WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



SEFTON 



son and heir Richard being in 1388 still a minor,' 

 whose wardship was granted to a relative, Thomas de 

 Molyneux of Cuerdale." 



Again there was a short tenure of the manors and 

 a long minority, for Richard died 27 December, 

 1397, leaving a son and heir Richard, not quite fifteen 

 months old.' The latter fought under Henry V in 

 the French wars and was made a knight ;* in 1424. 

 occurred his quarrel with the Stanleys, which 

 threatened to become a private war.' Henry VI, 

 for services rendered and expected, granted him and 

 his heirs the offices of master forester of the forest 

 and parks of West Derbyshire, steward of this wapen- 

 take and of Salfordshire, and constable of the castle 

 of Liverpool.' By his first wife, Joan, daughter and 

 heir of Sir Gilbert Haydock,' he had several sons.'* 



Richard, the eldest son and heir, notwithstanding 

 the feud with Stanley, had been married before 1432 

 to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas St.inley,' by 

 whom he had several children.'" He is stated to have 

 been killed at the battle of Blore Heath, 23 Septem- 



ber, 1459, fighting on the Lancastrian side," and was 

 succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, who married 

 Anne, a daughter and co-heir of Sir Thomas Dutton 

 of Dutton, another of those who fell at Blore Heath." 

 Thomas Molyneux was sheriff in 1 47 3 and later 

 years,'' and in 1475 accompanied Edward IV on his 

 expedition to France;'* in 1 48 1 he received from 

 the king a grant of the manor of Ulnes Walton, 

 moieties of Eccleston, Leyland, Heskin and Kellamergh, 

 and various other lands and rents in Lancashire for 

 the service of one knight's fee and jf 100 rent." He 

 also purchased the advowson of Walton.'" In 1482 

 he joined the expedition to Scotland, and was 

 knighted at the recovery of Berwick." He died 

 12 July, 1483, leaving as his heir his son Richard, 

 then five years of age," and other children. 



There was once more a long minority, during 

 which, as the Croxteth Deeds show, the widow, Dame 

 Anne Molyneux, was a vigilant guardian, bent on in- 

 creasing the family possessions." William, a younger 

 brother of Richard, became heir on the latter's death. 



His widow Agnes received her dower 

 on 7 March, 1372-3, from the manor of 

 Sefton, a moiety of the manor of Lither- 

 land, rents of the free tenants of Thorn- 

 ton and Liaacre, the manor of Euxton, 

 a moiety of the manor of Larbreck, a 

 third part of the manor of EUel, and 

 lands in Newsham ; Croxteth D. Genl. 

 i, 38. She afterwards married Sir Rich- 

 ard de Balderston ; Abram, Blackburn, 

 414. 



^ Lana. Inq. f. m, (Chet. Soc), i, 29 ; 

 also mentioned as a minor in 1376 ; ibid. 

 i, 5. He was probably of age in June, 

 1389, when he became surety for Matthew 

 de Cantsfield ; ibid. i. 16. 



In the same month also Geoffrey, son 

 of Hugh de Warburton, granted the Sef- 

 ton lands, &c., of which he had been 

 enfeoffed by William, son of Matthew de 

 Rixton, to Richard, son of Sir William de 

 Molyneux ; Croxteth D. X. i, 1 9. 



Livery of his lands was granted to 

 Richard, son and heir of Sir William 

 Molyneux on 3 Feb. 1389-90; Pal. of 

 Lane. Warrants (Privy Seals), n. 33. 



^ For Thomas see the account of Edge 

 below. The wardship of Richard de 

 Molyneux of Sefton was granted to him 

 and Matthew de Ashton, clerk, in August, 

 1372, 400 marks being paid ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Misc. Bks. xiii, m. 79*. In 1378 

 Thomas sold to Edmund Lawrence all 

 his right in the marriage of Richard, 

 son and heir of Sir William ; deed at 

 Croxteth. 



' Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 70. 

 This states that Richard had in 1394 

 enfeoffed Master Richard de Winwick 

 and others of his manor of Sefton and 

 other manors and lands. 



He was appointed sheriff at the begin- 

 ning of 1397 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xliii, 

 App. 367 ; and was knight of the shire 

 in 1396-7 ; Pink and Beavan, Pari. Rep. 

 of Lanes. 44. 



He married Ellen de Urswick, after- 

 wards wife of Sir James de Harrington 

 and Sir John Savage ; Ormerod, Ches. 

 (ed. Helsby), i, 712 ; Croxteth D. Genl. 

 i, 51. Besides the heir he had another 

 son, Robert, who in 1440 was tenant 

 of Altcar under the abbot of Meri- 

 vale ; Trans. Hist. Soc. xKxiv, 126. This 

 son is sometimes identified with the Robert 

 de Molyneux for whose ransom from the 

 Turks an indulgence was offered in 1448 ; 

 see Raines, Lanes. Chantries (Chet. Soc), 



no; Wore. Epis. Reg. Jo. Carpenter, 

 fol. 58 ; also with the Robert who 

 married the daughter and heir of Sir 

 Baldwin Lestrange ; see Cal. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Com.) ; and thirdly, with the Robert 

 who was brother and heir of Adam 

 Moleyns or Molyneux, bishop of Chiches- 

 ter from 1445 to 1450. For Sir Richard 

 and Adam see the Diet. Nat. Biog. The 

 bishop's arms are given by Dallaway as 

 * Azure a cross moline or.' 



■• Sec Dep. Keeper's Rep. xli, pp. 711, 

 715 et seq. These show that Sir Richard 

 was serving in France in 1418. He is 

 not named in Sir H. Nicolas's Agin- 

 court, and appears to have returned to 

 Lanes, about 1420. In June 142I he 

 received from the feoffees the manors of 

 Sefton and Euxton, &c ; Croxteth D. 

 Genl. i, 47 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxiii, 

 App. p. 23. 



* See the account of Liverpool. 



In 1437 a general pardon was granted 

 by the king to Sir Richard ; Croxteth D. 

 i, 52. 



« Croxteth D. W. 2, 3, 4. These grants 

 were made 28 July, 1446, upon Sir 

 Richard surrendering previous patents. 

 They were excepted from the acts of 

 resumption of 1450 and 1455 ; Pari. Rolls, 

 V, 19413, 315*. Sir Richard Molyneux 

 probably died between these years, as he 

 is named in the former year, while in the 

 latter ' Richard Molyneux, esquire, one of 

 the ushers of the king's chamber,' was 

 the privileged person. Sir Richard in 

 1431 exchanged lands in the Mysthacre 

 in Sefton for the mill pool and other 

 lands with a road, belonging to Robert 

 del Riding ; Croxteth D. X. i, 26. The 

 constableship of the castle of Liverpool 

 was by a conviction for recusancy lost at 

 the end of the seventeenth century ; the 

 stewardship of Salford hundred is held 

 by the present earl of Sefton as heir 

 male of Sir Richard. 



? Her tomb is in Sefton church ; she 

 died 17 January, 1439-40. 



8 Of the sons William was steward of 

 West Derby in 1444, and is mentioned 

 in 1453 ; Croxteth D. W. i ; Blundell 

 of Crosby D. K. 58. John and Henry 

 became rectors of Sefton. Thomas 

 founded the family of Molyneux of 

 Hawton, Notts. ; a deed of his concern- 

 ing the chantry founded at Walton by 

 his brother John is at Croxteth ; J^isit. 

 of Notts (Harl. Soc), p. 72 ; Croxteth 



69 



D. Ec. 30. For descendants sec G.E.C. 

 Complete Baronetage, i, 47. 



9 Croxteth- D. Genl. i, 51. Richard 

 Molyneux began to acquire lands in Sef- 

 ton before his father's death ; ibid. X. i, 

 28-31. 



^^ Thomas, James, and Margaret occur. 

 James became rector of Sefton. Mar- 

 garet married John, son and heir of Sir 

 Thomas Dutton, and then William 

 Bulkeley of Eaton near Davenham ; she 

 founded a chantry in Sefton church j see 

 Trans. Hist, Soc. xxxiv, 130. 



1^ This statement is perhaps merely a 

 family tradition : it is borne out to some 

 extent by the date of the writ Diem 

 dausit extr. viz. 14.62 ; Dep. Keeper^s Rep. 

 xxxvii, App. p. 176. He is described as 

 ' knight.' There is a notice of him in the 

 Diet. Nat. Biog. 



12 The marriage dispensation was granted 

 II July, 1463 ; Lich. Epis. Reg. x, i6oi, 

 quoted in Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), 

 i, 649. For the settlement of the in- 

 heritance see Dep. Keeper's Rep, xxxix, 

 App. p. 197. 



13 P.R.O. List^ p. 72. 



I'* On this occasion he made a will 

 which has been printed in Trans. Hist, 

 Soc. xxxiv, 138. 



15 By letters patent dated 22 May, 

 1481 ; the rent of j^ 100 was remitted by 

 Richard III in August, 1483 ; Croxteth 

 D. The earliest grant of Croxteth Park 

 was made in 1473, to Thomas Molyneux; 

 ibid. F. 1. 



IS The acquisition is mentioned in the 

 will already cited. See also Croxteth D. 

 Genl.'i, 61. 



17 Metcalfe, BJi. of KnightSy 7. It is 

 said that his uncle, Thomas Molyneux of 

 Hawton, was also made a knight at the 

 same time by Richard, duke of Glouces- 

 ter ; Gisborne Molineux, op. cit. 32. A 

 note of Dods. (MSS. 1. 98) appears to 

 state that Lord Stanley made Thomas 

 Molyneux a banneret. 



18 Lanes. Inq, p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 117. 

 Richard did not live long. 



1* Dame Anne Molyneux died 22 Oc- 

 tober, 1520; Sir William is called forty- 

 two years of age, which would make him 

 older than Richard, if the latter had been 

 only five in 1484 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. 

 xxxix, App. p. 197 ; Duchy of Lane. Inq, 

 p.m. V, n. 39. Her will has been 

 printed in Lanes, and Ches. Wills (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 162. 



