A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



and duchy of Lancaster, became part of the Crown's 

 possession , and after several grants, including one 

 made in 14^1 to Thomas Molyneux,^ was sold hy 

 Henry VIII in 1545 to Thomas Fleetwood for 

 £60^ 6s. 8d',2 About fifty years later it was sold 

 to Sir Richard Molyneux,^ descending like Sefton 

 until it was alienated in 1729 to pay off charges and 

 debts> 



Sar=cow appears to have been held by the Tunstall 



family in the 14th century.* Other surnames occur- 

 ring in the earlier pleadings, &c., are Shurvington, 

 Rawe, Whithalgh and Whittingham, but no detailed 

 account can be given of these families.*^ 



In the 1 6th century there were disputes as to the 

 manor courts.*^ 



Cockersand Abbey^ had some land in the township. 



Of the minor families of Eccleston one at least 

 bore the local name,^ but the Dicconsons, afterwards 



The manor of Ting^reave is mentioned 

 in a Barton settlement of 1652 ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 152, m. 6y. It 

 was sold by Lord Fauconbcrg in i~2i to 

 John Thornton -^Prestin Guardian S'^-e-ch^^^ 



733- 



*Ingrave' Farm, Eccleston, was some 

 time ago sold by the Rev. W. Michell to 

 the late W, H. Talbot 



It is situated in New Lane to the 

 north-west of the church, and is a modem 

 building of no particular interest ; but the 

 site is old, and is inclosed on all sides by 

 the line of a square homestead moat. 

 Sec y.CH. Land, ii, 548. 



' The manor of Uincs Walton and half 

 the manors of Ecclcstf n, Leyland, Heskin 

 and KcUamergh, Ac, were in Apr. 1+81 

 given by Edward IV tn Thomas Moly- 

 ncux and the heirs male of his body, with 

 the proviso that if at the end of seventeen 

 years the king should pay as much as the 

 grantee had expended on the premises he 

 might recover p ^session \ Diuhy of Lane. 

 Misc. Bks. Aix, pp. 20, 21. Thomas 

 Molyneux died two years later, and the 

 grant is recorded in the inq. p.m. ; Lanes. 

 Inp p.m. (Chct. Soc), ii. i 18. 



The grant was prohnbly revoked, for 

 in the act of resumption of 1485 half 

 the minors of Eccleston and Heskin were 

 reserved to Thomas and Agnes Wolton, 

 farmers of them ; Pari. R. vi, 382. 

 A new lease of the manors of Lines 

 W.Jton, Ecclc't' n, Heskin, Lcyland and 

 Kellamcrgh was made by the king in 

 1487 to Sir Thomas Wolton and James 

 his son ; in 1502 the same manors were 

 leased to William Wall (rector of Eccles- 

 to'ij, in 1505 to Henry Farington, and 

 in 1 5 14 to Henry Farington and William 

 his son and heir; Duchy of Lane. Misc. 

 Bk?. xxi, pp. a/54d., 57d,, 59d. jxxii, 



P-33- 



' Ibi \. xxii, p. 2 10. The manors of 

 Eccleston and Hr^^kin, except advowsons, 

 were included. 



Thomas Fleetwood and Brilpet his wiic 

 made purchases and sales in Eecleston, 

 Heskin and the neighbourhood ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. i ;, m. 268 ; 14, 

 m. 91 ; 17, m. 1^4 ; 23, m. 65 (a acttle- 

 ment\ At his death in i>~6 Thomas 

 Fleetwood of Rossall, &c., held the manors 

 of Eecleston and Heskin, with lands 

 there, of the queen as of her duchy by 

 the fortieth part of a knight's fee ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. xii, no. 2, These 

 manors were among those settled on the 

 second son William. Some port'ons of 

 the estate were sold and settlements of 

 the manor of Eccleston were made by 

 William Fleetwood and Jane his wife in 

 1590 and 1591 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdle. i;2, m. 58 ; 53, m. zS". 



^ The fine last mentioned was pro- 

 bably in connexion with the sale, for it 

 and a transcript of the accompanying re- 

 covery are among the Croxteth D. (bdle. 

 H). There does not seem to be any 

 rfC' -d of the sale, but from that time the 

 Molyneux family appear to have been sole 

 lurjs of the manor. There is a court 



roll for Eccleston and Heskin, dated 

 1594, at Croxteth ; H, 5. 



The manors of Eccleston and Heskin 

 are named in the inquisition after the 

 death of Sir Richard Molyneux of Sefton 

 in 162^, but the jury did not know the 

 tenure ; Lanes. In:f. p.m. (Rec Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), iii, 390. A similar statement 

 was made after the death of Lord Moly- 

 neux in 16^6, and the manors were 

 usuTuy enumerated in family settlements ; 

 e.g. Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 104, 

 no. 18. 



* In accordance with a Private Act 

 ■• Geo. II, cap. 9. The manor and lands 

 were probably sold in parcels. In a fine 

 of 1803 respecting parcels in the (former 

 Molyneux) manors of Eccleston, Heskin, 

 &c., the deforciants were Samuel Fleet- 

 wood and wife, Margaret Warren widow, 

 Naney Lowes widow, John Gosnell and 

 wife, S.-imucl Warren, Thomas Wiatt and 

 wife, William Wainwritrht and wife, and 

 Tryphosa Johnson "ipinstcr; Pat.ofLanc. 

 Plea R. Lent A^jizcs, 43 Geo. III. 



* The messuage called Sarscow (Sare- 

 scogh) is named in 14^1 ; Dep. Keeper's 

 Rep. xl, App. 1^29. It had been the 

 property of T.^omas \\'aywarH, who in 

 1374 was defendant to a claim for dower 

 made by Cecily widcw of Thomas dc 

 Tunstall; De Banco R. 4^3, m. 338d. 

 Thomas son of Roger dc Tunstall in \ \^\ 

 claimed a messuage and land against 

 Richard de Hale and Aliee his wife. He 

 stated that his father had given the premi- 

 ses to another son Ralph, whose daughter 

 Margaret died without is-^ue, whereupon 

 the plaintiff should have succeeded; Duchy 

 of Lane. Assize R. 3, m. 8 d. Roger de 

 Tunstall was defendant in i H4' Agnes 

 widow of Thomas dc Goldicar claiming 

 dower ; De Banco R. 338, m. 1 18. Earlier 

 still, in 1323, Henry de Tunstall and Joan 

 his wife were tenants of a moiety of the 

 manor ; Assize R. 425, m. 6. Master 

 Ralph dc Tunstall v.-,ij in 1324 allowed 

 to have a messuage, 56 acres of land, 

 and 6 acres of mca^:' w in Eccleston, 

 which he had acquired from M.irgery 

 widow of Adam Bana^tre without the 

 king's licence. They were held of the 

 king in chief as parcel of the manor of 

 Bolton and wapentake of Eccle<itoa ; Inq. 

 a.q.d. file 182, no. 6 (19 Edw. II) ; CaL 

 Pat. 1324--, p. 185. 



® In I 2S4 Thomas de Tunstall acknow- 

 ledged the right of William de Shurencton 

 to a mesE'jagc and land in Eccleston ; 

 Assize R. i26S,m. 12 d. William de Dacre 

 and Joan his wife made an exchange of 

 lands with William de Shurvington, from 

 which it appears that the latter's surname 

 was derived from lands in Eccleston ; 

 Piccope MSS. iii, p. 3, no. 259. William 

 de Shurrinton was in 13 10 one of the 

 defendants to claims for dower made by 

 Robert de Molyneux and his wife Anabil, 

 widow of Richard dc Goldicar ; De Banco 

 R. 1S2, m. 211 d. ; 183, m. 260 ; 195, 

 m. 152. Richard Germain of Miwdeslcy 

 in 1339 transferred to his son Thomas all 

 the lands he had acquired from Robert dc 



16^ 



Shurvinton in the vill of Eccleston in the 

 hamlet of Heskin ; Townclcy MS. DD, 

 no. 218. 



For Whilhalgh sei- Lanes, and Ches. Rec, 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 329. 



GeofTrey son of Adam de Whittingham 

 was in 1309—10 found to have held a 

 messuage, &c., of Adam de Walton by a 

 rent of %{i. ; Inq. p.m. 3 Edw. II, no. 1 1. 



An exchange, by which Henry de 

 Whittingham (son of Warinc) gave his 

 land in Whittingham to his brother Adam 

 in return for an oxgang of land in 

 Eccleston, may concern the Walton 

 amily ; Townclcy MS. DD, no. 1885. 



John de CoppuU had three messuipc^ 

 Arc, in Eccleston and Heskin settled on 

 his issue hy Emma his wife in 1388, with 

 remainder to the heirs of Maud wife of 

 John de Chisnall, who was in possession ; 

 Final Cone, iii, 3 1. 



'In 1511 Richard Tomlinson of 

 'Cersco' (Sarscow) complained that having 

 received his tenement from Sir Thomas 

 Wolton, formerly bailiff, he had been 

 disseised by Henr\' Farington, the present 

 bailiff. Arthur Phntagenct complained 

 that Farington had distrained some of his 

 tenants and had kept a court in Eccleston 

 unknown to him. The reply was that 

 the court * was warned in the church on 

 n Sunday' to be held the following Wed- 

 nesday, according to custom, but Richard 

 Tomlinson (tenant of Arthur Plantagenet) 

 had warned others not to appear, assert- 

 ing that no court ought to be held 

 unless the f^tf-ward of the lord of Bradley 

 was present with the king's steward 

 and took half the profits. From the 

 depositions it appeared that the old 

 custom was for the king's steward or 

 farmer to take the profits of one court 

 and Lord Daere's representative to take 

 those of the succeeding court. The mill 

 stood upon the common and the king had 

 half the rent, the other half going to the 

 lord of Bradley. See Duchy of Lane. 

 Dep. Hen. VIII, ix P, i-ig. 



Mary widow of Sir Thomas Seymour 

 in 1 548 complained that Sir Henry 

 Farington had caused the courts to be held 

 in the name of the king only, instead of 

 in the names of the two lords as formerly. 

 He replied that in 1496-7 the court was 

 held in the king's name, for he, as steward, 

 had been ordered to summon the tenants 

 to take oath at the court that they would 

 wear no other badge than the red rose, 

 and would be ready to serve the king. 

 The next year's court had been held jointly 

 in the names of the king and Edmund 

 Dudley ; ibid. Edw. VI, Iii, S I. 



^ Coekersand ChartuL (Chet. Soc), ii, 

 494-8. The grants were made probably 

 between 1180 and 1210 by Avicc de 

 Walton and Adam her son. The place- 

 names include Elminrode, Crocgreffeld, 

 Safcrscohc (Sarscow) and Linlandi be- 

 tween Southbrook and Yarrow. 



^ Some deeds of the family have Dccn 

 preserved by ICuerden (iii, E 4, 5), Adam 

 ton of Stephen dc Eccleston gave land to 

 Adam son of the grantor's ion William. 



