WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



WIGAN 



found to hold Aspull, as the eighth part of a knight's fee, 

 directly of Thomas Grelley.® From this time the lord- 

 ship has been held with the adjacent Ince by the fami- 

 lies of Ince and Gerard in succession ; until Aspull was 

 sold to the Earl ofCrawford and Balcarres,lordof Haigh/ 



The Hindley family appear to have had a quarter of 

 the manor by grant of William son of Richard son of 

 Enot de Aspull. The succession can be traced from 

 Adam son of Hugh de Hindley, living in 1292,® 

 until the 1 7th century,® when Roger Hindley suc- 



^ Lanes. Inq. and Extents^ i, 314. 

 Richard de Ince and Robert de Hindley 

 held the same in 1 322 ; Mamecestre (Chct, 

 Soc), 579- 



Towneley (GG, no. 1604), preserves an 

 agreement between Henry de Scfton and 

 the free tenants of Aspull, including those 

 of the Hospitallers, their names being 

 given. These granted to Henry as their 

 lord all the land bounded by a line starting 

 at Haigh on the west, going to the Quint- 

 acres, Terneshaw Brook, Brinshope Bridge, 

 and so to Quintacres ; also land in Fald- 

 worthing shaw. Henry on his part granted 

 them certain liberties. 



7 See the account of Ince above. 



John son of Peter Gerard and Ellen 

 his wife made a settlement of the manor 

 of Aspull in 1421 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 5, m. I2. 



Thomas Gerard, in 1473, held the lord- 

 ship of Aspull of the lord of Manchester 

 by a rent of 8</. and the same sum for 

 ward of the castle of Lancaster ; Mame^ 

 cestre, 481. 



Miles Gerard, in 1558, held the manor, 

 &c., of Lord La Warre in socage by a rent 

 of iSd. ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xi, 

 no. 12. 



Aspull descended with Ince until the 

 early years of the i8th century, when 

 Richard son of Thomas Gerard of High- 

 field appears to have sold it to the Gerards 

 of Brynn. The manor of Aspull was Sir 

 William Gerard's in 1796, as appears from 

 R. 12 of the Lent Assizes, 1796 (Pal. of 

 Lane Plea R.). It was sold tothc Earl 

 of Crawford and Balcarres before 1825 ; 

 Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1836), iii, 553, 



' A plea of 1292 gives an account of 

 the acquisition. Adam de Hindley alleged 

 that Robert de Lathom, Richard de Ince, 

 Gilbert de Southworth, Emma his wife, 

 and others had disseised him of a messuage 

 and 1 2 acres of moor and pasture in Aspull. 

 Gilbert, however, claimed nothing but 

 common of pasture. Robert de Lathom 

 claimed lordship only. Richard de Ince, 

 as tenant, asserted that Adam had no 

 right beyond common of pasture, but had 

 inclosed the disputed land by night, his 

 fence being promptly thrown down the 

 next day. 



The jury, however, found that Adam's 

 title was derived from William son of 

 Richard son of Enot de Aspull, who had 

 delivered seisin of all his lands to Adam 

 de Hindley ; that Henry de Sefton and 

 Richard son of Enot had been lords of the 

 waste in common, and had divided an 

 approvement, Henry taking three parts and 

 Richard the other part, amounting to 

 7 acres ; that after they had lain unculti- 

 vated Adam inclosed them, at the same 

 time adding 5 acres more without the 

 assent of Richard de Ince, and he and his 

 man dwelt there some time ; that Richard 

 ejected him vi et armis ; and that the 

 7 acres should be restored to Adam, and 

 the 5 remain waste as formerly ; Assize 

 R. 408, m. 6. 



The Hindleys had several branches, one 

 by marriage acquiring Culcheth, The 

 Hindleys of Aspull continued to hold land 

 in Hindley also. Hugh de Hindley, father 

 of Adam, is mentioned in 1258-9 ; Ori- 

 ginalia, 43 Hen. Ill, m. 3. Hugh de 



Hindley was living in 1292 ; Assize R. 

 408, m. 12 ; and Beatrice widow of Hugh 

 de Hindley — perhaps another Hugh — 

 claimed dower in 1307 ; De Banco R. 

 161, m. 132 ; Lanes, and Ches, Hist, and 

 Gen, Notes f i, 27. 



Adam son of Hugh de Hindley, and 

 Robert his son, were defendants in a plea 

 concerning a markate of rent in Hindley 

 and Ince in 1291 and 1292; Assize R. 

 407, m. 3d.; 408, m. 7 d. This suit 

 arose through a certain Adam de Wood- 

 house, who gave land as dower for his 

 wife Alice ; she took a second husband 

 John Nightegale, and gave the land to 

 Henry son of her previous husband, for 

 the tent of 131. ^d. Adam de Hindley 

 seems to have secured the land, and re- 

 fused to pay the rent ; the jury allowed 

 half a mark to the claimants. 



Then Cecily, widow of Henry son of 

 Adam deWoodhouse, claimed dower from 

 lands in Hindley and Ince from Adam 

 son of Hugh de Hindley, and Maud his 

 wife ; they asserted that Henry was not 

 dead, but living at Paris ; Assize R. 408, 

 m. 55. Adam de Hindley occurs as plain- 

 tiff or defendant in many suits ; e.g. Assize 

 R. 419, m. 12 ; 421, m. id.; 141 1, m. 

 12 d. There was another Adam son of 

 Richard de Hindley; Assize R. 1294, 

 m. 9 d. 



• A pedigree was recorded at the Visita- 

 tion of 1 61 3 (printed by Chet. Soc. pp. 

 1x7, 118), in which abstracts of some 

 family deeds arc given. From these and 

 other sources it is possible to give an out- 

 line of the family history. The somewhat 

 earlier pedigree printed in the Chet. Soc. 

 Visit, of 1567 is from Harl. MS. 6159. 



Robert son of Adam de Hindley occurs 

 in X29X, as already stated, and was in 

 possession in X322 ; M-amecestrCy 379. 

 He and his brothers Adam, Thomas, and 

 John, seem to have taken a share in the 

 rebellion of Thomas of Lancaster ; Coram 

 Rege R. 254, m. 60. Robert married 

 Cecily daughter of Henry de Tyldesley ; 

 Visit. 117. She was awidowin 1329, when 

 Henry de Atherton and Beatrice his wife 

 claimed from her and Robert son of Robert 

 de Hindley the fourth part of the manor of 

 AspuU, and various lands in Aspull, Ince, 

 and Hindley ; but it was shown that Bea- 

 trice had granted them while sole ; Assize 

 R. 1411, m. 12 d. From an earlier suit 

 it appears that Beatrice was a daughter 

 of Adam de Hindley's ; Assize R. 420, 

 m. 2 d. 



Among the Culcheth deeds is a grant 

 from Adam son of Hugh de Hindley to 

 his daughter Beatrice, for her life, of his 

 lands in Aspull, *Kastrelegh' in Hindley, 

 &c. ; she was to pay a rent to her brother 

 John ; Lanes, and Ches. Hist, and Gen, 

 Notes, i, 27. A release of lands was made 

 in X332 by Henry de Atherton to Robert 

 son of Robert de Hindley; Visit. 117. 

 Cecily the widow of Robert afterwards 

 married Robert de Warrington ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Assize R. i, m. 5 d. 



The younger Robert occurs in 1343 

 and 1358 ; Assize R. 430, m. 26 ; 438, 

 m. 8. He was still living in 1365, as 

 appears by a suit concerning lands in Win- 

 die, in which he was a plaintiff; the pedi- 

 gree is there given as Robert son of Robert 



ug 



(and Cecily) son of Adam son of Hugh ; 

 and it is further stated that Robert the 

 father was seised of the lands in dispute 

 in the time of Edward I ; De Banco R. 

 421, m. 108. 



' Robert, who married Emma, a daughter 

 and co-heir of Pemberton, had a son Hugh, 

 as appears by a release made by Hugh son 

 of Robert in 1398-9' ; Visit, X17. 



Robert son of Hugh de Hindley was 

 a plaintiflf in 1447 ; and at the same time 

 Robert and Adam de Hindley of Aspull 

 were defendants in another suit ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. 10, m. x, zb, Robert 

 Hindley in 1473 held a messuage and 

 lands in Aspull of the lord of Manchester 

 by the service of the eighth part of a 

 knight's fee and a rent of zl^d. ; paying a 

 further z^d. for ward of the castle ; Mame- 

 eestre, 480. This Robert Hindley and 

 his son * old Hugh Hindley ' arc both men- 

 tioned by aged witnesses in a dispute con- 

 cerning the wastes of Hindley in 1528 ; 

 Dueby Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 165. He made a lease to his son Hugh 

 in 1472 ; Visit, X17. 



Hugh Hindley had n son Robert who 

 married Alice daughter of William Parr, 

 as appears by an entail dated 1489-90 ; 

 ibid, Alice wife of Robert Hindley the 

 younger and her husband, as well as Hugh 

 Hindley, had numerous disputes with the 

 Parr family from 1466 onwards ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. 30, m. 10; 44, m. 6 d. ; 

 &c. 



There were three sons, Hugh, Gilbert, 

 and Roger. Hugh Hindley's name is 

 entered in a list of the gentry compiled 

 about 1512 ; he died 30 Apr. 1531 hold- 

 ing lands in Aspull called Greenhalf, 

 Pilats croft, Kiln croft, and Rosket, of 

 Thomas Gerard of Ince by the rent of 

 5j. ^d. ; also Mickle croft of the heirs of 

 John Aspull, by a rent of izd. ; and six 

 messuages, 100 acres of land, &c. and a 

 water-mill, of Lord La Warre, by knight's 

 service and the rent of 2^d. a year. He 

 held other lands in Ince, Hindley, Pem- 

 berton, and Parr. His son and heir was 

 Robert, aged only about five years ; but 

 six other sons had annuities assigned to 

 them ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 

 22. His wardship was assumed by Lord 

 La Warre, who granted it to George 

 Leigh, of Manchester, by whom it was 

 sold to Peter Anderton, and by the last- 

 named to Grace the widow of Hugh de 

 Hindley ; ICuerden MSS. ii, fol. 237. 



From a suit in 1549 it appears that 

 Hugh Hindley had been married, about 

 1 5 10 at Wigan, to Ellen Langton, both par- 

 ties being ' within the age of consent ; ' and 

 that they were in 1522 divorced by a decree 

 of Richard Smith, rector of Bury, acting as 

 commissary of Adam Becconsaw, rector of 

 Brington and official of William Knight, 

 archdeacon of Chester ; and then Hugh 

 married Grace Turner, Robert, declared 

 heir in 1 5 3 1, being their son. This decree 

 was afterwards reversed in the Court of 

 Arches, it appearing that Hugh and Ellen 

 had lived together for eight years before 

 the divorce was granted, and Gilbert, 

 brother of Hugh, claimed the inheritance ; 

 on Gilbert's death without issue Roger, 

 another brother, claimed it, and the court 

 gave sentence in his favour, the dispossessed 



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