WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



the lord of Sefton and the other from the lord of 

 Warrington.' 



He had a son Simon, who seems to have died 

 without issue,' and a daughter Margery,' who 

 married William de Hokelaw, and in June, 1355, 

 as a widow, enfeoffed Richard de Lunt of one-third 

 of the manor of Thornton.* 



SEFTON 



Afterwards this portion seems to have been divided, 

 and at the beginning of the sixteenth century portions 

 were held by the families of Ince, Tarleton,' Lunt,° 

 and others.' Portions appear to have been pur- 

 chased from time to time by the lords of Sefton.' 

 In I 597 the lord of Warrington sold his right in the 

 manor to Sir Richard Molyneux." 



married the widow of Alan le Norreys, 

 gave a three years' lease of his lands in 

 Thornton to Thomas de Molyneujc ; 

 Croxteth D. Y. i, z. 



(ii) William son of William Blundell, 

 in 1300, granted an oxgang in the vill of 

 Thornton, held of William le Boteler, to 

 Peter son of Richard de Molyneux, with 

 remainders to Thomas and Joan, brother 

 and sister of Peter ; ibid. Y. i, 1. In 

 1331 Agnes widow of William Blundell 

 of Ince sought dower from Peter de 

 Molyneux in four messuages and an oxgang 

 in Thornton ; De Banc. R. 287, m. 178 </. 



(iii) Thomas son of Robert de Thorn- 

 ton gave his brother John a messuage 

 and croft at a rent of a pair of gloves, 

 value Ji/.; Croxteth D. Y, iii, 2. 

 Thomas had a son Richard, who had sons 

 Adam and William ; Adam had a daugh- 

 ter and heir Margery, who married John 

 son of Adam de Orshaw and had five 

 daughters, who divided the inheritance 

 among them. 



This appears from a grant in 1327 

 by the feoffee, Robert son of Adam de 

 Molyneux, of Sefton, to John de Orshaw 

 and Margery his wife, on their marriage, 

 with remainder to Margery's uncle 

 William ; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 272. 

 Also from a grant by Maud daughter of 

 John de Orshaw to Robert son of John 

 de Tarleton in 1356 ; this comprised her 

 share, viz. a quarter of the inheritance of 

 her mother Margery in Thornton, Ince, 

 and Little Crosby ; Croxteth D. Y. iii, 

 17, Maud's sisters, Agnes, Ellen, Emma, 

 and Joan, are named in a suit in 1351; 

 Duchy of Lane. Assize R. i, m. ij. 



Very soon afterwards, in 1359, Robert 

 de Tarleton transferred his acquisition to 

 Richard de Molyneux of Sefton ; Crox- 

 teth D. Y. i, 6. 



John de Orshaw of Thornton contri- 

 buted to the subsidy of 1332 ; Exch. Lay 

 Subs, (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 19. 



^ Amery de Thornton frequently occurs 

 in the latter part of Edward I's reign as 

 witness to charters ; e.g. JVhalUy Coucher, 

 ii, 431 (dated IZ92), 503, &c. 



In 1292 he claimed a tenement in 

 Thornton from Richard de Molyneux, 

 but was non-suited ; Assize R. 408, m. 

 58 (^. At the same time he was defendant 

 in another suit ; ibid. m. 6% d, -^ while 

 three years later he was once more a 

 plaintiff; Assize R. 1306, m. \qd. 



Some grants by him have been pre- 

 served. By one, dated 1296, he gave part 

 of his plough-land, viz. an acre near his 

 mill in Thornton, to Richard son of 

 Thomas of Little Crosby ; to be held of 

 the chief lord, Richard de Molyneux, by a 

 rent of J</.; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 18. 

 He gave Richard son of Robert de Riding 

 a house and croft in Thornton, adding an 

 oxgang of land, to wit, the eighth part of 

 a plough-land, in 1295 ; in the following 

 year he granted an acre in the Meadow- 

 butts to John del Lunt ; the oxgang and 

 the acre were also to be held of Richard 

 de Molyneux as chief lord ; Croxteth D, 

 Y. iii, 4-6. 



^ Amery probably died before 1300, for 

 in 1302 his son Simon had lands called 

 Witesilce and Swartmoor from Richard 

 de Molyneux, and himself made a grant 



in the Aldfield to Robert de Riding. In 

 13 1 1 he gave to Hugh Drury land in the 

 Masefield next to tlie Little Holgate, 

 with the headland in the Little Blake- 

 field ; ibid. Ee. 1 1 ; Y. iii, 7 8. 



Hugh Drury had several grants in 

 Sefton and Thornton from 1 307 onwards ; 

 ibid. Ee. 13, 14, 16 ; while Robert son 

 of Hugh Drury appears in 1311, and in 

 1328 Hugh Drury made a grant to his 

 son John ; ibid. Y. iii, 10, 11. 



In 1368 Isabel widow of Richard de 

 Molyneux claimed the custody of certain 

 land in Thornton held by Simon Baron, 

 as next of kin and heir of Margery 

 daughter of Simon de Thornton ; De 

 Banc. R. 432, m. 251 </. ; 434, m. 220. 

 ' Daughter ' may be an error for sister. 



' To Margery his daughter Amery 

 granted land in the territory of Thornton 

 called Soraniscroft, as well as an acre in 

 the Newfield towards Sefton, a rent of 

 \d. being payable to the chief lord ; Crox- 

 teth D. Y. iii, I. 



William de Hokelaw and Margery his 

 wife and Margaret widow of Simon de 

 Thornton were in 1325 convicted of 

 having disseised Robert son of Thomas 

 Burgeys of his free tenement in Thorn- 

 ton ; Assize R. 426, m. 6. 



William de Hokelaw in 133 1 procured 

 land in Thornton, abutting on the green, 

 from William son of Simon de Lund ; and 

 in 1338 he made an exchange of lands 

 with Robert son of Richard de Riding ; 

 Croxteth D. Y. iii, 13, 14. 



In the following year Margery, as his 

 widow, gave to Geoffrey son of Henry de 

 Thornton the acre in the Newfield, and 

 the other in Soraniscroft above men- 

 tioned ; ibid. Y. iii, 15. She made a 

 grant to John de Molyneux in 1346 \ 

 ibid. Y. i, 4. 



* Ibid. Y. i, 4 ; iii, 16. In the same 

 year, however, Richard de Molyneux of 

 Sefton and the heirs of Margery de 

 Hokelaw were returned as holding the 

 Warrington part of Thornton which 

 Adam de Molyneux and Robert son of 

 Robert had formerly held ; Feud, Aids, 

 iii, 90. 



Who these heirs were does not clearly 

 appear, but the following deeds may 

 relate to this portion of the manor : — 



Thomas de Betres in 1370 granted all 

 the Thornton lands, lordships, reliefs, &c., 

 which he had had from Simon son of 

 Robert Waron, to Robert son of Robert 

 de Ince, with remainder to Emmota 

 daughter of Robert Waron, and to the 

 right heirs of Margery Hokelaw ; Crox- 

 teth D. Y. iii, 18. 



At Pentecost, 1398, John de Mytton, 

 as feoffee of William son of Walter de 

 Thornton, granted to the said William 

 and Emmota his wife all their lands in 

 Thornton, with remainder to Emmota 

 daughter of William and to Robert son of 

 Robert de Ince ; ibid. Y. iii, 21. 



Robert son of Robert de Ince in 1409 

 granted to his brother Simon all the 

 messuages and lands formerly held by 

 William Geoffreyson ; ibid. Y. iii, 22. 



Robert de Ince occurs as a witness to 

 charters from 1382 to 1409, and Simon 

 de Ince from 1414 to 1427 ; Amery and 

 Nicholas occur in 141 8. Blundell of 



77 



Crosby D. K. 223, K. 40, K. 35, K. 34, 

 K. 37. 



Then in 1489 Richard Tarleton gave 

 certain selions in fields called Crooks and 

 Dcrlogs in Thornton to Robert Ince in 

 exchange for the lands there 5 Croxteth 

 D. Y. iii, 29. 



At the beginning of 1515 Richard de 

 Ince did homage and service at Bewsey 

 for his lands in Thornton held of Thomas 

 Butler by knight's service ; Misc. (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 30. In 1505 

 Richard Tarleton had done similar hom- 

 age \ ibid, i, 1 6. There is, however, 

 nothing to show the origin or descent of 

 Tarleton's share of the manor. Gilbert 

 de Tarleton was a contributor to the 

 subsidy here in 1332; Exch. Lay Subs. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 19. 



John de Tarleton of Thornton occurs 

 in the poll-tax list of 1381 ; Lay Subs. 

 Lanes. 130-24. William de Tarleton 

 attested a Thornton charter in 1427-8 ; 

 Cecily widow of William de Tarleton had 

 in 1440 lands in Litherland, Scarlsbrick, 

 Lydiate, Ormskirk, and Thornton ; and 

 Richard Tarleton of Thornton was wit- 

 ness in 1421-2 and 1456-7. Blundell of 

 Crosby D. K.. 34, K. 36, K. 27, K. 33. 



The following were the services due to 

 the Butlers from Thornton in 1548; 

 From Richard Molyneux of Sefton, 2^^*^. 

 and a pound of pepper, and 6d. ; from 

 John Molyneux, zod. 5 from William 

 Tarleton, i^d. ^ from Robert Bootle and 

 Elizabeth his wife, in her right, 13^1^. ; 

 from Bryan Lunt, ^d. Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 13, m. 142, 



5 What is known of these is stated in 

 the previous note. 



® The Lunt family or families long had 

 a holding here, and that part at least was 

 held of the barony of Warrington is proved 

 by the homage roll cited in a previous 

 note ; for in 1505 John Lunt of Thorn- 

 ton did homage for lands in Thornton ; 

 Misc. i, 18. 



The earliest grant is one dated 1305, 

 when Robert de Molyneux of Thornton 

 and Simon son of Amery de Thornton to- 

 gether granted a small piece of land to 

 Henry son of Alan del Lunt, at a rent of a 

 rose to the chief lord ; Croxteth D. Ee. 12. 



At the beginning of 1342 William son 

 of Simon del Lunt granted lands in the 

 new approvement to Richard de Moly- 

 neux ; ibid. Y. i, 3. Henry son of 

 William made a settlement of his lands 

 in 1354; he had had some from his 

 uncle Henry son of Simon del Lunt ; 

 ibid, Y. i, 5 ; Ee. 23 ; Y. i, 8. 



Joan daughter of Robert del Lunt 

 appears in 1384, making a feoffment of 

 the lands in Thornton she had received 

 from Robert son of Richard del Riding j 

 ibid, Y. iii, 19, 20 ; she made a further 

 one in 1388 ; ibid. Y. i, 9 ; Ee. 27. 



7 In the Croxteth D. are a few referring 

 to Hulmore in Thornton ; it appears that 

 Richard Fowler sold to Dame Anne 

 Molyneux in 1488 a messuage and land 

 he had in 1476 received from Ralph 

 Bette and Ellen his wife ; N. 1-4 ; see 

 also N. 6. 



8 This is clear from the references to 

 the Croxteth D. in previous notes. 



9 Ibid. Y. i, 12. 



