WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



HALSALL 



a nun at Dunkirk. He died at York, 30 June, 1673. 

 His mother survived him, being buried at Halsall in 

 1695.' 



The manor of Lydiate now went to Charles 

 Anderton, 3 who had married Lawrence Ireland's elder 

 daughter. He had first to meet claims to the estates 

 by William Ireland, brother of his wife's grandfather 

 Edward, and by William's son Francis ; these claims 

 were based on a feoffment made by Lawrence Ireland 

 (d. 1609), the father of Ed- 

 ward and William, but never 

 executed. It is not certain 

 whether Charles Anderton ever 

 resided at Lydiate ; on suc- 

 ceeding his father in 1678 he 

 lived at Lostock, and Lydiate 

 was leased to Thomas Lydiate ; 

 old Mrs. Ireland lived in part 

 of it. 3 He died in 1691. His 

 eldest son Charles was then at 



St. Omer's, where he died in TOC K. Sable, three 

 1705, being succeeded by his shack-bolts argent. 

 brother James. The manors 



of Lydiate, Melling, Cunscough, and Eggergarth 

 and other Ireland lands were in this year settled to 

 the use of his mother Dame Margaret for life, with 

 remainders to Francis and to his brother Joseph in 

 tail male ; then to his sister Mary, the wife of Henry 

 Blundell of Ince Blundell. James, the legal owner, 

 had entered the Society of Jesus in 1703, and drew 

 a pension of 50 from the family estates ; he died 

 in 1710, having in 1708 executed a conveyance in 

 order to enable his younger brother Francis to make 

 a marriage settlement.* 



Francis Anderton took part in the rising of 1715, 

 and was taken to London and condemned ; * he was 

 pardoned, but the forfeited estates were recovered by 

 an elder brother Lawrence, who had been a Bene- 

 dictine, renouncing his vows and his religion in 1724. 

 He died very shortly afterwards, and by his will left 

 his estates to his brother's children, with remainder to 

 the Blundells. Under this will the Blundells of Ince 

 Blundell succeeded to the Lydiate manors and estates 

 after the death of Sir Francis Anderton in 1760. 

 Sir Francis, after his pardon, had lived very quietly 

 at Lydiate Hall, devoting himself to country sports, 

 and especially to cock-fighting. 6 



A very singular dispute followed his death without 

 issue. By the will of his brother, as stated, the 

 Blundells of Ince Blundell were the heirs to the 

 Anderton properties ; but Dame Margaret, who died 

 in 1720, had also by her will made a settlement of 

 the Lydiate estates as follows : ' As for and concerning 

 my manors or lordships of Lydiate, Melling, Cun- 

 scough, Eggergarth, Aughton, Maghull, and Aintree, 

 &c., I do hereby give, devise, and bequeath the same 

 unto Nicholas Starkie, his heirs and assigns for ever, 



and to and for no other use, intent, trust, or purpose 

 whatsoever.' Mr. Starkie was a lawyer of good 

 repute, who though a Protestant had long been con- 

 cerned in her affairs. 11 Her desire was to secure the 

 estate for her son Francis, but as he had been con- 

 victed of high treason to have named him directly 

 would only have led to forfeiture. After Lawrence 

 Anderton's death a settlement was drawn up in 

 accordance with Dame Anderton's known wishes. Her 

 daughter Mrs. Blundell, then a widow, refused to sign 

 it, on account of a clause indemnifying Mr. Starkie ; the 

 latter, who was receiving the rents and was apparently 

 the legal owner, could not see his way to relinquish 

 the clause, but after some negotiation and the payment 

 of 1,000 he in 1728 made over the Lydiate estates 

 to three trustees, his son being one, for the use of 

 Sir Francis Anderton during life and then to the 

 heirs of his body, all mention of the Blundells being 

 omitted. Mrs. Blundell and Mr. Starkie died before 

 Sir Francis ; and Robert Blundell of Ince, as heir, was 

 met by the claims of Edmund Starkie the son, the 

 only surviving trustee, who insisted that Dame 

 Anderton had made an absolute gift to his father, of 

 which he intended to avail himself, the allowance to 

 Sir Francis having been an act of compassion to him 

 personally. The Blundells, however, took possession, 

 but it is supposed they had to compensate Edmund 

 Starkie by a heavy payment. 8 Since that time the 

 manor of Lydiate has descended with Ince Blundell. 9 



The Halsalls of Halsall preserved an interest in 

 Lydiate, derived perhaps in part from Alan de Lydiate 

 of Halsall. In 1414 Archdeacon Henry de Halsall 

 acquired a quarter of the manor from Owen de 

 Penerith and Joan his wife ; the origin of their title 

 is unknown. 10 Seven or eight years later (1422) 

 Sir Gilbert de Halsall bought lands there from 

 William Fletcher of Lydiate and Joan his wife." At 

 the death of Henry Halsall in 1472 he was said to 

 have held half the manor, but the tenure is not 

 stated." Sir Thomas Halsall, who died in 1539, is 

 stated to have held the ' manor ' of Lydiate by the 

 tenth part of a knight's fee. 13 In the next inquisition, 

 in 1575, the lands in Lydiate and Eggergarth are said 

 to be held of Lawrence Ireland. 14 



The Molyneux family bought small parcels of land 

 here as early as the fifteenth century. Sir William 

 Molyneux in 1543 acquired from Sir William Norris 

 a fourth part of the manor of Formby in exchange 

 for lands in Lydiate 16 and Maghull. Then at the 

 beginning of 1561, John, son of Sir Edward 

 Warren, and Sir Richard Molyneux agreed to take 

 all the Halsall lands in Lydiate, charged with 

 20^. payable to the chief lord, in exchange for the 

 fourth part of the manor of Formby ; the 20^. was 

 divided into f)d. and I id. to correspond with the 

 purchasers' shares. 16 In 1595 Edward Warren, son 

 of John, sold his share of Lydiate to Sir Richard 



1 Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 45-8. A lease 

 of Lydiate Hall in 1671 mentions the 

 dovecote, little kilncroft, haugh by 

 Holland's house, pool brook, and Wolfall's 

 copy ; ibid. 47. 



Eldest son of Sir Francis Anderton, 

 baronet, of Lostock and Anderton. 



8 Gibson, op. cit. 63-5. Ibid. 65-6. 



6 In 1717 Dame Margaret Anderton, 

 as daughter and heir of Lawrence Ireland, 

 and a 'Papist,' registered her estate at 

 Lydiate and Aughton, as of the value of 

 ^48 6 ; Eng. Cath. Nonjurors, 114. 



Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 68-71, 80-3. 

 In the leases granted by him there was 

 always a stipulation with the tenant for 

 the 'keeping of a cock/ The model 

 of a tench caught by him is still preserved 

 at the hall. 



7 To choose a Protestant friend and 

 give him the property with a secret trust 

 was a course often pursued in such cases 

 in the times of the penal laws. 



8 Gibson, op. cit. 71-80, 131-2. 



' The hall is described in Trans. Hist. 

 Soc. iii, 78, and (New Ser.), x, 107. 

 205 



10 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 5, m. 

 44. Their holding may have been the 

 junior manor 'already named. 



Ibid. m. 5. This Sir Gilbert is men- 

 tioned in the account of Halsall. 



14 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 90. 

 18 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vii, n. 13. 



The principal under-tenant was Nicholas 

 Lydiate, who had the Gildhouses and 

 other lands. " Ibid, xiii, n. 34. 



15 Croxteth D. Genl. i, 79. 



" Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 23, 

 m. 22, 32. 



