A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



was 91/. 6i^.' The water-mill was then worth 

 I 3/. ^d. a year.' 



By 1322 the tenures had in some cases been 

 changed, for there were five free tenants, each holding 

 an oxgang of land by the ninety-sixth part of a 

 knight's fee.' Accounts rendered in 1324 show that 

 the net value of the manor was ^^8 4/. 6\d. ; rents 

 came to £4 6s. li^d., Adam Wyot gave his two 

 collars, the demesne rendered £z 6s. <)\d., the water- 

 mill £1 8/. \od., fines for entry, 4;. ; and perquisites 

 of the halmote, 11/. iid. ; while the outgoings 

 included 1 3/. for two new wheels for the miU and 

 other repairs.' 



In a complaint as to the possession of a piece of 

 land called Moor Butts, at the southern end of 

 ' Worston Greyne,' in 1566, the defendant prayed 

 ' for an inquiry by his country, viz. by twenty-four 

 customary tenants of the queen's majesty of the old 

 hold.' '" 



The hall having fallen almost entirely to decay 

 was pulled down, and a small house built with the 

 materials on its site." This building has the appear- 

 ance of three cottages thrown into one, with a pro- 

 jecting one-storied porch in front," in which are 

 built three stones with large shields said to have come 

 from Sawley Abbey. The first bears a lion rampant, 

 the second is quarterly France and England, and 

 the third bears three luces." Part of the front and 



side wall of what appears to have been a small fore- 

 court remain, with a narrow gateway, in the head of 

 which the date 1577 and the initials of Richard 

 Greenacres, the builder of the house, may still be 

 traced. 



Much of the land being copyhold, as it Jtill 

 remains, there is little to be recorded of the tenants, 

 though some of the tenements are noticed '* in 

 pleadings and inquisitions. 1 he Greenacres family 

 was of long standing there." 

 John Greenacres and John 

 Taylor are named as the land- 

 owners in the Subsidy Roll 

 of 1524 and the widow of 

 John Greenacres in 1543." 

 Richard Greenacres died in 

 1578 holding a capital mes- 

 suage in Worston, 30 acres 

 of land, &c., of the queen as 

 of her manor of Clitheroe in 

 socage by a rent of js. 8d. 

 His son John having died a 

 few days earlier, the heir was 

 Richard son of John, aged sixteen." Richard Green- 

 acres W.1S a freeholder in 1600." The estate descended 

 to Assheton of Downham. The Shireburnes," Tem- 

 pests," Kings," and other tenants of 'oxgang land' 

 are traceable through the court rolls." Worston also 



AssHiTON of Down- 

 ham. Saiie a mullet 

 argent pierced ofthejield. 



* Lanci. Inq. and Extents, ii, 4. The 

 free tenants, in addition to those named, 

 were William le Heriz, 1 8 acres at 25. rent ; 

 Thomas del Clough, l oxgang, 2J. ; 

 William son of Thomas and Hugh son 

 of Ralph, the same 5 Hugyn, i oxgang, 

 31. 6d. ; Adam de Craven, I oxgang, id. 

 There were thus 16 oxgangs (13 in the 

 demesne and 3 held freely) which paid 2i. 

 a year rent, and 4 others. The additional 

 oxgangs may have been added from Chat- 

 bum or Downham. 



Tenants at will held 30 acres of the 

 demesne arable land at (>d. an acre and 

 5 acres of meadow at is, each ; six cot- 

 tagers paid 6d. each for their cottages, 

 and 48 acres more of arable land were 

 held by tenants at will for i6j. in all. 



A list of the tenants in 1443 is printed 

 by Farrer, op. cit. 501. 



' Lanes. Inq. and Extents, ii, 4. 



In the 1 6th century the mill was 

 held by the Waddington family ; Farrer, 

 op. cit. 24, &c. The miller was fined in 

 1508 because his * multure dish' held a 

 larger quantity than it ought to have 

 done ; ibid. 32. In 1528 the mill was in 

 such ill repair that the tenants' corn 

 could not be ground ; ibid. 86. 



8 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, ii, 134. Of 

 the five tenants four seem to be the same 

 as four of those of 13 11, viz. Hugh son 

 of Ralph, Hugh son of Thomas, Thomas 

 de Read (Clough) and William son of 

 Thomas ; while the other, William son of 

 Hugh, was perhaps the son of the Hugyn 

 of 13 1 1. The tenures of the other free 

 tenants had not been changed, as will be 

 seen from the case of Adam Wyot. 



' Ibid. 190 ; nothing had been received 

 for merchet, lairwitc or goods of natives 

 deceased. ^^ Farrer, op. cit. 213. 



11 Raines' Notes to Nicholas Assheton's 

 Journal, Chet. Soc liv (1847-8). The 

 date of the demolition is not given, but 

 is stated to have been ' long since.' 



'' Trans. Burnley Lit. and Scient. Club, 

 ii, 126. 



" Whitaker and Raines both say the 



stones came from Whalley Abbey and 

 state that the lion is that of Lacy and the 

 luces those of Whalley Abbey. But the 

 lion is the bearing of Percy, and the 

 three luces are the arms of Lucy which 

 since the end of the 14th century have 

 been quartered by the Percies. If the 

 tradition that these sculptured shields 

 came from Sawley is correct, the allusion 

 that they make to William Percy the 

 founder, although he certainly never dis- 

 played them, is obvious j and the quartered 

 shield of France and England, though 

 probably nothing more than the usual 

 compliment to the reigning monarch, 

 may perhaps be a reference to the Duke 

 of Lancaster who was a benefactor to the 

 abbey. Sec Note in Dobson's Rambles by 

 tie kibble, i, 120. 



^* In 1 301-2 Robert son of Adam son 

 of Richard ICibbil of Worston claimed a 

 messuage, &c., there against Hugh son of 

 Ralph de Worston, but Hugh being under 

 age the trial was deferred ; De Banco R. 

 »3S. ■"•97 ; H>, m. 127 ; 144, m. 273 d. 

 Adam de Waker and Douce his wife in 

 1320 acquired land from Hugh son of 

 Ralph Kibbil ; Final Cone, (Rec Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 33. 



In 13+2 John de Dinelay acquired a 

 messuage from Richard del Lathes and 

 Isabel his wife ; ibid, ii, 115. 



Thomas Brotherton, mason, in 1502 

 obtained a messuage and 8 acres of land 

 from Richard Curtes and Alice his wife ; 

 ibid, iii, 151. 



'^ Lawrence de Greenacres in 1368 

 complained that various persons had cut 

 down his trees at Worston ; De Banco R. 

 432, m. 557 d. John de Greenacres was 

 fined for building on a rood of land in 

 1377; Farrer, op. cit. i, 6. Henry de 

 Greenacres died in 1398 holding a mes- 

 suage, 10 acres of land. Sec, in Worston 

 of the duke by knight's service ; also 

 burgages in Clitheroe. His heir was a 

 son Robert, aged eight ; Towneley MS. 

 DD, no. 1458. 



Richard Greenacres in 1507 held two 



374 



messuages, 3^ oxgangs of oxgang-Iand, 

 Sec. \ Farrer, op. cit. 21. John Green- 

 acres follows; ibid. 31. He was one of 

 the millers; ibid. 51. The sons and 

 domestics of John Greenacres were fined 

 in 1526 for grubbing hollies on Worston 

 Common ; ibid. 77. In 1516-17 Richard 

 eon of John Greenacres of Worston was 

 contracted to marry Jane daughter of 

 John Hoghton of Pendleton ; Add. MS. 

 32104, no. 586. John died about 1528, 

 hit widow being named in 1531 (Farrer, 

 op. cit. 94), and Richard Greenacres, later 

 styled 'gentleman,' appears ; ibid. 83, &c. 

 He had a son and heir John in 1539; 

 ibid. 122. 



^^ Lay Subs. Lanes, bdle. 130, no. 82, 

 125. 



^^ Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 1 6 j 

 Richard had also burgages, &c., in Clitheroe 

 and Preston. His sons were named in 

 1565 as John, Richard, Robert and Alex- 

 ander. His will is in Towneley MS. C 8, 

 13 (Chet. Lib.), G 89. Richard Green- 

 acres represented CUtheroc in the Parlia- 

 ment of 1571 ; Pink and Beaven, ParL 

 Repre, of Lanes. 248, 



^ Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 234. At Chester there arc inventories 

 for Richard Greenacres dated 1619 and 

 for John 1622 and 1628. John Green- 

 acres (d. 1622) left two sisters, Margaret 

 (d. 1650) and Frances, of whom the latter 

 became sole heiress. She married 

 Nicholas Assheton of Downham ; 

 Whitaker, PFhalley^ ii, 116. The heir 

 of Nicholas Assheton was a landowner 

 in 1626; Lay Subs. Lanes, bdle. 131, 

 no. 317. 



^ The Shireburnes had a rent in Wors- 

 ton in 1337 ; Final Cone, ii, 102. Their 

 tenement is noticed in the Ct. rol'e 

 (Farrer, op. cit. 36, &c.), and in the 

 inquisitions. ** Ibid. 28. 



="1 Ibid. 15 5 William King held 2 ox- 

 gangs of land which passed to his son 

 John in 1495. 



'* For instance, Newell of Mearlof, 

 Pudsey, Dugdale and Dawton. 



