A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



named Derleigh ' and Fowler ' also held land here in 

 the fourteenth century. 



Richard Johnson of Lunt was returned among the 

 freeholders in 1600.' 



John Lunt as a ' Papist ' registered a leasehold 

 estate here in 1 7 1 7.' 



THORNTON 



Torentun, Dom. Bk. ; Thorinton, 1212; Thorinton, 

 Thornton, and Thometon, 1292. 



This township has an area of 773i acres ; ' the 

 population in 1901 was 265. It is situated in flat 

 country consisting of pastures and cultivated fields. 

 The soil is loamy, producing crops of potatoes, turnips, 

 and com. The pastures near the Alt lie very low 

 and are often flooded in winter-time and wet seasons. 

 Trees are not a prominent feature of the open land- 

 scape. The geological formation is the same as in 

 Sefton. In the summer the village is much resorted 

 to by pleasure parties. The road from Sefton to 

 Great Crosby passes through it. To the north-east 

 is a hamlet now called Homer Green, formerly 

 Hulmore. 



There is the pedestal of a cross called Broom's Cross. 

 An ancient sundial on a stone pillar stands on Thorn- 

 ton Green ; close to it are the stocks." 



The wakes are held a fortnight after the Great 

 Crosby wakes. It was formerly the custom for a 

 painter to be brought from Liverpool on this day to 

 paint the sundial pillar white with a black diaper 

 pattern over it. 



The old oak chest, containing overseers' books and 

 the parish mace, has on it the letters GC. TC. 17 . 



Dialect words in colloquial use which may be 

 noticed here are ' neave ' for fist, ' narky ' for fractious, 

 and ' coi ammered ' or ' cain ammered ' for testy or 

 contentious. 



One of the fields is named Mass Field ; among 

 others are Windpool, Crane Greave, Tush Hey, 

 Bretlands, School Croft, and Little Eyes. 



The township is governed by a parish council. 



In 1066 THORNTON was held by 

 MANOR Ascha, its half-hide being worth beyond 

 the customary rent the normal 8/.' After 

 the Conquest it was divided, two plough-lands being 

 annexed, with Ince Blundcll, to the barony of War- 

 rington and the third to the Sefton fee.* Subse- 

 quently Pain de Vilers, lord of Warrington, granted 

 one of these plough-lands to Robert de Molyneux of 

 Sefton and the other to Eawin.' There were thus 

 three manors there. 



The portion held by the lord of Sefton in chief 

 was granted by Robert de Molyneux, father of the 

 Richard living in 1 2 1 2, to his brother Gilbert to be 

 held by knight's service ; Richard son of Gilbert 

 held it at the date named.'" This tenant appears to 

 have assumed the local surname, and both Richard 

 son of Richard de Thornton and Simon son of 

 Richard de Thornton occur during the first half of 

 the thirteenth century." Simon died before 1 246, 

 leaving a son Amery, a minor, whose story will 

 follow." 



In the Warrington fee the plough-land granted to 

 Eawin was held by his son Gilbert in 12 1 2." This 

 family also assumed Thornton as a surname, 

 was succeeded by his son Robert, who made 

 to Cockersand," and Robert by his son, 

 Robert, who was in possession in 1243. 

 younger Robert, known as the ' Priestsraock,' had 

 several sons, but the eldest, Adam, surrendered all 

 his right in Thornton to the chief lord, William le 

 Boteler, who thereupon granted it to the above- 

 named Amery de Thornton in exchange for the latter's 

 possessions in Great Marton." Thus Amery came 

 to hold two of the three plough-lands, one from 



Gilbert 

 a grant 

 another 

 " The 



* Adam son of Vivian granted his 

 daughter Ameria certain land in Sefton ; 

 and Ameria, as widow of William de 

 Liverpool, gave to her daughter Margery 

 on her marriage to William de Derleigh, 

 in 133!) a messuage in the Lunt, with the 

 house built thereon, which she had had 

 from her father ; Croxtcth D. X. iv, 3, 5. 

 Twenty years later Derleigh granted the 

 same to his daughter Emma, with re- 

 mainder to William, son of Richard de 

 Molyneux ; ibid. X. i, 14. 



A John de Derleigh occurs in Garston 

 in the time of Edward IL 



^ Richard the Fowler in 1 340 ex- 

 changed his house in the Lunt for land at 

 Lcwcn Green granted by Richard de 

 Molyneux ; ibid. X. i, 7-8. 



Two other families may be mentioned ; 

 Richard son of William Goldenough, In 

 139-', gave all his lands in the Lunt in 

 the rill of Sefton to Richard de Moiy- 

 neux ; and Henry Robinson and Ellen 

 his wife in 1+6^ gave their son Thomas 

 lands in the Lunt within the lordship of 

 Sefton ; ibid. X. I, 25 ; iv, 11. 



' Misc. (Rec. Soc Lanes, and Ches.), i, 

 241. John Richardson, otherwise John- 

 son, made a settlement of his lands in 

 Lunt, Sefton, and Ince Blundell in 1593 ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdlc. 55, m. 215. 



■• Engl. Cath. Non-jurorsy 107 ; his son 

 James is named. 



* The Census of 1901 gives 774 acres, 

 which include 2 of inland water. 



' Lanes, and Ches. Anti^. Soc, xix, 184 j 

 also TrjKs. Hist. Soc. xi, 255. 

 ' KC.H. Lanes, i, 284a. 



• Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 LancB. and Ches.), 7, 8, 13. 



• Ibid. 7, 8. 

 "Ibid. 13. 



*^ Richard son of Richard de Thornton 

 was witness to a grant to Staolaw Abbey 

 made before 1250; fVhalUy Coucher [Qhct. 

 Soc), ii, 524. He had land in Aigburth ; 

 ibid. 561. Richard de Thornton and 

 Simon his son attested another charter 

 before 1242; ibid. 525. 



It appears to have been Alice, the 

 widow of this Simon, who in 1295 re- 

 leased all her right in her husband's 

 land in Aigburth to the monks of Stan- 

 law } ibid, 586. 



Henry de Thornton, witness to several 

 Ince and Aigburth charters of the first 

 half of the century, may have been of 

 this family ; ibid, ii, 496, 560. 



^ Assize R. 404, m. 9 J a claim con- 

 cerning land in Amounderness, held by 

 Richard le Boteler as guardian of Amery, 

 son of Simon de Thornton. 



" Inj. and Extents^ 8. 



** Cockersand ChartuL (Chet. Soc), ii, 

 554 ; a messuage with toft and croft be- 

 tween crofts of Randlc the Rim and 

 Simon son of Gilbert, 



Nicholas de Farington was tenant of 

 Jordan, abbot of Cockersand, in 1327 ; 

 he agreed to build a house and to pay 

 half a mark at death ; Blundcll of Crosby 

 D. K.. 29. 



^ Adam de Molyneux and Robert son 

 of Robert held the two Warrington 

 plough-lands in that year ; In^. and Ex- 

 tentSy 147. 



76 



In 1246, Maud widow of Richard son 

 of Gilbert brought a suit of dower against 

 Robert son of Robert and others concern- 

 ing lands which her husband had given 

 her in Thornton, but withdrew before 

 trial ; Assize R. 404, m. 1 1. 



" Croxteth D. Y. iii, 3. In this char- 

 ter William le Boteler recites that Adam 

 son of Robert the Priestsmock had sur- 

 rendered his land in Thornton, and grants 

 the same to Amery son of Simon to- 

 gether with the homage and service of 

 Simon son of Adam for half an oxgang, 

 but saving to the grantor the homage and 

 service of Alan le Norreys, William 

 Blundell, and of Thomas and John sons 

 of the said Robert the Priestsmock ; 

 further he quitclaims to Amery and his 

 heirs the suit of court at his barony of 

 Warrington which Adam used to do for 

 his land ; a rent of a silver penny was 

 payable. 



Adam son of Robert de Thornton was 

 living in 1292, when he claimed debts 

 from William son of Jordan de Hulton 

 and from William dc Lea ; Assize R. 408, 

 ■n. 95. 98, 99'/- 



Of the undertenants who thus came to 

 hold directly of the lords of Warrington, 

 but little is known : 



(i) In a grant from Vivian son ot 

 Robert de Orsau, or Orshaw, to John son 

 of Gerard de Hoton, it is stated that the 

 land he held from the Hospital of St. John 

 of Chester lay between the land of Alan 

 le Norreys and that of Amery son of 

 Simon; Blundell of Crosby D. K.. 225. 

 In 1331 Richard de Yorton, who had 



