A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



congregation was then joined to Kirkham until in 

 1860 the present church of St. Anne was opened. 17 



WEETON-WITH-PREESE 



Widetun, Dom. Bk. ; Whiteton, 1205; Wytheton, 

 1236; Wythinton, 1286; Wetheton, 1382. 



Midehope, Dom. Bk. ; Mithop, 1212; Methop, 

 1286. 



Pres, Dom. Bk.; Frees, Preez, Peres, 1278; Prese, 



1338. 



Suartebrec, 1249 ; Swartebreke, 1280. 



The area of this township is 2,972^ l acres, and its 

 population in 1901 was 374. It is curious to note 

 that Preese, which has recognition in the official 

 name, has no separate measurement, while Mythop or 

 Mythorp, the western corner, has its area recorded 

 as 677 acres, though it is not recognized in the town- 

 ship name ; it is divided from Weeton by moss land. 

 Weeton proper occupies the southern half of the 

 township, the northern half containing Preese on the 

 west and Swarbrick on the east. Each of the four 

 places named occupies a piece of rising ground, one 

 piece being divided by depressions from the others ; 

 at Weeton 112 ft. above the ordnance datum is 

 attained, at Swarbrick and Preese 100 ft. and at 

 Mythop 50 ft. 



A road from Kirkham goes west and north through 

 Weeton and Swarbrick to Singleton ; from Weeton 

 a cross road goes west through Mythop to Blackpool 

 and another east to Greenhalgh. The old Danes' Pad 

 is traced in Mythop, running north-west. The rail- 

 way from Preston to Fleetwood and Blackpool also 

 runs north-west through the township, and a branch 

 line to Blackpool crosses the south-west corner. 



The Fylde Waterworks have large reservoirs at 

 Weeton. 



Charles Earl of Derby procured a charter for a 

 weekly market at Weeton in 1670,* and a fair for 



cattle and small wares used to be held on the Tuesday 

 after Trinity Sunday. 3 



The township has a parish council. 



The soil is sandy, with subsoil of clay ; wheat, oats, 

 beans and barley are grown, but more than half the 

 land is devoted to pasture. 



A ' hairy ghost ' is associated with Weeton. 4 There 

 is an ancient burial cairn. 



William Barrow, 5 known better as Waring or Har- 

 court, was born in 1610, and educated at St. Omers. 

 In 1632 he joined the Society of Jesus, and was sent 

 on the English mission in 1644, labouring in the 

 London district till the outbreak of the Gates Plot. 

 He was arrested in May 1679, and executed the 

 following month with several other victims. 



In 1066 Weeton, Preese and Mythop, 

 MANORS assessed as three, two and one plough- 

 land respectively, formed part of the 

 Amounderness lordship of Earl Tostig. 6 Afterwards 

 the lordship was divided, Weeton becoming head of 

 the fee of the Butler of Ireland in Amounderness, 7 

 and Preese and Mythop being added to the fee of 

 Penwortham. 8 



WEETON contributed zis. %d. to the tallage in 

 1205-6, the heir of Theobald Walter being a minor 

 in ward to the king. 9 In 1242 the heir held the 

 third part of a knight's fee in demesne and the 

 sixth part in service. 10 From extents of Theobald le 

 Boteler's lands made in 1249" and 1286 it appears 

 that at Weeton was a well-built manor-house ; half 

 the land, 1 2. oxgangs, was in demesne, and the other 

 half was held by free farmers at the will of the lord ; 

 there were three mills. 12 The manor continued in 

 the Boteler family till about I4OO 13 ; it was then 

 acquired by Sir John Stanley of Lathom, 14 who ob- 

 tained a charter for free warren there, 15 and it has 

 continued in his family to the present time, 16 the Earl 

 of Derby being lord"of the manor. The rental of 1 5 22 17 

 shows that Weeton was then the head of a lordship 



17 Fall particulars will be found in 

 Gillow, op. cit. 2368 ; Hewitoon, Our 

 Country Churches, 345. Bishop Gibson 

 visited Westby in 1784 and confirmed 

 78 persons ; the number of communicants 

 was given as 360. 



1 2,972 acres, including 14 of inland 

 water ; Census Rep. 1 90 1 . 



1 Col. S. P. Dom. 1670, p. 267. 



I Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1870), ii, 493. 

 Ibid. 482. 



* Diet. Nat. Biog. ; Gillow, Bitl. Diet. ; 

 Foley, Rec. S. J. Under the name of 

 William Harcourt the cause of his 

 beatification was in 1886 allowed to 

 proceed at Rome ; Pollen, Acts of 'Martyrs, 

 382. y.C.H. Lanes, i, 288*. 



7 Ibid. 350. The Weeton lordship in- 

 cluded also Treales, Greenhalgh, Raw- 

 cliffe and Wesham. 8 Ibid. 335, n, I. 



' Fairer, Lanes. Pipe R. 202. 



10 Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 152-3. The 

 demesne lands were in Weeton and 

 Treales ; the sixth part was in Thistleton, 

 Preese and Greenhalgh. 



II Ibid. 173. In 1249 there was 

 only one mill. Certain land belonging 

 to Weeton, called Quinschalcishurede, was 

 worth 31. yearly, and a plot of meadow 

 3</. For the dower of Margery widow of 

 Theobald le Boteler in Weeton, <tc., see 

 Close, 64, m. 19. 



u Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 264-6. In 

 1291 Theobald le Boteler was commanded 



to do homage to Edmund the king's 

 brother for his lands held of the honour 

 of Lancaster ; Duchy of Lane. Royal 

 Charters, 175. 



" See Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 

 385. Edmund le Boteler in 1302 held half 

 a knight's fee in Weeton of the Earl of 

 Lancaster ; Lar.es. Inq. and Extents, i, 316. 



James son of Edmund le Boteler of 

 Ireland in 1324 held the manor of 

 Weeton with Little Marton, &c, by 

 knight's service and the yearly rent of 

 101. for * goshawk, 5*. for castle ward, 

 and 131. 4</., doing suit to the county and 

 wapentake ; Dods. MSS. cirri, fol. 40. 



The manor of Weeton was included in 

 a feofrment by James le Boteler Earl of 

 Ormonde and Eleanor his wife in 1329 ; 

 De Banco R. 278, m. i8od. See also 

 325, m. 380. 



The Earl of Ormond in 1 346 held the 

 fishery of Marton Mere by 10*. rent, two 

 (not three) plough-lands in Weeton, three 

 in Little Marton, three in Treales, two in 

 Wesham and Mowbreck by half a knight's 

 fee, rendering 13*. 4^.; Survey of 1346 

 (Chet. Soc.), 52-4. 



Eleanor Countess of Ormonde held in 

 1355; Feud, Aids, iii, 90. She was a plain- 

 tiff in 1356 (Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 5, 

 m. 26 d.), and tenant of Weeton in 1 361 ; 

 Inq. p.m. 3$ Edw. Ill, pt. i, no. 122. 



The Earl of Ormonde in 1 378 paid icu. 

 to the aid as for the moiety of a fee in 

 Weeton, Greenhalgh, Treale*, Thi*tleton, 



Out Rawcliffe, Bradkirk, Medlar and 

 Esprick ; HarL MS. 2085, fol. 421, Ac. 



In 1384 John (James) son and heir of 

 James Boteler, late Earl of Ormonde, bad 

 livery of 100 marks rent from the manor 

 of Weeton ; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 56. 

 See also Def. Keeper's Rep. rxxii, App. 



359, 363- 



14 Sir John Stanley was lord of Weeton 

 in 1401 ; Lanes. Inq.p.ir.. (Chet. Soc.), i, 76. 



15 The grant was made in 1408 to 

 John Lund and Thomas Charnock, chap- 

 lains ; Chart. R. 9 Hen. IV, no. 6. 



16 John Stanley in 143 1 held the moiety 

 of a knight's fee in Weeton, Treales, 

 Wesham and Thistleton ; Feud. Aids, iii, 

 95. In 1445-6 Sir Thomas Stanley held 

 in Weeton of the inheritance late of the 

 Earl of Ormonde (and) the fishery called 

 Marton Mere, rendering 201. yearly or a 

 sor goshawk ; Duchy of Lane. Knights' 

 Fees, bdle. 2, no. 20. 



Thomas the second Earl of Derby in 

 1521 held the manors of Weeton and 

 Treales of the king by the service of half 

 a knight's fee and the rent of 131. 4^. 

 The clear value was 30 ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 68. 



The manors of Weeton and Treales 

 occur at various times ' in fines and re- 

 coveries of the earl's estates ; e.g. Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 276, m. 75 (1715); 

 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 623, m. la (1776). 



17 In the possession of the Earl of 

 Lathom. 



176 



