AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



GARSTANG 



moiety of Nether Wyresdale in I43I, 20 and appears 

 to have left a son Nicholas, in possession in i-f-fS- 21 



Nicholas Rigmaiden died in 1478 holding the 

 manor of Wedacre of the king as of his duchy by 

 fealty and a rent of ^s. 6d. ; his son John having 

 died, the heir was John's son Nicholas Rigmaiden, 

 then thirty years of age. 22 This Nicholas died in 

 or before I496 23 ; he seems to have married Margaret, 

 one of the daughters and co-heirs of Robert Lawrence 

 of Ashton and Carnforth, 24 and to have left a son 

 John, 25 whose son and heir Thomas proved his age 

 in I5I4, 26 and died in 1520, leaving a son John, 

 only five years old. 27 John Rigmaiden died in 1557 

 holding a moiety of the manor of Nether Wyresdale 

 of the king and queen by knight's service and a rent 

 of zs. 6J. yearly. 28 



The heir was a namesake, grandson of the above- 

 named Thomas's brother John, and thirty years of 

 age. He recorded a pedigree in 1567,^ and in 

 1585 was discharged from his office of master forester 



of Quernmore and Wyresdale on account of disorders 



there and destruction of the deer. 30 He died in 



1587 holding the moiety of 



Nether Wyresdale as before, 



and leaving a son Walter, 



thirty years of age, 31 who was 



a lunatic. 32 He died between 



1598 33 and 1602, and in the 



latter year his representatives 



sold his estate to Sir Thomas 



Gerard, 34 who had inherited 



the other moiety of Nether 



Wyresdale. 



After this Wedacre for a 

 time ceased to be a seat of 

 the lords of Wyresdale and 



in itself became the residence of a family named 

 Fyfe. 35 John Fyfe raised a company of men for the 

 Parliament in the Civil War, 36 and was killed at the 

 storming of Bolton by Prince Rupert in i644. 37 He 



RIGMAIDEN. Argent 

 three stags 7 heads ca- 

 boihed sable. 



20 Feud. Aids, iii, 95 ; he held a moiety 

 of the manor of Garstang by the fourth 

 part of a knight's fee. The writ of diem 

 cl. extr. after his death was issued 18 Aug. 

 1440 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxiii, App. 39. 

 He was found to hold the eighth part of 

 the manor of Garstang by knight's service 

 and the rent of i^d. ; Harl. MS. 2085, 

 fol. 446^. There may be some confusion 

 between contemporaries of the same 

 name, so that the descent outlined in the 

 text is only probable. 



21 In 1438 a settlement of six mes- 

 suages, &c., in Garstang and Cockerham 

 was made by Nicholas Rigmaiden and 

 Eleanor his wife ; Final Cone, iii, 103. In 

 1440 the escheator was ordered to deliver 

 to Nicholas, son and heir of Thomas 

 Rigmaiden, the eighth part of the manor 

 of Garstang which Thomas had held in 

 fee, as also other lands, &c., which he 

 had held conjointly with Alice his wife 5 

 Dep. Keeper's Rep, xxxiii, App. 39. 



In 1445-6 Nicholas Rigmaiden was 

 said to hold in Garstang a plough-land and 

 a half for the fourth part of a knight's 

 fee ; the relief was 251. which the escheator' 

 had received ; Duchy of Lane. Knights' 

 Fees, bdle. 2, no. 20. 



M Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 106. 

 The zs. 6d, was for castle ward (note 1 3). 

 Some other Rigmaidens occur in the 

 pleadings contemporary with Nicholas ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 3, m. I 3 (John) ; ' 

 6, m. zb (Thomas) ; 10, m. 3 (John and 

 Gilbert his brother). 



In 1444 William Rigmaiden, ' esquire,' 

 claimed an account of their receiverships 

 against Nicholas Rigmaiden of Wedacre, 

 'gentleman,' and Richard son of Gilbert 

 Barton of Barton ; ibid. 6, m. 7. In 

 the recorded pedigree the descent is traced 

 through a William who was a younjer 

 son of the Thomas who died in 1384; 

 see the fine of 1371. 



John Rigmaiden, ' esquire,' occurs in 

 1462, together with many others of his 

 family and neighbourhood, charged with 

 assault ; Pal. of Lane. Writs Proton, file 2 

 Edw. IV. 



23 Towneley MS. CC (Chet. Lib.), no. 

 641 ; writ of diem cl. extr. He held a 

 moiety of the manor of Wyresdale in 

 Garstang by the fourth part of a knight's 

 fee ; Harl. MS. 2085, fol. 449. 



14 Margaret Lawrence married a 

 Rigmaiden, but his Christian name is 

 not stated in Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 163, 

 m. 2O. Margaret Rigmaiden died in 



1516 holding forty messuages, &c., in 

 Garstang of the inheritance of Thomas 

 Rigmaiden, being parcel of the manor of 

 Wedacre, which manor was held of the 

 king as of his duchy by the fourth part 

 of a knight's fee and zs. 6J. rent ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 73. It is 

 here stated that Margaret was mother of 

 John father of Thomas, but her hus- 

 band's name is not given. 



25 John the son and heir of Nicholas 

 Rigmaiden in 1489 was married or con- 

 tracted to {Catherine daughter of Sir John 

 Pennington of Muncaster ; Hist. MSS. 

 Com. Rep. x, App. 228. The writ of diem 

 cl. extr. after John's death was issued 

 14 Feb. 1504-5 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, 

 App. 544. The wardship and marriage 

 of Thomas son and heir of John 

 Rigmaiden were soon afterwards granted 

 to John Lawrence ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. 

 xl, App. 544. 



46 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, 

 no. 52 ; it was stated that Thomas was 

 born at Wedacre 10 June 1493. 



37 Ibid, v, no. 65. His will is recited, 

 from which it appears that he had an 

 uncle James, brothers John and Richard, 

 a sister Katherine and daughters Isabel, 

 Margaret and Eleanor. There is also 

 recited a demise by the feoffees of his 

 father John (1503) made in 1506 in 

 favour of Joan wife of Thomas. The 

 manor of Wedacre and lands, &c., in 

 Barnacre, Garstang and elsewhere were 

 stated to be held of the king as of his 

 duchy by the moiety of a knight's fee. 

 The will is printed by Fishwick, Garstang 

 (Chet. Soc.), 215. The custody of the 

 manors was granted to John Porte ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Misc. Bks. xxii, 57. 



As mentioned in a previous note there 

 was a minor Rigmaiden family in the 

 township. In 1521 there died a Nicholas 

 Rigmaiden holding two messuages, land, 

 &c., in Barnacre and Wyresdale of the 

 king as duke by the twentieth part of a 

 knight's fee. He left a son and heir 

 John, aged six ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. v, no. 37. Again John (son of 

 John) Rigmaiden of New Hall in Barn- 

 acre was about 1556 called upon to 

 answer John Rigmaiden (of Wedacre) re- 

 specting his title to Bradley House, &c. ; 

 Fishwick, op. cit. 217. A settlement of 

 New Hall, dovecote, water-mill, &c., in 

 Barnacre and Winmarleigh was made by 

 John Rigmaiden in 1563 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 25, m. 63. 



317 



28 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. x, no. n. 

 The estate was a moiety of the manor of 

 Nether Wyresdale in Garstang, with 

 eighty messuages, three water-mills, half 

 a water-mill at Sandholme, land, &c. 



John Rigmaiden was master forester 

 of Wyresdale ; Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), 

 i, 303. 



49 Visit, of 1567 (Chet. Soc.), 54. The 

 descent is given as Thomas (1520) -bro. 

 John -s. John -s. John (1567). 



30 Duchy of Lane. Special Com. 381. 

 John Calvert of Cockerham succeeded 

 him. Details were given of the deer 

 killed in the forest since the beginning 

 of the queen's reign. 



81 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 

 87. In 1573 he had made a settlement 

 on his son Walter on marrying Anne 

 daughter of Edward Tyldesley. Margaret 

 North, sister of John Rigmaiden, is 

 named. An abstract of his will is printed 

 in Fishwick, op. cit. 218. 



He was one of those summoned in 

 1568 to be made an example of, because 

 of his known opposition to Elizabeth's 

 regulation of religion. He answered that 

 he had attended his parish church and 

 heard divine service, but he had not re- 

 ceived the communion ; he had enter- 

 tained some of the deprived clergy, but 

 was not aware he was offending ; Gibson, 

 Lydiate Hall, 206, from S. P. Dom. Eliz. 

 xxxvi, no. 10. He was soon afterwards 

 found among those who refused to attend 

 church, and was reported to have 

 harboured a priest named 'Little 

 Richard ' ; ibid. 216, 226, 229, 231, 239, 

 quoting from reports in the State Papers. 

 In 1592 the sheriff was called upon to 

 account for 254 of the goods of John 

 Rigmaiden seized for his recusancy ; 

 Exch. L.T.R. Recusant R. 34 Eliz. 



33 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, 

 no. 5. The inquiry as to his condition was 

 made immediately after the father's death. 



Like his father Walter Rigmaiden was 

 a recusant and fined therefor ; his fines 

 were not excused by his lunacy ; Misc. 

 (Cath. Rec. Soc.), iv, 170. 



33 Fishwick, op. cit. 219. 



34 See the account of Nether Wyresdale. 



35 Fishwick, op. cit. 220-2. The Fyfes 

 held by lease, as appears below. 



36 War in Lanes. (Chet. Soc.), 42. 



37 Ibid. 50. 



John Fyfe appears to have left some 

 children ; Royalist Camp. Papers (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 304. 



