A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Again in 1346 William de Elston and Roger his 

 brother were said to hold four plough-lands in Ribble- 

 ton, Preston and Elston of Henry Earl of Lancaster by 

 knight's service and 1 8d. for castle ward " ; but in the 

 same year Thomas Travers and William Lawrence 

 held between them one plough-land in Ribbleton in 

 socage, rendering 8j. a year at the four terms. 12 The 

 latter record is confirmed by later testimonies, 13 but 

 nothing is known as to the source of their right. 14 



The estate was not usually called a manor. The 

 Travers moiety descended like Nateby 1& until 1579, 

 when it was sold to John Shireburne. 18 The other 

 moiety " was in 1 524 held by Robert Lawrence, who 

 died on 27 March holding his part of Ribbleton of 

 the king in socage by the rent of 4*. His heirs were 

 two daughters, Margaret and Agnes, aged seventeen 

 and fourteen respectively. 18 The elder daughter 



married Hugh Farington of Hutton, 19 and their 

 descendants were seated in Ribbleton for some time, 

 recording pedigrees at the 

 visitations of 1567, 1613 

 and 1665.* The younger 

 daughter's share " seems to 

 have gone to Evan Browne, 

 who died in 1545 holding a 

 capital messuage called Rib- 

 bleton and messuages, lands 

 and windmill there in socage, 

 by a free rent of 2/. M His 

 son and heir Richard * 3 dying 

 without issue, the six sisters 

 made a partition in 1559 by 

 which Ribbleton Hall became 



FARINGTON. Ar 

 chevefn gukt 



three leopards' faces sable. 



the property of Robert Shuttleworth and Jane his 



11 Inq. p.m. 20 Edw. Ill (2nd nos.), 

 no. 62. In 1342 the feoffee granted to 

 William son of Roger de Elston and 

 Roger his brother various lands in Ribble- 

 ton and Brockholes ; Harl. MS. 2042, 

 fol. 169. 



12 Surv. of 1346 (Chet. Soc.), 48. The 

 same partners also held a moiety of Ash- 

 ton at the other side of Preston. In 

 both cases the right seems to have de- 

 scended through Haydock, as below. In 

 1331 Thomas son of Lawrence Travers 

 had lands in Ribbleton ; Kuerden MSS. 

 iv, G zb. 



18 Thomas Travers and Robert Law- 

 rence in 1415 granted Roger Elston the 

 younger for his life right of way through 

 a field called Riddings to Roger's field 

 called Newhey in Ribbleton ; Add. MS. 

 32107, no. 2986. In 1445-6 Thomas 

 Travers and Robert Lawrence held the 

 plough-land in Ribbleton, rendering 8j. 

 yearly ; Duchy of Lane. Knights' Fees, 

 bdle. 2, no. 20. 



14 A large number of Ribbleton deeds 

 (Farington family) are in Piccope MSS. 

 (Chet. Lib.), iii, 17-29. None are so 

 early as 1346, and the first relating to 

 Lawrence is of 1412, as will be seen 

 below. 



ls John Travers was in 1362 found to 

 have held 36 acres in Ribbleton in socage 

 by a rent of 4*. ; Inq. p.m. 36 Edw. Ill 

 (2nd nos.), no. 52. 



William Travers died in 1524 holding 

 lands in Ribbleton of the king as duke 

 by the annual service of 41. ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 62. A similar 

 record was made in 1559 ; ibid, xi, no. 68. 



Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 36, 

 m. 262. The vendors were Richard 

 Travers and Grace his wife : the estate 

 is described as four messuages, &c., in 

 Ribbleton and Fulwood. 



17 In 1354 William Lawrence and 

 Alice his wife made a settlement of their 

 estate in Thornton, Great and Little 

 Layton, a moiety of the manor of 

 Ribbleton and a fourth part of the 

 manor of Ashton. The remainders, after 

 their children (John and others), were, 

 so far as Ashton was concerned, to the 

 right heirs of Alice ; and as to Ribbleton 

 to Joan daughter of Geoffrey de Cuerdale 

 for life, and then the same as Ashton ; 

 Final Cone, ii, 141-2. The fine proves 

 that Lawrence held in right of his wife. 

 Joan de Cuerdale was then wife of Thomas 

 de Molyneux, and much of her estate 

 went to the Osbaldeston family. 



John Lawrence died in 1398, having 

 made a settlement of his estate on his 



wife Margaret in 1368. He left a son 

 William, aged eighteen ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Chet. Soc.), i, 72. 



Roger de Elston of Ribbleton in 1412 

 demised to Robert son of John Lawrence 

 a messuage in Ribbleton for life, and in 

 1438 John Elston and William his son 

 and heir granted land in Ribbleton fields 

 to Robert Lawrence ; Piccope MSS. iii, 

 27. Robert Lawrence, as above recorded, 

 was a partner in the manor in 1445-6 

 and Edmund, the son and heir of Robert, 

 in 1448 ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. n, m. \b. 



Robert seems to have been still living in 

 1459, when John son of Henry Compsty 

 granted land in Ribbleton to him, while 

 to Edmund son of Robert Lawrence a 

 quitclaim was given by William son of 

 John Compsty in 1475 ; Piccope MSS. 

 loc. cit. 



18 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 57. 

 Robert Lawrence is described as 'of 

 Claughton in Amounderness ' ; his lands 

 were in Layton, Ribbleton and Thornton. 

 A feoffment made in 1513 is recited, 

 giving the following details : A messuage 

 in Ribbleton called the Maiden's House, 

 with closes named the Town Field and 

 Fishwick Banks, with other closes called 

 Blackearth, Over and Nether Crooked 

 Riddings, Oxhey, Wall Banks, Moor 

 Furlong, Little Furlong, with the orchard, 

 and the orchard about the hall. 



By an award of the same time Isabel 

 widow of Robert Lawrence and their two 

 daughters were to pay z6s. Sd. a year to 

 James Walton of Preston and provide 

 a man horsed and harnessed for the king's 

 service ; Piccope MSS. iii, 17. 



Richard Walton in 1579 released to 

 Richard Farington all his interest in lands 

 in Ribbleton ; ibid. 21. 



19 Visit, of 1567 (Chet. Soc.), 45. 

 Some notes on this family will be found in 

 the account of Longton in Penwortham. 



An inquisition after the death of 

 Richard Farington was made in 1596. 

 He held land in Ribbleton of the queen 

 in socage by a rent of iod., and his heir 

 was his son Hugh, aged thirty-six ; Piccope 

 MSS. iii, 29. 



Hugh Farington died in 1637 holding 

 a messuage and land in Ribbleton of the 

 king. His heir was his son Charles, aged 

 thirty-seven ; Towneley MS. C 8, 1 3 

 (Chet. Lib.), 423-4. A settlement was 

 made by Hugh Farington and Charles his 

 son in 1620 ; Piccope MSS. iii, 23. 



Deeds by Richard Farington, the son 

 of Charles, may be seen in the same col- 

 lection ; he appears to have sold or mort- 

 gaged the estate in 1672 ; ibid. 23, 25. 



106 



See also p. 206 for a sale to John 

 Winckley. 



20 Printed by the Chetham Soc. : 1567, 

 P- 45 5 l6l 3P- I0 3 5 1664-5, p. 106. 

 The descent from Hugh and Margaret is 

 thus given : -s. Richard -s. Hugh -s. 

 Charles (d. c. 1650) -s. Richard -da. Jane. 

 Jane married a Southworth and was 

 living in 1695 5 Piccope MSS. iii, 25. 



John Farington founded a charity in 

 1670 for the poor of Elston and Farington, 

 at the discretion of Richard Farington 

 of Ribbleton or those who might be owners 

 of Richard's estate. In 1824 James 

 Pedder and Thomas Walmesley were 

 trustees for the charity, their fathers and 

 grandfathers having acted before them ; 

 End. Char. Rep. 



21 About 1550 a division of the Law- 

 rence estates was arranged. By this 

 Margaret, widow of Hugh Farington, and 

 Richard their son and heir were to have 

 a moiety of Ribbleton and all the land in 

 Goosnargh, while Henry Smith, Agnes 

 his wife and William their son and heir- 

 apparent were to have lands in Ribbleton 

 and all the estate in Layton and Stainall ; 

 Piccope MSS. iii, 1 9. William Smith and 

 Mary Smith, widow, had this estate in 

 1593 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 55, 

 m. 139. 



2' Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vii, no. 

 24. Evan Browne probably acquired 

 Agnes's share by purchase, though the 

 date in the preceding note causes a diffi- 

 culty, but he had an estate in Elston by 

 inheritance. Thus James Browne in 

 1479 gave land in Ribbleton to the 

 younger John Elston and his wife on 

 their daughter's marriage with his son 

 William Browne; Add. MS. 32108, 

 fol. 288. (There was a remainder to 

 William Elston and Catherine his wife, 

 so that the land may have been part of 

 the Elston estate.) Then in 1503-4 

 Ewan or Evan son and heir of William 

 son and heir of James Browne (living) was 

 contracted to marry Elizabeth daughter 

 of John Singleton of Shingle Hall ; ibid. 

 Evan's widow Elizabeth is named in 

 the inquisition, and seven daughters 

 Anne, Alice, Jane, Katherine, Laura, 

 Ellen and Bridget. Laura does not 

 occur again. Evan Browne had a numbei 

 of scattered properties, including two 

 burgages in Preston and a messuage in 

 French Lea. 



28 Evan Browne, Richard and James 

 his sons were out-burgesses of the guild 

 of 1542 ; Preston Guild R. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 18. Richard was six 

 years old at his father's death. 



