A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



abbots appears to have been quite uneventful/* 

 After the suppression ^* it v^as in 1 540 granted to 

 Sir Alexander RadclifFe of Ordsall/* In 1 6 1 2 it was 

 sold to Roger Downesof Wardley." The Slack is an 

 ancient name in the locality/® 



^/TVrOiV " gave a name to the chief residents/^ 

 This family seems to have been succeeded by the 



Wydales or Wedalls, v^ho continued here till the 

 1 6th century." 'NEWHAM, apparently represented 

 by the more recent Nevi'hall, was in the neighbour- 

 hood.^ BOTSNOPE, anciently Boylesnape, is several 

 times mentioned in the charters/^ The name has 

 practically become obsolete, but there is a Boysnope 

 Wharf on the Ship Canal. 



of \od,, with free common on her lands 

 in Swinton, Little Houghton, and Mon- 

 ton ; Whalhy Couch, iii, 894. William 

 the Clerk sold all his right to Geoffrey de 

 Byron for 13 marks ; ibid. 891, Gilbert 

 de Barton granted land as an appurtenance 

 of Monton to Geoffrey, the bounds be- 

 ginning at Gildenhaleford, following the 

 hedge of Eccles as far as the monks* gate, 

 across Westslack to the brook by Torthalen, 

 and along the brook to Caldebrook and up 

 this to Denebrook ; ibid. 880. Richard 

 de Monton son of Hugh the Clerk, and 

 Ellen the daughter of Geoffrey de Byron, 

 granted to Geoffrey son of Geoffrey de 

 Byron lands of his mother in Monton, 

 the rents being, to Cockersand izd, and 

 to Richard de Worsley iSd, ; ibid. 898. 

 Geoffrey de Worsley granted an oxgang of 

 land in Monton, previously held by Adam 

 de Kenyon, to Richard son of Geoffrey de 

 Byron, and this seems to have come to 

 the younger Geoffrey as heir of his brother 

 Richard ; JVhalley Couch, iii, 897 ; Assize 

 R. 404, m. 7. 



The two Geoffreys de Byron had various 

 lawsuits respecting their properties in 

 Barton and Worsley from 1250 onwards ; 

 Cur. Reg. R. 162, m. 3 d. ; 171, m. 8 d. ; 

 178, m. 13 d. ; Assize R. 1235, m. 11 d. 

 Geoffrey the son finally granted his manor 

 of Monton, with lands in Swinton, to the 

 monks of Stanlaw ; Whalley Couch, iii, 

 877, It was alleged that he was of un- 

 sound mind at the time, having been 

 paralysed ; and the monks had to refute 

 this charge, and thought it prudent to 

 procure releases and quitclaims from all 

 those who could in any way allege a title 

 to the lands included in the grant : Ed- 

 mund Earl of Lancaster, Richard son of 

 Geoffrey de Worsley, Henry de Worsley, 

 Isabel daughter of Geoffrey de Byron and 

 sister of the grantor, and Ellen another 

 daughter of the elder Geoffrey ; ibid. 

 882-900. 



At the grange of Monton in 1291 the 

 monks were found to hold 2 plough-lands 

 worth 30J. a year, assized rents of 331,, 

 and profit of store cattle, 26;. %d. \ ibid, i, 



335- 



7* In 1292 Agnes widow of Richaro de 

 Monton made a claim for dower in an 

 oxgang of land in Monton, but on the 

 abbot showing that she had lived in adul- 

 tery with Elias de Whittleswick and then 

 with William le Norreys, and had never 

 been reconciled to her husband, her claim 

 was refused ; Assize R. 408, m. i d. 

 Henry son and heir of Richard de Worsley 

 in 1 296 granted to Geoffrey son of Thomas 

 son of Litcock de Salford the rents due 

 to him from the monks of Whalley, viz, 

 21. %d. in Monton, 25. 31/. in Swinton, and 

 31. in Little Houghton ; EUesmere D. 

 no. 218. 



In 1465 Ottiwell Worsley, Rose his 

 wife, and Rowland the son, granted to 

 Robert Lawe, vicar of Eccles, and John 

 Reddish of the Monks' Hall, the elder, 

 the lands called Monton, Monton Hey, 

 ithe mill, the Westwood, Huntington 

 'Clough, &c., held of the Abbot and Con- 

 Tent of Whalley for a term of years, at 

 ithe rent of £<) 10s, %d, ; 6j. was due to 



the king and \\d. to the lord of Barton ; 

 EUesmere D. no. 35, 



78 The survey made for the king at 

 that time states that the court had always 

 been held at Eccles for the hamlets within 

 the parish. The mill was a corn-mill, out 

 of repair. The tenants of Monton and 

 Swinton had common on Swinton Moor, 

 and the abbot used to pay js, iid. to the 

 lord of Worsley ; the tenants of Monton 

 also had common in the pasture of Alve- 

 shaw. They were not to fell timber 

 without the licence of the lord or his 

 officers ; Whalley Couch, iv, 1236-40. 



7< Pat, 32 Hen, VIII, pt. iv ; sec also 

 Duchy of Lane. Pleadings, cxv, B, 4. 



76 In a fine of 1607 regarding the 

 manor of Monton and various messuages 

 and lands in Barton and Worsley, Roger 

 Downes was plaintiff and Sir John Rad- 

 cliffe with Oswald Mosley, jun., and Anne 

 his wife, deforciants ; Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 71, m, 41. In the fine of 

 1612 Sir John Radcliffe and Alice his 

 wife were the deforciants ; ibid, bdle, 82, 

 m, 31. In the inquisition taken in 1639 

 after the death of Roger Downes of Ward- 

 ley, Monton is not described as a manor, 

 but the lands, &c., there were said to be 

 held of the king by knight's service ; 

 Duchy of Lane, Inq. p.m, xxvii, 54. 



76 Simon del Slack in 1329 granted to 

 a feoffee all his land in Barton, with the 

 rent of yd. and the homage and other 

 services due from John son of John de 

 Prestwich 5 De Trafford D. no. 213. 

 Richard son of Simon sold all his rights 

 in the Slack to Thomas del Booth in 

 1348 ; ibid, no. 217 ; Dods. MSS. cxlix, 

 fol, 157, 158. Thurstan son of Thomas 

 del Booth claimed a messuage and lands in 

 Barton in 1359 against William son of 

 Simon del Slack ; Duchy of Lane, Assize 

 R. 7, m. 1, 



77 Anciently Withinton. „ 



78 Thomas Grelley, who died in 1262, 

 granted to Richard de Winton 7 acres, 

 within bounds beginning where Tordal 

 Syke ran down to Caldebrook, at a rent 

 of 14^/. i Whalley Couch, iil, 910. 



Richard son of Richard the Rymour of 

 Winton in 1277 released his right in 

 Westwooa to the monks of Stanlaw, and 

 about the same time made a grant of land 

 near Blakelow in the field of Eccles ; 

 Agnes his widow in 1284 released her 

 claim for dower in return for a cow, &c., 

 given by the monks ; ibid. 909-11, John 

 de Winton also released his claim to 

 Westwood ; ibid, 912, Richard the 

 Rymour and John his brother attested a 

 Barton charter ; De Trafford D. no. 

 206, Margaret widow of Henry de 

 Worsley and John de Winton were in 

 1326 charged with trespass by digging in 

 the Abbot of Whalley's turbary in Swin- 

 ton ; De Banco R. 264, m, 57 d. 



In 1 53 1 the Abbot of Whalley leased 

 to John Booth of Barton Westslack, 

 Kitepool (Kepill), and Westwood, at a 

 rent of £z 51. ; Whalley Couch, iv, 1241. 



79 In 1353, at Pentecost, Richard de 

 Wydale and Cecily his wife obtained a 

 messuage and lands in Barton from Mar- 

 gery widow of John de Winton, and 



370 



John, Alice, Cecily, and Ellen his chil- 

 dren ; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 2, m. i d. 

 This appears to be connected with an 

 earlier suit, in which John son of Roger 

 de Barlow claimed from Cecily daughter 

 of David de Hulton, Thomas del Booth, 

 and John son of Robert de Worsley, two 

 messuages and 24 acres in Barton ; Ellen, 

 the mother of Cecily, had settled these 

 lands on her, but had afterwards married 

 the plaintiff and given them to him, and 

 Cecily, under age, had been induced to 

 release her claim. It was held that she , 

 was justified in repudiating the release ; 

 ibid. R. I, m, 3. The former suit was 

 still proceeding in 1359; Dep, Kteper^s 

 Rep, xxxii, App. 340. Alice, Emma, and 

 Cecily, daughters of Margaret de Winton, 

 were charged with depasturing at Barton 

 in 1362 ; De Banco R. 411, m. 233 d. 



Richard Wedall, one of the charterers 

 of Barton, died in 1523, and his son and 

 heir, being a minor, became the ward of 

 John Booth ; Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. i6j. 

 Giles Wedall contributed to the subsidy 

 in 1 541, 'for goods'; Mhc. (Rec, Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 140. 



*• William son of Odo de Newham 

 occurs as defendant in 1261 ; Cur. Reg. 

 R. 171, m. 8 d. In 1275 Germain de 

 Newham complained that Geoffrey de 

 Byron of Monton and Robert Abbot of 

 Stanlaw had deprived him of his common 

 of pasture in 100 acres of wood in Bar- 

 ton. Geoffrey replied that he had by a 

 hey inclosed 30 acres of the said 100 

 acres, and that the abbot held that in- 

 closed portion, but the plaintiff had never 

 had any right in it, though he might 

 have in the residue ; Assize R. 1235, 

 m. II d.; 1238, m. 34. Margery the 

 daughter of Germain de Newham about 

 1295 married Thomas son of Thomas de 

 Hulme ; De Trafford D. no. 251. 



In 1351 Hawise widow of Richard de 

 Newham claimed dower in two messuages 

 and various lands in Barton, Hugh son of 

 Gilbert de Barton being the defendant ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Assize R. i, m. i d. By 

 fine in 1385 an assignment of dower was 

 made to Margery de Newham out of the 

 estate of John son of Richard de New- 

 ham, by the intervention of John son of 

 William de Newham. The tenement 

 was two messuages, 40 acres of land, &c.; 

 Final Cone, ili, 24. 



'Robert Cliveley of Newham within 

 Barton * occurs in a deed of 1 664. 



81 A mediety of the wood of Boylsnape 

 was among the lands granted to John de 

 Barton by Robert Grelley ; De Trafford 

 D. no. 203. Alice daughter of Gil- 

 bert de Barton, in a grant of lands and 

 easements, excepted Boylissnape in re- 

 citing ' pannage in all the woods of the 

 vill of Barton ' ; ibid. no. 206. 



In 1322 the lord of Manchester had 

 in Boysnope 12 acres of pasture worth 

 6s. ; and the third part of the wood, being 

 covered with oaks, was attached to 

 Cuerdley Wood; Mamtcettre, ii, 367, 370. 

 Maud widow of Robert de Barton leased 

 to John son of Thomas del Booth all her 

 dower lands, &c., in the Boylsnape egh in 

 1388 ; De Trafford D. no. 233. 



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