WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



WINWICK 



place at Red Bank, near the border of Newton; and 

 Gallows Croft, on the Newton side, is said to mark 

 the place where many of the prisoners captured were 

 hanged. 



Winwick Wake ceased in 1828.* 



The rector of W1WVICK having 

 M4NOR been from before the Conquest lord of the 

 manor and owner of almost all the land, 

 the story of the place is the story of the rectors above 

 related. The lords of Makerfield enumerated Win- 

 wick as a member of their fee,* but the only lay 

 owners appear to have been the Southworth family, 

 holding a little land directly of the lord of Makerfield. 6 

 Under an Act of Parliament passed in 1884 the 

 Ecclesiastical Commissioners became lords of the 

 manor in 1890, and the hall was sold to the County 

 Council. 



In 1086 the church of St. Oswald held two plough- 

 lands exempt from all taxation, 7 and was given by 

 Roger of Poitou to the canons of St. Oswald, 

 Nostell. Under them in 1212 Richard, the rector of 

 Winwick, held two-thirds of the land, and Robert de 

 Walton the remainder. 8 Robert had granted out his 

 portion three oxgangs to Alfred de Ince and three 

 to Hugh de Haydock. 9 If Robert's interest were 



merely temporary his grants would probably expire at 

 his death ; but similar grants were made by the 

 rectors, and a few particulars of them have been pre- 

 served. All the land seems to have been recovered by 

 the rectors by the beginning of the 1 4th century. 10 



But few incidents are recorded of the township. 



The lease of the rectory from time to time by 

 absentee parsons resulted in the hall being occupied 

 by the lessee or steward. One of these, Gowther 

 Legh, founded the grammar school. A later one, Sir 

 Thomas Stanley, son of Edward, Earl of Derby, made 

 the rectory his residence. His son, Sir Edward Stanley, 

 was in 1590 in 'some degree of conformity' to the 

 established religion, but ' in general note of evil affec- 

 tion ' towards it. 11 From the beginning of the iyth 

 century the rectors seem to have been usually resident, 

 and as they had complete authority it is not to be 

 supposed that expressions of nonconformity were 

 numerous. 12 Their rule appears to have been mild 

 and readily acquiesced in by the people. 1 * 



John Launder paid to the subsidy of 1628 as hold- 

 ing lands. 14 Under the Commonwealth, Thomas 

 Goulden, member of a recusant family of long con- 

 tinuance in the district, petitioned to be admitted as 

 tenant of the sequestered two-thirds of his estate. 15 



* Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1836), iii, 647. 



* Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 99, 

 &c. 



Winwick seems to have been at one 

 time appropriated to the church and 

 rectory, Hulme having been the township 

 name. 



8 This seems to have begun in a grant 

 by William de Sankey about 1260 of 

 land in Hulme held by a charter of Henry 

 de Ince ; Towneley MS. HH, no. 1654. 

 In the inquisition after the death of 

 Thomas Southworth, taken in 1 547, the 

 tenement in Hulme is grouped with the 

 others 'held of Sir Thomas Langton in 

 tocage ' ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vii, 

 no. 23. 



Thurstan Southworth, as a landowner, 

 paid to a subsidy in Queen Mary's time ; 

 Mascy of Rixton D. 



^ V.C.H. Lanes, i, 286*. 



8 Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 72. 



9 Ibid. 



10 Two charters relating to the town- 

 ship are contained among the Legh of 

 Lyme deeds in Raines' MSS. (Chet. Lib.), 

 xxxviii, 393 : (i) Robert de Winwick re- 

 leased to Gilbert de Haydock all his claim 

 to four oxgangs in Hulme, being a fourth 

 part of the vill, which Hugh de Haydock 

 had formerly purchased from him, the 

 said Gilbert having given Robert 40*. * in 

 his great need." (2) John the clerk of 

 Hulme granted to Hugh son of John 

 de Haydock, in free marriage with 

 Margery his daughter, two messuages in 

 Hulme and a croft called Flaxhalgh. 



Henry de Hulme granted a house for a 

 rent of 4^. payable at Halton Fair ; 

 Towneley MS. GG, no. 997. William 

 son of John de Hulme granted to Robert, 

 ' called Robin,' land between that of 

 Robert de Holland and Hugh de Hulme. 



In 1276 Simon the Messer, of War- 

 rington, claimed four oxgangs of land in 

 Hulme against Richard de Haydock, and 

 other messuages, &c. against Robert the 

 Smith, Austin vicar of Winwick, Richard 

 de Houghton, Hugh son of John de Hay- 

 dock, and others; De Banco R. 15, m. 

 15 d. ; 17, m. 84 d. 



At the same time the vicar (rector) of 

 Winwick had leave to withdraw his plea 

 against Thurstan de Holland and other 

 tenants in Hulme ; Assize R. 40$. He 

 proceeded against William son of John 

 and others respecting three oxgangs of land 

 of which he alleged his predecessor Robert 

 was seised in the time of Henry III, 

 Henry de Sefton having taken possession 

 after Robert's death on the allegation that 

 they were a lay fee ; De Banco R. 1 8, m. 

 15 ; 19, m. 54 d. William son of John 

 called the Prior of Nostell to warrant 

 him. 



Margery, widow of Robert de Kinknall, 

 who claimed dower in two oxgangs in 

 Golborne against Robert Banastre, also 

 claimed lands in Hulme against Peter the 

 chaplain and others including Austin the 

 vicar in respect of four oxgangs of land ; 

 De Banco R. 20, m. 15 d, 26 d. 



Austin the vicar prosecuted his claim 

 against Robert de Holland respecting 

 three oxgangs in Hulme, and William de 

 Aintree, on being called to warrant, 

 averred that his father Henry died seised, 

 the charter to Thurstan, father of Robert 

 de Holland, never having been executed ; 

 De Banco R. 23, m. 21 ; 28, m. 41 ; 30, 

 m. 33. 



In 1292 John son of Hugh de Hulme 

 claimed an oxgang in Hulme from John 

 the vicar of Winwick, but did not prose- 

 cute it ; Assize R. 408, m. 21. In 1313 

 John de Hamburgh, then rector, claimed 

 six messuages and three oxgangs in Win- 

 wick from John son of Hugh de Hulme, 

 who called John, Prior of Nostell, to war- 

 rant him, alleging that he held by charter 

 of Henry de Aberford, a former prior ; 

 De Banco R. 199, m. 37d. ; 207, m. 

 108 ; 212, m. 431 d. 



It should be remembered that Henry 

 de Sefton represented the Alfred de Ince 

 of 121 2, and that William de Aintree was 

 a Haydock. John de Chisenhale, rector 

 of Winwick, asserted in 1334 that William 

 le Boteler of Warrington and others had 

 disseised him of a mill and certain lands 

 in Winwick. In reply it was urged that 

 John was 'vicar,' not 'parson,' of Win- 

 wick, but in general the jury sustained his 



141 



claim. William le Boteler, grandfather 

 of the defendant, had purchased from 

 Richard son of Hugh de Hulme an acre 

 of land in Winwick, from olden time 

 arable ; Coram Rege R. 297, m. 6 d. 



11 Lydiate Hall, 244 ; quoting S.P. Dom. 

 Eliz. ccxxxv, 4. He was 'of great living.' 

 His wife, Lady Lucy, was an indicted 

 recusant. Sir John Fortescue, who mar- 

 ried Sir Edward Stanley's daughter and 

 enjoyed the rectory, was also a recusant ; 

 Cal. of Com. for Compounding, iv, 2539. 



la In Beam on t, IVimvick, 41, 42, may 

 be seen presentments made at the visita- 

 tions of the chancellor and archdeacon of 

 Chester in 1632 and 1634. 'Roger Bur- 

 chall was presented as a depraver of re- 

 ligion as established in the Church of 

 England and a negligent comer to church, 

 and as having reported that my lord 

 suffered seminary priests to walk hand in 

 hand and did not so much as point at 

 them.' ' My lord ' was perhaps the Bishop 

 of Chester, or the Earl of Derby. Another 

 was presented for having a candle on the 

 bier, and others had ' sent for the blesser 

 to bless cattle that were sick at Winwick.' 



John Norman was presented in 1669 

 for saying that ' this Church of England is 

 not a true church, and that the worship 

 therein is odious to God and hateful to 

 man ' ; Visit, books at Chester. 



18 See Baines, Lanes. Directory of 1825, 

 for the methods used by Rector Hornby 

 to promote good conduct ; ii, 717. 



14 Norris D. (B.M.) ; Elizabeth Lunt 

 (or Williamson) and Thomas Goulden, as 

 convicted recusants, paid double on goods ; 

 for these see Trans. Hist. Soe. (new ser.), 

 xiv, 244. The Launder family acquired 

 an estate in Ashton in Makerfield. 



15 Cal. of Com. for Compounding, iv, 

 3160. Thomas and John Goulden, in 

 Elizabeth's time, had fallen under sus- 

 picion because they were recusants and had 

 been known to resort to the seminary 

 priest at Samlesbury ; Baines, Lanes, (ed. 

 1870), i, 180 (from Harl. MS. 360, fol. 

 32/1). The family occurs in Southworth, 

 Pendleton, and St. Helens ; See J. Gillow, 

 Bill. Diet, of Engl. Catb. ii, 324. 



For Fortescue Goulding, born at Win- 



