BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



BLACKBURN 



he and Thomas de Molyneux, his maternal uncle, 

 were pardoned for certain ofFences wherewith they 

 stood charged.'" He married in 1357 Margaret 

 daughter of William, whose surname has not been 

 ascertained," but it is uncertain if the marriage was 

 consummated, as he subsequently married Cecily, 

 probably daughter of Sir John le Norreys, let." In 

 1390 John son of Geoffrey de Osbaldeston was in 

 Ireland in the king's service, in the retinue of Sir 

 John Stanley." He was knighted at St. Maxence 

 by Henry V on 13 October 14.15, before the battle 

 of Agincourt." In the spring of 141 7 he went to 

 France again in the retinue of the king,'* and was 

 with other Lancashire knights before Louviers and 

 Rouen in the summer of 141 8,'* and at Gisors 

 the year following." By his marriage with Joan 

 daughter and heir of Roger de Cogbull, and heir of 

 her grandmother Margaret daughter of Sir Richard 

 Handlo, kt., he became lord of Chadhngton Manor, 

 CO. Oxon., and ancestor of Osbaldeston of that ilk. 



Thomas Osbaldeston, eldest son of Geoffrey, 

 succeeded his father, and by the death of Thomas 

 Molyneux, his grandmother's brother, in December 

 1387, became heir to the manor of Cuerdale." In 

 or before March 1406 he demised this manor to 

 Robert Radcliffe, younger son of William Radcliffe 

 of the Tower, who had married his grandmother 

 Katherine after the death of her second husband 

 Thomas Banastre.^' She had been first married as far 

 back as 1336, and must have been near eighty years 

 of age at this time. That she died soon after this 

 date is evident from the fact that her third husband's 

 son and heir was born in or before 1415.*° Thomas 

 Osbaldeston married before 1406 Alice, by whom he 

 had Geoffrey his heir and John, and died soon after.*' 



In 1435 by the death of Robert Radcliffe of Osbal- 

 deston the manor reverted to Geoffrey Osbaldeston, 

 then aged twenty-nine years." In 1411-12 his 



father arranged for his marriage to Isabel daughter of 

 Henry Langton of Walton-le-Dale,^' by whom he 

 had several sons. William the youngest settled at 

 Long Compton, co. Warw., where his descendants 

 continued for some generations. John the eldest 

 died in his father's lifetime, having married Elizabeth 

 daughter of Sir Richard Balderston, by which match 

 a fourth part of the Balderston estates came to this 

 family after the death in 1 5 1 2 of James Harrington, 

 Dean of York. Geoffrey the father died in 1475, 

 the inquest after his death being taken four years 

 later, when his grandson Richard Osbaldeston, son of 

 John, was found to be his heir, being then aged 

 seventeen years." 



In 1480 Richard Osbaldeston recovered from 

 Geoffrey, Richard and William Osbaldeston, his 

 uncles, part of the estate which Alexander his ancestor 

 had settled upon his issue in 1336." He took to 

 wife Grace daughter of William Singleton of 

 Broughton Tower, and died in 1 507." Alexander 

 his son, aged twenty-six at his father's death, fought 

 at Flodden Field under the Earl of Derby,*' and was 

 knighted a little later.*' He was twice married, 

 first, about i 2 June 1 490, to Agnes daughter of Sir 

 Christopher Southworth,*' who was the mother of his 

 heir, and secondly to Ellen daughter of Thomas 

 Tyldesley of Wardley,'" by whom he had issue 

 Richard, upon whom he settled Sunderland Grange 

 in Balderston in 1540." He was sheriff of the 

 county in 1527-8,'^ and died 17 January 1544." 

 His son John Osbaldeston, aged thirty-six years at 

 his father's death, married Margaret daughter of 

 George Stanley Lord Strange, K.G., by whom he had 

 numerous offspring ; he married secondly after 15 67 

 Jane daughter and co-heir of John Stanley, base son 

 of John brother of Thomas Stanley first Earl of 

 Derby, and relict of Sir Thomas Halsall, kt." In 

 1557 he was nominated a captain in the army of 



'» Cat. Pat. 1377-81, p. 505. 

 31 Dods. MSS. cxlii, zih. 

 ^2 She was co-executrix in 1375 with 

 Nicholas le Norreys of Sir John's will ; 

 De Banco R. 459, m. 10. The same year 

 her husband was defendant in a plea 

 brought by William de Charnock touching 

 lands in Speke ; ibid. m. 49. 



^ Cal. Pat. 1388-92, p. 199. In 1413 

 an annuity of ,^10 was granted to him 

 for life ; Duchy of Lane. Reg. of Hen. V, 

 pt. i, fol. 8. 



3^ Nicolas, Agincourt, 354. 

 3* Norman R. Dip. Keeper' i Rep, xliv, 

 App. 591-3. 



'•' Ibid, xli, App. 711-16. 

 '^ Ibid, xlii, App. 326. 

 ^ Lanes. Inq, p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 29 ; 

 Final Cone, ii, I36n. 



'' Thomas Banastre of Osbaldeston was 

 alive in 1395—6; Dods. MSS. cxlix, 17, 

 29^. 

 *» Ibid. 25«. 



*i In 1441 John Osbaldeston and his 

 mother Alice as executors of the will of 

 Thomas Osbaldeston sued Agnes relict of 

 Henry de Langton of Walton-le-Dale for 

 j^200, in which sum she had become 

 bound at Cuerdale in Aug. 1420 ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Plea R. 3, m. 14 d. ; 4, m. 3. 

 In addition to Cuerdale Thomas Osbaldes- 

 ton had inherited four messuages, no 

 acres of land, &c,, in Sefton called The 

 Edge, in which his relict sued Geoffrey 

 their son for dower in 1459. As Geoffrey 

 became seised of the premises and of lands 



in Over Darwen, Walton-le-Dale and 

 Cuerdale on 20 May 1427, it is probable 

 that he attained his majority on that 

 day ; ibid. 20, m, 7. 



" Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 25*. 



■*^ The marriage covenant made between 

 Thomas Osbaldeston and Henry Langton 

 was dated 12 Hen. IV (1410-11) ;Towne- 

 ley MS. 00, no. 1547. 



** Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 108. He 

 held this manor of the king by 8j. yearly, 

 worth ;^20 J the manors of Cuerdale 

 and Over Darwen of Richard Langton, 

 esq. 



*^ Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 52, m. 9, II. 

 On 7 Sept. 1480 a jury was summoned 

 to recognize if Thomas Blackburn or any 

 of his ancestors had held three messuages 

 and lands in Osbaldeston which Richard 

 Osbaldeston, jun., demanded ; Writs 

 Proton. 21 Edw. IV. 



^^ Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 

 35 ; the manor of Osbaldeston was held 

 of the king as duke by a rent of 8j. He 

 also held the manors of Cuerdale and 

 Over Darwen. 



" Weber, Flodden Field, 381. 



« Metcalfe, Bk. of Knight!, 55. 



« Kuerden MSS. (Chet. Lib.), fol. vol. 

 291. 



'» Benalt's Visit. (Chet. Soc. xcviii), 

 loi. Sir Alexander quartered the arms 

 of Balderston with his own. 



'1 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 12, m. 37. 

 The settled estate consisted of three mes- 

 suages, 540 acres of land, meadow and 



321 



pasture. Failing issue of Richard the re- 

 mainder was to pass successively to Henry, 

 Thomas, Thurstan and William, brothers 

 of Richard. 



S2 P.R.O. Lht, 72, 



^^ Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. viii, no. i. 

 The inventory of his goods is printed in 

 Lanes. fVilh (Chet. Soc. old ser. Ii), 52. 

 His widow, Ellen Osbaldeston, made her 

 will in 1560, bequeathing^io to the relief 

 of the poor ; to her daughter Ann Langton 

 * her gold ring with the Five Wounds upon 

 it' J towards the mending of the glass 

 windows and repairing of the (Osbaldes- 

 ton) chapel of Blackburn 5J. and for the 

 necessaries of the church there ^^5 5 to 

 the mending of the queen's highways, 

 2or. ; and four beds for the laying of poor 

 folks, one to remain at Darwen and one 

 at Balderston for ever and the other two 

 at the discretion of her executors. She 

 also desired that three stones with in- 

 scribed brasses should be placed in the 

 Osbaldeston chapel in Blackburn Church 

 over the remains of herself, her husband 

 and her brother Sir Thomas Tyldesley. 

 To her stepson she gave * certain things 

 belonging to the altar in the chapel at 

 Osbaldeston to remain as heirlooms' j 

 Add. MS. 32106, no. 1048. Two figures 

 of saints in carved wood formerly in the 

 chapel of Osbaldeston are now preserved 

 in the hall at Tabley Old Hall j Lanes, 

 and Chez, Antlq. Soc. ix, 184. 



^^ Flower'9 HsU (Chet. Soc. Ixxxi) 

 34» 94-^ 



41 



