A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



a different way, as the Hoghton holding there appear; 

 to have been acquired by purchase, 7 and was after- 

 wards said to be held of the Crown in socage by 

 a rent of i8^. s Several families, possibly younger 

 branches, 9 assumed Elston as a surname, one of them 

 of long continuance in the neighbouring township of 

 Brockholes. The immediate lordship seems to have 

 descended to one John de Elston, living in the 

 time of Edward III. 10 About a century later, in 1 446, 

 Sir Thomas Harrington and others purchased it from 



Isabel and Joan, daughters and heirs of John Shaw. 11 

 On the partition of Sir James Harrington's lands in 

 1516 Elston fell to the share of his daughter Mar- 

 garet, 12 who married Christopher Hulton, and so it 

 descended to Asshaw 1S and Radcliffe of Ordsall. 14 In 

 1610-1 1 it was sold to Sir Thomas Walmesley, 15 and 

 after changing hands again was acquired by Thomas 

 Walmsley, 16 in whose family it remained till recently. 

 The present lord of the manor, it is stated, is 

 Mr. William Cross of Frensham, Surrey. 



7 Alexander son of William de Elston 

 released to Adam de Hoghton his rights 

 in waters, mills, fisheries, &c., within the 

 vill, 2os. being paid, and William son of 

 Alexander de Elston confirmed to Adam 

 de Hoghton all his part of the mill, with 

 mill-stead, &c., for a rent of a pair of 

 white gloves ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 168, 

 132. 



In 1301 Richard son of William son of 

 Warine de Elston gave Master Richard de 

 Hoghton all his right in Elston ; Dods. 

 MSS. cxlii, fol. 59. In the same year 

 Elston is named among the Hoghton 

 estates ; Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 192. 



Maud daughter of Paulin de Westacre, 

 as widow, released to Sir Adam de Hogh- 

 ton in 1330 all right in her father's lands 

 in Elston and her right of turbary in 

 Grimsargh for her life ; Add. MS. 32106, 

 no. 84, fol. 254. A Henry de Wedacre 

 was plaintiff respecting land in the town- 

 ship in 1285 ; Assize R. 1271, m. 12. 



8 Sir Richard Hoghton in 1422 was 

 found to have held a messuage and 40 

 acres in Elston ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. 

 Soc.), i, 146. See also Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 26, where the rent is 

 not stated. 



9 William de Elston and Roger his 

 brother were stated in 1346 to hold four 

 plough-lands in Elston, &c., by knight's 

 service ; Inq. p.m. 20 Edw. Ill (2nd 

 nos.), no. 62. To a charter of 1349 the 

 following were witnesses : John de Elston, 

 William son of Roger de Elston, William 

 son of Paulin de Elston and Roger de 

 Elston; Towneley MS. HH, no. 1906. 

 John dc Elston of Elston, John de Elston 

 of Ribbleton and Roger de Elston attested 

 a charter of the year 1362 ; Piccope MSS. 

 (Chet. Lib.), iii, 27. 



William son of Roger de Elston, Roger 

 his brother and William son of Paulin de 

 Elston occur together in 1355 ; Kuerden 

 fol. MS. fol. 50, B 8. 



A deed of about 1280 names Roger son 

 of William de Elston and Paulin his 

 brother ; Kuerden MSS. iii, H 2. Henry 

 de Blackburn and Eve his wife (about 

 1302) granted their son John their right in 

 2oJ. rent due from William son of Paulin 

 de Elston; Add. MS. 32106, no. 309. 

 Christiana widow of Paulin de Elston and 

 William her son occur in 1 340 ; Kuerden 

 MSS. ii, fol. 256*. 



The following pleadings show that the 

 partition between several Elston families 

 goes back some distance of time. In 1280 

 James de Elston claimed half a messuage 

 and oxgang of land against Robert de 

 Elston and Roger his brother ; William 

 de Elston was called to warrant ; De 

 Banco R. 36, m. 69 ; 42, m. 38. In 

 1284 James de Elston was non-suited in 

 a claim for land against Robert son of 

 William de Elston ; Assize R. 1268, 

 m. 12 d. It seems that James was the son 

 of a Roger de Elston ; Kuerden fol. MS. 

 (Chet. Lib.), 906, D 53. 



William de Myr of Elston in 1282 

 sought a messuage and oxgang of land 

 against Robert de Elston, and the same 

 against Roger de Elston ; while Robert 

 son of William de Elston and Roger his 

 brother sought a small tenement against 

 John son of Agnes de Elston ; De Banco 

 R. 47, m. 32, 34 d. Robert de Elston 

 and Roger his brother attested a charter 

 c. 1284 ; Kuerden fol. MS. fol. 74. 



Again in 1298 Cecily daughter of 

 Robert de Elston and her sisters Margery, 

 Elizabeth and Emma claimed goods to the 

 value of 12 from William son of Ralph, 

 Alice his wife and Roger de Elston ; 

 De Banco R. 124, m. 64. 



10 The descent seems to be : William 

 de Elston s. Robert s. William -s. 

 John. 



To William de Elston, 'his lord,' the 

 Alexander son of William son of Arthur 

 de Elston already mentioned granted land 

 in Elston; Had. MS. 2042, fol. 171. 

 He was probably the William called to 

 warrant in 1280. 



Robert son of William de Elston has 

 been named as defendant in 1284-5. To 

 his son Richard in 1318 he granted all 

 his lands in Elston; Add. MS. 32106, 

 no. 164, fol. 271. The manor, however, 

 seems to have descended to another son 

 William, who in 1328 was defendant to 

 a claim put forward by Roger and Paulin, 

 sons of William de Elston and Roger son 

 of Roger ; Assize R. 1400, m. 233. 



John de Elston was lord in 1337 ; 

 Kuerden fol. MS. fol. 150. He (as son 

 of William) was in that year one defen- 

 dant to a claim by William son of William 

 de Elston; Assize R. 1424, m. II. In 

 1346 Margery daughter of William son 

 of Richard de Ashley (of Whittingham) 

 claimed three messuages and a plough-land 

 in Elston in right of her mother Christiana, 

 daughter and heir of Nicholas the Clerk, 

 seised in the time of Edward I. The 

 defendants were Maud widow of William 

 de Elston and John the son of William ; 

 John said that the tenement was only one 

 messuage and 6 acres of land and that he 

 held jointly with Maud his wife ; De 

 Banco R. 342, m. 20 ; 345, m. 21 ; 348, 

 m. 304. The suit went on for some 

 years. At Pentecost, 1352, John de 

 Elston further defended his right by say- 

 ing that plaintiff's mother had released to 

 his grandfather Robert all her right in 

 Elston, but the charter was denied ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Assize R. 2, m. vij d. In the 

 end Margery lost her case ; ibid. 6, m. 7 d. 



In 1346 John de Elston made a feoff- 

 ment of his manor of Elston with all its 

 buildings, homages, services, reliefs, &c. ; 

 Kuerden fol. MS. fol. in. He made an 

 exchange of lands in 1358, Roger de 

 Elston and William son of Paulin de 

 Elston being witnesses ; Add. MS. 32106, 

 no. 433. 



In 1357 John de Elston purchased 10 

 acres in Elston from William de Dodhill 

 and Alice his wife; Final Cone, ii, 154. 



114 



In 1363 it was found that the tenement 

 of Joan wife of Gilbert the Tailor in 

 Elston, taken into the king's hands for 

 felony, was held of John de Elston the 

 elder by the rent of 9.1. e,d. ; Inq. p.m. 37 

 Edw. Ill (tst nos.), no. 23. 



In 1369 there were two Johns, but the 

 John de Elston who attested a Ribbleton 

 charter granted by John de Elston the 

 younger was probably the lord of Elston ; 

 Add. MS. 32107, no. 2975. At the same 

 time a John son of William de Elston 

 complained that Alice widow of William 

 de Elston was causing waste in Elston ; 

 De Banco R. 433, m. 425 ; see also 447, 

 m. 189. 



In the following year John de Elston 

 the elder made a settlement of lands in 

 Elston, Preston and Haighton ; Kuerden 

 MSS. iv, E 5. 



It was perhaps his son who as Roger 

 son of John de Elston obtained land in 

 the township from William son of Robert 

 West of Elston in 1382-3 ; ibid. Roger 

 de Elston in 1395 purchased three mes- 

 suages, &c., from John de Shorrock the 

 younger and Agnes his wife ; Final Cone. 

 iii, 46. There was, however, a Roger de 

 Elston of Ribbleton and Brockholes. 



11 Ibid. 112. The estate was described 

 as the manor of Elston, with messuages, 

 land and wood in Ribchester, Haighton 

 and Preston and the moiety of a mill in 

 Haighton. The purchasers were probably 

 trustees of Harrington of Wolfage. 



Sir James Harrington of Brixworth, in 

 a deed dated at Elston, made a feoffment 

 of all his lands in Elston, Haighton, 

 Fishwick, Dinckley and Lancaster ; Add. 

 MS. 32106, no. 473. Isabel his widow 

 in 1498 made a release of the same ; ibid, 

 no. 830. 12 Norris D. (B.M.). 



13 Land. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 

 171-2. 



In 1552 Joan widow of Roger Asshaw 

 and daughter of Margaret, one of the 

 daughters and co-heirs of Sir James Har- 

 rington, gave her son Anthony an annuity 

 of 4 marks from her lands in Elston, 

 Haighton, Goosnargh, &c. ; Add. MS. 

 32105, fol. 214. At the same time she 

 made a general settlement ; ibid. fol. 213. 



14 See the accounts of Heath Charnock 

 and Salford. 



15 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 78, 

 no. 22 ; 77, no. i, 8. 



16 Fishwick, Preston, 93. 



In 1625 Robert Randolph leased to 

 Thomas Heneage the manor of Elston 

 and a messuage in Preston for five years ; 

 Cal. S. P. Dom. 1625-6, p. 49. See also 

 Lanes, and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, 247. 



In 16523 the manor of Elston, with 

 messuages, windmill, tithes, &c., and a 

 free fishery in the Ribble were held by 

 John Box, Anne his wife, Thomas Ince, 

 Robert Charnock, esq., Thomas Harrison, 

 esq., Elizabeth his wife and Hester Char- 

 nock ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 151, 

 m. 127, 



