SALFORD HUNDRED 



BOLTON-LE-MOORS 



attainder of Thomas, Marquess of Dorset, in I483. 40 

 It was in 1484 given to the Stanleys, afterwards Earls 

 of Derby, and has since descended with the earldom. 41 

 The fourth daughter, Katherine, married Sir John 

 de Harrington of Farleton in Lonsdale, and had three 

 sons Thomas, Robert, and Nicholas ; 4J the inherit- 

 ance, doubled by the gift of Agnes, descended with 

 the issue of Nicholas to Sir Thomas Harrington and 

 his son Sir John, both killed at the battle of Wake- 

 field in 1 46o. 43 The moiety of the manor of Bolton 

 was secured for himself by Sir Edward Stanley, created 

 Lord Mounteagle, who married Anne, one of Sir John 

 Harrington's daughters ; 44 and it descended through 

 his son by a second marriage to William, Lord Mount- 



eagle, who in 1 5 74 sold it to William Slinehead and 

 Ellis Ainsworth. 45 



The estate was then divided. Ralph Assheton of 

 Great Lever in 1588 died seised of a fourth part of 

 the manor, 46 and his descendant, Sir Ralph Assheton, 

 sold it in 1630 to John Bridgeman, Bishop of Ches- 

 ter, 47 with whose descendant, the Earl of Bradford, this 

 part of the manor still remains. 



From Ellis Ainsworth the remaining fourth part 

 seems to have passed by the marriage of Jane Ains- 

 worth to Ellis Hey of Monks Hall in Eccles,* 8 and 

 their descendant, another Ellis Hey, in 1658 sold it 

 to Henry Houghton, 49 after which it cannot be clearly 

 traced. 40 



Henry de Ferrers of Groby, certain tene- 

 ments in Bolton, held for life by John de 

 Aldelem, Katherine his wife, and John 

 their son, are stated to be held of John 

 La Warre, lord of Manchester, by knight's 

 service ; Inq. p.m. 1 1 Ric. II, no. 26 ; 

 1 6 Ric. II, pt. i, no. n. John de 

 Arderne died in 1392, holding for life 

 three parts of a fourth part of Bolton, by 

 grant of Sir William de Ferrers, grand- 

 father of the William de Ferrers of 

 Groby of whom he held at the time of 

 his death 5 the value was 601. a year ; 

 Inq. p.m. 1 6 Ric. II, pt. i, no. 35 ; 

 18 Ric. II, no. i. 



40 See the preceding note and Lanes. 

 Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 51, where again 

 the tenure is stated to be of Lord La 

 Warre. 



41 It was among the manors and lands 

 granted by Richard III on 17 Sept. 1484 

 to Sir Thomas Stanley and his son Sir 

 George, as a reward for their assistance 

 against various rebels ; Cal. Pat. 1476-85, 

 p. 476. 



In the inquisition after the death of 

 Thomas Earl of Derby, in 1521, it is 

 stated that the moiety of the manor of 

 Chorley and the fourth part of the manor 

 of Bolton this was the description of the 

 Arderne estate in 1354 had been held 

 by Joan Lady Strange ' in her demesne 

 as of fee,' and had descended to the earl 

 on her death. In his case the manors 

 were said to be held of the king as of his 

 Duchy, but in Lady Strange's to be held 

 of Thomas Ashton and Roger Dalton as 

 of their manor of Croston ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 68 ; iv, no. 18. 



The accounts of the Derby estates 

 during the minority of the third earl 

 show that the free tenants of Bolton paid 

 251. gd. at the Feast of St. Margaret, 

 and izd. was derived from a toll called 

 Weketoll ; Derby Rental (1522) in posses- 

 sion of Earl of Lathom. 



During the Commonwealth Charles 

 Worsley contracted to purchase the con- 

 fiscated manor of Bolton ; Royalist Comp. 

 Papers (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 

 240. 



The manor occurs regularly in fines 

 and recoveries of the Earl of Derby's 

 estates. 



42 Sir John de Harrington of Farleton 

 died holding in right of Katherine his 

 wife, deceased, certain tenements in Bol- 

 ton of Henry Duke of Lancaster ; viz., 

 10 acres in the hands of tenants at will 

 rendering 51. a year ; rents of free bur- 

 gesses, 2U.; the fourth part of a fair, 

 held at St. Margaret's Feast, ioj. Robert, 

 the son and heir, succeeded, and died 

 abroad in 1361, on which the Duke of 



i Lancaster took possession, but died soon 

 afterwards. Nicholas, another son of 

 John and Katherine, was the heir both of 



his parents and his brother ; Inq. p.m. 

 36 Edw. Ill, pt. i, no. 90. The jury 

 ignored the other fourth part of Bolton 

 held by Robert in right of his aunt's gift. 



43 The estates descended to Sir James 

 Harrington, brother of Sir John, who 

 forfeited them in 1486 as a Yorkist ; 

 Whitaker, Whalley, ii, 509. 



44 The manor of Bolton-le-Moors, 

 worth 401. a year, is stated in the in- 

 quisition after Lord Mounteagle's death 

 in 1523 to have been held together with 

 Hornby, Farleton, &c., by virtue of a 

 grant from Henry VII in 1489, of the 

 king in chief by the service of one 

 knight's fee ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 

 v, no. 64. Thomas his son and heir died 

 in 1560, holding all by the same service ; 

 ibid, xi, no. i. William the son and 

 heir of Thomas was the vendor. 



In the time of Henry VII Sir Edward 

 Stanley had some difficulty in securing 

 the tolls of the July fair, a number of 

 the neighbouring gentry, with their men, 

 coming armed and creating a great riot, 

 so that had not the curate of Bolton 

 interfered, standing between the com- 

 batants with the Blessed Sacrament upon 

 him, Sir Edward's servants would have 

 been taken and murdered ' out of hand ' ; 

 Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 44. These tolls were granted to Sir 

 Edward on 12 July 1507; Duchy of 

 Lane. Misc. Bks. xxi, fol. 3/59 d. 



45 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 36, 

 m. 142 ; the sale included the manor of 

 Bolton, and lands there and at Ashton in 

 Makerfield. For other Ainsworth acqui- 

 sitions see ibid, bdles. 30, m. 70 ; 58, 



m. 352> 59> m -9- 



46 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 

 90. There is nothing to show how he 

 became possessed of it. The fourth part 

 of the manor, with four burgages, &c., is 

 said to be held of the queen in free 

 burgage and socage ; see also Lanes. Inq. 

 p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 

 289. 



4 < Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 115, 

 no. 39 ; see the account of Great Lever. 



48 This is an inference from the pedi- 

 gree in Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 133, 

 and the statements in several inquisitions 

 that lands, &c., in Bolton were held of 

 Ralph Assheton and either Jane Ainsworth, 

 widow, or Ellis Hey ; e.g. Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 116 ; ii, 

 274. 



49 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 162, 

 m. 102. 



50 The following were lords of the 

 manor in the years given : 



1442 Lord de Ferrers,Thomas de Har- 

 rington, and Robert Shireburne; Towneley 

 MS. DD,no. 1478. 



1508 Thomas Earl of Derby, Sir 

 Edward Stanley, and Sir Richard Shire- 



247 



burne ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 

 26. 



1578 Henry Earl of Derby, William 

 Lord Mounteagle, and Richard Shireburne; 

 ibid. xii,no. 19. 



1604 William Earl of Derby, Richard 

 Shireburne, Ralph Assheton, and Ellis 

 Hey ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc, Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 22. 



1635 William Earl of Derby, John 

 Bishop of Chester, Roger Lever, and 

 Ellis Hey ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 

 xxvii, no. 42. 



1691 William George Earl of Derby, 

 Sir John Bridgeman, Thomas Lever, and 

 Roger Thropp ; End. Char. Rep. for Bolton, 

 1904, p. 66. The heirs of Roger Thropp 

 are named (ibid. 16), but his share of the 

 manor did not descend to them. ' Thropp's 

 house' in Bradshaw Gate was in 1773 

 owned by John Moss, woollen draper ; 

 Scholes and Pimblett, op. cit. 149. The 

 Lever share descended in part (one third, 

 as it appears) to the Blackburnes of Or- 

 ford, by the marriage of Jonathan Black- 

 burne with Anne daughter and heir of 

 Thomas Lever of Chamber, who had pre- 

 viously been the wife of Christopher 

 Lockwood of Leeds ; she died in 1732, 

 aged seventy-seven ; Beamont, Hale and 

 Orford, 183-6 ; Thoresby, Ducatus Lead. 

 48. For a demise in 1742 of Chamber 

 Hall and the Blackburne estate see Bolton 

 Hist. Gleanings, ii, 59. 



1746 Edward Earl of Derby, Sir John 

 Bridgeman, John Blackburne, Samuel 

 Crooke, Rev. Samuel Lever ; ibid, i, 35. 



1764 The same, except that the Rev. 

 Thomas Lever had succeeded Samuel ; 

 ibid. 



1792 Edward Lord Derby, Sir Henry 

 Bridgeman, John Blackburne, James 

 Lever, and Samuel Crooke ; Scholes and 

 Pimblett, op. cit. 465. In 1803 David 

 Claughton purchased ' the manor or lord- 

 ship of Great Bolton,' and lands there, 

 from John Blackburne and his wife, Adam 

 Mason and his wife, and William Maire ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Assize R. Lent Assizes 

 43 Geo. III. In the following year 

 Samuel Crooke was vouchee in a recovery 

 of the manor of Whittle-le-Woods, and 

 the fourth part of the manor of Bolton j 

 ibid. Lent Assizes, 44 Geo. III. 



1824 The Earl of Derby, Earl of 

 Bradford, Rev. Freeman, each one- 

 fourth part ; and Claughton one- 

 twelfth ; and the representatives of the 

 Lever family one-sixth ; Baines, Lanes. 

 Dir. ii, 530. The statement was repeated 

 in 1836; Baines, Lanes, iii, 55. Thomas 

 Claughton and his wife appear to have 

 made a settlement of the manors of Great 

 Bolton and Houghton [in Winwick] in 

 1812; Pal. of Lane. Assize R. Aug. 

 52 Geo. Ill, fine 5 ; see also the account 

 of Houghton. Two years later a similar 



