A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Sawley 15 ; others of his charters are known. 16 He 

 was described as lord of the whole vill. 17 He died 

 about lajS, 18 and in 1282 and again in 1292 his 

 widow Edusa or Edith appears in the records. 19 He 

 seems to have left several sons. 20 Robert Moton, 



a son or grandson, succeeded to Ribchester, 21 but 

 in 1305 Robert's son William occurs. 22 The exact 

 succession at this point is obscure. Henry son of 

 William Moton in 1317 gave a release to the Abbot of 

 Whalley. 23 William Moton, son of Robert, and Isabel 



"Harl. MS. 112, fol. 8iA. 



16 To Henry son of Helewise he gave 

 land, the bounds of which went north up 

 the clough of Godrichley to Hullilcy, 

 thence east to Stonygate, south to the 

 land of Robert the Kirkman, and then 

 west to the starting-point. A rent of 

 izd. was to be paid ; Kuerden MSS. iii, 

 R. 9. The seal bore a fleur de lis and 

 the legend SIGILL : WILL : DE : MVTVN. 



By another charter he gave Robert the 

 Skinner part of his waste within bounds 

 which went down Crinsil Brook to its 

 junction with Chastel or Castel Brook, 

 and up the latter brook to Ruddegate, 

 &c. ; ibid. Josce the clerk was a witness, 

 and the seal was the same as before. 



William de Singleton and Alan his son 

 granted a rent of 3$. from Dilworth to 

 William son of Walter Moton and Edith 

 his wife ; Dods. MSS. Ixx, fol. 157. 



To Josce the clerk William son of 

 Walter Moton gave half an oxgang of 

 land in Ribchester at a rent of \zd. ; 

 Add. MS. 32106, no. 271. To Richard 

 son of Robert Boys (de Bosco) he gave 

 land in Nutbrook strinds, at a rent of 

 four barbed arrows ; ibid. no. 3 14. In 

 1268-9 he gave Sir Adam de Hoghton 

 the homage of Robert for Ametehalit in 

 Ribchester, with the rent of zs. due 

 therefrom ; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 20. 



17 He was so described in a gift by 

 Beatrix de Kuerden, referring to his 

 charter made to her father Richard son 

 of John de Kuerden ; Add. MS. 32109, 

 no. 14 (Edw. Ill), no. 54 (s.d.). 



18 He was living in 1278, when toge- 

 ther with Roger de Chippenley and 

 Richard son of Hugh de Ribchester he 

 was found to have disseised Adam de 

 ' Mutton ' of his free tenement in Rib- 

 chester. Adam had been over sea and was 

 reported dead ; Assize R. 1238, m. 33. 



19 In 1282 Edusa as widow claimed 

 dower in various tenements in Ribchester 

 held by Richard son of William son of 

 William Moton and Denise his mother, 

 Richard son of Adam and Richard his 

 son, Richard son of Ellis and Henry his 

 son and Richard son of Ellis ; De Banco 

 R. 47, m. 4 d. A Richard son of William 

 Moton gave an acre in Ribchester to 

 Richard de Hurst ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 

 867. 



In 1292 Edusa, then wife of Richard 

 le Sothron, claimed in right of her former 

 marriage with William Moton dower in 

 a messuage and land held by Alice de 

 Lacy ; Assize R. 408, m. 62. 



20 The pedigree at this point is inde- 

 terminate, but from the charters preserved 

 by Towneley and Kuerden it is obvious 

 that there were several branches of the 

 family having estates in Ribchester and 

 Dutton. William Moton, William his 

 son and Robert Moton attested an un- 

 dated charter ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 265. 

 In 1332 Robert, Richard and Henry 

 Moton contributed to the subsidy in Rib- 

 chester and William Moton in Dutton ; 

 Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), 86-7. 



21 The uncertainty arises from the 

 possibility of two Williams. In 1302 

 Robert Moton, lord of Ribchester, de- 

 mised to Walter de Lofthouse, chaplain, 



a part of his waste in Ribchester between 

 the close of land called Beteleyfield, be- 

 longing to St. Saviour's, and the Nut- 

 brook ; Towneley MS. DD, no. 985. 

 Henry and Adam Moton attested this 

 charter ; from another deed it appears 

 they were Robert's brothers ; Add. MS. 

 32106, no. 273. 



Robert son of William Moton released 

 to Master Richard de Hoghton in 1298 

 his right in lands held in Ametehalgh in 

 Ribchester; ibid. no. 233. In 1309 

 Robert son of William Moton gave his 

 brother Adam land called the Berridding 

 Bank, bounded on one side by the high 

 way to Ribchester Church ; ibid. no. 272. 

 From the plea of 1282 above cited it 

 would seem that a Richard Moton was 

 the heir ; perhaps he died and Robert, a 

 younger brother or else an uncle, suc- 

 ceeded. There was an escheat to the 

 chief lord, or a guardianship, for in 1292 

 Robert Moton claimed two-thirds of a 

 messuage and lands in Ribchester and 

 5 markates of rent against Alice widow 

 of Edmund de Lacy, and the other third 

 against Edith widow of William Moton ; 

 Assize R. 408, m. 73, 4 d. In 1293 

 de Lacy released to Robert Moton a 

 capital messuage and a moiety of the 

 rents, services, &c., which had come into 

 his hands by the death of William Moton 

 father of Robert ; Shireburne Abstract Bk. 

 Robert Moton was lord of Ribchester in 

 1302 ; Towneley MS. DD, no. 985. 



Uncertainty is created by the appear- 

 ance of Robert and William sons of Adam 

 Moton in other suits of 1292 (Assize 

 R. 408, m. 36 d., 36), and by the claim 

 of Thomas son of Orm de Ribchester 

 against Richard son of William Moton, 

 Cecily daughter of Robert Moton and the 

 above-named Edusa wife of Richard le 

 Sothron, the last-named holding in dower; 

 ibid. m. 31. 



Robert son of Adam Moton and Richard 

 his brother frequently occur in the Rib- 

 chester deeds in Add. MS. 32106. Adam 

 son of Roger son of William de Ribchester 

 gave lands to Robert son of Adam Moton 

 in free marriage with Alice his sister ; 

 ibid. no. 239. 



22 Robert was probably living at that 

 time, for in 1309 Robert son of William 

 Moton agreed with his brother Adam re- 

 specting certain land which Robert was to 

 grant from his waste ; Add. MS. 32106, 

 no. 496, fol. 330^. Henry Moton was a 

 witness. In 1313 Beatrix de Kuerden 

 successfully claimed certain pasture in 

 Ribchester against the representatives of 

 Hugh de Dilworth, whose son Richard 

 had had a grant of it from Robert son of 

 William Moton, lord of Ribchester ; 

 Assize R. 424, m. 3. Richard was then 

 dead, and Robert also, Henry Moton 

 appearing for the defendants. 



William son of Robert Moton (Mittun) 

 and Alice his wife in 1305 claimed 

 a tenement against Avice daughter of 

 Richard son of William de Ribchester ; 

 De Banco R. 153, m. 29. At the same 

 time Robert Moton was defendant ; ibid. 

 m. 317 d. 



In 1317 William son of Robert Moton, 

 with the consent of Alice his wife, de- 

 mised six butts of land to Henry Moton 



46 



for the term of Alice's life ; Add. MS. 

 32106, no. 308. Alice widow of William 

 was in 1331 the wife of William Bisset, 

 as appears by a pleading cited below. 



William son of Robert Moton of Rib- 

 chester confirmed to Robert his brother a 

 place in his waste lying on the west side 

 of Fallonwelhalgh ; ibid. no. 452, fol. 

 322. 



Alice widow of Robert (? William) 

 Moton had dower in 1330; Shireburne 

 Abstract Bk. 



23 Whalley Couch, iii, 874. Robert son 

 of John de Hilliley granted to Henry son 

 of William Moton all his lands in Rib- 

 chester, with the homages of various 

 tenants; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. 

 Lib.), H 285. About 1300 Henry Moton 

 had from Adam de Blackburn the homage 

 of Richard de Hurst and the rent of 

 lot/, for his lands ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 

 244. Henry also obtained a small grant 

 from Simon son of Richard son of 

 Ellis de Ribchester ; Kuerden MSS. iv, 

 R 14. 



From the release to Whalley and from 

 the fact that Henry's name is almost 

 invariably placed before those of others of 

 the family in local deeds of the latter part 

 of the reign of Edward II, it appears that 

 he was the head of the family or at least 

 its senior member. William son of Henry 

 Moton and Agnes his wife were in 1334 

 accused of having, so far back as 

 1320, struck a woman at Dutton so 

 that she died ; Coram Rege R. 298, Rex 

 m. 1 8. 



Henry had several sons. As 'Henry 

 de Moton of Ribchester the elder* he 

 granted his son Walter land in the Hagh, 

 with meadow, buildings, &c., in 1328; 

 Kuerden MSS. iii, R 9. Walter son of 

 Henry Moton in 1359 made a feoffment 

 of lands he had had from his brother 

 Henry; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. 

 Lib.), M 77. Henry son of Henry Moton 

 leased some of his land to William son of 

 Henry Moton in 1329 ; Add. MS. 32106, 

 no. 291. In the same year a grant was 

 made to Henry son of Henry Moton and 

 Nicholas his brother ; ibid. no. 482, fol. 

 328. Henry Moton in 1337 gave half 

 an acre in Erley in Ribchester, William 

 Moton, Robert his brother and Robert 

 son of Adam Moton being witnesses ; 

 ibid. no. 264. In 1346 Henry Moton 

 released a rent he had received from 

 Erley, Robert son of Robert Moton and 

 Robert son of Adam Moton being the 

 first witnesses; ibid. no. 470, fol. 325. 

 Nicholas Moton occurs again in Dutton ; 

 ibid. no. 288. He was living in 1360, 

 when he and his wife Cecily obtained a 

 quitclaim from Richard son of Adam le 

 Seinturc of Aighton respecting lands of 

 Richard's mother Diota, formerly belong- 

 ing to Richard Willison de Ribchester ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 8, m. 1 20 ; 

 Add. MS. 32106, no. 254. The same 

 lands were in 1369 released by Cecily 

 widow of Nicholas Moton and Alice her 

 sister ; ibid. no. 302. 



In 1329 various acres in Ribchester 

 were claimed against Henry Moton the 

 younger, William Moton, Richard Moton 

 and Nicholas son of Henry Moton ; De 

 Banco R. 279, m. 405 d. 



