AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



ST. MICHAEL- 

 ON-WYRE 



surface on the whole rises steadily from the low level 

 of the more northerly parts of the parish. Thus 

 the 50-ft. level crosses it from east to west when 

 about a third of the length of the township has been 

 traversed, and the I oo-ft. level when the second third 

 is reached going south. Two brooks flow through 

 it, mainly to the north-west, towards the Wyre ; 

 that to the north comes from Barton through Hollow- 

 forth ; that to the south is called Blundel Brook in 

 Broughton, but here Woodplumpton Brook, for its 

 course takes it through the centre of the township. 

 The village of Woodplumpton lies on its northern 

 bank, with Bartle to the south and Ambrose Hall to 

 the north. Swillbrook and Catforth lie to the north- 

 west, on the westerly side of the brook, and Woods- 

 fold near the northern boundary, with Lewth to the 

 east of it and Eaves to the north. The area is 

 4,970^ acres, 1 shared by the four hamlets thus : 

 Woodplumpton, 949 ; Bartle, 1,341 ; Catforth, 

 1,828; and Eaves, 852J. In 1901 there was a 

 population of 1,208. 



The two principal roads meet near Woodsfold. 

 One of them comes from the south, passing through 

 Barde and Catforth ; the other from the south-east, 

 passing Ambrose Hall, Moorside and Lewth. These 

 are connected at the south by a cross-road from 

 Barde through Woodplumpton to Ambrose Hall. 



The township is governed by a parish council. 



Woodplumpton was visited by plague in 163 1. 2 



The land is largely in pasture. The soil is clayey. 



Henry Foster, R.N., born at Woodplumpton in 

 1796, being son of the incumbent, attained dis- 

 tinction as a navigator and astronomer, and was 

 elected F.R.S. in 1824. He took part in Parry's 

 Polar expeditions of 1825-7 and did exploring work 

 in the South Seas. He was accidentally killed in the 

 River Chagres, near Panama, in 1831. There is a 

 memorial tablet in Woodplumpton Church. 3 



Mag Shelton, the Singleton witch, is supposed to 

 have been buried at Woodplumpton. A boulder 



stone, known as the Witch's Stone, marks the grave 

 in the churchyard. Her spirit had to be ' laid ' by 

 (i priest. 4 



In 1676 there were said to be 646 inhabitants, of 

 whom 46 were ' popish recusants ' and 3 Dissenters. 6 

 A more elaborate return in 1755 is as follows : — 



Plumpton 

 Bartle 

 Catforth . 

 Eaves 



Protestants Dissenters Quakers 

 ■ H7 — — 



I 12 



313 

 114 



I 



7 — 



— 7 



Papists 

 56 

 78 

 65 

 69 



or 969 persons in all. 6 



Earl Tostig held WOODPLUMP- 

 MANORS TON in 1066 as part of his Prjston fee. 

 It was assessed as five plough-lands. 7 

 Afterwards it was held of the Crown or of the 

 honour of Lancaster in thegnage by a family whose 

 pedigree seems to connect them with the pre-Conquest 

 owners. Raghanald, the earliest of them on record, 

 must have lived about the time of the Conquest, for 

 his son Ravenkil attested the grants made in 1094 

 by Count Roger of Poitou to the abbey of S6es, 8 

 and Roger son of Ravenkil, who gave Linacre to the 

 Knights Hospitallers, 9 occurs from 1130 to 1171. 10 

 His son Richard, the founder of Lytham Priory, 

 lived in the time of Henry II and Richard I, holding 

 by knight's service Kirkby, Argarmeols, Kellamergh 

 and Bryning, and in thegnage Woodplumpton, 

 Lytham, Carleton, Bootle and part of Formby. 11 



Richard son of Roger left five daughters as co- 

 heirs, 12 but ultimately the inheritance became divided 

 between two — Maud, who married Robert de Stock- 

 port, and Amice, who married Thomas de Beetham. 

 Woodplumpton appears to have gone entirely to the 

 former, 13 and as early as 1256 Robert de Stockport 

 was sole lord, allowing John de Lea common of pas- 

 ture on Bartle Moor. 14 The manor, which rendered 

 17/. \d. a year to the Earl of Lancaster in 1297, 16 

 descended regularly to the Warrens of Stockport and 



I The Census Rep. 1901 gives 4,986 

 acres, including 1 8 of inland water. The 

 area was increased about 1S82 by the 

 addition of a small detached part of 

 Broughton lying within Woodplumpton. 



' Hht.MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 47. 



3 Fishwick, St. MichaeVs (Chet, Soc), 

 87, 78 ; Diet. Nat. Biog. 



4 Fishwick, op. cit. 200 ; Gillow, Hay- 

 Jock Papers, 41. 



5 Visit. Ret. to the Bishop of Chester. 



6 Ibid. 



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



8 Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 290, 296. 



9 See the account of Bootle in V.C.H. 

 Lanes, iii, 31. 



10 Roger son of Ranchil owed 30 marks 

 in 1129-30 for an agreement with the 

 Count of Mortain respecting lands between 

 Ribble and Mersey ; Farrer, op. cit. 1 . 

 He was surety in 5 marks for a pardon 

 in 1 169-71 ; ibid. 16, 20, 23. 



II Ibid. 44. In 1 176 Richard son of 

 Roger paid 5 marks in order to obtain an 

 inquiry as to the manor of Kirkby, which 

 had been taken into the king's hands 

 because he had married his daughter and 

 heir without the king's licence, and he 

 had to pay ^100 to recover his lands ; 

 ibid. 3 1, 42— 3. The payment of several 

 instalments is recorded in the Pipe Rolls. 

 In 1 1 94 he incurred a further penalty for 

 having shared in Count John's rebellion ; 

 ibid. 90, 92. The Priory of Lytham was 



founded by him between 11 89 and 11 94 ; 

 ibid. 346—9. 



In 1 1 99 Maud Banastre made a claim 

 respecting sisters' portion against Richard 

 son of Roger and Margery his wife (her 

 sister), who put Robert de Stockport in 

 their place ; Rot. Curia Regis (Rec. Com.), 

 i, 359. Plaintiff was perhaps the Maud 

 de Hastings who had then another dispute 

 with Richard son of Roger ; ibid. 227, 

 301 ; Excerpta e Rot. Fin. (Rec. Com.), 

 1,87. 



12 The three not named in the text were 

 Quenilda wife of Roger Gernet, Margaret 

 wife of Hugh de Moreton and Avice wife 

 of William de Millom. 



13 It was probably the marriage of Maud 

 with Robert de Stockport in 11 76 which 

 created the trouble above referred to. 

 Robert de Stockport in 1 200-1 paid a 

 part of the 200 marks and five palfreys 

 which he had offered the king on suc- 

 ceeding to the lands of Richard son of 

 Roger; Farrer, op. cit. 130. 



Robert de Stockport died before 1206, 

 when his widow, as Maud Banastre, having 

 adopted her mother's surname, proffered 

 20 marks and a palfrey for freedom from 

 a compulsory marriage and for a reason- 

 able share of her father's and mother's 

 lands. At the same time others of 

 Richard's daughters are noticed ; ibid. 

 203 ; Rot. de Finibus (Rec. Com.), 352. 



From the inquest of 121 2 it appearB 



285 



that the heirs of Richard son of Roger 

 held nine plough-lands in thegnage by a 

 rent of 4(?3) marks, of which 8j. io</. had 

 been remitted on the foundation of 

 Lytham Priory ; Lanes. Znq. and Extents 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 46. From 

 laterinquestsit appears that the proportion 

 due from Woodplumpton was lys. \d. or 

 17*. 6d. The assessment seems to have 

 been reduced from five to four plough-lands. 



Maud de Stockport appears to have been 

 unmarried in 1216-22, when she held 

 lands worth 2 marks yearly ; ibid. 117. 



Robert de Stockport, apparently the 

 son of Maud, released certain lands ( ? in 

 Woodplumpton) to Adam son of Swain 

 and his heirs ; Add. MS. 32106, no. 805. 



14 Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 123. This Robert de Stockport 

 was the grandson of Maud. His father 

 Robert in 1 242 held shares in other parts 

 of the inheritance of Richard son of 

 Roger in conjunction with Gernet and 

 Beetham ; Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 149, 

 153-4. The younger Robert succeeded 

 in 1248, being of full age ; ibid. 175, 184. 

 The king received the homage of Robert 

 son and heir of Robert de Stockport in 

 May 1248 ; the relief was 341. \od. ; 

 Excerpta e Rot. Fin. ii, 3 3. On the death 

 of Quenilda Gernet in 1252 a further 

 share of the inheritance accrued to him ; 

 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 1 9 1. 



1* Ibid. 289. 



