AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



PRESTON 



pedigree in 1664,"* another acquired lands in 

 Ireland, and Sir Robert Preston was in 1478 created 

 Viscount Gormanston, 113 a peerage still in existence, 



though the title was not recognized from the Revolu- 

 tion until i8oo. lu Among other more ancient families 

 may be named by way of example those of Banastre 



Hugh son of Wimark de Preston and 

 Margery his wife claimed small plots of 

 land against William son of Roger Fitz 

 Award de Preston and Robert son of 

 Adam son of Ralph the Barker of Pres- 

 ton ; ibid. m. 7. Albred another son of 

 Adam son of Ralph was defendant ; ibid, 

 m. 43. Hugh son of Hugh de Preston 

 defended his title against William son of 

 Pain de Preston ; ibid. m. 44 d. William 

 son of Hugh de Preston had demised a 

 messuage and lands to Roger son of 

 Adam de Preston in consideration of 

 maintenance, but on this failing he 

 claimed damages against Alice the widow 

 of Roger and others, and was allowed 721. ; 

 ibid. m. 99. 



The same Alice was defendant to a 

 claim for money owing put forward by 

 Paulin de Preston, and Amota widow of 

 Richard son of Richard son of Malbe de 

 Preston ; ibid. m. 103. Adam and 

 William sons of Paulin de Preston had a 

 dispute about a charter ; ibid. m. 37 d. 



Alice daughter of William son of Ralph 

 de Preston claimed a tenement against 

 Alice daughter of Alexander de Preston ; 

 ibid. m. 24. Another Alice daughter of 

 Ketel de Preston and wife of Simon son 

 of Amabil de Ribbleton claimed land ; 

 ibid. 



Roger son of Richard le Pestur of 

 Preston (alias Richard de Preston) 

 claimed parcels of land against Robert 

 the Tailor, Richard son of Uctred de 

 Preston and Avice his wife, Richard de 

 Aldware and Robert son of Roger de 

 Preston ; ibid. m. 41. In another claim 

 the same plaintiff showed the following 

 pedigree : Award de Preston -s. Roger 

 -s. Richard -s. Roger (plaintiff). Award 

 had given a messuage to Henry de Pen- 

 wortham and Christiana his wife and 

 they had died without issue ; ibid. m. 

 65 d. 



Adam son of Agnes de Preston, Amery 

 his wife, Robert son of Beatrice and Alice 

 his wife claimed a strip of land (looft. 

 by i ft.) against William son of Roger de 

 Preston ; ibid. m. 52 d. Ellen widow of 

 Adam son of Philip de Preston claimed 

 against Roger son of Adam Russcl of 

 Preston and Maud his wife, but was 

 non-suited; ibid. m. 54 d. Maud daughter 

 of Fulk de Preston was a plaintiff ; ibid, 

 m. 9 id. Cecily daughter of Hugh 

 Asellison claimed a tenement against 

 Geoffrey son of Roger de Preston ; ibid, 

 m. 58. 



In 1301 Robert son of Adam son of 

 Philip de Preston was sued for dower by 

 Amery widow of William Aldeware ; De 

 Banco R. 136, m. 46. William son of 

 Roger Mirreson had a dispute in 1305 

 with Henry son of Robert Attownsend 

 of Preston ; Assize R. 420, m. 8. 



Pleadings of 1308-14 show us Albric 

 and Avice children of Adam son of Ralph 

 de Preston contending with Ralph son 

 of Henry son of Ralph ; Assize R. 423, 

 m. 5 d. ; 424, m. 5. Adam son of Robert 

 de Preston gave a release to John son 

 of Robert son of Adam de Preston re- 

 specting six messuages and various lands ; 

 Alberic the brother of John and Nicholas 

 son of William de Preston are named ; 

 ibid. m. 2 d. Robert son of William son 

 of Roger de Preston and William son of 

 Nicholas de Preston were defendants in 

 other pleas ; ibid. m. I d., 9. Christiana 



widow of William son of Roger de Preston 

 and Robert son of Roger son of Adam 

 de Preston were concerned in suits of 

 1324-5 ; Assize R. 426, m. 9. 



Other references might be added, but 

 the above will show how generally the 

 surname was used. In the following 

 cases somewhat fuller details than usual 

 were alleged : In 1323-4 William de 

 Wigan claimed against Albred son of 

 Ralph de Preston and Henry son of 

 Robert Adcockson certain land which 

 had been given by Benedict the Clerk to 

 William son of Adam de Preston in free 

 marriage with Cecily his daughter, and 

 which should descend to plaintiff as son 

 and heir of William son and heir of 

 Cecily; De Banco R. 252, m. H4d. 

 The Prior of Burscough claimed against 

 Robert son of John de Preston a tene- 

 ment granted by Nicholas the Prior 

 (temp. Henry III) to Robert son of 

 Adam de Preston by a rent of iBd. ; 

 ibid. 340, m. 430 d. Richard son of 

 Adam son of Margery de Preston claimed 

 an acre against Albred son of Robert son 

 of Adam de Preston in 1 346 ; ibid. 

 345, m. I52d. 



In 1352 Alice daughter of John (who 

 married Margaret) son of Albred son of 

 Adam son of Ralph de Preston claimed 

 two messuages, 24 acres, &c., against 

 Adam Skillington and Alice his wife (in 

 her right), Geoffrey de Hacconsall and 

 John son of John son of Albred son of 

 Adam son of Ralph de Preston (who was 

 to inherit after the death of Alice 

 Skillington) ; Duchy of Lane. Assize 

 R. 2, m. 3 d. (Pent.). Margery daughter 

 and heir of Adam son of William Mirre- 

 son claimed against Thomas son of 

 William Mirreson ; ibid. m. i d. (July). 

 John son of Geoffrey son of Robert son 

 of Cecily de Preston did not prosecute a 

 claim put forward in 1355 against Roger 

 son of Adam son of Margery de Preston ; 

 ibid. 4, m. 5 d. 



John Preston of Preston had a pardon 

 in 1391 ; Cal. Pat, 1388-92, p. 369. 



George Preston, drover, died in 1602 

 holding of the corporation in free burgage ; 

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

 Ches.), i, 103 (will recited). 



111 Dugdale, Vint. (Chet. Soc.), 237 ; 

 there is a somewhat fuller one in Fish- 

 wick, op. cit. 222-3. This is perhaps 

 the family referred to by Kuerden about 

 1690 in his notice of the former Moly- 

 neux Square to the north-east of the 

 market-place : ' Most of which belongs 

 to that worthy person and purchaser of 

 the Townend, the ancient estate formerly 

 belonging to the family of Prestons, but 

 now in possession of Mr. Rigby, Pater- 

 noster Row in London' ; Hardwick, 

 Preston, 210. Townend stood near the 

 present St. Peter's Church; ibid. zn. 

 Henry son of Robert Attownend has been 

 already named in 1305. 



Henry Preston, who died in 1549, 

 married Isabel Argham, widow, and had 

 for heir a son apparently posthumous. 

 His principal house was held of the 

 Hospitallers by a rent of iod., but he 

 held other lands of the heir of Nicholas 

 Skillicorn (by i8</. rent), William Stanley 

 (14^.) and the borough of the vill of 

 Preston (4-d.) ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 

 ix, no. 19 ; x, no. 10. Henry the son, 

 whose will is recited, died in 1599 told- 



99 



ing his father's lands, with the addition 

 of Arom's house and lands lately acquired 

 of William Arom, deceased, held of the 

 mayor and burgesses. William, his son 

 and heir, was seventeen years old ; ibid, 

 xviii, no. 45. William died in 1640 

 holding the same estate and leaving as 

 heir a son Henry, aged thirty-five ; ibid. 

 xxix, no. 8. The pedigree states that 

 Henry died about 1654, leaving a son 

 William, aged eighteen in 1664. Henry 

 was a Royalist, and his estate was 

 sequestered by the Parliament ; Cal. Com. 

 for Camp, iv, 2822. The arms of Preston 

 of Preston have the chief gules in 

 Dugdale's visitation, but its tincture is 

 sable in the visitation of 1613. 



113 An earlier barony of Preston is 

 said to have been conferred upon the 

 family, 1360-90. See G.E.C. Complete 

 Peerage^ iv, 55. The arms of Preston 

 Viscount Gormanston are Or on a chief 

 sable three crescents of the field. 



114 An outline of the family deeds, as 

 extant about 1480, is printed in Hist. 

 MSS. Com. Rep. iv, 574, &c. It is not 

 possible to compile a clear descent there- 

 from. The Preston deeds mostly range 

 from about 1290 to 1350, and refer, it 

 appears, to two families chiefly, one de- 

 rived from an Award de Preston -s. 

 Roger (the Tailor) -s. Robert (the Tailor) 

 -. Henry -bro. Roger ; and the other 

 from an Adam de Preston -s. William 

 -s. Robert. Thus Roger son of Robert 

 the Tailor of Preston made a grant of 

 land to William de Preston, burgess 

 of Drogheda. This family are often 

 erroneously described as 'lords of Pres- 

 ton ' ; they were merely burgesses, as 

 appears from their charters and the Guild 

 Rolls. In 1397 Christopher son of 

 Robert de Preston perhaps there were 

 two of the name was admitted as a 

 burgess, and Christopher and Robert his 

 son in 1415 ; Preston Guild R. 2, 5, 7. 



The folio wing local names occur in the 

 deeds : Fishwickgate, Fishergate, Aven- 

 hamends, Broadlache, Broughton Bridge 

 (1312), Gerelriding, Ingolriding, Quint- 

 acre, Pepperfield, Newfield under Fulwood, 

 Platfordale, Moorplat, the Friars' Garden, 

 Swaghwell Syke near the Magdalene's 

 Hospital. 



In 1458 Thomas Nelson acquired lands 

 in Longton and Preston from Robert 

 Preston of Drogheda, and four years later 

 Matthew Bolton and Margaret his wife 

 purchased all or part from Thomas Nelson 

 and Agnes his wife ; Final Cone, iii, 121, 

 131. 



Isabel widow of James Harrington of 

 Wolfage in 1518 held lands of the heir 

 of William de Preston in burgage ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 2. 



Ewan Browne of Ribbleton in 1544 

 held two burgages in Preston of Lord 

 Gormanston by a rent of izd. t and George 

 Browne likewise in 1567; but James 

 Browne in 1586 held of the mayor, &c., 

 in socage and by suit of court ; ibid, vii, 

 no. 24 ; xi, no. 4 ; xiv, no. 42. 



Thomas Skinner in 1577 purchased 

 Christopher Lord Gormanston's estate in 

 Preston and district ; Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 39, m. 97. Later deeds re- 

 garding Skinner's estate were enrolled 

 in the Common Pleas, Trin. 1599, rot. 

 15 ; Mich. 1599, rot. 27 ; Trin. 1600, 

 rot. 9. 



