BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



WHALLEY 



gave Button Place in Church to Roger Rishton, Richard 

 his son and Alice Harewell daughter of Richard son 

 of Henry Rishton.^e Richard son of Roger Rishton 

 ^^ 1 47 3 granted the mese place in Church called 

 Ponthalgh to Henry Rishton,^'' and he occurs as late 

 as 1488, in which year he gave the manor of Pont- 

 halgh to Ralph his son and heir at a rent of £j.^^ 



Ralph Rishton 2^ died in 1527 holding the capital 

 messuage called Ponthalgh Hall and various messuages, 

 rents, &c., in Church of the king as Duke of Lancaster 

 by 6s, rent ; he had other lands, &c., in Oswaldtwistle 

 and Rishton. His son Roger, then twenty-two years 

 of age, had been married to Anne daughter of Giles 

 Livesey-^*^ Roger was living in 1561 ^i ; he had two 

 sons, of whom the elder, Ralph, acquired Dunken- 

 halgh,^2 but left no legitimate issue,^^ and Ponthalgh 



passed to the younger, William,^^ who died in 1589, 

 holding it as before, and leaving a son and heir Ralph, 

 aged ten. 3^ At Ralph's death in 1625 the estate 

 passed to his son William, then nineteen years of age.^** 

 In the Civil War time Ponthalgh was sequestered by 

 the Parliament^'' and in 1652 declared forfeit and 

 sold.^^ William Rishton, however, survived his 

 troubles, and was living in 1 664, when he recorded a 

 pedigree ; his son William was then thirty-one years 

 old. 3^ The family from that time falls out of notice. 



The manor of Church was acquired by the 

 Walmesleys of the adjacent Dunkenhalgh,^^ and has 

 descended with that estate to Mr. G. E. Petre.*^ 



There were various minor families in the town- 

 ship, but little can be recorded of their estates. 

 The names of RadcliiFe,42 Church,43 Cattlow,^^ 



^^ DD, no. 1385 i the deed mentions 

 the * cemetery of the parochial church of 

 Church * and the confluence of Hyndburn 

 and Aspden Brook. 



2^ HH, no. 148. Richard Rishton of 

 Ponthalgh is named again in 1482 ; ibid, 

 no. 1 12, 



28 Ibid. no. 83. 



^ In 1517-18 Ralph Rishton of Pont- 

 halgh made a feoffment of lands in 

 Ponthalgh, Church and Rishton ; HH, 

 no. 142. In 1 5 1 8 marriages were arranged 

 between Roger son and heir of Ralph 

 Rishton and Anne daughter of Giles 

 Livcsey ; also between James son and 

 heir of Giles and Ralph's daughter Alice ; 

 DD, no. 1392. 



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



*^ In 1536-7 Roger Rishton of Pont- 

 halgh, Henry Rishton of Dunkenhalgh 

 and Nicholas Rishton of Antley are named 

 in a bond ; HH, no, 137. In 1536 Roger 

 and others were concerned in the destruc- 

 tion of a bridge in the highway at Church, 

 and had destroyed a pew in the church 

 there, &c. ; Pal, of Lane. Writs of Assize 

 28 Hen. VIII. In 1542 he granted to 

 a trustee lands in Rishton and Church, 

 the deed naming Ellen his wife and Ralph 

 his son and heir ; DD, no. 1394. Roger 

 was in mercy for defaults in 1 544, and in 

 1546 was summoned for debt by the 

 executor of his brother Thomas ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. 176, m. 10; 182, m. 9 d. 

 He was dead in 1564, when his widow 

 Ellen was administering his estate ; ibid. 

 215, m. 14. 



32 See the account of Clayton-Ie-Moors. 

 In 1 56 1 as Ralph Rishton of Dunkenhalgh 

 he gave to Giles Dewhurst his manor of 

 Ponthalgh, then in the tenure of Roger 

 Rishton his father, &c. ; DD, no, 1373. 

 Giles regranted the manor and water-mill 

 to Ralph in 1562 ; HH, no. 152. 



^3 In 1 53 1-2 Roger Rishton agreed 

 that his son Ralph should marry Ellen 

 daughter of Richard Townley of Royle 

 according to the time appointed by 

 Nicholas Townley, clerk, king's chaplain j 

 HH, no. 150. 



Ralph next allied himself with Elizabeth 

 Parker of Horrocksford, but the union 

 contracted at Clitheroe Church was after- 

 wards declared illegal, as his first wife was 

 still living. Elizabeth, calling herself his 

 widow, sought dower in 1574 ; DD, no. 

 1404. The claim showed that Ralph and 

 Ellen (Townley) had lived together as 

 man and wife, thus ratifying the child 

 marriage, Ellen afterwards went out of 

 her mind, owing partly to sorrow for her 

 father's death and partly to the anxiety 

 caused by her husband's absence in the 

 king's wars. Ralph then (c. 1545) during 



her life cohabited with Elizabeth, by whom 

 he had several children \ there was a form 

 of marriage, as above stated, but by infor- 

 mation of Ralph's father the parties came 

 (c, 1552) under the censure of the 

 ecclesiastical court and were ordered to 

 separate. There was no valid marriage 

 after Ellen's death (c. 1555). Then 

 about 1560 Ralph Rishton married Anne 

 Stanley, who had been his mistress, but 

 had been (c. 1550) compelled by force to 

 go through the ceremony of marriage 

 with one John Rishton though she had 

 refused cohabitation, and Ralph had 

 several children by her ; Dep. at Chester. 

 See also Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com,), ii, 

 398 ; iii, 25, 58. 



^'* In 1542 Roger Rishton of Ponthalgh 

 gave lands in Rishton to his son William; 

 DD, no. 1380, Ralph son of Roger 

 Rishton of Dunkenhalgh in 1566 granted 

 his brother William, described as of 

 Lincoln's Inn, a rent of £^ ; Ellen 

 Rishton, widow (of Roger), was tenant of 

 Ponthalgh by Ralph's gift 5 ibid. no. 1387. 

 In 1573, after Ralph's death, William 

 son of Roger Rishton of Ponthalgh 

 released his claim in certain lands which 

 Thomas Walmesley, serjeant-at-law, had 

 purchased from Ralph ; ibid, no, 1365. 

 In the following year he gave two mes- 

 suages in Tottleworth to trustees ; ibid, 

 no. 1384. He gave the manor of Pont- 

 halgh to Robert Charnock in 1578, pro- 

 bably in trust ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdle. 40, m. 5. William Rishton was 

 engaged in various suits respecting lands 

 in Ponthalgh, &c. ; Ducatus Lane, iii, 25, 



36, 59- 



3^ Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xv, no. 55. 

 Ralph had married Dorothy, one of the 

 daughters of George Talbot, William 

 Rishton had a younger son William and 

 three daughters. His will is in DD, no. 

 1393. He and his nephew Roger Rish- 

 ton had in 1580 referred the succession 

 to Ponthalgh to arbitration ; Kuerden 

 MSS. ii, fol. 239. In 1604-5 Anne 

 Rishton of Huncoat Hall, spinster, gave a 

 bond to her brother Ralph Rishton of 

 Ponthalgh ; HH, no. 105. 



^^ Duchy of Lane. Inq, p.m. xxvi, no, 



37. In 1619 he had enfeoffed Thomas 

 Walmesley and others in the estate, 

 settling it upon his sons and their male 

 issue. Ponthalgh is not called a manor, 

 but the old rent of 6s. was payable. 

 Dorothy the widow of Ralph was living 

 at Ponthalgh. 



William Rishton in 163 1 paid ^10 as 

 composition for declining to take knight- 

 hood ; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 216. 



^^ CaL Com. fir Comp. iv, 2530-1, 



401 



The reason of the sequestration is not 

 stated. 



88 Index of Royalists (Index Soc), 44. 



3» Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 250, 



^0 The Rishtons of Dunkenhalgh had 

 held a messuage, &c., in Church either of 

 the heir of Dutton by a rose rent (1529) 

 or else of the lord of Church in socage 

 (^53°) j Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, 

 no. 36, 9. This would pass to Sir 

 Thomas Walmesley on his purchase of 

 Dunkenhalgh, and at his death in 1612 

 he was found to have held a little land in 

 Church of the king in socage ; Lanes. In^. 

 p.m. (Rec Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 252. 



*^ The manor of Church is named with 

 the other Petre manors in 1787 and 

 1808 ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 646, m. 9 ; 

 Lent Assizes 48 Geo. Ill, R. 18. 



^^ Roger son of Adam de Radcliffe gave 

 to Peter his brother by the same father 

 and mother land in Church at a rent of 

 zs.\ Add, MS. 32104, no, 1150. To 

 this charter Uctred de Church and Adam 

 son of the priest were witnesses. See also 

 Towneley MS. RR, no. 417. 



Henry son of Roger de Oswaldtwistle 

 gave to Peter son of Adam de Radcliffe 

 land which Henry had had from Robert 

 son of William de Church, at a rent of 

 \zd.\ Add. MS. 32104, no, 1162. Adam 

 de Rishton and Mabel his wife made a 

 grant to Adam de Church son of Peter de 

 Radcliffe ; ibid. no. 1163. Adam son 

 and heir of Peter de Radcliffe gave his 

 land in Church to his sisters Christiana 

 and Agnes, and a confirmation or addi- 

 tional grant was obtained from Adam and 

 Mabel de Rishton ; ibid. no. 1147, 1159. 

 To the sisters Christiana and Agnes land 

 called Angrum was given by Adam son 

 of Roger de Dunkenhalgh ; it was 

 bounded on the east by Antley sykc, on 

 the south by the dyke between Church 

 and Oswaldtwistle, and on the west by 

 Rodes ; ibid. no. 1136. A third sister, 

 Cecily, occurs. 



" From preceding notes it will be seen 

 that various families, including Radcliffe, 

 used Church for a surname. In 1284 

 William son of Peter de Church claimed 

 a tenement against Adam son of Peter de 

 Church; Assize R. 1265, m. 4. In 

 1292 Robert son of Christiana de Church 

 was accused of trespass by Alice de 

 Rishton ; ibid. 408, m. 93 d., 102 d. 



Simon son of Peter de Church gave a 

 quitclaim to Robert de Rishton ; HH, 

 no. 63. John de Church and Ellen his 

 wife are named in 1361 j DD, no. 141 1. 



^■* Christiana daughter of Peter de Rad- 

 cliffe gave land in Jordan houstead to 

 Robert de Holt and Agnes his wife ; Add. 

 MS. 32104, no. 1 142. The said Robert 



51 



