A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



of Kendal, who died in 1246, held three oxgangs by 

 the fcofftnent of Nicholas, son of William de Lea, 

 for 4J. yearly, with common of pasture in Formby 

 belonging to one oxgang, and the homage of William, 

 rector of Walton, and his service of one oxgang. 

 These lands were granted to Robert the Taylor,' 

 whose widow, Hilda, in 1254 demanded her dower 

 in two oxgangs.' The share of Alan le Brun can 

 also be traced for some time.' Robert, son of Edwin, 

 was a benefactor to Cockersand Abbey.' Nicholas 

 Blundell, the heir of Robert son of Osbert, was in 

 possession of his two oxgangs in 1328. 



The Molyneux family of Melling had lands here 

 in the first part of the seventeenth century ; * and in 

 1 744 William Molyneux of Mossborough in Rainford 

 named his ' manor of Ravensmeols ' in his will ; ' 

 in 1757 it was purchased from his daughter. Lady 

 Blount, by John Formby of Formby, and has since 

 descended with Formby.' 



At the death of Edward the Confessor, AINSDJLE 

 was held by three thegns as three manors, in which 

 there were two plough-lands valued beyond the cus- 

 tomary rent at 64/, the usual rate." It was given by 



Henry II, with Raven Meols and other manors, to 

 Warin de Lancaster,'" and has since descended like 

 Raven Meols. Henry de Lea, son of Warin, held it in 

 12 I 2 ;" and in 1 327 it was held by Sir Richard de 

 Hoghton in the right of his wife, Sibyl de Lea, by 

 fealty only, without other service." 



It was probably Warin de Lancaster who enfeoffed 

 Osbert of this manor, which 

 Robert son of Osbert, also known 

 as Robert de Ainsdale, held of 

 Henry de Lea in 121 2, p.iying 

 10/." Robert and his family 

 were benefactors to the abbey 

 of Cockersand." They acquired 

 lands in Great and Little Crosby, 

 and adopted Blundell as their 

 surname." There is little to 

 show their connexion with Ains- 

 dale, apart from a claim of 'wreck 

 of the sea,' which after trial in 

 1292 was rejected.'* In 1328 

 Nicholas, son of David Blundell, granted his manor 

 of Ainsdale to Gilbert de Halsall in fee ; " and the 



DDDD 



D D a 



MX 



Blundell of Crosbt. 



Sahk, ten hilltts, four, 

 thret-y two and one ar^ 

 gent. 



Banastre, and in two oxgangs held by 

 Robert Banastre, and her claim was 

 allowed ; Assize R. 408, m. 13. In i 327 

 the abbot of Whalley complained that Sir 

 Richard de Hoghton, Robert son of Adam 

 Banastre of the Bank, Robert son of 

 Richard the reeve of Raven Meols, and 

 Henry his brother, had destroyed the 

 sluices of his mill ; Cj/. of Pat. 1327-30, 

 p. 85 ; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 78. 



In 1332 the principal contributors to 

 the fifteenth were Adam Banastre, Richard 

 and William de Dudley, and Robert and 

 Adam de Ainsdale ; Exch, Lay Subs. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lnnc?, and Ches.), 20. 



' Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 77. 



' Cur. Reg. R. 154, m. 10 ; the defen- 

 dants were Agnes, widow of William 

 de Lane, and William of the Spring 

 (Je Fynu), the latter hoWiag the two 

 oxgangs in Raven Meols. 



' Alan's daughter Amabel was wife of 

 Ughtred de Ravensmeols, whose son and 

 heir William granted lands here to 

 William son of Richard the Forester by 

 his wife Agnes, daughter of Ughtred and 

 Amabel; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. j6b. He 

 may be the Alan son of William de 

 Ravensmeols, who gave to Cockersand 

 Abbey the croft next the house of Thomas, 

 son of Sigge ; Coci^runJ Chartul. ii, 



In 1 24.6 William, son of Uctred, re- 

 covered from Alan de Crawchal and Goda 

 his wife t%vo-thirds of half an oxgang, 

 which they had by grant of Roger son of 

 Richard, to whom William, the plaintiff, 

 had demised them while of unsound 

 mind ; Assize R 40+, m. 10. 



M.jrgery daughter of Robert the clerk 

 of Raven Meols granted land called Hewet- 

 land to John de Lea before i3^o ; and a 

 quitclaim to the lands of Robert the 

 chaplain, perhaps Margery's father, was 

 also given by Hugh Hommouth ; K.uer- 

 den MSS. iv, R 6, 586, 652. 



* Cockenar.d Chartul. ii, 567. 



* BlundeU of Crosby D^ K. 156. 



* Royalist Comp. P. (Rec. Soc. Lanes. 

 and Ches.), iv, 168, The tenement is not 

 described as a manor. 



" Piccope MSS. iii, 2-4, from the 

 1 8th roll of Geo. II at Preston, See also 

 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 582 (6). 



"■ Ex inform. Mr. John Formby. 



» r.CM. Uncs. i, 284^. 



10 It is possible that Henry II was 

 merely confirming or regranting these 

 lands ; but nothing is known apart from 

 this charter; Lanes. Pipe R. 452. For 

 further details see the account of Raven 

 Meols. 



^^ Lanes. In<j. and Extenti, 21. 

 " Dods. MSS. cxxxi, 36A. The Hoghton 

 family had a yearly rent of 3*. from this 

 manor down to the 17th cent. 



18 Innj. and Extent:, 22", the enfeoffment 

 is described as 'of ancient time.* 



^^ Robert son of Osbert de Ainsdale 

 granted to Cockersand an oxgang of his 

 demesne which Adam, the rector of Meols, 

 held of him ; an acre and sheepfold by 

 the western head of Winscarth lithe ; the 

 * land ' in front of the canons' barn, with 

 the toft in which Orm Dragun dwelt, and 

 meadow to the midstream of H.mgelan, 

 Sec. ; and confirmed the grants made by 

 his brother Richard and Adam son of 

 Godfrey; Cockersand Chartul. ii, 571-4^ 



His brother Richard, son of Osbert, 

 gave many parcels of his lands : A 'great 

 land ' under Gripknots, a ridge in the 

 Wra\\ and 'land' next to the canons' 

 'land' in Birkdene ; others on Fald- 

 worthlnc'j, on the east of Halstead how, 

 and in Tungland ; a scaling or shieling in 

 Stardale, half acres in Romsdale and by 

 Melkener how; two 'lands' In the 

 western part of Little Oddishargh, two in 

 Ditchheld near Slidr)'how, another called 

 Crookland, another by the higher sherd 

 of Romsdale, another on the eastern side 

 of Hungerfield, another in Atesfield, 'the 

 ninth from the road,' &c. His portion 

 seems to have been two oxgangs. He 

 desired his body to be buried in the 

 churchyard of St. Mary at Cockersand. 

 Greendale, Birchbotham, Butterclining, 

 Sete Knots, the Warrlgate, Whitemeol- 

 dale and other place-names occur ; Ibid. 

 5-+-86. 



Warin the son of Richard added a 

 little to his father's gifts in Whitemeol- 

 dale and Wetefield ; ibid. 570-1. 



Adam, son of Robert de Ainsdale, 

 granted a fifth part of four oxgangs of 

 his demesne and one which had been 

 Warin's, making one whole oxgang, &c.; 

 he also confirmed the numerous grants 

 made by his father, uncle, c&c, and ' all the 

 parcels of land of which they had seisin 

 at the Nativity of St. Mary in the year in 



50 



which the earl of Chester arrived at Jeru- 

 salem' ; ibid. 589-92. Robert, son of 

 this Adam also gave confirmation ; ibid. 



592. 594- 



Adam son of Godfrey gave two oxgangs 

 of land and other parcels ; Atefield and 

 Sheep how are named in his charters ; 

 ibid. 568-570. 



John, son of Thomas de Ainsdale, about 

 1270, gave all his land to the canons ; 

 they enfeoffed Robert son of Thomas of 

 part of it ; ibid. 594. Lawrence son of 

 Thomas and Emma his wife gave three 

 oxgangs and other lands, partly at a rent 

 and partly in alms ; the gifts included all 

 their part of the marsh, from Siward's 

 croft to Blake moor, as much as the 

 canons could acquire, bringing the sands 

 into use j ibid. 587-9. Lawrence is 

 later described as * the clerk of Ainsdale ' ; 

 his son Robert confirmed his parents' 

 grants, the canons giving him two marks 

 of silver, and every year of his life an old 

 cloak ; ibid. 593. 



The rentals of Cockersand Abbey (Chet. 

 Soc.) show that the Halsalls of Halsall in 

 the fifteenth century held the possessions 

 of that house, with the fishery in Formby 

 and Ainsdale, at a fee farm rent of 20j. 

 ^* See the accounts of those townships. 

 " When in 1275 and 1278 Sir Robert 

 Blundell demised all his lands here to his 

 son Nicholas, he reserved to himself 

 ' wreck of the sea ' ; Blundell of Crosby 

 D. K. 278, K.. 164. 



When summoned in 1292 to show by 

 what right he claimed it, Nicholas Blun- 

 dell pleaded that he and his ancestors 

 time out of mind had held this manor and 

 likewise wreck of the sea. For the king 

 it was urged that this privilege required 

 an express grant, which could not in this 

 instance be shown. The jurors found 

 that Henry III had once given a wrecked 

 vessel to the father of Nicholas, apart 

 from which neither Nicholas nor any of 

 his ancestors had taken wreck there. Such 

 disasters were not frequent, none having 

 happened since Nicholas had succeeded to 

 the manor, a period of probably fourteen 

 years or more ; Plac. de quo War. 

 (Rec. Com.), 369. 



'' Blundell of Crosby D. K. 183. This 

 Nicholas Blundell was grandson and heir 

 of the last-mentioned Nicholas. It is 

 supposed that Gilbert de Halsall had 



