A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Atherton, kt." Richard Balderston, e$q., died 

 20 December 1456.''* 



William Balderston was aged about twenty-nine 

 years at his father's death, whom he only sur\ived 

 about six years, dying early in 1462.*^ By his first 

 wife Elizabeth daughter of Peter Gerard he had no 

 issue ; by his second wife Margaret daughter of 

 William Stanley he had issue Joan, who married first 

 Sir Ralph Langton, kt. (d. before 1462), and secondly 

 Sir John Pilkington, kt., and Isabel, who married 

 Robert Harrington of Hornby.^ Margaret after- 

 wards married Robert Singleton.*' 



From this time the manor of Balderston and other 

 possessions of William Balderston were held jointly by 

 Sir John de Pilkington, kt., and Joan his wife in her 

 right, and by Robert Harrington of Hornby, esq. 

 (afterwards knight), and Isabel his wife in her right. 

 Sir John Pilkington and Joan had a son Edu .ird, who 

 died under age.** After the death of Sir John in 

 1479*' his widow took the widows' habit in the 

 priory of Nun Monkton in 1488, where she was 

 buried. Her will bears date 2 January 1497-8,*^ 

 by which she bequeathed her moiety of the manor 

 and other Balderston estates to James Harrington, 

 parson of Badsworth, the son of her sister Isabel by 

 Sir Robert Harrington of Hornby, kt., for life, 

 «ith remainder to Thomas Talbot of Bashall son and 

 heir of Edmund Talbot, esq., and Jane his wife, 

 daughter and co-heir of Sir Robert Harrington of 

 Hornby, kt., and sister of James Harrington ; in 

 default of heirs the remainder to be to Richard 

 Radcliffe and Ellen his wife, sister of William de 

 Balderston and testator's aunt, and to Richard son and 

 heir of John Osbaldeston and Elizabeth his wife, 

 another sister of William Oshaldeston.*' 



James Harrington succeeded to one moiety of the 

 Balderston estates after the death of his parents, but 

 in 14S7 he was attainted of treason by Act of Parlia- 

 ment, when this moiety escheated to the Croivn and 



was given two years later to Thomas Stanley first 

 Earl of Derby.** It would appear that some sort of 

 friendship must have grown up afterwards between 

 the earl and Harrington, for in 1496 Dame Joan 

 Pilkington and the earl, as joint possessors of the 

 Balderston estates, presented Harrington to the 

 church of Badsworth.*' In 1503 he petitioned Par- 

 liament to reverse the attainder and obtained the 

 king's letters patent of pardon.** Subsequently he 

 lodged a complaint in the Duchy Chamber against 

 the Earl of Derby, who appears to have obtained the 

 other moiety of the estates after Joan Pilkington's 

 death in 1498. Commissioners were appointed to 

 examine his case and gave an award in his favour, so 

 that he recovered the moiety to which he was 

 entitled under his aunt's will." He seems to have 

 made an attempt to obtain possession of the other 

 moiety, notwithstanding a clause in the Act of re- 

 versal of his attainder that the Earl of Derby's pos- 

 session of half the Balderston estates should not be 

 thereby prejudiced, by a pretended sale to his kinsman 

 Edmund Dudley, esq.'^ However that may have 

 been, the attempt was unsuccessful, as in any case it 

 must have been, for Dudley was attainted of treason 

 25 July 1509 and executed 17 August 15 10." 



After the death of James Harrington in i 5 i 2 '■' 

 the manor descended with the other estates of tlie 

 Earl of Derby, of Radcliffe of Winmarleigh and of 

 Osbaldeston of Osbaldeston." William Radcliffe died 

 in I 561 without male issue, whereupon his portion 

 of the Balderston estates descended to his sister of the 

 half-blood Anne, who married Sir Gilbert Gerard, 

 master of the Rolls. In 1565 a partition of the 

 whole Balderston estate was made between Edward 

 Earl of Derby, Gilbert Gerard, esq., and John 

 Osbaldeston, by which this manor was divided equally 

 between the two last-named.'* By fine in 1596 Sir 

 Thomas Gerard, kt., and Anne his mother passed 

 the manor and various lands and tenements here to 



'^ Sir Richard Harrington, kt., brother 

 of Joan, made his will at Baldt^rstoa in 

 1462 : *I bcwhethc my body to be beriet 

 in the freres [church] of Lancascre in 

 the chapel where my fader h-s in the cntre 

 wMn the dore.' Among otlicr legacies 

 to kinsfolk : * I bcwhcthe to my sister of 

 Balderston a hole Bassyn of Silver, a 

 covert cuppe of silver, two salt saliers of 

 silver godoronet y^on covert.' Further he 

 did * ordeyne and make my sister Dame 

 Johanne late wif to Richard Balderston, 

 esquyer* and four others his executors. 

 Proved before the Dean of Amoundemess 

 20 Aug. 1462. Norris D. (B.M.), 1000. 



*" Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 62. 

 At his death he held the manors of Bal- 

 derston, Thorp near Brethcrton, Bils- 

 borrow, Claughton, Haightoa and Little 

 Singleton, and half the manors of Thorn- 

 ton and Bretherton. 



*^ Writ of diem d. extr. 12 Aug. 1462; 

 Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvii, App. 176. 



** Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 71. 



" Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 104, ra. 3. 

 The places in which her dower were as- 

 signed are recited in Duchy of Lane Inq. 

 p.m. iv, 1 3. 



" He died 12 May i486 ; Cal Inq. 

 pjn. Hen. VIl^ i, 147. 



** John Pilkington was esquire of the 

 body to Edward IV {Cal Pat. 1461-7, 

 passim), and had numerous grants of 

 forfeited lands in counties York, Lincoln, 

 and Dublin, and was constable of Wick- 



low Castle (ibid. 113, 141, 321, 337). 

 He was knighted by the king on the field 

 of Grafton 2 May 147 1 (Metcalfe, Bli. 

 of Kti. 3) ; had licence in 1475 to 

 found a chantry in Wakefield Church 

 {Cal. Pat. 146--77, 564), made his will 

 at Skipton 28 June 1478, desiring to 

 be buried in his chantry at Wakefield, 

 and adding inter alia : * I will beseech 

 my lorde of Gloucester that my son 

 Edward may be in the house of my lorde 

 chambrelane to he be of the age of xvi 

 yere, and then to be put at the kingeii 

 pleasir * ; * that my wife dame Johan 

 have hir dower of my land except 

 Bradley. I will that she have Pilkington 

 Hall nigh Wakefield . . . .' Proved 30 

 June 1479. Th' testator was brother 

 of Sir Charles Pilkington of Worksop, 

 kt. ; Test. Ebor. (Surtees Soc), iii, 238- 

 41. The commission to veil Joan his 

 widow is dated 10 Sept. 1488 ; ibid. 353. 



** * To be buried in the nuns' quier of 

 Nun Monkton in my habit holdynge my 

 hand upon my brcste with my ringe upon 

 my finger, having taken in my resolvis 

 the mantle and, the ringe' j Dods. MSS. 

 Ui, 34. 



" Ibid. Ixi, 3+ ; Whitaker, fVhalley 

 (ed. 1876), ii, 358. 



♦5 Pat. 4 Hen. VII. 



*® Hunter, Doncaster, ii, 439. 



"> His petition for restitution is in 

 Rot. Pari, vi, 555i, and a note of the 

 reversal, but it was provided that the act 



of restitution should not affect the Earl 

 of Derby's occupation of the estates. 



" Duchy of Lane Decrees, Hen. VII, 

 voL iii, fol. 206A. 



" He had married Matilda daughter of 

 Thomas Lord Clifford, relict of Sir John 

 Harrington, kt., elder brother of Sir Robert. 



''Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, 13. 

 A recovery of the estates was suffered in 

 Lent term 1 508 ; Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 163—4- 



'* He was buried in York Cathedral 

 28 Dec. 1512 ; Teir. £ior. (Surtees Soc), 

 iv, 229 note. 



^^ TThomas Earl of Derby died in 1521 

 seised of the moiety of the manors of 

 Balderston, Singleton, Bretherton and 

 Thornton ; Duchy of Lane Inq. p.m. t, 

 68. Thomas Radcliff'e also died in 1521 

 seised of part of the manor of Balderston 

 and of the manor of Rogerthorpe and 

 advowson of the church of Badsworth j 

 ibid. V, 3. Alexander Osbaldeston died in 

 1544 seised of one-fourth of the manor 

 of Balderston and one-fourth of 60 

 messuages, &c., in Balderston, Brether- 

 ton, Thornton, Holmes, Little Singleton, 

 Elswick, Freckleton, Hambleton, Wood- 

 plumpton, Broughton, Whittlngham, 

 Haighton, Preston, Ribbleton, Claughton, 

 Bilsborrow and Dilworth ; ibid, viii, i. 



"Add. MS. 32108, no. 271. The 

 survey of the whole estate made at this 

 time is preserved by Kuerden j MSS. 

 (ColL of Arms), iii, B 5-9A. 



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