AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



Of the two moieties of Thornton proper one, as 

 indicated, descended with the Singleton estates to 

 Banastre u and Balderston, 16 and on the partition in 

 1564 was allotted to Gilbert Gerard, 17 who died 

 possessed of it in 1593, the tenure not being recorded. 18 

 It appears to have been purchased by the Fleetwoods 

 of Rossall, whose ' manor ' of Thornton was the only 

 one recognized in later times. 19 



The other moiety was held by a family using the 

 local surname, descendants, like the Singletons, of 

 Robert de Winwick, the earliest immediate lord of 

 the undivided manor of whom there is record. His 

 son William, the tenant in 1212, gave 10 marks 

 and two palfreys in 1201 for 30 acres of land in 

 Thornton, of which Theobald Walter had disseised 

 him, and for relief of his land.* He died before 

 1215, when Alan de Singleton gave the king 20 marks 

 that he might have Alice his daughter and co-heir. 11 

 The other daughter Margaret or Margery married 

 Michael de Carleton, who had to pay 10 marks for 



POULTON-LE- 

 FYLDE 



pardon in marrying without licence one who was in 

 the king's gift." Margery de Winwick died in or 

 before 1258 holding two plough-lands in Thornton 

 of the king in chief by the yearly service of z/., owing 

 suit to county and wapentake. Her son and heir 

 Richard de Thornton was of full age. 83 The other 

 two plough-lands had become part of the Singletons' 

 estate. 24 



Of the Thornton family there is little to record.** 

 The Lawrence above-named left two sons, John, who 

 died in 1 396, and William. 86 Another William seems 

 to have succeeded ; he died in 1429,** when the 

 heir of John was found to be Thomas Travers son of 

 Roger Travers by Alice daughter of John Thornton. 

 The daughters of William Thornton shared the 

 estate in spite of that finding. 28 The story is obscure. 

 In 1 60 1 James Worthington purchased a sixth part 

 of the manor from Hugh Adlington and Sibyl his 

 wife. 19 A minor family of the name appears in later 

 times holding land in the Holmes. 30 



16 William Banastre in 1323 held a 

 moiety of Thornton (except the half of 

 5 oxgangs of land) by a rent of 8*. and 

 uit of court. It wa worth 10 131. $.d. 

 a year ; Lanes. Inq. and Extents, ii, 1 60. 



Thornton and the Holmes by Thornton 

 were among the lands of Sir Thomas 

 Banastre of Bretherton in 1379; Lanes. 

 Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 1 5. 



16 Richard Balderston in 1456 held a 

 moiety of the manor of Thornton and the 

 Holmes, of the king as of his duchy, in 

 thegnage by a rent of 8*. ; ibid, ii, 63. 

 The Stanah portion was probably omitted 

 because the tenants paid their small rents 

 direct to the duchy receiver. The manors 

 of Thornton and Holmes were in dispute 

 in 1508 ; Final Cone, iii, 164. 



As in other cases, the 16th-century 

 inquisitions show that the Balderston 

 estate here was held by Edmund Dudley, 

 Thomas Radcliffe of Winmarleigh and his 

 successors, Alexander Osbaldeston and the 

 Earl of Derby. 



17 In right of his wife Anne ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. 216, m. 10. 



18 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xvi, no. 2. 



19 The manor of Thornton was included 

 in a settlement of the Rossall estate in 



1695 5 Pal - of Lanc - Feet of F - bdle - 2 35> 

 m. 75. It occurs later in a similar way. 



10 Fine R. (Rec. Com.), 116 ; Farrer, 

 Lanes. Pipe R. 130. In 1205-6 he paid 

 2 marks to a icutage ; ibid. 205. 



11 Ibid. 252. William de Winwick had 

 given the canons of Cockersand 3 acres 

 in Thornton, and afterwards Alan de 

 Singleton and his heirs were in posses- 

 sion, paying a rent of 41. to the abbey ; 

 Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc.), i, 160. 

 William married one Maud daughter of 

 Robert, who had lands in Whittingham ; 

 ibid, i, 2312. As Maud de Thornton 

 she was unmarried and in the king's gift 

 in 12226 ; Lanes. Inq. and Extents, \, 128. 



13 Baldwin le Blund in 1215 offered 20 

 marks for permission to marry Margaret, 

 but before 1221 she had married Michael 

 de Carleton ; Rot. Lit. Claus. (Rec. Com.), 

 i, 190; Excerpta e Rot. Fin. (Rec. Com.), 

 i, 60. Michael was dead in 1226, when 

 hi brother William purchased the ward- 

 ship of his heir ; ibid. 136. 



13 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 2 1 1 . Richard 

 de Thornton probably there were two 

 or more of the name occurs as juror, 

 &c., from 1244 to 1297 ; ibid. 160, 289. 

 He consented in 1246 to an agreement 

 between the Abbot of Cockersand and 



Alice de Thornton as to the Whittingham 

 lands of his grandmother Maud ; Final 

 Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 103. 

 He gave the monks of Lancaster a site 

 for their tithe barn in Thornton ; Lanc. 

 Ch. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 424. 



14 Alice widow of Alan de Singleton in 

 1245 arranged with William the son of 

 Alan as to the succession of two plough- 

 lands in Thornton, she acknowledging 

 William's right and receiving it for life, 

 together with a third part of the fishery 

 at Singleton. If Alice should not be able 

 to grind in her mill of Thornton she 

 might use that of Singleton free of mul- 

 ture. She released to William all her 

 dower right and he gave her ^10 ; Final 

 Cone, i, 92. 



15 From the text it appears that 

 Lawrence son of Richard de Thornton 

 was in possession in 1324 and John son 

 of Lawrence in 1 346. John was defen- 

 dant ten years later ; Duchy of Lanc. 

 Assize R. 4, m. i d. ; 5, m. 25 d. 



A pleading of 1302 calls Richard de 

 Thornton the son and heir of Clarice 

 daughter of Robert Wath ; Abbre-v. Plac. 

 (Rec. Com.), 246. Another of 1356 gives 

 a different descent, stating that John de 

 Thornton was son of Lawrence son of 

 John (and Clarice) de Thornton, living in 

 the time of Edward I ; Duchy of Lanc. 

 Assize R. 5, m. 25 d. A step (Richard) 

 may have been omitted after Lawrence. 



Amery and Thomas de Thornton con- 

 tributed to the subsidy in 1332; Exch. 

 Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 70. Richard son of Amery (fern.) de 

 Thornton was accused of taking a horse 

 from Henry de Carleton in 1 3 3 1 ; De Banco 

 R. 286, m. 24 d. John son of Richard de 

 Thornton occurs in 1352-55 Duchy of 

 Lanc. Assize R. 2, m. xj d. ; 4, m. I d. 



In 1412 John son of John de Thornton 

 received land in Little Poulton from 

 William de Poulton ; Kuerden MSS. ii, 

 fol. 24 5 b. 



3e Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 24. 

 He held the moiety of the manor of John 

 Duke of Lancaster in socage by a rent of 

 8*. ; it was worth ,10. His heir in 

 1429 was Thomas Travers, aged forty, 

 son of Alice daughter of John de Thorn- 

 ton by Margery his wife, daughter of 

 John de Bradkirk. John appears to have 

 had two sons named John, and they with 

 their uncle William had held possession 

 of the estate from 1396 onwards. 



37 It does not appear who was 



2 33 



father of William, who left four young 

 daughters, Agnes (aged ten), Katherine, 

 Elizabeth and Joan ; ibid, ii, 26. William 

 held the moiety of the manor as before. 



A writ of Amoveas manus in favour of 

 the daughters was issued in 1432 ; Def. 

 Keeper's Rep. xxxiii, App. 33. 



28 In 1450 William Tarleton, Katherine 

 his wife, Robert Adlington, Elizabeth his 

 wife, Christopher Worthington and Joan 

 his wife claimed three-fourths of the 

 moiety of the manor against Thomas 

 Travers, Lawrence Travers and Richard 

 his brother, William Travers, and William 

 Harebotell and Agnes his wife, and their 

 claim was allowed ; Final Cone, iii, 117. 

 The four daughters of William Thornton 

 are here named as married, but one of 

 them probably died without issue, this 

 moiety being afterwards held in thirds. 



Very little is known about these frag- 

 ments. In 1487 a praecipe was issued 

 to William Heth and Agnes his wife 

 (daughter and one of the heirs of William 

 Thornton) to maintain with Christopher 

 Worthington a convention as to two mes- 

 suages, 50 acres of land, &c., in Thornton; 

 Pal. of Lanc. Writs Proton, file I & 2 

 Hen. VII. From a writ of 1513 it 

 appears that Katherine widow of Robert 

 Adlington (who must therefore have 

 married twice) became the wife of Giles 

 Lever, and had an interest in the family 

 estates in Adlington, Thornton, &c. ; 

 ibid. 4 Hen. VIII. 



Hugh Adlington of Adlington died in 

 1525 holding four messuages, two salt- 

 cotes, a fishery, Sec., in Thornton of the 

 king as of his duchy by a rent of 2s. ; 

 Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 73, 

 The rent is a fourth part of the old one. 

 His grandson Hugh Adlington died in 

 1556 holding similarly ; ibid, x, no. 34. 



Joan Worthington died in 1501 holding 

 messuages and land in Thornton and the 

 Holmes of the king in socage by a rent 

 of zs. %d. ; ibid, iii, no. 108. The rent 

 is a third part of the old one. The family 

 was seated at Crawshaw in Adlington. 



29 Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 63, 

 no. 86. Thomas Worthington died in 

 1627 holding six messuages, lands, &c., 

 in Thornton of the king ; Towneley MS. 

 C8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 1292. 



80 Richard Thornton died in 1555 

 holding a messuage, &c., in Holmes in 

 Poulton of the Earl of Derby ; Hugh, 

 his son and heir, was forty-four years 

 old ; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. x, no. 42. 



3 



