A HISIORY OF LANCASHIRE 



eastern side of the road leading between Blackburn 

 and Showley. His son, variously called Henry do 

 Honford and Henry son of William de Boseden, 

 enfeoffed Henry son of Adam de Blakebum of land 

 called Le Konywe and other contiguous lands on the 

 western side of the forest of Ram?greave.'^ These 

 lands descended in the families of Blakeburn, Rad- 

 cliffe and Walmsley of Showley, as described in the 

 account of that mesne manor. 



A family bearing the local name held half the 

 manor from the Honfords. William de Mellor 

 occurs at the beginning of the reign of Henr^' III, and 

 Richard in 1246 and 1252. Hugh de Mellor gave 

 to Henry son of Adam de Blakeburn the service of 

 Richard de Mellor for land called Hauekechae 

 (Hawkshaw), and was father of Robert living in the 

 time of Edward I. '^ On 13 September 12S2 he 

 resigned his manorial rights to Sir John Deuyas by 

 deed made at * Hendouyr ' in Wales, and attested by 

 William le Botiler, William de Lamare, Henry le 

 Botiler, William son of Richard le Botller, John de 

 Sothul, Robert de Lathum and Thomas de Autrey, 

 knights, Gilbert de Sothworth, Nicholas de Lee, 

 Richard de Mulyncus, Warine dc Clayton, Robert de 

 Bold, Roger Bannstre, William de Linton, Adam de 

 Hlndlcy, William de Singilton, Daykin de Hulton 

 and Thomas the clerk, then serving in the Welsh 

 campaign." Robert had issue John and Henry. 

 The former was party with John Deuyas, as chief 

 lords of Mellor, to many suits and cross-suits at 

 Lancaster assizes in 1292 with Henry de Blakeburn 

 of Mellor, touching the inclosure of woodlands and 

 waste, felling of trees and roads made.'' Robert 



eldest son of John, living in 1304, was the father of 

 William, living in 1336 ; Williamson of William de 

 Mellor, who sold Smithicroft to John Southworth, kt., 

 in 1 40 1, appears to have been the last local repre- 

 sentative of the elder line of this family." In 1336 

 the free tenants of the manor were William de Hun- 

 tingdon, Dame Matilda de Holand, John de Coppcd- 

 hurst, William de Shorrock, Henry de Haukeshagh, 

 Robert and Adam de Blakeburn." 



SHORROCK GREEN. The family of Shorrock 

 appear here at an early date. William and Henry, 

 sons of Roger de Shorok, occur about 1 300. Richard 

 de Shorrok was one of the largest contributors to the 

 subsidy of 1332/' William his son was a freeholder 

 herein 1336. John de Shorrok contributed to the 

 poll tax of 1379 ' ^"^ ^*^ ^^" ^"*^ ^^'^ William was 

 in possession of * Old Shorock ' in Mellor in 141 i." 

 Geoffrey Shorock made his will before witnesses in 

 1459. For a long period the descent of the estate 

 cannot be traced, but ultimately it passed to the 

 family of Clayton of Blackburn." 



Other freehold estates are : Arley, the property 

 of the Aspden family in the 1 6th and i 7th centuries " ; 

 Abbot House, held by the Abbot family for nearly 

 200 years, and sold by the last possessor, owing to 

 reduced circumstances, to Mr. Sudell of Woodfold 

 Park towards the end of the 18th century. The 

 house had clay floors both below and above, large 

 open fireplaces, soot-lofts and open chimneys, inner 

 walls with vertical and cross-posts filled in with 

 * raddle and daub,' and a newel staircase." For 

 more than two centuries the family of Ward" were 

 freeholders here, the last possessor, George Ward, 



meadow, loo ncrcs pasture, 40 acres wood 

 in Mellor ; Dc Banco R. 257, m. 252. 



» Kuerden fol. MS. (Chet. Lib.), 188 ; 

 Townt-ley MS. GG, no. 1087^1. In a third 

 gr.^nt by Henr>' de Honford to Henry de 

 Blakeburn the boundary began at Blake- 

 broc, ascended Decrcshawe to its head, 

 followed the division of the forest of 

 RamsgreaTC to the highway upon the 

 Ed^e, BO \\estward to the cross stand- 

 ing on the Edge on the road leading 

 fri>m Showley to Blackburn, thence north- 

 ward tow.irds Shnwic\ {<■ :\m sykc at the 

 lower head of Stainlaw, and so Into 

 niakebroc ; GG, no. 1133; Kuerdcn 

 fol. MS. 74. He also released to Henry 

 the service of land called Hawkecha in 

 Mellor; Towneley MS. GG, no. 1062. 



»« Kuerden MSS. (ColL of Arms), iii, 

 C 8 ; Aisiz.e R. (Rcc. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), 19 ; MdrKfceifi, 266 ; Assize R. 

 408, m. 31. In 1292 John Deuyas 

 called Henry son of William de Bosedon 

 to warrant to him a messuage, an oxgang of 

 land and -j. ; A rent which Robert son of 

 Hugh de ^[ellor chimed. 



"Towneley MS. HH, no. 184^. 

 Hendwr lies half-way between Corwcn 

 and Bala ; here within a moat formerly 

 stood the stronghold of the barons of 

 Hendwr ; Gasiping Guide to If-'ala^ 74. 



In 1292 Robert son and heir of Hugh 

 de Mellor released his rights in Mellor to 

 Sir John Deuyas, lord of Mellor, who had 

 those lands, &c., by gift of Henry son of 

 William dc Boseden ; Towneley MS. 

 HH, no. 1820. 



In 1285 John Deuyas granted to John 

 son of Robert de * M.luir in Blakeburne- 

 shire ' the free state of pensioner, and 

 assured him in all actions which touch a 

 pensioner, for his homage and ser\ ice 

 which the Utter made for the half part of 



the town of M rllor \ Dod?. MSS. tiii, 

 fol. 25. Robert son and heir ol High dc 

 Melior gave all his lands in Mellor to Sir 

 John Deuyas, and John son of Robert 

 gave him half the mill of Mellor wiih 

 the suit of his tenants; Kuerden MS. 

 fol. 258-9. John son of Robert also 

 gave to Stanlaw Abbey the site for a tithe 

 barn in Thornecroft ; Robert son of 

 William dc Mellor also gave land for the 

 site of a barn in Linbottiscroft ; Whalley 

 Couch. 109-10. 



'" TiiL- two lords of M-'Uor in 1292 

 sued Alice de Shorrok, Adam de Hunte- 

 leye and Henry de Sholley for felling 300 

 oak trees price 40J. in their wood since 

 1284. Deuyas afterwards withdrew ; 

 Assize R. 408, m. 53 d. 



>^ Southworth D., Towneley MS. HH. 

 Robert son of John de M ilor alienated 

 to John Deuyas (i) the service of Henry 

 son of Roger de Shorrock, viz. ii.d. for 

 Okenheued ; (2) a plat called Blake- 

 melnecroft ; (3) the service of William 

 son of Henry de Scholley, viz. ig^/, for 

 a plat called Bacunfeld ; whilst John 

 Deuyas gave him the Hermit's ridding 

 and lands adjoining Boseburn and the 

 boundary of Balderston ; ibid. The same 

 Robert alienated to Nicholas Deuyas in 

 1298 in Richicroft 4 acres, in Blakemel- 

 necroft 3 acres, the service of Henry dc 

 Mellor, \d.^ the service of Alice de 

 Shorrock, \d,^ and of Henry son of Henry 

 de Scholley of <^d. ; ibid. 



*• Ibid. no. 1 74 1. 



31 Kuerden foL MS. (Chet, Lib,), 388 ; 

 Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), 83. 



2* Subs. R. Lanes, bdle. 130, no. 28 ; 

 Kuerden fol. MS. 246. 



A settlement was made on Wiilijm 

 Shorrok in 1395 upon his marriage to 



262 



Mnrgaret Hatighter and co-heir of Thomas 

 dc Werden, subject to the life estate of 

 William son of Adam de Huntingdon. 

 Thomas de Werden appears to have 

 married the heiress of the Huntingdon 

 family, who held lands here from the time 

 of Edward II, by fcofFmcnt of Robert de 

 Holand, John son of Robert dc McUor 

 and Gilbert dc Southworth ; Towneley 

 MSS. (Chet. Lib.), C 8, 13, T 235. 



In 141 1 John son of Thomas Layland 

 released to William son and heir of John 

 Shorrock his title to lands and tenements 

 called * Olde Shorrok* which John Shor- 

 rock had by his feoffment after the death 

 of Thomas Molyneux, and he himself 

 had by feofFmcnt of Margaret daughter 

 and heir of John Shorrock ; Towneley 

 MS, (Chet. Lib.), C8, 13, p. 843. 



^ Kuerden fol. MS. 379 j Abram, 

 Blackburn^ 59^-2 n. In 1 51 5 Ann 

 daughter of William Cotom married 

 Edward son of William Clayton and had 

 her jointure in lands here and in Oawald- 

 twiitle; Kuerden fol. MS. 75. 



'^^ John son of Robert de Mellor gave 

 to Roger son of Henry land bounded by 

 Elisburn at the lower side of Ereley, by 

 Elisburn sike, by land of Richard de 

 Untley on the north, by the long ridding 

 of Richard de Ereley, by Ereley spen and 

 Ereley merfht to the head of Ereley, and 

 BO by a circuit to the bank of Elisburn ; 

 Towneley MS. HH, no. 1848. 



'^^ Note by Mr. T. T. Wilkinson in 

 Hist, of Whalley (ed. 1876), ii, 399. 



^ In 1508 Charles son and heir of 

 John Bonk sold to John Southworth, kt., 

 his tenement bounded north by William 

 Balderston's tenement, cast by Sir John's 

 lanJ% south by Richard Stanley's lands, 

 south and west by the lands of Jamc. 

 Ward ; Towncl.y MS. HH, no, 1592. 



