A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



In 1066 DILWORTH was a member 

 M4NOR of Earl Tostig's Preston fee, and was 

 afterwards given to Count Roger of 

 Poitou. 8 Its two plough-lands probably then in- 

 cluded Alston and Hothersall. It is not known how 

 Dilworth proper became not only separate but 

 merged in Ribchester, so as to be accounted merely a 

 hamlet of the central township and part of the 

 honor of Clitheroe. 9 



From the scanty notices of the place it may be 

 gathered that it was held by Alan de Singleton about 

 1 200, and of him in moieties by the lord of 

 Ribchester and a local family or families. 10 The 



former moiety was granted by William Moton of 

 Ribchester to Richard son of Alan de Singleton, 11 

 and seems to have become part of the main family 

 estate, being held in demesne. The lordship de- 

 scended regularly from Singleton to Banastre of 

 Bretherton, 12 Balderston and Harrington 13 and 

 Osbaldeston, 14 but was usually considered only a 

 moiety of the manor. 15 The second moiety was 

 acquired from Osbert de Dilworth by Adam de 

 Hoghton, 16 descending like Hoghton. 17 In 1566 

 Thomas Hoghton acquired the Osbaldeston estate in 

 Dilworth, 18 and thus became lord of the undivided 

 manor. 19 In 1772 it was sold by Sir Henry 



* V.C.H. Lanes, i, 



9 It was probably acquired by the Lacys 

 together with Ribchester, perhaps in 1 187, 

 but the manner is not certainly known. 



10 This is inferred from the account of 

 Sir William Banastre's estate in a subse- 

 quent note. 



11 William de Mutun granted to Richard 

 son of Alan de Singleton the whole moiety 

 of land and wood, hawks, honey and mill, 

 the bounds beginning opposite the Strid- 

 thorn by Thornley, down Longshaw 

 Brook to Dilworthsed Brook, up this to 

 the upper head of Dilworth, across to 

 Hothersall ; then by the boundaries of 

 Hothersall, Alston, Whittingham, Wheat- 

 ley and Thornley to the starting-point. 

 The grantor reserved to himself certain 

 easements, including mast fall, within 

 these bounds, as well as a rent of four 

 barbed arrows ; Kuerden MSS. iv, R 9. 

 Sir Robert de Lathom was the first 

 witness ; the others included Alan de 

 Singleton, William his son and Hugh de 

 Osbaldeston. 



A Richard de Singleton is soon after- 

 wards (1246) found to be brother of some 

 religious house probably Cockersand ; 

 Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 103, 150. 



This may be a grant of half the lord- 

 ship, but it was not the first acquisition 

 by the Singleton family, for Alan son of 

 Richard father of the above Richard 

 confirmed to Jordan le Blund (Albus) 

 half an oxgang of land in Dilworth, which 

 Adam de Stiholmes had formerly held of 

 Alan ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 395 (fol. 

 311). The same Alan granted to the 

 canons of Cockersand 4 acres and a toft 

 from his land in Dilworth, between Wite- 

 kerbrook and Cronkeshaw Brook, with 

 easements of his fee in the vill aforesaid, 

 for the souls of Robert and Roger de Lacy, 

 &c. ; Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc.), i, 

 227. 



In 1246 William de Hawksworth suc- 

 cessfully claimed land in Dilworth against 

 Richard son of Alan ; Assize R. 404, 

 m. 4 d. Richard son of Alan de Singleton 

 gave Richard son of Alexander de Pen- 

 wortham, chaplain, a toft in Dilworth, of 

 i perch in extent, on the west side of 

 Adam de Cartmel's house, at a rent of a 

 pair of white gloves ; Add. MS. 32106, 

 no. 100. As Richard de Singleton he 

 granted land touching Cronkeshaw Brook 

 to Adam son of Adam de Hoghton ; ibid, 

 no. 119. Bernard the clerk was a witness. 



William son of Alan de Singleton 

 granted half an oxgang of land to Hugh 

 son of Siegrith daughter of Jordan le 

 Blund (Albus) of Dilworth, at a rent of 

 31. ; Towneley MS. DD, no. 1534. 



12 The Singleton heiress Joan widow of 

 Thomas Banastre made a settlement of 

 her estate in 1303 ; Final Cone. (Rec. 



Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 201. In 1306 

 she allowed the beasts of Robert de Dil- 

 worth within her wood and pasture in 

 return for a rent of 6d. to be levied on all 

 Robert's tenements within Ribchester ; 

 Add. MS. 32106, no. 122. 



Sir William Banastre in 1311 held one 

 plough-land in Dilworth of the heir of 

 Henry de Lacy by the rent of 2s. payable 

 on St. Giles's Day ; De Lacy Inq. (Chet. 

 Soc.), 17. Again in 1324 it was found 

 that William Banastre had died seised of 

 the hamlet of Dilworth, held of Thomas 

 Earl of Lancaster and Alice his wife by a 

 rent of zs. ; one half was in demesne and 

 the other in service ; Inq. p.m. 17 Ed w. II, 

 no. 45. 



Sir Adam Banastre gave Adam de Yor- 

 drawes a messuage with curtilage abutting 

 on Longridge, another parcel on the High- 

 field, and another on the Greenhurst, all 

 in Dilworth ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 125. 

 This was probably the origin of the estate 

 of two messuages, &c., in Ribchester held 

 by Thomas de Yordrawes and Margery his 

 wife in 1383 ; Final Cone, iii, 17. Adam 

 Banastre in 1336 granted to Henry de 

 Kuerden of Ribchester and Alice daughter 

 cf Henry for life the lands in Whiteley 

 Fall in Dilworth they had had from John 

 and Nicholas sons of Sir Thomas Banastre; 

 Add. MS. 32106, no. 123, 679. 



Lands in Dilworth were included in 

 Edward Banastre's estate in 1385 ; Lanes. 

 Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 16. 



18 Dilworth occurs among the Balders- 

 ton manors ; Kuerden MSS. iii, B 3-7. 

 For the descent see the account of Bal- 

 derston ; also Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), 

 ii, 71. It was probably in right of this 

 descent that Sir William Harrington in 

 1466 granted lands in Ribchester to Roger 

 son of Nicholas Elston ; Kuerden MSS. iii, 

 R 9 . 



Dilworth was among the manors granted 

 to Thomas first Earl of Derby after the 

 Harrington forfeiture 5 Lanes, and Ches. 

 Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 309. 



In right of the Balderston inheritance 

 lands in Dilworth are named in the in- 

 quisitions of Thomas Earl of Derby, 

 Edmund Dudley, Osbaldeston, Radcliffe 

 of Winmarleigh and Gerard, but the 

 tenure is not separately recorded. 



14 On the partition of the Balderston 

 manors in 1565 Dilworth was allotted to 

 John Osbaldeston ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 

 216, m. 10. 



16 This is evident from the grants to 

 Ravenshaw quoted below. 



16 This is inferred from the tenure as 

 recorded later. Osbert would hold of 

 Singleton and he of the Earl of Lincoln. 

 One grant has been preserved by which 

 Osbert de Dilworth gave Adam de Hogh- 

 ton land within bounds, beginning at the 

 Sandy way and including the Carr, Hurst, 



Greenlache and High Way ; to be held by 

 a rent of it,d. and a pair of white gloves ; 

 Add. MS. 32106, no. 1 20. Richard le 

 Boteler, then sheriff (? 1243), was a 

 witness. Osbert le Blund (Albus) after- 

 wards released to Adam the service speci- 

 fied ; ibid. no. 313. 



Adam son of Adam de Hoghton about 

 the same time released to Alan de Single- 

 ton the lands formerly Osbert le Blund's 

 (Blundi) ; ibid. no. 116. 



In 1227 a partition was made of an 

 oxgang of land and three-quarters between 

 Avice widow of William Brun, Robert 

 Plumb and Cecily his wife on one side 

 and Robert son of Ulfy on the other, 

 whereby the last named obtained a moiety 

 to be held of Avice and Cecily and their 

 heirs at a rent of zzd. at St. Giles's Day, 

 of which zid. was due to the chief lord ; 

 Final Cone, i, 53. Maud daughter of 

 Robert Plumb and Cecily his wife released 

 to Adam de Hoghton any claim she might 

 have in Adam's land in Dilworth ; Add. 

 MS. 32106, no. 118. 



William son of Richard de Singleton 

 released to Adam de Hoghton all claim in 

 his father's lands within Dilworth ; ibid, 

 no. 279. 



Thomas de Singleton and Adam de 

 Hoghton in 1291, as lords of the vill and 

 soil of Dilworth, complained of encroach- 

 ments by Robert son of Ellis de Ribchester, 

 Richard Franceys, Robert de Anyetehalgh, 

 Robert the Eyre and others, and recovered ; 

 Assize R. 407, m. i d. There were some 

 counterclaims the following year ; ibid. 

 408, m. 12 d. The same lords, in con- 

 junction with Katherine widow of Alan 

 de Singleton (father of Thomas) and then 

 wife of Thomas de Clifton, and Agnes 

 widow of Adam de Hoghton were in 1292 

 sued by Robert de Pocklington, rector of 

 Ribchester, for having disseised him of an 

 eighth part of certain wood, moor and 

 heath in Dilworth ; ibid. m. 63, i8d. It 

 would seem from this that the rector of 

 Ribchester held i oxgang of land in 

 Dilworth. 



Sir Henry Hoghton was in 1425 found 

 to have held a moiety of the manor of 

 Dilworth of the heirs of Osbert de Dil- 

 worth ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), 

 ii, 12. 



17 The later Hoghton inquisitions 

 merely state that the lands in Dilworth 

 were held of the king as duke by services 

 unknown or in socage ; e.g. Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 66 ; xxvii, no. 13. 



is Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 28, 

 m. 1 86. The ' manor ' is not named, the 

 estate being described as twenty messuages 

 and various lands in Dilworth and 

 Haighton. 



19 The manor of Dilworth is named in a 

 Hoghton settlement of 1585 ; ibid. bdle. 

 57, m. 178. 



