AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



without issue, and Alice, mother of the plaintiff. The 

 defendant replied that one Alan de Catterall had had 

 possession and had given it to defendant and his son 

 John. 87 * 



The Singletons having established their claim, 

 granted it to endow a chantry. 88 On the suppression 

 of these foundations it was .acquired by Robert 

 Helme, whose sons defended their right as against 

 Thomas Tyldesley, the representative of the founders. 89 

 It was acquired not long afterwards by Alexander 

 Rigby of Wigan, who died in 1621 holding Middleton 

 Hall, Topping House, with dovecote, lands, &c., of 

 the king as of his manor of Clitheroe ; also Eyves 

 Hall, of the Earl of Derby (formerly the Hospitallers' 

 land), by \d. rent ; and a messuage, &c., in Aspen- 

 hurst of Sir Richard Hoghton by 5*. rent. His son 

 and heir Alexander was twenty-six years of age. 90 



The younger Alexander 91 was a bencher of Gray's 

 Inn. He resided at Ribby, being perhaps desirous 

 of the style of Rigby of Ribby. He was returned 

 for the Short Parliament in 1640 and then for the 

 Long Parliament as a member for Wigan, at once 

 distinguishing himself as a zealous Puritan. On the 

 outbreak of the Civil War he showed himself equally 

 active on the Parliamentary side, first as a civilian, 

 sequestrator, &c., M and then as a soldier with a 

 colonel's commission. His son Alexander was lieu- 



KIRKHAM 



tenant-colonel under him, and raised a company 

 within Goosnargh. He took Thurland Castle, after 

 a siege of seven weeks, in October 1643, but lost his 

 reputation next year by the fruitless leaguer of Lathom 

 House and the defeat at Bolton. He then seems to 

 have retired from war and devoted his attention to 

 Parliament and to the sequestering of ' Papists' and 

 delinquents' estates.' His son Alexander, however, 

 continued his military career. The father was 

 appointed one of the judges of Charles I, but did 

 not act. In 1649 he was ma de a baron of the 

 Exchequer, but did not enjoy his dignity long, dying 

 1 8 August 1650. In religion he was an Independent, 

 hostile to Presbyterian ism as well as to Episcopacy. 

 His son Alexander seems to have been a member 

 of the Presbyterian Classis in i646. w 



This son succeeded to Middleton, and was member 

 of Parliament for Lancaster in 1658. He and his 

 brother Edward fell under suspicion at the beginning 

 of the reign of James II, and were ordered into 

 custody in 1685. Alexander Rigby died in i694, 94 

 and from him the estate descended to the Knowles 

 family, but there is nothing in the history to call for 

 remark. 



To this part of the township may have belonged 

 the family or families using Goosnargh as a surname. 

 They occur in the pleadings, 98 but the nature of 



87a Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 10, m. 29* ; 

 1 1, m. 9. Another messuage here with 

 24 acres of land was in 1449 claimed by 

 the same Alan Singleton against Alan son 

 of John Catterall. It was alleged that 

 Adam de Greenhills and Alice his wife 

 gave it to John son of William de Green- 

 hills in the time of Edward II, after 

 which it descended thus : John -s. Wil- 

 liam -s. William -sister Alice -s. Alan 

 Singleton the plaintiff. The jury found 

 for the defendant ; ibid, 12, m. 19, 8i. 



In 1498 a settlement was made of the 

 estate in Goosnargh and Middleton of 

 the daughters and heirs of Alan Carr, 

 viz. Anne wife of John Lynstede and 

 Joan wife of John Browne ; Final Cone. 

 iii, 147. 



Alan Singleton claimed a messuage and 

 oxgang of land from Joan and Anne in 

 1469 in right of his descent from Geoffrey 

 de Coore, and Roger Singleton seems to 

 have held it ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 36, 

 m. 5 ; 86, m. 5. 



88 Lands in Chaigley, Aighton, Goos- 

 nargh and Middleton were in 1508 in the 

 hands of one Roger Singleton, apparently 

 as trustee for Alan Singleton deceased, 

 and he gave them to the chantry trustees ; 

 Fish wick, op. cit. 215-18. 



89 Ibid. 207-10, where the pleadings 

 of 1582 are printed. The plaintiffs, 

 George and Henry Helme, stated that 

 Edward VI in 1549 granted Middleton 

 and other chantry lands to William 

 Eccleston and Anthony Layton to hold 

 as of his manor of Clitheroe, and the 

 grantees conveyed to Roger Helme, plain- 

 tiffs' father. After Roger's death his sons 

 in 1566 divided the estate. (See Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 28, m. 45, 60.) 

 Tyldesley claimed as heir of Leyland, 

 alleging that Middleton had never belonged 

 to the chantry. 



George Helme acquired a messuage, 

 &c., in Goosnargh from Thomas Eccleston 

 and Joan his wife in 1573 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 3 5, m. 80. He probably 

 had Kirkhouse. 



Henry Helme died in 1589 holding a 



capital messuage called Middleton (by gift 

 of his father Robert), held of the queen as of 

 her manor of Clitheroe in socage. Leonard, 

 his son and heir, was nine years old in 

 1596 ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xvii, 

 no. 92. Leonard died in 1601 holding 

 the estate, and leaving a son (P brother) 

 Thomas, aged seventeen, to inherit it ; 

 ibid, xviii, no. 20. 



90 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc.), iii, 456 ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxv, no. 31 ; 

 xxviii, no. 82, in which Fairhurst, said to 

 be held of William Hyde of Denton, was 

 found to have gone to a younger son 

 Joseph Rigby. 



Alexander Rigby (the father) was son 

 of John Rigby of Wigan, whose brother 

 Alexander was seated at Burgh in Dux- 

 bury ; see the account of the family in 

 Pal. Note Bk. iii, 137, &c. 



Adam Rigby, rector of Eccleston in 

 Leyland, was in 1632 said to have held 

 his land in Cross Ground and Fairhurst 

 of the same William Hyde by knight's 

 service and rent. The heir was the 

 younger Alexander named in the text, 

 being a nephew ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. xxvii, no. 30 ; Towneley MS. C 8, 

 13 (Chet. Lib.), 1009. 



91 This account is from the Pal. Note 

 Bk. loc. cit. See also Diet. Nat. Biog. 

 There is a portrait in Fishwick, op. cit. 

 146. 



93 The Royalist view may be gathered 

 from Peter Barwick : ' One Rigby, a 

 scoundrel of the very dregs of the Parlia- 

 ment rebels, did at that time expose these 

 venerable persons [William Beale, Master 

 of St. John's College, Cambridge, &c.] 

 to sale, and would actually have sold them 

 for slaves if any one would have bought 

 them' ; Vita J. Bar-wick, 23. 



93 Pal. Note Bk. iii, 169. Baron Rigby's 

 lordship of the province of Lygonia in 

 Maine (New England) is related ibid. 

 181-7. His son Edward, also a lawyer, 

 who 'took to crooked ways,' succeeded 

 him in that estate. 



George Rigby, brother of the baron, 

 settled at Peel in Hulton ; his daughter 



197 



Alice had some land in Goosnargh ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 160, m. 63. 



A pedigree was recorded in 1664 ; 

 Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 245. 



94 Fishwick, loc. cit., where there is a 

 pedigree from which the following outline 

 of the descent is taken : Alexander Rigby, 

 d. 1694 -. Thomas, d. 1709 -s. Alexan- 

 der, d. 1716 -s. Townley, d. 1777 -s. 

 Alexander -sister Sarah, d. 1832, m. 

 William Shawe -da. Sally, m. Joseph 

 Knowles . Towneley Rigby Knowles. 

 See the account of Fishwick in Preston. 



In the Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 

 1 1 8, 122, may be seen the claim of 

 Townley Rigby, a Quaker, son and heir 

 of Alexander Rigby, to a seat in Kirkham 

 Church, 1726; the covenant on his 

 marriage with Grace daughter of Sir 

 Edward Hill, 1730; and the will of 

 Lieut.-Col. Alexander Rigby, 1792, 

 settling the descent of the messuage 

 called Middleton in Goosnargh, lands at 

 Ribby, Ac. 



95 Margery widow of Ranulf son of 

 Bernard de Goosnargh was (as above) a 

 defendant in 1291 ; De Banco R. 90, 

 m. 98 d. In the following year in different 

 pleas respecting lands in Goosnargh 

 Richard son of Robert de Goosnargh was 

 plaintiff, Robert de Goosnargh and others, 

 also Henry son of Ranulf de Goosnargh, 

 were defendants ; Assize R. 408, m. 

 36 d., 96, 54 d. Three years later John 

 son of William son of Thomas de 

 Goosnargh had a dispute as to their in- 

 heritance with Richard son of William 

 de Goosnargh; Assize R. 1306, m. 19 d. 

 Richard son of William son of Thomas 

 was called to warrant in 1306 ; De 

 Banco R. 161, m. 107. 



Isold widow of Richard claimed dower 

 in 1311 against Walter son of Robert de 

 Ayrdale and Agnes daughter of Roger de 

 Cumberhalgh ; De Banco R. 187, m 

 105. Possibly she was the wife of Adam 

 de Rideleys in 1315 ; ibid. 209, m. 

 82. 



Walter de Goosnargh seems to have 

 been a more important man than any of 



