WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



in 1487 came into possession of the earls of Derby.' 

 John Warren in 1561 by fine released his fourth 

 part of the manor to Henry Halsall of Halsall," and 

 two years later Edward, earl 

 of Derby, sold his fourth share 

 to the same Henry Halsall.' 



The other moiety of Formby 

 was granted by John, count of 

 Mortain, to Richard son of 

 Roger, thegn of Woodplump- 

 ton, who held it until the 

 rebellion of 1 193-4, when he 

 was dispossessed for adhering 

 to the cause of his chief lord.' 

 Formby was expressly excluded 

 when Richard's daughters and 

 coheirs obtained a confirma- 

 tion of their father's lands in 



Amounderness,' and in 1203 was granted to Richard 

 de Meath, one of the king's clerks, son of Gilbert de 

 Walton.' Three years later it was taken into the 

 king's hands,' and in 1208 granted to Hugh de 

 Moreton, who had married Margaret, one of the 

 daughters of Richard son of Roger.* Taking part 

 against the king, Hugh \\-as dispossessed, and in 

 August, 121 5, Richard de Meath was again put into 

 possession.' A year later Hugh de Moreton, who 

 had made his peace with the king, was reinstated,'" 



Halsall of Halsall. 

 Argent^ three serpents' 

 heads erased aaure^ lan- 

 gtied gules. 



WALTON 



but in 1 22 1 Richard de Meath succeeded in obtain- 

 ing Henry Hi's mandate to the sheriff to put him 

 in seisin of this and other manors granted to him by 

 King John." Richard granted it to his brother 

 Henry de Walton for life, with a provision, which 

 took effect, that should Henry 

 survive him, the estate should 

 descend to Henry's heirs ; this 

 arrangement was confirmed by 

 the king in 1227." 



The lordship of this moiety 

 descended with Walton until 

 1489, when Roger Walton died, 

 leaving daughters as heirs ; after 

 which it does not seem trace- 

 able." It had, however, been 

 early granted out to several 

 tenants ; partly to the Blundells 

 whose share was given to the 

 Norrises,'* descending with the ' West Derby and 

 Speke branches until 1543, when Sir William Norris 

 exchanged it for other lands of Sir William Molyneux 

 of Sefton,'* the latter's son in 1561 selling it to 

 Henry Halsall ; '° partly to a local family, who 

 assumed Formby as a surname, and have retained 

 their share of the manor, now called a quarter, to the 

 present day ; and partly to others whose holdings 

 cannot be clearly traced." 



Walton of Walton 

 on-the-Hill. Azure 

 three s'wans argent. 



^ This quarter of the manor was in 

 1446 vested in Thomas Beetham, from 

 whom it descended to his son and heir, 

 Sir Edward. The latter, who died in 

 1472, had settled his estates on his three 

 brothers, Roger, William, and Richard ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 9, m. 1 8 i ; Lanes. 

 Inq. p,m. (Chet. Soc), ii, loi ; Chan. Inq. 

 p. m. 12 Edw. IV, n. 20. Roger and 

 William dying without male issue, Richard 

 came into possession and was living in 

 1484 5 Duchy of Lane. Misc. vol. cxxx, 

 fol. 13 ; Cal. Pat. R. 1476-85, p. 467. 



The subsequent descent is obscure. 

 The estates of the family appear to have 

 been forfeited for adherence to the House 

 of York, and granted in whole or in part 

 to the earl of Derby. Roger Beetham, 

 brother of Sir Edward, had a daughter 

 Agnes, who married Robert Middleton of 

 Leighton (Chan. Inq. p.m.), and their son 

 and heir Thomas Middleton contested the 

 earl's title, alleging that Richard Beetham 

 had no more than a life interest ; see 

 Ancient D. D. 477. In the result the 

 earl appears to have retained Formby with 

 most of the others, and the second earl, 

 in the inquest taken after his death, was 

 found to have been seised of Bootle and 

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

 ». 68; on the other hand Thomas Middle- 

 ton was in 1 5 14 described as ' of Beetham' ; 

 L. and P. Hen. Fill, i, 4767 ; and his son 

 and heir Gervase died in 1548 seised of the 

 manors of Kirkby and Bootle ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. ix, n. 11, and ante 33a. 



2 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 23, 

 m. 114. John Warren was the second 

 son of Sir Edward. The property is de- 

 scribed as part of the manor of Formby, 

 and the fourth part of 28 messuages, &c., 

 windmill, 1,000 acres of land, &c., in 

 Formby. 



8 Ibid. bdle. 25, m. 55 ; the fourth part 

 of the manor and 600 acres of moor, moss, 

 and heath. * Lanes. Pipe R. 90. 



5 Charter R. (Rec. Com.), 90* ,• Inq. 

 and Extents, 40. 



6 Rot. de Oblatis (Rec. Com.), 191 ; to 

 be held in fee and inheritance by the ac- 



customed farm of 281, and 6s. Sd. yearly 

 increment. In 1206 the moiety of the 

 vill was tallaged at lys. with the other 

 demesne manors 5 Lanes. Pipe R. 202. 



7 Ibid. 206, close (Rec. Com.), 1199- 

 1224, p. 55 ; Inq. and Extents, I. 



^ Lanes. Pipe R. 220, 221. For this 

 restoration Hugh gave 20 marks, a sarcell 

 hawk and a brachet ; ibid. 224. 



» Rot. de Finibus (Rec. Com.), 560. 



^^ Close (Rec. Com.), 1199-1224, p. 

 2%<)b. The sheriff was ordered to rein- 

 state Hugh de Moreton in this estate, of 

 which he had been disseised at the be- 

 ginning of the war for being then with 

 the king's enemies 5 he was now serving 

 the king faithfully in the company of the 

 earl of Chester. 1^ Ibid. 477*. 



^2 Charter R. n. 19, m. 7 ; printed in 

 Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 138. 



William son of Henry de Walton 

 granted to Dieulacres Abbey William, son 

 of Gilbert de Formby, and his issue ; 

 Dieulacres Reg. fol. 17. 



^ In 1346 Simon de Walton held two 

 plough-lands in Formby ; Sur'vey of 1346 

 (Chet. Soc), 32. In the Feodary com- 

 piled in 1430 it is recorded that the heirs 

 of Robert de Walton held here by the 

 gift of King John two plough-lands in 

 socage for 34J. id., paying double rent for 

 relief, and attending with the bailiff of the 

 county or wapentake to witness distraints j 

 Dods. MSS. Ixxxvil, fol. 57. 



i* William Blundell, no doubt the lord 

 of Ince, held a messuage and 3 oxgangs 

 of land, which he gave to Alan, son of 

 Hugh le Norreys, and Margery his wife. 

 Upon the death of Patrick le Norreys, 

 grandson of Alan and Margery, about 

 1314 without issue, Alan son of Henry 

 le Norreys claimed this tenement as kins- 

 man and heir of Patrick. John le Norreys 

 of Speke, uncle of the claimant, had come 

 into possession by a grant from his father, 

 and his right was affirmed by the jury, the 

 grant to Alan son of Hugh having been 

 in fee, and not in tail, to the issue of Alan 

 and Margery ; De Banc. R. 238, m. 191. 



47 



About the same time a division of lands 

 in Formby was made between Thomas de 

 Beetham and John le Norreys ; Dods. MS. 

 cxlix, fol, 143. In 1334. William le Nor- 

 reys stated that he, Robert de Shireburne, 

 Ralph de Beetham, and Adam de Formby 

 were lords of the manor, but Roger le 

 Raye and others asserted a partnership 

 also ; Coram Rege R, 297, m. 58. In 

 1338 Ralph de Beetham made a grant to 

 Alan, son of John le Norreys ; Norris D, 

 (B.M.), n. 425, 



The estate appears to have been given 

 to the junior branch of the family settled 

 at West Derby, for in 1401 it was found 

 that William Norris had been seised of 

 4 messuages and 3 oxgangs of land held of 

 the king as of the duchy of Lancaster by 

 knight's service and the rent of 6s. 6d. ; 

 Towneley MS. DD. n. i^^y. 



With Lettice, daughter and heir of 

 Thomas, son of William Norris, this part 

 of Formby returned to the Speke line, she 

 marrying Thomas Norris. In 1453-4 the 

 estate in Formby consisted of seven tene- 

 ments, each of half an oxgang, held by 

 Thomas Ainsdale, John Formby and 

 others, for rents amounting to 40J. 6d.j 

 and thirteen smaller holdings, rented at 

 Hi. lod.j in all; Norris D. (B.M.), 

 Rental. 



15 Appended to the Norris Rental quoted 

 in the last note is a memorandum in the 

 writing of Sir William Norris stating that 

 he had made an exchange with Sir William 

 Molyneux ; the lands received were in 

 Lydlate and MaghuU. See Croxteth D, 

 Gen. i, 79 ; Ii, i. 



16 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 23, 

 m. 107. 



^7 In the rental of the wapentake of 

 West Derby for 15 14 the service due is 

 thus recorded : ' Of the heirs of the vill of 

 Formby, 39i. 4^/.' being the 41. %d. due 

 from Quenilda de Thornhill's half, and 

 the 34J. %d. from the Walton half. The 

 details of the latter half are as follows : — 

 Norris, loj. ; Formby, i^J. ; Gerard of 

 Aughton, 41. ^d. ; earl of Derby, 4^. ^d. 

 (in addition to the 2j. ^d. he paid for the 



