LEYLAND HUNDRED 



STANOISn 



merton of Hellifield Peel in Yorkshire, and the 

 estate descended for some time in the family.^ 



BLJINSCOUGH gave a surname to one of the 

 local families,* but the principal estate was that of 

 the Worthingtons, probably a branch of the manorial 

 family settling there early in the 14th century.' 



Richard Worthington of Blainscough died in 

 December 1526 holding messuages and lands in 

 Coppull of Edward Earl of Derby in socage by the 

 rent of a pair of white gloves yearly, or irf*., and 

 others in the same place o\ Richard Worthington of 

 Worthington by a rent of 2s. He also held lands 

 in Brindle and Turton. Peter, his son and heir, 

 was twelve years old/ Peter died in 1578 owning 

 a somewhat increased estate ; the lands in Coppull 

 were held of the Earl of Derby by a rent of 2s. 9^. 

 and a pair of gloves, and of Edward Worthington by 

 a rent of 2// Richard, the son and heir, was forty 



years of age ; he died in i 590, leaving a son Thomas, 

 twenty-three years old.'' 



After a temporary conformity on the accession of 

 Elizabeth the family became distinguished by a 

 resolute adherence to Roman Catholicism. Thomas 

 Worthington, son of Peter, educated at Oxford' and 

 then at Douay, came on the English mission in 

 157S, thus arousing his father's opposition. He was 

 betrayed* and sent to the Tower in 1584, and 

 banished the following year. In 1599 he became 

 president of Douay and caused a disturbance by 

 his subservience to the Jesuits. He went to Rome, 

 but returned to England in 1 6 1 6 and died at 

 Biddulph in 1626, having just previously entered 

 the Society of Jesus.* The adventures of his four 

 nephews, who fell into the hands of Bishop Chad- 

 derton, but afterwards made their way abroad, provide 

 an interesting story."' 



Soc), 247-8. He married as his second 

 \\^fe Elizabeth Playters in 1671 ^Chesters, 

 Load. Mge. Lie. With her he had the 

 manor of Pirleston alias Prilleston alias 

 Billingford, Norf., with the advowson 

 of the church, and in 1693, after her death, 

 a settlement was made by Sir Edward 

 Chisnall, William his son and heir- 

 apparent (by Elizabeth) ; Agecroft deeds, 

 370. In the following year an assign- 

 ment of the manor of Chisnall and the 

 other lands in Lancashire was made by 

 the son and heir William 5 ibid. 364. 



In 1726 a settlement of the manor of 

 Chisnall was made by Sir Edward 

 Chisnall, with remainders to William 

 and Edward his sons, and to John Ham- 

 merton his grandson (son of Anne, Sir 

 Edward*8 daughter by his first marriage). 

 All three succeeded in turn by 1738. 

 Sir Edward also had a daughter by his 

 second marriage, and she was twice 

 married, having children by both husbands ; 

 ibid. 365. 



^ Pink and Beaven, loc. cit. 



There was a recovery of the manor of 

 Chisnall and lands in the parishes of 

 Standish, Eccleston, Wigan and Bolton 

 in 1 772, James Hammerton being a 

 vouchee 5 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 615, 

 m. II. 



James Hammerton of Hellifield Peel 

 was the owner about 1836 ; Baines, 

 Lanes, (ed. i), iii, 516. Chisenhall 

 Hamerton owned it in 1 849 ; Raines in 

 Notitia Cestr. ii, 395. 



2 Richard son of Orm de Blainscough 

 granted Whitecroft and the Wra in Blain- 

 scough to John de Ingol ; a rent of I2£/. 

 was to be paid to Thomas de Coppull and 

 his heirs. He added other land, for which 

 ^d, a year was due to Thomas de Wright- 

 ington ; Towneley MS. DD, no. 1488. 



Aimery widow of Roger son of Isabel 

 de Bleynescowe in 1281 claimed dower 

 in messuages and land in Worthington 

 against Henry son of Henry de la Lee. 

 William de Worthington was called to 

 warrant ; De Banco R. 42, m. 22 d. ; 45, 

 m. 6 d. ; 47, m. 13. 



From a 17th-century abstract of the 

 Worthington of Blainscough deeds (in 

 the possession of W. Farrer) it appears 

 that Adam de Blainscough made a grant 

 of land in the place to Thomas his son ; 

 Adam son of Adam de Blainscough gave 

 to Adam son of Robert the Tailor of 

 Lathom all the land he had In the vill of 

 Worthington in Blainscough in 131 1; 

 Henry son of Adam de Blainscough made 

 a grant in 1326, while three years pre- 

 viously John son of Henry de Blainscough 



gave land called Newhey in the hamlet 

 of Blainscough to Henry son of William 

 the Woodward and Amery his wife. 

 Henry son of Adam also occurs in grants 

 from 1344 to 1346. 



^ William de Worthington was in pos- 

 session of Blainscough about 1340. It 

 does not appear how he was connected 

 with the Worthingtons of Worthington ; 

 about the same time there was a William 

 son of William and a William son of 

 Robert. The latter was probably the 

 founder of the Blainscough family. Robert 

 son of William de Worthington is named 

 in the account of Worthington. In 1332 

 William de Worthington and * William 

 8on of Robert ' contributed to the subsidy 

 in the township ; Exch. Lay Subs. 49. 



Various charges were made against 

 William de Worthington, coroner, in 

 1343 ; Assize R. 430, m. 28. 



The following notes are from the 

 abstract referred to above: William Gerard 

 and his wife granted land in Brindle to 

 William de Worthington, Isabel his wife 

 and Thomas their son in 1339. To a 

 Blainscough deed of 1344 William de 

 Worthington and Robert de Worthington 

 were witnesses. Thomas de Coppull in 

 1350 gave all his lands to Thomas son of 

 William de Worthington, and the same 

 Thomas occurs in other deeds down to 

 1384. He received licence for his oratory 

 at Blainscough in 1388 ; Lich. Epis. Reg. 

 vi, fol. 124. He had a brother Nicholas, 

 and Nicholas de Worthington and 

 others (probably trustees) in 13 84 granted 

 lands in Turton, &c., to Thomas de 

 Worthington the elder and Ralph his son. 

 There was a recovery of the lands of 

 Ralph de Worthington in 1396-7. A 

 Richard de Worthington, who seems to 

 have married Alice daughter and heir of 

 Henry de Bretherton, occurs in 1405 and 

 1413. In 1434-5 a settlement of land 

 in Wrightington was made by Ralph de 

 Worthington and Joan his wife, the 

 remainders being to Gilbert, Edward, 

 Eleanor and James, perhaps younger 

 children. A more general one was made 

 by Ralph in 1439-40, and the feoffees 

 regranted the lands to Henry de Worth- 

 ington and Katherine daughter of William 

 de Heaton, (It seems probable that 

 Henry was son of Richard and grandson 

 of Ralph.) 



The recorded pedigree (Fisit. of 1567, 

 p. 77) begins with this Henry, The 

 abstract shows that in 1447-8 he made a 

 feoffment of his lands, &c., in Coppull, 

 Worthington, Brindle, Turton, Glaze- 

 brook and Wrightington. His son Peter, 



227 



who married Joan d;iughter of Richard 

 Lawde of Preston, occurs in 1461 and 

 1475, and was living in 1505-6, when 

 he contracted Richard, his son and heir, 

 in marriage with Alice daughter of John 

 Ashton of Bamfurlong. The marriage 

 may not have taken place. According tu 

 the visitation pedigree Richard's wife was 

 Agnes daughter of Henry Rishton, In 

 1 5 14 Richard and Agnes made a settle- 

 ment of their estate, and Peter his son 

 was in 1520 contracted to marry Isabel 

 daughter of James Anderton of Euxton. 



With Richard the inquisitions p.m. 

 begin. 



'* Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vl, no. 52. 



^ Ibid, xii, no. 18. He appears to 

 have conformed outwardly to the estab- 

 lished religion. A pedigree was recorded 

 in 1567. 



^ Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xv, no. 27. 

 In 1584 it was reported to the queen's 

 ministers that *Mr. Worneton, he keeps 

 a Jesuit In his house which is his brother, 

 and mass openly is said in his house ' ; 

 Gibson, Lydiate Hall^ p. 227 (from S.P. 

 Dom. Eliz. clxxv, no. 21). He is said to 

 have died a prisoner for religion. 



^ Brasenose College, B.A. 15705 

 Foster, Alumni. 



^ He was taken at the house of a 

 friend, Richard Wood of Islington, grand- 

 father of Anthony a Wood, the Oxford 

 antiquary. The Worthingtons attributed 

 his capture to treachery. 



^ See Wood's Athenae Oxon. ; Diet. 

 Nat. Biog. ; Foley's Records S. J. Ii, 104- 

 10 \ vii, 866 ; and Gillow*s Bibl. Diet, 

 of Engl. Cath. V, 595. In 1613 he joined 

 the Oratory of St. Philip Neri at Rome. 

 He published several volumes, 



^^ The story is told, probably with 

 some exaggeration, in Bridgewater's Con- 

 certatio (1594), translated in Foley's 

 Records S. J. ii, 116-32. Their names 

 were Thomas (the heir), Robert, Richard 

 and John. Thomas and John escaped 

 from prison, but the former was captured 

 at Islington with his uncle and imprisoned 

 again. Robert was rescued by a trick, 

 while being conveyed to prison at Chester, 

 and Richard was allowed to go free. In 

 the same work (ii, 75-94) is an account 

 by John Worthington, who became a 

 Jesuit in 1598, of his capture and treat- 

 ment by the Parliamentary soldiers in the 

 Civil War; he died in 1652, then on 

 parole. A younger brother Lawrence 

 also became a Jesuit in 1599, and worked 

 on the English mission ; he was banished, 

 biit returned for a time. For these and 

 others of the family see ibid, vii, 864, &c. 



