A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



from whom it descended to the Balderstons,' and 

 thence in halves to the Harringtons and the Radcliffcs 

 of U'inmarleigh. The former half was on forfeiture ' 

 granted in I-I.89 to the first Earl of Derby,' and 

 descended like Knowsley till about 1717*; while 

 the latter half passed by marriage to Sir Gilbert 

 Gerard, Master of the Rolls in the time of Queen 

 Elizabeth.' These subdivisions appear to have been 

 acquired by the Heskeths of RufFord about a century 

 ago, and they were esteemed as lords of a moiety of 



the manor* until about iSSo, when Sir Thomas 

 Hcsketh sold it to Lord Lilford, who thus became 

 sole lord, having the other moiety by inheritance.' 



The now forgotten vill or hamlet of THORP, 

 assessed as one plough-land, was held of the Crown in 

 chief in I 2 1 2 by Richard son of Roger de Freckleton, 

 who rendered 10/. annually.' It \vas held of the 

 Freckletons by a local family sumamed Thorp for a 

 century and a half after this time,' and being in 

 1369 sold by the heirs of Thorp to Sir Thomas 



formerly held by Adam his brother ; Dods. 

 MSS. cxlix, fol. 44^. Thomas son of 

 Thomas le Boteler also made a grant to 

 him in 1293 ; ibid. 



One Thomas Banastre (father or son) 

 in 1288 held a third part of Heath Char- 

 noclc ; Land, Irjq. and Extent:^ i, 270. 

 The son Thomas married Joan dc Single- 

 ton and thus acquired estates in the 

 Fylde ; he died in or before 1303 ; Final 

 Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Chcs.), i, 

 201, The remainders were to William 

 and Adam Banastre, brothers. The 

 Adam Banastre who raised an insurrec- 

 tion in 1315 was almost certainly son of 

 the younger Thoma?. Thus in I 307-8 Sir 

 Adam Banastre gave Sir William Banastre, 

 his brother, a rent of ,^16 I u. 6\d. from 

 his manor.', &c., of Broughton, Salcficld, 

 Heath Charnock, Adtington, Duxbury 

 and Shcvington j Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 

 4-/.. 



Thomas son of Thomas le Boteler 

 granted l.ind in Bretherton on the 

 Hovencfurlong next Hallstudgreen to 

 William son of Thomns Banastre ; ibid, 

 fol. 44/1. \\i!liam Banastre died in or 

 before 1523 holding lands in Singleton, 

 CUughton, &c. J Inq. p.m. 17 EJw. II, 

 no. 4^. His son Adam, after^vards a 

 knight, was said to be sixteen years of 

 age i sec Memo. R. (L.T.R.), 88, pt. ii, 

 m. 6 d. ; Pari. R. ii, 31. As Adam son 

 of S.r \\'illiam Banastre he in 1344 

 grantcl Wniiam dc Stirzaker a messuage 

 ind lands in the High moor with appur- 

 tenances in Bretherton for the celebra- 

 tion of divine service in a certain chapel 

 then newly built in Bretherton for the 

 welfare of the souls of the grantor, his 

 wile, his parents (William and Philippa), 

 &c. ; DoJs. MSS. cxlix, fol. 45A. He 

 married Pernell, afterwards wile of John 

 Truucll of Cublesden. His executors 

 (1346, &c.) were John and Nicholas 

 sons of Thomas Banastre ; De Banco R. 

 348, m. 429 ; 3^0, m. 2 j^, &c. In the 

 same year John Trussell of Cublesden 

 and Pernell his wife were suing for the 

 Ijttcr's dower in Bretherton; ibid. ^4-, 

 m. 165 ; 3^4, m. 303, 



The wardship and marriage of Thorn js 

 s^n and heir of Adam Banastre were in 

 1344 given by the Earl of Lancaster to 

 Sir .\Jam dc Hoghton ; Djds, .MSS. cxiii, 

 fol. 44. 



Thomas son of Sir Adam Banastre 

 appeared as plaintirT in 1365 ; he alleged 

 "ane in his lands at Bretherton, naming 

 a hall, dovecote, &c., oaks, ash trees, 

 apple trees and pear trees j Dc Banco R. 

 419, m. 2C3 J. He purchased Thorp in 

 1369; Fi-:al Ccnc. ii, 177. He was 

 made a knight in 1363 anj in 1375 

 elected K-G. ; his piate is on his stall at 

 Windsor. He was lost at sea, 16 Dec. 

 I ;-9. He held two parts of the manor 

 ot Bretherton of Tr.omaj Banastre of the 

 Bank, the other part being included in 

 ■.he dower ot Pcmell widow of Sir Adam 

 Baaastrc. See U-:^. /-._,. p.m. (Chet. 



Soc), i, 14, where there are references 

 to Froissart's Chronicle and to G. F. 

 Beltz's Memorials of the Order of the 

 Garter, 208 ; also Dep. Keeper s Rep. 

 xixii, App. 358, 365 ; xl, App. 521. 



^ Edward the son and heir of Sir 

 Thomas died in 1382, leaving a daughter 

 Constance, bom in that year ; Lanes. Inq. 

 p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 16. Pernell widow 

 of Sir Adam died in 1388, at which 

 time Agnes widow of Sir Thomas was 

 still living \ ibid. 38. 



Constance, the daughter and heir of 

 Edward Banastre, married William de 

 Balderston, and the Bretherton estate 

 descended in the same way as Balder- 

 ston ; see Abram, Blackburn, 414-15. 



* The Sir James Harrington of West- 

 leigh and Wulfage had lands in Brether- 

 ton, tenure unknown ; his widow Isabel 

 held them in 1518 of Henry Banastre; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 40 ; 

 V, no. 2. These were not forfeited, 



' Pat, 4 Hen. VII. The moiety of 

 the manor of Bretherton is named in 

 the Inq. p.m. of Thomas second Earl 

 of Derby, i;2i, but the tenure is not 

 separately stated; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. V, no. 68. 



See also for Edmund Dudley's interest 

 in 1509 ibid, iv, no. 1 3. 



' See Pal. of Lane Feet of F. bdlc 

 201, m. 37 ; 2-6, m. 52 ; PaL of Lane. 

 Plea R. 4S- (king's silver). Lord Ash- 

 burnham and others seem to have been 

 owners in 1725 ; Com. Ple.is Recov. R., 

 Mich. 12 Ceo. I, no. 13, 28. In 17,4 

 a Private Act of Parliament (27 Geo. II, 

 cap. 22} was passed for the sale of an 

 estate at Bretherton, pursuant to the 

 will of John late Earl of Ashburnham. 

 Edmund Lodge was plaintiff and James 

 Maki II deforciant in a fine relating to a 

 moiety of the manor of Bretherton, &c., 

 in 1-77 ; Pal. of Lane Feet of F, bdle. 

 29-, ra. -4. 



■' Lands in Bretherton are named in 

 the Balderston estate of Thomas son of 

 Richard RadclifTe of Winmarleigh, 1521 ; 

 and of his son Thomas in 1538; Duchy 

 of Lane Inq. p.m. v, no. 3 ; viii, no. 26. 

 In i;6l the whole estate was said to be 

 held of John Osbaldeston ; ibid, xi, no. 7. 

 -A similar statement was made after the 

 death of Sir Gilbert Gerard in 1593 ; 

 ibid, xvi, no. 2. 



Lands in Bretherton and Croston are 

 also named in the Inq. p.m. of Sir 

 Alexander Osbaldeston (1544) as part 

 of the fourth part of the manor of 

 Balderston ; ibid, viii, no, I. 



^ This is an inference only, but as 

 courts were held the lordship must have 

 been known. The Hcsketh family had 

 long held lands in the township. In 

 1503 Thomas Hesketh purchased lands 

 in Croston, Tarleton, Bretherton and 

 Lines Walton from Thomas son and 

 heir of William Banastre of Wigan • 

 Fi-.a! Core, iii, 154. The Banastres 

 here named were probably descendants of 



104 



William, bastard son of Thomas Banastre 

 of Bank, to whom in 1397 were granted 

 a messuage and an acre of land in 

 Bretherton ; Towneley MS. DD, no. 291. 

 Thomas Hesketh of RufFord died in 

 1523 holding seven messuages, 40 acres 

 of land, and 6 acres of meadow of the 

 Prior of St. John of Jerusalem in England 

 by the rent of jj. ; Duchy of Lane Inq. 

 p.m. v, no. 16, The same estate is 

 shown in later inquisitions ; ibid, vii, 

 no, 14 ; XV, no. 56. 



No moiety of the manor of Bretherton 

 is named in fines, &c., concerning Hesketh 

 settlements down to 1798. 



' Information of Mr. John B. Selby. 

 " Lanes. Inf. and Extents, i, 34. It 

 was the only vill in Leyland Hundred 

 held of the king in chief. In 1176-S 

 Thorp had contributed to the aids ; 

 Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 35, 38. 



^ Gamel de Thorp in 1203-4 con- 

 tributed half a mark to a scutage ; Lanes. 

 Pipe R. 179. He held a portion of 

 Bretherton also, and as Gamel son of 

 Cesar dc Thorp granted part of it to the 

 canons of Cockcrsand, as also lands in 

 Thorp itself; Coekersand Cliartul. ii, 

 47S-9. Margaret wife of Gamel gave 

 them a 'land' on the High moor; ibid. 

 483. Adam son of Gamel gave a half 

 selion in Bretherton, near Ladepool ; 

 ibid. 474. Reginald de Thorp was 

 also a benefactor, one gift being made 

 with the assent and will of Gamel lord 

 of Thorp ; ibid. 480. A little later the 

 brothers Richard and Roger de Thorp 

 occur; ibid. 481-3, 485-6. 



Richard de Thorp, son of Camel, made 

 grants to Lytham Priory ; Kuerden MSS. 

 iii, B I 5. He also gave lands in Bretherton 

 to the Hospitallers ; Dods. MSS. cxlix, 

 fol. 82. In 1226 he paid the loi. rent 

 due from a plough-land in Leylandshire ; 

 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 141. He appears 

 again in 1242; ibid. 149. In 1276 

 John de Thorp complained that Thomas 

 Banastre had taken his goods at Thorp ; 

 Coram Rege R. 20, m. 8. About the 

 same time David son of Richard de Thorp 

 claimed an oxgang of land in Thorp and 

 Bretherton, and John de Thorp had halt 

 an oxgang (or a share) in the same places ; 

 Dc Banco R. 21, m. 86 ; 31, m. 20 d. 



John de Thorp was a benefactor of 

 Burscough Priory, granting land on Hull- 

 croft ; Burscough Reg. fol. 54, A charter 

 of his, granting land ' with all liberties 

 of the vill of Thorp,' is in Towneley 

 MS. DD, no. 302. In the same volume 

 IS a grant by Agnes widow of William the 

 White [yllbf) of Thorp to Simon her son 

 of land within the bounds of Thorp and 

 of Bretherton, viz. upon the High moor ; 

 no. 292. 



William de Thorp in 1285 claimed the 

 service due from Thomas Banastre lor 

 the latter's free tenement in Thorp ; De 

 Banco R. 59, m. 71 d. 



In 1288 it was found that William de 

 Thorp held the hamlet of Thorp of 



