BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



Brocholes." About the year 1275 Alexander de 

 Cuerdale, who had a house and free tenement here, 

 released his right in this ridding to Adam de Grim- 

 shagh," and Roger de Whalley son of Henry 

 having given to Stanlaw Abbey the site of a tithe 

 barn, with common right to take rushes or turves for 

 thatching, and wood for malcing the barn-walls and 

 an inclosing fence,^" granted his lands and tenements 

 here with the services of his free tenants to Roger 

 son of Richard de Alston." The estate held by the 

 Alston family descended in the same manner as one- 

 half of the manor of Alston, in the parish of Rib- 

 chester. Richard de Alston contributed to the 

 subsidy levied here in 1332, and probably the same 

 Richard in 1349 released his lands here with an 

 oxgang of land and his share of the lordship to John 

 de Barton and Dionisia his wife. In 1371 Barton 

 gave his lands here to Thomas his son.*' It is pro- 

 bable that this interest soon after passed to the South- 

 worths. 



About 1275 the Earl of Lincoln granted the fourth 

 part of the manor to William 

 de Samlesbury, kt.,*' so that 

 the whole of this moiety of 

 the manor became vested in 

 the Samlesbury family, and 

 was held by Nicholas Deuyas 

 and Robert de Holand, kt., 

 as heirs of Samlesbury, at the 

 earl's death in 1311," and 

 was subsequently divided be- 

 tween them. 



One-fourth part was settled 

 by fine made early in 1322, 

 recorded in 1332, upon Alan, 

 Robert and Thomas, sons of Sir Robert, successively," 

 and so descended with the other Lancashire posses- 

 sions of this family until they fell to the Crown by 

 the forfeiture of the Duke of Exeter and of the heirs 

 of Lovel respectively." The remaining fourth part 

 descended with Samlesbury in the Southworth 

 family. But in both cases manorial rights seem to 

 have been resigned or permitted to lapse, for at the 

 death of Thomas Southworth in 1432 his estate here 

 is coupled with estates in Mellor and Alston, the 

 whole being described as held of the Duke of Lan- 

 caster in socage by the yearly service of 4_f. ddP On 

 the other hand, the inquest taken after the death of 

 Geoffrey Osbaldeston, who died in 1475, refers to 

 the latter as holding the manor of ' Derwind ' of 

 Richard Langton, esq., by fealty and a yearly rent of 

 7/.'' ; so also in subsequent inquests taken after the 

 death of the heads of both families. 



In the time of Henry VI there was variance 

 between the two families touching their respective 



^^ 



Samlesbury. Argent 

 a che^eron betiveen three 

 crossUts sable. 



Osbaldeston. ylr 

 gent a muscle sabU be tffec) 

 three pellets. 



BLACKBURN 



titles to the wastes and moors in the manor, and thii 

 was renewed in the time of Philip and Mary. In 

 1556 John Osbaldeston, esq,, 

 lodged a petition in the 

 Duchy chamber complaining 

 that John Southworth, kt., 

 had entered a parcel of waste 

 ground called ' Darwynd 

 Moore,' containing by esti- 

 mation 6,000 acres, had de- 

 pastured complainant's herbage 

 and had dug over 1,000 loads 

 of turves and carried them 

 away ; and notwithstanding 

 many requests that he would 

 disclose his title by showing 



his evidences, refused to do so. Southworth, in 

 reply, stated that Sir Thomas, his father, was law- 

 fully seised, together with Edward Earl of Derby, 

 by lawful conveyance of the fourth part of the manor 

 and moor. Depositions made on behalf of the com- 

 plainant showed that the manor and demesnes were 

 yearly worth ^^20 to complainant, but defendant's 

 lands were only of the yearly value of 30J. or there- 

 abouts ; that complainant's ancestors had always been 

 known as the only owners of the manor and waste, 

 and had kept their court at Over Darwen, to which 

 Sir John was called to appear, and his tenants-at-will, 

 Lawrence Gorton, Ralph Baron and Henry Ducks- 

 bury ; that complainant and his ancestors had ap- 

 pointed the constables within the lordship, had made 

 inclosures of the wastes without let, had caused the 

 waste to be driven and the beasts and cattle of 

 strangers dwelling out of the lordship to be ' pynden 

 or folden there in a pynfold ' belonging to com- 

 plainant, and had occupied the mansion place at 

 Over Darwen and the demesne of Darwen Hall in 

 severalty as sole tenants. On the other side it was 

 deposed that Ralph Holden, esq., had done service 

 to Sir John Southworth and his father ' because of 

 his libertie upon the waste and moor in varyance.' *' 

 The dispute was terminated in 1566 by the pur- 

 chase from John Southworth, kt., of five messuages, 

 320 acres of land, and a large extent of moor, de- 

 scribed as lying in Over Darwen and Osbaldeston.^" 

 Three years before, John Osbaldeston had also 

 acquired from Edward Earl of Derby six messuages, 

 180 acres of land, 540 acres of moor in Over 

 Darwen." In 1570 he also acquired two messuages 

 and lands here and in Entwistle from Edward 

 Tyldesley, esq.'' By these transactions he un- 

 doubtedly acquired a complete right to the moiety 

 of the manor originally vested in the Holands and 

 Southworths. In i;68 an agreement was made 

 between John Osbaldeston and Richard Grimshagh 



" The ridding lay on the upper side of 

 Brochol by the west side of Hoddisdene 

 broc and below Croueshah, adjoining land 

 of Robert de Whalley on the west and 

 of Henry de Grimshagh on the south ; 

 Towneley MS. DD, no. 1578. 



'^ Ibid. 1589. He derived his title 

 from Roger de Whalley. 



2» Wkalley Couch, i, 124. 



*' Towneley MS. OO, no. 1 54.5. 



^ Ibid. GG, no. 1004, 1106 ; South- 

 worth D. 



^ Kuerden MSS. !v, D 4. 



^* luq. p.m. 4 Edw. II, no. 51. 



*■ Final Cone, (Rec. Soc- Lanes, and 



Ches.), ii, 193 ; Inq. p.m. 23 Edw. Ill 

 (ist nos.), no. 58 ; 47 Edw. Ill (ist nos.), 

 no. 19. 



'^ Lanes. Incj. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 3. 

 Probably this fourth part was represented 

 merely by some trifling free rents, 



" Ibid. 46. In 1341 Gilbert de South- 

 worth let to farm to Adam de Turton for 

 life all his lands in Over Darwen for 

 looj. yearly rent; Kuerden MSS. iii, 

 D2, 



'^^ Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 109. 



'"Duchy of Lane Plead. Philip and 

 Mary, Ixxix, O 3 ; Rec. See. Publ. xl, 2og. 

 The dispute in the time of Henry VI 



271 



was between Richard Southworth and 

 Geoffrey Osbaldeston concerning the 

 waste. 



IK Pal. of Lane Feet of F. bdle. 28, 

 m. 219. ^' Ibid. bdle. 25, m. 14. 



3« Ibid. bdle. 32, m. 48. William 

 Leyland, kt., held a messuage here at his 

 death in 1547 of John Osbaldeston, esq. ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq, p.m. ix, 43. It 

 descended to Edward Tyldesley in right 

 of his wife Anne daughter and co-heir 

 of Thomas Leyland son and heir of Sir 

 William ; ibid, xiv, 10. The messuage 

 had probably belonged to the dissolved 

 monastery of Whalley, 



