A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



The moss-lands in the neighbourhood provide 

 materials for the manufacture of moss litter. 



The township is governed by a parish council. 



Two oxgangs of land in Wyresdale 

 M4NOR were granted by William de Lancaster II, 

 who died in 1184, to Harvey the 

 Falconer,* and this estate probably formed the nucleus 

 of the later manor of WINMARLEIGH. Harvey'* 

 son Hugh adopted the local surname, 3 which con- 

 tinued in use for some centuries, perhaps by several 

 of the freeholding families, 4 but the descent cannot 

 be traced clearly. In 1347 Thomas le Gentyl held 

 2 oxgangs of land by knight's service of the king, as 

 representing William de Coucy, late lord of Wyres- 

 dale, 6 and shortly afterwards, in 1359, Nicholas le 

 Gentyl claimed the manor against Thomas son of 

 Marmaduke de Rigmaiden. 6 From fines of an earlier 

 time it seems that Robert de Pleasington had obtained 

 a moiety of the manor from Thomas le Gentyl. 7 The 



Pleasington inheritance probably descended to an 

 heiress who married Richard Radcliffe. 8 The Rad- 

 cliffes also obtained in 1472 part of the inheritance 

 of Roger de Winmarleigh, which by a daughter 

 Christiana had descended to Christopher Rowall. 9 

 Sir John de Harrington of Farleton died in 1359 

 holding a messuage and 40 acres in Winmarleigh as 

 of the manor of Wyresdale, formerly William de 

 Coucy's. 10 



Richard son of William de Radcliffe in 1375 

 complained that Joan widow of Roger de Winmar- 

 leigh had abducted the heir, and he claimed the 

 custody of a moiety of the manor until the majority 

 of Robert son and heir of Roger. 11 Richard was the 

 kinsman and heir of Robert de Radcliffe of Astley, 

 which manor he acquired. 18 Winmarleigh descended 

 regularly 15 to Richard Radcliffe, who died in 1477 

 holding the manor of the Earl of Richmond in socage 

 by a rent of ^d. ; he also held the moiety of Astley 



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

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 3 ; in 1212 Hugh 

 de Winmarleigh held by knight's service. 



3 Hugh son of Harvey the Falconer 

 about 1200 granted Camel's toft and 

 croft of 3 acres to Cockersand Abbey, 

 with easements of his fee in Winmarleigh, 

 including pasturage for thirty oxen and 

 cows, &c. ; Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. 

 Soc.), i, 290. William son of Harvey is 

 also named ; ibid, i, 291. William son 

 of Hugh de Winmarleigh made a further 

 grant to Cockersand ; ibid, i, 296. Alice 

 was the widow of Hugh ; ibid. 



4 Grants to Cockersand were made 

 by Roger son of Hamelin and his son 

 Richard, by Richard son of Robert de 

 Winmarleigh, and several (one dated 

 1246) by Gregory de Winmarleigh, who 

 names his brother Richard, also by 

 Richard de Wath ; ibid, i, 2907. John, 

 Robert and Thomas de Winmarleigh are 

 named in these charters. 



There is nothing to show whether 

 Gregory was the successor of Hugh or 

 the lord of that part of Winmarleigh not 

 in Hugh's fee ; he occurs from 1241 to 

 1253 ; Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 82 ; Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 

 159, 191. John de Winmarleigh is 

 named in 1257 5 'bid. i, 210. Robert 

 son of Gregory and Avice his wife had 

 land in Stalmine in 1262 ; Final Cone, i, 

 135. John de Winmarleigh was defendant 

 in 1276 ; Assize R. 405, no. 30. 



5 Inq. p.m. 20 Edw. Ill (2nd nos.), 

 no. 63. Thomas appears to have been 

 son of William le Gentyl of Poulton in 

 Lonsdale ; Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, 9, 1 1 8. 



6 Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 7, m. id.; 

 Dtp. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 346. 



'In 1338 Robert de Pleasington ob- 

 tained a messuage and lands in Garstang, 

 including wood called Eskland, from 

 Thomas le Gentyl and Katherine his 

 wife ; Final Cone, ii, no. The same 

 Robert in 1343 obtained a moiety of the 

 manor of Winmarleigh (except two mes- 

 suages, &c.) from the same and their son 

 Randle ; ibid. 116. At the same time 

 Robert granted to Thomas ten messuages, 

 &c., and certain homages. The field- 

 names include Herneshead, Lawesteghele, 

 Hyngilka, Briggemouridding and Deres- 

 lowe. Very soon afterwards these ten 

 messuages, &c., were granted to Robert 

 de Pleasington and Ellen his wife ; ibid. 

 117. It seems possible that Katherine 

 and Ellen were the heirs of Winmarleigh. 



In 1 344 Robert de Pleasington obtained 

 a messuage and land in Winmarleigh from 

 Robert the Grayve ; Add. MS. 32104, 

 no. 906. In 1348 he acquired another 

 in Garstang from John son of Thomas de 

 Rigmaiden ; Final Cone, ii, 126. John de 

 Pleasington in 1354 successfully claimed 

 the manor and 2s. rent from Gilbert de 

 Haydock and Ellen his wife ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Assize R. 3, m. 3 d. 



8 Dodsworth (MSS. cliii, fol. 48) states 

 that Richard de Radcliffe of Winmarleigh 

 (living 1407) married the daughter and 

 co-heir of Henry de Pleasington by Isabel 

 his wife. From pleadings cited below 

 it is clear that Richard's grandfather had 

 part of the manor in 1376. 



9 One Roger de Winmarleigh was 

 plaintiff in 1292 and 1302; Assize R. 

 408, m. 96, 97 d.; 418, m. ii, izd. 

 William son of Roger occurs in 1330; 

 Assize R. 1400, m. 235. Again in 1345 

 Robert de Pleasington complained that 

 Roger de Winmarleigh had cut his grass, 

 &c. ; De Banco R. 344, m. 613. 



Thomas Henryson de Rowall, as heir 

 of his mother Christiana daughter and 

 heir of Roger de Winmarleigh, in 1425 

 granted a moiety of the demesne of 

 Winmarleigh in the vill of Garstang to 

 his brother Christopher, with remainder 

 to another brother Richard ; Dods. MSS. 

 cliii, fol. 47^. From what is stated 

 below it appears that Thomas and Chris- 

 topher sold much of their inheritance. 

 John Rowall son of Christopher had to 

 wife Ellen daughter of Thomas Jenkinson 

 in 14478 ; ibid. fol. 48. A messuage, 

 &c., was granted to John and Ellen in 

 14901, with remainder to their son 

 Edward ; ibid. An elder son Richard 

 had in 1480 married Janet daughter of 

 William Colous ; ibid. Ellen the widow 

 of John Rowall was living in 15001 ; 

 ibid. fol. 48 b. Deeds of 1436 and 14478 

 are in Pal. of Lane. Chan. Misc. bdle. i, 

 files i and 6. 



Edward son of Richard Roo alias Rowall 

 died in 1531 holding six messuages, &c., 

 in Winmarleigh, held of Thomas Rad- 

 cliffe by a rent of 2s. His heir was a 

 daughter Alice, aged six in 1535. Edward's 

 mother Joan and wife Anne survived 

 him ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. viii, 

 no. 39. For an earlier marriage of 

 Edward see Add. MS. 32106, fol. 284, 

 no. 234. 



In 1472 John son and heir of John 

 Rigmaiden released all his right in lands 

 obtained from Christopher Rowall and 



306 



Thomas his brother (sons of Henry) to 

 Ralph, Hugh and Richard Radcliffe ; 

 Dods. loc. cit. Hugh Radcliffe had pre- 

 viously obtained messuages, &c., from 

 Christopher Rowall, which in 1468 he 

 demised to Thomas Myerscough ; ibid. 



10 Inq. p.m. 36 Edw. Ill, pt i, no. 99, 

 1 20. Nothing further seems known of 

 this tenement, which was held by knight's 

 service and rendered 40*. 



11 De Banco R. 457, m. 10, 95. In 

 1376 Richard and Isabel his wife were 

 plaintiffs and John de Southworth and 

 Joan his wife defendants in the same 

 matter; ibid. 462, m. 330. Later in 

 1376 Isabel widow of Richard son of 

 William de Radcliffe continued the plea. 

 She alleged that Roger, father of the heir, 

 had held a moiety of the manor of Win- 

 marleigh of her by homage and fealty, 

 paying 20*. to a scutage of 401. and 2s. 

 rent. The defendants alleged that Roger 

 had made a feoffment of his moiety to 

 William de Curwen and William de 

 Hornby, and that Joan, the defendant 

 and mother of the heir (of tender years), 

 had had charge of him, and was in pos- 

 session of the moiety of the manor by a 

 grant from the feoffees in 1374; ibid. 

 464, m. 53 ; 219, 430 d. From the 

 terms of Isabel's claim it might be inferred 

 that she was the heiress of Winmarleigh. 

 She may have been heiress of GentyL 



13 V.C.H. Lanes, iii, 446 ; Final Cone. 

 ii, 128. 



18 The pedigree is shown in Lanes. Inq. 

 p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 32-4, thus : Richard 

 de Radcliffe and Isabel his wife -s. Thomas 

 -s. Sir Richard, d. 1431 -s. Sir Thomas, 

 aged forty. 



Joan widow of Thomas Radcliffe of 

 Winmarleigh occurs in 1410 and 1417 ; 

 Final Cone, iii, 69, 85. The inquisition 

 after the death of Sir Richard Radcliffe 

 above cited concerns the manor of Astley 

 only. 



Proof of the next step is afforded by 

 an entry in the court rolls of Ightenhill 

 in 1441, Richard Radcliffe son and heir 

 of Sir Thomas being accused of wrong- 

 fully withholding a tenement called the 

 Chamber in Pendle from Lawrence 

 Parker of Foulridge ; Add. MS. 32105, 

 fol. 251. 



Sir Thomas's daughter Joan married 

 Robert Shireburne of Stonyhurst ; Lanes. 

 Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 53. Thomas 

 son of Sir Thomas came to a violent end 

 at Whalley in 1439 > P*'- f Lane. Chan. 

 Misc. bdle. i, file 7. The executors of 



