LEYLAND HUNDRED 



PENWORTHAM 



Hnrleton^ and MidgealP may be named. As the 

 lords of the manor were non-resident, the minor 

 immediate tenants come more prominently into 

 view, but little can be said of them.^ Some other 

 names appear in the inquisitions, many of them 

 having lands in neighbouring townships: Huvton of 

 Blackrod,'* Banastre,^ Farington,*^ Hesketh/ Kirkby 

 of RawclifFe, Sherdley,^ Taylor,^ Walton lo and 

 Wilding.^^ In other cases the tenure is not recorded. 

 As already stated the Hospitallers had an estate in 

 Longton,^^ and a small piece of land was granted to 

 Burscough Priory by the Bussels.^^ 



John Moore, Henry Sherdley and William 

 Walton contributed for their lands to the subsidy of 

 1542-3^'^ and Thomas Sherdley and John Moore 

 to that of 1564.^^ In 1783 the principal land- 

 owners were Thomas Weld, representatives of 

 Thomas Hesketh, Robert Moss and John TrafFori ; 

 by 1798 John Moss was the chief contributor to the 

 land tax.^*^ 



Inclosure awards were made in 1760 and 1824.^^ 



There was probably a chapel at 



CHURCH Longton from an early date ; perhaps 



it succeeded that in Hutton of which 



other daughter Joan married a Sherdley, 

 as appears from a pleading ofigzi, in 

 which the Strickland pedigree is thus 

 given : Isabel -s. John -s. William -s. 

 John (defendant) ; Pal. of Lane. Plea 

 R. 132, m. 13 d. Peter Farington in 

 154S made complaint as to the tnrbary 

 in Longton moss against John Strickland 

 and others j Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), 

 i, 224. 



Ralph Loxham died in 1622 holding 

 partly of Richard Fleetwood by \J. rent, 

 and partly of Richard Shireburne by a 

 fraction of i%d. -^ William his son and 

 heir was thirty years of age ; Lanes, Inq. 

 p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 348. 



^ A fine concerning messuages and 

 lands was in 1396 made between Gilbert 

 son of William de Hurleton, whose wife 

 was Elizabeth daughter of William de 

 Chlsnall, and William de Hurleton the 

 younger, whose wife Maud appears to 

 have been the heiress ; Final Cone, iil, 

 48. Henry de Howick, in right of his 

 wife Alice, cousin and heir of Peter de 

 Risley, obtained the homage of William 

 de Hurleton by the verdict of twelve men 

 of Longton in 1398-9 5 Harl. MS. 2042, 

 fol. 105^. 



Ralph Fleetwood purchased messuages, 

 land and fishing in the Ribble from 

 Richard Hurleston and Elizabeth his wife 

 in 1583 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 

 45. m. 97. 



^ In 1338 John son of Thomas de 

 Sowerby and Margery his wife, in con- 

 junction with their sons Thomas and 

 Richard, obtained the reversion of the 

 moiety of messuages and land in Longton 

 from Ellen daughter of William de 

 Howick, William being tenant for life, 

 Robert Bonel and Quenllda his wife 

 putting in their claim ; Final Cone. 11, 

 109. From a later suit (1347) it appears 

 that the surname Sowerby had been 

 changed to Mlgelhalgh ; Robert Bonel and 

 Quenilda prosecuted their claim, Quenilda 

 and Ellen being daughters of William de 

 Howick by his wife Alice daughter of 

 Hugh Ploket j Assize R. 1435, m. 17 d. ; 

 1444, m. 6 d. 



George *MedgeaU' died In 1557 hold- 

 ing messuages, &c., in Longton of the 

 lord of the place (not named) in socage ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. x, no, 22. 

 From Robert, his son and heir, Sir 

 Richard Shireburne purchased his holding 

 in Longton, Hutton and Howick in 1565; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 27, m. 103. 



^ See, for example, Final Cone, iii, 

 no, 121, 131. 



** Nicholas Huyton's land in 1527 was 

 held partly of Evesham Abbey by a rent 

 of %d. and partly of Burscough Priory by 

 izd. rent ; Duehy of Lane. Inq, p.m. vi, 

 no. 53, For disputes as to the Inheritance 

 see Ducatus Lane, ii, 254, 266. 



^ The tenement of the Banastres of 

 Bank was held of William Farington of 



Worden in 1555-94 by the rent of Ji. ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. x, no. 37 ; 

 xvli, no. 46. 



^ In addition to the Farlngtons already 

 named another branch of the family had 

 land in Longton. Charles Farington, of 

 Hutton, the elder, is named in 1492 j in 

 1507 he gave lands In Longton to his 

 son Richard, and in his will of the same 

 year other sons are named — Charles, 

 William, John and James ; Piccope MSS. 

 xlv, 80. In 1566 Richard son and heir 

 of Hugh Farington of RIbbleton and 

 Thomas son and heir of Richard Faring- 

 ton (late of Heskin) held lands in 

 Longton as eo-pareeners, a rent of id. 

 being due to Sir Thomas Hesketh ; 

 Kuerden MSS. ill, L 5. An agreement 

 as to partition then made is in Add. MS. 

 32108, no. 661. Richard Farington of 

 Longton in the time of James I granted 

 lands, Sec, to Robert Hesketh ; ibid. L 6, 7. 

 Hugh Farington of RIbbleton died in 

 1637 holding land in Longton of the heir 

 of Robert Hesketh of RufFord ; Towneley 

 MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 423-4. 



^ George Hesketh of Poulton (1572) 

 held lands in Longton of John Fleetwood 

 by a rent of izd. ; Duchy of Lane. Inq, 

 p.m. xlii, no. 15. This may have been 

 acquired by James Stopford of Ulnes 

 Walton, who held similarly in 1611; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 170 ; ii, 73. 



Gabriel Hesketh of Aughton (1573) 

 held his tenement of John Fleetwood, 

 John Kuerden, Thomas Sherdley and 

 Lewis Longton by a rent of ^d, ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. xli, no. 32. Bartho- 

 lomew Hesketh (his son) and Margaret 

 his wife in 115 8 6 sold lands in Longton 

 and Bretherton to Richard Taylor ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 48, m. 24. 



^ As above shown part at least of the 

 Sherdley estate was inherited from Lox- 

 ham. The pedigree in the Plea Roll of 

 1 52 1 cited runs thus : Thomas Loxham 

 — dr. Joan -s. Richard Sherdley -s. 

 Thomas — s. Henry (plaintiff). Henry 

 Sherdley died in 1563 holding messuages, 

 windmill, land, &c., in Longton of John 

 Fleetwood by a rent of 3J. t^d. yearly. 

 His other lands in Hutton and Farington 

 had also been monastic property ; and he 

 had a free fishery in the Ribble. Thomas 

 his son and heir was forty years of age j 

 Duehy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiii, no. 27. 

 Shortly afterwards occurs a Peter Sherd- 

 ley ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 42, 

 m. 84 ; 45, m. 47. Thomas Sherdley 

 occurs in the time of Elizabeth ; Ducatus 

 Lane, iii, 191, 474. John Sherdley of 

 Longton was a freeholder in 1600 j Misc. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 245. 



Richard Sherdley, apparently the heir 

 of Henry, died in 1639 holding messuages, 

 &c., in Longton, Hutton and Farington 

 as before j Ralph, his son and heir, was 

 forty-two years of age j Towneley MS. 



73 



C 8, 13, p. logi. In 1633 ^^ had en- 

 feoffed his third son Edward of an estate 

 in Longton and Hutton. 



Several members of the family are 

 mentioned In agreements of 1605-7 5 

 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 293, m. 6 ; 300, 

 m. 4. See also Kuerden MSS. iii, L 6, 

 7, 8. About that time a large part of 

 their holding appears to have been sold to 

 Robert Hesketh of Rufford ; Add. MS. 

 32108, no. 651-60, 662, &c. 



^Richard Taylor of Preston (1596) 

 held a messuage, Sec, of Robert Hesketh 

 and Thomas Ashton as of their manor of 

 Longton ; and this descended to another 

 Richard Taylor, after whose death in 

 1 63 1 a similar tenure was recorded j 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xvil, no. 25 ; 

 xxvii, no. 63. See note 7 above. 



'•^ This family deserves mention as 

 founder of the school. William Walton 

 and John his son and heir-apparent held 

 six messuages, lands, Sec, in Longton, 

 Howick and Hutton in 1593 ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 55, m. 209. John 

 Walton of Howick held his lands of 

 Richard Fleetwood in 1620 ; Lanes. Inq, 

 p.m. (Rec. Soe. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 

 209. 



^^ John Wilding's land in 1640 was 

 held of the heirs of William Charnock by 

 a rent of 3^*^'. ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 

 xxlx, no. 87. 



'- Longton is named among the Hos- 

 pitallers' lands in 1292 ; Viae, de Quo 

 fVarr. (Rec. Com.), 375. Land belonging 

 to them is named in a charter which may 

 be dated about 1216 ; Penit'ortham Priory, 

 10. Somewhatlater RobertBusselgranted 

 to Adam son of Henry de Howick his 

 land on the Little Moss called Iggesyke, 

 except the portions of a certain oxgang of 

 land which Thomas (son of Robert) held 

 of the Hospital of Jerusalem j Harl, MS, 

 2042, fol. lOI. 



The rental made about 1540 shows the 

 following tenants and rents : Prior of 

 Penwortham, 9^/. ; Peter Farington, I2d'.; 

 Thomas Haworth, lid. \ churchwardens 

 of Penwortham, i^d. ; Hugh Bretherton, 

 I'^d. 5 John Longton, 41/. ; Kuerden MSS, 

 V, fol. 83^. 



^^ Robert Bussel granted land in the 

 field of Turnureacres and on Stanfurlong ; 

 Geoffrey his son added other portions j 

 Burscough Reg. fol. 52. The following 

 were tenants In 1524 : Humphrey Hur- 

 leton, %d. ; John Farington (In Howick), 

 6d, 5 heirs of Hueton (Pallasacre), ^d. j 

 Peter Farington, 6d. ; Duehy of Lane. 

 Rentals, 5/16. In 1540 were named : 

 Thomas Hurleston, %d. ; John More (late 

 Robert Hueton), ^d. ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Mins. Accts. bdle. 136, no. 2203. 



^^ Subs. R. 130, no. 126 Lanes. 



^^ Ibid. 131, no. 210. 



^'^ Land tax returns at Preston. 



'^33 Geo. II, c. 23 (private) ; Lanes, 

 and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 



10 



