A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Alt Grange became the seat of a younger branch of 

 the Molyneux family, who also had a house in West 

 Derby, known as the New Hall, and even tually 

 succeeded to the manor of Huyion ; they are now 



Molyneux, Azure, a 

 cross moline or ,* a canton 

 argent. 



SxKL. Perfess potent 

 counterpotent pean and 

 azure, three •wol'ves' heads 

 erased counterchanged. 



represented by Mr. Edward Richard Thomas Moly- 

 neux-Seel. The first of them was John, a younger 

 son of Sir Richard Molyneux, the purchaser ; * he 

 was succeeded by his son Richard * and his grand- 



son John. The latter's estates were sequestered by 

 the Parliament for his recusancy and delinquency, 

 and though he died early in 1649' his widow w.i5 

 still petitioning in 1655.* The eldest son Richard* 

 married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Harrington of 

 Huyton Hey, and was in turn succeeded by his son * 

 and grandson, each named Richard ; the last-namcJ ' 

 succeeded to Huyton in right of his grandmother 

 Elizabeth, on the death of her nephew Charles 

 Harrington in 1720.® This Richard, buried at 

 Sefton early in 1735/ had a son Richard, who died 

 a fortnight after his father,"* and a daughter Frances, 

 whose marriage with Thomas Seel carried the 

 estates to this fiimily." The connexion with Alt 

 Grange seems to have ceased before her brother's 

 death." 



Of the other free tenants the most notable were 

 the Blanchards." Part of the property of the Moor- 

 houses seems to have been sold to Henry Blundell of 

 Little Crosby." In 1444 there was a contest between 

 John Coldokes and Ellen his wife and Richard John- 

 son of Little Crosby concerning land in Ince, which 

 has points of interest.^* 



'^ Fisit. of 1567 (Chet. Soc), 104; 

 and Fnit. of 1664 (Chct. Soc), 203 — 

 Molyneux of New Hall. 



^ Mentioned Royalist Comp. P. iv, 147. 

 In a deed of 1632 he is described as of 

 Alt Grange, brother and heir of John 

 Molyneux, deceased. 



* Ibid. 145-8. He had in 1634 a 

 lease of Alt Grange from Lord Molyneux, 

 at a rent of ^^4 js. zd. He and his wife, 

 with many others, appear in the Recusant 

 Roll of 1641 in Ince Blundell; Trans, 

 Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xiv, 237. The 

 estate was sold for treason under the third 

 Act of 1652 ; Index of Royalists (Index 

 Soc), p. 43. He was buried at Sefton 

 3 March, 1648-9. 



* Royalist Comp, P. loc. cit. ; Cal, Com. 

 for Comp. iv, 3171-2 ; the estate had 

 been discharged in April, 1654, on pay- 

 ment of a fine of j^20. 



The house in 1666 had five hearths 

 taxed ; Lay Subs. Lanes. 250-9. 



* He joined with his mother in the 

 petition concerning the sequestration. 

 For his age and marriage see Fisit. of 

 1664, p. 203. 



His brother, EdwarJ, a secular priest, 

 for nearly forty years served the mission 

 at Alt Grange and the neighbourhood ; 

 he was found dead on the sands, z8 April, 

 1704, and was buried in the Harkirk 

 ground at Little Crosby; N. Bl mdel!, 

 Diary, p. 21 ; Crosby Rcc. (Chct. Soc), 

 pp. xxi, 81. 



Thomas Molyneux or Wilkinson, S.J., 

 is supposed to have been of this family ; 

 perhaps a brother of Edward. He was a 

 victim of the Gates persecution, dying in 

 Morpeth gaol, of poison given by the 

 physician as it is believed, though it was 

 given out that he committed suicide ; 

 Gillow, Sibl. Diet, of Engl. Catb. v, 69 ; 

 Foley, J2«. S.J, v, 657. 



Richard Molyneux was buried at Sefton 

 7 May, 1686. 



^ An elder son John, bom in 1660 and 

 baptized by Mr. Parr, a secular priest, 

 after studying at St. Omer's, entered the 

 English College at Rome in 1679; *he 

 V as always a Catholic and suffered for 

 his faith' ; he went by his mother's name 

 of Harrington ; Foley, Rec. S.J. vi, 429, 

 He was buried at Sefton 28 Jan. 1692-3, 

 as *John Molvneux of West Derby, 

 gentleman.' His brother Richard, who 



succeeded him, was buried at Sefton, 

 29 Jan. 1712-13 ; sec N. Blundell, D/iary, 

 no. 



7 He registered his leasehold estate 

 in Ince as a 'Papist' in 1717 ; Engl. 

 Cath, Non-jurors, i 54. He had an elder 

 brother John living in 1719, who in a 

 deed of this date mentioned him and his 

 sisters Mary and Elizabeth, also Mrs. 

 Elizabeth Molyneux, widow ; Piccopc 

 MSS. (Chct. Lib.), iii, 192, from Roll 7 

 of Geo. I at Preston. 



In 1722 John Molyneux, of Alt Grange 

 and New Hall, was to marry Margaret, 

 daughter of Richard Moore of Heskin ; 

 ibid, iii, 214, quoting second 5th Roll of 

 Geo. I. 



^ See the account of Huyton. 



» He died at New Hall in West Derby, 

 and was buried at Sefton 23 Feb, 



1734-5- 



*o He was buried at Sefton 3 March, 

 1734-5 ; his will, enrolled at Preston 

 (second 5th Roll of Geo. II), mentions his 

 wife Mnrgarct, his mother-in-law Mary 

 Hawardc-n, his brother-in-law Bryan 

 Ha warden, his uncle Edward, and his 

 daughter Frances ; Piccope MSS. (Chet. 

 Lib.), iii, 256. 



For some monumental inscriptions, &c., 

 relating to this family sec Trans, Hist, Soc, 

 (New Ser.), xi, 99, 100. 



" See the account of Huyton. 



*^ Richard Lord Molyneux leased Alt 

 Grange to John Blanchard of Ince 

 in 1726 ; Richard Molyneux of Alt 

 Grange is mentioned ; also his uncle 

 Edward and his deceased brother John, 

 and Margaret his wife ; Piccopc MSS. 

 iii, 244 (from a roll of Geo, II at 

 Preston.) 



*3 Richard Blundell between 1249 and 

 1266 granted to William, son of Swain 

 Blanchard, two fields in his viU of Ince, 

 at a rent of izd.\ Blundell of Crosby D, 

 KL. 247. 



Gilbert Blanchard occurs in the list of 

 free tenants of 1283 given in a previous 

 note. In 1304 Richard, son of William 

 Blanchard, complained that Robert, son 

 of Gilbert Blanchard, William, son of 

 William Blanchard, and Richard Blundell 

 had disseised him of his messuage and 

 land in Ince ; but he failed, as Robert 

 showed that he entered on one portion, 

 as heir, after the death of William his 



8+ 



grandfather, and William, son of Willi.im 

 Blanchard, by his father's gift ; Assize R. 

 419, m. 12 d. 



Richard Blanchard paid to the subsidy 

 in 1332 ; Exch. Lay Subs. 8. Robert, 

 son of Richard Blanchard, was one of the 

 /fee tenants of 1 344 ; Gibson, Lydiau 

 Hallf 97. Adam Blanchard was a juror 

 in 1375; De Banc. R. 460, m. 323. 

 Robert and Adam Blanchard contributed 

 to the poll-tax of 1381 ; Lay Subs. LancJ. 

 130/24. 



Huan Blanchard, son and heir of John, 

 granted land in Ince Blundell in 1518; 

 Towneley MS. CC. (Chet. Lib.), «. 807. 



Joseph Blanchard, of Lady Green, 

 occurs in 171 3, and Richard Blanchard 

 was a leaseholder in 1834 ; N. Blundell, 

 Diary, 109 ; Gibson, op. cit. 139. 



Families named Orshaw and Dey also 



occur during the fourteenth and fifteenth 



centuries; Croxteth D. O. ii, 18, 22-21;. 



For others see Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 



bdle. I, m. 29 ; bdle. 3, m. 9. 



"In 1374 Adam, son of Robert del 

 Moorhouses, claimed certain land from 

 John dc Ashhurst ; De Banc. R. 456, 

 m. 195; R. 457, m. II4</. But four 

 years c.irlier the defendant had given to 

 Henry Blundell all the lands, &c., he had 

 by the grant of Richard, son ot William 

 del Moorhouses ; and in 1406-7 Isabel, 

 as widow of John de AshhurBt, released all 

 her right in her husband's land to 

 Nicholas Blundell of Crosby ; ICuerdcn 

 fol. MS. 38, n. 436, 432. 



•* The plaintiffs adduced a charter 

 granted by William de Molyneux (1250- 

 80) to Henry, son of William del 

 Moorhouses, of land called Ruholme in 

 Ince, which William de Sileby formerly 

 held of the gift of Richard Blundell, and 

 which descended to the grantor after the 

 death of Richard his brother, who had 

 had the same by the gift of Sir William 

 le Boteler. Henry, also known as Henry 

 son of Bimme, had issue Thomas and 

 Simon ; the former had a son Roger and 

 grandson Alan, whose daughter and heir 

 was Ellen, » ife of John Coldokes. 



On the other side was adduced a char- 

 ter by Henry, dated 1302, granting his 

 son Simon a moiety of his lands held 

 according to ' the ancient charters ' of 

 William, son of John Blundell ; for this 

 gift his sons Simon and Thomas were to 



