A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



or more. ' Little is recorded of Henry Atherton * ; 

 he had four sons Hamlet or Hamnet, his successor, 

 William, Henry, and Charles. Hamlet had a son 

 Thomas, 3 whose heir was his daughter Margaret, 

 born about 1486.* 



The heiress married James Scarisbrick, a younger 

 son of James Scarisbrick (who died about 1495), lord 

 of Scarisbrick. She died on 1 8 January, 1517-18, 

 leaving an infant daughter Elizabeth as heir to the 

 Bickerstath properties. 6 Elizabeth Scarisbrick, born 

 about the beginning of I 5 16, married Peter, a younger 

 son of Sir William Stanley of Hooton, and died about 

 1560, leaving an only daughter Margaret as heir. 



Peter Stanley married again, but retained BickerstafFe 

 during his life ' by the courtesy of England.' 6 



Margaret Stanley married in 1563 Henry Stanley 

 of Little Hall in Aughton and Cross Hall in Lathom. 

 He was a younger son of Sir James Stanley, marshal 

 of Ireland in the time of Henry VIII, who was 

 third son of George, Lord Strange of Knockyn, 

 and brother of the second earl of Derby. 7 Henry 

 Stanley, dying in 1598,* was succeeded by his 

 eldest son Edward, created a baronet by Charles I 

 in 1627.' He was buried at Ormskirk 4 May, 

 i64O, 10 being succeeded by his son Sir Thomas 

 Stanley, born in 1616. 



2 7 8 



