WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



WINWICK 



Southworth family, 7 and their lordship is the only one 

 appearing in the later records, apart from that of the 

 barons of Makerfield. 



Two junior branches of the dominant family were 

 seated at Middleton and at HOUGHTON PEEL. 

 They seem to have descended from Matthew de 

 Southworth, 8 a brother of Gilbert de Southworth, 

 living in the early part of the reign of Edward III. 



Their possessions were ac- 

 quired by the Southworths 

 of Samlesbury in the i6th 

 century. 9 Middleton appears 

 to have been retained with 

 Southworth, and to have de- 

 scended like it to the present 

 time. Houghton 10 was sold 



Richard son of Hulcock (or Hugh) de 

 Houghton leased to Gilbert de South- 

 worth half an oxgang in the vill of Mid- 

 dleton and Houghton, together with six 

 butts of land between Leveng Bridge and 

 Houghton Riddings ; Towneley MS. HH, 

 no. 1933, 1788. Six years later he sold it 

 outright ; ibid. no. 1790. 



A suit of July 1354 shows the sub- 

 divisions. It concerned the partition of 4^ 

 acres approved ; John son of William de 

 Middleton had received i acre ; John son 

 of John de Middleton, i acre ; William 

 son of John de Middleton, ij acres ; 

 Richard son of John de Middleton, acre; 

 and Richard Post of Middleton, acre. 

 Richard de Fearnhead complained that he 

 had been deprived of his common of pas- 

 ture ; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 3, m. 

 4 d. William son of Robert Ormsson 

 was one of the defendants. An Orm de 

 Middleton occurs in the izth century; 

 Inq. and Extents, i, 73. The name seems 

 to have continued, as Robert son of Orm 

 made a grant of land in Houghton in 

 1309, attested by Simon son of Orm; 

 Towneley MS. HH,no. 1798. 



7 Some of the grants have been recited 

 in the previous note. William de Win- 

 wick, son of Robert formerly rector of 

 Winwick, granted to Gilbert de South- 

 worth, his chief lord, all his land in Mid- 

 dleton and Houghton; ibid. no. 1699. 

 Geoffrey son of Adam Henne of Hough- 

 ton granted to Gilbert de Southworth 

 Henne Croft in Middleton in 1316 ; ibid, 

 no. 1796. 



8 Robert the Tailor of Winwick and 

 John his son acquired lands in Middleton 

 and Houghton in 1315 and 1322; ibid.no. 

 1783,1794. In August 1329 John son of 

 Robert granted to Matthew de Southworth 

 his capital messuage and other houses 

 and lands, in all a twenty-fourth part of 

 the vills of Middleton and Houghton, 

 with remainders, in default of heirs, to a 

 number of Matthew's children, apparently 

 illegitimate; ibid. no. 1701, 1709; see 

 also no. 1659, 1686. Practically the same 

 remainders are recorded in 1346 ; Final 

 Cone, ii, 122. In this the estate is called 

 an oxgang of land, &c. 



By an inquiry made in 1330 it was 

 found that the hamlet of Houghton was 

 held by Gilbert de Southworth, Matthew 

 de Southworth, and other co-parceners ; 

 Towneley MS. HH, no. 1814. In 1332 

 Matthew was described as ' senior ' in a 

 grant of lands in Middleton, Houghton, 

 and Arbury to Robert de Hornby, his 

 trustee ; no. 1658. 



A Matthew de Southworth was in 1343 

 regarded as 'a common maintainer and 

 receiver of evil doers' ; .he acquired a 

 commission in the name of certain good 

 men of Warrington, by virtue of which he 

 caused 10 marks to be levied, which he 

 kept for his own use. He pleaded guilty 

 and was punished ; Assize R. 430, m. 22. 



Robert son of Matthew de Southworth 

 appears to have succeeded to his father's 

 estate in Middleton ; he is named last 

 of his brothers in the fine of 1346. 

 In 1369 he acquired from Richard son of 



John de Middleton land in Middleton 

 called Impland ; Towneley MS. HH, no. 

 1842 ; and at the same time made an 

 exchange with Gilbert del Moss ; no. 



1952. !549- 



Matthew son of Robert de Southworth 

 and Matthew son of Gilbert de South- 

 worth are named in remainders in a deed 

 of 1392 ; ibid. no. 1548. Three years later 

 a Matthew de Southworth had a grant of 

 Crossends in Middleton from Richard son 

 of John de Soudall senior; no. 1626. 

 Matthew de Southworth, aged 30, gave 

 evidence in the Scrope-Grosvenor trial; 

 Roll, 292. 



In 1430 settlements were made by 

 John de Southworth and Ellen his wife ; 

 he held the manor of Houghton Peel for 

 life, the remainders being to Thomas 

 Southworth his brother, to William son 

 of Gilbert de Southworth the younger, 

 Richard, Nicholas, Humphrey, Cecily, and 

 Joan, brothers and sisters of William ; to 

 Henry son of Robert de Southworth, to 

 John de Clegge, son of Gilbert son of 

 Godith daughter of Matthew de South- 

 worth, and to Henry and Elizabeth de 

 Clegge, other children of Gilbert ; and 

 then to the right heirs of Matthew de 

 Southworth ; Towneley MS. HH, no. 1687, 

 1683. ' Peel Croft ' is named in a 13th- 

 century grant by William son of Robert 

 de Winwick to Gilbert son of Gilbert de 

 Southworth; no. 1653. ^ n H37 Ellen 

 widow of John de Southworth leased the 

 manor of Peel to James de Langton, 

 rector of Wigan, at a rent of 5 marks ; 

 in addition zs. 6d. was to be paid to the 

 chief lord, so that this estate was an eighth 

 part of the whole vill ; no. 1714. 



In 1449 Richard Southworth, lord of 

 Southworth, was in possession, but 

 William Southworth, probably the William 

 named already in the remainders, made 

 some claim to it, and had goods therein ; 

 the dispute was referred to Sir Thomas 

 Stanley, who decided in favour of Richard, 

 he having a lease for the above-named 

 Ellen's life ; after her death William was to 

 have peaceable possession ; ibid. no. 1715. 

 The dispute came to blows ; within a 

 year Sir Thomas Stanley was called upon 

 to award the damages due to Ellen widow 

 of William Southworth for the death of 

 her husband, and he ordered Richard 

 Southworth to pay her 20, she agreeing 

 not to prosecute ; Dods. MSS. liii, fol. 24, 

 no. 17. 



9 About 1520 Peel was sold to Thomas 

 Southworth of Southworth by Margaret 

 widow of James Carr and Thomas her 

 son ; Towneley MS. HH, no. 1591, 201 1, 

 2021. Disputes as to the title to Hough- 

 ton Peel occurred in 1534 between Sir 

 Thomas Southworth and the daughters 

 of James Carr son of Margaret Carr ; 

 Ducat us Lane, ii, 59. 



Lynnall in Middleton was in 1428-9 

 regranted by the feoffee to Henry de South- 

 worth and his wife Elizabeth daughter of 

 John de Worsley senior ; HH, no. 1702. 

 In 1452 Henry de Southworth of Middle- 

 ton acquired lands in Culcheth ; no. 1640. 

 Thomas son of Henry Southworth of 



Middleton SOUTHWORTH. Argent 



occurs in a che-veron between three 

 1460; no. crosslets sable. 

 1984. Hum- 

 phrey son 



and heir of Thomas Southworth in 

 1491 received from the feoffees cer- 

 tain lands in Warrington and Winwick, 

 the remainder being to Nicholas son 

 of Ralph Langton ; no. 1984 (2). The 

 remainder came into operation, for in 

 1515 Humphrey son and heir of Nicholas 

 Langton sold lands in Middleton, &c., to 

 Sir John Southworth ; no. 1578. In May 

 1521 Thomas Southworth son and heir of 

 Sir John Southworth, deceased, granted to 

 feoffees his capital messuage called Mid- 

 dleton Hall, with the Ryecroft, Lynnall, 

 Cumbrall, Branderth, &c., lately of Henry 

 Southworth, deceased ; no. 1515. 



Robert Southworth of Middleton was 

 witness to a deed of 1488 ; ibid. no. 2037. 

 He made his will in August 1500, desiring 

 to be buried in Winwick ; Henry South- 

 worth his son and Isabel his daughter are 

 named ; Dods. MSS. liii, fol. 19, no. 35. 

 In 1502 a free rent of 31. zd. was payable 

 to the lord of Newton by Robert South- 

 worth ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, 

 no. 10 1. The feoffees of Henry South- 

 worth the son in 1518 sold his lands to 

 Thomas son and heir of Sir John South- 

 worth ; Towneley MS. HH, no. 1539; 

 see also no. 1682, 1922, 1946. Richard 

 Southworth son and heir of Henry, de- 

 scribed as ' late of the parish of Shen- 

 stone in Staffordshire,' seems to have 

 concurred in the sale ; Dods. MSS. liii, 

 fol. 1 8, no. 1 6. 



10 This place gave a surname to one or 

 more families dwelling there. 



About the middle of the 1 3th century 

 Adam son of Richard de Houghton pos- 

 sibly the Richard son of Henry of 1212 

 granted to Gilbert de Southworth a mes- 

 suage in Middleton, with land in the 

 Peasecroft, acquittance of pannage in the 

 woods of Middleton and Houghton, and 

 all his rights within these bounds : Be- 

 ginning at the head towards the south of 

 the Causey of Houghton Lache, following 

 Fulshaw between hard and soft to Hough- 

 ton Brook, along this brook to Egedes- 

 hurst Brook, up this brook to the bounds 

 of Southworth, along them westward to 

 Arbury Mere, and along this mere south 

 to the starting point. This description 

 shows that Middleton and Houghton were 

 one whole, but that Arbury had clearly de- 

 fined limits; Towneley MS. HH, no. 1 779. 

 The bounds of Houghton are similarly 

 given in another grant : Houghton Lache, 

 and by the boundaries of Croft, Woolston, 

 Warrington, and Arbury to the start ; no. 

 1824. Woolston must then have included 

 Fearnhead. The boundary between Middle- 

 ton (not Houghton) and Warrington is 

 named. 



Geoffrey son of Adam de Houghton, 

 living in 1324, made a grant to Hugh son 

 of Giles de Penketh ; ibid. no. 1786, 

 1797. John son of Geoffrey de Houghton 

 was in 1341 refeoffed of his capital mes- 

 suage, &c. in Middleton and Houghton, 



167 



