BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



WHALLEY 



Mearley in 1 320-1.21 T^g estate continued for 

 many generations in the family of Morley of 

 Wennington ; it was held of the king as duke by 

 knight's service, sometimes defined as the sixth part 

 of a knight's fee.^^ It was sold about i 570.**^ 

 One or two other landowners occur.^^ 

 The formation and descent of LITTLE 

 MEARLET are obscure. In 1242 William the 

 Marshal held the tenth part of a knight's fee there, 

 and Hugh de Mearley held the fifty-sixth part of a 

 fee.2* It appears that John de Lacy, who died in 

 I 24 1, had granted to William Nowell, who must be 

 the same as the Marshal, the whole of Little Mearley 

 to be held by the twelfth part of a knight's fee.^^ In 

 1243 the earl's action was complained of aa unjust. 



and Margery widow of Ellis de Snelleshou sought to 

 recover against William Marshal the third part of 

 2 oxgangs of land as her dower.^^ In 1 3 1 1 William 

 de Heriz held one plough-land in Little Mearley by 

 the eighth part of a knight's fee and 9J/ rent,^^ but 

 in 1349 ^^^ ^^^v% were stated to hold the twelfth 

 part of a fee.^^ In 1355 the heirs of Hugh de 

 Mearley were found to hold his fraction, while 

 Marshal's part was held by John de Morley, Richard 

 Nowell and John de Greenacres,*^ and a similar 

 record occurs later.'*^ 



The Nowells, probably related to the Great 

 Mearley family, appear to have acquired nearly the 

 whole of this part of the township/^ but little is 

 known of them ^^ till the time of Henry Nowell, 



de Balderston. Richard de Morley in 

 1306 claimed a messuage in Great Mear- 

 ley against Roger son of Michael de 

 Birkin ; De Banco R. 160, m. 180. The 

 Morley3 arc more closely identified with 

 the manor of Wennington in Lonsdale, 

 acquired by marriage about 1350. 



The alienation led to disputes between 

 the Nowell and Morley families. In 1331 

 Adam Nowell and his son Richard the 

 elder agreed as to Roger son of Roger 

 NoweU's improvements, &c., with John 

 dc Dinclay, Elizabeth Mauncel and John 

 de Morley ; DD, no. 604. Ten years 

 later Richard the elder, son of Adam 

 Nowell, released the rent of 6s. z^d. due 

 from Elizabeth widow of Richard dc 

 Morley and John the son and heir of 

 Richard ; ibid. no. 605. In 1346 Richard 

 Nowell granted to John de Morley the 

 moiety of the water-mill with the water- 

 course of Thirse Clough ; ibid. no. 609. 

 I" ^357 Richard made an attempt to 

 recover the lands which Roger had alien- 

 ated ; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 6, m. 3 d. ; 

 Assize R. 438, m. 14 d. He alleged that 

 one Adam Nowell in the time of Edward I 

 gave them to Roger Nowell and Elizabeth 

 his wife -s, Adam -s. Richard, plaintiff. 



^* Coram Rege R. 254, m. 45 d. John 

 son of WiUiam son of Helcwise was 

 found guilty and hanged for it. 



^^ In 1507 the estate consisted of six 

 messuages, &c., in Great and Little 

 Mearley held of the king as duke by the 

 sixth part of a knight's fee 5 Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. lii, no. 34. In the other 

 inquisitions the tenure is similarly de- 

 scribed. Oldficld in Great Mearley is 

 named in one of them as a part of the 

 estate ; ibid, iii, no. 89. 



^^ John Hoghton and Miles Aspinall 

 m 1574 obtained three messuages, &c., 

 in Great Mearley from Thomas Morley, 

 Elizabeth his wife and Elizabeth Morley, 

 widow ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 36, 

 m. 227. This may have referred to a 

 mortgage leading to a sale. 



John Hoghton of Pendleton died in 

 1583 holding two messuages in Mearley 

 of the queen by knight's service ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 14, 



Miles Aspinall died in 1606 holding 

 an estate in Great Mearley by the 

 twentieth part of a knight's fee and 3;/. 

 rent ; it had first been acquired on lease 

 to James Aspinall from Thomas Morley 

 of Wennington in 1535 and from his son 

 Thomas in 1 562 ; Lanes, Inq. p,m, (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.}, ii, 40 ; Ducatus 

 Lane. (Rec. Com.), ii, 73 ; iii, 122. In 

 1598 James Aspinall obtained a messuage, 

 &c., in Great Mearley from Thomas 

 Hoghton, Katherine his wife and Mary 

 Singleton, widow ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of 



F. bdle. 60, m. 92. Miles's son James 

 Aspinall was aged about forty at his 

 father's death, and died in 1635 holding 

 a messuage in Great Mearley, and leav- 

 ing daughters and their issue to inherit. 

 These were Agnes (aged foity) late wife 

 of John Halstead, Catherine (thirty) wife 

 of Francis Webster, daughters of James, 

 Thomas Rigby (twenty) son and heir of 

 Mary daughter of James, John Ryley 

 (fifteen) son and heir of Margaret daughter 

 of James j Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 

 xxvii, no. 24. James Aspinall of Mearley 

 compounded in 1631 for refusing 

 knighthood by a fine of ^^13 6s. 8^.; 

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

 217. 



^* Ralph son of Peter Clough died in 

 1 605 holding a tenement in Mearley of the 

 king as duke by the four-hundredth part 

 of a knight's fee. He left a son and heir 

 Ralph, aged two ; Lanes. Inq. p.m, (Rec. 

 Soc), I, 41. For a Clough family dispute 

 see Ducatus Lane, iii, 415, 455* 



The Tattersall family had a messuage, 

 &c., in Clitheroe and Mearley in the time 

 of Henry VII j ibid, i, 123. 



The subsidy roll of 1581 names James 

 Asmall and Christopher Nowell ae paying 

 for their lands 5 and that of 1600 like- 

 wise records Christopher Nowell, Eliza- 

 beth his mother, James Asmall and 

 John Bayley as landholders ; Lay Subs. 

 Lanes, bdle. 131, no. 235, 274. 



^* Lanes. Inq. and Extents^ i, 151. It 

 belonged to the dower of the Countess 

 of Lincoln, like Great Mearley. 



36Harl. MS. 2077, fol. 326. The 

 deed was in the custody of John Nowell 

 of Little Mearley in 1652. 



^ Cur, Reg. R. 130, m. 13. The 

 jury found that Ellis had held the 2 

 oxgangs on the day of his marriage with 

 Margery, and that John de Lacy had 

 unjustly occupied the land and enfeoffed 

 William Marshal. It was therefore 

 ordered that Margery should be compen- 

 sated out of other lands of Edmund de 

 Lacy the heir, who was under age. 



^8 Lanes. Inq. and Extents^ ii, 1 3. Heriz 

 seems here and elsewhere to represent 

 Ralph Ic Rous. 



^^ Lansdowne Feodary in Haines* Lanes. 

 (cd. 1870), ii, 693. 



A note in the Shireburne abstract book 

 at Lcagram, of unknown origin, states 

 the heirs of Robert (? William) Heriz 

 were four daughters — Elizabeth married 

 to — Nowell, Margaret to Robert de 

 Morley, Katherine to Robert de Gazegill 

 (Gaskell) and Agnes to Richard de Lang- 

 ley. In 1344 Elizabeth daughter of 

 William Heriz gave all her part of Little 

 Mearley to John son of Richard de 

 Morley ; ibid. The Gazegill share 



377 



appears to have been acquired by the 

 Shireburnes of Stonyhurst (ibid.), but no 

 tenure is recorded in their inquisitions. 

 See note 44 below. 

 ^^ Feudal Aids, iii, 88. 

 *^ Inq. p.m. 3 5 Edw. HI, pt. i, no. 1 22. 

 John de Morley, Richard Nowell and 

 John de Greenacres the tenth part of a 

 fee in 1361. Also in 1378 John de 

 Morley, John Nowell and John de Green- 

 acres held the tenth part of a fee and 

 the heirs of Hugh de Mearley the fifty- 

 sixth part 5 Duchy of Lane. Misc. Bks. 

 cxxx, fol. 20. 



*^ The Nowells named in the preceding 

 note may have been of Great Mearley, 

 but others of the name occur in the 

 neighbourhood. Thus in 1357, in a 

 Pendleton settlement, Agnes daughter of 

 John Nowell of Great Mearley put in a 

 claim ; Final Cone, ii, 154. John son of 

 Richard Nowell in 13 18-19 S^^^ ^o 

 Richard de Morley, Elizabeth his wife 

 and John their son lands in Great 

 Mearley j Towneley MS. HH, no. 

 725. 



William Nowell occurs in 1377-8 ; 

 ibid. no. 734. In 1384-5 Robert de 

 Henthorn gave lands in Worston to 

 Thomas son of William Nowell, John 

 Nowell of Read beiftg a witness ; ibid. 

 no. 729 J Farrer, Clitheroe Ct. R. I, 3 (John 

 was another son). In 1406 Robert son 

 of William Nowell gave his brother John 

 Nowell all his lands in Worston ; HH, 

 no. 731. John Nowell occurs in 1 396-7 ; 

 ibid. 733. 



"^^ Roger Nowell was a juror in 1425 ; 

 Farrer, op. cit. 12. John son and heir 

 of John Clitheroe in 1443-4 released 

 to Roger son of John Nowell all his right 

 in lands in Little Mearley, Clitheroe and 

 Worston which his father had had by the 

 gift of John Nowell ; HH, no. 724. 

 This John appears to be the John 

 Nowell of Worston of the preceding 

 note. 



Roger Nowell of Mearley was defendant 

 in 1443-5 ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 5, m. 

 9 5 7, ni. 8. The feoffees in 1455-6 

 granted to Roger Nowell of Mearley all 

 lands ; HH, no. 722. In the same year 

 he gave Almscroft In Clitheroe to feoffees ; 

 ibid. no. 736. He had in 1431-2 given 

 part of a burgage in Marketgate in 

 Clitheroe to Thomas Brown ; ibid. no. 



737- 



In 1445-6 Thomas Booth and Agnea 

 his wife, late wife of William Morley, 

 held the tenth part of a knight's fee in 

 Little Mearley ; while the same Thomas 

 and Agnes, Roger Nowell and William 

 Gazegill held the fiftieth part of a fee 

 formerly Hugh de Mearley's ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Knights' Fees, bdle. 2, no. 20. 



48 



