A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Priorv,! Bur;cough Priory ' and Cockersand 

 Abbey.' 



A chape!, 'recently built,' is named in a charter 

 of 13+4 prescri'ed by Dodsworth.^ Its fate is 

 unknown. In modern times the first buildings 

 erected for divine worship were a Methodist chapel, 

 1824, rebuilt in 1S36 and again in 1SS3,* and a 

 Congregational one, called Ebenezer, 1 8 1 9,'' replaced 

 by a new one in i8g6. 



For the Church of England St. John the Baptist's 

 was built in 1840 and a chancel added in 1909; 

 the rector of Croston is patron.' It was declared a 

 rectory in i 866.' 



A school was founded in 1653.' Over the porch 

 of the old schoolhouse is the following inscription : — 



' THIS FREE SCHOOLE WAS ERECTED AND BVILT AT 

 THE PROPER COSTS : AND CHARGES OF lAMES FLETCHER 

 OF LO.VDON MARCHANT : AND AT THE REQVEST OF 

 MI5TRIS lANE FLETCHER HIS WIFE WHO WAS BORNE IN 

 THISTOWNE IVNETHE FOVRTEENTH : ANNO DONI : 1653.' 



Over the doonvay of another cottage opposite the 

 old schoolhouse is a stone inscribed — 



lOHN & 

 MARY l< 

 15 K tTil 



1698 



ULNES WALTON 



W.ilcton, 1203, 1301 ; Ulvcs^.ilton, 1284; 

 L'lfne5\v.ilton, 1320; Ulneswalton, 1321.'" 



This township is crossed by the Lostock brook, 

 flo.\ing south- .vest to join the Yarrow. Wymott 

 brook, an affluent, divides Ulnes U'alton from 

 Bretherton. The surface is flat and lies low, there 

 being a slight rising to the north-east and south-east. 

 To the south of the Lostock are Barbies or Barbers 

 M ">r in the west and Holcar in the east, to the 

 ncirthofit is Llttlewood in the west. Folds is in 

 the north-east corner. The area measures 2,105^ 

 acres," and there was a population of 55 1 in 1901. 



The principal road is that going north from 

 Eccleston to Longton ; there are scattered dwellings 

 situated beside it, but they arc too few and too far 

 apart to form a village. Another road, forming the 

 southern boundary, goes from Croston Station to 

 Chorley. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway 

 Company's line from Liverpool to Preston crosses the 

 western side of the township. 



Fruit is grown extensively. 



Pedestals of two ancient stone crosses remain." 

 There was a find of Roman coins in 1884.'' 



There were sixty-six hearths charged to the tax 

 of 1666; the largest house was that of William 

 Gradell, with six hearths.^^ 



There is a parish council. A school board was 

 formed in 1877.^* 



The manor of ULNES If J LTD X was 

 MJXOR a member of the fee or barony of Pen- 

 wortham, and thus passed from Bussel to 

 Lacy and so to the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster and 

 the Crown. Of the lord of Penwortham it was held 

 by the service of the fifth part of a knight's fee by 

 a family surnamed Walton.'" The earliest known 

 member of it, Ulf de Walton, was living about 1 160," 

 and he no doubt gave the distinguishing name of 

 Ulfs (Ulnes) to the township. He had a son Adam, 

 occurring a little later," perhaps the same Adam de 

 Walton who had to pay a mark to the scutage in 

 1203-4." He was succeeded by a son Adam, who 

 gave his moiety of Eccleston to his son Warinc,^ and 

 in 124Z Warine de Walton held the fifth part of a 

 knight's fee in Walton of the fee of the Earl of 

 Lincoln (Lacy), and he of the fee of the Earl of Ferrers 

 (as lord between Ribble and Mersey), and he of the 

 Linf in chief.^' 



\S'arine had a son Adam, known as Master Adam,^^ 

 who, at least ultimately, inherited the family manors 

 and estates in Lines Walton, Eccleston, Leyland, 

 and Hoole, &c. He made a settlement of the manor 

 of Hoole in 1294,-^ and of the remainder of the 

 c;t.itc in 1301 ; by this the manor of Walton, 



Thomai Lord MnunEcapI'-, 6J. ; S!r 

 Robert llc'krth, 12^.; William F'lr- 

 shaw, 4f/. ; Richird Ban.istrc, I2</. ; 

 l-imei Andcrton (bought from Thurstan 

 Ban,n«trc', 12./.; Nicholas Todd, 8,/.; 

 I'llin Smith, chaplain, 4Y. ; Kucrdcn 

 StSS. V, fol. 83*. 



' The gift of Richard le Bottler has 

 beeri recorded above. W'.iltrr dc Hoole 

 gave two M.inds ' in Hullcroft and a tli.rd 

 in Rusfurlong ; while Richard son of 

 Gamel de Thorp gave two 'lands' in 

 Thorp between the Hospitallers' land and 

 the highway, and other pieces ; Durham 

 Cath. D. .1.2.4 Ebnr. 49-51. 



' Some grant? have been quoted abo\c. 

 Walter de Hoole gave land, and Blake- 

 lache, Markpool and Cro?sfVrd are 

 named in the deed ; Burscough Reg. fnl. 

 55-. In 1536 Henr)- Banastre of Bank 

 held land of the priory, paying izJ. rent ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Rental?, bale. 4, no. 6(,-, 



^ The grants to Cockersand have 

 been quoted. For the tenants 1451-1577 

 sec C::k^r;j^J Chartul. iii, 2160-I. 



' Dods. MSS. cilii, fol. 45A, quoted 

 ibove. 



* Hewltson, Oar Cyf.t'y Churchts, 

 232. 



" Ri\nr\ [Mr.::, (ed. IS:"-'), iii, 4C7; 

 N .'uinjale, Ls^ci. X:i:.:f:"?;:ry^ ii, 

 31-41. Preachin;T h-pn abjut 1790 and 



met with much opposition from the 

 rector of Croston and the people. 



' For district see LonJ. Guz. 4 Apr. 

 1 84^. 



'Ibid. 3 Apr. 1866. 



' Gastrell, ^^crina Cmr. (Chet. Soc), 

 ii, 3^9. The founder, James Fletcher, 

 a London merchant, was bom at Brether- 

 ton. He purchased part of the confis- 

 cated estates of James seventh Earl of 

 Derby ; Royalht Comp. Fapen, ii, 240. 



'** It \\ usually impossible to distinguish 

 between Ulues Walton and Ulnes Walton 

 in the manuscripts ; but in one case in 

 1331 the d'-iz-^cr. relied on the distinction, 

 asserting that u was v. rong ; Assize R. 

 14-4, m. 26 d. The variation in spelling 

 between Ulves and Ulnes continued 

 down n the 18th century. The local 

 pronunciation seems to have been Ovcs 

 Walton or Oos Walton ; see Ducaiut 

 JLanc. pj:::'?:, 



" 2,107 acres, including 8 of inland 

 water ; Ccnsui Rep. 1 90 1. 



'^ Lanci. and Ches. Antip Soc, XV ii, 14 • 

 Lostock Brow and Roccroft'j Crosses. 



^ Ibid, ii, 8-, 119. 



" Subs. R. Lanc». 250, no. 9. 



'^ I.oyJ. Gaz.i- X-n. 1877. 



'« Lanes. Inj. and Exicnii (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 36. The ' fifth 

 part of a knight's fee' indicates an ancient 

 assessment of two plough-lands. 



108 



" Farrer, Land. Pipe R. 375 ; Ulf 

 attested a charter from the lord of 

 Penwortham to Richard Fitton, 



'* Ibid. 409. 



" Ibid. 179. The scutage was nomi- 

 nally at 2j marks for a knight's fee, so 

 thit Adam dc Walton paid double. 



'"' Piccope MSS. (Chct. Lib.), iii, p. 3; 

 a charter of Adam son of Adam to his 

 son Warine. The grantor states that hil 

 father Adam held of Benedict Gernet, 

 who died about 1205. 



^' Lanes. Inp and Extents^ i, 149, As 

 early as 1217 Warine de Walton (perhaps 

 another person) made his peace wi h 

 Hen. Ill ; Rot. Lit. Claus. (Rcc. Com.), 

 374- 



Warine was living in 1252 ; Lanes. 

 Inq. and Extents, i, 188-9. To Robert 

 son of Adam de Holland he granted 

 an assart in Ulnes Walton ; Add. MS. 

 32104, no. 1168. In 1323 William de 

 Holland held a messuage and land of the 

 king (by grant of Alice daughter of Henry 

 de Lacy) in socage, by a rent of \d. ; 

 Inq. p.m. 17 Edw. II, no. 54. 



" Master Adam was precentor of the 

 church of Lichfield and died in or before 

 1306 ; Dc Banco R. 160, m. 151. 



" Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 178, Hoole was granted to 

 Adam dc Walton, clerk, and his is'ue, 

 with remainder to Master Adam and hit 



