A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Hill and other properties from his father, who had 

 received them as a provision from Richard de 

 Mol. neux lord of Sefton, his father." He also acquired 

 various small properties and in 1356 purchased from 

 his wife's relatives their life interest in this manor and 

 other settled estates." Thomas Molyneux, esq., con- 

 tributed to the poll tax of 1379," and the year 

 following received pardon at the instance of the Duke 

 of Lancaster with several of his neighbours for some 

 felony which he had committed, and in 1386 went 

 to Ireland in the retinue of Sir John de Stanley, kt." 

 The year following, on zo December, he was killed at 

 Radcot Bridge in Oxfordshire in the engagement in 

 which the king's favourite Robert de \'ere was de- 

 feated by the Earl of Gloucester.** His wife, by 

 whom he had no i; ue, survived him and was living 

 in 1394. His brother Richard died before 1368, 

 leaving issue by Leticia his wife Thomas, who married 

 Joan le Boteler and died without issue before 13SS. 

 Thomas de Molyneux had also two sisters, Emma 

 the wife of Richard son of Nicholas Blundell of 

 Croiby," who left no issue, and Katherine, who in 

 1336 had been married to .Alexander de OsbalJc^ton. 

 In accordance with his ■■.{]]" this manor, half the 

 mar.or of Over Danvcn and other estates descended 

 after the death "f his \vife to his sist' r Katherine, 

 then the wife of Thomas Banastre <ii Ojbaldeston, 

 and at her death ab<jut 1410 pass'-d to her grandson 

 Thomas Osbaldcstm, a:, stated in the account of 

 Osbaldeston. .About this time a mesne lordship of 

 the manor wa> created in favour of Henry Langton 

 of \\'illon-le-Da!e, whose daughter Isabel r. as married 

 to Thomas Osbaldeston's son and heir Geoffrey in 

 1410-1 I ." From that time the manor has been held 

 by the Osbildestons and their successors ol the 

 Langtuns and their siicce->or. by fealty and the 

 render of a red rose." During the next two centuries 

 the manor passed \%ith the other estates of the O-bal- 

 deston family, until alienated on i March 1614 by 

 Edward Osbaldeston to Ralph .A^sheton of Lever 

 and Radcliffe .Aisheton his son, " vlio c descendant Mr. 

 Ralph Cockayne .A^sheton of Doisnham is the present 

 lord of the manor and owner of part of the township. 



Richard .As;heton's house had twelve hearths liable 

 to the tax in 1666, but no other had as many ai 



Lanctov. Ardent 



OsBALDtSTON. Af' 

 gent a matcleiabU hettreen 

 three pellets. 



three ; the total number of hearths in the township 

 was twenty-five." 



CUERDJLE HJLL stands in a low situation near 

 the south bank of the Ribble about a mile north-east 

 of Walton-le-Dale, the principal front facing north 

 to the ri\cr. The house, which is of two stories, is 

 now divided into two and is of little architectural 

 interest, so many alterations and additions having 

 been made that the disposition of the original plan 

 has been lost and the external appearance of the 

 building completely changed. It appears to have 

 been a 17th-century structure of brick and stone, 

 some portions of which remain at the back, where 

 t.'. u stone buttrc^^cs against the old brick wall prob- 

 ably mar-, the position of the hall. The north front 

 seems to have had two projecting gabled end wings, 

 the plan most likely following the usual type, but 

 additions have been made at either end and a long 

 iving built at the south-east corner at right angles to 

 the main building. The house now has a quite 

 modern appearance with plain brick gables and 

 blue slated roofs, and the north elevation has been 

 spoiled by the erection in front of a low one-story 

 brick addition. The house is said to have been partly 

 rebuilt in I 700 by William A.sheton and an old oak 

 staircase with turned balusters and square newels in 

 the e.i^t wing may belong to this period. A panelled 



R. } (l), m. 2d. The final tcttlcmcnM 

 were cmbod'cd in linci levied in M5]t 

 and recorded in 1 ', 56 ; l-'injl Cone, (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Chc^.], ii, i o, 14S. 



The Abbot of Whilley hjj licence to 

 acquire lands here in 1346 j Cal. Pat. 

 134.;; 8, p. 192. In the inquiry taken 

 before licence w.ts granted .\;ice a.-.j J'^ti 

 were stated t 1 hold the manor of Cuerdale 

 of Isabella Queen of England by suit to 

 the three week* court of Clitheroe. They 

 were at the time unmarried^ Iiq. a.q.d. 

 file 281, no. 29 (20 Edw. III). An 

 interesting and detailed description of the 

 lands acquired by Whalley is given in 

 Add. MS. lo;-+, foL 142, and in 

 ffijllej Ceuch. (Chet. Soc.'i, iv, 1159- 



4-.V 



'1 Land. Ir.j. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, ;i. 



" Kuerden M5S. ,v, K. 9, no. --. In 

 1350 Thomas son of Thomis Molrneui 

 was indicted of the s!iylng of Adam son 

 of Nicholas son of Geoffrey of Preston 

 the previous year. Ellen HobbeJog-htre 

 of Cuerdalc had received him into her 

 house slter the deed ; .\>size R. 443, 

 m. 3. He was prorabiy acquitted. 



" Lay S.:b=. Lai-.cs. bdle. I ; 0, 00. 28. 

 There were twfnty-four other contribu- 

 tor!, all husbandmen or labourers, includ- 



ing a spenpT, * cole-,' potf-, ferryman, 

 Wright .ind *cartoijr.' 



« Cj/. Pji. 13---8T, p. 505 ; 1385-9, 

 p. ii;6. 



" Inp p.m. (Chet. Soc/, 1, 31. 



» Cuerdale D. Kuerden MSS. iv, K. 9 ; 

 ii, f' 1. 256. 



'" Kuerden has prcaervcd an abstract 

 of his win in which he leaves his lands to 

 his ■.site J n for life, remainder to 

 *Thomelyn Molincx Richardson my 

 brother' in taii-malc, remainder to 

 * Thomelyn Gefreaon of Osbaldeston ' in 

 tail-male with successive remainders to 

 Tnomas' brothers John and Richard ; Har- 

 wod he bequeathed to *J.hn Jefrayson 

 of Osbaldeston' ; Thalwons in Over 

 Darwcn and Xorthbroc in Walton-on-the- 

 Hil. and other lands to other relatives ; 

 :■, foL 256^; IV, K 9. There is no 

 record of any claim having been made to 

 ibe manor by the next of kin of Joan de 

 Cjerdale, but it is significa-^.t that in 

 1433 *'"' '+3+ Geoffrey Osbaldeston 

 obtained relesses from John son and heir 

 of John Cueria'.e and from Christopher 

 Mirsden, lat; of Swinden, in Great 

 Marsden, of a!l their rig\ts in the manor 

 and other tr-.e-nents here ; Townelcy 

 MS. 00, no. I i;-,3, ni6. 



302 



■'" Ibid. GO, no. 1 547. 



" Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 

 108 ; Duchy of Line, various Inq. p.m. 

 In the inquest taken after the death of 

 Edward Osbaldeston in 33 Eliz. he is 

 stated to have held the manors of Cuerdale 

 and Over Darwen of Thomas Langton, 

 esq., in socage by fealty and a yearly rent 

 of gx. ; ibid, xv, 40. 



w Pal, of Lane. Plea R. 313, m. 9 d. ; 

 ^26, m. 17 ; Feet of F. bdle. 84, no. 13. 

 Described as the manor of C. a water-mill, 

 a fulling mill, 20 mcs uagcs, 800 acres 

 of land, meadow and pasture, 200 acres 

 of wood, heath and moss, and a free 

 fishery in the Ribble and Darwen. In 

 1650 Elizabeth widow of Radcliffe Asshc- 

 ton of Cuerdale begged for the discharge 

 of half a messuage here which her husband 

 had leased for ninety-nine years or three 

 lives to Edward Thornley and Robert and 

 Thomas his sons, which had been seques- 

 trated for the delinquency of Jane widow 

 of Robert Thornley j CaL Cum. for 



C'jmp. 2413. 



At this time the free rent, formerly 101., 

 amounted only to ii. %ii^ which Richard 

 A.sheton paid in I 662 ' for his demesnes 

 at Cuerdair ; MS. pttiti W. Farrer. 



" Lay Subs. Lanes, bdle. 250, no. 9, 



