BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



WHALLEV 



known as the manor oiCLIFIGER as early as 1381, 

 when Gilbert de Legh grandson of the tenant of 

 1 3 1 1 was found to hold it of the duke in socage, 

 rendering £^ 15/. a year on St. Giles's Day." His 

 widow Alice in 1388 held only certain lands in 

 socage, paying 12/. 8^^, for all services." The 

 * manor ' continued to be recorded in the Towncley 

 inquisitions, recoveries " and other deeds down to the 

 middle of the i8th century, but it does not appear 

 that courts were held or any rights of lordship exercised. 

 DINELET is named soon after 1 2 1 8, when Henry 



son of Richard de EUand gave land there to Robert 

 son of Siward de Worsthorne.^^ Later it was held by 

 a family who had taken a surname from it.^^ It de- 

 scended through an heiress or by purchase to the Button 

 branch of the Towneleys,^'' and was by Richard Town- 

 ley sold in 1493 to Lawrence Townley of Barnside.^^ 

 He fifteen years afterwards sold it to Sir John 

 Towneley of Towneley/^ and from that time it de- 

 scended with the principal estate or manor. The 

 estate of a junior family of Legh was also acquired by 

 the TowneJeys/'' and that of the Taylor family .^^ 



All her right in the plot of land called 

 CalveknoU (Kualueknol) was granted to 

 Gilbert son of John de Legh by Ellen del 

 Weddehouse widow of Roger Alan in 

 1525 ; Add. MS. 32104, no. 4+0. The 

 same Ellen as wife of Roger Aleyn of 

 Woodhouses in 1324 claimed a messuage 

 against Richard son of John de Legh ; De 

 Banco R. 25 1, m. 98 d. 



Henry de Cowhope in 1333 granted all 

 his lands in Cliviger to Henry del Stocks, 

 who soon afterwards transferred them to 

 Richard de Towneley for a term of ten 

 years j C 8, 13, C 120, S 104. Matthew 

 de Barcroft in 1335 gave the same 

 Richard the lordship and service of all the 

 lands in Cliviger which Henry de Cow- 

 hope held ; ibid. B 272. Adam son of 

 Matthew de Lomclough in 10 Edw. (? Ill) 

 gave Gilbert de Legh the homage of 

 Henry son of Henry de Cowhope, with 

 his rent of 4^/., while the last-named in 

 1 341 gave a quitclaim to Richard de 

 Towneley J ibid. L 183, C 128, C 109. 



Richard del Yate in 1341 released to 

 Gilbert de Legh all his right in the land 

 called Waltercroft ; ibid. Y 4. 



John dc Habergham in 1356 gave to 

 Gilbert de Legh the lands formerly be- 

 longing to Matthew son of Adam the 

 Smith, with reversion of the dower of 

 Cecily widow of Henry ; ibid. H 240. 



aa Inq. p.m. 4 Ric. 11, no. 87. 



^ Ibid. II Ric. II, no. 33. John dc 

 Towneley, the heir, in 1389 obtained the 

 lands of Adam son of Stephen del Bridge, 

 which had been granted to feoffees (ap- 

 parently acting for Towneley) in 1370 j 

 Towneley MS. C 8, 13, B 276-7. 



^ See for example Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Chet. Soc), i, 157 — John Towncley, d. 

 1399; ii, 59 — Richard Towneley, 1454, 

 the manor held of the king as duke by 

 id. rent ; ii, iii — Sir Richard Towneley, 

 d. 1482, the same socage tenure. The same 

 tenure is recorded in the later inquisitions. 



The manor and mill of Cliviger were 

 in dispute between Richard Towneley and 

 his son Sir Richard about 1550 ; Ducatus 

 Lane. (Rec. Com.), i, 271, 307. See 

 also ibid, li, 82. 



Speke Sykes is mentioned in a Townc- 

 ley deed in 1337 and Beuerley in 1525 ; 

 Towneley MS. C 8, 13, L 175, T 144. 



25 Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 9 ; the grant 

 was of land which lies on two sides of 

 Dineley Brook, viz. all the land which 

 Robert held of Henry * in the year in 

 which peace was confirmed between King 

 Henry and Louis of France.* A rent of 

 2J. 8^. was to be paid. The witnesses 

 included G., Dean of Whalley, and R. his 

 son, Matthew dc Habergham and Henry 

 his son. 



2fi One branch of the family is noticed 

 in the account of Downham. 



Matthew son of Henry de Dinelay had 

 lands from Abbot Simon (see above) ; 

 William de Dinelay occurs in the 131 1 

 list. William de Dinelay and John his son 



attested a charter of 1319-20 by which 

 John del Yate gave land between Holcroft 

 and Calder to another John de Dinelay, 

 probably the John who acquired Down- 

 ham ; Towneley MS. RR, no. 355. The 

 Dinelays of Downham had land in the 

 Ley and Holrodes in Cliviger ; ibid. DD, 

 no. 1205 ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 

 42, 122. 



Gilbert de Legh gave a messuage to 

 John de Dinelay in 13 18; DD, no. 

 1303. In 13 19 John obtained 3 acres of 

 the waste from the seneschal of Black- 

 burnshire at a rent of jzd.^ payable to 

 the earl ; Add. MS. 32104, no. 441. 



William de Dinelay in 1331 gave to 

 John son of Adam de Dinelay and Isabel 

 his wife lands between Hernesden Knoll 

 and the Calder; DD, no. 1195. Another 

 grant was made to John in 1334 by 

 Richard del Birks ; ibid. no. 123$. 



John de Dinelay was plaintiff in 1336 

 respecting trespass in Cliviger ; De Banco 

 R. 307, m. 72. Again in 1348 5 ibid. 

 354, m. 82 i 355, m. I9d. In 135s the 

 Duke of Lancaster claimed against him a 

 messuage, &c., because the accustomed 

 rent had not been rendered for two years; 

 Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 4, m. 24. It 

 is not clear whether these refer to John 

 son of Adam or John son of William. 



In 1361 William son of Robert de 

 Mereclough gave a messuage in Clitheroe 

 to John son of William de Dinelay with 

 remainder to John's son Robert; DD, 

 no. 2091. Richard son of John de Dine- 

 lay in 1360-2 confirmed the capital 

 messuage in Cliviger, formerly given by 

 the grantor's father, to John son of 

 William de Dinelay, with remainder to 

 his sons Robert and Richard ; ibid. no. 

 1201, 1268, 1316, Oliver de Dinelay 

 (son of John), rector of Thornton in 

 Lonsdale, gave a release of the same in 

 1362 ; ibid. no. 11 94. It may be noticed 

 that in 1359 John son of William de Dine- 

 lay and Robert his son had been accused of 

 harbouring a felon ; Assize R. 451, m. 2 d. 



^ Whitaker, who had access to Towne- 

 ley deeds not now available, states that 

 Robert de Dinelay (son of John) had a 

 son John, whose daughter and heiress 

 married Henry Townley about 1420 ; op. 

 cit. ii, 200. As early as 1397, however, 

 Robert de Townley granted to feoffees 

 the piece of land called Dineley, formerly 

 belonging to Robert de Dinelay, and all 

 his other lands in Cliviger; C 8, 13, 

 T 81, 117. Shortly afterwards the 

 feoffees gave the same to John Towneley; 

 ibid. M 63. In the Duchy Rolls are 

 entered deeds of 1409 and 1410 whereby 

 Robert Dinelay son and heir of Robert 

 demised all his lands in Blackburnshire 

 to Robert dc Townley and his brother 

 (? son) Henry, and afterwards released all 

 his title to the same ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. 

 xxxiii, App. 10. 



Henry Townley son of Robert in 1420 

 gave to feoffees his lands in Cliviger, 



481 



Ribchester and Dutton ; DD, no. 2020 

 Henry Townley and Margaret his wife 

 in 1421 received from the feoffees various 

 lands in Dineley in Cliviger, except the 

 messuage called Stonehouse ; ibid, no, 

 1251. In 1446 Stonehouse was granted 

 by Henry Townley to his son Thomas 

 and Margaret his wife, together with a 

 rent of los. from Pickering Place ; ibid, 

 no. 1214. 



In 1453 there was an arbitration as to 

 the bounds between Cliviger and Burnley 

 in dispute between Henry Townley of 

 Dutton and Richard Towneley of Towne- 

 ley, James Walton and John Halsted being 

 arbitrators. It was decided that the bounds 

 began ' at the raw at the over end of the 

 Floytes, so to the next dough lying north- 

 east, following up the same clough to the 

 stakes that go to the rote wait tree that 

 lies in the raw' ; C 8, 13, T 169. 



In 1479 or 1480 Thomas Townley son 

 and heir of Henry, described as * of 

 Burnley,' sold Jackhey in Cliviger to 

 Richard Towneley of Towneley ; ibid. 

 T 64, 76, 90, 133. The place occurs 

 again in 1520 ; ibid. T 86. 



^8 Ibid. T 66. The vendor describes 

 himself as Richard Townley son and heir 

 of Thomas Townley of Burnley. The 

 same Richard in 1489 granted Modwood 

 house in Cliviger to feoffees and they in 

 1 508 transferred it to Sir John Towneley ; 

 ibid. T65, 95. 29 Ibid. T 82. 



^*' Adam de Legh occurs in the 1311 

 list. He was perhaps the Adam son of 

 Michael de Legh who was a creditor of 

 John dc Potthow in 1292 ; Assize R. 

 408, m. 44. 



Lawrence son of John de Legh in 

 1352 received the confirmation of Richard 

 son of John de Dinelay for a messuage, 

 &c., lately of Henry de Thuesilton ; C 8, 

 i3>D35. 



Alice de Legh widow ot Gilbert in 

 1388 held lands in Extwistle of Lawrence 

 de Legh; Inq. p.m. 11 Ric. II, no. 33. 

 A writ concerning the outlawry of 

 Lawrence Townley alias Legh was issued 

 in 1408; Add. MS. 32108, no. 1529. 

 In 1404 Margaret daughter of Lawrence 

 Legh had released all claims to her 

 mother Margery and brother Gilbert ; 

 C 8, 13, L 174. Lawrence Legh in 1439- 

 40 granted Buckclough in Cliviger to 

 Richard Towneley; in 1457 it was 

 awarded by arbitration that Buckclough 

 was to belong to John Towneley, but he 

 was to pay 2or. to Gilbert Legh of Clifton ; 

 while the last-named, as son and heir of 

 Lawrence Legh, afterwards released all 

 his right in the land ; ibid. L 173, T88, 

 L 161. See also T 161. 



In 1493-4 Nicholas Towneley was 

 ordered to give dower to Elizabeth widow 

 of Thomas Townley ; Pal, of Lane. Writs 

 Proton. 9 Hen. VII. 



^^ In 1493 William Taylor agreed that 

 the free rent of 2.s. i^d. due to the king 

 and Sir John Towneley from landi lately 



61 



