A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



In 1524 Robert Walmersley and Henry Boys con- 

 tributed to the subsidy for their lands in Ribchester 

 and Dilworth. 82 In 1543 Robert Linalx, Henry 

 Boyes and Robert Walmsley the elder so contri- 

 buted. 63 John Rodes and Richard Ward were free- 

 holders in i6oo. 54 In the 1626 Subsidy Roll no 

 landowners are named ; John Osbaldeston was a 

 convicted recusant, and a large number paid as non- 

 communicants. 55 John Ward paid 10 on re- 

 fusing knighthood in 1 63 1. 56 The Civil War does 

 not seem to have affected any of the resident land- 

 owners, 57 but in 1717 two or three had to register 

 estates as * Papists.' 58 



A rental of the wapentake compiled in l662 59 

 shows that Richard Shireburne paid zs. \d. for the 

 manor of Ribchester and is. for a house there ; 

 another Richard Shireburne paid il</. for Buckley, 



Richard Ward 6</. for Ward Green, Richard Darwen 

 is. for Swinglehurst, William Dewhurst "]d. for 

 Boys House, Richard Dewhurst and Thomas Shaw 3^. 

 for Idesforth and Edward Walmsley ^d. for' Rodes 

 Mill. There were other tenants. 



In 1354 Adam Bibby demised land in Ribchester 

 to William de Bradley, ferryman, who was to hold it 

 by paying I id. rent and ferrying men across the 

 river. If the men of the place should wish to build 

 a wood or stone bridge, then the rector of Rib- 

 chester or the lord of Osbaldeston might sell the lands 

 and apply the money to the bridge. 60 The date of 

 the building of the bridge is uncertain 61 ; the ferry 

 continued in use until 1903. The ferryman was 

 the occupant of Boathouse Farm, about half a mile 

 south-west of the church and opposite Osbaldeston 

 Hall on the other side of the Ribble. 62 



Henry Preston of Preston died in 

 1549 holding land in Ribchester of the 

 king as of the late priory of St. John of 

 Jerusalem by a rent of 6d. ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. ix, no. 19 ; x, no. 10. 

 The estate, including a fishery in the 

 Ribble, was sold in 1593 to Richard 

 Walmsley as above. A Preston family 

 is of early occurrence, for in 1292 Robert 

 son of Adam de Preston held the moiety 

 of a messuage and 40 acres in Ribchester 

 in right of his wife Margery ; they were 

 claimed by Margery the infant daughter 

 of Adam $on of Bernard de Ribchester ; 

 Assize R. 408, m. 1 5 d. Adam son of 

 Robert de Preston in 1313-14 claimed 

 messuages and lands against John de 

 Preston (apparently his son) and others ; 

 Assize R. 424, m. 2 d. Robert Preston 

 was in 1472-82 the feoffee of Alexander 

 Halgh's estate at Goddisbrook in Rib- 

 chester ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 270, 1016. 



William son of Richard Blackburn was 

 in 1552 reputed to be an idiot. He had 

 sold his lands, and his father's heirs, 

 Roger Salebury and Ellen wife of Henry 

 Seed, put in a claim as kinsmen and heirs ; 

 they were aged twenty-six and forty 

 respectively, and Ellen was William's 

 sister ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. ix, no. 

 13 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 13, 

 m. 121. Both Blackburn and Seed are 

 names of long standing in the district. 

 William Blackburn had land there in 

 1443 ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 341. Robert 

 Seed in 1564 held three messuages, &c. ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 26, m. 125. 

 Robert Seed, senior and junior, were pur- 

 chasers in 1589 and John Seed in 1590 ; 

 ibid, bdles. 51, m. 212; 52, m. 40. 

 Roger Seed sold to William Charnley 

 ' n I 577> an d the purchaser and his wife 

 Alice settled their lands in Ribchester and 

 Dilworth in 1579 ; ibid, bdles. 39, m. 55 ; 

 41, m. 123. 



Hugh Ash's lands in Ribchester were 

 held of the Crown ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. x, no. 35. See the accounts of 

 Aighton and Dutton. George Ash, the 

 son, appears to have sold his Ribchester 

 lands to Richard Walmsley; PaL of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdles. 43, m. 143 ; 44, 

 m. 215. 



Hugh Swansey of Chorley in 1566 held 

 a little land in Ribchester of Robert 

 Lynalx ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xi, no. 

 29. John Swansey in 1548 had held 

 lands, &c., in Ribchester and Mellor, but 

 they seem to have been sold to John 

 South worth in 1559 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdles. 13, m. 190 ; 21, m. 96. 



William Burley died in 1558 holding 



a messuage of the queen by knight's 

 service and the rent of 21. %d. ; Robert 

 his son and heir was four years old ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xi, no. 57. 

 Robert died in 1617 holding as before 

 and leaving as heir a son William, forty 

 years of age ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc.), 



i, 77- 



George Newsham of Newsham in 1585 

 held a messuage, &c., in Ribchester of 

 Hugh Shireburne, younger son of Sir 

 Richard, by a rent of 6d. ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 88. Henry 

 Newsham held of Richard Shireburne in 



1619 by the same rent ; Thomas his son 

 and heir was twenty-three years of age ; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc.), ii, 123. 



Thomas Sowerbutts died in 1594 

 holding a messuage in Ribchester, for- 

 merly part of the chantry endowment ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xvi, no. 20. 



The Halgh family has been named 

 several times in former notes. It appears 

 that Richard Crompton of Bury in 1 545 

 purchased four messuages and a water- 

 mill in Ribchester and Hothersall from 

 Nicholas and George Halgh ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 12, m. 199, 211. 

 The purchaser made a settlement of his 

 estate in 1556, the remainders being to 

 George (son of John) Harper of Radcliffe, 

 and to Richard (son of John) Crompton 

 of Prestall ; ibid. bdle. 17, m. 134. The 

 estate is very soon afterwards (1565) 

 found in possession of Thomas Green- 

 halgh, Jane his wife and Richard his son ; 

 ibid. bdle. 27, m. 42. See T. C. Smith, 

 Ribchester, 53. 



Michael Clarkson died in 1615 holding 

 Whitecarr fall in Ribchester of Richard 

 Shireburne ; he bequeathed this to a 

 younger son John. William the son and 

 heir was only seven years old ; Chan. 

 Inq. p.m. dxx, 67. 



M Subs. R. Lanes, bdle. 130, no. 82. 



68 Ibid. no. 125. 



54 Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 235 ; Smith, op. cit. 244. 



John Rodes purchased a messuage from 

 Henry Preston in 1588 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 50, m. 57. He died in 



1 620 owning Halgh House in Ribchester 

 and other lands there of Richard Shire- 

 burne by 4$. rent ; also lands in Dutton, 

 Clayton-le-Dale and Preston ; Lanes. 

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

 216. John his son and heir, then thirty 

 years of age, died in 1623, leaving two 

 daughters as co-heirs, viz. Ellen and 

 Margaret, aged four and three respec- 

 tively ; ibid, iii, 360. The Jauden House 

 was part of the estate. 



50 



Richard Ward was one of the pur- 

 chasers from William Blackburn the 

 idiot; Ducatus Lane, ii, 177, 219; iii, 

 1 20, &c. For the family see Smith, 

 op. cit. 256. 



56 Subs. R. Lanes, bdle. 131, no. 317. 

 John Osbaldeston, described as of Rib- 

 chester, compounded for his recusancy in 

 1630 by paying 2 101. a year; Trans. 

 Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xxiv, 174. 



M Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 218. 



57 The estates of the Dewhursts, 

 Walmsleys and Talbots suffered. 



58 Estcourt and Payne, op. cit. 91, 92. 

 They were Richard Traffbrd, brother of 

 John Traffbrd of Croston, and John 

 Higgison, miller. 



*' In the possession of W. Farrer 

 (' Honor of Clitheroe '). 



60 Towneley MS. OO, no. 1 508 ; the 

 ' Maydya ford of Ribble ' is named. 

 Adam the Ferryman is known from a 

 much earlier deed ; he paid a rent of %d. 

 for his land to William son of Richard de 

 Dutton, who released it to Adam de 

 Blackburn ; Towneley MS. DD, no. 

 141, 1196. 



The Bibby family is of frequent 

 occurrence. Richard son of Bibby was 

 in 1292 non-suited in a claim against 

 Robert son of Ellis de Ribchester respect- 

 ing certain lands ; Assize R. 408, m. 

 57 d. William son of Richard son of 

 Bibby attested a charter of about the 

 same time; Add. MS. 32106, no. 

 144. 



Adam Bibby, no doubt the benefactor, 

 made claims for common of pasture in 

 1356 against Sir Adam de Hoghton and 

 others ; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 5, m. 

 10 d. In the same year he granted to 

 John de Osbaldeston and William Moton, 

 chaplains, certain lands he had had from 

 William his father and John his brother, 

 lying in landoles in the field called Erley ; 

 Add. MS. 32106, no. 456 (fol. 323). 

 He had given a messuage to his brother 

 Thomas in 1354 ; ibid. no. 208. 



The land for the ferry may be the 

 Boathouse field named in the Osbaldeston 

 inquisition already cited. 



61 In 1669 an old bridge was replaced 

 by one destroyed in 1772 by a flood ; 

 the present one was built two years 

 later ; Smith, op. cit. 263. 



62 Boathouse Farm was purchased from 

 the Warren heirs (de Tabley) in 1854 by 

 Jonathan Openshaw ; information of Mr. 

 James Openshaw, who adds that there 

 was formerly a ford a little above the 

 ferry. 



