A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



^vhom has succeeded his son Mr. Augustus ^\^llter 

 Rawcliffe. Lower Chorley Hall \va5 taken down in 

 1:^07-8 and a large edifice was built by Thomas 

 Gillibrand in its place.^ 



The Chorley family ^ resided at a house in the 

 northern part of the township which took its name 

 of CHORLEr HJLL from its owners. Abstracts of 

 a number of the family deeds have been preserved,^ 

 from which it is clear that a considenble number of 

 persons used the local surname,'* rendering it im- 

 possible to trace the earlier ancestry of the William 

 de Chorley who comes into prominence about 1360 

 and was ancestor of the Jacobite of 1 71 5. It may 

 be that the family was descended from one Ellis de 

 Chorley, living in the time of Edward I, whose son 

 John died about 1 359,^ and was succeeded by 

 William, probably his son.^ 



William de Chorley and Margery his wife received 

 lands from their feoffees in 1361,'^ and in the follow- 

 ing year they and their son Ralph obtained land in 

 Brindle from John son of Robert de Langton for the 

 rent of a rose® ; further grants are recorded in i 364 

 and 1368.^ The Bishop of Lichfield in 1366 

 granted William de Chorley licence for an oratory 

 in his mansion house at Chorley, and in i 370 allowed 

 him to choose a confessor.^*^ Charters between 1369 

 and 1379 show a Williamson of William de Chorley 

 making feoffments, See, of lands in Chorley, Walton- 



le-Dale, Eccleston and Newton in Makerfield" ; and 

 a settlement was made in i 371, the remainders being 

 to William de Chorley the 

 elder and issue, and then tc 

 William the younger.'^ 



About 1380 Henry de 

 Hcpwall and Lord Bourchier 

 granted to William de Chorley 

 the hall of Chorley with dove- 

 cot and mill and various lands 

 to be held by an annual 

 service of j^i is. id}^ It is 

 somewhat difficult to under- 

 stand this deed, which is 

 undated, for it speaks of 

 William de Chorley having 

 been lord of Chorley, &c., 

 and attainted.^^ William de Chorley the elder was 

 ' dwelling out of the duchy * in 1381-2,''' and 

 William son of William de Chorley about the same 

 time granted to John son of Richard de Kighley * for 

 good service done to William my father and to be 

 done to me * certain land near the Yarrow in the 

 vill of Chorley.^^ William called * the elder * in 

 1390 settled messuages, &c., in Chorley and else- 

 where, with remainders to Richard and John 

 de Chorley and others.^^ Shortly afterwards, in 

 1395-6, Richard de Chorley and Joan daughter of 



CnoRLKY of Chorlry, 

 Argent a che'^eron g^'lcs 

 betv>een three blue bottles 

 ilipped azure. 



' Rainei* Notes to GastrcU'i Nonda 

 Cettr. (Chet. Soc), ii, 365. 



' A popul.ir account of them U given 

 in Mr. John \S')l50n'8 Chor/eyt of Chorley 

 Hail, 1907. It contains numerous ex- 

 tracts from the parish rcgistcri. 



" Harl. MS. 2112, fol. 75/1 i;, &c. 



* Adam son of Stephen son of Simon 

 de Chorley gave to Maud daughter of 

 Adam Athoyl, on hit marriage with her 

 about 1324 ^, all his lands in Chorley ; 

 Harl. MS. 21 12, fol. 75/117. Adam son 

 oC Stepliei Hr Chorley v. a» still living in 

 I 3+9 i De Banco P- ^58, m. 1 1 8 d. A 

 Stephen del Eves was a free tenant in 

 128S, paying id, rent; Lanes. Inp and 

 Extenii, i, 271. John son of Adam de 

 Chorlev occurs in 1375 ; Marl. MS. 2112, 

 fol. 7S;i20. 



One Henry the Miller had sons Ellis 

 and John, granting lands to them ; ibid. 

 fol. 76/118. A H'l^h '.on of Hcnr)' wa* 

 a free tenant in I2S:S, paymg a quit-rent 

 of 13^/. ; Land. Inp and Extf.r'^ i, 271. 

 Henry son of Hugh de Chorlry granted 

 to Ellen daughter of Robert H.imond all 

 his lands in Chorley and elsewhere \ 

 Harl. MS. 2112, fol. 7Sh^7' Henry 

 son of-Hugh and Ellen his wife were in 

 i;oi adjudged to have disseised the four 

 daughters of William Scot of Chorley of 

 certain land and half a messuage in the 

 township ; Assize K. 419, m. 12. 



About the same time Alice daughter of 

 Henry son of Herbert dc Ch:rley com- 

 plained that Richard de Lothburgh, chief 

 lord of the place, and others had diiseised 

 her of common of pasture in 24 acres, &c., 

 in Chorley, and had raised a hedga so 

 that she could no longer go straight to 

 her common of pasture ; ibid. m. 11; 

 41 S, m. 4. Henry son of Herbert was a 

 free tenant in 1288, paying a rent of 4^.; 

 Lanes. !nj. and Erte-.'^ i, 2"l. He may 

 have been the Henry dc Chorley who, 

 together with WiLliam his son and others, 

 was a defendant to a claim for dower by 

 Synth widow of John Ic Walker ; De 



Banco R. 21, m. 4 d. Robert son of 

 Herbert de Chorley granted his brother 

 Richard 7 acres of land with common of 

 pasture, Scc.j at a peppercorn rent j Harl. 

 MS. 21 12, fol. 75/117. 



^ Ellis son of Hcnn- the Miller has 

 been named in the last note. Ellis son 

 of Henry dc CiktIcv was a surety in 

 I 276 ; Assize R. 40;, m. 4d. In i 336 

 William son of William son of William 

 dc Chorley granted to John snn of Ellis 

 de Chorley land between the lands of 

 Cecily his father's widow nnd Richard 

 his brother j ibid. In 1 360 Cecily widow 

 of William son of William de Chorley 

 gave lands to her daughter Ellen, heir of 

 the said Wi'.liam ; ibid, fol, y^bjiiyb. 

 Two years later Cecily and Ellen appear 

 tn have sold all the inheritance to Agnes 

 widow of John son of Ellis de Chorley 

 and William the son of John j ibid, fol. 

 76/1 1 S. In a pleading of 1 349 John son 

 of Ellis de Chorley had complained that 

 Cecily widow of William Hcrbertson of 

 Chorley had broken into his houses, &c,, 

 by force and arms and had carried his 

 goods away ; Dc Banco R. 3 56, m, 281 d. 

 Herbcrtson here seems used as a sur- 

 name. 



John son of Ellis dc Ch.rley is found 

 claiming messuages, &c, in Chorley in 

 1345 against Ellen widow of Henry 

 Hudle:ton (? Huddeson) and various 

 others ^ ibid, 343, m. 354d. 



® There were contemporaries William 

 son of John and William son of Ellis. 

 Thus in continuation of the case cited in 

 the last note William son of John son of 

 Ellis de Chorley in 1353 claimed a mes- 

 suage, &c, held by a minor William son 

 of Ellis dc Chorley, which he alleged had 

 been given by one John son of Henry dc 

 Chorley to the said John son of Ellis In 

 the time of Edward I. Plaintiff alleged 

 that Ellen widow of Henry Huddeson 

 gave the same to the defendant while his 

 father Ellis was still living ; Assize R. 

 435, m. 5 d. The property was after- 



134 



wards restored to William son of Ellis ; 

 Harl. MS. 2112, fol. 75/117. 



Willi.im son of John dc Chorley occurs 

 also in 1357; Z)c/>. Keeper's Rep. xxxit, 

 ^PP* 34S- ^" '359 John son of Ellis 

 de Cliorlcy mn-lc a fcoifment of lands in 

 Chorley which he had received from his 

 son William; Harl. MS. ZII2, fol, 

 y^bjiiyb. Agnes the widow of John in 

 the same year made a settlement of three 

 messuagesi 44 acres of land and 4 acres 

 of meadow in Chorley, the remainder 

 being to William dc Chorley ; Final Cone. 

 ii, 160. 



' Harl. MS. ziu, fol. 77/119. 



* Ibid. 



» Ibid. 



'" Lich. Epis. Reg. v, fol. 1 1;, 23. 



" Harl. MS. 2112, fol. 774/119*. A 

 seal attached to one deed shows a cheveron 

 between three flowers with the legend 



'SIG. WILLI. Die CHORLEGH.' 



"' Final Cone, ii, 182. William de 

 Chorley was in 1374 accused of extor- 

 tion ; Coram Rcge R. 45;, Rex m. 2. 



" Chorley Sur'v. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Chcs.), 4. The same feoffees gave 

 William de Chorley a moiety of their 

 chapel below the high altar steps in 

 Chorley Church ; ibid. 5. 



'* It is possible that William de Chorley 

 had incurred a forfeiture and that the 

 lords of the manor — acting by Hcpwall 

 and Bourchier — took advantage of it to 

 charge the messuages, Ac, restored to 

 him with the rent of 20j. due from them 

 to the lords of Croston in addition to the 

 old i-^d. due from Hugh son of Henry in 

 1288. Henry de Standish, the first of 

 the witnesses, died in 1396. 



'^ Dep. Keeper', Rep. xl, App. 52 1 -2. 



"Harl. MS. 21 12, fol. 78/120. Roger 

 son of William de Chorley is often named 

 in the charters ; also Thomas de Chorley, 

 rector of Brindle, a feoffee. 



" Final Cone, iii, 36. It is uncertaio 

 whether 'the elder' can identify William, 

 for it is possible that William the father 



