WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



township became known as Ince ' Blundell ' to dis- 

 tinguish it from Ince near Wigan. 



John Blundell was still living in 1400.' His son 

 William about 1387 married Isabel daughter of 

 William de Beconsaw ; * and William, their son, was 

 contracted in marriage, as early as 1389-90, with 

 Alice, daughter of Nicholas Blundell of Little Crosby; ' 

 further settlements appear to have been made in 

 1402.* The younger William died about 1450, 

 and was succeeded by his son, another William," who 

 had a son and heir Robert. In 1463 a contest arose 

 between William Blundell and Richard Ballard, one 

 of the free tenants of Ince, concerning the division of 

 the waste. The latter's supporters invaded the dis- 

 puted land and carried off Blundell's cattle which they 

 found there ; and though an arbitration resulted in 

 favour of Blundell, the other side gave trouble for 

 some years.' 



At the beginning of 1479 it was agreed between 

 Thomas Molyneux of Sefton and William, son and 

 heir of Robert Blundell, that the former should not 

 enclose Ince Marsh, nor any part of it, until the death 

 of William Blundell, father of Robert ; and that then 



SEFTON 



the two parties should show their evidence to counsel, 

 and abide by their decision.' William Blundell the son 

 of Robert, in December, 1504, paid 33/. 4<^. as relief 

 to the lord of Warrington and promised to do homage, 

 but died before this engagement' could be fulfilled. 

 On 12 August, 1505, his son and heir Robert did 

 homage at Warrington in the Friars' house, and in 

 the following May paid his relief On his death, 

 six years later,'" the Butlers took vigorous action to 

 secure their right of wardship over his son and heir 

 James, who was seized by William Molyneux of Sefton 

 and detained, in defiance of the jury's finding, for 

 some years, until, in fact, a writ was issued at Lan- 

 caster for thfe arrest of William Molyneux, with a 

 threat of outlawry. Then James was surrendered to 

 Sir Peter Legh, knight and priest, and by him de- 

 livered to Sir Thomas Butler at Bewsey in February, 

 151 5." 



James Blundell lived till about 1541 ;" his eldest 

 son William succeeded him and survived about six 

 years, when, dying childless, his brother Robert, then 

 a minor, followed." Robert, having seen all the 

 changes of the time, was living in 1585, in which 



Chatherton, and Katherine his wife ; this 

 arrangement was completed in 1379 j 

 Lydiate Hall, 97 ; Final Cone, ii, 188. 



Henry dc Chatherton, bailiff of the 

 wapentake, was in 1 3 74 charged with a 

 multitude of offences ; among others, 

 that he had endeavoured to disinherit 

 John Blundell. He had purchased the 

 reversionary rights of John's sister Emma 

 (who was married and had a son Richard) ; 

 and his explanation' that he had done so 

 in order to secure his daughter-in-law's 

 income not being accepted, ^e was found 

 guilty ; Coram Regc R. 454, m. 13. 



^ John Blundell is mentioned in various 

 ways down to 14.01— 2 ; Lydiate Hall, 

 98 ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 39 j 

 Kuerden MSS. iii. 1, nn. 319, 673. 



In 1375 the sheriff was ordered to 

 arrest and imprison John Blundell of 

 Ince until he paid a debt of £,'2.00 due to 

 Thomas de Molyneux of Cuerdale, John, 

 however, was not to be found within the 

 county and therefore his property was 

 seized, a full description being recorded. 

 He had the manor and manor-house, with 

 chapel, bams, &c. ; orchards, arable land, 

 meadow, and pasture (in Flick Moor), 

 cattle and sheep, rents of the tenants and 

 tenants at will, &c. The outgoings 

 included 55. 3-/. a year paid to the 

 chief lord for the manor, ^\o a year 

 to John de Chatherton and Katherine 

 his wife ; 2 marks a year to Henry Blun- 

 dell of Crosby, &c. The sheriff delivered 

 , the lands, &c. to Thomas de Molyneux ; 

 De Banc. R. 460, m. 323. 



There followed some suits by Thomas ; 

 De Banc. R. 461, m. 41, &c. 



^ Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 98. 



3 The feoffees, who included John de 

 Beconsaw, granted to John Blundell of 

 Ince all the lands they had had by his 

 gift, with remainder to William his son 

 and his heirs by Isabel his wife, and to 

 William, son and heir of the said William, 

 and Alice, daughter of Nicholas Blundell ; 

 Blundell of Crosby D. K. 143. 



■* Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 98 ; the 

 feoffees named are the same as those in 

 the deed last cited. 



^ A step in the pedigree has been 

 inserted here, making a succession of three 

 Williams, instead of the two In the pedi- 

 gree in Lydiate Hall, 84. As John 

 Blundell's father died about 1330 and 



John lived till 1401, it seems unlikely 

 that his son William lived till 1450 \ 

 more probably this was his grandson, who 

 was born before 1390. 



William Blundell In 1445 enfeoffed Sir 

 Thomas Stanley and Henry Blundell (of 

 Crosby) of his manor of Ince ; Croxteth 

 D. O. ii, 21. 



In 1447 a covenant of marriage was 

 made by which Robert son of William 

 Blundell was to marry Elizabeth, sister of 

 Thomas and Henry Dawn ; William 

 Blundell, grandfather of Robert, was a 

 party to this ; Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxlv, 135. 



The elder William died before 145 1, 

 when William Blundell of Ince conveyed 

 to Robert, his son and heir, and Elizabeth 

 his wife, various lands at Ince ; Gibson, 

 Lydiate Hall, 99. Two years after this 

 an award was made between William 

 Blundell and KLatherine, widow of his 

 father William, the arbitrator being Sir 

 Thomas Stanley 5 Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxlv, 

 140. 



In 1461, Roger Sherdes and his wife 

 Alice, daughter of William Blundell, 

 released to William Blundell and his wife 

 Agnes all claims ; Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 

 100. Early in the following year a 

 marriage was arranged by Robert Blundell 

 and Roger Asshaw between William Blun- 

 dell and Joan Asshaw, their children ; 

 William Blundell, the father of Robert, 

 is also mentioned ; Trans. Hist. Soc. 

 xxxiv, 138. 



^ Gibson, Lydiate Hall, p. 100. 



' Croxteth D. O. i, 8 ; it would appear 

 from this that William Blundell was very 

 old, and incapable of business, and that 

 Robert Blundell was dead. 



In 1484 William Blundell arranged for 

 the dower of Agnes, his grandfather's 

 widow ; four years later he arranged for 

 the marriage of his daughter Mary with 

 Thomas, son and heir of John, son of 

 Richard Singleton of Inglewhite j Gibson, 

 Lydiate Hall, loi. 



^Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 16. 



William Blundell died 18 June, 1505, 

 holding Ince Blundell of Sir Thomas 

 Boteler by knight's service, viz. by the 

 third part of a fee, and by the rent of 5j., 

 with izd. for suit at court; the clear 

 value was ^lo. He also held land in 

 Lydiate ; Robert Blundell was his next 



heir, and thirty-four years of age ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, n. 65. He had also 

 a burgage in Liverpool ; Gibson, Lydiate 

 Hall, 102. 



^Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 



i, 16. 



In the same year he made a settlement 

 in favour of his wife, Elizabeth, daughter 

 of Roger Molyneux ; others followed in 

 1508 and 151 1 ; Gibson, op. cit. 103-4. 

 He also granted lands to his brother 

 Thomas for life, in 1509; Ibid. 103. 

 This Thomas married a Ballard, showing 

 probably some appeasement of the family 

 quarrels, and became ancestor of the 

 Blundells of Cardlngton, one of whom 

 was raised to the peerage ; F'isit. of 

 1613 (Chet. Soc), yy; Visit, of Beds, 

 (Harl. Soc), 161 ; G.E.C. Complete 

 Peerage, i, 365 ; G.E.C. Complete Baronet- 

 age, i, 224. 



10 Robert Blundell died 28 Dec 1511, 

 James, his son and heir, being eight years 

 of age in Sept. 1517; Duchy of Lane 

 Inq. p.m. Iv, n. 17. 



The Inquisition recites the feoffment 

 of 151IJ which was made for the purposes 

 of his will, directing dower to be given to 

 Elizabeth his wife, lands of 405. a year 

 value to his younger son William for life; 

 j^8o towards the marriages of his daughters 

 — Jane, Margery, Grace, and Ellen ; his 

 brother Thomas is mentioned. 



"Muc. (Rec Soc Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 30-2 ; also Gibson, op. clt. 104. 



12 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. viil, n. 18 ; 

 no change Is shown In the estates ; Wil- 

 liam, the son and heir, was thirteen years 

 of age. 



The inventory is printed in Lydiate 

 Hall, 105-6 ; the manor-house had a hall, 

 a parlour, a little parlour (both used as 

 bedrooms), a higher chamber, a new 

 chamber, and perhaps other rooms not 

 mentioned. 



18 Duchy of Lane Inq. p.m. Ix, n. 39 ; 

 Robert Blundell, brother and heir, was 

 over eighteen years of age in 1547. The 

 heir, on 15 Jan. 1549-50, i.e. soon after 

 he came of age, was called upon to fulBl 

 covenants made by his father for the 

 marriage of William Blundell and Eliza- 

 beth, natural daughter of Sir William 

 Molyneux, who had taken a second 

 husband, Edward Holme ; Croxteth D. O. 

 ii, 28. In 1550 a settlement was made 



II 



