BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



BLACKBURN 



Burnley, with a branch road from Rishton to Great 

 Harwood, intersects the township, that from Black- 

 burn to Accrington touches the southern boundary. 

 The Liverpool, Blackburn and Accrington line of the 

 Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company passes on 

 the south side of the town of Rishton with a station, and 

 leaves the township on the east by a high viaduct over 

 Aspen Valley. The same company's Great Harwood 

 loop passes through the northern part. The Leeds 

 and Liverpool Canal enters the township on the south- 

 west over Knuzdeii Brook and circling northward 

 round the moorland issues at the south-eastern angle 

 above Aspen Valley viaduct. There is a large 

 reservoir on Rishton Moor for the supply of water to 

 the canal, fed by streams issuing from Cowhill Moss 

 and Whitebirk Moss. 



A local board was constituted here in 1882, under 

 the provisions of the Local Government Act, but by 

 the Act of 1894 the civil parish is governed by an 

 urban district council. The town of Rishton 

 stands on both sides of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal 

 and on the main road from Blackburn to Burnley. 

 In and near it are extensive cotton spinning and 

 weaving mills, a paper-mill, colliery, brewery, brick 

 works and fireclay works. There are large quarries 

 at CunlifFe, Close Brow, and near Dunkenhalgh. Holt 

 stands to the north-east of Rishton and Tottleworth 

 is further north. There are two political clubs at 

 Rishton. 



Nicholas Rishton, clerk, was an official of note in 

 the time of Richard II and Henry IV and V. He 

 was a prebendary of Salisbury and had other benefices. 

 He died in 1413.^ 



The manor of RISHTON was in the 

 MANOR time of Henry III or earlier held by 

 Robert de Praers, who gave it in free 

 marriage with Margery his sister to Gilbert son of 

 Henry de Blackburn,'* and in 1242 this Gilbert was 

 stated to hold the tenth part of a knight's fee there 

 of the heir of the Earl of Lincoln ; it belonged to 

 the dower of the countess.* Gilbert was outlawed 

 in 1255—6 for the death of William de Meluer 

 (Mellor).* In 1258 Edmund de Lacy held 

 Rishton, in which were 1 6 oxgangs of land ; of 

 these Henry de Rishton held 4, rendering 4/. a 



year and paying scutage and castle ward. In each 

 of the other 1 2 oxgangs there were 1 2 acres of 

 land. Richard de Cowhill had 40 acres, paying 

 \ mark yearly ; Richard de Tottleworth the same ; 

 two men (unnamed) had Side Beet, paying i mark ; 

 Richard de Cunliffe, 6 acres for is. ; two small 

 cottagers paid zs., and there was a mill worth 20/.' 

 Henry de Rishton was living in 1 28 1, when he 

 and Gilbert his son were engaged in various 

 disputes.** 



Earlier than this, in 1278, Gilbert de Rishton 

 had acknowledged the right of one Adam de Rishton 

 to the manor, but it was agreed that Gilbert should 

 hold it for life, with reversion to Adam and his heirs. 

 Henry de Lacy Earl of Lincoln put in his claim.' 

 It appears that Adam was illegitimate,^'' and on his 

 death the earl took possession and granted the whole 

 manor of Rishton with all appurtenances as fully as 

 Adam de Rishton, bastard, had held it, to Edmund 

 Talbot and Joan his wife and the issue of Edmund. ^^ 

 These Talbots were seated at Bashall in Craven. 

 Edmund, who obtained a charter of free warren for 

 Rishton in 1310,1^ did not long enjoy the manor, 

 afterwards known as the Holt, for in I 3 1 1 his widow 

 Joan held the two plough-lands in Rishton of the 

 Earl of Lincoln by the fourth part of a knight's fee, 

 the yearly rent of \s. and suit of court. '^ There 

 were two children of the marriage, John and 

 Thomas, of whom the former died without issue 

 and the latter succeeded.^* Joan, however, married 

 John son of Richard de RadcliiFe,!' and as late 

 as 1 36 1 John de Radcliffe was holding the tenth 

 part of a knight's fee in Rishton of the Duke of 

 Lancaster.^^ 



Meantime the legitimate heirs of Gilbert de 

 Rishton, seated at Ponthalgh in Church, were making 

 frequent claims to the manor. In 1329 Robert 

 son of Gilbert claimed it against John and Joan de 

 Radcliffe,!' John's son Richard being afterwards added 

 as defendant,!* and in 1 331 Gilbert son of Robert 

 son of Gilbert de Rishton continued the claim, re- 

 lating the grant by Robert de Praers above recorded.^' 

 The defendants, saying that they held for Joan's life 

 only, called Thomas son of Edmund Talbot to 

 warrant.^" Robert de Rishton, as son of the Gilbert 



• Diet. Nat. Biog. 



■* Robert gave the whole town of Rish- 

 ton, viz. two plough-lands, according to 

 findings in 1417 and 1425, based ap- 

 parently on the charter (wrongly dated 

 Edw. I) } Dep. Keeper^s Rep. xxxiii, App. 

 15,26. The grant and pedigree will be 

 found stated in earlier pleadings quoted 

 below ; the first descents were : Gilbert 

 -8. Henry -3. Gilbert. 



* Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 151. 



Adam de Rishton in 1246 accused 

 Paulinus de Pouel of the death of Edith 

 his wife, and Paulinus was outlawed. As 

 the town of Rishton did not take him it 

 was fined ; Assize R. 404, m. 20. 



^ Ibid. 438, m. 16 d.; but the state- 

 ment was disputed. At the same time 

 the gift by Robert de Praers was said to 

 have been made in 1245-6, but Gilbert 

 held the manor in 1242. 



^ Lanes, Inq. and ExtentSj i, 215-16. 



' Adam de Rishton claimed 20 acres 

 against Henry de Rishton and Richard de 

 Rishton; De Banco R. 38, m. 10 d. 

 Henry de Rishton complained of depas- 



turing by Gilbert de Rishton his son and 

 others ; ibid. 41, m. 18. 



^ Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 155 ; 80 acres in Cunliffe and 

 Side Beet were excepted. The rent of a 

 rose yearly was due. Adam was, accord- 

 ing to later statements, the illegitimate 

 son of Gilbert, so that this was virtually 

 an endowment of Adam by his father. 

 Gilbert must have had possession while 

 his father Henry was living. 



^° In 1 28 1 Adam de Rishton com- 

 plained that Gilbert, to whom he had de- 

 mised the manor for life, was making 

 waste, &e. ; De Banco R. 41, m. 42 d. 

 Ten years later there was a similar com- 

 plaint, the destruction of a water-mill 

 being alleged ; ibid, gi, m. 198, 282 ; 

 loi, m. 151 ; 109, m. 109. Adam de 

 Rishton about the same time summoned 

 Richard de Rishton to observe customs 

 and do services as were due from the free 

 tenement he held of Adam in Rishton ; 

 ibid. 87, m. 141 ; 91, ni. 260 d. 



" Duchy of Lane. Anct. D., L 61 ; 

 two-thirds were in the earl's hands, the 

 other third being held by Mabel widow 



345 



of Adam de Rishton. The date of the 

 charter must be between 1305 and 1310, 

 for in the former year account was ren- 

 dered of £^ 41. yd. receipts from two- 

 thirds of the lands formerly Adam de 

 Rishton's j De Lacy Compoti (Chet. Soc.}, 



R. 



Edv 



II, m. 



12 Chart, 

 no. 14. 



19 De Lacy Inq. (Chet. Soc), 15. The 

 service and rent do not agree with other 

 inquisitions. At the same time Robert 

 de Rishton had land in Church j ibid. 



" Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 12, m. 17. 

 It seems clear that Thomas was never 

 in actual possession ; see below. 



1'' See pleadings quoted later ; also 

 Coram Rege R. 297, m. 2 Rex. 



IS Inq. p.m. 35 Edw. Ill, 

 no. 122. 



17 De Banco R. 277, m 



18 Ibid. 281, m. 164 d. 

 ^9 Ibid. 286, m. 301 d, 



stated that Gilbert and 

 original grantees, were seised in the time 

 of Edward I, which is erroneous. 

 ^^ Ibid. ; also 290, m. 311. 



44 



pt. 



82. 



The plaintiff 

 Margery, the 



