AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



In 1066 WESTBT and PLUMP- 

 MANORS TON, each assessed as two plough-lands, 

 formed part of Earl Tostig's Preston lord- 

 ship. 6 Later they are found to be held of the king 

 in thegnage as part of the estate of the lords of 

 Clifton. 7 In 1372 Robert de Clifton and his men 

 were charged with having seized one William Garlick 

 at Little Singleton, carried him off to Westby and 

 there imprisoned him for a fortnight, carrying off 

 also his corn and other goods. In defence it was 

 pleaded that Garlick was a villein as of Clifton's 

 manor of Westby and had absconded. 8 Except for 

 about a century — from 1 5 1 2 onward — the manors, 

 usually regarded as one, viz. Westby-with-Field Plump- 

 ton, have descended like Clifton, in the account of 

 which will be found also the story of the exceptional 

 period referred to. During that time Westby was 

 the residence of the Clifton family. 



In the 14th century Great Plumpton appears to 

 have been held by a junior branch of the Clifton 

 family, using Plumpton as a surname. 9 A ' manor ' 



KIRKHAM 



of Field Plumpton was held by Thomas Lathom in 

 1370. 10 The Singleton family had a part of Plump- 

 ton, 11 and one or two other estates occur in the 

 inquisitions. 13 



Cockersand Abbey had a little land in Plumpton. 13 

 James Sanderson and a number of others registered 

 their estates as ' Papists' in 1 71 7. 14 



' The Cliftons maintained a priest at Westby 

 throughout the days of persecution. If he was not at 

 all times resident in the hall, owing to the surveillance 

 of the pursuivants, he was not far distant ; and per- 

 haps sometimes there was more than one priest attend- 

 ing to the wants of the district.' 15 About 1700 

 James Barrow, a Jesuit, had charge. In 1 716, after 

 the defeat of the Jacobites at Preston, he was con- 

 victed of recusancy and declared an outlaw. He 

 escaped capture. 16 The Jesuits remained in charge till 

 1791, and were succeeded by Benedictines and then 

 by the secular clergy. A chapel was built at the west 

 end of the hall in 1 741, but closed by Thomas 

 Clifton, who had become a Protestant, in 1845. The 



6 V.C.H. Lanes, i, 288a. 



7 See the account of Clifton. Richard 

 de Holland and Margery his wife claimed 

 4 acres of brushwood and 150 acres of 

 moss against the Priors of Durham and 

 Lytham, who proved that the 4 acres 

 were in Lytham, and alleged that Henry 

 de Clifton, formerly husband of Margery, 

 bad allowed them common in the moss, 

 but on this point the verdict was for the 

 plaintiffs ; Assize R. 407, m. 3. 



In 1 323 the capital messuage of Westby 

 was worth \od. a year ; in demesne were 

 72 acres of arable land, worth Sd. each, 

 and 6 acres of meadow, worth lzd. each, 

 a water-mill, a horse-mill, and a wind- 

 mill, each worth 135. \d. Tenants at 

 will held eight cottages, 96 acres of arable 

 [and and 4 acres of meadow. In Little 

 Fieldplumpton were eight cottages and 

 96 acres of arable land held by tenants at 

 will, and in Great Fieldplumpton two 

 cottages and 32 acres, held similarly ; 

 Inq. p.m. 17 Edw. II, no. 32. 



The rental of Westby (Towneley MS. 

 00) shows that the demesne was worth 

 ,fi!i year in 1509 ; the tenants' rents 

 and services were valued at £12 1 y. l\d. 

 The field-names include Gude Marten, 

 StanalL Prestoft, Humbur and Smerdell. 



Peel in Marton and Ballam are men- 

 tioned in the account of Clifton. The 

 former pasture belonged to the Earl of 

 Derby, and was about 1520 occupied by 

 William Clifton, who paid £2 a year, 

 as appears from the rental at Lathom. 



8 De Banco R. 446, m. 96. Plaintiff 

 said his grandfather William Garlick had 

 come to Westby from Hoole in the time 

 of Edward I. 



9 Thomas de Clifton seems to have held 

 4 oxgangs of land in Great Fieldplump- 

 ton in 1289 — that would be a fourth part 

 of Plumpton ; De Banco R. 80, m. 125 d. 



In 1299 Egelina widow of Walter de 

 Cbfton claimed dower in a messuage, &c, 

 an*i 4 oxgangs of land in Great Field- 

 plumpton against Gilbert de Singleton, 

 who called Thomas de Clifton to warrant 

 him; ibid. 127, m. ii4d. Afterwards 

 Thomas called John son of Walter de 

 Clifton to warrant him ; ibid. 138, m. 99. 

 Isabel widow of William de Clifton 

 claimed dower in two messuages, tec, and 

 4- oxgangs of land in Field Plumpton in 

 1324-5 against William son of William de 

 Clifton, and recovered ; Assize R. 426, 

 m. 8. 



Nicholas del Marsh in 1327 com- 

 plained that John son of Walter de Clifton 

 and William his son had carried off certain 

 goods of his at Great Plumpton ; De 

 Banco R. 269, m. 63 d. Then in 134; 

 Joan widow of John son of Walter de 

 Plumpton claimed dower in a messuage 

 and 4 oxgangs of land in Great Field- 

 plumpton against William son of John 

 de Plumpton ; ibid. R. 342, m. 336 d. 



This was probably the estate of six 

 messuages, 4 oxgangs and 8 acres of land, 

 and 60 acres of pasture, which was in 

 1359 settled upon Robert Griffin and 

 Joan his wife and their heirs male, with 

 remainders to Thomas Tittele, to the 

 issue of Joan, and to Sir William de 

 Clifton ; Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), it, 160. 



It may be added that Denis son of 

 Nicholas del Marsh was plaintiff and 

 William de Clifton defendant in a dispute 

 as to land, &c, in Westby in 1322 ; 

 De Banco R. 244, m. 128. 



10 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. ii, no. 7. 

 It is recorded that Thomas de Lathom 

 ' died seised of the service of Robert de 

 Clifton, who held of him the manor of 

 Field Plumpton in socage, rendering 

 yearly 6s. %d., which manor Thomas held 

 of the manor of Penwortham by the said 

 service.* This last clause seems to be 

 erroneous, but it is possible that the 

 Robert de Clifton here named as tenant 

 was the Robert Griffin of the last note. 



11 Gilbert de Singleton of Broughton 

 has been named above. In 1325 he held 

 a fourth part of the vill of Great Plump- 

 ton, which Nicholas del Marsh held of 

 him for life by the service of a rose at 

 Midsummer ;Inq. p.m. 19 Edw. II, no. 67. 



In the 1 6th century the Singletons of 

 Staining held land in Plumpton, but the 

 tenure is not stated. 



12 Thomas Earl of Derby in 15 21 held 

 lands in Plumpton, but the tenure is not 

 recorded ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, 

 no. 68. This may have been the ancient 

 estate of Thomas de Lathom in Field 

 Plumpton. In the Derby rental of the 

 time (preserved at Lathom) appears ' £4 

 from the farm of the manor and 8 ox- 

 gangs of land with the appurtenances ' in 

 Plumpton demised to John Skillicorne. 

 The name appears again in 1653 among 

 the confiscated estates of the seventh 

 earl 5 Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 237. 



175 



George Allen of Poulton died in 1579 

 holding messuages, &c, in Plumpton 

 of Cuthbert Clifton in socage ■; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 80 ; Lanes. Inq. 

 p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 198. 



The tenure of the lands of Shireburne 

 of Stonyhurst is not stated. 



Anthony Billington died in 1631 hold- 

 ing a messuage, &c, in Plumpton of 

 Robert Bannester 5 John his son and heir 

 was nineteen years of age 5 Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. xxx, no. 70. 



13 Walter son of Osbertgave the canons 

 the house which had been Alan Taylor's, 

 with the croft, also a moiety of Pilate- 

 furlong, with common in the vill of 

 Plumpton ; Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. 

 Soc.), 1, 211. William son of Walter 

 confirmed the gift. Richard son of 

 Richard Russel seems to have been the 

 tenant in 1268; ibid. 212. The rental 

 is printed ibid, iii, 1262. 



14 Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath. 

 Non-jurors, 90, 96, 97. The other names 

 were William Lund, William Hodgson, 

 Grace Thompson, widow, Roger Taylor, 

 John Postlethwaite, Thomas and Richard 

 Kirby, Thomas Blackhurne of Great 

 Plumpton, William Bamber, George Ball, 

 Edward Parkinson of Ballam (under the 

 will of Gregory Crook), George Cowburn 

 of Little Plumpton, and William Lathom 

 (at Tarbock). 



15 Gillow, Haydock Papers, 31. < In the 

 days of persecution mass was said at two 

 farm-houses in this district, one at Moss- 

 side, the other at Little Plumpton, where 

 William Hodgson used to live, one room, 

 containing theological books, being always 

 kept locked ' ; Estcourt and Payne, op. 

 cit. 90. 



16 Gillow, op. cit. 232-4. The govern- 

 ment's officer gives a lively account of his 

 search for the priest and his spoliation of 

 the chapel, in which he had been assured 

 there was good quantity of plate 5 'this 

 I gathered,' he says, ' from one of the 

 dragoons who was of these congregations 

 about four years since, but now a true 

 Protestant, and was privy to all those 

 secret places.' He did not find the 

 plate, and the people vainly endeavoured 

 to rescue the books, &c, which he took. 



Fr. Barrow had £12 from the college 

 (i.e. his order) and £6 from Sir T. Clifton 

 and others 5 his successor in 17 51 had 

 the more liberal stipend of £80 ioj. ; 

 Foley, Rec. S. J. v, 321-I- 



