BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



RIBCHESTER 



in Ribchester of Robert Lynalx in socage by a rent of 

 %s. 3^. 44 His daughter Grace, then aged twelve, was 

 first married to Robert Talbot, but separating from 

 him was married to John Dewhurst of Wilpshire, 45 

 and carried the Boys' estate to this family. 46 



Roger Shirebume of Buckley died in 1605 hold- 

 ing various lands of the king by knight's service, and 

 leaving as heir a son Richard, then aged six. 47 

 Buckley Hall, which stood about a mile to the 

 north-west of the town, was pulled down in 1895. 

 It was a picturesque gabled stone house with 



mullioned windows, but for some time before its 

 demolition had been spoiled externally by a thick 

 coating of whitewash. On the front was inscribed : 



NEW BUCKLEY IS MY NAME, 



RIC SHERBVRNE BVILT THE SAME 



ANNO l662, AGED 62. 48 



The Walmsleys of Dunkenhalgh 4S and Showley 60 

 acquired estates, and other owners occur in the 

 inquisitions. 51 The late T. H. Rymer of Calder 

 Abbey inherited in 1 902 a considerable estate here. 



Boys had land in Dutton about 1250; 

 Add. MS. 32106, no. 133. John son of 

 Alexander de Boys in 1292 claimed a debt 

 from his brother Jordan ; Assize R. 408, 

 m, 98. In 1390-1 Cecily widow of 

 William de Healey and Cecily his 

 daughter and heir settled certain lands 

 in Ribchester with remainders to Nicholas 

 de Boys, Alice his wife, John son of 

 Robert de Turnley and Alice sister of 

 John; Townley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. 

 Lib.), R 70. Henry son of Nicholas 

 Boys was living in 1435 ; ibid. T 128. 

 John Boys was witness in 1403 $ Kuerden 

 fol. MS. 73. Robert brother and executor 

 of John Boys was plaintiffin 1445 ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. 8, m. 2. Ellis Boys of Rib- 

 chester found security for ^20 in 1457 ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Chan. Misc. 1/1, no. 50. 



Lawrence Cottam of Garstang in 1488 

 released to John son of the late Henry 

 Boys his right in the lands, &c, recently 

 owned by Roger Elston in Ribchester ; 

 Kuerden fol. MS. 87. In 1520 John 

 Talbot of Salesbury granted Henry Boys a 

 messuage on lease (ibid. 397) ; and in 

 1524 Sir Thomas Southworth exchanged 

 lands in Ribchester for Henry's lands in 

 Mellor and Samlesbury ; ibid. 386. Henry 

 Boys made a feoffment 'of his lands, &c, 

 in Ribchester (except Moton House) in 

 1543 ; Add. MS. 32104, no. 698. 



44 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xi, no. 64. 

 He had also a tenement in Oswaldtwistle. 

 From later pleadings it appears that John 

 was the son and heir of Henry Boys. 



45 The divorce was granted in or about 

 1562, because the marriage had taken 

 place in childhood without the consent of 

 Grace ; Furnivall, Child Marriages (Early 

 Engl. Text Soc), 16. Robert Talbot and 

 others in 1563 became bound to William 

 Dewhurst of Wilpshire and John his son 

 to abide the award of an arbitration con- 

 cerning Boys House and other lands, &c, 

 in Ribchester ; Add. MS. 32104, no. 714. 

 John Dewhurst and Grace his wife de- 

 mised a plat of land called Cockcroft to 

 Richard Watson in 1565 ; Kuerden fol. 

 MS. 95. They were still living in 1590, 

 when they made a feoffment of the 

 capital messuage called Boys House, &c. ; 

 ibid. Again, in 1599, they made a settle- 

 ment by fine ; ibid. 94. 



There is a pedigree in the 1613 Visit. 

 (Chet. Soc), 96 ; see also the account of 

 Wilpshire, and T. C. Smith, Ribchester, 

 235-7. 



46 There were a number of suits before 

 the succession was settled. In 1565 

 Robert Talbot complained that, whereas 

 Boys House should be in his possession 

 in right of his wife Grace, the Dewhursta 

 had entered, and were cutting down 

 hedges, destroying ' the great timber 

 woods and underwoods,' &c. The de- 

 fendants alleged the divorce and new mar- 

 riage of Grace to John Dewhurst j Duchy 

 of Lane. Plead. Eliz. lxv, T 5. 



fn 1576 William Boys of Great SVing 



in Middlesex, son of Edward and grand- 

 son of Henry Boys, sought to recover 

 Boys House, the ferry over the Ribble 

 known as * the ferry of Osboston,' &c, 

 alleging that Grace, the child of his uncle 

 John Boys, was illegitimate. The de- 

 fendants stated that John Boys was 

 divorced from his first wife Anne Dew- 

 hurst before he was married to Alice 

 Rodes, and that it had been decided in 

 court in 1557 that Grace should enjoy the 

 Boys estate ; Duchy of Lane. Plead. 

 Eliz. xcix, B 18 ; cvi, B 15 ; ccx, D 7. 



William Dewhurst, son of John and 

 Grace, died at Ribchester in 1621 hold- 

 ing Boys House, &c, of Richard Shire- 

 bume ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, 284. The surname long 

 remained known in the township. 



47 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 58-61. The holding was a 

 composite one. Two messuages with 

 land called the Hagges were held of the 

 king as of his duchy of Lancaster by the 

 200th part of a knight'i fee, a half 

 rood of land was held by the 300th 

 part of a fee, 2 acres called Sprodspool 

 by the 200th part, and the rest by the 

 twentieth part of a fee. A settlement is 

 recited, made by Richard Shirebume, the 

 father of Roger, in 1589-90, relating to 

 the capital messuage called Buckley, and 

 giving the names of fields, lanes, &c. — as 

 Turnley, Chester gate and Kendal heys. 



In the pedigree by Mr. C. D. Sherborn 

 {Fam. of Sherborn, 104-8) it is stated that 

 Richard the father was a son of Roger 

 Shirebume of Wolfhouse in Chipping, 

 and that Richard the son (who built New 

 Buckley in 1662) died in 1674 without 

 issue. It appears, however, that Richard 

 the father was a brother of Roger of 

 Wolfhouse (ibid. 57-9), for in 1554 a 

 settlement of an estate in Ribchester 

 which seems to be certainly that of Buck- 

 ley was made by Robert Shirebume and 

 Margery his wife in favour of their son 

 Richard. In default of issue the lands 

 were to go to Richard son of Sir Richard 

 Shirebume of Stonyhurst ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 15, m. 65. 



Buckley is named in a 13th-century 

 grant by William Moton to Thomas son 

 of Ralph de Ribchester ; Towneley MS. 

 OO, no. 1 210. 



In the 1 8th century Buckley Hall was 

 tenanted by a family named Pye ; Smith, 

 op. cit. 253-6. 



48 Smith, Hist, of Ribchester, 240. 



49 Roger de Walmersley in 1360 had 

 lands in right of his wife Alice, who seems 

 to have been an Ellel ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. 

 xxxii, App. 343. Robert de Walmerlegh 

 alias Walmesleye of Ribchester received a 

 pardon in 1400-1 ; Pal. of Lane. Chan. 

 Misc. 1/9, m. 146. 



In 1550 or later Alexander Walmsley 

 of Elston, Margaret his wife and Robert 

 and Thomas their sons acquired various 

 lands, which seem to have passed to the 



49 



Dewhurst family j Add. MS. 32104, 

 no. 1128, 693, &c. j Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 19, m. 64 ; 45, m. 169. 



Thomas Walmsley, father of Sir 

 Thomas and Richard, purchased a mes- 

 suage, &c, from Richard Singleton and 

 Alice his wife in 1562; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 24, m. 10. He added 

 other lands, more especially for his 

 younger son ; but in 1584, in the in- 

 quisition after his death, the tenure of his 

 estate in Ribchester is not recorded j 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 72. 

 The son, Sir Thomas Walmsley of 

 Dunkenhalgh, at his death in 1612 held 

 his moiety of lands herein socage ; Lanes. 

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

 249, 252. The tenants' names are given. 



In 1653 Dame Anne Lucas of Dunken- 

 halgh and Thomas son and heir of 

 Nicholas Walmsley of London sought 

 allowance of their title to a tenement in 

 Ribchester leased to Thomas Dewhurst 

 in 1597. Two-thirds had been seques- 

 tered for the recusancy of Leonard 

 Walmsley, deceased, husband of Eliza- 

 beth Dewhurst (one of the lives) \ Cal. 

 Com. for Comp. iv, 3126. 



50 Richard Walmsley of Showley 

 (brother of Sir Thomas) had part of his 

 father's lands ; his principal acquisition 

 was that of the Preston family's estate in 

 1593 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 55, 

 m. 92. He died in 1609 holding Fasten- 

 fields of the king by knight's service ; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc), i, 149. This 

 had belonged to the Hospitallers. 



At one time the family resided at 

 Ribchester, Richard Walmsley being 

 described as ' of Ribchester ' when he 

 registered his estate as a * Papist ' in 

 1717 ; Estcourt and Payne, Eng, Cath. 

 Non-jurors, 100. Part of their estate was 

 in 1867 given to the support of the alms- 

 houses ; End. Char. Rep. 



51 In the earlier fines and pleadings 

 names of owners occur, but these have 

 usually to be recorded also in other town- 

 ships; e.g. Dodhull and Hurst, 1335, 

 and Hayhurst, 1 3 5 5 ; Final Cone, ii, 96, 

 147. Shaw of Elston held land in 1446 ; 

 ibid, iii, 112. 



A small part of the land given to the 

 Hoghton chantry in 1407 was held of 

 Rpbert Townley by the rent of zs.; Inq. 

 a.q.d. file 435, no. 26. Henry son oi 

 Robert Townley had lands in Cliviger, 

 Ribchester and Dutton in 1420 ; Towne- 

 ley MS. DD, no. 2020. Alice widow of 

 John Anderton of Ribchester in 1453-4 

 leased her lands to John Towneley of 

 Birtwistle and afterwards sold them ; 

 Towneley MS. C 8, 1 3 (Chet. Lib.),, 

 A49, 50. Richard Towneley had lands 

 in the township in 1447 and 1473 '•> *kicj. 

 B 297, 301, 304. Richard Townley of 

 Dutton in 16 18 held his lands in Rib- 

 chester and Dilworth. of Richard Shire- 

 bume by 6d. rent ; Lanes. Inq. p.m, (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 137. 



