SALFORD HUNDRED 



MIDDLETON 



by one knight's fee, with payments of ioj. a year for 

 castle-ward and 13*. \d. for sake fee. 11 



The tenants adopted the local surname. The 

 earliest on record is Roger de Middleton, son of 

 Alexander, who about 1 1 80 made a grant of Ash- 

 worth. 11 In 1193, having shared in the rebellion of 

 John, Count of Mortain, he made peace with the 

 king by a fine of 5 marks. 13 It was found in 1212 

 that he held the fee of one knight (in Middleton) 

 ' of ancient tenure,' of Roger de Montbegon, and 

 also held a plough-land in Cheetham of the king. 14 

 He died before 1226, when Avice his widow was of 

 the king's gift. 15 His son Robert 16 succeeded, but 

 was dead in 1242, when his heir held the knight's 

 fee in Middleton, part of the dower of the Countess 

 of Lincoln. 17 



This heir was his son Roger, who in 1243 had a 

 suit with Geoffrey de Middleton respecting the third 





part of four plough-lands in Middleton. 18 It was 

 perhaps a later Roger de Middleton who appears in 

 various ways as lord of the 

 manor in the last quarter of 

 the century, 19 and whose son 

 Roger succeeded him. 20 



In 1313 Roger de Middle- 

 ton and Agnes his wife made 

 a settlement of the manor, the 

 remainders after the death of 

 Agnes being, in default of male 

 issue, to their daughters in suc- 

 cession Maud, Ellen, Alice, 

 Margaret, Margery, and Joan.* 1 

 Four years later a similar ar- 

 rangement was made with re- 

 spect to the third part of the manor and the advowson 

 of the church. 21 Roger died in August 1322 ;" his 



BARTON of Middle- 

 ton. Ermine on a Jesse 

 gules three annulets or. 



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

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 59, 60. 



Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, in right of 

 his wife Alice, held the manor of Middle- 

 ton before his forfeiture ; ibid, ii, 102. 



In the sheriff's compotus of 1 348 ac- 

 count was rendered of 131. $d. of the rent 

 of Isabel the queen for the manor of 

 Middleton, of the inheritance of Alice, 

 Countess of Lincoln ; also of IQJ. for 

 ward of Lancaster Castle. 



In 1 840 it was stated : ' Middleton is 

 held of the Castle of Clitheroe alone, and 

 the lord owes suit and service to the 

 principal court of the honour only ; but 

 in modern times courts have been estab- 

 lished in various parts of the honour for 

 the convenience of the holders in fee ; and 

 the court at which Middleton renders ser- 

 vice is held at Holcombe in Tottington ' ; 

 E. Butterworth, Middleton, 9. 



12 The charter is printed in Lanes. Inq. 

 p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 448. 



18 Farrer, Lanes. Fife R. 77. In 

 1201-2 he paid J mark to the tallage, and 

 2OJ. to the scutage in 1205-6 ; ibid. 151, 

 205. In 1202 he released to William de 

 Radcliffe his claim on the advowson of 

 Radcliffe ; Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 10. On the Middleton 

 family see Lanes, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. 

 xvii, 32-47. 



14 Inq. and Extents, i, 60, 66. Roger de 

 Middleton released to the monks of Stan- 

 law all his claim to Threpfield by Mar- 

 land, his son Alan concurring ; ffhalley 

 Coucher (Chet. Soc.), ii, 619, 620. 



15 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 129. She 

 held nothing of the king. 



16 Whalley Coucher, ii, 621. Roger de 

 Middleton and Robert his son also attested 

 a Byron charter ; Byron Chartul. (Towne- 

 ley MSS.), s.d. 22. Robert son of Roger de 

 Middleton made a grant to his aunt 

 Helewise ; his brothers William and Alan 

 were witnesses, and his seal bearing a 

 fleur de lis ? is appended ; see notes on 

 Middleton Church. 



J 7 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 153. 

 Robert was living in 1236 ; Final. Cone. 



> 74- 



18 By fine at Lancaster (in or before 

 1241) Geoffrey de Middleton had obtained 

 the third part of four plough-lands with 

 their appurtenances in Middleton, of which 

 Robert de Middleton was then tenant. 

 At Easter 1243 Roger son and heir of 

 Robert made complaint respecting the 

 third part of four plough-lands in Middle- 

 ton Pilsworth, Thornham, Ainsworth, 

 and Birtle ; for Geoffrey should have only 



6 oxgangs in Pilsworth, i oxgang in 

 Ainsworth, and the moiety of the assart 

 in Pilsworth which used to belong to 

 Robert father of Roger, whereas he had 

 occupied about 10 oxgangs ; and further, 

 Geoffrey had thrown down the houses 

 which Roger had erected on his part of 

 those 10 oxgangs, and carried off all the 

 corn sown there. The 6 oxgangs in Pils- 

 worth were held by Avice widow of Roger 

 de Middleton (4), Aylward Brand (i), 

 and Robert son of Blethyn (i), and that 

 in Ainsworth by Adam Blundus. Geof- 

 frey on his part denied having occupied 

 more than 7 oxgangs or done the 

 damage alleged. The parties afterwards 

 came to an agreement ; Curia Regis R. 

 128, m. 4 ; 130, m. 12 ; also Assize R.4O4, 

 m. 3 d. 



A Butterworth charter, but perhaps of 

 much later date, was attested by Roger de 

 Middleton and Geoffrey his brother ; By- 

 ron Chartul. Edw. I, 64. 



19 There is nothing to show whether 

 three or only two Rogers held Middleton 

 in succession. If there were three the 

 connexion between the first and second is 

 unknown. 



By an undated charter (about 1260) Sir 

 Geoffrey de Chetham granted to Roger 

 son of Robert de Middleton his claim to 

 the homage and service of Robert del 

 Holt ; Thomas de Prestwich and David 

 de Hulton were witnesses ; Dods. MSS. 

 cxlii, fol. 1296. 



Roger de Middleton occurs in 1275 

 when Robert de Stakel claimed a tene- 

 ment in Middleton against him ; Dep, 

 Keeper's Rep. xliv, App. 185. He was 

 witness to a Lacy grant in 1277 ; Whal- 

 ley Coucher ii, 595; see also Final Cone, i, 

 218. Roger was defendant in claims made 

 in 1292 by the Radcliffes, who were non- 

 suited ; Assize R. 408, m. 30 d. 32 d. In 

 1297 he presented his son John to the 

 rectory of Middleton; Lich. Epis. Reg. i, fol. 

 8. In the same year he attested a Farn- 

 worth charter ; Lever Chartul. (Add. MS. 

 32103), no. 69. 



Roger de Middleton and Roger his sou 

 attested a Rochdale charter in 1296; Byron 

 Chartul. Edw. I, 15. 



About this time a Robert son of Roger 

 de Middleton appears. He made a grant 

 to Sir Roger de Pilkington and Margery 

 his wife ; Lever Chartul. no. 32. In 1306 

 he gave all his lands in Middleton to 

 Roger de Middleton, 'his lord'; Dods. 

 MSS. cxlii, fol. I2()b. To a Hopwood 

 charter of 1302 among the witnesses were 

 John, rector of Middleton, Roger de 



163 



Middleton, and Robert de Middleton the 

 younger. 



20 Roger de Middleton, the 'lord' of 

 Robert (see last note), was probably this 

 son), and the surrender made by Robert 

 may indicate approximately the time of 

 succession. 



In 1302 Roger (or perhaps his father), 

 as holding a knight's fee in Middleton of 

 the Earl of Lincoln, contributed to the aid 

 for marrying the king's daughter ; Inq. 

 and Extents, i, 313. In 1311 it was 

 found that he held of the earl the manor 

 of Middleton by a knight's fee and suit 

 to the court of Clitheroe ; De Lacy Inq. 

 (Chet. Soc.), 19. In another extent of 

 about the same period he was stated to 

 hold four plough-lands and 2 oxgangs in 

 Middleton; Duchy of Lane. Knights' Fees, 

 bdle. i, no. 1 1, fol. 27 d. 



In 1306 as Roger son of Roger de 

 Middleton he appeared as defendant ; 

 Coram Rege R. 184, m. 24 d. He ob- 

 tained from Ellis de Ainsworth in 1310 a 

 messuage and land in Middleton ; Final 

 Cone, ii, 6. In 1317 he secured three 

 messuages and various lands from Richard 

 de Rumworth and Maud his wife ; ibid, ii, 

 22. 



21 Ibid, ii, 17. This fine concerns two- 

 thirds of the manor ; the other third may 

 have been held as dower by his father's 

 widow, together with the advowson of the 

 church. 



22 Ibid, ii, 24. The widow had prob- 

 ably died. The remainders are the same 

 as before. Roger and his wife in 13 19 had 

 an estate in Middleton settled upon them 

 by Henry de Orrell and Cecily his wife ; 

 the remainders were as before, except that 

 Joan was omitted ; ibid, ii, 30. 



23 Inq. p.m. 1 6 Edw. II, no. 49. The 

 writ was issued on 1 8 Aug. He held of 

 the king in chief, inasmuch as the lord- 

 ship of Tottington, like all other of Earl 

 Thomas's lands, had been taken into the 

 king's hands. There was a capital mes- 

 suage ; 80 acres in demesne worth 

 531. 4^.; 10 acres of meadow, worth IOJ., 

 but 'nothing this year because mowed 

 before Roger's death ' ; 10 acres of several 

 pasture worth zod. ; the moiety of 100 

 acres of wood, held in common with the 

 lady of Bury, 'whose herbage lies in the 

 common pasture for the tenants of Bury 

 and Middleton ' ; pannage of the same 

 moiety ; a water-mill worth 1 31. $d. a 

 year ; rents of free tenants 461. lod. ; rents 

 of other tenants 141. The clear value of 

 the manor was ^7 zs. 6d. The manor 

 was held by Roger jointly with his wife 



