A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



1901 William Poole, M.A. (Dur.) 

 1910 Daniel Schofield 70 



In 1689 a Presbyterian meeting was licensed at 

 Thomas Dicconson's house at Stalmine, 71 and about 

 1717 Bishop Gastrell recorded that ' the presbyterian 

 meeting house is very near the chapel.' 72 Nothing 

 seems to be known of it now. 



Apart from the school endowments 

 CHARITIES for Preesall and small gifts for re- 

 ligion there is no charitable founda- 

 tion 73 in the chapelry except io/. a year from Robert 

 Carter's benefaction, 1710. This sum is divided 

 among about eight poor persons who are by custom 

 selected from residents in the Pilling Lane portion of 

 Preesall. Thomas Bell of the Ridge in Pilling had 

 in 1723 left 5-r. a year for the poor of Preesall, but 

 this had been lost by 1826. 



PREESALL WITH HACKINSALL. 



Pressouede, Dom. Bk. ; Presoure, 1 168 ; Pressore, 

 1176; Presho, 1199; Preshou, 1246; Presoude, 

 Presehou, Presthowe, 1292. 



Haccumeho, Hacunesho, 1 199 ; Hacumesho, 1 200; 

 Hakinishal, 1244; Hakonesho, 1246. Hackensall 

 is a common modern spelling. 



The township is bounded by the River Wyre on 

 the west, the Lune estuary on the north and a small 

 brook on the south. In the north-west angle is 

 the hamlet of Knott End, with a ferry across the 

 Wyre to Fleetwood ; to the south, on a stretch of 

 higher land, is Hackinsall ; while Preesall lies a mile 

 to the east, on the side of another tract of higher 

 land, and Pilling Lane occupies its north-east 

 corner. 1 The surface to the north and east is flat 

 and lies very low, much of it below the 25 ft. level, 

 but the highest land in the township is about 100 ft. 

 above the sea. There is a wide expanse of sands to 

 the north. The area in all measures 3,393 acres, 2 

 and there was a population of 1,423 in 1901. 



Preesall is the central point of the township ; from 

 it roads spread out in various directions south to 

 Staynall and Stalmine, east towards Garstang and 

 north-west to Knott End. From this last another 

 road goes east along the coast to Pilling. There is a 

 salt mine to the south-west of Preesall, and from it a 

 railway runs down to the Wyre. The railway from 

 Knott End to Pilling and Garstang was opened in 

 1908. 



In Preesall is the cemetery for the chapelry. 



The township is governed by an urban district 

 council of twelve members. 



The soil is various, with subsoil of clay and gravel. 

 Wheat, oats and potatoes are grown. Of the land, 

 869 acres are arable, 1,648 in permanent grass and 

 20 in woods and plantations. 2 * 



A small detached part of Pilling was added to 

 Preesall under the Divided Parishes Act of 1882. 



There was a fairy well to the north of Preesall 

 village. 



In 1066 PREESALL was assessed as six 

 MANOR plough-lands and was included in the 

 Preston fee of Earl Tostig. 3 The demesne 

 tithes were in 1094 granted to St. Martin of Sees 

 by Roger of Poitou, 4 and later still, in 1168-9, 

 Preesall was in the demesne of the honour of 

 Lancaster. 5 About 1 1 90 John Count of Mortain 

 granted Preesall and Hackinsall to Geoffrey the 

 Arbalaster or crossbowman, 6 and renewed the gift 

 after he came to the throne. 7 It appears, however, 

 that 4 oxgangs of land in the township had long 

 before been held by serjeanty by Hugh de Hackinsall, 

 whose son Robert obtained confirmations from John 

 when Count of Mortain, and afterwards when king. 8 

 An agreement respecting the same was made between 

 Geoffrey, as lord of the whole, and Peter de Hackin- 

 sall, 9 and, as Geoffrey's descendants assumed their 

 surname from HACKINSALL, they no doubt 

 obtained a surrender of the 4 oxgangs. 10 



Geoffrey the Arbalaster held the six plough-lands 

 in 1 2 1 2 by the service of two crossbows yearly. 11 



70 Previously vicar of Wyreidale. 



71 Hist. MSS. Com. Ref. xiv, App. iv, 

 230. Dicconson was one of the trustee! 

 for Carter'* school. 



72 Notitia Cestr. ii, 444. 



73 An official inquiry was held in 1901. 

 The report, published the following year, 

 includes a reprint of the former official 

 report of 1826. 



1 Formerly called the Lower End of 

 Pilling. - 



1 The Census Rep. of 1 90 i gives 

 3,232 acres, including 3 of inland water. 

 There are also 105 acres of tidal water 

 and 5,428 of foreshore. 



The acreages of the three hamlets 

 separately are Preesall, 2,038 ; Hackin- 

 sall, 541 ; and Pilling Lane District, 814. 



** Statistics from Bd. of Agric. (1905). 



3 V.C.H. Lanes, i, 288*. 



4 Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 290. 



5 Ibid. 12 ; it contributed to the aid 

 in 1168-9 together with Preston, &c. 

 Again in 1176-7 it is found paying 

 i mark to an aid; ibid. 35. 6 Ibid. 431. 



7 Geoffrey in 1201-2 proffered 15 

 marks to the king for confirmation 

 (ibid. 152), and received a charter ac- 

 cordingly ; Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 45. 



8 Ibid., to be held by the ' free service 

 of free serjeanty.' Robert de Hackin- 

 sall had given io marks for the con- 



firmation in 1199-1200 ; Farrer, op. cit. 

 1 1 6, 1 24. 



9 Geoffrey acknowledged the 4 ox- 

 gangs of land in Hackinsall and 

 Preesall to be the right of Peter (son of 

 Robert and grandson of Hugh), who was 

 to hold of Geoffrey and his heirs by free 

 serjeanty of performing suit to county 

 and wapentake for Geoffrey's land and 

 of summoning pleas of Geoffrey's court 

 in the vill. Exception was made of 18 

 acres of land, and the messuage formerly 

 Peter's, a fishery adjoining and an acre 

 of meadow lying east of the path through 

 the ealand called Holm ; these were to 

 be Geoffrey's. Peter was released from 

 the payment of 5*. a year for four cows 

 which Geoffrey had farmed to him, and 

 he was at liberty to make two new 

 fisheries on the sea side of Geoffrey's ; 

 Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 9. From the date of the fine (i 199) 

 it appears that Robert died and Peter 

 succeeded in that year. 



10 Robert de Hackinsall gave the third 

 part of his land in Hackinsall and 

 Preesall to Cockersand Abbey, his heir 

 assenting ; Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. 

 Soc.), i, 72. Nothing further is known 

 of Peter son of Robert, but Alan son of 

 Peter de Hackinsall gave the same abbey 

 land on Northcrofts, Hackinsall and the 

 Coteflatt ; also his share in the waste 



within bounds beginning at the Stocken- 

 pool, where there was a cross, and going 

 directly south to the cross on the Tongue ; 

 ibid, i, 72-3. 



Roger de Hackinsall, a defendant in 

 1292, may have been Alan's successor. 

 Anabil (or Aline) de Preesall had left a 

 son William and a daughter Sabina, who, 

 as her brother's heir, claimed a messuage 

 and land in Preesall from Roger ; Assize 

 R. 408, m. 47 d., 63. Roger de 

 Hackinsall was plaintiff and Thomas son 

 of Thomas de Hambleton defendant in 

 respect of theii inheritance from 1301 to 

 1313 ; Assize R. 419, m. 4 ; 424, m. 5. 



In 1364 Maud widow of Thomas de 

 Carleton claimed land in Hackinsall 

 against Margaret wife of William on of 

 John son of John son of Alan de 

 Hackinsall and Ismania her sister ; De 

 Banco R. 417, m. 214. 



11 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, 1,44. Geoffrey 

 gave to Cockersand Abbey lands in Pree- 

 sall, viz. all that between Colecross and 

 Fauerbeck ; also 2 oxgangs which Michael 

 the reeve had held, 2 acres in the field 

 called Kirkgate, other parcels, also a 

 fishery on the Wyre to the north of 

 Hackinsall 5 Cockersand Chartul. i, 67-9. 



Geoffrey was a benefactor to St. Mary's, 

 Lancaster, giving land for the repair of 

 the church, including the site of a grange 

 which he gave when Ranulf Earl of 



256 



