A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Botelcr,^ and a century later Otes dc Halsall and the 

 heirs of Windle were returned as tenants.- In 1223 

 Robert de \ilers gave an oxgang of land in Hoole to 

 Walter de Hoole and Beatrice his wife, a rent of 2/. 

 being payable.^ This seems to be the land which 

 Adam de Walton held of the Earl of Ferrers in 

 1288 by the same rent.^ Before 1260, however, 

 the whole had been given to the Cistercian Abbey of 

 Merivale,^ probably by the Earl of Ferrers ® and 

 through his influence, and by the monks it was 



granted to the Walton family^ of Ulncs Walton. 

 After the partition of their estates it was held by the 

 Leghs^ nn^ the R-ulJiiFcs of Smithills,'* and to 

 descended (it ;c\eral centuries. 



The subsequent story is obscure. The Legh 

 moiety appears to be that now held by Lord 

 Lilford,^** while the other was sold to Andrew 

 Stones in 1638,^* and was afterwards acquired by 

 the Crook family/^ and may be that now held 

 by Mr. Richard Rainshaw Rothwel! of Sharpies. ^^ 



' Lana. Inq. and Extents ( Re c. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 147 ; probably the carl had 

 Robert de Vilers' share of Hoole. Hoole, 

 like Hesketh, was held by Robert de 

 Hephalc in 1324; Dods. MSS. cixjci, 

 foL 44, ^ FeuJ. Aidsy iii, 89. 



^ Final Cone. (Rec Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches,), i, 44. Robert granted to them 

 and the heirs of Beatrice common of 

 pasture for their beasts, wherever the 

 beasts of the free men of the town depas- 

 tured, but reserved the right to break up 

 a portion of the pasture, between the 

 water of Ascalon (Asland) and * la onif se/ 

 for the improvement of the manor ot H o'.c. 



* !n^. and Extents^ i, 169 j it was only 

 'a part of the \ill of Mucii Hoole.' The 

 2j. rent satisfied for :iil sfrvicea cxcrpt 

 jutnrc of the Serjeants. Nothing is said 

 of the tordihip of the abbey of Mcrivale. 



William dc Ferrers had In 1 27^ ordered 

 1"; n na> Banastre hii bailiff to put Master 

 Adam de Walton in seisin of the homages, 

 &c., of \\'iniam's free men in Much 

 H'-ole ; but John the Jud;c was to do 

 the suit he owed to the earl's court, and 

 c.inlc warJ, &c., were tn Vc rendered by 

 :lie tenants. See Dods. M ^S. cxlix, fol. ^b. 



* Firal Cone, i, 152 \ a quitclaim from 

 Robert dc Vilers to the Abbot of Mcri- 

 V If of all his interest in three plough- 

 lands in Much Hoole. The abbot and 

 h.i t'-Hjnt Adam le Wilton gave Robert 

 100 marks of f:..cr. 



Among the Croxcth D. arc a few 

 rclatin* to t!,i8 manor. Robert de Vilers 

 pave to Ra'ph S'-n of Henry de Ho -e 20 

 acres \\nich Robert's father had granted 

 to Hcnrj- for life, at a rent of \2J. \ 

 Ralph gave the land to the monks of 

 Men', ale, and his daughter Lett ice, in 

 her widowhood, released her right to. the 

 same. The charter of Ralph ton of 

 Henry L'vioth of Much Hoole was of 

 land * up to four-score acres ' at the 

 abbot's choice, reserving land of John de 

 la Mare, rights of wav, common pasture 

 (' when cnm and hay have been re- 

 moved '), &c. The monks might make a 

 mill and mill-pool, but should they icad 

 the mill stream through Ralph's land they 

 wcretomkc 3 reasonable exchange for 

 what they might take for the purp j:e, Con- 

 firmaton.- grants were made by Beatrice de 

 Hoole, daughter of Warinc de "V'llers, in 

 her widowhood (see 6ne quoted in a former 

 note), Richard the son and Richard the 

 brother of Robert le Waleys. These deeds 

 may be dated between 1232 and 12^7. 



There is little to recjri of the abbey's 

 connexion with Hoole. Probably this 

 was regarded as an appurtenance of their 

 manor of Altcar, as Hoole is not named 

 either in the Taxanon of 1291 or the 

 r^lor of isi$. 



* Agnes, wife of William de Ferrers 

 E.'irl of Derby, confirmed the gift of the 

 manor of M u ch Hoo! c made by her 

 husband ; Kuerten's foL MS. p. 130. 



■ Finji Cic. i, 152, Master Adam de 

 Walton in 1294 granted the manor to 



Adam de Walton, clerk, and his issue, 

 with remainder to Master Adam and his 

 heirs ; ibid, i, 178. The latter Adam in 

 1 301 was described as *of Much Hoole,' so 

 that probably he resided there. John de 

 Croft and Emma his wiie, widow of Adam 

 de Walton, claimed dower in a messuage 

 in Hoole in 1320 ; De Banco R. 235, m. 

 131 d. In the following year also there 

 was a dispute between Northlegh and 

 Croft as to Emma's dower in the manor 

 of Much Hoole; ibid, 238, m. 53. 

 Wiiljjm le Boteler of Warrington in 

 1325 claimed a third part of the manor 

 against Thurstan de Northlegh and 

 Margery his wife; ibid. 2^7, m. 83, 

 M irgery was siitcr and heir of Adam de 

 Walton, apparently the nephew of the 

 Adam oi Hoole. 



In 1346 William Abbot of Mcrivale 

 claimed the manor of Much Hoole against 

 M irgery widow of Thurstan de North- 

 legh (two-third-) and John de Croft and 

 Emma his wife (one-third in dower), 

 alleging that Robert de Okethorp, formerly 

 abb 't, had demised them to Master Adam 

 dc Walton without the assent and will of 

 his chapter ; Dc Banco R. 34'^, m. ^24 d. 

 A year later the charter granted to NListcr 

 Ad^im, son of Warinc dc Wj tr,n, was 

 produced and the abbot's cU.m Ijiled ; 

 ibid. ;^i, m. 84. An exception was 

 made as to 2^ ozgangs of land and 72 

 ac'^es J tl.cie M-irgcr)' said were not part 

 oj the grant by the abbot, and they may 

 h.ivc been the part of the manor held in 

 I zSS of W'j !iam de Ferrers. 



In 144^-6 Sir Ralph Radcliffc and 

 Pcicr Legh held in Hoole two plough- 

 lands, the rclut being 2Cj. ^ Duchy of 

 Lane. Rnijihts' Fees, bdle. 2, no. 20. 



" Sir Peter Legh of Bradley and Lyme, 

 who died m 152-, held land in Hoole of 

 tbc king as of his duchy of Lincaster ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 63. 

 His *on Peter is stated to have held it by 

 thcBi ■ t:ct!i part of a knight's fee ; ibid, vlii, 

 no. 10. It was held by Peter Legh, who 

 died a minor in 1642 ; ibid, xxix, no. 16. 

 Its history from this point is unknown. 



Mr. Beamont cites the following letter 

 from the steward among the Legh MSS. ; 



* 17 June 1646. The town of Hoole 

 hath been m'lc'i impoverished and until 

 Lathom Hou;e was delivered I could not 

 with safety send thither : bo that the 

 poorness of the people [and] neglect of 

 calling upon them for their rents, together 

 with these times of liberty and distrac- 

 tion, rendered them of that place incredi- 

 bly forgetful, and m.any would deny to 

 pay any rent.' See PTar in Lanes. (Chet. 

 Soc), p. 131. 



^ Ralph Radeliffe, who died in 1485, 

 held the lands in Much Hoole, but the 

 tenure was unknown ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p.m. iii, no. 12, 97, 



Andrew Barton died in 1549 holding 



* the manor' of Hoole, 51. \\d. rent, 

 twenty-six messuages, water-mill, &c., in 

 Hoole, of Lord Mountcagle in socage, by 



a rent of Sd. for all services ; ibid, ix, no. 

 27. His son Robert held 'half the 

 manor,' with messuages, windmill, Ac, 

 of Sir Richard Shireburne, by a rent of 6d. ; 

 ibid, xiv, no. 24 ; so also in xvii, no. 50. 

 The rent named may be part of the 21. 

 due from Adam dc Walton in 1288 to 

 the predecessor of Shireburne in the lord- 

 ship of the wapentake. 



The manor was included in Barton 

 settlements of 1610 and later; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdles. 75, no. 47 ; 111, 

 no. 24. 



'" Canon Raines affirmed in 1849 ttiat 

 no manorial rights then existed and that 

 no courts were held ; Notitia Cestr. (Clict. 

 Soe.), ii, 377- 



" Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 1;;, 

 no. 31. The deforciants were Hcnrv son 

 of Thomas Lord Faueonberg and Grace 

 (Barton) his \\irr, who had received them 

 from Sir Thomas Barton. From deeds 

 in the possession of W. Farrer it appears 

 that Andrew Stones settled the manor in 

 1647, with remainders to Mary his wife 

 (for life), John O \cn and issue by Mary 

 his wife, and Andrew Stones (son of Henry 

 brother of Andrew). Andrew died before 

 165 ^, when his widow Mary was the \\ite 

 of Thcophilus Haworth of Manchester, 

 and they released the manor to John 

 Owen, citizen and grocer of London. 

 Seisin was given * by the delivery of the 

 ring of the door of the capital messuage 

 and tenement and one clod of earth.' 



''' Sec the account of Abram. By fine 

 in 1664 Thomas Crook obtained the 

 manor of Much Hoole from John Owen 

 and Mary his wife ; PaL of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 172, m. 55. He also bought 

 the interest of Andrew and Mary, children 

 of Henry Stones, The purchase does not 

 seem to have been completed till 1697, 

 when Richard Crook son of Thomas was 

 in poss'.'^sion. 



In 1729 Thomas Yates and Lydia his 

 wife had a fifth part of the church of 

 Hoole ; ibid. bdle. 303. Two years later 

 a moiety of the manor and advowson was 

 held by Thomas Yates, Lydia his wife ; 

 Thomas Clayton, Abigail his wife ; John 

 Andrews, Abigail his wife ; Thomas 

 Summers, Margaret his wife ; Thomas 

 Heys and Isabel his wife ; ibid. bdle. 308, 

 m. 86. Mosshousc was part of the estate. 



'^ The founder of the family was the 

 Rev. James Rothwell, vicar of Dcanc 

 from 1712 to 1767, who amassed a large 

 fortune. His son the Rev. Richard 

 Rothwell, rector of Sefton from |-6^ to 

 1801, had by hts second wife Mjr\, 

 daughter of Roger Brantwood of Bolton, 

 a ion James born in 1765. He became 

 lord of Much Hoole as well as owner o( 

 Sharpies Hall, near Bolton, and died in 

 1824. He had a son Richard Rainshaw 

 Rothwell (d. 1890J, created Marquis de 

 Rothwell of the kin 'dom of Italy in 1S60 

 lor gifts to charities and to the revolu- 

 tionists ; and Ralph, whose son Richard 

 Rainshaw Rothwell succeeded his uncle. 



