A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



rolls and books are preserved at Worden Hall.^ Suit 

 and ser^'ice were demanded from a large number of 

 townships in the county. ^ 



The other manor of Penwortham was that of the 

 abbey of Evesham, to which not only the church but 

 3 oxgangs of land were granted by the Bussels.^ 

 The abbey acquired other lands by gift or otherwise,^ 

 and having also Howick, Farington, and part of 

 Longton, the Priors of Penwortham, as representing 



the abbey, became the chief resident landowners in 

 the parish. Their tenure was peaceful, the principal 

 dispute being due to a claim for puture made by the 

 queen or the Earl of Lancaster in 13+3 ; it was 

 successfully resisted.** After the Dissolution John 

 Fleetwood, who had in 1539 obtained a lease of the 

 Evesham manors and lands,^ purchased their estate 

 from the Crown in 1543,^ receiving a confirmation 

 or extension in 1564.^ He continued to prosper, 



Susan his wife were deforciants ; and 

 the same Henry and Susan, together 

 with William Farington, were defor- 

 ciants in 1684 in a fine as to the 

 manor and lordship of Penwortham 

 and other Farington manors, &c. ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 202, m. 47 ; 

 213, m. 30. For later recoveries of the 

 * manor, lordship and fee ' of Penwortham, 

 free fishery in the Ribble, &c., see Pal. 

 of Lane. Plea R. 503 (171 5)» m. 4 d. ; 

 554 (1742), m. 5 ; 557 (1742), m. 8. 



' The rolls of 1323-4 have been 

 printed in Lanes. Ct.R. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), 36—46. Licence for having 

 coals in Middleforth was granted ; also 

 for tanning and brewing. Wrecks are 

 mentioned. 



There are other early court rolls in 

 the Record Office, from 141 7 onward ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Ct. R. bdle. 78, no. 1008, 

 &c. There is little of interest in them, but 

 in that named (Henry Hoghton, steward) 

 the proctor of Ribble bridge complained 

 that the executors of the will of John 

 Hollins detained 40J. bequeathed to the 

 bridge. 



The court rolls at Worden begin in 

 1590, William Fleetwood being steward. 

 They contain long lists of free tenants 

 and copyholders. The following judica- 

 tores are named in 1625 — of Standish 

 with Langtree, Duxbury with Adlington, 

 Hoghton with Withnell, Warton, Kirk- 

 dale, Charnock Richard, Welch Whittle, 

 Frees, Frecldeton, Adlington and Bolton. 

 The constables for thirty-three townships 

 were expected, but half of them were 

 absent. 



- The townships were : In Leyland 

 Hundred — Penwortham, Longton ; Ley- 

 land, Euxton, Cuerden, Clayton, Whittle, 

 Hoghton with Withnell, Gunolfsmoors, 

 Roddlesworth with Wheelton and Heapey; 

 Brindle ; Croston, Bretherton; Eccleston, 

 Ulnes Walton ; Standish with Langtree, 

 Coppull, Welch Whittle, Charnock 

 Richard, Charnock Gogarth, Duxbury 

 with Adlington, Anderton, Shevington. 

 In West Derby — North Meols, Kirkdale. 

 In Amoundemessand Lonsdale — Freckle- 

 ton, Carleton, Claughton, Whittingham, 

 Elswick, Kellamergh, Newton with Scales, 

 Warton, This is the list of 1625 ; it has 

 several peculiarities of grouping, and 

 Cuerden appears to have been included 

 in error. Two places not named in it — - 

 Prees and Bolton — had to send judgers. 

 A later list may be seen in Baines' Lanes. 

 (ed. 1836), iii, 487. 



* Two oxgangs of land appear to have 

 been given by Warine Bussel together with 

 the church \ they are not named in his 

 charter, but occur in the confirmation by 

 his son Albert j Penivortham Priory (Chet. 

 Soc), 5. The third oxgang was given by 

 Richard Bussel, who also allowed a court 

 to the abbot in Penwortham * as freely as 

 my father Warine had his court, or I 

 mine ' ; ibid. 4. The same Richard also 

 gave the fourth fish of all his fishery at 

 Penwortham j ibid. 5, See also Lanes, 

 In^. ami Extent!^ i, 32. 



Another oxgang of land was granted by 

 Richard Bussel to the priory of Bolton in 

 Yorkshire; ibid. About 1270 the con- 

 vent there released to Richard son of 

 Lauys de Knoll their right in the fishery 

 of Penwortham in the Ribble, which they 

 had by the gift of Richard Bussel as con- 

 firmed by Roger Constable of Chester — 

 viz. the third fish in the fishery and a 

 free net — also in an oxgang of land, of 

 the same donation, held of them by 

 Thomas Bussel. A rent of zd. was to 

 be paid ; Dods, MSS. viii, fol, 20^. 



The *land of the parson of Bolton 

 which Thomas Bussel clerk held of the 

 abbot ' is named in a charter by John de 

 Clayton; Kuerdenfol.MS.(Chet. Lib.), 76. 



■* The 3 oxgangs appear to have 

 been confirmed to the abbot in 1204 by 

 Robert son of Geoffrey (Bussel), who 

 was to hold them of the abbot by a rent 

 of 5j, ; Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 23. See other confirmations in 

 Kuerden's fol, MS. p. 54, no. In the 

 E-vesham Chroniele (Rolls Ser.) the grant 

 is dated much earlier ; p. 75. 



Among the minor gifts to the abbey of 

 Evesham or its cell at Penwortham, re- 

 corded by Kuerden, arc the following : — 

 Release by Roger son of William Ic 

 Spencer of land called the New Close in 

 Penwortham and of all other lands which 

 were the queen's; fol. MS. p, 370, 

 Grant by Adam called the Ferryman to 

 Philip de Cheldesey, Priorof Penwortham, 

 of I4perches of arable land in Penwortham 

 moor; ibid. p. 130. John de Clayton 

 released his right in an oxgang of land, 

 and made other grants ; ibid. 76. Right 

 in the same oxgang was also relinquished 

 by Richard de Hurleton and Alice his 

 wife, daughter of William de Heyland ; 

 ibid. p. 170. Also by Alice's son John 

 son of Walter Linley ; ibid. p. 234. 



Edmund de Lacy gave land called 

 Herfordriding, the bounds of which began 

 on the east side of Wadischegreves and 

 went south to the land belonging to the 

 oxgangs of land, thence west and north 

 to the marsh by the Ribble, and east to 

 Heggedemornclifi^, and along the cliff to 

 the starting-point; ibid, p, 231. There 

 are other grants and confirmations by 

 John de Lacy, Thomas Earl of Lancaster, 

 and his successors ; ibid. 



For the inquiry as to the grant of 8 acres 

 of the waste made to Evesham by Earl 

 Thomas, see Pen'wortham Priory, 14—16. 

 It was found that each acre was worth 

 4</. a year. The manor was held by the 

 earl of the king as Earl of Lincoln by the 

 service of one knight. A release by 

 Queen Isabella in 1334 of lands in each 

 township in the parish is printed Ibid. 29. 



A lease of the Earl's Meadow in Pen- 

 wortham was made to the abbot in 1446, 

 at a rent of 331. 4^., for the term of forty 

 years ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 539. 



The bounds between the Earl's Meadow 

 in the king's manor of Penwortham and 

 the township of Howick were decided in 

 1528 ; a stone cross on the Eegh Marsh 

 is named ; Piccopc MSS, (Chet. Lib,), 



58 



xiv, 59. A further dispute wa$ settled 

 in 1544 ; Duchy Plead, ii, 203, 



For the application of the revenue from 

 Penwortham see Evesham Chron. 209, &c. 



^ Pen'wortham Priory^ 3 5—40. John de 

 RadclifFe, as seneschal of the liberty of 

 Penwortham for Queen Isabella, claimed 

 from the priory a certain puture for him- 

 self, his officers and their horses and men, 

 in food and drink one day and two nights 

 every three weeks, viz. while the court 

 was being held. The abbot pleaded that 

 he held in free alms and was not subject 

 to such burdens. The seneschal was con- 

 victed of an unjust and novel extortion 

 and was sent to gaol. Henry Earl of 

 Lancaster in 1350 released any claim to 

 puture for the sheriflF or any of his officers. 

 See also Assize R. 430, m. 6 d. 



A complaint had come from Amounder- 

 ness in 1334 that whereas a Serjeant on 

 horse with his groom used to perform the 

 duties of bailiff within the barony, and 

 whereas 16 oxgangs of land used to pro- 

 vide puture for them, of late puture had 

 been claimed from the lesser residents 

 or money in lieu of it ; and sheaves and 

 money from the greater residents ; Coram 

 Rege R. 297, Rex m. 22 d. 



In 1382 it was alleged that the abbot 

 had acquired lands in Penwortham with- 

 out thcking's assent ; Q.R. Memo. R. i $9. 



The Prior of Penwortham in 1409 

 agreed with William Forshaw as to the 

 carriage of corn and hay from a field 

 called the Ro across William's field called 

 Gargape j this passage would be allowed 

 on request, but the prior and his tenants 

 were to inclose the Gargape so that no 

 damage might be done to the crops there 

 growing. Any damage was to be paid for 

 by the judgement of the good folk of 

 the vill i Penivortham Priory^ 59. 



' Ibid. 79-83 ; see the account of the 

 advowson. It was provided that should 

 the abbot visit Penwortham ' convenient 

 meat and drink and bedding, hay and 

 provender and sufficient stallage for their 

 horses ' for a whole week in any one 

 year were to be given the abbot and his 

 retinue by the farmer. 



' Pat. 34 Hen. VIII, pt. viii. The 

 grant of Penwortham and Calwich is 

 printed in full in Pen'wortham Priory, 112- 

 23. John Fleetwood was described as 

 ' of London.' An extent of the lands, &C., 

 in the township is also printed ; the site 

 of the ' priory, cell, manor, or grange ' of 

 Penwortham was valued at £\ a year ; 

 the field names include Hereford ridding 

 at Hangmans bank. Ferryman hey, 

 Blasshaw, Over eye and Nether eye. 

 The grant included the eighth part of the 

 fishery in the Ribble between Evyn or 

 Ivye pool to the head of the marsh in 

 Penwortham and Howick ; turbary and 

 a grove of trees adjoining the priory ; 

 also the advowsons of North Meols and 

 Leyland. A rent of 91. iid. was to be 

 paid to the king, and the lands of the 

 priory were to be held by the twentieth 

 part of a knight's fee. 



' Ibid. 124-32 ; Pat. 6 Eliz. part vii. 



