WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



Thornton. The township is nearly 3 J miles long, 

 the area being 2,3 15J acres.' The population num- 

 bered 392 in 1901. The village is situated near the 

 middle of the township. There are hamlets called 

 Carr Houses and Lady Green ; North End includes 

 Alt Grange. 



The greens have been enclosed. There are crosses 

 upon ancient bases in the village. The ' flowering ' 

 of the cross used to take place on Midsummer Day.' 

 There is a sundial, dated 1 744, at the hall. 



Roads from Lunt and Thornton meet at the village 

 and lead to Alt Bridge, where the road from Liverpool 

 to Southport, which here crosses the township, joins 

 them. The Liverpool and Southport branch of the 

 Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway also crosses the 

 northern end of the township, and has a station for 

 the use of volunteers and others using the Altcar rifle 

 range. An old lighthouse stands near this point. 



A number of minor names are given in the Alt 

 Drainage Act of 1 779 ; they include Shire Lane Moss, 

 Orrell Hill, Scaffold Lane, Hallops Hey, and Logers 

 Field. 



The township is governed by a parish council. 



In 1066 three thegns held INCE for 

 MANOR three manors ; it was assessed at half a 

 hide and worth beyond the customary 

 rent the usual 8/.' Early in the twelfth century it 

 was included in the barony of Warrington, and by 

 Pain de Vilers was given to Roger de Stainsby, to- 

 gether with half a plough-land in Barton.' Later, 

 probably on the death of Roger,' the manor appears 

 to have reverted to the chief lord, of whom Richard 

 Blundell, or possibly his father, subsequently held it 

 either by re-grant or subinfeudation made by the 

 former tenant. 



SEFTON 



Richard Blundell appears late in the twelfth cen- 

 tury as a witness to local charters," and was succeeded 

 by his son William, who in 1 2 1 2 held Ince and the 

 moiety of Barton of the lord of Warrington by 

 knight's service, as the third part of a fee.' William 

 made an agreement with the lord of Ravensmeols, on 

 the other side of the Alt, as to the formation of a 

 mill-pool.' To William Blundeliyaj/^wi/he granted four 

 oxgangs of land in Ince, with the three villeins who 

 occupied them." He was a benefactor to the monks 

 of Stanlaw, giving them his mill upon the Alt,'" and 

 his land called Scholes." He appears to have received 

 the order of knighthood." 



His son, Richard Blundell, was in possession in 

 1242." He confirmed his father's donations to the 

 monks of Stanlaw and added to 

 them half the land of Alt marsh 

 which Robert, citizen of York, 

 had drained by dykes." This 

 land was in 1240-1 exchanged 

 for another piece nearer the land 

 already held by the abbey ; the 

 residue of the marsh between 

 Ince and Scholes was to remain 

 untilled for ever, as common 

 pasture." The half of the 

 marsh was given to his daughter 

 Amarica on her marriage with 

 Gervase de Pencebech.'* Be- 

 tween 1257 and 1259 Richard 

 Blundell granted to Henry de 

 Lea and his heirs a messuage and toft at the 

 Morhulles, with right of turbary," and in 1259, 

 to Henry de Sefton, clerk, all his lands at the 

 Moorhouses.'* 



Blundell of Ince. 

 Azure^ ten billets, 4, 3, 

 2 and I or ,* on a canton 

 of the second a raven 

 proper. 



^ 2,3 iS acres according to the census 

 of 1 901 ; 24 of inland water being in- 

 cluded. In addition an acre of tidal water 

 and an acre of foreshore are within the 

 boundary. 



^ Lanes, and Cbes. Antiq, Soc, xix, 

 176-8. ' r.C.H. Lanes, i, 284a. 



^ Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 7. The superior lord- 

 ship remained in the barons of Warring- 

 ton, though the tenure was changed in 

 1597, as stated in the text. In 1548 a 

 rent of 6s. was due from Robert Blundell 

 for Ince ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 

 13, m. 142. 



* Nothing appears to be known of 

 Roger, but probably he held the manor 

 of Stainsby in Derbyshire, parcel of the 

 Domesday iief of Count Roger of Poitou ; 

 this had escheated to the lord of the 

 honour before 1 1 64, and was re-granted 

 before 1 1 70 ; Testa de Nevill (Rec. 

 Com.), \-jh ; Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 20-21. 



* Ibid. 377 ; Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxn, 183. 



7 Inq. and Extents, 7 5 strictly the ser- 

 vice was the proportion due from 3^ 

 plough-lands where ten constituted a fee ; 

 but it was more conveniently called the 

 third part ; ibid. 147. 



William also held a moiety of Larbreck 

 in Amounderness of the baron of Kendal ; 

 probably in right of his mother ; ibid. 3 ; 

 Whalley Coucher (Chet. Soc), ii, 526. 



He had certain public offices between 

 1212 and 1237 ; Inq. and Extents, 2 ; 

 Lanes. Pipe R. 420 ; Lanes. Lay Subs. (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 12, 40, 41, 49 ; in 

 the last case his name is struck through, 

 and Adam de Bury substituted. 



8 IVhalley Coucher (Chet. Soc), ii, 497 ; 

 this charter of Henry, son of Warin de 



Lancaster, which may be dated about 

 1 2 10, allows William Blundell to use 

 land on the right bank of the river, 

 where he might find it convenient, for a 

 rent of gilded spurs, or 4^/. The privi- 

 lege afterwards (1328) led to a dispute 

 between Sir Richard de Hoghton and the 

 abbot of Whalley ; Croxteth D. O. ii, 7. 



' Whalley Coucher, ii, 525. The four 

 oxgangs of land were to be held by knight's 

 service where 9J plough-lands made one 

 fee. 



" Ibid, ii, 489-90. The grantor de- 

 scribes himself as William son of Richard 

 Blundell ; the charters gave the mill with 

 all its appurtenances, as well in corn as in 

 fish, and forbade his heirs to make any 

 pool or device for catching fish which 

 might injure the rights of the monks. 

 The latter might remove the mill to a 

 more convenient site on the Alt and take 

 land for the mill-pool. In return they 

 were to pray for the souls of himself, his 

 wife Agnes, and his ancestors and suc- 

 cessors. The grants were confirmed by 

 William le Boteler j ibid, ii, 494. 



11 Ibid, ii, 490, 492. This land lay 

 within the ditch of Little Crosby on the 

 south, following it northward to the pool 

 falling into Skippool, down this to the 

 Alt, and following the Alt to the sea — i.e. 

 the tract within which Alt Grange is 

 situated — with common of pasture of the 

 whole vill of Ince for their sheep and 

 cows, and rights of turbary and housebote, 



" Ibid, ii, 527. 



1' Inq. and Extents, 147. His name 

 occurs as witnessing charters ; e.g. ibid. 20. 



1< Whalley Coucher, ii, 494, 498. At 

 the same time he enlarged the monks' 

 right of pasturage and gave up his right 



79 



to pasture In Sudmore ; ibid. 500. Some 

 of these charters are now at Croxteth. 



^5 Ibid, ii, 502 ; Robert of York was a 

 witness to this exchange. He also gave 

 some of his villeins to the monks ; ibid, 

 ii, 522-4. One villein who had been 

 transferred by Richard's father gave 20J. 

 sterling for a confirmation of the gift, in- 

 dicating how advantageous it then was tO' 

 serve a religious house, as compared with, 

 a secular lord. 



" Blundell of Crosby D. K. 291. Pas- 

 ture as for two oxgangs was allowed. 

 Ince is described as * within the forest,* 

 and the * citizen of York' is called Robert 

 de Preston. If Gervase de Pencebech 

 were the same as Gervase de Ince, the 

 daughter Amarica must be the Amabil of 

 the fVhalley Coucher. 



17 Add. MS. 32106, n. 577; Gilbert tht 

 Cowherd had previously held it ; turbary/ 

 and common of pasture were included, 



18 T. E. Gibson, Lydiate Hali, 91,. 

 quoting an Ince Blundell charter. The: 

 author had access to these charters, of 

 which a few have been printed in Trans^. 

 Hist. Soc. xxxii-iv. By one of them 

 Richard Blundell granted to Hugh son of 

 Alan de Ainsdale a messuage on the Alt ; 

 ibid, xxxiii, 265. By another he granted 

 an oxgang of land in Ince to Benedict son 

 of Simon ; ibid, xxxii, 190, 189. 



Rose, as widow of Richard Blundell, . 

 quitclaimed to the monks all her dower 

 right in the lands he had given them, as ^ 

 also in the land and pasture which he hadi 

 given to his daughter Amarica on her mar- ■ 

 riage with Gervase de Ince ; they were to. 

 pay her a mark of silver yearly, half at: 

 Christmas and half at Halton fair ;; 

 PFhalley Coucher, ii, 501. 



