LEYLAND HUNDRED 



CROSTON 



thus became sole lord. He died in 1879, and was 

 succeeded by his son, Mr. Sigismund Cathcart de 

 Trafford, who resides at Croston Hall. A court leet 

 is held annually,^ 



Croston Hall is a modern brick building which 

 replaced one earlier house, if not more, on the 

 same site. 



In 1283 William de la Mare procured a charter 

 for a weekly market at Croston on Wednesdays, and 

 for a fair on the eve, day and morrow of St. Wilfrid ; 

 also free warren in his demesne lands in Croston, 

 Mawdesley and Longton.^ About the same time 

 probably a borough was created, traces of which 



remained in the burgage tenure of certain messuages in 

 the town.^ As the Castle Place, Castle Hill and 

 Castle Yard are named in 16th-century deeds, there 

 may have been a castle .there in earlier times.* 



In addition to the lords of the manor other land- 

 owners appear in the pleadings and inquisitions. In 

 1564 Richard Ashton and Henry Croston, as land- 

 owners, contributed to the subsidy.* The Rad- 

 cliffes and Bartons "^ of Smithills and Leghs ^ held 

 probably as heirs of the Ulnes Walton family. Several 

 families took a surname from the township,^ but it 

 is not possible to give a connected account of them. 

 William Croston died in 1590 holding two messuages, 



* Information of Mr. De Trafford. 



^ The charter is known from an *in- 

 speximus' of 1390 ; CaL Pat. 1388-92, 

 p. 184. The heirs of William de la 

 Mare at that time were Sir Thomas 

 Fleming and Alice daughter of Sir 

 William de Lea and wife of Fulk de 

 Standish. See also Fine R. 213 (9 

 Hen. IV), m. 3. A confirmation was in 

 1467 granted to Thomas Ashton and 

 William Fleming; Cat, Pat. \^6-j-jy, 

 p. 17. 



^ The burgages or burgage plots have 

 been mentioned in deeds referred to in 

 foregoing notes. 



In 1325 Alice daughter of Amery the 

 Clerk (see note 4, p, 92) gave her brother 

 William de Croston, clerk, all her title in 

 a burgage with an acre of land thereto 

 appurtenant in the vill of Croston, lying 

 in the Drinkhouses, &c. ; Towneley MS. 

 BB, no. 1587. In the same year William 

 son of William de Lea gave to Walter son 

 of Henry de Croston a burgage in the vill 

 of Croston, lying in Caynoc-lache, with 

 3 roods of land; no. 1619. William son of 

 John de Brotherton, dwelling in Rufford, 

 in 1330 granted to Roger son of Richard 

 de Fulwood two burgages in Croston, 

 which he had received from Sir John 

 Fleming and Thomas son of John de 

 Croston, also a messuage and land ; GG, 

 no. 1401. Maud daughter of Sir John 

 de Hesketh, as a widow, gave her brother 

 Sir William a burgage with the house 

 built thereupon, in 1340; it stood on 

 the north side of John Cook's burgage ; 

 Towneley MS, BB, no. 1415. The bur- 

 gages are named down to the i6th cen- 

 tury. 



* Joan widow of William Dalton in 

 1545-6 claimed a close called Castle Place 

 against Henry Croston ; also lands called 

 the Paradise, Oldfield, Westhead, Withens 

 and Hillfield ; Pal. of Lane. Assize R. 25. 

 In 1559 the lands of William Nelson of 

 Mawdesley included a close of land called 

 Castle Hill, lying in Croston ; Towneley 

 MS. BB, no. 54. Thomas Nelson of 

 Chaddleworth in Berkshire in 1590 had 

 a capital messuage and tenement called 

 Castleyard, which was soon afterwards 

 sold to Robert Hesketh of Rufford ; no. 

 1632, 1607, 117. See zho Ducatus Lane, 

 (Rec. Com.), iii, 224, 340. 



It is noteworthy that there was a street 

 called St. Marygate in Croston in 1371, 

 when Richard the Miller gave his wife 

 Alice for life a burgage in that street, 

 lying between burgages of John de Croston 

 and Cecily Primrose ; Towneley MS. BB, 

 no. 89. Adam de Redeley and Cecily 

 his wife, daughter of William Primrose, 

 are named in 1364 ; no. 1634. 



The Town Meadow was in I539 ^^s 

 free tenement of Sir Robert Hesketh ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Writs of Assize, bdle. 18, 

 Lent, 31 Hen. Vin. 



^ Subs. R. Lanes, bdle. 131, no. 

 210. 



^ The lands in Croston are grouped 

 with other parts of the inheritance, the 

 tenure not being recorded ; see Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 12 ; iv, no. 

 82 ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 211. 



^ Sir Peter Legh died in 1528 holding 

 an annual rent in Croston of the king in 

 socage ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, 

 no. 63. In 1634 the estate is called 

 2 acres of land, but the tenure is not 

 given ; ibid, xxviii, no. 32. 



Among the pleadings occurs the claim 

 of Joan daughter of William Warlngson, 

 who claimed a messuage and lands in 

 Croston against Gilbert de Ince and 

 Alice his wife, John de Goldburn and 

 Adam de Orrell, and recovered against 

 Goldburn ; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. ^, 

 m. 2 d. It was shown that Gilbert and 

 Alice claimed nothing but the service of 

 16 lb. of wax yearly by which the lands 

 were held. See also ibid. 8, m. 6. 



In Croston was part of the Balders- 

 ton estate {Lanes. Inq. p.m. Chct. Soc. 

 ii, 63), afterwards held by Edmund 

 Dudley (1509), Radcliffe of Winmar- 

 leigh (1521, &c,) and Gerard (1593); 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 13 ; 

 V, no. 3, &c. ; xvi, no. 2. It was held 

 of Osbaldeston ; ibid, viii, no. i. 



William Dlcconson of Eccleston 

 (1604) held his lands in Croston of the 

 king as of the late priory of St. John of 

 Jerusalem {\zd. rent), of Robert Hesketh 

 (2j. 4^/.) and Thomas Ashton (4^^.) as of 

 their manors of Croston ; Lanes. Inq, p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 18. 

 Henry Rowe held a cottage of Hesketh 

 and Ashton, lords of Croston, In 1608 ; 

 ibid. 93. William Stopford of Ulnes 

 Walton (1617) held a messuage, &c., of 

 Thomas Ashton by dd. rent, and another 

 of Robert Hesketh ; ibid, ii, 73. 



Matthew Clifton in 1472 held a 

 messuage and lands In Croston claimed 

 by Thomas Hesketh, Elizabeth his wife, 

 Richard Dalton and Elizabeth his wife 

 in right of the wives ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Writs of Assize, 4 Aug. 12 Edw. IV. 

 In 1 545 Matthew son and heir of 

 Christopher, brother and heir of Matthew 

 Clifton, deceased, conveyed to Joan 

 Dalton widow and Robert her son, 

 heir of William Dalton, deceased, a mes- 

 suage called Keyhouse with land in 

 Croston ; also a close of pasture called 

 Castlepool Hey in Mawdesley ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. r8i, m. 9. 



Thomas Mercer and Thomas his son 

 and heir held messuages and lands in 

 Croston and Mawdesley in 1548 ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 13, m. 205. 



^ Some members of them have been 

 mentioned in preceding notes. 



Nicholas the Carpenter in 1297 con- 



95 



firmed to John son of Olot of Croston an 

 acre on the Hill ; Towneley MS. BB, no. 36. 

 Godith and Margery daughters of Roger 

 son of Henry de Bretherton in 1298 

 gave the same John all their land with 

 houses, &c., lately their father's ; no. 

 37, 1578. Henry de Croston about the 

 same time gave to John son of Alice de 

 Croston (perhaps the same person) an 

 acre on Wildmarflat ; no. 1596. Reyner 

 le Fleming attested this grant. 



John son of Robert son of John son of 

 Dowe de Croston confirmed to his sister 

 Cecily an acre in the Drinkhouses in 

 1324 ; no. 6, 



William son of John Olotson occurs 

 in 1330 ; no. 61. The same WilHam 

 and Alice de Bispham his mother made 

 a feoffment of their lands in Croston in 

 1349 ; Kuerden MSS. vi, fol. 68. There 

 were other Williams at the same time ; 

 thus in 1347 William son of Robert son 

 of John de Croston made a grant on the 

 marriage of his son Robert to Maud ; 

 ibid, ii, fol. 134^. In 1379 William de 

 Croston secured right of turbary in the 

 mosses of Croston and Mawdesley from 

 Sir Thomas Fleming ; Towneley MS. 

 BB, no. 75. 



In 1407 Katherine widow of Thomas 

 de Croston made a grant of lands in 

 Rainford and BIckerstaffe ; Kuerden MSS. 

 vi, fol. 71. A year later the feoffees of 

 William de Croston returned to him and 

 Joan his wife tenements in Croston, 

 Eccleston and Howick, with remainders 

 to Thomas son of Thomas de Croston, 

 William brother of *the said Thomas' 

 (?the younger), Henry, Elizabeth and 

 Joan, brother and sisters ; ibid, fol. 69^. 

 William son of Thomas de Croston in 

 1409 had licence to attach sufficient 

 water of the Yarrow within Eccleston 

 to supply a fuller's mill ; ibid. fol. yob. 

 William Croston the elder occurs in 

 14 1 8, and William Croston (perhaps the 

 grandson) in 1429 ; ibid. fol. 71^, 

 72A. 



Edmund (? Edward) son of William 

 Croston and Sibyl his wife in 1447 

 received messuages and lands in BIcker- 

 staffe and Rainford ; ibid. fol. 73. 

 Edward Croston and Cecily his mother, 

 widow of William Croston, occur in a 

 settlement of her dower in 1469 ; Towne- 

 ley MS. BB, no. i>^. 



Edward Croston in 1461 granted to 

 Thomas Wright a parcel of land in 

 Cowhey in Drinkhouses for the erection 

 of a dwelling-house, also two pieces of 

 arable land and common pasture In 

 Finney ; no. i574> 



Next occurs Hugh Croston, in 1502 ; 

 and then Henry, his brother and heir, in 

 1511 ; Kuerden MSS. vi, fol. 72 ; ii, fol. 

 134*. 



Richard Croston son and heir of Henry 

 in 1519 sii'^ 1520 sold various lands in 



