A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



The main line of the London and North Western 

 Railway from London to Scotland, first opened in 

 1838, passes through, having a station at the northern 

 end, called Farington. This is crossed by the Lan- 

 cashire and Yorkshire Company's line from Liverpool 

 to Blaciiburn, with which it has a double junction. 



The soil is peaty and red loam, with subsoil of 

 stiff clay. Wheat, oats and potatoes are grown, and 

 there is much pasture land. The wide tract of 

 Farington moss has been almost entirely reclaimed. 

 There is a large cotton spinning factor}', built about 

 1850 ; in connexion with it is a school with a library 

 and museum. 



The hearths taxed in 1666 numbered fifty-nine ; 

 the principal houses were those of William Rishton 

 and Mrs. Gardner, having seven hearths each.' 



Warine Bussel, as lord of Penwortham, 



MANOR gave a plough-land in FJRISGTOS, 



being the whole of the vill, to the abbey 



of Evesham, and this was confirmed by his son 



Richard.- This lordship, which does not :.ccin to 

 have been regarded as a separate manor, descended 

 in the same way as the Evesham portion of I'en- 

 wortham, all the abbey's rights in Farington as else- 

 where being included in Queen Elizabeth's con- 

 firmation to John Fleetwood ' It has thus de- 

 scended to Mr. Lawrence Rawstorne.'' 



A family bearing the local name is early found in 

 possession,' but the whole or larger part was sur- 

 rendered to the abbot and acquired by William de 

 Meols,* whose son John de Farington, by his 

 marriage with Avice daughter of Robert Bussel, 

 acquired a moiety of the manor of Leyland.' Their 

 estate also was known as the 'manor' of Farington. 

 John was succeeded by his son William de Farington * 

 and his grandson William ' ; the latter in 1 348 

 obtained a grant of free warren in his demesne lands 

 of Leyland and Farington, and licence to inclose a 

 hundred acres of land and wood in those townships 

 and make a park.'" The manors descended " to 



' Sube. R, 250, no. 9. 



^ Penwortham Priory (Chet. Soc), 3. 

 The land ii described as a plnu^'h-land in 

 Lanci, In^, and Exfcnti (Rcc. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 32, where the grant itself 

 is ascribed to Richard. 



The abbots had in 1313 and 1334 dis- 

 putes r(■^pccting boundaries with their 

 neighbours of \\'.ilton-le-Dale ; Dc Banco 

 R. 201, m. 126 ; Coram Rege R. 29:', 

 in. 93. See also Cal.Paf. i 3 z r-4, p. 446. 



Cnnijlaint was made in 1182 that 

 the abbot had obstructed a roj>l in 

 Farington hy rebuilding his mill ; Q.R. 

 .Memo. R, 159, 



' Pfr.zvartflam Pnory, 127. 



* See the account of Penwortham and 

 the inquisitions of John Fleetwood (1 591) 

 and his son Richard (1626) j Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. xt, no. 34 ; ixv, no. 22. 

 There was no separate tenure for the 

 manors of Farington, Howick and Long- 

 ton. The manor of Farington with 

 Howick and a fourth part of the manor 

 of Longton were held by Edward Fleet- 

 wood in 1676, by Charles Stanley and 

 Jane his wife in 1749, and by Jchn 

 Aspinall in 1752 ; Pal. of L.inc, feet 

 of F. bdlc. 19-, m. 66; 343, m. 77; 

 :+9, m. 98. 



-* They are supposed to have been de- 

 scendants of Warine Bussel son of Robert. 

 Albert de Farington gave i toft in 

 Othedis to John son of Si'wjrd, and as 

 Albert son of Warine de Farington he 

 granted land to Osbert de Leyland ; 

 Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), x\\; p. 49, 

 from Col. Rawstorne's deeds. Albert 

 made a grant to Edith daughter of 

 Geoffrey de Longton and her sons by 

 Roger the priest, to whom also Richard 

 de Howick gave 4 acres in Farington ; 

 ibid. 77. Robert de Litherland son of 

 Edith gave up Albert's land to Evesham 

 Abbey, viz. the Espes, Elnor, .Sec., a 

 rent of i6i. being payab.c to the heirs of 

 Albert ; Kuerden fol.' MS. (Chet. Lib.), 

 P- 24'- 



Albert had two daughters — Alice and 

 Ameria ; ibid. p. 132. The latter married 

 William de Wedacre, and they surrendered 

 their moiety of the manor to the Abbot of 

 Evesham in 1 2+2 ; Firuil Cone. (Rcc. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 78. What be- 

 came of the other moiety is not clear. 



Richard de Farington, another son of 

 Warine, between I 21 1 and 1232 resigned 

 to Evoham all his lands and rents, with 



homages, services, &c., the monks having 

 given him 2 marks in his urgent need ; 

 from that time those who had held of 

 Richard were to pay their rents directly 

 to the abbey ; Penivortham /'//.->, 12, 13. 

 See also another in Piccope MSS. xiv, 82. 

 This may have been the other moiety. 

 In 1238 the Abbot of Evesham claimed 

 the moiety of a mill and certain land 

 against Richard dc * Crophull ' ; Curia 

 Regis R. 119, m. 5. John son of 

 Richard de * Coppel ' claimed the same as 

 heir in 1292 ; Assize R. 408, m. I2d. 



William AblM.t of Evesham gave land 

 to Robert son of John de Farington ; the 

 bounds mention Emeshaigh ; Piccope 

 MSS. xiv, 51. To Richard son of Roger 

 he granted land at a rent of it. 3*/. ; ibid. 

 78. John Abbot of Evesham gave land 

 to John son of Thnmas de Clayton, who 

 was to do suit to *our mill of Farington 

 and court of Penwortham ' ; ibid, 50. In 

 I 3 16 he gave him ' 4 acres of our \^aBte ' 

 in Farington ; ibid, 53. 



Richard son of Roger de Garstang 

 granted to his son John, begotten of 

 Mabel de Kn-ilhale, part of land given by 

 the Abbot of Evesham to Roger son of 

 Richard de Garstang at I2</. rent; the 

 bounds recited mention Creswallsyke, 

 Eldesyke and the Lostock ; John was to 

 pay (>d. rent for his part ; ibid. 50, 



In 1320 the abbot granted land at the 

 M "sht-nis to Adam son of Roger dc 

 f aiingt'n, suit to be done at the abbey's 

 court at Howick ; and to Henry son of 

 Roger de Farington he gave a messuage 

 and land in the Milneiield ; ibid. 53-4. 

 Roger de Farington had in 1 31 3 given 

 lands to his sons Henry and Adam, 

 the bounds including Blackpool, Lostock 

 water and Fairclough ; ibid. 53. 



Alice widow of Roger de Farington in 

 132 1 claimed dower in 14 acres in 

 Farington against Richard the son of 

 Roger ; De Banco R. 238, m. 1 1 1 d. 



Another Alice, as widow of Adam son 

 of Roger son of Henry de Farington, in 

 1344 claimed a messuage, &c., against 

 Henry Straitbarrel and his sons William 

 and Robert ; De Banco R. 338, m. 270. 



• This is an inference only ; the grant 

 does not seem to be known ; and it will 

 have been gathered from the preceding 

 note that the abboU had other tenants in 

 Farington. William de .Mcols was per- 

 haps the clerk of that name occurring in 

 local deeds, &c. ; e.g. Pcn-^orth^m Pr,,ry, 



62 



12. In 1246 he purchased 16 acres in 

 Farington from John son of Robert ; 

 Final Cone, i, 102. 



Robert Bussel granted to Penwortham 

 Priory the service of John son of William 

 de Meols, clerk, for an oxgang of land in 

 Leyland ; Kucrdcn fol. MS. p. 58. 

 Geoffrey Bussel of Leyland granted to 

 John de Farington son of William de 

 Meols the homage and service of certain 

 of his tenants in Longton; llarl. MS. 

 2042, fol. lo\b. In the same collection 

 of charters is a grant to William son of 

 Hugh de Meols ; fol. loi. 



' See the account of Leyland. The 

 descent William de Meols -a. John -s. 

 William -s. William de Farington is given 

 in De Banco R, 300, m, 311 (1334), 



In 1332 there were three Farington 

 families in the township — William, 

 Henry son of Roger, and John ; Exch. Lay 

 Subi. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 43-4. 



' An agreement of 1314 between the 

 Abbot of Evesham and William (son of 

 John) de Farington, respecting various 

 matters in dispute, is printed in Pen- 

 ■wortham Priory, 17-20. The abbot 

 allowed certain approvements from the 

 waste, and the construction of j water- 

 mill by John and William ; but the 

 demesnes, the ancient services (with 

 \zd. increase) and mast-fall for ten 

 pigs in the wood of Leyland were pre- 

 served for the abbot and convent. See 

 also Assize R, 424, m. i d. 



" See Penwortham Priory, 1 8 note. 



'" Charter R. 143 (22 Edw. Ill), 

 m. 30, no. 41. 



A John son of Robert de Farington 

 occurs about this time ; Assize R. 430, 

 m. I ; Coram Rege R. 348, m. 22. 



Roger de Farington was knight of the 

 shire in 1355; Pink and Bcaven, Part. 

 Reprt. of Lanes. 32. 



" I" '394 John Serjeant, vicar of 

 Leyland, released to John son and heir 

 of William de Farington all the mes- 

 suages, &c., in Farington and Leyland 

 of which he had been enfeoffed by John 

 de Farington the elder ; Kuerden fol. 

 MS. p. 382. Two years later the same 

 John son and heir of William de Faring- 

 ton gave to feoffees the lands which had 

 formerly belonged to John son of Robert 

 de Farington in the same townships; 

 ibid. p. 1,4. The lands were in 1406 

 settled upon Henry de Farin t.,,,, with 

 remainders to his brother Nicholas to 



