A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



regularly by his descendants, Richard, 9 John, 10 and 

 another Richard. The last-named, who married 

 Alice daughter of Robert de Worsley, 11 left two 

 daughters as co-heirs Ellen, who married Adam son 

 of Henry de Prestall, 1 * and Alice, who married a 

 Standish, and left a daughter and heir Joan, wife of 

 Richard Seddon." 



The Prestalls' share descended to a son Richard u 

 and granddaughters Joan and Isabel. Joan Prestall 

 was three times married. Her first marriage, in 

 infancy, was not ratified ; her second husband was 

 John Leigh, by whom she had a son Thomas, 15 whose 

 son Richard sold the inheritance to Ralph Assheton of 

 Great Lever ; 16 her third husband was Edmund Bolton,. 



Richard de Redford the younger at- 

 tested a charter in 1295 ; Towneley'g 

 Lever ChartuL (Add. MS. 32102, no. 

 1-260), no. 60 ; and another in 

 1297 as Richard son of Richard de Red- 

 ford ; no. 69. In the year before he 

 had made an agreement with Adam de 

 Lever respecting the mediety of three 

 parts of approvements in Hope Hey and 

 opposite Blindeshill and Whitecroftjno.59. 

 From Henry de Worsley he procured a 

 confirmation of his common of pasture 

 within bounds beginning at Hope Lache, 

 at the Farnworth end of it, then by the 

 Hope Hey to Wicheshaw Lydiate in Wich- 

 eves in Worsley (Little Hulton), by the 

 highway to Longshaw, and straight to the 

 Edge in Lepar Lache, by Black Lache to 

 Walden Brook, and up the brook to the 

 Hope and the starting-point ; no. 67. He 

 made an exchange with Henry son of 

 John de Hulton in 1 299 ; no. 72. Richard 

 de Redford was one of the lords of Farn- 

 worth in 1 320; Mamcestre (Chet. Soc.),289. 



10 John de Redford was a witness in 

 13165 Lever ChartuL no. 8 I. To John son 

 of Henry de Hulton he in 1321 released all 

 his right in the mill and land called Peck 

 in the hamlet of Farnworth and in all 

 land of the mill within the lanes by which 

 the king's highway went on to Manches- 

 ter, John de Hulton allowing him to grind 

 freely at the mill ; no. 86. From Adam 

 son of Henry de Blindishill, he in 1326 

 acquired the land called Ashinbottom (no 

 doubt the Hassumbottom of a previous 

 charter) ; no. 88. In 1341 he agreed to 

 an exchange of lands in the Newfield, 

 the Marsh, and Black Bottom with John 

 de Hulton ; no. 93. 



11 Richard son of John de Redford in 

 1350 received from his feoffee all his lands 

 in Farnworth, with remainders to his heirs 

 by Alice ; ibid. no. 94. At the same time 

 a rent-charge of 1 31. 4^. out of the Farn- 

 worth lands was settled on Alice daughter 

 of Robert de Worsley ; no. 95. 



18 The Prestall family occur in the 

 1 3th century ; Adam son of Eve de 

 1 Presthall ' being named in 1278 and 

 1392; Assize R. 1238, m. 34; 418, 

 m. 3 d. The same Adam was witness to 

 a Farnworth charter; LeverChartul. no. 24; 

 in 1299 he had a release of actions from 

 William son of Richard the Chief ; no. 70. 

 Probably he is the same as Adam son of 

 Henry de Prestall who received from the 

 first Richard de Redford a grant of a 

 mediety of three parts of Farnworth, the 

 boundaries following Rodenden to the 

 Irwell, by this stream to Greenlache, up 

 the lache to the highway, and so back to 

 the starting-point ; no. 21. This land he 

 gave to Adam de Lever ; the rent of ftd. 

 was due to the chief lords ; no, 22. 



Early in 1330 Henry de Prestall, per- 

 haps the son or grandson of Adam, received 

 from Adam de Lever the mediety of three 

 parts of Prestall Banks, a rent of -j\d. 

 being payable ; ibid. no. 90. Richard de 

 Farnworth, as trustee, in 1350 restored to 

 Henry de Prestall all his lands in the 

 hamlet of Farnworth in the vill of Barton, 

 with remainder, after his death, to Agnes 

 daughter of Robert de Walkden, for her 



life, and then to Agnes' children Adam, 

 Philippa, and Maud, and their heirs, in 

 succession, and in default to the right 

 heirs of Henry de Prestall ; Lord Elles- 

 mere's D. no. 82. In 1364 Henry de 

 Prestall gave to Adam son of Agnes, 

 daughter of Robert de Walkden, all his 

 lands in Farnworth, with similar remaind- 

 ers ; ibid. no. 83. From its terms this grant 

 was probably made on Adam's marriage. 



An indenture of 1394 has been pre- 

 served, made between Ellen and Alice, 

 daughters and co-heirs of Richard de Red- 

 ford, concerning land called Herefield in 

 Kearsley; from this agreement for par- 

 tition it appears that Ellen was then the 

 widow of (Adam) de Prestall and Alice 

 the widow of Jordan de Tetlow ; Lever 

 Chartul. no. 260. 



18 The pedigrees of the Redford heirs 

 were compiled in 1598 by Ralph Assheton 

 of Great Lever ; but as to the Seddon 

 portion he is careful to state : ' I had it 

 but by the report of Thomas Marcroft, 

 without the sight of his evidence,' though 

 for the other portion * I set it down by 

 the sight of my own evidence ' ; ibid. fol. 

 7<D/>. From the deed last quoted it is 

 plain that Alice married a second time. 



In 1473 Adam Prestall held of the 

 lord of Manchester his capital messuage 

 with the appurtenances, value 10 a year, 

 by a rent of 6J. ; and Richard Seddon 

 held a message, &c., value 5 marks, also 

 by a rent of 6d. ; Mamecestre, 478. 



14 The paternity of Richard is not stated 

 in the deeds preserved. 



Among the De Trafford deeds are some 

 relating to Farnworth. The land to which 

 they refer had belonged to Robert son of 

 Robert de Walkden in 13805 he granted 

 it to Robert de Walkden, bastard son of 

 Cecily de Hough, who, with his brother 

 John, sold it to Richard de Prestall in the 

 beginning of the reign of Henry VI 5 no. 

 299-308. Adam de Prestall was a witness 

 in 1380 5 no. 300. Richard' smother was 

 named Ellen, his wife was Elizabeth, and 

 his son and heir Adam was in 1425 es- 

 poused to Margaret, daughter of Otes de 

 Holland 5 no. 308, 309. 



In 1419 Richard Prestall leased to 

 Hugh son of Jack Hulton land then 

 occupied by Hugh in Farnworth, with re- 

 mainder to Hugh's brother Roger ; Ellcs- 

 mere D. no. 91. In 1426 William and 

 Roger Lever were bound to Richard 

 Prestall, and he to them, in 100 to 

 abide an arbitration as to certain disputes ; 

 Lever Chartul. no. 116. In 1445 Richard 

 Prestall complained that Giles Lever 

 of Barton and a number of others had 

 broken into his close and destroyed his corn 

 and grass ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 7, m. 5 b. 

 A little later John Lever made a similar 

 complaint, Richard Prestall, William 

 Prestall, and Richard, William's son, 

 being among the accused ; ibid. R. 8, 

 m. 3. 



Another arbitration took place in 1478, 

 Alice widow of Richard Prestall and Sir 

 Geoffrey Massey being on one side, and 

 Sir Ralph Assheton, Ralph his son, and 

 others named on the other side ; the 

 latter had to pay to the former a certain 



40 



sum of money ' in the chapel of St. James- 

 the Apostle in the parish church of Man- 

 chester between the hour of ix of the clock 

 afore noon and the third hour after noon ' 5. 

 Ellesmere D. no. 226. 



15 Lever Chartul. no. 239-59,^6 record 

 of a long series of disputes concerning this, 

 portion of the Prestall inheritance, arising 

 from the child marriage of Joan with 

 Adam Prestall. It may be observed that 

 the Leighs are described as of Highfield ' 

 in Farnworth, for the Redford properties 

 were not confined to Kearsley. 



In 1 510 John Ashley of Ashley in 

 Cheshire agreed with Edward Bolton and 

 Joan his wife, late wife of John Leigh of 

 Highfield, one of the daughters and heirs 

 of Richard Prestall, concerning the mar- 

 riage of Thomas Leigh, son and heir of 

 John and Joan, with Elizabeth, daughter 

 of John Ashley 5 no. 229. Alice, the 

 mother of Joan, and Isabel her sister, 

 wife of Henry Southworth, are mentioned. 



In 1527 Thomas Leigh of Prestall and 

 James son of Edmund Bolton of Highfield, 

 referred their disputes to arbitration, which 

 resulted in favour of the former 5 no. 240. 

 An exchange was made. 



About 1555 the contention as to the 

 legitimacy of the Leighs was brought to a 

 trial. James Bolton alleged that Joan 

 Prestall married (i) Adam Prestall, who 

 died without issue, and (2) Edmund Bolton, 

 father of the petitioner (who was only 

 twelve years old at his mother's death 

 and under age at his father's) ; the Leigh 

 marriage was adulterous; no. 245. Thomas 

 Leigh, one of the six children of John and 

 Joan Leigh, made reply ; he had been in 

 possession for twenty-six years, viz. from 

 the death of Edmund Bolton ; no. 246. 

 About 1557 Cuthbert, Bishop of Chester, 

 certified that the disputed marriage was 

 lawful, no. 254 ; but on the accession of 

 Elizabeth a new petition was made, and 

 in 1 56 1 the queen ordered the new Bishop 

 of Chester to make inquiry as to the dis- 

 puted marriage 5 no. 247. This was favour- 

 able to its legality, and in 1562 an award 

 was made between James Bolton and 

 George, his son and heir apparent, on the 

 one side, and Thomas Leigh and Richard, 

 his son and heir apparent, on the other. 

 The latter were adjudged in the right, but 

 directed to make a lease of certain lands 

 at a rent of 6s. %d. to James Bolton ; no. 

 248-52. 



In 1575 Thomas Leigh of Highfield 

 and Richard his son, with Richard's wife 

 Katharine, sold Prestall to James Bolton ; 

 no. 253. This seems to have been followed 

 by a fine in 1578, Thomas Leigh being 

 dead ; PaL of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 40, 

 m. 38. 



16 The fact of sale is stated in the pedi- 

 gree compiled by Ralph Assheton, but the 

 deeds are not transcribed. In the in- 

 quisition the lands in Kearsley are grouped 

 with those in Farnworth ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 287. A 

 'manor* of Kearsley is mentioned in 1628; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 1 14, no. 8. 



The Leigh family continued to hold 

 property in Farnworth down to the end of 

 the 1 8th century; Barton, Farnworth, 159. 



