A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



The Byrons also had lands in the township. 14 In 

 1320 the Abbot of Cockersand was said to hold the 

 fortieth part of a fee in Westhoughton, paying id. 

 for sake fee and 6<t. for ward of the castle ; " and the 

 same tenure continued in I473. 16 



As in the case of most monastic estates, possession 

 by the canons was marked by few disputes or inci- 

 dents of note. In 1272 they procured a delimita- 

 tion of the boundary between Westhoughton and 

 Lostock on the north. 17 The abbot made complaints 

 in 1343 and 1359 concerning the cutting down of 

 his trees. 18 An inquiry was made in 1385 concern- 

 ing the surrender of lands to find a lamp to burn for 

 ever in the choir of the abbey church. 19 A few 

 years before the Dissolution disputes broke out be- 

 tween the abbot and his tenants as to the right of 



renewing their nineteen-year leases.* The manor 

 was farmed to Sir Thomas Langton in I 538.*' 



Some years after the suppression the manor of 

 Westhoughton was granted by the king to James 

 Browne, citizen and haberdasher of London, for 

 1,035 I is. %d., to be held by the tenth part of a 

 knight's fee and a rent of $ 14.*. 8^. M His 

 descendants continued to hold it for about a century. 13 

 They resided at Brinsop. 



The Brothertons of Hey seem to have succeeded 

 them. 84 The ' manor ' was in 1836 said to be held 

 by Lord Skelmersdale ; but none is now claimed by 

 Major Lionel Wilbraham, to whom this estate has 

 descended. 25 



Brinsop Hall was in the first half of the 1 8th cen- 

 tury in the possession of John Widdowes, who mar- 



Bucks., had protections on going into 

 France in the retinues of Sir William 

 Philip, Sir Thomas Beaumont, and 

 others, between 1429 and 1439 ; Def. 

 Keeper's Rep. xlviii, App. The will of 

 Alice Rylands of London, proved in 1442, 

 contains a bequest to Wexham Church ; 

 Commissary of Lond. fol. 96. 



Nicholas Rylands in 1474, when 

 seventy-eight years of age, in Leigh parish 

 church, swore upon a book that he had 

 never made a feoffment to Thomas 

 Stanley and Piers Legh, or to Roger Hul- 

 ton of the Park, sen., of his lands, &c., 

 within Westhoughton ; nor had he made 

 a feoffment to his son William of his 

 father Robert's lands in Westhoughton, 

 Lowton, and Pemberton ; Gen. iv, 1 74. 

 The MS. containing this is now in the 

 Grosvenor Museum, Chester. Nicholas 

 had, in 1430, married Margery daughter of 

 Sir Thomas Gerard ; ibid. 172. 



Ralph Rylands in 1503-4 released to 

 Anne widow of Geoffrey Shakerley, and 

 Peter son and heir of Geoffrey, all claim 

 on lands, &c., in the parishes of Winwick, 

 Leigh, and Deane ; ibid. 175. 



Members of the Rylands family appear 

 in the rentals of Cockersand as tenants of 

 the abbey. In 1451 and 1461 Peter and 

 Hugh Rylands each held a tenement, pay- 

 ing what was then a substantial rent. In 

 1501 Peter's tenement was apparently 

 held by the wife of Geoffrey Shakerley, 

 and Hugh's tenement by Humphrey Ry- 

 lands ; and the latter one was held by 

 another Peter Rylands in 1537. Another 

 Peter was living at Westhoughton in 

 1587 ; Co. PaL Plea R. 29 Eliz. no. 261, 

 m. 19. 



Ralph Rylands of Westhoughton re- 

 moved to Culcheth at the beginning of 

 the 1 7th century, and his descendants sub- 

 sequently settled at Warrington, with 

 which town they are still identified. One 

 of them, Mr. Peter Rylands, of Warring- 

 ton, was the Parliamentary representative 

 of that town in the latter part of the last 

 century ; Ped. in the Coll. of Arms. 



Other members of the family continued 

 to reside in Westhoughton and neighbour- 

 ing townships. Peter Rylands of Daisy 

 Hillock, Westhoughton, agent for seques- 

 trations under the Parliament, died in 

 1663, leaving a son Peter, M.A. Trin. 

 ColL Dublin, who became treasurer and 

 vicar-choral of Limerick Cathedral, and 

 died without issue in 1695, having mar- 

 ried Diana daughter of Sir Drury Wray, 

 bart. who was remarried to Archdeacon 

 Twigge of Limerick ; Gen. iv, 177-8. 



14 Geoffrey son of Geoffrey de Byron 

 for 1 5 marks released to the canons of 

 Cockersand all the land he had held of 



them at a rent of I2</.; and Richard son 

 of Robert de Worsley gave a quitclaim 

 also; Chart, ii, 690. In 1292 Richard 

 du Boulton, Richard son of Roger de 

 Worsley, William de Aintree, and others 

 claimed a tenement in Westhoughton 

 from the Abbot of Cockersand, but were 

 non-suited ; Assize R. 408, m. 46. 



14 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, ii, 71. 



18 Mamecestre (Chet. Soc.), 480. It 

 appears, however, that the abbot paid a 

 rent of 1 3*. $d. to the lord of Manches- 

 ter ; Duchy of Lane. Rentals and Surv. 

 bdle. 5, no. 2. 



V Chart, ii, 675-6. The bounds 

 followed Bishop's lache to Buckshaw 

 brook, up this brook to its head, then 

 along Mother lache, between the rushy 

 land and the deep moss, to Winyates carr 

 and then to the head of Redshaw, crossing 

 the moss from this point in a straight 

 line to the syke between Rumworth and 

 Suynul (? Snydale). 



18 Assize R. 430, m. 6d.; Duchy of 

 Lane. Assize R. 7, m. i d. 



19 Sir John de Ipre and John de Titter- 

 ington, vicar of Mitton, desired to give a 

 messuage and 40 acres in Westhoughton, 

 held of the Abbot of Cockersand, for the 

 purpose named. The premises paid a 

 rent of -id. a year to the abbot, who held 

 them of Sir John La Warre as of the 

 fee of the barony of Manchester in free 

 alms, and by the service of id. yearly ; 

 Chan. Inq. p.m. 8 Ric. II, no. 69. 



20 Some of the tenants it appeared had 

 held their lands without taking the trouble 

 to renew their leases; but in 1530 it 

 was ruled that they must renew at the 

 expiration of the term, paying a penny to 

 the abbot as 'earnest penny,' or 'God's 

 penny,' and another penny to the steward 

 as 'entry penny,' according to the cus- 

 tom ; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 192-4. 



About 1520 Richard Urmston, who had 

 married Ellen daughter of Nicholas Hoi- 

 den, claimed on her behalf a tenement in 

 Westhoughton. The actual holder, Peter 

 Williamson, claimed in right of his wife, 

 who was a widow and married him with- 

 out the abbot's consent, whereby, it was 

 alleged, her right was forfeited ; ibid, ii, 

 1 50. The claim of Ellen Gorton, made 

 about the same time, has some interesting 

 details ; ibid, i, 99. 



21 Local Gleanings Lanes, and Ches. i, 

 181. 



22 Pat. 37 Hen. VIII, pt. 4, m. 24. 



The lands of the monastery of Cocker- 

 sand, including the manor of Westhough- 

 ton, were recovered in 1821, Richard 

 Dashwood being vouchee ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Assize R. Lent, 2 Geo. IV, rot. 12. 



22 



28 It was found in 1588 that James 

 Browne at his death in 1587 had held the 

 manor of Westhoughton and various lands 

 of the queen by the twentieth part of a 

 knight's fee ; its value was 10 a year. 

 In 1562 he had granted it to his son 

 Robert, who had married Anne daughter 

 of John Langtree, with remainder to 

 Robert's son James ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. xiv, 37. 



Anne daughter of William Banaster 

 married Browne of Brinshope ; Dug- 

 dale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 25. Anne wife 

 of James Browne, and Mary wife of Jame* 

 Browne, both of Westhoughton, were re- 

 cusants in 1619 ; Manch. Sess. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 82. 



In 1622 James and Robert Browne 

 made a settlement of the manor of West- 

 houghton and seventy messuages, &c., 

 1,000 acres of land, 300 acres of meadow, 

 &c., in the township ; Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 101, no. 6. 



James Browne held the manor by the 

 twentieth part of a knight's fee at his 

 death in 1633 ; Robert his son and heir 

 was forty years of age ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p.m. xxvii, no. 2. The will of James 

 Browne was proved at Chester in 1633. 



In 1636 Robert Browne of Brinsop and 

 Richard Browne his son and heir conveyed 

 to Christopher Anderton certain messuages 

 on the north side of the king's highway 

 between Manchester and Chorley ; An- 

 derton D. no. 1 1 6. In 1 6 5 5 Westhoughton 

 was counted among the Anderton of Los- 

 tock manors, but does not appear later ; 

 ibid. no. 123. 



In 1665 Ralph Browne obtained a ver- 

 dict against James Browne for depastur- 

 ing; Exch. of Pleas, Hil. 16 & 17 Chas. II, 

 m. 39. The will of Ralph Browne of 

 Brinsop was proved at Chester in 1689. 



Kuerden about 1690 speaks of the 

 Browne of Ince near Wigan being brother 

 of the Browne of Brinsop ; Local Glean. 

 Lanes, and Cbes, i, 214. 



The deforciants in 1650 were Sir 

 Thomas Smith, Dr. Edmund Mainwaring, 

 and Peter Leycester, all Cheshire men, and 

 probably trustees ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of 

 F. bdle. 149, m. 103. 



M Recovery at the Lent Assizes, 1812 ; 

 William Brown Brotherton and wife, and 

 Thomas William Brown Brotherton, 

 vouchees. 



Disputes concerning the inclosing of 

 the commons had occurred in the I7th 

 century between Atherton and Brotherton; 

 Lanes, and Cbes. Rec. ii, 247, 293. 



25 Baines, Lanes, iii, 49, and informa- 

 tion of Mr. William Roper. The Wil- 

 braham estate consists of a number of 

 farms acquired in various ways. 



