AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



Mowbreck, 63 which remained the seat of the mission 

 till 1809, when it was removed to the chapel opened 

 at Kirkham. As an offshoot of this St. Joseph's, 

 Wesham Cross, was opened in 1886. 63 



RIBBY-WITH-WREA 



Rigbi, Dom. Bk ; Riggebi, 1226; Rygeby, 1246; 

 Ruggeby, 1249. 



Wra, 1226; Wraa, 1329. 



This township has an area of 1,387 acres. 1 Wrea 

 or Wrea Green is situated near the centre of the 

 northern border, with Ribby to the east of it. The 

 surface is higher and more undulating than in most 

 of the neighbouring townships, rising to over 100 ft. 

 above the ordnance datum in the centre and again in 

 the north-east. There is moss land at the west end. 

 The population numbered 475 in 1901. 



The chief road is that going west from Kirkham to 

 Lytham ; it passes through both hamlets. From 

 Wray Green cross roads go south to Warton and 

 north to Westby and Blackpool. 



The soil is clayey, and wheat, beans and oats are 

 grown, but three-fourths of the land is pasture. 



One of the Ribble guides used to be stationed at 

 Wrea. 



KIRKHAM 



There is a parish council. An infectious diseases 

 hospital was opened in 1902. 



Among the members of Earl Tostig's 

 MANORS Preston fee in 1 066 was RIBBT, assessed 

 as six plough-lands, 2 so that it included 

 the later townships or hamlets of Ribby, Wrea, 

 Bryning and Kellamergh. It was afterwards held in 

 demesne by Count Roger of Poltou, who in 1094 

 granted tithes from it to St. Martin of Sees. 3 Ribby 

 proper continued to be parcel of the demesne of the 

 honour of Lancaster, and is named in the Pipe Roll 

 of 1 168-9, 4 and in later accounts as contributing to 

 various aids. 6 WREA, however, which was separately 

 assessed as one plough-land, was granted in drengage, 6 

 and was in 1212 held by Richard and Gerard by a 

 rent of 6s. 7 They were probably ancestors of the 

 families afterwards using the local name, of whom, 

 however, few particulars can be given. 8 Ribby, in its 

 old form of Rigby, has also given a surname to 

 families 8 who came into notice in a number of places 

 in Lancashire. 10 



In the time of Henry VIII and later there were 

 disputes as to the right of pasture, 11 and as to the 

 bounds of the manors. 12 



Ribby and Wrea were usually farmed with 

 Singleton. 13 An extent of Ribby which was made in 



62 As in other cases practically nothing 

 is known of the 17th-century history. 

 The existence of the mission in 1669 is 

 proved from the report to the Bishop of 

 Chester already given in the account of 

 Kirkham Church. For convicted re- 

 cusants c. 1670 see Misc. (Cath. Rec. 

 Soc), v, 202. 



Robert Westby (d. 1762) is described 

 in an anniversary book now at Kirkham 

 as the founder of the chapel at Mowbreck, 

 and a priest is known to have resided 

 there in 1727. In 1774 there was also a 

 private school. Ten years later Bishop 

 Gibson confirmed fifty-five persons at 

 Mowbreck, and the number of communi- 

 cants was said to be about 180. See 

 LiverpoolCatlt.Annual{WiUovf$) ; Gillow, 

 Hay dock Papers, 68, 79. 



In 1769 was printed at Manchester 

 'The Recantation of William Gant, late 

 a clergyman of the Church of Rome and 

 for many years the officiating priest at 

 Mowbreck near Kirkham ; with some of 

 the causes which brought on his conver- 

 sion to the Church of England.' The 

 recantation itself was read in Kirkham 

 parish church before the vicar, &c. ; 

 Preston Guard, Loc. Notes, no. 320. 



68 Liverpool Cath. Annual. 



1 1,390 acres, including 7 of inland 

 water; Census Rep. 1 901. 



2 V.C.H. Lanes, i, 288a. From the 

 later records it would appear that there 

 were three plough-lands in Ribby, one in 

 Wrea, two in Bryning and one in Kella- 

 mergh, or seven in all. 



8 Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 290. This 

 will account for the 26s. %d. paid to the 

 Prior of Lancaster, as recorded in the 

 account of Kirkham Church. 



Ibid. 12. It contributed in con- 

 junction with Preston, &c. 



s The king's demesne of Ribby (three 

 plough-lands) was in 1235 granted to 

 Master John le Blund, king's clerk, for 

 life; Cal. Pat. 1232-47, p. 93. In 1226 

 Ribby paid half a mark tallage and 91. to 

 the farm of the wapentake ; Lanes. Inq. 

 and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 ■» '35i 139. In the compotu» of the 



demesne in 1246-8 Ribby appears with 

 £8 %s. n^d. ; ibid. 170. In 1248-9 in 

 a tallage Ribby paid I mark ; ibid. 1 y6. 

 The 'manor' of Ribby is recorded in 

 1256-8 ; ibid. 221. For other notices 

 see ibid. 230, 287. The accounts of 

 the halmotes of Ribby and Wrea in 1325 

 are printed in Lanes. Ct. R. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 94-5. 



6 For a time Wrea was held by the lord 

 of Clifton (q.v.) in exchange for Salwick, 

 but was exchanged back in 1200. 



7 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 51. Adam 

 de Wrea and Gerard his brother in 1200— I 

 gave the king 2 marks for confirmation 

 of their tenements ; Rot. de Oblatis (Rec. 

 Com.), 124. Wrea paid 6s. in 1226 and 

 55. tallage ; Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 139, 

 135. In 1246-8 one plough-land and three 

 drengages in Wrea contributed 1 gs. 6d. 

 to the demesne rents, and the drengs of 

 Wrea in 1248-9 paid tallage 20s. ; ibid. 

 170, 176. In 1256-8 the three dren- 

 gages paid 395. in all, and a new rent of 

 21%d. was accounted for; ibid. 221-2. 

 Ribby and Wrea each contributed 2 marks 

 tallage in 1261 ; ibid. 228. 



In 1297 the vill of Ribby and the 

 free tenants of Wrea paid in all £19 lis. 

 yearly to the Earl of Lancaster ; ibid. 289. 



8 The above-named Gerard de Wrea, 

 also Richard de Wrea and William his 

 son were benefactors of Cockersand 

 Abbey ; Ciartul. (Chet. Soc), i, 228-9. 



In 1324 John son of Jordan del Wrea 

 claimed a messuage, \ oxgang of land, 

 &c, in Wrea against Adam son of John 

 Sharpies; De Banco R. 253, m. 98. 

 Adam and John sons of John son of 

 Jordan del Wrea were in 1329 defen- 

 dants to a claim for a messuage and 

 2 oxgangs of land put forward by the 

 representatives of three sisters, of whom 

 Agnes wife of Robert del Boot had a 

 son Richard ; Margery was wife of John 

 son of William son of Simon de Medlar, 

 and Margaret was the other ; Assize 

 R. 427, m. 3 ; De Banco R. 278, m. 

 1 1 7 d. For the Boot family see also 

 De Banco R. 309, m. 13 ; 316, m. 459 ; 

 328, m. 324. 



157 



William del Bank unsuccessfully claimed 

 two messuages, &c, in Wrea and Newton 

 against Adam del Bank and others in 

 1 35 1 ; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. I, m. 

 viii d. In the following year Thomas 

 Tauntaler of the Grenes did not prosecute 

 his suit against John son of Richard de 

 Newton, who seems also to have been 

 called John del Wrea ; ibid. R. 2, m. j 5 

 Assize R. 435, m. 4. 



It was recorded in 1618 that John 

 Nickson of Kellamergh held a cottage 

 and land in Wrea of the heirs or assigns 

 of William de Wrea by 1 \d. rent ; 

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

 Ches.), ii, 88. 



9 In 131 1 there was a dispute between 

 William son of Anabil de Preesall and 

 Thomas son of Robert de Rigby regarding 

 waste in Ribby ; De Banco R. 184, m. 3. 



10 As in Little Hulton, Duxbury, 

 Wrightington and Goosnargh. 



11 In 1 5 17 inquiry was made, when it 

 was found that the free tenants of Wrea 

 had always had right of pasture on Ribby 

 Moor ; Towneley MS. OO (Singleton 

 rental). 



12 Duchy of Lane. Dep. 1 Mary, btvi, 

 R 5. John Benson and James Davy, 

 queen's farmers of part of Ribby, Cuth- 

 bert Clifton of Westby and the lords of 

 the manor of Kirkham were the parties 

 to the dispute. It was alleged that, 

 large parts of the wastes of Westby and 

 Kirkham having been wrongfully inclosed 

 within the preceding twenty years, the 

 tenants of those manors, being short of 

 common, had pastured on all the waste 

 or moor of Ribby. The bounds of this 

 last began at the east end of a close 

 adjoining Richard Crook's house, followed 

 an old ditch called Raa Ditch to the east 

 end of Tarnbreck, thence west to Tarn- 

 breck Cross, then along a running water 

 to the east end of a close by Henry 

 Hall's house, and thence along a running 

 water westward. 



13 William Skillicorne, farmer of the 

 king's lordships of Ribby, Wrea and 

 Much Singleton, not having paid the rent 

 due, was in 1483 ordered to be removed ; 



