A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



BURGH was the seat of a family of that name, of 

 whom there are many notices in the records.* In 

 1423, after the death of Robert Burgh, a partition 

 was made between his three daughters — Ellen, who 

 married Ralph Molyneux, Margaret wife of James 

 Standish of Arley, and another, who had married 

 Ric/.ard Ashton.* The descent of these fragments 

 cannot be traced clearly.^ The Standish of Arley 

 holding appears to have been sold in part to the 

 Standishes of Standish,* and in part to have been 

 acquired by a branch of the Rigby family.* Edward 

 Rigby of Burgh was a freeholder and a justice of the 

 peace in 1600,® and Alexander Rigby of the same 

 was one of the principal landowners in Duxbury in 

 1628.' This family took the king's side in the 

 Civil War, and Alexander Righy's estate was seques- 

 tered by the Parliament.^ Afterwards the chief 

 residence of the family was at Layton, near Blackpool. 

 His eldest son, Edward, is thought to have been 



killed in a Royalist attack on Bolton in 1643,* and 

 Edward's son Alexander was a cornet under Sir 

 Thomas Tyldesley in 1651.'" His son, another 

 Alexander, acquired a considerable fortune by 

 marriage and trade, and was high sheriff in 1 690-1." 

 He was made a knight in 1696.'* One of his ships 

 trading from Leghorn in 1696 attacked a French 

 vessel and captured it, and the Grand Duke of 

 Tuscany appears to have regarded this as an act of 

 piracy — though England and France were at war — 

 and put the captain in prison, only releasing him for 

 a heavy fine. This seems to have brought about 

 the ruin of the Rigby famil}', and Sir Alexander was 

 a prisoner in the Fleet in 171 3.'' Two years later 

 an Act of Parliament was passed authorizing the sale 

 of the estates.'* 



The family of Standish of Burgh recorded a pedi- 

 gree in 1613.^* They were probably descendants of 

 the Standishes of Shevington and were recusants.'* 



^ Siward de Duxbury and Hugh his 

 brother granted one Ralph de Standish a 

 part of their land in Duxbiin- called 

 Burgh, the bounds beginning at the south 

 at the ditch of Burgh, going north to 

 Wrm3tallB, eastward to Grccniache head, 

 and 80 by Abram's assart and the road 

 to the mill to the hill of P^ nicnton 

 by Yarrow, thence west by Ardan and 

 Lumsholvi head (between the Hurst and 

 the Carr) to the starting-point. A rent 

 of 2j. was to be paid \ Kuerdcn MSS. ii, 

 fol. 245, no. 1007. Among the witnesses 

 were Ralph de Standish and Richard son 

 of Ralph de Standish. 



Later Adam de Duxbury granted to 

 Henry de Worthington a moiety of the 

 land called Burgh occupied by John de 

 Burgh and Ellen ; and Henry son of 

 Adam de Duxbury released to Henry de 

 Burgh son of William de Worthington a 

 tenement in Duxbury ^ Kuerden MSS. 

 V, fol. 1 2 7. 



In 1292 Robert de B ir^-h complained 

 that a right of way in Duxbury was 

 obstructed by John de Biackbumshire, 

 Avice his wile, William son of Cecily de 

 Duxbur)', Mabel his wife, John de Angle- 

 zarke and Alice his wife \ but Mabel was 

 dead. She had held the way in common 

 with Avice, Cecily and Alice j Assize R. 

 40 8, m. 3 I d. 



Henry de Burgh in 1310 made a settle- 

 ment of his estate in Chorley and Dux- 

 bury, the remainder being to his son 

 \\'illiam and his issue by Joan his wife j 

 Final Cone, ii, 4. From a charter preserved 

 by Kuerden (loc. sup. cit.) it appears that 

 Joan was a daughter of William de Stan- 

 dish. William de Standish and William 

 de Burgh — apparently lords of the place — 

 contirmed to Henr}' Knoute an ' astrum ' 

 and common of pasture in Duxbury by a 

 charter dated at Duxbury in 1333 j Stan- 

 dish D. {Local GUan.)^ no. 23 ; see also 

 no. 25. Roger the Lewed and Margery 

 his wife in 1^46 claimed 10 acres in 

 Duxbury against Joan widow of William 

 de Burgh and Henry his son ; De Banco 

 R. 346, m, 264 d. Anabel del Carr in 

 1349 granted lands in Duxbury and 

 Adline^ton to Henry de Burgh ; Kuerden 

 MS. ii. fol. 245/', no. I ;40. 



Henry s.on of William de Burgh was de- 

 fendant in some otht-r pleas about the 

 same time ; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. i, 

 m. ;, vj, iij d. ; R. ;, m. vd. 



At Whitsuntide 1352 Ellen widow of 

 Robert son of Robert de Burgh did not 

 prosecute a claim against Richard son of 



Hugh de Standish \ ibid, z, m. j d. ; 6, 

 m. 4d. 



Robert de Burgh in 1398 secured per- 

 mission from John de CoppuU to make 

 an attachment and pond for his mill on 

 the Yarrow ; Standish D. (Mrs. Tem- 

 pest's abstriict;, no. 114. Robert son of 

 Htnry de Burgh occurs in 1402-3 in 

 connexion with Chorley ; Kuerden MSS. 

 V, fol. 122. 



* Stnndish D. {Local Glean.\, no. 1 1 1;. 



* Ralph Molyneux and Ellen his wife 

 In 1447 made a settlement of a messuage 

 and lands in Duxbury, Chorley and Cop- 

 pull, with the third part of two mills, &c.; 

 Final Cone, iii, 113. This Ralph was 

 of the Molyneux of Hawkley family j 

 I'niu 1567 (Chet. Soc), 108. In \^(:,y 

 Thomas and Jnhm Molyneux were con- 

 cerned in the estate ; Pal. of Lane. Fi.Lt 

 of F. bdle. 18, m. 28, Soon afterwards it 

 was ac<juired by Alexander Rigby, as will 

 be seen below. 



Richard Ashton and Margaret his wife 

 made .1 settlement of their share of the 

 tstntc in 1449, the remainder being to 

 William their son ; Final Conc.Vn^ 115, 

 These were the Ashtona of Bamfurlong, 

 near Wigan ; sec Ducarus Lane. (Rec. 

 Cnm.), i, 248; PaL of Lane. Writs Proton. 

 6 Edw, VL 



One of the Burgh subdivisions is per- 

 haps the estate held In 1550 by Robert 

 Legli, r.ibel his wife and John their son 

 and IiLir-.ipparent \ Pal. of Lane, Feet of 

 F. bdle. 14, m. 297. The son may be the 

 John Legh who in 1571 made a settle- 

 ment of his estate in Wc^thoughton, 

 Duxbury, Chorley and Hjndley in con- 

 junction with his son Robert and Anne 

 wife of Robert j ibid. bdle. 33, m. 49, 



* The Arley estate (see Blackrod) seems 

 to have come to Alexander Standish of 

 Standish by virtue of 2 grant made by 

 James Standish of Arley in 1513 ; Stan- 

 dish D. {Local Glean.)y no. 218, 281. 

 Edward Standish, who died In 1610, helda 

 capital messuage called the Burgh, with 

 land and wood, but it seems to have been 

 partly In Chorley ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 186. 



* The Rigby 5 appear In connexion with 

 Arley as early as 1483 ; Standish D. 

 {Local Glean.), no. 169, 189. 



Ralph Standish in 1531 purchased from 

 Christopher Rigby and Joan his wife a third 

 part of messuages, &c., in Duxbury and 

 Chorley which were Joan's right ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 11, m. 108. In 

 1561 Alexander Rigby acquired a mes- 



212 



suage, &c., in Duxbury from Thomas 

 Molyneux j Ibid, bdle. 23, m. 176. 

 Alexander Rigby of Arley appears in 

 1564; Standish D. {Local Glean.), no. 



As to the household of Alexander Rigby 

 of Burgh, a justice and clerk of the Crown, 

 it was reported that his wife, eldest son 

 and other children seldom or never came 

 to the church, and that one of his younger 

 sons had been * married by a mass priest 'j 

 Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 257 (from S, P. 

 Dom. Eliy., ccxl, no. 139). 



•^ Alnc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 244. He was fcodary and clerk of the 

 Crnwn, and in 1590 reported as * evil 

 given In religion ; no communicant j his 

 wife- never at the church' ; Lydiate Hall, 

 250, quoting S. P. Dom. Eliz. ccxxxv, 

 no. 4. For the family connexion with the 

 clerkship see Pal. Noh--boo{, iv, 143. 



' Misc. (Rec. Soc), i, 167. 



° Cal. Com. for Comp, ill, 1650 ; 

 he had been sequestered for acting as 

 commissioner of array. Fines amounting 

 tOj^38owere imposed in 1648-9. He 

 was removed from the commission of the 

 peace in 1642, and in the following year 

 raised men for the king in Cartmcl ; 

 Ci'uil PVar Tracti, 60, 149 j fVar in 

 Lanes. 16-18, 25. His sons Thomas 

 and Hugh entered St. John's Coll., 

 Camb., and one at least fought on 

 the king's side j Admissions to St. John^s 

 ^°^^' '» 5> 51 i ^'2'' '« Lanes. 22. 



Alexander Rigby died before 1651, when 

 his daughter Jane petitioned the County 

 Commissioners respecting the estate at 

 Layton in the Fylde ; Cal. Com. for 

 Cotfip. loc. cit. 



Pedigrees of the family will be found 

 in the Fisit. (Chet. Soc.) of 161 3 and 

 1664, and a full account with pedigree is 

 given in Fishwlck, Bispham (Chet. Soc), 

 94-105, from which later details in the 

 text have been taken. 



3 PFar in Lanes. (Chet. Soc), 22. 



^** Inscription on the Tyldesley monu- 

 ment at Wigan. 



" P.R.O. List, 73. 



*^ Shaw, Knights, ii, 269. 



^^ Fishwick, op. cit. He quotci an 

 account published in 1701. 



" Private Act, i Geo. I, cap. 45. 



*^ Visit. (Chet. Soc), 123. 



'^ Lawrence son of Thurstan Standish 

 of the Burgh, born in 1605, became a 

 Jesuit ; his sister Anne was one of the 

 Poor Clares at Gravelincs ; Foley, Rec, 

 S. J.y vii, 730. 



