A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Blackpool — the name of Layton having been super- 

 seded — being 3,601 acres.* The population of Black- 

 pool was 47,348 in 1901.* The surface, though 

 level, rises somewhat towards the east, and on the 

 higher land is placed the village of Layton, just out- 

 side Blackpool. Little Layton is about a mile to the 

 north of it with Warbreck to the west. Whinney 

 Heys is on the extreme eastern border. Layton 

 Hawes was at the south end of the township ; horse 

 races used to be held there yearly.' 



Roads spread out in all directions from the centre 

 of the Blackpool shore line. There are three 

 approaches to the town by railway : the old line, a 

 branch from the Preston and Fleetwood railway 

 turning off at Poulton with a terminus at Talbot 

 Road, near the North Pier ; a second line, coming 

 from the south through Lytham, with a station at 

 South Shore and a terminus near the Tower ; and a 

 more direct line from Kirkham, having the same 

 terminus, but a separate station at South Shore. 

 Electric tramways run north to Fleetwood and south 

 to St. Anne's and Lytham. 



In 1837 the market house and market field were 

 still known, though the chartered market and fair 

 had long ceased ; the cross and stocks had also dis- 

 appeared. 4 The cuckstool was still pointed out, and 

 ' riding the stang ' had been a custom.' The 

 ' Layton miser,' one John Bailey, was remembered. 7 



In 1 296 a ship from Ireland laden with victuals for 



the king was driven ashore at Layton ; the goods 

 were seized by the people and the king's men were 

 ill-treated. M 



In 1066 LA1TON was in the 

 MANORS hands of Earl Tostig as part of his 

 Preston lordship. 10 It was in later times 

 a part of the Warrington fee, and in 1236 it was 

 recorded that the heirs of Sir Emery le Boteler held 

 three knights' fees in Warrington and Layton 'of 

 ancient feoffment,' " Layton being one fee." Thus 

 their tenure went back to the time of Henry I. 

 Layton was composed of Great and Little Layton, 

 Warbreck, the Pool, and Threfeld, and Great Bispham 

 was the other member of the fee. These, or most of 

 them, are spoken of as separate ' manors.' Great 

 Marton was later added, though the tenure differed. 

 In 1297 William le Boteler held Layton with its 

 members (Great Marton not being included) of the 

 Earl of Lancaster by knight's service, rendering 10/. 

 yearly." This payment was for castle ward. The 

 manors continued to descend in the same way as 

 Warrington" until 1 539—43, when Sir Thomas 

 Butler sold his Layton lordship, with Great Marton 

 included, to John Browne, citizen and mercer of 

 London," who in 1 550 sold to Thomas Fleetwood," 

 the purchaser of Rossall. It was given to his younger 

 son William, 17 who, however, afterwards transferred 

 it in 1596 to his brother Edmund. 18 It descended 

 like Rossall 1 ' till 184 1, when Sir Peter Hesketh 



s Census Rep. 1 90 1. This area in- 

 cludes 7 acres of inland water, but not 

 the 75 acres of tidal water (sea) and the 

 foreshore. 



3 This includes 7,659 in the added 

 portion of Marton. 



' Thornber, Blackpool, 198. 



' Ibid. 270. 



* Ibid. 276 ; perhaps by ' cuckstool ' 

 the pond was meant. 



' Ibid. 277. 



8 -' Cal. Pat. 1 292-1 30 1, p: 216. 



>° V.C.H. Lanes, i, 288a. 



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

 and Ches.), i, 145. 



12 Ibid. 1515 Layton was held in 

 demesne. The fee appears to have been 

 one of 10 plough-lands, made up thus — 

 Layton 6, Great Bispham 4. 



18 Ibid. 289, 316. 



u Survey of 1346 (Chet. Soc), 58 ; at 

 that time i6j. %d. was paid for castle 

 ward and 6s. id. for sake fee. 



See also Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, 40, 195; iii, 8, 122; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 113 ; ii, 

 73, 82 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 536 ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 13. 

 The Layton estate appears from these 

 to have been regarded as a provision for 

 the widows or younger children of the 

 lords of Warrington. In 1299 Isabel 

 widow of Henry le Boteler claimed a 

 messuage and 30 oxgangs of land in 

 Layton as dower ; De Banco R 1 30, 

 m. 2 1 9 d. 



John de Haydock and Joan his wife 

 put forward a claim to the manors in 

 1357; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 6, 

 m. 4 d. 



1 5 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 1 2 

 (1539), m. 31 ; the manors of Pool, 

 Warbreck, Great Marton, Bispham and 

 Little Layton, &c, are named. The 

 remainder of the Layton estate appears 

 to have followed in 1543 ; see Bcamont, 

 quoting Bold D., in Lords of Warrington 

 (Chet. Soc), ii, 454. Apart from their 



being named separately there is nothing 

 to show that Pool and Warbreck were 

 independent manors. 



16 Pal. of Lane Feet of F. bdle. 14, 

 m. 276 ; John Browne and Christina his 

 wife were deforciants, and the estate in- 

 cluded the manors of Great Layton, 

 Great Marton, Pool, Warbreck, Bispham 

 and Little Layton, with messuages, lands, 

 windmills, water-mills, dovecotes, rents, 

 100 acres of alder, &c, in the places 

 named and also in Norcross, Trunnah, 

 Holmes, Stalmine, Staynall, Hambleton 

 and Rowall. £1,500 is the price named. 



Queen Mary in 1554 gave a confirma- 

 tion of his estate to Thomas Fleetwood, 

 tie reason being that Sir Thomas Butler 

 had been indebted to Henry VIII and 

 had pledged and sold his manors in 

 consequence 5 Pat. 1 Mary, pt. ii, printed 

 in Porter, Fylde, 306-7. 



Thomas Fleetwood died in 1576 hold- 

 ing the manors of Great Layton, Sec, of 

 the queen as of her duchy by one knight'B 

 fee ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xii, 

 no. 2. 



17 Fishwick, Bispham (Chet. Soc), 9, 

 quoting Duchy of Lane Plead. Eliz. 

 lxxxix, F 2. 



William Fleetwood in 1574 made a 

 feoffment of his manors of Great Layton, 

 Marton, Great Bispham, lee. ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 36, m. 181. 



A special commission as to the manor 

 was issued in 1588 ; Lanes, and Ches. Rec. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 343. 



18 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 59, 

 m. 125. The deforciants were William 

 Fleetwood and Jane his wife, and the sale 

 included the manors of Great Layton, 

 Great Marton and Great Bispham, with 

 windmill, water-mill and open lands and 

 moor, tec, in Layton and the neighbour- 

 hood ; also the advowson of Poulton 

 vicarage. 



A large number of messuages, with 

 lands, tec, and rights of common, in the 

 same hamlets and townships, were at the 



24-8 



same time lold to John Hulton and John 

 Hodgson j ibid. m. 320. John Hulton 

 of Darleys died in 1606 holding lands in 

 Great Layton, the Pool, Warbreck, dec, 

 of the king in chief by knight*s service ; 

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

 Ches.), i, 68. A small part of the same 

 appears to have been acquired by John 

 Hodgson, who died in 1630 holding a 

 messuage in Great Layton and another 

 in Little Layton, with common of pasture 

 on the Hawea, Sec. The tenure is not 

 recorded. The heir was a grandson 

 Richard (son of Henry son of John), who 

 was Bixtcen years old ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p.m. xxv, no. 1. Robert Hodgson, 

 probably a younger son of John, held a 

 messuage in a place called the Poo! in 

 Great Layton (i.e. at Blackpool), and 

 died in 1 627, leaving a son and heir John, 

 aged sixteen, in 1634 j ibid, xxvii, no. 62 ; 

 Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 512. 

 Richard Hodgson in 1630 held a messuage 

 in Little Layton of Sir Paul Fleetwood 

 and another in Great Layton of the king ; 

 his heir, a brother William, died in 1631, 

 leaving two daughters, Margaret wife of 

 Richard Bamber and Jane wife of Thomas 

 Elston ; ibid. 514. 



The feet of fines for 1574 and there- 

 abouts show that William Fleetwood 

 disposed of much of his estate in parcels. 



19 Edmund Fleetwood died in 1622 

 holding the manors of Great Bispham, 

 Layton and Marton of the king by the 

 two-hundredth part of a knight'k fee ; 

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

 Ches.), iii, 315. The manors of Layton 

 and Marton were in the hands of his son 

 Sir Paul Fleetwood in 1653-4 ; PaL of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 153, m. 30. Some 

 later references may be added: 1695 — 

 the manors of Great and Little Layton, 

 Warbreck, Great Bispham and Great 

 Marton, Ac, by William Fleetwood and 

 Margaret his v,ife; ibil. 23^, m. 75. 

 1 7 3 3 — Layton with Warbreck, Great 

 Marton, &c, by Edward Fleetwood ; 



