AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



BISPHAM 



Fleetwood sold to Thomas Clifton of Lytham, 80 and 

 the late Lady Drummond was lady of the manor. 



Edward Fleetwood of Rossall in 1 7 1 2 claimed the 

 right to keep a court leet and court baron for the 

 manor or pretended manor of Layton, but met with 

 some opposition." 



'In 1835 the sole manorial lord of the parish 

 was Peter Hesketh Fleetwood, who held a court leet 

 and baron for Layton-with-Warbreck and Great 

 Bispham in October at Blackpool, when the usual 

 officers were appointed.' " The courts have long 

 ceased to be held. 



Layton Hawes, about which the Botelers had 

 disputes with the Priors of Lytham, 83 was inclosed 

 under an Act passed in 1767." 



Henry III granted a charter to William le Boteler 

 in 1257 for a weekly market at Layton on Wednes- 

 day and an annual fair on the eve, day and morrow 

 of St. Andrew (29 November-l December).' 5 Free 

 warren in the demesne lands was added by Edward I 

 in 1 2 8 5 .* 6 These rights were called in question in 

 1292 " and 1498," but approved. 



LAYTON HALL, the old manor-house, appears 

 to have been sold by William Fleetwood in 1592 to 

 Edward Rigby of Burgh in Duxbury, 89 who died in 

 1627 holding it of the king by knight's service, 

 together with the tithes of grain in Great and Little 

 Layton, Warbreck and Blackpool, and various mes- 

 suages and lands.' Somewhat later the hall seems to 

 have become the chief residence of the Rigbys. 81 

 After the sale of their estates in 1720 it was pur- 

 chased by William Clayton of Adlington, and he in 

 1736 conveyed it to trustees for Thomas Clifton 

 of Lytham. It has since remained in this family." 

 Manorial rights remaining, if any, are of no 

 value. 



FOX HALL has been mentioned in the account 

 of Blackpool above given. 



In Little Layton the Botelers of Marton had an 

 estate at one time," which probably reverted to the 

 lords of the manor. The chief estate there in later 

 times was WH1NNEY HETS, purchased by James 

 Massey (of Carleton) from William Fleetwood in 

 1575 M and descending to his heirs the Veale family." 



ibid. 312, m. 46. 1759 — Layton with 

 Warbreck, Ice, by Fleetwood Hesketh ; 

 ibid. ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 591, m. 9. 



10 Fishwick, op. cit. 1 8. 



81 Ibid. 16 3 the opponents were free- 

 holders of Bispham. 



» Ibid. 5. 



28 From these disputes it appears that 

 the Hawes, chiefly within Layton, ex- 

 tended into Lytham. 



Quenilda daughter of Richard son of 

 Roger gave the monks of Lytham her 

 share in the Hawes of Lytham ; D. at 

 Durham, 2 a,2ae, 4ae,Ebor. no. 67. The 

 boundary must have been uncertain, for 

 William le Boteler about 1230 confirmed 

 the two-thirds of the pasture within the 

 Hawes of Lytham which Maud de Stock- 

 port had given with her body and Quenilda 

 daughter of Richard ion of Roger had 

 further given j ibid. no. 66. The bounds 

 were finally settled in 1272 ; ibid. Misc. 

 no. 5454. 



The fifth part of half a plough-land in 

 the Hawes between Layton and Lytham, 

 within the fee of William le Boteler, was 

 before 1249 granted to Cockersand Abbey 

 by Thomas de Beetham and Amiria his 

 wife, and the gift was in 1271 confirmed 

 by William ; Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. 

 Soc), i, 158. 



The Prior of Lytham complained in 

 1338 that Sibyl widow of William Boteler 

 of Warrington had seized an anchor at 

 Kelgrimoll (at Greenskar pot), but she 

 asserted that it was taken within Great 

 Layton ; De Banco R. 315, m. 287. 



In 1 509 (?) the prior complained that 

 John Bispham had trespassed, but the 

 defendant said he had used the Hawes, 

 containing 1,000 acres of land within 

 the manor of Layton belonging to Sir 

 Thomas Boteler and adjacent to Lytham ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Sessional Papers, bdle. 4. 



For a more violent dispute in 1531-2 

 see Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 206 ; ii, 9. 



14 Lanes, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. vi, 122. 



The award was made in 1769 ; Lanes. 

 and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc), i, 56. 



*Cal. Chart. R. 1226-57, p. 476; 

 the name is wrongly given as Robert. 



88 Ibid. 1257-1300, p. 326. 



87 Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.),. 3 86. 

 Wreck of the sea was also claimed, as 

 Having been an appurtenance of the lord- 



ship from the time of William the 

 Conqueror. 



88 Pal. of Lane. Writs Proton. 13 

 Hen. VII. 



89 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 54, 

 m. 152. The hall is not specially named, 

 the estate being described as three mes- 

 suages, &c., in Great and Little Layton, 

 the Pool and Warbreck, together with the 

 tithes and fisheries at Marton and Layton. 



30 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxvi, no. 5. 

 In 165 1 Jane Rigby, daughter of Alex- 

 ander Rigby of Burgh, farmed the demesne 

 of Layton ; Cal. Com. for Comp. iii, 1650. 

 A pedigree was recorded in 1664, the 

 family being described as 'of Layton'; 

 Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 244. 



31 In 1 67 1 Alexander Rigby of Layton 

 held messuages, &c, in Great and Little 

 Layton, Marton, Warbreck and Pool, 

 also, though no ' manor ' is named, 

 views of frankpledge in Great and Little 

 Layton and Pool (i.e. Blackpool) ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 206, m. 32. 

 An account of this branch of the Rigby 

 family has been given under Duxbury ; 

 see also Fishwick, op. cit. 94—105, where 

 there is a pedigree. The estates were 

 sold under a Private Act \ Geo. I, 

 cap. 45. 



82 Ibid. 105. The manor was held by 

 Lady Drummond, widow of T. H. Clifton 

 of Lytham. 



33 Richard Boteler in 1323 held land, 

 &c, in Little Layton occupied by Roger 

 le Waleys and Agnes his wife. The 

 tenure is not recorded ; Lanes. Inq. and 

 Extents, ii, 145. Earlier still, in 1303, 

 Richard Boteler, together with Adam de 

 Walton and Alice his wife, called upon 

 the custodee of William son and heir of 

 Nicholas Boteler (of RawclifFe) to warrant 

 to them, inter alia, the third part of three 

 messuages and 3 oxgangs of land in 

 Little Layton claimed as dower by Mabel 

 widow of Nicholas ; De Banco R. 144, 

 m. 141. In 1315 Nicholas del Marsh 

 and Ellen his wife claimed dower in six 

 messuages and 6 oxgangs of land in 

 Little Layton against Agnes widow of 

 Nicholas Boteler, who called upon Richard 

 son of Richard Boteler to warrant her ; 

 ibid. 209, m. 252. 



Two other pleas may be cited. In 1320 

 Maud widow of Ralph de Bickerstath 

 claimed dower in 100 acres of land against 



249 



Alice widow of Geoffrey de Cuerdale and 

 her daughters Agnes and Margery, while 

 in 1322 she claimed similarly against 

 Thomas Curwen, who held three mes- 

 suages and half an oxgang of land ; ibid. 

 235, m. i66; 244, m. 15, 135 d. 



Cecily widow of Richard le Boteler was 

 in 1336 the wife of Thomai de Molyneux, 

 and claimed her dower in Little Layton 

 against the above-named Roger le Waleys 

 and Agnes his wife ; ibid. 306, m. 268 d. 



34 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 37, 

 m. 108. The property is described as 

 messuages, windmill, &c, in Little Layton 

 and Great Bispham. Massey probably 

 acquired further lands ; he died before 

 1600, when his son John had to defend 

 his title against claims put forward by the 

 Fleetwoods, who were desirous of limiting 

 the extent of the sales made by William 

 Fleetwood; Fishwick, op. cit. 10-13, 

 quoting Duchy of Lane. Plead. 42 Eliz. 

 F 14. 



John Massey of Layton recorded a 

 pedigree in 161 3 ; Visit. (Chet. Soc), 

 79. He died in 161 8 holding the capital 

 messuage called Whinney Heys in Little 

 Layton of the king as of his duchy 

 by the twentieth part of a knight's fee, 

 and other lands, &c, there ; Lanes. Inq. 

 p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 

 117— 19. His heirs were his daughters 

 Ellen wife of Edward Veale, aged thirty- 

 six, and Alice widow of Thomas Bamber, 

 aged thirty-four. The former had four 

 sons, of whom the oldest, John, was 

 about twelve years old, 



35 For an account of them see Fishwick, 

 op. cit. 81-93, with a pedigree. The 

 succession appears to be thus : Edward 

 Veale, d. 1650 — s. John, d. 1669 -s. John, 

 d. 1704 -s. Edward, d. 1723 -sister 

 Dorothy, d. 1748. Another sister, Sarah, 

 married Edward son of Richard Fleetwood 

 of Rossall. Their daughter Margaret 

 married Roger Hesketh, who inherited. 



A letter of Edward Veale's, lamenting 

 *the miserable distress of this poor 

 Fylde ... by reason of the fearful infec- 

 tion' of 163 1, is printed in Hist. MSS. 

 Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 47. About the 

 same time he arrested a man for taking 

 a hawk, called a merlin, belonging to 

 Edmund Fleetwood, who proved unwilling 

 to prosecute ; ibid. He was a member 

 of the Presbyterian Classis established in 



32 



