered as one 

 knight's fee, and rated at I 2 plough-lands in all. 3 



Knowsley and its members were held by the 

 Lathom family from before the year 1200, but how 

 they acquired it is unknown. In 1199 Amabel, 

 widow of Robert son of Henry de Lathom, sued her 

 step-son Richard for her reasonable dower from her 

 late husband's estate, and the whole of Knowsley was 

 assigned to her, as well as Anglezark. 4 Her sons 

 appear to have taken Knowsley as a surname, and to 

 have divided Huyton among themselves. Tarbock 

 was held by another of the Lathom family, while 

 Roby remained manorially part of Knowsley, though 

 as a township it became merged in Huyton. 



In the survey of 1212 it was found that the 

 Knowsley knight's fee was held by Richard son of 

 Robert. 5 One alteration had been made since the 

 Conquest ; for Henry II had placed Croxteth Park 



within the forest, so that at the inquest made in 

 1228 it was returned it ought to be given back to 

 Knowsley. 6 This, however, was not done ; Croxteth 

 Park remained a royal park and extra-parochial. 

 The service for the manor is not stated quite 

 uniformly in the inquisitions apart from its being 

 that of one knight's fee/ 



Of the Lathoms' dealings with Knowsley there is 

 not much record. 8 Sir Thomas de Lathom about 

 1355 obtained a grant of free warren in Knowsley 

 and Roby with liberty to empark, and in 1359 was 

 allowed to enclose an adjacent place called Grims- 

 hurst. 9 It was probably at Knowsley that his son 

 Thomas's melancholy death took place in 1382. He 

 lay feeble and decrepit for three months before his 

 death, and during this time his wife Joan refused to 

 pay him any attention, living in open adultery in the 

 high chamber at Knowsley with Roger de Fazakerley. 

 There was no reconciliation, 

 and immediately after her hus- _ 

 band's death Joan sent his body 

 to Burscough to be buried, 

 there being present neither 

 priests nor gentry, as there 

 should have been. Immedi- 

 ately afterwards she married her 

 paramour. 10 



It was Joan's children by Sir 

 Thomas de Lathom who were 

 in the end the heirs of the 

 family estates. The eldest 

 daughter Isabel marrying Sir 

 John de Stanley brought Knows- 

 ley into the possession of the family which still holds it." 



