WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



A legend of the Spectre Bridegroom type is con- 

 nected with Gillar's Green. 1 



A playhouse is said to have been built on Eccleston 

 waste about I 590.* 



Mywn nc Under Button, as already shown, EC- 

 K CLESTON and Rainhill were held as half a 

 knight's fee. 3 The immediate tenant took his surname 

 from the former township, but in the thirteenth century 

 there was a mesne lord between him and the Daresbury 

 family, in the person of William, ' called Samson," who 

 surrendered his rights to the Norrises.* 



The first of the local family whose name occurs 

 was Hugh de Eccleston, a benefactor of Cockersand 



PRESCOT 



Abbey. 5 His sons, Richard de Eccleston and Alan 

 his brother, were witnesses to an early charter con- 

 cerning Hale. 6 Richard was succeeded, after 1 246,' 

 by his son Robert de Eccleston, who died between 

 1276 and 1280, leaving a widow, Amery, to survive 

 him many years. 8 Robert had several children ; a the 

 eldest son, Alan, predeceased him, and Robert son of 

 Alan succeeded his grandfather. 10 He in turn was 

 followed by his son Alan, who held the manor for 

 many years, and dying in 1349 was succeeded by his 

 ' cousin ' and heir John de Eccleston, the son of 

 Alan's brother Henry." Then there came in succes- 

 sion Henry and two Johns." Ralph Eccleston, son of 



i Pal. Note Book, i, 7. 

 a A writer in the Liverpool Daily Post, 

 referring apparently to some Farington 



In 1 3 1 1 it is called ' one knight's 

 fee ' ; the rent was 31. 6d. for sake fee, 

 and suit was done to Widnes court ; De 

 Lacy Inquest (Chet. Soc.), p. 23. The ten 

 plough-lands in this fee were unequally 

 divided ; thus Sutton, with four, was 

 called half a fee ; and Rainhill, with two, 

 had its exact share, one-fifth ; Eccleston 

 having the remainder. 



4 William called Samson by his charter 

 quitclaimed to Alan le Norreys (of Sutton), 

 and after his death to Henry and Gilbert 

 his sons and their wives, Margery and 

 Maud, daughters of Robert de Ireland and 

 Beatrice his wife, the homage of Robert 

 de Eccleston for six plough-lands, namely 

 two in Rainhill, and four in Eccleston, and 

 the 31. a year Robert had been accus- 

 tomed to pay the grantor ; Dods. MSS. 

 cxlii, fol. 241. Samson is also found as 

 a surname in Wallasey, another manor 

 held of the constable of Chester ; Ormerod, 

 Chts. (ed. Helsby), ii, 472. 



The bounds of Eccleston in 1384 are 

 thus described in a deed in the Prescot 

 town chest : ' Beginning at the Well- 

 syke, which is the division between 

 Churchley and Eccleston, following a cer- 

 tain water called the Shaw brook by the 

 division of Whiston and Rainhill to the 

 Akenford in the highway called Chester- 

 gate between Eccleston, Sutton, and Rain- 

 hill, where it ceaseth to be calleth Shaw 

 brook and beginneth to be called Ritherope 

 brook j and so following the Chester gate 

 between Wheashaw and Sutton to the 

 Brown hedge, and so leading the said way 

 between Scholes and Sutton to the Frogley 

 head, and following the Frogley to Shot- 

 well brook, and following Shotwell brook 

 to the Notcr brook, and from Noter 

 brook, by the divisions of Windle to the 

 Longborough, and so from Longborough 

 to the head of Cattshaw green, and so by 

 a line to the Whitlow carrs, and from 



Knowsley and the land of Roger Prescott 

 in Eccleston, and following the said ditch 

 to Deishurst lane, and so from Deishurst 

 lane between the division of ... and 

 Knowsley to the bounds of Prescot, and 

 so leading between the Healley moss and 

 Prescot, by the Liverpool gate to the 

 Wellsyke, which is the first division.' 



* Cockersand Chartul. (Chct. Soc.), ii, 

 600. There were two grants, the second 

 being for the souls of his predecessors. 

 Nicholas and Adam, sons of Nicholas, with 

 Hugh's permission, also became benefactors. 



8 Hale D. printed in Final Cane. (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 139. 



' In this year Richard de Eccleston was 

 a defendant ; Assize R. 404, m. n. 



8 In 1276 Robert de Eccleston was 



405, m. i, 2. At the same time Richard 

 de Wulcrofthead accused him and others 

 of razing his dike, so that their cattle 

 entered and destroyed his corn. The de- 

 fendants alleged that he wished to improve 

 to himself a part of the common pasture 

 of the vill of Wolfscroft; whereupon 

 Robert de Eccleston caused the dike 



The jury acquitted the defendants ; ibid. 



The vill of Wolfscroft' is now un- 

 known; but in 1292 William eon of 

 Beatrice de Glest and others of the family 

 were charged with disseising Richard de 

 Wolcroftshead of his common pasture in 

 Eccleston, and plaintiff recovered ; Assize 

 R. 408, m. 69. Thomas son of Richard de 

 Wolcroftshead was defendant in 1324; 

 Assize R. 426, m. 3 d. 



Robert de Eccleston is described as son 

 of Richard and calls Hugh his grandfather 

 in a grant of land formerly held by 

 Walter, ' famulus sororis de Polleswrthe ' ; 

 the boundaries included a portion of the 

 Kirkgate of Parr ; Cockersand Chartul. ii, 

 602. 



In 1280, Amery, widow of Robert, 

 claimed her dower in certain lands held 

 by Peter de Windle ; De Bane. R. 32, 

 m. 20 rf. In 1292 Robert de Eccleston 

 complained that whereas she held 6 mes- 

 suages, 4 oxgangs of land, 4 acres of wood, 

 and the third part of 20 acres of wood in 

 Eccleston, she felled 20 oaks, worth d. 

 each, destroyed 1 2 orchards worth 21., 

 2 granges worth iooj., and a chamber 

 worth 401. The sheriff made inquiry, 

 when it was found that defendant had 

 made no waste, but that part of a decayed 



served. By one he granted his brother 

 Stephen land in Eccleston, the bounds of 

 which began at the Milnewards Garth and 

 proceeded along the divisions between 

 various riddings, for a rent of \zd. ; 

 Towneley MS. GG. n. 2091. By another, 

 Henry son of William dc Grimsditch 

 received an addition to his holding : Add. 

 MS 32107, . 370. 



Robert died between 1306 (De Bane. 

 R. 161, m. 365 d.) and Sept. ^15, when 

 his widow Isabel gave to Roger de Pres- 

 cot, clerk, and his wife and children land 

 near the house of Henry Halshagh and 

 below Lystanhurst Field ; Add. MS. 

 32107, n. 371. 



11 Alan de Eccleston and his wife Alice 

 are frequently mentioned from 1324 on- 

 wards ; Assize R. 426, m. 2 d. 3 d. 5 ; 

 Final Cane, ii, 85, 123 this last being a 

 settlement of the manor made in 1 747. 

 About the same time he was relieved 

 from service on assizes, Sec. ; Assize R. 

 1435, m. i6</. 



At the Widnes court in 1349, Alan de 

 Eccleston having died seised of the manors 

 of Eccleston and Rainhill, held by knight's 

 service of Clemency, daughter of Alan le 

 Norreys of Daresbury, John de Eccleston 

 as cousin and heir came into court and 

 did fealty to the lord, Clemency being 



half a knight's fee, and 35. a year at 

 Martinmas for all services ; he paid 501. 

 for his relief; Dods. MSS. xxxii, fol. 12*. 

 The relationship of John and Alan ii 

 established by Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 6, 

 m. I d. 



John de Eccleston occurs from I35 o 



by her, the amount of damage being 31. ; 



6 7 d. -)id. 93</. 



9 Richard, Alice, and Cecily arc men- 

 tioned. The latter died in or before 1285, 

 when her brother Richard unsuccessfully 

 laid claim to 10 acres she had held in 

 Eccleston, and into which Robert de 



1271, m. ii d. Alice received from her 

 father land called Coldfield ; in this 

 Amery claimed dower, but was satisfied 

 by Robert's allowing her an equal amount 

 of his own land ; Assize R. 408, m. 16. 

 Alice seems to have had a daughter Joan, 

 who was dispossessed of her mother's lands 

 by Alan de Eccleston and others about 

 1324 ; Assize R. 426, m. z</. 



10 Assize R. 1271, m. II d. where it is 

 stated that Robert entered after the death 

 of his grandfather Robert. He is fre- 

 quently called son of Alan ; e.g. Assize R. 

 408, m. 5 2</. In 1305 he arranged for 

 the succession to the manor, granting it 

 to his son Alan, with remainder to 

 a younger son Henry ; Final Cone, i, 



ods. 



MSS. cxlii, fol. 200 ; Def. Keeper's Kef. 

 xxxii, App. 334, 352. 



An extent and rental of his estates 

 made in 1373 are preserved at Scarisbrick. 

 The former gives a number of field names, 

 as Standeley, Fetherbyley, Maiot Hey, 

 Dearbought, 'a certain hey called the 

 Park, which contains six acres,' Black- 



and two water-mills, which, with the tur- 

 bary, brought in 12 a year. John de 

 Eccleston also held lands in Newton, 

 called Perpount Field and the Held. His 

 demesne lands and rents in Eccleston and 

 Newton were worth 68 6s. -$d. a year : 

 and he had also in Makerfield, as dower 

 of his wife, 40 1 31. 4</. 



In 1381-2, Robert son of John dc 

 Eccleston rendered to W.lliam Daniell of 

 Daresbury a formal recognition of the 

 latter's right to his wardship and marriage 

 on his father's death ; Dods. MSS. cxlii, 

 fol. 242*. It does not appear that Robert 

 succeeded, but a Robert de Eccleston was 

 a juror in 1385 ; Lanes, hq. p.m. (Chet. 

 Soc.), i, 1 8. He had also letters of pro- 

 tection in this year on his going into 

 Portugal ; Visit, of 1533 (Chet. Soc.), 



363 



