LEYLAND HUNDRED 



PENWORTHAM 



Thomas Hesketh of the abbey of Evesham by a rent 

 of 2/. 8/^.^ About sixty years ago Howick Hall was 

 sold to — Rothwell of Hoole, who sold it to John 

 Gorst of Preston.^ 



The township is rarely mentioned in the records,^ 

 and but few of the early landowners are known 

 through the inquisitions.** 



In 1786 the principal contributors to the land tax 

 were James Barton, — Hesketh and Thomas 

 Loxham,^ 



HUTTON 



Hoton, 1201 ; Hutton and Hooton, xvi cent. 



This township stretches westward from the border 

 of Penwortham for about 5 miles, and has an area of 

 2,744.^ acres.^ A considerable portion, however, 

 consists of the low land on the south bank of the 

 Ribble. The eastern half of the township is above 

 the 50-ft. level, and here is situated the village of 

 Hutton, lying along the principal road, that from 

 Penwortham to Ormskirk. Another road goes north- 

 west and west to the riverside. The West Lanca- 

 shire railway crosses the township. The population 

 in 1 90 1 w^as 418, 



The soil is mixed, with clay subsoil ; the land is 

 mostly in pasture. 



Penwortham Grammar School is situated in this 

 township, in which there is also a farm school belong- 

 ing to the County Council. 



There were in all fifty-eight hearths to be taxed in 

 1666 ; the largest houses were three which had three 

 hearths each.'^ 



The manor of HUTTON, assessed as 

 MJNOR three plough-lands, was a member of the 

 fee of Penwortham, and held about 1 180 

 by Roger son of Orm as to two-thirds and by Austin 

 son of Waldeve de Ulverston as to one-third. By an 

 exchange Roger acquired the whole manor,^ which 

 his son Ellis de Hutton sold to the canons of Cocker- 

 sand.^ By its new lords it continued to be held of 

 the lords of Penwortham by the fourth and the 

 twentieth parts of a knight's fee.^^ The beginning 

 of their tenure was marked by disputes with the 

 Abbots of Evesham, who claimed tithes for their 

 church of Penwortham from the demesne, the canons 

 claiming that this was exempt, but at last com- 

 pounding.^^ 



The Cockersand rentals from 1450 to 1537 show 

 that the manor, mills and a large part of the land 



^ Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 16, 

 The zs. %d. rent may be made up of the 

 izd. due for the fourth part of Nutshaw 

 and the zod, for Richard son of Warine's 

 oxgang of land. Thomas's brother 

 Richard Hesketh had in 15 18 exchanged 

 land in Bedford for some in Howick 

 belonging to Sir William Leyland ; 

 Towncley MS, DD, no. 324, 327. 

 Richard's will, 1520, names his brothers 

 Hugh, Bishop of Man, and Bartholo- 

 mew ; ibid. no. 326. In 1623, when 

 George Hesketh was in possession, the 

 tenure of the Hesketh * manor* was 

 not known ; l^ncs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 351-7. It is 

 named in later Hesketh of Rufford set- 

 tlements. 



Sir Thomas Hesketh in 1557 granted 

 land in Howick to John Fleetwood of 

 Penwortham ; Towneley MS. DD, no. 

 336. In 1562 in conjunction with 

 Henry Farington he gave a messuage 

 and land, with dovecote and windmill 

 and a fishery in the Ribble, to Henry's son 

 Francis (and Alice his wife) for life, with 

 reversion to Sir Thomas ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 24, m. 208, 



Francis Farington of the Middle 

 Temple in 1581 asserted that as appurte- 

 nant to his capital messuage called Howick 

 Hall he had always enjoyed a several 

 'mossdale' or turbary in Hutton in a 

 place called Wimot moss, but *two very 

 lewd and evil-disposed persons' had a 

 little before entered the mossdale and had 

 kept possession with the aid of long pikes 

 and staves, and were taking away the 

 turves ; Duchy of Lane. Plead, cxvi, F 8. 



2 Pen'wortham Prioryy 20, note. 



3 William de Budworth and Cecily his 

 wife held land in Howick in 1345, when 

 *hey and Thomas the son of William were 

 defendants to a claim for 10 acres made 

 by Adam de Catterall of Longton ; Assize 

 R. 1435, m. 35, Richard Budworth of 

 Howick was defendant in 1442 ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. 4, m. T,b. 



There are but few references to the 

 place in the Ducatus Lane, 



* Thomas Farington of Little Faring- 

 ton (1508) held land in Howick of the 



Abbot of Evesham by a rent of js. ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, no, 41, 



The Singletons of Shingle Hall held 

 their lands in Hutton and Howick of the 

 abbey of Cockersand ; ibid, viii, no. 9 ; 

 xiii, no. 16. 



George Midgehalgh of Barton in 1557 

 held his messuage in Howick of Thomas 

 Hesketh ; ibid, x, no. 22. 



George Kirkby of Up Rawcliffe held 

 land in Howick in 1560 of John Fleet- 

 wood of Penwortham by a rent of 6d. ; 

 ibid, xi, no. 8. 



In the cases of Shireburne of Stony- 

 hurst, Charnock and Banastre the tenures 

 are not stated. 



William Walton and John his son and 

 heir in 1593 made a settlement of six mes- 

 suages and various lands in Howiek, 

 Hutton and Longton ; Pal, of Lane, Feet 

 of F. bdle. 55, m. 209. John Walton of 

 Howiek died in 1620 holding messuages 

 and lands of Richard Fleetwood as of his 

 manor of Howick by a rent of 31. 5 

 William his son and heir was twenty- 

 three years of age ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Ree. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 209. For a 

 note concerning this family (1576) see 

 Lanes, and Ches, Antiq. Notes, I, 155. 



^ Land tax returns at Preston. 



^ z,^6y acrefl, including 2 of inland 

 water; Census Rep, igoi. There are 

 also 17 acres of tidal water and 167 of 

 foreshore. ^ Subs. R. 250, no. 9, 



^ Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 406-10. 



^ Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc), il, 

 407-10. For the date (between 1201 

 and i2io) see the note ibid. The canons 

 gave Ellis 100 marks and were bound to 

 do the service to the king and the lords of 

 the fee so far as pertained to three plough- 

 lands, where ten plough-lands made a 

 knight's fee. 



The same grantor (Ibid, 408) gave a 

 number of separate tenements to the 

 canons, the details providing the names 

 of several places in the township — The 

 Marsh, Crooklands, Lairclade, Calf 

 (brook), Sec. ; also half the fishery of 

 Stammine and three nets in the Ribble 

 within the bounds of Hutton. He and 

 his wife Sapientia also gave that moiety 



of the mill of Bradford which had belonged 

 to Howick, together with the waters of 

 Wymoth and Bradford ; ibid, n, 437, 

 440. Cecily and Antigonia, daughters of 

 Ellis de Hutton, and others also released 

 their rights In this mill ; ibid. Ii, 438-9. 

 Margery, another daughter, gave the lands 

 received from her father in free marriage 

 with Richard son of Robert Sithsworth ; 

 Ibid. Ii, 431. 



John de Lacy, as lord of Penwortham, 

 confirmed the grant, adding quittance of 

 suit of court and puture of Serjeants, but 

 leaving it subject to the service due to 

 the king, and other dues ; for this the 

 canons gave him 80 marks ; ibid, ii, 412. 

 Henry de Lacy, his successor, gave a 

 similar confirmation about 1275, In re- 

 turn for the payment of a like sum ; ibid. 

 11,413. 



Other members of Ellis de Hutton's 

 family confirmed his grants or added to 

 them ; e.g. of Robert the son of Ellis 

 and his son John; ibid, ii, 411, 414. 

 Iseult, daughter of Ellis, in her widow- 

 hood gave the portion she had had from 

 her father ; she was twice married — to 

 Henry son of Gilbert and to Richard de 

 Culeheth ; Ibid, ii, 417, 420. Agnes, her 

 daughter by the second marriage, married 

 John de Haydock, and all the parties 

 agreed to resign Iseult's lands to Cocker- 

 sand ; ibid, ii, 418—19. 



In 1246 Henry, then abbot, obtained 

 the Hutton lands of John de Haydock 

 and Agnes his wife by exchange for part 

 of Arbury in Winwick ; ib'd. il, 443—5. 



^^ Lanes, Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 149, 315. In an 

 extent made In 1324 the tenure is called 

 free alms ; Dods. MSS. cxxxl, fol. 44. 

 A century later the tenure was disputed ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Knights' Fees, bdle. 2, 

 no. 20. 



The Abbots of Cockersand appear to 

 have had few disputes with their tenants 

 or ijeighbours. In 1306 Richard son of 

 Robert de Hutton claimed land from 

 Thomas, then abbot ; De Banco R, 160, 

 m. 40 d. 



^^ Coc{ersafjd Chartul. Ii, 392-406. In- 

 nocent III in I2J0 directed an inquiry 



67 



