A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



in 1605 to James Bankes of Winstanley," and de- 

 scended like Winstanley till the end of the 1 8 th 

 century, when it was sold ; " Maire, Claughton, 

 Greenall," and Comber being successively owners." 



Henry Brookfield of Longbarrow in Knowsley had 

 some land here in 1530 and 1547.'* 



The manor oi ARBURT was held in 12IZ by the 

 lord of Lowton by knight's service, its rating being 

 half a plough-land. It had been granted by Adam de 

 Lawton to Geoffrey Gernet, who in turn had enfeoifed 

 Thurstan Banastre.'^ Half of it was given by Thurstan 

 to Cockersand Abbey in alms." Afterwards the manor 

 came into the possession of the Southworths," and has 

 descended exactly like Southworth, to the Brooks 

 family. There is practically nothing on record con- 

 cerning it. John Corless of Arbury as a ' papist ' 

 registered his house in 1 7 1 7." 



SOUTHWORTH WITH CROFT 



Suthewrthe, iziz; So the worth, 1293; Suth- 

 worth, 1306. Croft, 1 21 2. 



Croft, the eastern portion of the township, has the 

 larger area, 1,364 acres, and was frequently placed first; 

 but the only hall was in Southworth, which contains 

 519^ acres. There is now no defined boundary be- 

 tween the two. A brook on the east and south of Croft 

 affords a natural boundary, except that a portion to 

 the south of the brook, reclaimed from the moss, has 

 been added to Croft. The total area is 1,883 J' acres. 



The country is mostly flat, with slight irregularities 

 of surface in places, traversed by fairly good roads and 

 covered with open fields, under mixed cultivation. 



alternating with pastures. The crops principally grown 

 are potatoes, oats, and wheat, in a loamy soil. The 

 Pebble Beds of the Bunter Series of the New Red 

 Sandstone are everywhere in evidence. 



The population in 1 90 1 was 970. There are 

 many small freeholders. 



The principal road is that leading eastward from 

 Winwick to Culcheth. 



There is a tumulus in the north-west corner of 

 Southworth. 



In the Winwick registers 3 February, 1683-4, i^ * 

 certificate signed by Dr. Sherlock, rector, for Henry 

 son of Ralph Bate of Croft, ' who had the evil and 

 was touched by his majesty.' 



There is a parish council. 



A school board was formed in 1875.' 



The somewhat scattered village of Croft is a favourite 

 resort of picnic parties. 



Of the two manors, SOUTHWORTH 

 MANORS and CROFT, held by different tenures of 

 the lords of Makerfield,' the latter appears 

 to have been the more important, as it gave its name 

 to the lord, who in 1 2 1 2 was Gilbert de Croft. He 

 held it by the service of falconer, and it was held of 

 him in unequal portions by Hugh de Croft and the 

 heir of Randle, the latter of them discharging the ser- 

 vice.* Gilbert de Croft also held Southworth by a 

 rent of 20/., but in 12 12 it was, for some reason un- 

 known, in the king's hands.* 



Very soon afterwards, before 1 2 1 9, Gilbert de 

 Croft, who also held the manor of Dalton in Kendal,* 

 granted Southworth to Gilbert son of Hugh de Croft, 

 who was probably a near kinsman, and this Gilbert, 

 taking the local surname, was the founder of the 

 Southworth family, which held the manors of South- 



with remainders to his son Richard and 

 Alice his wife ; no. Zl^6c. This Richard 

 was living in 1386 ; no. 1804., 1708. The 

 next to occur are Roger * Jacicson * de 

 Houghton in 1382 and 1392 (no. i;o6, 

 1809, 154-8) ; and his son John in 14.28 ; 

 no. 191 1. In 1432 Richard Johnson de 

 Houghton granted lands in Houghton and 

 Middleton to his son John, with remain- 

 ders to other children — Robert, Margaret, 

 and Joan ; no. 1505, 1808. A settlement 

 of lands in Middleton and Houghton was 

 in 1488 made by John Houghton 'of 

 Middleton,* the remainder being to his 

 son and heir Robert j no. 1810, 2037. 



Seth Houghton died 10 March 1 621 

 holding lands in Middleton, Southworth, 

 and Arbury, his son and heir Henry being 

 thirty years of age ; Towneley MS. C. 8, 

 13 (Chet. Lib.), 507. A later Seth 

 Houghton died in September 1635, leav- 

 ing a son Richard, aged three years ; ibid. 

 502. 



^ Pal. of Lane, Feet of F. bdle. 6y, m. 

 33 ; Thomas Southworth, Rosamund his. 

 wife, and John his son and heir apparent 

 joined in the sale. After the death of 

 James Bankes in 1617 it was found that 

 the manor of Houghton and the lands in 

 Houghton, Arbury, Middleton, and Croft 

 were held of Richard Fleetwood, lord of 

 Newton, in socage by 51, rent, i.e. the old 

 service for a fourth part of the manor of 

 Middleton ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 99. 



12 The manor of Houghton was the 

 subject of a settlement in 1657 by 

 William Bankes, Sarah his wife, and 

 William his son; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdle, 160, m. 143. It is named in re- 



coveries, &c., of the Bankes of Winstan- 

 ley manors down to 1778 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Plea R. 628, m. 7. 



^^ Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1836), iii, 630. 



" Ibid, (ed, Croston), iv, 368 ; this 

 may refer not to the manor, but only 

 to Peel. 



15 Tovmeley MS. HH, no. Z144, 

 1582 ; his daughter Elizabeth married 

 Richard son and heir of Henry Bellerby of 

 Prescot. 



^^ Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 73 ; it is 

 mentioned again in 1 242 as part of the 

 Lowton fee ; ibid. 148. 



17 Cockersand Chart. (Chet. Soc), ii, 

 674 ; one of these oxgangs Thurstan had 

 in hand, the other was held by William 

 the Carpenter. 



In 1 246 the abbot of Cockersand granted 

 his land in Arbury to John de Haydock 

 and Agnes his wife, in exchange for land in 

 Hutton ; Final Cone, i, 105. 



1^ The Southworth deeds do not explain 

 how the family acquired it. In spite of the 

 difference of tenure it seems to have be- 

 come merged in Middleton and Houghton. 



By a deed of the first half of the 13th 

 century, William de Rependun granted to 

 Robert rector of Winwick one oxgang in 

 Arbury (held by Henry Lawrence) for 

 1 21. given by Robert de Winwick ; a rent 

 ofa pair of white gloves or J;/, was payable; 

 Towneley MS. GG, no. 1167. 



Gilbert de Southworth in 1341 granted 

 to his brother Thomas all the portion 

 which had fallen to him by reason of his 

 coparcenary in Arbury ; Dods. MSS. liii, 

 fol. 18, no. 13. In 1362 it was found 

 that Robert de Langton had died seised of 

 the vill of Arbury, held of him by Thomas 



168 



Southworth by knight's service ; Inq. p.m. 

 36 Edw. Ill, pt. i, no. ii6. 



Thomas Southworth of Middleton and 

 Margery Watson his mother in 1460 granted 

 to John Serjeant of Newton land in Arbury 

 belonging to Margery and Joan Doykles ; 

 Towneley MS. HH, no. 1984. Four 

 years afterwards Magota Abram, widow of 

 John Abram of Woolston, and co-heir of 

 Katherine wife of William Watson, her 

 mother, granted her part of an oxgang in 

 Arbury to John Serjeant ; Add. MS. 3 2 1 09, 

 fol. 87. Magota Abram is clearly the 

 same as Margery Watson. 



In 1509 Sir John Southworth made a 

 grant of lands in Arbury, &c., to Henry 

 Southworth of Middleton, for life ; Towne- 

 ley MS. HH, no. 1527. Thomas South- 

 worth made a similar grant in 1518; Dods. 

 MSS. liii, fol. 18. 



Stockley in Arbury was in the South- 

 worths' lands. 



^^ Engl. Cath. Nonjurors^ 123. 



^ 1,887, including an acre of inland 

 water, according to the census of 1901. 



^ Lond, Ga%. 28 Sept. 1875. 



8 See V,C,H. Lana. i, 366 n. for the 

 Makerfield lordship ; also Lanes. Inq, p,m, 

 (Chet. Soc), i, 138 ; ibid. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 105. 



•* Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec, Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 77. From a subse- 

 quent note it will be found that the fal- 

 coner's service due from the heir of Randle 

 -—apparently a daughter — was commuted 

 into a rent of xc^d. 



Ulf de Southworth was fined J mark in 

 1184-5 ; Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 55. 



^ Inq, and Extents^ i, 78. 



^ Ibid. 90. 



Digitized by IVIicrosoft® 



