BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



MITTON (PART OF) 



the heir was a grandson named Robert, son of the 

 younger Richard by his wife Alice Hamerton, 90 

 and only six years of age. Little is recorded of 

 Robert's fifty years' tenure of the manor. 91 He died 

 in 1492 holding Aighton of Sir Edward Stanley, 

 successor of Harrington, by the rent of 6os. ; also 

 various other manors and lands. Provision had been 

 made in 1489 for Thomas and Roger, younger sons, 

 and in 1491 for Anne daughter of Sir Thomas 

 Talbot, who was to marry Hugh grandson of 

 Robert. The heir was Robert's son Sir Richard 

 Shireburne, then thirty years of age. 92 He died in 

 1513 holding the manor as before, and leaving a 

 son Hugh, thirty years of age, to inherit. 93 Hugh's 

 son Thomas of full age succeeded in I5z8, 94 but did 

 not long continue, dying in I535~6, 9i during his 

 term of office as sheriff. 96 



Richard the son and heir of Thomas was said to 

 be ten years old at his father's death. 97 He held the 

 manor for nearly sixty years, and for most of the 

 time was one of the leading men in the county. In 

 1544 he was made a knight during the invasion of 

 Scotland in that year, Edinburgh being captured. 98 

 He was a member of the Parliaments of Mary's time, 99 

 but not later ; nor was he ever sheriff. Religion 

 probably kept him from these employments after 

 1559, for such as he was he favoured Roman 

 Catholicism. 100 Towards the end of his life, about 

 1591, it was reported to the queen's ministers that 

 Sir Richard and his family * are recusants and do not 

 go to church, or if they do, stop their ears with wool 

 lest they should hear ; that he kept a priest in Queen 

 Mary's time ; had one brought to confess his wife 

 when ill ; relieves Richard Startevant, who is con- 

 versant with Dr. Allen and other Jesuits and is 



suspected to be a Jesuit, and for that reason he 

 put Roger Startevant out of the book for payment 

 of this subsidy ; that he says he could apprehend 

 massing priests but will disturb no man for his 

 conscience ; that he threatens revenge, with death, 

 against those that preferred the articles against him ; 

 that he has several times, from 1585 to 1588, laid 

 upon the inhabitants of Lancashire too high taxes for 

 soldiers, and kept the money in his hands and refuses 

 to account for it ; that he threatens to hang constables 

 by martial law unless they collect the sums so taxed ; 

 that he retains sundry sums due to people on the 

 end of the last lottery ; that he threatened vengeance 

 on Simon Haydock, who refused to sell him lands at 

 Chorley, if he continued in his lieutenancy ; that he 

 has been guilty of incest and adultery ; and has 

 never lent the queen money by privy seal, though 

 worth more than i ,000 a year.' 101 He was at 

 one time a member of the Ecclesiastical Commission 

 of the North, the object of which was to exterminate 

 Roman Catholicism. 102 He was master forester of 

 Bowland, a deputy-lieutenant of the county and the 

 Earl of Derby's lieutenant of the Isle of Man. 103 He 

 married Maud Bold, and had several children by her, 

 as well as illegitimate offspring by various mistresses ; 

 one of these he married immediately after his wife's 

 death in I588. 104 Though involved in a great num- 

 ber of lawsuits 10i he prospered, adding much to the 

 family wealth 106 ; he rebuilt the Shireburne aisle in 

 Mitton Church, 107 and began a new hall at Stony- 

 hurst, 108 which his son continued. 



Sir Richard died 26 July 1594 holding the 

 manors of Aighton, Wiswell, Dutton, Carleton, 

 Hambleton, Longton, Bispham, Norcross and 

 Whittingham ; a moiety of the manor of Chorley, a 



90 In 1422 an agreement was made by 

 which Richard son of Richard Shireburne 

 was to marry Maud daughter of Lawrence 

 Hamerton ; Towneley MS. HH, no. 101. 



91 Sir John Boteler in 1447 released to 

 Robert Shireburne the younger all right 

 in various lands ; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 

 (Chet. Lib.), 145. In 1467 a covenant 

 was made that 'an honest secular priest' 

 should celebrate mass four times a week 

 at ' the chapel of the manor of Stony- 

 hurst ' for various persons deceased ; 

 Foley, Rec. 5. J. v, 401, from the Shire- 

 burne Abstract Bk. at Leagram. 



98 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 92 ; 

 the tenure of the manor of Aighton seems 

 to be imperfectly recorded. 



A papal dispensation for the marriage 

 of Richard Shireburne to Joan Langton 

 was granted in 1472 ; Test. Ebor. iii, 341. 



98 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 46 

 His will (1508) is recited. 



Hugh Shireburne was accused of 

 adultery in 1517; Whallty Act Bk. 

 (Chet. Soc.), 55, 66. 



94 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, 

 no. 65 ; the tenure of Aighton was 

 recorded as ' of the king as of his earldom 

 of Lincoln ' in socage by a rent of yd, 

 Dower was in 1537 assigned to Anne 

 widow of Hugh Shireburne ; ibid, viii, 

 no. 27. For the administration of his 

 estate see Whalley Act Bk. 1 1 9. 



93 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. viii, no. 33; 

 the manor of Aighton was held of the 

 king as Earl of Lincoln, a rent of yd. 

 being due for castle ward. In addition 

 to the manors and lands in his possession 

 Thomas Shireburne had the reversion of 

 others held for life by his uncle Roger 



Shireburne in Carleton, &c. ; by Richard 

 Shireburne in Wiswell, &c. ; by Thomas 

 bastard son of Sir Richard in Leyland, &c. ; 

 and by Robert son of Hugh Shireburne 

 in Aighton. 



In 1529-30 Thoma* Shireburne wa 

 accused of poaching in the forest of Bow- 

 land ; C. D. Sherborn, Family of Sherborn, 



*5- 



98 P.R.O. Litt, 73. 



97 The age may have been understated. 

 Special licence of entry was granted him 

 in 1544 ; Def. Keeper's Rep. xxxix, App. 

 559. He was married at Farnworth in 

 Widnes on 26 Oct. 1539, but his wife't 

 name is not given ; Reg. 



98 Metcalfe, Bk. of Knights, 76. 



99 In 1 5 5 3, for the county ; Nov. 1554, 

 Preston ; 1555, Liverpool; 1557-8, 

 Preston ; Pink and Beaven, op. cit. 63, 

 143, 181, 144. 



100 He may be the ' Master Shireburne ' 

 of George Marsh's story who was at 

 Lathom when this Protestant preacher 

 was examined there by the Earl of Derby 

 in 1554. He did not argue with Marsh, 

 professing himself ignorant of the Scrip- 

 tures, but lamented that ' a well-favoured 

 young man and one that might have good 

 living and do good would so foolishly cast 

 himself away, sticking so hard to such 

 foolish opinions ' ; Foxe, Acts and Monum. 

 (ed. Cattley), vii, 43-4. 



101 Cal. S. P. Dom. 1591-4, p. 159. 

 Richard Startevant was a confidential 

 servant of Cardinal Allen's in 1583 ; 

 Knox, Douay Diaries, 193. About ten years 

 later he seems to have begun his studies for 

 the priesthood ; Foley, Rec. S. /. vi, 194. 



102 He was said to use his position to 



be 'an intelligencer to the Papists of 

 Lancashire ' ; Gibson, Lydiate Hall, quot- 

 ing S. P. Dom. Eliz. ccxl. Dodsworth is 

 given as authority for the assertion that 

 Elizabeth winked at his recusancy. 



108 M.I. at Mitton ; Whitaker, Craven 

 (ed. Morant), 24. 



10< A pedigree was recorded in 1567 ; 

 Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 58. The second wife 

 was Isabel Wood. For the wills of Sir 

 Richard and Dame Isabel see Raines, 

 Chantries (Chet. Soc.), 267 ; Wills (Chet. 

 Soc. new ser.), ii, 179. 



Sir Richard's portrait in oils and 

 several other family pictures are preserved 

 at Leagram Hall ; Sherborn, op. cit. 35. 



105 See Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), ii, 

 212 (Paradise in Aighton) ; iii, n (Dani- 

 scoles in Aighton), 102 (Chaigley), &c. 



106 The fines show a large number of 

 purchases made by him in the Aighton 

 district; for instance, in 1556 he pur- 

 chased two messuages, &c., in Aighton 

 and Hambleton from Sir Thomas Hesketh 

 and Alice his wife ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of 

 F. bdle. 1 6, m. 15. Lands in Aighton 

 were held by Thomas Hesketh of Ruffbrd 

 in 1523, but the tenure was unknown ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 16. 



A purchase from John Grimshaw of 

 Clayton is recorded in Add. MS. 32105, 

 no. 877. 



A settlement was made in 1579 ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 41, m. 199. 



107 Whitaker, Craven, quoting Dods. 

 MSS. v, 41. Sir Richard in his will desired 

 to be buried 'in the midst of my new 

 quire.' The same expression occurs in 

 his sen Richard's will, 1627. 



IDS Gerard, op. cit. 53-4. 



