BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



family of Knoll or Knolls 6 ; as early as 1302 John 

 de Knoll held of the Earl of Lincoln the eighth part 

 of a knight's fee in Thornley and Wheatley. 7 John 

 shortly afterwards acquired two messuages, 2 oxgangs 

 of land, &c., in Thornley, which had been granted by 

 Thomas son of Hugh le Surreys to John son of 

 Jordan de Mitton. 8 In 1319 Thomas son (and heir) 

 of John de Knoll called upon Thomas de Osbaldeston 

 as mesne lord to acquit him of the service in respect 

 of a tenement in Wheatley claimed by the Earl of 

 Lancaster ; 9 and Osbaldeston claimed the custody of 

 the manors of Wheatley and Thornley, Thomas de 

 Knoll being a minor, because John his father had 

 held by knight's service. 10 



Thomas de Knoll died between 1350" and 1354, 



CHIPPING 



his widow Margaret and son Richard having the lord- 

 ship in the latter year. 1 * Richard and his brother 

 Adam were defendants in 1358 against a claim by 

 John Maudson of Core. 13 From later deeds it appears 

 that Adam ultimately inherited ; he had three sons 

 Richard, John and Adam. 14 Richard repudiated his 

 wife and married another, but on trial this was 

 decreed unlawful and he had to return to his first 

 spouse. She bore him two sons, Miles and Gerard. 15 

 The former had a daughter Margaret, who married 

 John Singleton, 16 and the latter had a son Richard, 

 whose son John Knoll was the heir male, when, 

 about 1500, Thomas first Earl of Derby purchased 

 the manor of Thornley. 17 From the rental of 

 152 3-4 it appears that a rent of <\.s. \d. was due 



Alice wife of John de Sedbergh and 

 her sisters Christiana and Agnes were 

 non-suited in 1292 in a claim against 

 Ralph son of Adam de Thornley ; Ralph's 

 daughter Avice is named ; ibid. m. 33. 

 One of the sisters may have been the 

 Christiana widow of Robert del Town 

 who in 1304. claimed dower against 

 Ralph de Thornley; De Banco R. 151, 

 m. 203 d. Ralph seems to have called 

 upon John de Knoll for warranty ; ibid. 

 154, m. 31. Alice widow of William 

 del Town was defendant in 1351 ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Assize R. I, m. v d. 



In 1316 Margery daughter of Richard 

 Francey* of Ribchester demised land in 

 Thornley in Chippingdale to Adam son 

 of Hugh de Clitheroe ; it had been given 

 to her for life on her marriage with Adam 

 son of Ralph de Thornley ; Towneley 

 MS. DD, no. 1182. 



6 Ralph de Mitton made complaint 

 against Richard de Knoll and others of 

 the neighbourhood in 1253 ; Curia Regis 

 R. 150, m. 20 ; 151, m. 22, 25 d. 



There were disputes between John de 

 Knoll and Hugh le Surreys in 1277-8, it 

 being adjudged in the latter year that John 

 had thrown down part of Hugh's ditch in 

 Wheatley (3 rods justly and 6 rods un- 

 justly), 6d. damage being awarded ; Assize 

 R. 1235, m. 13 ; 1238, m. 31 d. 



A claim by John son of John de Knoll 

 in 1292 has been mentioned. He also 

 claimed common of pasture against John 

 son of Jordan de Mitton, giving his pedi- 

 gree as son and heir of John, brother and 

 heir of Richard (s.p.), son and heir of 

 Richard de Knoll ; Assize R. 408, m. 55 d. 

 The family therefore held some land in 

 the township as early as the middle of the 

 i 3th century. 



7 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 319. The 

 mesne lord at the time is ignored. 



8 The charter from Mitton to Surreys 

 is in De Banco R. 89 (1291), m. 19, and 

 has been referred to in the account of 

 Chipping. 



John son of Jordan dc Mitton appears 

 in Thornley as plaintiff in 1305, the de- 

 fendants being John and Adam sons of 

 John de Knoll and others ; Assize R. 

 420, m. 9 d. 



The two messuages and 2 oxgangs of 

 land seem to have been acquired by John 

 de Knoll from John de Mitton and Alice 

 his wife about 1308 ; De Banco R. 171, 

 m. 23d. In reply to the claim of John 

 de Mitton in 1308-9 John de Knoll, here 

 styled 'lord of Wheatley,' averred that 

 the 2 oxgangs were in Wheatley, and not 

 in Thornley ; Assize R. 423, m. i d. 

 Hugh de Salesbury and William son of 

 Hawise de Livesey were also defendants. 



In 1310 Thomas son of Hugh le 



Surreys, called to warrant John de Mitton 

 and Alice in respect of the estate, sum- 

 moned Henry de Lacy Earl of Lincoln 

 to warrant him; De Banco R. 183, 

 m. 374. 



The connexion of the Surreys family 

 is shown in later pleas. Agnes widow of 

 Thomas le Surreys in 1335 claimed dower 

 in certain lands in Wheatley in Thornley 

 against Amabel widow of Thomas de 

 Osbaldeston, but the defendant produced 

 a charter of Roger son of John de Mitton 

 (1332) granting the lands to Thomas and 

 Amabel for life or eleven years ; ibid. 

 303, m. 9. Agnes also made claims 

 against Roger, Hugh and John, sons of 

 John de Mitton ; in reply Hugh and John 

 said they held jointly with their wives, 

 Agnes and Cecily ; ibid. 303, m. 9 d. ; 

 311, m. 206. 



9 Ibid. 229, m. 151. Thomas de Knoll 

 was doomsman of Wheatley and Thornley 

 at the court of Clitheroe in 1323 ; Lanes. 

 Ct. R. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 48. 



10 De Banco R. 230, m. 34 d. 



John de Knoll appears to have had 

 other issue, for in 1347 there was a suit 

 respecting a messuage and lands in Thorn- 

 ley which were successfully claimed by 

 William son of Richard son of Robert le 

 Walsh and Cecily daughter of Robert de 

 Hyde of Alston against Richard le Walsh 

 (the father of William), John (son of 

 John) de Knoll and William his son. 

 The plaintiffs alleged a grant by Richard ; 

 Assize R. 1435, m. i6d. 



11 In 1338 Roger son of John de Mitton 

 granted to Thomas de Knoll part of his 

 land and waste in Wheatley Wood in the 

 vill of Thornley ; Towneley MS. OO, 

 no. 1010. Among the witnesses were 

 Richard son of Adam de Knoll and 

 Richard son of John de Knoll. The 

 land seems to have been exchanged for 

 Ramscloughgreen ; Kuerden fol. MS. 

 p. 212, no. 366. 



Thomas de Knoll was on the com- 

 mission of the peace in Blackburn Hun- 

 dred in 1345 ; Cal. Pat. 1343-5, p. 510. 

 He was lord of the town of Thornley 

 in 1350 when Thomas son of Richard de 

 Bradley claimed common of pasture as to 

 100 acres of moor against him, Margaret 

 his wife, Richard his son and John son of 

 John de Knoll; Assize R. 1444, m. 4 d. 



12 At Easter 1354 William son of 

 Richard son of Robert le Walsh claimed 

 common of pasture in respect of 161 acres 

 against Richard son of Thomas de Knoll 

 and Margaret widow of Thomas, who had 

 the lordship, also against Adam de Knoll 

 and Reginald his brother. The claim 

 succeeded, it being shown that a suffi- 

 ciency of pasture had not been left ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 3, m. j. It 



33 



appears from later records that Adam 

 and Reginald were younger sons of Thomas 

 de Knoll. 



18 Ibid. 6, m. i ; see the account of 

 Chipping. 



14 This account of the descent is taken 

 from depositions recorded about 1500; 

 Towneley MS. OO, no. ion. 



15 Final Cone, iii, 90, being a fine in 

 1425 settling the manor of Thornley with 

 lands and wood in Chipping, Wheatley and 

 Aighton on Richard Knoll and his sons 

 Miles and Gerard and male issue. Miles 

 Knoll was living in 1446 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Plea R. 9, m. 33. 



16 There was a settlement of the manor 

 by John son of Christopher Singleton and 

 Margaret his wife in 1479 ; Final Cone. 



ii' 137- 



The claims of Margaret appear to have 

 met with much opposition. Thus in 

 1483 Stephen Knoll claimed the manor 

 against John and Margaret Singleton by 

 virtue of a settlement on Richard son of 

 Thomas de Knoll and Joan his wife, with 

 remainders to Adam and Reginald, 

 brothers of Richard, in default of male 

 issue. Reginald had sons John and 

 William, the latter being succeeded by a 

 son John and a grandson George, through 

 whom apparently Stephen claimed ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Writs Proton, file I Ric. Ill ; 

 Plea R. 58, m. 6. 



John Singleton in 14878 demised 

 Thornley to Sir Alexander Hoghton tor a 

 year ; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 49^, no. 3. 



*7 In 1479 Robert Wilkinson and 

 Thomas Newton gave a bond to Thomas 

 Lord Stanley as to the manor of Thorn- 

 ley ; Towneley MS. OO, no. 1007. It 

 does not appear how their title came, but 

 Robert Wilkinson in 1482 released his 

 title in the manors of Thornley, Wheatley 

 and Aighton, with various lands, &c., 

 late of John Knolles ; ibid. no. 1008. 

 They were, therefore, probably the heirs 

 or trustees of one of the John Knolls of 

 the text. Later still, in 1503 John the 

 son and heir of John Newton, then of 

 Towas [?Towcester], Northants, released 

 his right (by inheritance) in the manor to 

 Thomas Earl of Derby ; ibid. no. 1006. 



The earl's purchase of the manor from 

 Christopher Singleton, son and heir of 

 Margaret (widow of John Singleton) 

 daughter of Miles Knoll, took place in 

 1499 ; ibid. no. 1003-4. Margaret 

 Singletoi was living in 1503 and 1504; 

 Def. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 544 ; Final 

 Cone, iii, 154. About the same time 

 Roger Shireburne and Isabel his wife, 

 heiress of the Wolfhouse branch of the 

 Knoll family, appear to have released 

 their right in the manor and lands ; ibid, 

 iii, 155. 



. 



