A HISTORY Ol LAlsUAbHlKli 



^^,^^ succeeded by his pr.indson W'dlism Dind.iy, then 

 aged tivent\ -five." At Uilliam'b death in 1535 he 

 was found to have held the manor of the king as Duke 

 of Lancaster, not in chief as before.' His son Henry 

 was then twehe year; old, and sold the manor to 

 Ralph Greenacres in I 5+5." He in 1^58 sold it to 

 Richard Assheton," the purchaser of W'halley Abbey, 

 who in 1563 tr.msferred it to Edward Dauncey,'" but 

 subsequently regained it." He died in 1579, having 

 directed a partition of his estates between the sons of 

 his nephew Ralph Assheton of Great Lever," so that 

 while the eldest obtained Whalley at his f.ithcr's death 

 in I 5 8 ;," the younger son Richard As^heton succeeded 

 to the manor of Downham. 



During the r.-igns of Elizabeth and James I there 

 were great disputes between the lord of Downham 

 and his tenants and the tenants of Chatburn also re- 

 specting Downham Green, which had been inclosed." 

 The following are examples of the complaints : Early 

 in the former reign the tenants of the queen's manor 

 of Chatburn alleged that all the people of the lordship 

 had been accustomed to have common on ' one great 

 waste ground thereto adjoining commonly called Down- 

 ham Green,' but Richard Assheton ' of his malicious 

 and covetous mind ' had recently inclosed " 40 acres 

 of it with a great ditch and a hedge. In 1570 

 Assheton was petitioner ; the green belonged to his 

 manor, and he had inclosed about 20 acre-, leaving 

 some 500 acres ;till unfenced within the manor of 

 Downham, but some Chatburn people, ' envying and 

 malicing the good and pm^perous estate' of their 

 neighbour, had assembled in warlike array, together 

 with a great number of the women of Chatburn, and 

 had broken down his wall of inclosure, so that he had 

 no profit from it." In 1590 only about 30 acres of 

 the green were left open, and the people of Chatburn 

 aprjcJ with Richard Assheton, he allowing them 11 



AssHiTON of Down- 

 ham. .•/' ^ftt a " .(//*•/ 

 j-;A/tf pierced of the 

 fieU. 



acres, 'to be measured after the rate of 8 yds. to the 

 pole,' and to be taken on the Chatburn side of the 

 land ; the queen was asked to ratify this agreement 

 and to allow her copyholders 

 to occupy this addition to the 

 manor at the rate of 4 /. an 

 acre.'' Thomas Ryley, one 

 of the leaders of the Chat- 

 burn tenants, made further 

 complaint in 1593 that he 

 had been prevented from dig- 

 ging for stones and burning 

 them in lime-kilns on Down- 

 ham Green.'" 



In I 591 Richard Assheton 

 had agreed to a delimitation 

 of the boundary of the town- 

 ship." In 1609-15 inquiry 

 was made on behalf of the Crown as to the right 

 to view of frankpledge, &c.,''' and a royal confir- 

 mation was in 1615 given by James I." A settle- 

 ment of the manor was then made by Richard Assheton 

 and Margaret his wife.'" The family were Puritan in 

 religion." The eldest son of Richard Assheton died 

 in 1596 by bewitchment, as was supposed, so that the 

 inheritance devolved on the second son Nicholas, whose 

 Journal for 1 6 1 7- 1 9 gives a vivid picture of the life of 

 a country gentleman at that time— divided between 

 society, church-going, farming, carousing and sport." 

 A settlement of the manor was made in 1 624 by 

 Richard Assheton, Margaret his wife, Nicholas Asshe- 

 ton and Frances his wife." Nicholas died in 1626, 

 and then his cousin Sir Ralph Assheton of Whalley 

 appears as owner," but Ralph Assheton son of Nicholas 

 succeeded, and on his death in 1643" his brother 

 Richard came into possession. He was a member ot 

 the Presbyterian Classis in 1646, and died in 1657, 



-' Duchy of Lane. Inj. p.m. iv, no. S- 



" Ibid, vii, no. 8 ; there were also 

 daughters Grace and Agnes. Nicholas 

 Hjncock was brother-in-law. .A messuage, 

 &c., had been granted to Joan daughter of 

 Thomas Lister of Weslby in Craven, 



" For the descent from this time see 

 Whitak'-r, IVIiiiltry, ii, 120. 



Ii 1548 Henry Dinelay complained that 

 he had bt-cn defrauded of the manor. His 

 story wa« that he agreed with Ralph 

 Greenacres concerning the marriage of 

 his prospective children ; should he have 

 a son and heir this son was to marry 

 Ralph's daiii^hter, but should his heir be 

 a daughter ^he was to m irr\' Ralph's son. 

 Being ignorant of Latin he signed certain 

 deeds which Ralph said would carry out 

 this arrangement, but which he kmnd 

 afterwards were a full conveyance of the 

 manor to Ralph at a perpetual rent of 

 £2.0. He charged his uncle Nicholas 

 Hancock of Lower Higham with a share 

 in the fraud ; Du:'.y Plead. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 26, "4.. One of 

 the deponents said that Dinelay, when 

 taken to Serjeants' Inn in London to 

 acknowledge a fine concerning the manor, 

 UJ3 muffled with his hat-band and covered 

 w ith a cloak, though it was on'y six o'clock 

 on a summer afternoon — he was afraid of 

 bciss: recognized and arrested by Ralph 

 Green-icres. Thi=, however, was denied, 

 but Dinelay was arrested at Chester. The 

 court in 1 5 ^o decided in favour of Green- 

 acres and awarded him ;^ioo tor expenses; 

 ibid, s; . 



For the recovery (i'; + 7) sec Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. 183, m. 6. 



Anne widow ot Henry Dinelay died in 

 1596 holding fin her own iij,'ht) tene- 

 ments in PerJicton, Clitheroe Castle 

 parish, (<L:c. Thcvhal a bod William, aged 

 nine in 1600 ; Liian. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), v, 

 26,--. 



'■ Whit.iker, loc. cit. 



" Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdlc. 25, m, 

 100 ; Edward Daunccy v. Richard Asshe- 

 ton anl Jane his wi(e, Eiiward Dauncey 

 contributed to the subsidy at Downham in 

 1^6^ ; Lav Subs. Lanes, bdle. 250, no. 2, 

 In 1566 Dauncev, as ^-eised in fee, pro- 

 ceeded against various persons for trespass, 

 Sec. ; Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), ii, 323. 



^' In 1567 ; PaL of Lane. Plea R. 221, 

 m. <;. 



8" Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. jtiv, no. 86. 

 He held the manor of Downham with 

 messuages, watcr-miil, i&c,, of the queen 

 as of her duchy of Lancaster, 



" Ibid. no. 90. Downham was held of 

 the queen as of her duchy by the fourth 

 pai^ of a knight's fee and a rent of 

 ^13 6s. id. 



In 158S a settlement of the manor of 

 Downham was made between Richard 

 Assheton, Ralph his brother and Ralph's 

 wife Joan ; PaL of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdlc. 50, m. 178. 



^^ There arc documents, Scc^ relating 

 to the dispute in Towne'ey MS. GG, fol. 

 410 ; Ducatus Lane, ii, 210 ; iii, 209, &c.\ 

 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. ;-^, m. 25 ; 

 281, m. 1 1 d. ; 29-, m. i S ; 3 13, m. 9 ; 



Lanes, and C/ies, Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lanes. 

 and ChcB.), ii, 237, &c. 



»» Duchy of Lane. Plead. Eliz. xli, 



C -. 



■'' Ibid, cxliv, A 10. 



"^ Ibid, exlvi, K +. 



■■"' Ibid, elxvi, R 3. 



«7 GG, fol. 4oyA. 



t'' Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 305, m. i-l.; 

 308, m. 9 ; 312, m. 17 \ Townclcy MS. 

 C 8, 13, D46. Richard Assheton in his 

 defence stated thrit John de Dinelay, the 

 grantee in 13S+1 had a descendant livin:', 

 one Richard Illingworth. 



" Pat. 13 Jas. I, pt. iii. 



" Pal. of Lane, Feet of F. bdlc. 86, 

 no. 21. 



*^ The Journal of Nicholat Assheton 

 supplies proof. 



*' It is printed in Whitaker, op, cit. ii, 

 122-41, and by the Chet. Soc. (old scries, 

 xiv), with notes by Canon Raincg. The 

 great event recorded is the king's visit to 

 Hoghton Tower. There is d notice of 

 the writer in Diet. Nat. Biog. 



« Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdlc. 105, 

 no. 36. For one in the preceding year 

 ly Richard Ajsheton and Nicholas h 1 

 son and heir-apparent see ibid. bdk. 104, 

 no. 54. 



** Sir Ralph Assheton contributed to 

 the subsidy of 1626 as for Dowoham^ani 

 his son's wife was buried there in 16;^. 



^'- He w,j5 a Parliamentarian, being 

 placed on the committee for sequestering 

 Royalists' estates in 164;; i.ivtl f^'ar 

 Tracti 'Chet, Soc.^, 90. 



