BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



RIBCHESTER 



another, Margery wife of Edward Winstanley, after- 

 wards divided the estates, the manor of Hothersall fall- 

 ing to the former and descending to her son Richard 

 Leckonby. On his becoming bankrupt in 1763 

 the manor was offered for sale, 37 but seems to have 

 been retained in the family till the end of the cen- 

 tury. 38 The Hothersall Hall estate was purchased in 

 1852 by Jonathan Openshaw, and has since been 

 much augmented. It is now the property of Mr. 

 Frederick Openshaw. 39 The Hall was rebuilt in 

 1856 in a plain modern Gothic style on the site of 

 the old house 39a in a low situation close to the right 

 bank of the Ribble. No part of the former house 

 remains,. with the exception of a carved stone built 



into the wall of one of the outbuildings on which 

 are the arms of Hothersall, together with the initials 

 T-H- and the date i695. 39b 



A moiety of the manor was held by the Hoghton 

 family. 40 It seems to have been a composite estate, 

 formed by purchasing various portions. 41 The tenure 

 is not stated in the inquisitions, and the 5/. thegnage 

 rent was always paid by the Hothersalls. In 1 6 1 o it 

 was purchased by John Dewhurst from Sir Richard 

 Hoghton and Katherine his wife, 42 and in 1621 

 William Dewhurst was found to have held messuages 

 and lands in Hothersall of the king in socage. 43 



An ancient estate in this part of the township was 

 i that of the Bradleys of Thornley, 44 descending to the 



iii, 204, from znd-jrd Roll of Geo. I at 

 Preston. By it he left Hothersall Hall to 

 Alexander Osbaldeston, as trustee for the 

 testator's daughters. See also ibid, iii, 

 380, from Roll 5 of Geo. III. 



37 Pedigree in Piccope MSS. ii, 233 ; 

 Gillow, op. cit. iv, 284. The descent is 

 thus given : William Leckonby of Eccles- 

 ton in the Fylde m. Anne Hothersall 

 -s. Richard m. Mary daughter and heir 

 of William Hawthornthwaite of Stony- 

 hurst and heir also of the Liveseys of 

 Button -s. William -da. Mary m. (1799) 

 T. H. Hele-Phipps of Wiltshire. 



38 In 1801 Thomas Ingilby was plaintiff 

 and William Rigby deforciant in a fine 

 respecting the manor of Hothersall and 

 tenements there ; Pal. of Lane. Lent 

 Assizes 41 Geo. III. 



Robert Parker was residing at the 

 hall in 1825 (Lanes. Dir.) and Martin 

 was owner about 1836 ; Raines, Lanes. 

 (ed. i), iii, 387. 



89 The estate, ' after passing through 

 several hands, became the property of the 

 late Jonathan Openshaw esq. of Bury, to 

 whose nephew, Frederick Openshaw, esq. 

 J.P., it now [1890] belongs'; T. C. 

 Smith, op. cit. 227. Particulars are 

 given of a family picture of the Leckon- 

 bys. The same writer gives the legend 

 of the laying of the Hothersall Hall 

 devil ; ibid. 73. For an account of the 

 Openshaw family ee T. C. Smith, 

 Longridge, 139. 



39a The old house is described as having 

 been in a 'dilapidated state' when pulled 

 down ; T. C. Smith, Longridge, 139. 

 39b Th e 8 tone is illustrated ibid. 132. 

 40 The Hoghton family's estate has 

 been referred to in preceding notes. 

 Adam son and heir of Adam de Hoghton 

 warranted to Agnes, his father's widow, 

 a messuage and land in Hothersall claimed 

 by John de Church and Alice his wife. 

 Alice was the sister and heir of William 

 and John de Hothersall, from whom 

 Adam de Hoghton the elder had had the 

 land ; Assize R. 408, m. 50. 



The estate was described as a moiety 

 of the manor in 1377 ; Final Cone, iii, 3. 

 Usually, however, no 'manor* is named 

 in the inquisitions, and the messuages, 

 lands, &c., are stated to be held of the 

 king as duke by services unknown ; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chct. Soc.), ii, 127 ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 66. In 

 1590 the estate is again called a manor, 

 but the service was unknown ; ibid, xv, 

 no. 39. 



41 Many of the Hoghton charters have 

 already been cited from Add. MS. 32106, 

 fol. 241 on ; 32107, no. 290, &c. 



Swain son of Robert granted Octe- 

 pranus son of Ughtred an eighth part of 

 the vill of Hothersall, to be held in free 



thegnage by a rent of jfad. ; Add. MS. 

 32106, no. 19, fol. 243. This was pro- 

 bably the eighth part of the vill which 

 John son of Roger de Hothersall after- 

 wards gave to Sir Adam de Hoghton ; 

 ibid. no. 22. Sir Adam granted certain 

 easements in the eighth part of the vill ; 

 ibid. no. 34. 



Richard de Amethalgh and Christiana 

 his wife gave their daughter Avice the 

 lands they held of St. Saviour's Hospital. 

 The bounds began at a broken bank by 

 the Ribble, upon Hepewell, went north 

 by Merecliff to Stiropeclough, and so 

 down again to the Ribble ; ibid. no. 5, 

 50. Avice married John de Wickles- 

 worth, and this land was granted to Adam 

 de Hoghton in or before 1275 ; ibid. no. 

 6, 48, 53. Alice daughter of Avice de 

 Hothersall in 1274 gave Maud, her 

 mother's sister, her right in lands formerly 

 belonging to her uncle Henry ; ibid, 

 no. 13. 



Richard son of Hugh de Hothersall 

 granted Adam de Hoghton the homage 

 and service of Roger his brother and 

 Adam del Hurst and Agnes his wife, 

 Roger son of Hugh releasing all his right 

 in his mother Alice's dower ; ibid. no. 

 10, 3. 



The estate of Robert the Ward was 

 also acquired by the Hoghtons. Margery 

 and Isabel daughters of Robert son of 

 Stephen de Hothersall gave an acre of 

 land to Robert the Ward of Hothersall 

 and Mabel his wife in 1288 ; ibid. no. 38. 

 In 1 292 Robert the Ward claimed common 

 of pasture against Robert son of Thomas 

 (de Hothersall) and Adam de Hoghton. 

 but was non-suited ; Assize R. 408, m. 

 9 d. It seems probable, from a suit 

 already cited, that he had an eighth part 

 of the manor. Robert the Ward and 

 Mabel his wife acquired other lands down 

 to 1322 ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 7, 26, 42. 

 In 1344-5 Sir Richard de Hoghton had 

 a dispute with Alina widow of Robert 

 the Ward, who claimed the fourth part of 

 a moiety of messuages and land in Hother- 

 sall. She held a fourth part of the town 

 (or perhaps a fourth of the moiety) in 

 common with Sir Richard de Hoghton 

 and Adam de Hoghton, of whom the 

 former was lord of a third part and the 

 latter had a moiety of the town ; Assize 

 R. 1435, m. 37 d., 36. It was found 

 that Richard, Adam and Alina had 

 approved the tenements put in view, and 

 that Richard alone had disseised her. 



In 1448 John son of Robert de 

 Freckleton claimed the eighth part of the 

 manor of Hothersall against Adam son 

 of William de Turnley, Margery his wife 

 and others, including Robert son of 

 Thomas de Hothersall, Sir Adam de 

 Hoghton and Mabel widow of Henry de 



65 



Turnley. Adam de Hoghton said he was 

 lord of the manor, which was held of 

 him by knight's service. Adam de Turn- 

 ley stated that Robert the Ward had had 

 the tenement settled on himself and his 

 heirs by Alina his wife, with remainders 

 to Henry de Turnley, Adam de Turnley 

 and Sir Adam de Hoghton. The 

 claimant admitted this, but said that 

 Henry de Turnley had released his right 

 to Alina while she was a widow, but the 

 verdict was against him ; Assize R. 1444, 

 m. 8. Adam de Turnley then granted to 

 Sir Adam de Hoghton all his lands, tene- 

 ments, rents, &c., in the vill of Hother- 

 sall ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 8. 



Sir Adam de Hoghton in 1375 made a 

 feoffment of his tenement called the 

 Blackgreve in Hothersall in the vill of 

 Alston ; ibid. no. 1 1. 



43 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 75, 

 no. 10. John Dewhurst had, in the time 

 of Elizabeth, purchased the lands in Rib- 

 chester and Hothersall previously held by 

 Crompton and Greenhalgh ; see the 

 account of Ribchester. 



43 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, 284. 



William Dewhurst and Anne his wife 

 made a settlement of the manor of 

 Hothersall in 1649 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 146, m. 153. In a later fine 

 the deforcianti were William Dewhurst, 

 Anne his wife, Henry Marsden, Janet 

 his wife and William Dewhurst, the 

 plaintiff being Lancelot Bolton ; ibid, 

 bdle. 179, m. 142. 



44 Adam de Hurst in 1316 released to 

 Adam de Bradley his right in certain land 

 adjoining Sir Richard de Hoghton's ; 

 Add. MS. 32106, no. 43 (fol. 247). 

 Richard de Amethalgh gave Thomas de 

 Bradley two small plats in a field called 

 ' Cromanhalgh ' in 1318; ibid. no. 59. 

 In 1319-20 Adam de Bradley granted to 

 John his son and heir all the land in 

 Hothersall he had had from Richard son 

 of Adam del Hurst ; Parlington D. He 

 also gave his son Thomas land which he 

 had had from his brother Richard ; Add. 

 MS. 32106, no. 49. Thomas son of 

 Adam de Bradley gave lands to his 

 brothers Robert and John about the same 

 time ; ibid. no. 37, 54. To his brothers 

 Simon and William he gave land in 

 ' Cronershalgh ' ; Kuerden fol. MS. 55. 

 John son of Thomas de Bradley of Chip- 

 pingdale in 1409 received 10 marks from 

 Nicholas de York, Abbot of Whalley, in 

 part payment for ' divers transgressions ' ; 

 ibid. 



Thomas Hesketh of Rufford in 1523 

 held 8 acres in Alston and Hothersall by 

 services unknown ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. v, no. 1 6. In 1556 Thomas 

 Bradley purchased lands in Aighton and 



