AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



PRESTON 



Apart from the lords of the manor there are few 

 records of estates in the combined township, 48 and in 

 most cases the owners of them did not reside there. 

 A branch of the Hoghton family, however, was in the 

 17th century resident in Grimsargh, and in 1653 

 William Hoghton, a ' delinquent,' whose estate had 

 been ordered for sale by the Parliament, desired to 

 compound, but was too late. 49 William Elston and 

 William Hoghton in 1631 paid £10 each, having 

 refused knighthood. 60 Several estates of Grimsargh 

 'Papists' were registered in 1717. 61 



In connexion with the Church of England a chapel 

 was erected at Grimsargh about 1 7 1 6 by the efforts 

 of Samuel Peploe, vicar of Preston. 62 It was dedi- 

 cated to St. Michael. It was entirely rebuilt in 

 1868-9 by the Rev. John Cross, brother of the lord 

 of the manor. 63 It had a separate parish assigned to 

 it in 1875. 64 The vicars are presented by the vicar 

 of Preston. 



A Congregational mission was begun in 1903. 

 St. John's College, Grimsargh, is a private adven- 

 ture school for boys. 66 



ELSTON 



Etheliston, 12 12; Echelyston, 1284; Echilston, 

 1285 ; Ethelston, 1297 ; Etheleston, 1 30 1 ; Elston, 

 Elleston xv cent. 



This township has an area of 96 1£ acres, 1 and in 

 1 90 1 there was a population of 59. The Ribble 

 forms a large part of the boundary, and in a bend of 

 it there is some low-lying level ground, but the sur- 

 face in general is elevated, rising quickly till over 

 200 ft. above sea level is attained. There are woods 



overlooking the river at the eastern end, and the 

 western boundary is formed by a small wooded clough. 

 The principal road runs south from the Preston and 

 Longridge road, through the middle of the township, 

 till it reaches the level tract mentioned ; here is the 

 hamlet of Elston. 



The land is chiefly in pasture. The soil is clay, 

 loam and alluvial, with subsoil various. 



The pipe line of the Manchester water supply from 

 Thirlmere passes through the township, and thence 

 through the Ribble into Samlesbury. 



The manor of ELSTON, assessed as 

 MANOR one plough-land, appears to have been sepa- 

 rated from Grimsargh after the Conquest 



and given to the lord of Penwortham. Warine 



Bussel gave it with Heaton in Lonsdale to Hamon le 



Boteler in free marriage, 2 and 



Hamon appears to have given 



it to the Knights of St. John 



of Jerusalem, a gift ratified 



by Albert Bussel. 3 The 



knights gave it to William 



son of Hamon, to be held 



free of suit to their court of 



Amounderness, but paying an 



annual rent of 8.f. and an 



obit of 2 marks. 4 This free 



rent, representing the lord- 

 ship of the Hospitallers, was 



in 1 6 1 3 acquired by the 



Shireburnes of Stonyhurst. 6 



The estate of William son of Hamon in Golborne 6 



descended to the Hoghton family, but Elston went in 



Walmsley. Gules 

 on a chief ermine fwo 

 hurts. 



<8 Ellis de Knoll and Alice his wife 

 about 1290 granted Edmund Earl of 

 Lancaster a piece of land in Grimsargh 

 lying on the east side of his park of 

 Hyde ; Great Coucher, i, fol. 62, no. 13. 

 Matthew de Huyton (? Heaton) and 

 Maud his wife in 1323—4 claimed land 

 in Grimsargh against Alice the widow 

 and Adam the son of Ellis de Knoll ; 

 Assize R. 425, m. 5 d. 



In 1351 Roger de Blackburn acquired 

 a messuage and land in Grimsargh from 

 John son of Ralph de Freckleton and 

 Maud his wife ; Final Cone, ii, 131. 



William Pole and Margery his wife in 

 1378 held two messuages with land and rent 

 in Grimsargh, Brockholes and Preston ; 

 ibid, iii, 5. Their tenant Richard de 

 Smewes was perhaps the Richard who 

 occurred as defendant in July 1351 5 Duchy 

 of Lane. Assize R. 1, m. 5. 



William Pole was in 1398-9 accused 

 of felling and carrying away certain trees 

 belonging to Nicholas de Brockholes ; 

 Add. MS. 32107, no. 1020. Later 

 (1454-5) an agreement was made between 

 John Pole and John son of Roger Elston 

 as to the bounds of their lands in Brock- 

 holes ; Kuerden MSS. vi, fol. 74. 



John Singleton in 1530 held land in 

 Grimsargh of Sir Richard Hoghton in 

 socage ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, 

 no. 32. In 1 541 Gabriel Hesketh pur- 

 chased from another John Singleton lands 

 in Claughton and Grimsargh ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 12, m. 60. Bar- 

 tholomew Hesketh of Rufford made a 

 purchase in 1536-7 ; Pal. of Lane. Plea 

 R. 162, m. 15. George Hesketh of 

 Poulton died in 1571 holding land in 

 Grimsargh of Thomas Hoghton by a 

 rent of \d, ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 



xiii, no. 15. See also Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 363. 



Evan Browne of Ribbleton in 1545 

 held land in Grimsargh of Richard 

 Hoghton by a rent of zod. ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. vii, no. 24. Thomas 

 Brockholes in 1567 also held land there 

 of Thomas Hoghton ; ibid, xi, no. 6. 



The Gerards of Brynn had land in 

 Grimsargh said to be held of the king in 

 thegnage by a rent of zd. in 1537 ; ibid, 

 viii, no. 29, 13. William Pemberton in 

 1575 purchased a messuage and land 

 there from Sir Thomas Gerard ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 37, m. 154. 

 Richard Pemberton died in 1619 holding 

 of Sir Richard Hoghton by a rent of 6d. ; 

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

 Ches.), ii, 224. 



Thomas Asshaw in 1564 purchased a 

 tenement there from the Earl of Derby ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 26, m. 

 152. This was perhaps the messuage 

 held in 1627 by Sir John Radcliffe of 

 Ordsall, the tenure not being stated in 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxv, no. 6. 



Thomas Shireburne of Heysham held 

 land in Grimsargh of Hoghton in 1635 ; 

 Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 1083. 

 19 Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 301 ; Index of 

 Royalists (Index Soc), 42. See also Fish- 

 wick, Preston, 361. 



Two husbandmen of Grimsargh, 

 Thomas and John Cosson, being 'sus- 

 pected of popery,' were in 1653 summoned 

 before the committee for compounding. 

 They did not appear, and the two-thirds 

 of their estates were sequestered ; Cal. 

 Com. for Comp. i, 656. 



60 Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 221. 



113 



51 Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath. 

 Nonjurors, 95, 136-7. Their names were 

 Paul Charnley, John Coseney, Robert 

 Hummer, Richard Fishwick, George 

 Clarkson, James Rogerson, Gilbert Slater 

 and Thomas Slater. 



62 Gastrell, Notitia (Chet. Soc), ii, 

 470. It was consecrated in 1726. 



63 T. C. Smith, Longridge, 210-14; 

 notices of curates in charge and vicars are 

 given, with a view of the church. See also 

 Hewitson, Our Country Churches, 85-8. 



A ' Capellanus de Brockholes ' attested 

 an agreement in 1253, but the place- 

 name may be the surname only ; Harl. 

 MS. 21 1 2, fol. 65/107. 



64 Land. Gax. 14 May 1875. 



65 T. C. Smith, Longridge, 216. The 

 place was formerly known as The Her- 

 mitage, the residence of a family named 

 Chadwick. 



1 959 acres, according to the Census 

 Rep. 1901, including 30 of inland water. 



2 Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes." and Ches.), i, 30. 



3 Ibid. Elston (30 acres) was confirmed 

 to the Hospitallers by Henry II and 

 Richard I (1189) ; Cartas Antiquae T 39 

 and RR17 (noted by Mr. R. Gladstone, 

 jun.). It is named among their lands in 

 1292 ; Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 

 375. 



* Lanes. Inq. and Extents, loc. cit. from 

 Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 82*. 



5 Elston is named among Hospitallers' 

 lands granted in 161 1 to George Whit- 

 more and others ; Pat. 9 Jas. I, pt. xxvii. 

 It was sold to Richard Shireburne of 

 Stonyhurst in 1613 ; Kuerden MSS. ii, 

 fol. 132. It is named in an inquisition ; 

 Duchy of Lane Inq. p.m. xxvi, no. 4. 



6 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 74. 



15 



