A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



divided their two-thirds of the manor equally, so that 

 the lords became Crosse, Chorlev, and Fazakerley." 

 Richard Crosse left a son Roger, 

 who died in 1530, holding 

 lands in Walton of the king, as 

 well as other estates.' Roger 

 and his brothers all dying with- 

 out issue, their mother's third 

 of the manor was divided be- 

 tween their sisters Blanche and 

 Margaret. The latter married 

 George Garston of Walton,' 

 and dying childless, the other 

 sister and her heirs had the 

 whole share. 



Blanche Crosse married Roger 

 Breres.' Their son is said to 

 have been Lawrence Breres, who in giving evidence 

 at West Derby in 1570 described himself as fifty- 

 four years of age.' He died in 1584, holding 

 various lands in Walton and Fazakerley of the queen 

 by a rent of zo/., i.e. a third of that due from the 

 whole of Walton. Roger, his son and heir, w.is forty- 

 nine years of age.* This son survived his father only 

 about nine years, his heir being his son Lawrence, ten 

 years old.' Lawrence Breres also was short-lived, 

 dying in 1612, and leaving a son and heir Roger, aged 

 nine years.' 



The family adhered in the main to the Roman Catho- 

 lic faith, and Roger Breres, as a convicted recusant, paid 



Crosse of Liverpool. 

 Quarterly gules and or, 

 in the first and fourth 

 quarters a cross potent 

 argent. 



double to the subsidy in 1628 ;' he appears, never- 

 theless, to have escaped the attentions of the Common- 

 wealth authorities, and was still living in 1665, when 

 a pedigree was recorded at the visitation. His eldest 

 son Lawrence was then dead without issue, the heir 

 being a younger son Robert, who had married a 

 daughter of John Molyneux of New Hall in West 

 Derby.'" Robert Breres was reckoned among the 

 gentry of the parish in 1688," but in his will dated 

 April, 1708, is described as 'of 

 Wigan.' " In this he mentions 

 Roger his son and heir, whose 

 wife's name was Bridget, and 

 who had two children, Law- 

 rence and Catherine. These 

 last, in 1730, mortgaged Wal- 

 ton Old Hall to Thomas Moss 

 of Liverpool, and subsequently 

 to Nicholas Fazakerley, who in 

 1 746 purchased it," no doubt 

 as agent for John Atherton." 

 John's grandson, John Joseph 

 Atherton, sold it about 1804 

 to Thomas Leyland, banker, of Liverpool.'* It 

 descended like the other Leyland properties.'* The 

 hall has lately been pulled down. 



The Chorleys' third part of the manor descended 

 with the Chorley estate until 171 5, when, being for- 

 feited for Richard Chorley's participation in the re- 

 bellion it was sold to Aljraham Crompton," whose 



Breres of Walton 

 Ermine^ on a canton azure 

 a falcon -volant or. 



* See the pedigrees in the yisit. of 

 1567 (Chet. Soc), Crosse, 107; Chor- 

 ley, 72 ; and Chorley Surv. I.e., where 

 it is stated that the deed of partition was 

 dated 4 July, 1494. 



* Ducny of Lane, Inq. p. m. vi, n, 18. 

 In I 509 Roger, son and heir of Richard 

 Crosse, had granted his father all the lands, 

 etc., in Walton and Adlington received 

 from his mother Elizabeth, one of the 

 daughters and co-heirs of Roger Walton, 

 late of Walton ; with remainder to John 

 Crosse, chaplain, his brother, for life, and 

 then to Robert, William, and Richard, 

 other brothers ; Crorse D. [Trans. Hist. 

 5of.), ff. 171. 



" Ibid. ff. 179, 180. In the pedigrees 

 in the f'tsit. of 1613 the facts are confused 

 (Chet. Soc), 93,95. 



* In 1515 an agreement was made be- 

 tween Richard Crosse and Roger Breres, 

 * yeoman and draper,' concerning the 

 latter's marriage with Richard's daughter 

 Blanche, which was to take place before 

 Whitsuntide; Crosse D. n. 175. The 

 surname has many spellings ; Bryers is 

 common. Then in 1533 an agreement 

 was made between James Crosse, the half- 

 brother of Roger and John Crosse, and 

 George Garston and Margaret his wife, 

 and Roger Breres and Blanche his wife, to 

 observe an arbitration award concerning 

 lands in dispute ; ibid. n. 179. 



s Moore D. n. 635^1. 'The pedigree 

 in Dugdale, yisit. (Chet. Soc), 59, has 

 been followed rather than that of 161 3 

 (p. 93), as agreeing better with the 

 facts as known. The parentage of Law- 

 rence Breres is not determined. He was 

 described as 'of Up-Walton ' in 1563; 

 Crosse D. n. 191. 



^ Duchy of Lane Inq. p. m. xiv, n. 8. 

 The Walton holding was described as five 

 messuages, four cottages, twelve gardens, 

 100 acres of land, 40 of meadow, 100 of 

 pasture, 200 of moor, moss, and turbary, 

 and ii^d. of free rents. There were other 



lands in Adlington, Ditton, Knowsley, 

 and Rainhill. The will of Lawrence 

 Breres, dated 14 Aug. 1584, was proved 

 on the 27th ; in it he mentions Margaret 

 his wife, who was widow of Richard Sandi- 

 ford ; her will was proved in 1594. 



7 Ibid, xvii, n. 34. 



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

 Ches.), i, 231 \ the two oxgangs, one-third 

 of the ancient six, are duly mentioned. 

 His will is recited in full ; in failure of 

 direct male heirs his lands were to go to 

 his brothers Edward and Robert. He died 

 at Orrell near Wigan, 4 Nov. 16 12. 



9 Norris D. (B.M.). 



10 Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 59. 

 ^^ Kenyon MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com.), 

 194, 195. A lease of land by him is in 

 Piccopc MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 172. 



'^ Payne, Rec. of Engl. Catholics, 136. 

 Robert's wife at this time was named 

 Elizabeth. 



In 17 1 6, Lawrence Breres, a priest, had 

 an annuity of ^20 out of the Walton Hall 

 estate, and his sister Catherine, a nun in 

 the English monastery at Gravelines, also 

 had an annuity from it ; ibid. 121, 

 Lawrence and Roger Breres are named in 

 the will of Jane Johnson of Great Crosby, 

 and as she calls Catherine and Elizabeth 

 Breres her nieces (ibid. 151), they must 

 have been the children of Robert Breres by 

 his first marriage with her sister Mary ; 

 Dugdale, Visit. 203. 



The children of Robert and Elizabeth 

 Breres seem to have been — Thomas, born 

 1692 ; Bridget, 1693 ; Mary, 1696 ; and 

 Margery, 1698 ; Payne, op. cit. Bridget 

 Breres of Wigan, spinster, registered an 

 annuity of ^ I o in 1 7 1 7 ; Engl. Cath. Non- 

 jurors, 152. 



^ Piccope (MSS. iii, 238, 252, 266, 

 352) gives various particulars from the 

 deeds enrolled at Preston : 



On 25 Sept. 1730, Lawrence Breres, 

 only son and heir of Roger Breres, de- 

 ceased, and Catherine Briers of Liverpool, 



26 



Roger's only daughter, mortgaged the Old 

 Hall to Thomas Moss of Liverpool (2nd 

 roll of George II). On 31 Oct. 1730, 

 Lawrence Breres of Walton, gent, leased 

 the Old Hall to Thomas Cotham ; it is 

 described as * late in the tenure of Roger 

 Briers, deceased, father of the said Law- 

 rence'; ibid. On 30 Sept. 1734 there 

 was another mortgage, to Nicholas Faza- 

 kerley (5th roll of George II) ; and an- 

 other in 1740 (13th roll); then sale in 

 1746 (21st roll). 



^^ Enfield, Liverpool, 113; Gregson, 

 Fragments, 142. The will of John 

 Atherton was proved in 1768, and that of 

 his son John in 1789. 



The younger John Atherton entered 

 St. John's Coll. Camb. as a fellow-com- 

 moner in 1756, aged eighteen ; Admissions 

 (ed. R. F. Scott), iii, 150. He was high 

 sheriff in 1780 ; P.R.O. List, 74. See 

 also Picton, Liverpool, ii, 1 54. 



" Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1870), ii, 285. 

 Thomas Leyland, the founder of Leyland 

 and BuUins' Bank, and thrice mayor of 

 Liverpool, died in 1827, and has a monu- 

 ment in Walton church ; ibid. For an 

 account of him see Picton, Liverpool, ii, 



'4I-3-, 



'* His possessions passed to the BuUins 

 and Naylors ; see the account of Leyland 

 of Haggerston in Burke, Landed Gentry. 



^1 Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1870), ii, 452 ; 

 the price paid was ;^5,55o. 



The Chorley Surv. already quoted, gives 

 details of the Chorleys' estate in Walton 

 as it was about 1650, 33-55. Their 

 house was the Breck House, and particulars 

 are given of their dealings with it and the 

 demesne lands from 1494, as also of the 

 other tenements, though a portion is miss- 

 ing. Particulars of the chief rents follow, 

 50—52 ; these were paid by Robert Mercer 

 of Rice Lane, on behalf of Lord Moly- 

 neux, gd. ; by Mr. Fazakerley of Spellow, 

 for Longworth's land, lod. ; by Thomas 

 Blackmore of Kirkdale, for Eyres* and 



