WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



WIGAN 



of Wardley/^ and their estates are now held by the 

 Earl of Ellesmere.^* The Molyneuxes of HAWK- 

 LET continued in possession until the death of 

 Bryan William Molyneux in 1805.'* By his will the 

 Rev. William HockenhuU of Lymm in Cheshire 

 succeeded, and assumed the surname of Molyneux.^^ 



Hawkley, however, was afterwards sold, and is now 

 the property of the trustees of Meyrick Bankes.^^ 



The estate called TUNSTEJD was in the possession 

 of a branch of the Pembertons during the whole of 

 the 15th century .^^ One of the daughters and co- 

 heirs of George Pemberton then carried it by mar- 



with James Winstanley and Thomas 

 Taylor respecting lands abutting on Salters- 

 ford Brook ; Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com,), 

 ii, 403. (It may be stated by the way, 

 that an Adam the Salter and his wife 

 Juliana had a tenement in Pemberton in 

 1292 ; Assize R. 408, m. 44.) James 

 Worsley died in September 1590, holding 

 the capital messuage or manor house 

 called the hall of Worsley, and other 

 houses and lands, of Thomas Langton by 

 a rent of 55. ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 

 XV, no. 29. 



His brother Ralph succeeded. He was 

 one of the * comers to church but no 

 communicants* in 1590; Lydiate Hall, 

 246. He had spent some time in Salford 

 gaol for religion in 1582 ; Engl, Martyrs 

 (Cath. Rec. Soc), 23-5- Dying in 1610 it 

 ■was found that he had held the * hall of 

 Worsley ' in Pemberton with messuages, 

 lands, and rents there, and in Parr, Win- 

 stanley, Wigan, and Hindley. The Pem- 

 berton lands were held of Richard Fleet- 

 wood in socage, by a rent of ^s, but part had 

 belonged to UphoUand Priory,and was held 

 of the king by the two-hundredth part of 

 a knight* s fee and 2^. rent. His widow 

 Ellen was in possession in 161 1, and his 

 heirs were his sister Alice, aged sixty 

 years, and Roger Downes of Ward ley, 

 son of another sister, Elizabeth ; Lanes, 

 Inq, p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 



171-3- 



An account of the sinking of a coal pit 

 on his estate in 1600 is printed In Lanes, 

 and Ches. Antiq. Soc, vii, 49-53, 



*8 Roger Downes represented Wigan in 

 the Parliaments of 1601 and 1620; Pink 

 and Beaven, Pari. Rep, of Lanes. 223, 

 224. He was buried at Wigan 6 July 

 1638. A monument to his grandson 

 Roger, who died in 1676, is in Wigan 

 Church. See the pedigree in Dugdale, 

 yjsit, (Chet. Soc), 100, and the account 

 of Worsley. 



8"* In a fine concerning the Wardley 

 estates in 1741 George Lewis Scott was 

 plaintiff and James Cholmondeley and 

 Penelope his wife were deforciants 5 Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 327, m. 80. 

 Lady Penelope sold them to the Duke of 

 Bridge water in 1760. 



*5 Some particulars as to this family 

 -will be found in the accounts of RainhiU 

 and Whiston. 



The Visit, of 1567 suggests that their 

 •coming to Pemberton was due to marriage 

 with the heiress of the Ince family. Gil- 

 bert de Ince of Hawkley occurs in 1374 ; 

 Inq. a.q.d. 48 Edw. Ill, no. 19 ; see also 

 Coram Rege R. 426. John Molyneux of 

 Hawkley occurs in 1469 and 1490-1 ; 

 Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 245, no. 1012 ; 

 Towneley MS. GG, no. 2537. 



An agreement was made in 15 12 be- 

 tween Richard Molyneux of Hawkley or 

 Hawcliffe and Thomas Gerard of Ince 

 for the marriage of the former's son 

 Richard (? Roger) with the latter's daugh- 

 ter Elizabeth ; Chet. P. 



In 1543 Thomas Molyneux, son of 

 Roger and the last-named Elizabeth, and 

 Elizabeth his wife had a dispute with 

 Roger Molyneux concerning Hitchcock 

 carr ; Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), i, 



174. A settlement of lands in Pember- 

 ton and Hawkley was made by fine in 



1546 between Roger Molyneux and 

 Thomas, his son and heir apparent, and 

 Elizabeth his wife ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of 

 F. bdle. 12, m. 193. Roger was living in 



1547 ; ibid, bdle, 12, m. 250. 

 Hawkley Hall is mentioned in a dispute 



between John Kitchen and Isabel his 

 daughter and Thomas Molyneux, the 

 owner, in 1561 ; Ducatus Lane. (Rec. 

 Com.), ii, 228. Thomas Molyneux and 

 his second wife Sibyl occur in various 

 fines concerning lands in Pemberton and 

 Markland from 1572 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F., bdlcs. 34, m. 3 9, &c. * Thomas 

 Molyneux of Hawkley, gent., in lands 

 j^4o and in goods j^ioo,' wasa recusant in 

 1577; LydiateHaU^ 215, quoting S.P.Dom. 

 Eliz. cxviii, 45. He was buried at 

 Wigan 16 May 1586 ; and soon after- 

 wards disputes arose between his son and 

 heir Richard and Sibyl the widow. In 

 the pleadings the descent is thus given : 

 Richard Molyneux-s. and h, Roger-s. and 

 h. Thomas-s. and h. Richard. The estate 

 is described as a capital messuage called 

 Hawkley, containing demesne lands in 

 Hawkley and Pemberton, and various 

 lands in Aughton and Uplltherland of 

 very good yearly value 5 Duchy of Lane. 

 Plead. Eliz. cliv, M. 11 ; Decrees and 

 Orders, Eliz. xx, fol. 37. 



Richard Molyneux of Hawkley was in 

 1590 among the 'comers to church, but 

 no communicants,' but he and his family 

 appear to have soon afterwards conformed 

 to the Established religion ; Lydiate Hall, 

 246 (quoting S.P. Dor/i. Eliz. ccxxxv, 4). 

 Pedigrees were reco/ded in 1567 and 

 1664 ; Fisit. (Chet. S*oc.}, 108,200. 



Richard Molyneux and Thomas his son 

 and heir-apparent made a settlement- of 

 the manor of Pemberton in 1 607 ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 71, no. 25. 

 Richard paid ^10 in 1631 on refusing 

 knighthood ; Mise, (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 213. He was still living in 

 1664, but Thomas was dead, and his son 

 Richard, aged forty at the Visitation in 

 that year, soon afterwards succeeded to 

 the estate. Early in 1681 he made a 

 settlement of the manor and various lands 

 in Pemberton, as also in Wigan, Ince, 

 Standish, and Croft, Anne his wife, and 

 Hugh his son and heir-apparent being 

 joined as deforciants j ibid. bdle. 206, m. 

 91. Richard Molyneux was buried at 

 Wigan 31 Oct. 1681 ; Hugh suc- 

 ceeded, but appears to have had no issue, 

 and administration of hia estate was 

 granted at Chester in 1687. 



William Molyneux succeeded his 

 brother Hugh ; he was buried at Warring- 

 ton in 1698 and there is an inscription in 

 the churchyard commemorating him ; 

 Local Glean. Lanes, and Ches, i, 216. His 

 son William was succeeded by an uncle, 

 Reginald, brother of the preceding William 

 and Hugh ; and in turn was succeeded 

 hy his sons William (buried at Wigan 

 4 Nov. 1740) and Richard (buried 

 at Warrington in 1748). In a settle- 

 ment made in 1721, William Molyneux, 

 gentleman, being in possession, their 

 part of the manor is described as 'the 



fourth part • ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdle. 288, m. 36. A monumental inscrip- 

 tion for Richard Molyneux exists in War- 

 rington Churchyard ; Local Glean, loc. cit, 



Hawkley descended to his only son 

 Richard, who married Jane daughter 

 and heir of Bryan Wilcock of Walsh 

 Hall, Aughton, Among the Croxteth 

 Hall muniments is a lease of Hawkley 

 Hall in 1749, which describes the house 

 and names the mill and several fields, 

 as Has lings, Hiscow carrs, &c. In 1757 

 a fine concerning the manor of Pem- 

 berton has Hugh Wishaw for plaintiflF 

 and David Brodic, Mary his wife, Rev. 

 Francis Gastrell, Jane his wife, William 

 Prujean, Sophia his wife, and Richard 

 Molyneux as deforciants ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F, bdle. 259, m. iii. Richard 

 Molyneux was buried at Wigan 9 Mar. 

 1762, and was succeeded in turn by his 

 sons Richard (died 1771) and Bryan 

 William. The latter died at Lymm 

 Parsonage, 29 July 1805, unmarried. 

 There is a monument to him in Wigan 

 Church, where he was buried. 



A full pedigree, from which this outline 

 has been taken, will be found in Palmer 

 MS. E. (Chet. Lib.), 202, 398. 



36 The will of B.W. Molyneux stated 

 expressly : * The said William Hockenhull 

 shall not enjoy the said premises other- 

 wise than upon the express condition 

 that when such estate shall come to him 

 in possession under the said trusts, he 

 shall take use and bear the surname of 

 Molyneux and shall cause himself to be 

 called by the surname of Molyneux and 

 no other.* A pedigree of the family is 

 given in Burke, Family Rec. 433. 



^7 Hawkley was sold by the Rev. Bryan 

 William Molyneux, son of William 

 Hockenhull. 



^s There appear to have been several 

 families bearing the local surname. James 

 de Pemberton has been mentioned in 

 1246 ; Henry son of James occurs in 

 1276 ; Coram Rege R, 26, m. 3 d. 

 Henry attested a local charter in 1293 in 

 the next place after Adam lord of Pem- 

 berton ; Towneley MS. GG, no. 2649. 

 Henry de Pemberton and James his son 

 occur about 1283 5 Cocker sand Chart, ii, 



659. 



In the Towneley volume just quoted 

 are a number of charters relating to Tun- 

 stead, which was at first an oxgang of 

 land, possibly that belonging to Alan son 

 of Aldith in 1212. 



William de Pemberton granted * an ox- 

 gang in Pemberton called Tunstead, 

 which Aynhou (?) de Pemberton formerly 

 held ' of him, to Christiana, daughter of 

 Adam de Radcliffe ; Towneley MS. GG, 

 no. 2649. This afterwards came into the 

 possession of Simon de lioUand, who 

 called it his 'manor,* and in 1293 granted 

 it to William son of Roger de Ince ; ibid. 

 GG, no. 2647, 2648 ; also Crosse D. 

 Trans, Hist, Soc. no. 1 1 a, ^, f • 



Simon son of Thurstan de Holland 

 had complained in 1292 that Robert de 

 Holland, Adam his son, Adam de North- 

 legh, and others had disseised him of his 

 free tenement in Wigan and Pemberton 

 (17 acres). Thurstan de Holland had 



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