A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Mabel was assured by a fine.'' For his share in 

 Adam Banastre's rebellion in 1 3 1 5 and the death of 

 Henry de Bury," Sir William de Bradshagh was 

 outlawed for felony and by 1 3 1 7 his manors of Haigh 

 and Blackrod had been taken into the king's hands 

 and demised to Peter de Limesey, but Mabel de 

 Haigh intruded herself" Sir William was living in 

 1 3 28," and appears to have been killed at Win wick 

 in August 1333." 



Mabel's title to the Norreys lands must have been 

 recognized, for in 1336 and 1337, when a widow 

 and childless, she arranged for the succession to the 

 manors as absolute owner, granting them to her 

 husband's nephews ; Haigh to William, a son of John 

 de Bradshagh, and Blackrod to Roger son of Richard, 

 who was another son." In 1338 she founded a 

 chantry in Wigan Church for her husband's soul and 

 her own, as also for the soul of Edward II." In 

 1346 Mabel de Bradshagh, heir of Hugh le Norreys, 

 held the manor of Haigh for the twelfth part of a 

 knight's fee and by the service of io</. yearly.'" She 

 was living two years later.*' 



Early in 1365 Roger de Bradshagh of Westleigh 

 demanded the manor of Haigh from William de 

 Bradshagh and Sir Henry de TrafFord, in virtue of 

 the settlement of 13 12.'' There may have been two 



Williams in succession, for William de Bradshagh, 

 who died in 1380 seised of the manor of Haigh, left 

 a son and heir Thomas only twelve years of age.*' 

 Thomas de Bradshagh took part in the Percy rising 

 of 1403 and was present at the battle of Shrewsbury ; 

 afterwards he received a pardon from Henry IV." 

 He was living in 1425.*' 



His son and heir was James Bradshagh,^' who, with 

 many others, was accused of the death of John 

 Tailor ; he appears to have been released from 

 attendance at the trial, but died in the summer of 

 1442 before it came to an end."' He had held lands 

 in Wigan called Rudgatehurst of the rector, and the 

 manor of Haigh of the king, as Duke of Lancaster, for 

 the twelfth part of a knight's fee and by the service 

 of \od. yearly. His son and heir was William 

 Bradshagh, aged twenty-three.'^ 



William Bradshagh was accuser and accused in 

 various pleas of the next succeeding years." He had 

 several children, but the manor descended to his son 

 James,^" who died in May 149 1, leaving as heir his 

 son Roger, then twenty-three years of age and more. 

 There were also two younger sons, Ralph and William, 

 and a daughter Constance." Roger, who was made 

 a knight, had no children, and died in December 

 1537, the heir being his brother Ralph, then about 



^^ Final Cone, ii, 9. The remainder 

 was to 'the heirs of William,' which 

 occasioned a lawsuit later. Also Kuer- 

 den, loc. cit. no. 3, 



^* Coram Regc R. 254, m. 52. 



•5 Inq. a.q.d. 11 Edw. II, no. 4. The 

 inquiry was made at Haigh in June 1318, 

 when the manors had been in the king's 

 hands a year and a day. It may be added 

 that in 13 19 Mabel asserted that her 

 husband was dead ; Assize R. 424, m. 

 8d. 



These facts are utilized in the well- 

 known legend of Sir William and his 

 wife ; see Bridgeman, Wigan Ch. 695-9; 

 also Harland and Wilkinson, Lanes, 

 Legends, 45 ; Tofiog. and Gen, ii, 365—9. 

 That there is some basis for the legend 

 may be gathered from entries in the 

 Close R., Mabel being called wife of Peter 

 de Limesey in 131S (unless there is an 

 error in the record) and * Mabel de 

 Haigh' simply in the following year ; 

 Cat. Close, 1313-18, p. 554; 1318-23, 

 p. 8. 



^^ De Banco R. 273, m. 121 d. ; Sir 

 William de Bradshagh charged Adam de 

 Hindley and others with having forcibly 

 carried off hia goods at Haigh and Black- 

 rod. 



^' Coram Rege R. 297, Rex, m. 23 d. 



IS Final Cone, ii, loi, 107. The 

 former of these was a grant of the manor 

 of Haigh to William de Bradshagh for his 

 life. The latter was a settlement of the 

 succession after Mabel's death ; to Wil- 

 liam son of John de Bradshagh, with 

 remainders to the sons of Richard de 

 Bradshagh his brother, and a further 

 remainder to Henry son of Robert le 

 Norreys. Alan son of Henry de Eltoa- 

 head, another Norreys, put in his claim. 

 Also Kuerden, loc. cit. nos. 11, 13. 



As Mabel de Haigh she made a grant 

 of two plough-lands (probably the manor) 

 in Worthington in 1318 ; Final Cone, ii, 

 28. 



13 See the account of Wigan Church ; 

 Kuerden, loc. cit. no. 16-21. 



20S«r-z;. of 1346 (Chet. Soc. 36). 

 In the same year Dame Mabel accused 



William son of John de Bradshagh of 

 breaking down her close and doing other 

 damage ; De Banco R. 348, m. 338. 



21 The sheriff accounted for lod, 

 from Mabel de Bradshagh for the manor 

 of Haigh for ward of Lancaster Castle ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Var. Accts. 321 17, fol. 

 7h. 



'2 De Banco R. 419, m. 180 d. ; 425, 

 m. 363 d. ; 429, m. 68. The descent 

 is clearly stated ; Sir William de Brad- 

 shagh died without issue, and the claim- 

 ant, as son of Richard son of John de 

 Bradshagh, brother of Sir William, was 

 the heir entitled to the manor. For the 

 TrafFord feoffment see Kuerden, loc. cit. 

 nos. 35-8. 



^ Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 9 ; 

 Dep. Keeper^ s Rep. xxxii, App. 3 54. 



In the aid collected in 1355 Wil- 

 liam de Bradshagh contributed for the 

 twelfth part of a knight's fee formerly 

 held by Hugh le Norreys ; Feud. Aids, 

 ill, 91. 



In 1397-8 Isabel, widow and executrix 

 of William de Bradshagh, was called upon 

 to account for the issues of a house at 

 Haigh ; L.T.R. Mem. R. 163, m. xiii, 

 167, m. X. 



^■i Add. MS. 32108, nos. 1491, 149S, 

 1507. 



^ He was juror from 1397 to 1425 ; 

 Lanes. Inq. (Chet. Soc), i, 65 cSic In 

 1399 his feoffees regranted the manor to 

 him with remainder to James his son and 

 heir ; Kuerden, loc. cit. no. 39. 



William de Bradshagh seems to have 

 been in possession of Haigh at the time of 

 Thomas's outlawry ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Knts. Fees, 1/20, fol. ib. Edward was 

 there in 1429 ; Lanes. Inq. (Chet. Soc), 

 ". 35- 



^ Croston's Baines, iv, 292 ; his 

 mother was Margaret, daughter of 

 Robert de Highfield. It was an earlier 

 Robert de Highfield who granted lands in 

 Rudgatehurst to William de Bradshagh 

 and Mabel his wife ; Kuerden, loc. cit. 

 no. lo, 12. 



2' Lettice, widow of John Tailor, 

 summoned a large number of people in 



n6 



the neighbourhood to answer for the 

 death of her husband on 2 Feb. 1440-1. 

 They included James Bradshagh of Haigh, 

 Alice his wife, William son of James, 

 Christopher son of Thomas Bradshagh, 

 the wife of Gilbert (another son of 

 Thomas), Ivo and Richard, sons of 

 Thomas son of Ivo Bradshagh of Haigh 

 or Pennington, Richard Houghton of 

 Aapull, Ralph and John, sons of 

 John Gidlow of AspuU, Alexander and 

 Gilbert Nowell of Read, etc. ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. 3, m. 15. James Brad- 

 shagh seems to have taken part in the 

 assault, but was allowed to go sine die ; 

 ibid. m. 37. Two years later the trials 

 concluded ; Christopher Bradshagh was 

 outlawed for the felony, James had died, 

 and the rest were all acquitted ; ibid. R. 

 5, m. i8i ; 21, 5^. 



^ Towneley MS. DD, no. 1484. In 

 1436-7 a dispensation was granted for 

 the marriage of William Bradshagh and 

 Agnes daughter of John Gerard of 

 Ince ; Baines, op. cit. (ed. Croston), iv, 

 292. 



29 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 5, m. 24, 

 ordered to keep the peace towards Tho- 

 mas Cayley ; R. 8, m. 3, and R. 9, m. 

 loA charged Christopher Bradshagh and 

 others with waylaying him with intent to 

 kill, but did not prosecute ; m. 12, 19 J, 

 37, accused of trespass and fined for 

 defaults ; R. 10, m. 36*, warrant for his 

 arrest. A pardon was granted in 1457-8 ; 

 Baines, loc. cit. 



"" By fine in August 1477 the manor 

 of Haigh with its appurtenances, as also 

 a water-mill and land in Wigan, were 

 settled on James son and heir of William 

 Bradshagh of Haigh, whose widow Agnes 

 was living, with remainders to Roger, 

 Ralph, and William, sons of James 

 Bradshagh and Joan his wife, daughter of 

 Alexander Standish, and heirs male ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 9, m. 3. The 

 covenant of marriage between James and 

 Joan is dated 1463 ; Baines, loc cit. 



"1 Duchy of Lane Inq. p.m. iii, no. 

 106 i James's wife was named Joan, and 

 Roger's Anne. 



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