A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Henry de Cl.iytnn.' There are charters showing 

 later generations of the family,'" but before the end of 

 the 13 th centur)' the lordship 

 had been acquired by the 

 Rishtons, probably by mar- 

 riage, and they retained it for 

 more than 300 years. From 

 the site of their residence the 

 manor was in later times 

 named PONTHJLGH}' 



The earlier descents of the 

 lords have been related in the 

 account of Rishton," a manor 

 forfeited about the time 

 Church was acquired. The 

 first to appear at the latter 

 place was Gilbert de Rishton, 

 who made various grants to 

 Robert his eldest son," Adam son of L'ctred de 



Rishton of Pont- 

 halgh. Argent j feue 

 embattled sable and in 

 chief rzvo mullets of the 



:e:ond. 



Church, in one place st\ led * formerly lord of the 

 vill/'* giving releases I <>th to Gilbert and Robert.'* 

 Robert occurs in pleadings from 1 291 onwards", 

 in nil he held the plough-land in Church of 

 Henry de La v by 6s, rent and doing suit to the 

 court of Clitheroe." A number of his charten 

 have been preserved." His son Gilbert in 1325-6 

 obtained lands in Church from Roger de Altham." 

 Robert son of Gilbert prosecuted the claim for the 

 manor of Rishton in 1356"; in 1376 he rcLcivcd 

 from his trustees lands in Oswaldtwistle which had 

 belonged to Robert son of Henry de Rishton.*' Ralph 

 de Rishton acquired further lands." He died in 

 1417, leaving a son Richard, on whose death without 

 issue in 1425 a younger son Roger succeeded." 



Roger Rishton was then thirty-three years of age. 

 He was outlawed in 1447,'^ and an inquiry into his 

 possessions was made." He no doubt obtained pardon, 

 for in 1453 Thurstan Rishton, rector of Stanhope, 



» Final Cone, i, i 5 i (York) and addenda 

 (Wcttminster). In the same year Uctred 

 released his claim in UphoUand to Matthew 

 de Holland ; ibid. 14- L'ctred attested a 

 Harwood charter in 1192 j F. -refract 

 ChartuL (Yorks. Arch. Snc), ii, ;26. He 

 was fined half a mark (i 2c;-4.) for not 

 having the man he had pledged j Farrcr, 

 Lane. Ptfyc R. 169, i;S. 



'0 Mo^t of the charters by * Uctred de 

 Church' arc probably by a later I ctrcd 

 than the one living in 1202. An Uctred 

 son <-if Lctrcd de Church occurs ;Townclcy 

 M^ DD. no. 8^7. Abojt 1250 the 

 Abbot of kirkstall granted to Richard son 

 of Adam dc Tottleworth land called Wall- 

 bank in Church which had been received 

 from Uctred de Churchy a rent of 6J. 

 was to be paid; Townclcy MS. HH, 

 no. 57. Uctred dc Church gave land m 

 the Imp* and Smerebutts, a little island 

 called Oidmill holme, and a messuage by 

 St. Oswald's Well, to Richard the alwvius 

 and assignee of Henry the chaplain 

 of Risht- n \ ibid. no. 59 Uctred gave 

 lands to Roger de Dun'Kcnha!^h, and to 

 Roger son of Adam dc Radcliffc by Agnes 

 he give 2 oxgangs of land in Church ; 

 one of them had been held by Robert 

 aon-in-law of Paulinu ', it being the eighth 

 part of the \iU of Ch-r^h, an! the other 

 bad been held by Robert son of Warinc de 

 K.oul ; ibid. no. 64. Uctred de Church 

 gave a meisuage and garden once occupied 

 by Roct-r son "i' Hcnrv to William son of 

 Uctred dc Koul ; i ownclcy MS. OO, 

 no. !oi^. 



'* This is I modern spelling 5 the old 

 one was Powthaigh, or some variation 

 of it. 



'* The l'olln\v;np is the outline : Henry 

 de Blackburn -s. Gilbert dc Rishton — s. 

 Henry — s. GiLcrt -s. Robert -s. Gilbert 

 — $. Robert -s. Ralph. 



'^ He gave all his land in Church at a 

 rent of 2:. payable to the chief lords j 

 Towneley MS. DD, no. 1378. Also land 

 bought from Adam son of Uctred de 

 Church ; ibid. no. 1389. He also gave a 

 release of his rents in Church, viz. iJ. for 

 the Rodes from Adam son of Alan de 

 Rodes, and ^d. from Robert son of Henry 

 de Church ; HH, no. 46. 



Adam de Rishton the illegitimate son 

 of Gilbert a>3 had land in Church. Thus 

 Robert son of Henry de Church gave to 

 Adam son of Gilbert dc Ri=htcn and Mabel 

 his wife land between certain bo-.nd% and 

 Ponthalgh which he had by the gift of 

 Adam son of Uctred de Church ; DD, 



no. 14:''. Adam dc Rishton and Mabel 

 his wife gave i messuage in Church to 

 Agnes their ma. J, daughter of Peter de 

 RadclifFc, and this was confirmed by Mabel 

 as wid 'W in 1300 ; HH, no. ^q, 40. 



In I 295 Robert son of Alan the Turner 

 ot C h'jrch granted a hou'^c, &C., in Church 

 to Adam de Rishton, win Ji his wife (Alice 

 daughter of Uctrt-d) had granted Adam 

 while her husband was absent on business ; 

 lirM.kholcs nt Claughton D. ; Add. MS. 

 321-^4, no. 4^2. 



'* Assize R. 40", m. 1 d. 



*' Me quitclaimed the Rodes to Gilbert 

 dc Rishton ai to the chief lord ; HH, 

 no. 50. Further to Gilbert he released 

 all lands, and to Robert son of Gilbert 

 lands and rents ; DD, no. 14C8-9. To 

 Robert he alio granted land in Langelyn 

 lurlong, a piece of meadow between the 

 church and the house of Robert son of 

 Henry dc ChurcS, and a rood of land on 

 the north side of the house -^'i Maud daugh- 

 ter of Uctred dc Church ; HH, no. 43. 



Adam son of Uctred dc Church granted 

 to his sister Alice five selions on the cast 

 side of the church road (t/j ecc/ciie) of 

 Church, an arrow to be rendered yearly ; 

 HH, no. 24. To his lord Henry de Lacy 

 he gave his mill of Church j ibid. no. 36. 



In two places Adam hrofher of Uctred 

 de Church occurs ; ibid. no. 38, 48. He 

 m.-iy have been son of one Uctred and 

 brother of another. Agnes daughter of 

 Uctred de Church, as a widow, gave to 

 Robert her ^^.n land which had been given 

 to her in free marriage ; ibid. no. 41, 



'* Adam dc Church complained in 1291 

 that hit common of pasture had been 

 diminished by various approvements by 

 Adam son of Uctred and his successor 

 Robert dc Rishton, but the verdict was 

 against him ; Assize R. 407, m. i d. In 

 1 301 there were cross-suits between 

 Robert de Rishton and Agnes daughter of 

 Peter dc Raddiffe ; Assize R. 1321, 

 m. 8 d. Agnes daughter of Peter de 

 Church in the same year released to Robert 

 dc Rishton lands (Holdcrth, &c.) formerly 

 held by Robert son of Kenry de Church 5 

 HH, no. 44, 135. Peter de Church in 

 1315 called upon Robert de Rishton as 

 mesne to acquit him of the services 

 demanded by Thomas Earl of Lancaster 

 as due from Peter's tenement, which was 

 held of Robert; De Banco R. 212, 

 m.407 d. Peter de Church, while William 

 dc Tatham was steward of the hundred, 

 released all his lands to Robert de Rishton ; 

 DD, no. 1405. 



400 



'" Land. Inq, and Exrcir, ii, 1 1 ; the 

 name is wrongly given as John. In 1323 

 the king, in right of Clithcroe, had i is. 6d. 

 of the farm of court, meadows, ridding, 

 &c. ; ibid. 193. 



^■^ From Roger Nowcll he obtained the 

 assart of Richard the Chaplain's son in 

 exchange for land by Wallbank ; MM, 

 no. 12. Robert the son and Maud the 

 daughter of Henry de Church released to 

 him their right in land between Lege and 

 Antley syke ; ibid. no. 52, 19. 



Armctridding in Church was released 

 to him by Richard son of Adam dc Church ; 

 DD, no. 1417. Robert the Turner and 

 Alice his wife granted him five sclions by 

 the chuich road ; ibid. no. 1372. Alice 

 was a d;nighter of Uctred dc Church j sec 

 notes 1 3 I'md 1 5 above. 



1" YIH, no. 5. TliL- Altham family 

 appear earlier, for in 1284 John dc Altham 

 claimed a messuage and an oxgang of 

 land then held by Richard le Rous and 

 Alice his wife, alleging that his father 

 Alexander dc Altham had been seised 

 thereof; Assize R. 1268, m. 11 ; 1271, 

 m. 12 d, ; 1277, m. 32*. 



^ See the account of Rishton. In 1355 

 William del Wallbank gave lands in 

 Church to Robert de Rishton ; Townc- 

 lcy MS. YlHf no. 114. 

 ^' Ibid. no. 10. 



" Ralph was son of Robert, as appears 

 by the inquisition cited below. In 1391—2 

 William de Haleghs (of Accrington) and 

 Elizabeth his wife gave lands in Church 

 to Ralph dc Rishton, Elizabeth as widow 

 releasing in 1401 ; HH, no. no, 106. 

 Ralph in 141 3 gave lands in Church to 

 trustees; DD, no. 1366. His widow 

 Cecily in 1421 received from John son of 

 William Talbot lands on the west and 

 south of Hyndburn, pertaining to an 

 oxgang in Church which had formerly 

 belonged to Roger Stephenson ; H H, no. 8, 

 She was living In 1426 ; DD, no. 1367. 

 ^ Lanct. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 13. 

 The manor of Ponthalgh was stated to be 

 held of the king as duke by a rent of 61, 

 Sec also Duchy of Lane. Ct. R. bdlc. 78, 

 no. loio. 



** Dtp. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 539. 

 ** Lanes. Rec. Misc. Inq. p.m. no. 8. 

 The return (1449) is torn and illegible. 

 R^gcr Rishton held in Nov. 1443 a mes- 

 suage and lands in the vill of Church 

 called le Povthalgh, worth eight marks a 

 year clear . also messuages occupied by 

 Isabel 1 , : >w of William Coliintoa, 

 Robert Tomlinson, Stc, 



