SALFORD HUNDRED 



BOLTON-LE-MOORS 



1346 10 and 1445." From this time the descent of 

 the manor cannot be traced satisfactorily. After the 

 forfeiture by the Pilkingtons of Pilkington in 1485 

 the thegnage rents appear to have been collected 

 directly from the tenants in possession, 1 * and at the 

 beginning of the I yth century five-eighths was held 

 by the Pilkingtons of Rivington, 1 * a fourth part by the 

 Lathoms of Irlam, 14 and the other eighth by the 

 Shaws of Heath Charnock. 15 Even in the I4th cen- 

 tury a fourth part was held by the Westleigh and 

 Birkenhead families, 16 and descended to the Birken- 

 heads " and Chisnalls I8 in the 1 6th century, and to the 

 Hamerton's 19 or Lathoms. 193 



The principal local family was that just named 

 the Pilkingtons of Rivington.* In 1202 Alexander 

 de Pilkington, William his brother, and Alice his sister, 

 secured from Thomas de Rivington a release of his 

 right in 2^ oxgang? in Rivington and Worsthorne, all 

 the parties claiming by descent ; Thomas, however, 

 received the oxgang in Worsthorne, the Pilkingtons 

 retaining the land in Rivington, which was a fourth 



part of the manor. 11 At the same time Henry de 

 Pilkington released to Alexander his claim to 3 oxgangs 

 of land in the townships 

 named.** In 1212 Alexander 

 de Pilkington, the head of the 

 family, held the manor of the 

 king, and the sons of his uncle 

 or stepfather held the land of 

 him.* 3 It is clear, therefore, 

 that the land was much di- 

 vided. Nothing is known of 

 it for the greater part of a 

 century, 24 but then another 

 Alexander de Pilkington is 

 found purchasing lands* 5 in 



Rivington, apparently as an estate for his younger 

 son Richard,* 6 who settled there as the immediate 

 lord of the place, or at least of the seven-eighths 

 held by the Pilkingtons. Richard married Ellen, 

 daughter of William de Anderton, who had a share of 

 Rivington from her father ; * 7 she was living in 1 3Oi, s8 



PILKINGTON. Urgent 

 a cross fary voided gules. 



10 Add. MS. 32103, fol. 146*5 in 

 addition to the IQJ. rent, puture and a 

 double rent for relief were paid. Roger 

 de Pilkington and John de Hulton were 

 the tenants. 



11 Duchy of Lane. Knights' Fees, 2/20; 

 Sir John Pilkington and James Hulton 

 were the holders. 



The Hulton share descended in the 

 Farnworth branch of the family, but 

 is not mentioned in any of their inquisi- 

 tions, though rents in Rivington, of which 

 no particulars are given, are named among 

 the possessions of William Hulton of 

 Farnworth as late as 1556; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. x, no. 32. 



12 There is no indication that this part 

 of the Pilkington lordships was granted to 

 the Earl of Derby. 



18 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 153. 



" Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 

 fol. 755 ; the inquisition after the death 

 of Edmund Lathom, 1640, in which it is 

 stated that George his grandfather had, 

 among other properties, held a fourth 

 part of Rivington of the Crown, and 

 made a settlement in 1570. 



George Lathom and Elizabeth Lathom, 

 widow, were engaged in suits with 

 Richard Pilkington and others in 1549 

 and 1550, respecting Moldesfield and 

 land in Rivington ; Ducatus Lane. (Rec. 

 Com.), i, 240, 242, 243, 286. 



In Towneley MS. GG these are de- 

 scribed as George Lathom of Huyton 

 and Elizabeth his wife ; no. 1721, 1836. 

 Earlier (1486) Edmund Lathom of Riding 

 Chapel occurs ; no. 1965, 1966. Hye- 

 furth House at Dene Head was part of 

 the Lathom estate ; ibid. no. 1988. 

 The disputes went on until 1614, when 

 Thomas Lathom son of George received 

 an allotment of 50 acres in satisfaction 

 of his claims on the waste ; Irvine, 

 Ri-vington, 304. 



15 Lana. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 28. John Shaw was 

 defendant in Rivington cases in 1507, 

 1528, and again in 1545 ; Ducatus Lane. 

 (Rec. Com.), ii, I ; i, 201, 178. It 

 seems natural to assume that this was the 

 eighth part previously held by the Hul- 

 tons. Robert Shaw, son and heir of the 

 Thomas Shaw whose inquisition has 

 just been referred to, made a settlement of 

 the eighth part of the manor of Rivington 

 and other lands in 1606 ; Pal. of Lane. 



Feet of F. bdle. 70, no. 68. In 1765 

 Holt Leigh acquired lands in Rivington, 

 Anglezarke, &c., from Baxter Roscow 

 and Helen his wife, and Elizabeth Shaw, 

 widow -, ibid. bdle. 373, m. 122. 



16 In 1347 Roger de Westleigh of Irlam, 

 Emma his wife, and Adam de Birkhead 

 or Birkenhead of Wigan claimed the 

 fourth part of two messuages, &c., in 

 Rivington against Robert de Rivington, 

 Richard his son, and others ; Assize R. 

 1435, m. 1 8. Three years earlier Roger 

 son of Roger de Westleigh and Emma 

 his wife had made a settlement of the 

 fifth part of the manor of Rivington and 

 the fourth part of an oxgang in Barton- 

 on-Irwell in favour of their son Richard, 

 whose wife's name was Ellen ; Final Cone. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 121. A 

 settlement in 1448 probably refers to the 

 same estate ; ibid, iii, 1 14. 



V Henry Birkhead of Wigan held a 

 messuage and lands in Rivington of Richard 

 Pilkington fcy a rent of id.\ his heir in 

 1513 was Joan, sis:er of Richard son of 

 Hugh so i of Richard son of the said 

 Henry, and she was four years of age ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 26. By 

 another inquisition it was found that her 

 father Hugh, who died in 1514 (sic\ held 

 the same estate in Rivington of the king as 

 of his Duchy of Lancaster by the rent of 

 7$J-, and William Birkhead, uncle of 

 Hugh, was the occupier ; ibid, iv, no. 87. 

 Yet another inquisition was held in which 

 the tenure of the king by a rent of jlfd. 

 was confirmed, and some furthur particu- 

 lars were recorded ; Hugh is now stated 

 to have died 16 Jan. 1510-11 ; ibid, v, 

 no. 23. See further in the account of 

 Wigan. 



18 Richard Chisnall died in 1587 

 holding six messuages, &c., in Rivington 

 of the queen as of her manor of Salford, 

 in socage by a rent of -j\d. ; ibid, xiv, no. 

 39. Richard Chisnall had been plaintiff 

 in several Rivington suits in preceding 

 years ; Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), iii, 

 109, 125, 142, 157. John Chisnall, 

 his nephew and heir, was defendant in 

 1588; ibid, iii, 226. The estate in 

 Rivington was in 1635 stated to be held 

 of the Crown by a rent of i6\d. ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxviii, no. 8. 



19 The Chisnall estates descended to 

 the Hamertons ; James Hamerton was a 

 vouchee in a recovery in 1772 ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. 615, m. ii. A little 



287 



later the Rivington lands were sold to the 

 Andrews family. 



193 The Lathom estates in Rivington 

 and elsewhere seem to have been inherited 

 from the Westleigh family, though the 

 share of Rivington is called a fourth part. 

 The fractions are uncertain. 



20 See Pilkington, Pilkington Family, 

 34, &c. 



21 Final Cone, i, 1 8. 



22 Ibid, i, 22. 



23 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 67. 



24 A collection of Rivington charters is 

 preserved in Towneley MS. GG (Add. 

 MS. 32107), no. 1657-2078. 



25 Richard son of Richard de Gamelsley 

 granted to his lord, Alexander de Pilking- 

 ton, his claim in the holding of Roger de 

 Broadhurst ; Towneley MS. GG, no. 

 1703, 1873. William son of Roger de 

 Broadhurst also granted to Alexander his 

 lord all his rights in lands and services in 

 Rivington ; ibid. no. 1925. William son 

 of Richard de Rivington gave to the same 

 Alexander the land he had received from 

 Ellis son of Simon ; and Ellen and Maud, 

 daughters of John son of Richard son of 

 William de Rivington, gave a release of 

 their claim on the lands of their uncle 

 William ; and in 1279 Roger son of 

 Richard de Rivington also granted a 

 release ; ibid. no. 2066, 2069, 2070. 



26 Ibid. no. 1658. The seal bore the 

 Pilkington cross. 



2 ? Ibid. no. 1657, 1962; the 're- 

 mainder ' was to John, another son of 

 Alexander de Pilkington, in free marriage 

 with Margery, another daughter of 

 William de Anderton. Alice widow of 

 Adam son of William de Anderton re- 

 leased her claim to dower in Rivington to 

 R'chard de Pilkington ; no. 1661. Roger \ 

 de Broadhurst in 1297 entered into a I 

 bond to discharge Richard de Pilking- ' 

 ton and Ellen his wife from all his 

 claims against them on any account ; 

 no. 1831. 



28 In that year John de Hindley 

 successfully asserted his right to common 

 of pasture in 200 acres of moor, &c., in 

 Rivington against Richard de Pilkington, 

 the chief lord, Ellen his wife, Alice widow 

 of Alexander de Pilkington, Adam de 

 Heywood, Roger de Broadhurst, and 

 others; Assize R. 419, m. 12. Richard 

 de Pilkington and Ellen his wife were 

 among the defendants in a plea of the 

 following year ; ibid. 418, m. 2. 



