A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



of 111', renewed the claim in I 3,6," at which time 

 the Duke of Lanciiter also claimed it .-gainst the 

 RadclifFes," and in 1359 against Edmund son of 

 Thomas Talbot." This Edmund, who became a 

 knight, was succeeded by a son Sir Thomas, who in 

 1378 enfeoffed Alan de Catterall and Isabel his wife 

 and their issue of land there." The manor and 

 lands were taken into the king's hands in 14.15, Sir 

 Thomas Talbot being outlawed for debt, but Alan 

 de Catterall's interest was allowed.'^ Sir Thomas 

 afterwards incurred a further outlawry for treason 

 and felony, having taken part in Sir John Oldcastle's 

 conspiracy," and in 141 7 the Rishton claim appears 

 to have been allowed." Sir Edmund Talbot, 

 son of Sir Thomas, afterwards recovered his right, 

 but had various suits concerning it " ; in one of 

 these, in 14.49, ^^^ descent of the manor is narrated 

 fully." 



Sir Edmund appears to have resided at the Holt, 

 for in 1457 the Bishop of Lichfield granted him a 

 licence for his oratory there.'" Sir Edmund was 

 also lord of Lower Darwen, in the account of which 

 an outline of the later descents has been given. Sir 

 Edmund died in 1462," and in 1478 Richard Rishton 

 of Ponthalgh and Ralph his son renewed their claim 

 to the manor against Thomas Talbot of Bashall." 

 They failed, for ^ir Thomas died early in 1500 

 holding the m.inor of Rishton of the king as duke by 

 the tenth part of a knight's fee and qJ. rent." It 

 de ccndcd to Sir Thomas Talbot, who died in 1558 

 holding the manor and the messuage called the Holt 

 in Rishton." His grandson Thomas, in conjunction 

 with his wife Elizabeth, in I 581 sold the estae to 

 Sir Thomas W .ilmsley." Sir Thomas died in 1612 

 holding the manor of Rishton of the king as duke by 

 the fourth part of a knight's fee. His estate has 

 since descended with Dunkenhalgh in Clayton-le- 

 Moors. Richard Walmsley obtained from Charles II 

 in 1662 a confirmation of the grant of free warren in 

 Rishton." The present lord of the manor and 

 almost sole landowner is Mr. G. E. A. H. Petre. 



Though the Rishtons of Ponthalgh in Church, as 

 above related, failed in their attempt to regain the 

 principal manor, they had an estate there. The 



^ik 



line of descent has been recorded as far as the Roger 

 Rishton who succeeded his brother Rich.ird in 1425 ; 

 apart from the mane r which he claimed he had held a 

 messuage and lands in Rishton of the king as Duke 

 of Lancaster." The estate descended to Ralph 

 Rishton of Ponthalgh, who died in 1527 holding 

 two me.-suages, &c., in Rishton of the king." William 

 Rishton of Ponthalgh died in 1589 holding 40 acres 

 of land called Knuzden and other lands in the town- 

 ship," and Ralph his son also held land there in 

 1625." Yet it appears that 

 part at least of the r estate 

 had been sold to Serjeant 

 Walmsley in 1585." 



A branch of this family 

 resided at MICKLEHEr, 

 which was no doubt part of 

 the Ponthalgh estate. James 

 Rishton (1590) and his son 

 Edward (1630) were gover- 

 nors of Blackburn Grammar 

 School." Ralph Rishton, who 

 entered the English college at 

 Rome in 1632, aged twenty, 

 gave some particulars of his 

 family. He \\ as ' son of 



James and Katherine Rishton of Micklehey in 

 Rishton, ntar Blackburn. On his father's side his 

 relatives were non-Catholics, but on his mother's 

 Catholics. . . . He had two brothers, Edward and 

 lohn, and two sisters, Frances and Anne. He made 

 Lis humanity studies at Blackburn. He was always 

 a Catholic, and it was his desire and resolve to 

 live the life of a religious.' He was ordained priest 

 in 1637 and left for England, having 'behaved 

 admirably during his whole stay in the College.' " 

 Edward Rishton in 1653 desired to compound for 

 lands demised to him by William Rishton of Ponthalgh 

 for the lives of his wife Elizabeth and son James." It 

 was stated that Micklehey had been forfeited by 

 Edward Rishton and Katherine his mother, and sold 

 under the Act of 1652." 



A fourth part of the manor, later known as 

 RISHTON HALL, was long held by the family of 



Rishton of Ponthalgh. 

 Argent a feiie embattltd 

 couittcr-emlhitlUd ij/Zf, 

 in chief tivo mtilli n 'ij 

 the second. 



*i Duchy of L.Tnc. Aasize R. 1;, m. 6. 

 The defendants then asserted that one 

 Richard de Rishton held a fourth part of 

 the man'T, but the plaintiff" replied that 

 they held the whole when he obtained 

 the writ in Oct. 135?. Edmund son and 

 heir of Thomas Talbot came to warrant, 

 but W3S under age, so that the suit was 

 respite- i. 



-'"•' Ibul. m. 4 J 6, m. ; d. 



" .\ssize R. 43S, m. 8. Robert de 

 Ri-hton at the same time continued his 

 claim against the Raichnes ; ibid. m. 16 d. 

 Robert came to a violent end soon after, 

 for his widow Eleanor in i^"^ appealed 

 Roger son of John de Aspden for his 

 death j Coram Rege R. 464, Rei. m. 

 tSd. Aspden was soon afterwards par- 

 doned ; K-uerden fol. MS. 3 I A. 



»< Pal. of Lane. Plea R. I 2, m. 17. 



^^ Dep, Keeper' i Rep. xx.xi.i, App. 12; 

 Lanes. Inj. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, loS. 

 According to the pedigree Alan's daughter 

 Agnes married Sir Thomas Talbot j 

 Whita'<er, Crai'n (ed. Morant), 32. 



^ Wit raker, JThdlUy, ii,405 n. quoting 

 R\ iiiti, r .tdira. 



One Sir Thomas Talbor, with lands in 

 Lancashire and Cheshire, was outla\sed 



in 1394 for a conspiracy to kill the Dukes 

 of L.I ici'tcr and Gloucester \ Pari. R. jii, 

 31'^., 338. He afterwards escaped from 

 the Tower of London ; Cal. Pat. 1391-6, 

 p. i;6o. 



" Dep, Keeper's Rep. xxx'm, App. 15, 

 26 ; Lanes. In^. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 129 ; 

 ii, 13. The Robert de Rishton who 

 claimed in 1356-9 had been succeeded 

 by a son Ralph, who died in 141 7, and 

 was followed in turn by sons Richard 

 (d.s.p. 1425) and Roger, aged thirty-three 

 in 1425. 



*' Pa!, of Lane Pica R. 5, m. 2 d. ; 

 12, m. 4, 6. 



*' Ibid. 12, m. 17. In 1445-6 it 

 was recorded that Sir Edmund claimed 

 to hold the tenth part of a knight's fee 

 in Rishton, the relief due for it being 

 loi. ; Duchy of Lane. Knights' Fees, 

 bdie. 2, no. 20. 



8» Lich. Epis. Reg. li, foL 83A ; for 

 Sir Edmund, Anne his wife and their 

 household and guests for two years. 



^^ Dep. Keeper t Rep. ixxvii, App. 176, 



^ Duchy of Lane. Misc. Bks. xix, 35. 



•^ Lanes. Ir.j. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii. 



The reduction of -l^i. in the rc"t is ex- 



346 



plained by the formation of the Rishton 

 Hall manor. 



^** Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xi, no, 69. 

 This Sir Thomas also had a lease of 

 Blackburn rectory and often resided at 

 Audlcy Hall ; Abram, Blackburn, 635-6. 



3* Pal. of Lane Feet of F. bdle. 43, 

 m. 3 ; the purchapcr, not then knighted, 

 is designated serjeant-at-law. The sale in- 

 cluded the manor of Rishton and lands, 

 rents, &c., in Rishton, CowhiU, White 

 Birk, Side Beet and Tottleworth. 



^* Duchy of Lane. Misc. Bks, xxiv, 

 170 ; Cal. S. P. Dom. 1661-2, p. 585. 



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

 13-15. 



** Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 24. 



" Ibid. XT, no, 55, *" Ibid, xxvi, no, 3;. 



■" PaL of Lane Feet of F. bdle, 4-, 

 m, 3, 185. The vendors were William 

 Rishton, Robert Charnock and Giles 

 Dewhurst ; see ibid. bdle. 40, m. 5. 



^^ Abram, op. cit. 331. 



« Foley, Ree. S. J. vi, 331 ; i, 658. 

 His mother wis a Talbot of Carr Mali. 



*■• Cdl. Com, fr Comp. iv, 2530-1. 

 The 'delinquencies' which led to the 

 sequestration are not described. 



^ Index of Royalists (Index Soc), 44. 



