A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Sharpies family seem to have acquired part," and 

 in 1 6 1 8 a ' manor ' of Freckleton was held by 

 them." Nothing further is known of it. 



The other fragments of the manor in 1242 dis- 

 appear from view very quickly. The surname of 

 Freckleton 25 occurs often but not prominently. In 

 the 1 6th and iyth centuries Clifton of Westby, 26 

 Hesketh of Poulton," Cowburn,* 8 Browne '* and 

 others held lands in Freckleton.* 



In addition to Cockersand and Lytham the abbey 

 of Dieulacres 3l had some land in the township, as 

 had also the Knights Hospitallers. 38 



There are 230^ cattle-gates on the marsh, but 

 231 are let yearly, the odd half-gate existing by a 

 fiction for the benefit of the charity.* 3 



For the worship of the Church of England Holy 

 Trinity was built in 1839, services having begun 

 in 1834." A separate ecclesiastical parish was formed 



23 George and James Sharpies purchased 

 a messuage and land in 1548 from John 

 Browne ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 13, 

 m. 191. John Sharpies was among the 

 purchasers in 15 73, and John Sharpies the 

 elder, John Sharpies the younger and 

 James Sharpies in 1580, as above. John 

 Sharpies also acquired three messuages 

 &c., from James Anderton and Henry 

 Marsden in 1580 ; ibid. bdle. 42, m. 156. 

 John Sharpies was the only freeholder 

 recorded in the township in 1600 ; Misc. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 232. 



84 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 90, no. 

 48. The deforciants were John Sharpies 

 the elder, Arthur Sharpies, Alice his wife 

 and Cuthbert Sharpies. Freckleton and 

 Warton are named together, but in the 

 later fine (1652) Warton only is named. 

 25 Some notes have been preserved by 

 Kuerden (MSS. iii, F 3) : Adam son of 

 Osbert released to Richard de Freckleton 

 (c. 1230) all right in an oxgang of land. 

 Richard son of Osbert de Freckleton gave 

 a messuage to Robert son of Thomas. 

 Margery daughter of John de Freckleton 

 released her right in half an oxgang of land 

 to Stephen son of William del Carr. 

 Maud daughter of Geoffrey de Pool gave 

 to John son of Adam de Freckleton all 

 her father's land in the Pool field ; 

 William son of Nicholas, the reeve of 

 Freckleton, was one of the witnesses. 



Richard de Freckleton in 1325 gave 

 a rood on Threperth to John son of 

 Thomas de Plumpton, Ralph and Robert 

 de Freckleton being among the witnesses ; 

 Towneley MS. C 8, 5, Edw. II, no. 5. 



Among the charters of Lytham Priory 

 some other early families appear. Richard 

 Waldeve was a benefactor, the charters 

 naming Thuftthorn Furlong, Stubbiholm, 

 Elvive Furlong, Weselbutts, all in the 

 fields of Freckleton ; Rutheditch and the 

 Housesteads ; D. at Durham, 33, 2ae, 4ae, 

 Ebor. no. 35-40. Eve his widow gave 

 lands to William son of Roger de Rise ; 

 no. 24. Richard del Moor gave land to 

 Michael son of Hugh de Hambleton and 

 Michael gave to the priory ; no. 44, 20. 

 Adam son of Richard son of Margery de 

 Freckleton occurs in 1346 ; no. 25, 26. 

 See also Final Cone, ii, 131, 170. 



Richard son of James de Freckleton in 

 1332 demised land to Nicholas son of 

 William Bussel ; Kuerden fol. MS. 131. 

 Elizabeth widow of Robert son of Adam 

 ton of Nicholas de Freckleton was plaintiff 

 in 1365 ; De Banco R. 421, m. 205 d. 



James Freckleton died in 1586 holding 

 a messuage, &c., in the township, but the 

 tenure is not stated ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. xv, no. 49. Gregory his son and heir, 

 then aged twenty-four, occurs frequently 

 among the jurors in the time of James I. 

 Ralph Freckleton died in 1587 holding 

 two messuages, &c. one of the queen as 

 of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem 

 by a rent of 6d., and the other of Thomas 

 Holcroft as of the priory of Lytham by a 

 rent of zd. Henry his son and heir was 

 twenty-six years of age ; ibid, xiv, no. 35. 

 Henry Freckleton died in 1626 holding 



of the king and of Cuthbert Clifton, the 

 heir being his nephew Ralph (son of 

 Richard brother of Henry), aged twenty- 

 four ; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 

 426. Ralph died in 1632, leaving a son 

 Henry as heir, three years old ; ibid. 428. 

 86 Cuthbert Clifton in 1580 was said 

 to hold of the heirs of Richard formerly 

 lord of Freckleton by a rent of \d. ; but 

 his son Thomas five years later was said 

 to hold partly of the queen by knight's 

 service and partly of Thomas Holcroft 

 by a rent of \d. ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. xiv, no. 76, 21. 



27 George Hesketh in 1571 held of the 

 Earl of Derby by a rent of J</. ; ibid, 

 xiii, no. 15. His son William, however, 

 in 1622 was said to hold of Thomas 

 Holcroft by id. rent ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 366. 



28 Two messuages, &c., in Freckleton 

 were in 1552 obtained by William Cow- 

 burn, clerk (probably as trustee), from 

 Christopher Cowburn ; Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 14, m. 109. Christopher's 

 wife Joan occurs in 1554; ibid. bdle. 15, 

 m. 15. Henry Cowburn the elder pur- 

 chased from James and Dorothy Anderton 

 in 1573 ; ibid. bdle. 35, m. 98. John 

 Cowburn in 1578 obtained a messuage, 

 &c., from William Cowburn ; ibid. bdle. 

 40, m. 192. 



John Cowburn died in 1578 holding a 

 messuage, &c., of the queen as of the late 

 abbey of Dieulacres by a rent of 8J^. His 

 heirs were his sisters, Janet wife of Richard 

 Butler and Ellen wife of Henry Freckleton, 

 aged thirty-eight and thirty in 1588 ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 30. 



Some disputes in the Colburn or Cow- 

 burn family are referred to in Ducatus 

 Lane. (Rec. Com.), iii, 214, 233, &c. 



Lawrence Cowburn died in 1604 hold- 

 ing a messuage, &c., of the Earl of Derby 

 by \d. rent, leaving a son and heir Henry, 

 ten years old ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. 

 Soc.), i, 32, 44. 



Henry Cowburn died in 1605 holding a 

 rhessuage, &c., partly of the king by 

 knight's service and partly of the Earl of 

 Derby by the fortieth part of a knight's 

 fee and zd. rent ; his heir was a daughter 

 Judith, a year old ; ibid, i, 45. 



Lawrence Cowburn died in 1622 at 

 Freckleton holding a messuage, &c., 

 partly of the king in socage, as of his 

 manor of East Greenwich, by izd. rent, 

 and partly of the king as of his duchy by 

 the two-hundredth part of a knight's fee. 

 William his son and heir was eight years 

 old ; ibid, iii, 317-19. 



89 William son of Robert Browne of 

 Freckleton in 1313-14 unsuccessfully 

 claimed a messuage and land against 

 Adam son of Alan de Pool, who had been 

 enfeoffed by Agnes daughter of Jordan de 

 Freckleton ; Assize R. 424, m. 2d. 



William Browne died at Freckleton in 

 1617 holding a messuage and land there 

 of the king as of his duchy by the two- 

 hundredth part of a knight's fee. His 

 son Richard having died shortly before 

 him, the heir was his grandson William 



170 



Browne (son of Richard), aged sixteen ; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc.), ii, 86. 

 Richard Browne died in 1639, leaving as 

 heirs two nieces Janet, aged twenty-five, 

 wife of William Cowburn and widow of 

 Thomas Hall, being daughter of Eliza- 

 beth sister of Richard Browne ; and Ellen 

 Derham, aged thirteen, daughter of Janet, 

 another sister; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 

 (Chet. Lib.), 79-80. 



30 Thomas Boteler of Warrington(i 522) 

 held lands, but the tenure was unknown ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 13. 



Gabriel Hesketh of Aughton, who died 

 in 1573, held his land in Freckleton of 

 the Earl of Derby by a rent of zd. ; ibid. 

 xii, no. 32. In 1597 it was sold to John 

 Bradley of Bryning (Pal. of Lane. Feet of 

 F. bdle. 58, m. 328), and at his death in 

 1617 the same tenure was recorded ; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc.), ii, 80. 



James Hall died in 1609 holding a 

 messuage and land of the king by a rent 

 of 6d. His son and heir Thomas was 

 twenty-six years old ; ibid, i, 124. 



Peter Mason of Lathom in 1570 pur- 

 chased a messuage, &c., in Freckleton 

 from Richard Chisnall and Christopher 

 Anderton, they giving warranty against 

 Thomas Dicconson of Eccleston and the 

 Master of the Savoy ; Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 32, m. 99. This land had 

 belonged to Eccleston Chantry ; Lanes, 

 and Chet. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), ii, 252. The purchaser died in 

 1612, and then his land, &c., in Freckle- 

 ton was stated to be held of the Earl of 

 Derby in socage, but on his son's death 

 later in the same year this was corrected, 

 the lands being held of the king as of his 

 manor of East Greenwich ; Lanes. Inq. 

 p.m. (Rec. Soc.), i, 215, 237. 



Nicholas Badger died in 1612 holding 

 a tenement of the king as of his duchy 

 by 6d. rent. Thomas his son and heir 

 was of full age ; ibid, i, 217. Thomas 

 Badger died in May 1637, when the 

 tenure was recorded as of the Earl of 

 Derby ; the heir was Thomas's son 

 Nicholas, aged thirty ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p.m. xxx, no. 83. 



Thomas Hankinson died in 1628, 

 leaving a daughter and heir Ellen, aged 

 nine ; the tenure of his messuage, &c., 

 was not stated ; ibid, xxvii, no. 32. In 

 another copy he is called John Hankin- 

 son ; the tenure was 'of the king' ; 

 Towneley MS. C 8, 13, p. 516. 



Thomas Taylor died at Freckleton in 

 1640 holding land there of James Lord 

 Strange in socage, and leaving a brother 

 Nicholas, aged sixty-eight, as heir ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxx, no. 15. 



31 Adam de Singleton gave ' lands ' in 

 the field called Hwldismont upon Ribble- 

 bank, with appurtenant easements in the 

 vill of Freckleton ; Dieulacres Chartul. 

 (Staffs. Hist. Coll.), 349. See the Cow- 

 burn inquisitions above. 



32 Mentioned in 1292 ; Plac. de Quo 

 Warr. (Rec. Com.), 375. 



33 End. Char. Rep. for Kirkham, 85. 

 84 Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1836), iv, 396. 



