WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



The following registered estates as ' Papists ' in 

 1 7 1 7 : William Brown of Lostock ; William Davy, 

 here and at Great Crosby ; Thomas Gore ; Thomas 

 Rigmaiden ; and Richard Tickle, here and at Altcar.' 

 Richard Blundell, of Carr-side, registered a leasehold 

 house at Altcar." 



It is probable that the Roman Catholic worship was 

 maintained here all through the seventeenth century,' 

 either at Ince Blundell Hall or at Alt Grange, or both, 

 but there seems to be no evidence of it until the end 

 of that period. During the eighteenth century the 

 Jesuits were in charge.* The church of the Holy 

 Family, built in 1858, is attached to the hall; the 

 baptismal register dates from 1775.' 



LITTLE CROSBY 



Crosebi, Dom. Bk. ; Little Crosseby, xiii and xiv 

 cent. ; Little Crosby, 1405. 



This township lies to the north of Great Crosby, 

 Thornback Pool being the boundary on that side. 

 Extending along the coast, a wide belt of sand-hills, in 

 which are rabbit warrens, forms an efficient protection 

 to the low-lying land from the inroads of the sea. 

 Some of the inhabitants are fishermen, who reap a 

 harvest of shrimps, flukes, and cockles from the sea 

 and broad firm sands. 



Excepting those which cluster about Crosby Hall, 

 there are but few trees or hedges, fields being princi- 

 pally divided by ditches. The alluvial soil produces 

 good crops of potatoes and corn, whilst there are also 

 meadows and pastures. The lower keuper sandstones, 

 which here represent the geological formation, under- 

 lie the entire township, but, as elsewhere in the neigh- 

 bourhood, are obscured by sand and deep boulder 

 clay, and along the coast by blown sand which 

 obscures the grey clays of the glacial drift series. 



The acreage is 1,81 1.' The village, hall and park 

 are at the southern end of the township ; to the 

 north are Moorhouse and Hightown, a modern 



SEFTON 



hamlet ; on the shore near the last-named is a light- 

 house, built in 1839. The population in 1901 

 was 563.' 



The Liverpool and Southport road passes diagonally 

 through the township from south to north, roads to 

 Thornton and Hightown branching off to the east 

 and north-west. The Lancashire and Yorkshire 

 Company's line from Liverpool to Southport also 

 crosses it, with a station at Hightown. 



The place was noted for the abundance of fine 

 laurels.* 



There are six crosses, one being in the village.' 

 At Harkirk, now within the park, a number of 

 Anglo-Saxon coins were found in 161 1.'" 



The village well having become dry about thirty 

 years ago has been closed up. 



Narrs Croft and Wildings Croft occur among the 

 field names in 1779. 



A local board was formed in 1870 ;" this in 1894 

 became an urban district council of six members. 



LITTLE CROSBT was in 1066 



MANOR part of the holding of Uctred, and 

 rated as half a hide." Afterwards it 

 became part of the Widnes fee, and following the 

 descent of that lordship passed eventually to the 

 crown." A subordinate manor was early created 

 here, held in 1 2 1 2 by Richard de Molyneux of 

 Sefton ; " and subsequently it was granted as a depen- 

 dent manor to a junior branch of the family. 



The first of this line was Roger de Molyneux, son 

 of Adam and grandson of the above-named Richard." 

 About 1266 Robert Blundell demanded from this 

 Roger an acquittance of the services which Alice de 

 Lacy, lady of Halton, in right of her dower required 

 from him, which Roger as mesne lord ought to 

 perform.'^ 



About 1287 Roger was succeeded by his son 

 Richard, who held Little Crosby, Speke, and a moiety 

 of Rainhill for nearly forty years." He married 

 Beatrice, apparently daughter and heir of Adam de 



keep him in food and clothing for the 

 rest of his life. Simon's moiety accord- 

 ingly descended to his son William and 

 grandson Thomas, and so to Emma, wife 

 of Richard Johnson of Little Crosby, 

 whose son John was joined as defendant ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 6, m. 26 ; R. 12, 

 m. 27 b. 



A Thomas Coldoke was living here in 

 1595 ; Ducatus Lane, iii, 332. 



William, son of Richard Bimmeson, 

 claimed lands in Ince in 1342 ; Assize 

 R. 1435, m. 48. 



^ Eng. Cath. Non-juron, 108, 122, 126, 

 148. One of Richard Tickle's daughters 

 had married Richard Molyneux of Alt 

 Grange, and their sons John and Richard 

 are mentioned. 



'^ Ibid. 1 12. The Blundells of Carr- 

 side were a junior branch of the Ince 

 family ; * their names appear in the re- 

 cusant rolls throughout the whole period 

 of persecution ' ; Gillow, Haydock Papers, 

 215, where particulars are given. 



' The first missioners certainly known 

 are Edward Molyneux, already mentioned, 

 and Henry Tasburgh, S.J. ; both in the 

 neighbourhood from about 1670. 



■•Foley, Rec. S.J. v, 320, 362; the 

 priest's residence for some time was the 

 New House in the Carr Houses, built in 

 1701; and see Crosby Rec. (Chet. Soc), 

 8i~2 ; N. Blundell, Diary, 2 ; Haydock 

 Papers, 213-14. 



' Liverpool Cath. Ann. 1901. A Bene- 



dictine was in charge from 1826 to 1865 ; 

 Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xiii, 168. 



^ 1,903, including five of inland water, 

 according to the Census of 1901. In 

 addition there are 11 acres of tidal water, 

 and 1,322 of foreshore. 



7 There were 20 officials and 114 boys 

 in the truant school at Hightown, belong- 

 ing to the Liverpool education authority. 



^ Gregson, Fragments (ed. Harland), 224. 



^ Lanes, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xix, 180-3 

 and 178. Some of them are funeral 

 crosses. 



^^ An impression of the plate showing 

 these coins, engraved for Spelman's Life 

 of Alfred, may be seen in Crosby Rec, 

 (Chet. Soc. New Ser.), and Trans. Lanes, 

 and Ches. Antiq. Soc. v, 219. 



11 Lond. Gaz. 26 July, 1870. 



12 F.C.H. Lanes, i, 283*. Kirkdale and 

 Crosby together were one hide, of which 

 Kirkdale was half. 



" Ibid. The three plough-lands, ' where 

 ten plough-lands make a knight's fee,' 

 were described as the quarter and twen- 

 tieth of a fee. 



I'' Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 42. The relationship 

 of Little Crosby to Sefton is usually 

 stated in the feodaries, &c. ; e.g. the 

 Halton Feodary in Ormerod's Ches. (ed. 

 Helsby), i, 709, states it to be held 

 by Richard de Molyneux of Sefton for 

 three plough-lands and a relief of ^^i loj. ; 

 and at the De Lacy Inquest of 1 3 1 1 (Chet. 



85 



Soc), p. Z4, Richard de Molyneux of 

 Crosby held it by knight's service and a 

 payment of 2j. %d. for sakefee and suit 

 to the court at Widnes. 



In addition to the mesne lordship the 

 Molyneuxes of Sefton formerly held land 

 in Little Crosby, Part had been acquired 

 in various ways from William son of 

 Adam de Crosby and Ellen, Adam's wife j 

 Croxteth D. E. i, i ; ii, 4 ; and another 

 part by Dame Anne Molyneux in 1489 

 from Gilbert Thomasson ; ibid. E. i, 2. 



^* Roger was brother of William son 

 of Adam de Molyneux ; Croxteth D. 

 Genl. «. 2 ; Norris D. (B. M.) n. 480*. 

 He had half of Speke, and in 1256 in 

 right of his wife Agnes half of Rainhill ; 

 see Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 125. Additional particulars 

 of his family may be seen in the accounts 

 of these townships. 



16 Cur. Reg. R. 180, m. 18. 



17 Roger was living in 1287, when he 

 granted land in Little Crosby to Richard, 

 son of Thomas de Aykescho \ Blundell of 

 Crosby D. (Towneley MS, in posses- 

 sion of W, Farrer), K, 300. Richard 

 Molyneux of Little Crosby was witness to 

 a charter of 1 294 ; ibid. K. 30. The seal 

 to a grant by Richard, son of Roger de 

 Molyneux, shows a lion rampant j Knows- 

 ley D. bdle. 1402, n. i. 



It may be added that there is a large 

 collection of Little Crosby deeds in Kuer- 

 den's folio MS. in the Chetham Library. 



