WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



SEFTON 



de Aintree's daughters, Margery de Wedacre and 

 Alice.^ 



Some minor grants occur.* 



In 1387 it was found that 

 Sir Thomas Nevill, son of Sir 

 Robert Nevill of Hornby, held 

 the manor of Aintree * of the 

 lord of Downholland by knight's 

 service and a rent of 8/. zd. ; 

 that Sir Thomas was dead, 

 and his heir was his daughter 

 Margaret, then four years of 

 age.* As she died without issue 

 the descendants of Sir Thomas's 

 sisters became his heirs. Thus 

 Aintree came to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John 



MoLYNKUX ( 



TON. AzurCy 

 moline or. 



Harrington, who married John Stanley, whose heirs 

 — Anne, wife of John Swift ; Joan, wife of 

 Thomas Halsall and afterwards of John Osbaldeston ; 

 and Thomas Grimshaw of Clayton-le-Moors — and 

 their descendants quickly divided and sold the inheri- 

 tance.^ A rent of ^^12 from Aintree descended from 

 another of Sir Thomas's sisters to Sir Christopher 

 Danby.^ The Molyneux family of Sefton purchased 

 all or the greater part ; and the manor of Aintree 

 has from the sixteenth century descended with 

 Sefton.^ 



John Bower, a freeholder, contributed to the sub- 

 sidy of 1628.® Richard Lathom, gentleman, of 

 Aintree, was indicted as a recusant in 1678.^ Among 

 the 'Papists' who registered estates in 171 7 were 

 Thomas Fleetwood and John Boyer of Aintree.'" 



tree, claimed dower m certain lands held 

 by Emma ; Richard de Molyneux, her 

 grandfather, Simon de Balderston, and 

 Emma widow of William de Aintree 

 being joined as defendants, the grand- 

 father in his capacity of guardian to Emma, 

 who was a minor ; Assize R. 419, m. 6 d. 

 In one statement of defence it was alleged 

 that William de Aintree held the parcel 

 in dispute for life, by grant of Henry 5 

 ibid. m. 7 d. 



In 1323 Henry son of Hugh de Ather- 

 ton and Emma his wife complained that 

 William de Molyneux of Sefton and others 

 had disseised them of part of their tene- 

 ment in Aintree ; Assize R. 425, m. 6. 

 Two years later he proceeded against 

 William the Demand of Netherton and 

 others, for cutting his turf ; De Banc. R. 

 255, m. 207. 



Henry de Atherton contributed to the 

 subsidy of 1332; Exch. Lay Subs. 27. 



John, son of William de Cowdrey, 

 Otes de Halsall, and Alan, son of Alan de 

 Cowdrey, were accused of taking Emma, 

 widow of Henry de Atherton of Aintree, 

 from Sefton church on 10 November, 

 1343; they were acquitted; Assize R. 

 430, m. 13. There appears to have been 

 a daughter and heir Joan, who married 

 Robert de Nevill of Hornby, The latter 

 in 1346 is found claiming various lands 

 as the right of his wife, daughter of 

 Henry, and granddaughter and heir of 

 Hugh de Atherton of Hindley ; De Banc. 

 R. 346, m. 349. 



In 1356 Joan, widow of Adam de Ain- 

 tree sought dower from Henry, son of 

 Simon de Bickersteth and Agnes his wife ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 5, m. ^.d. 



^ Margery and Alice, daughters of Wil- 

 liam de Aintree, were plaintiffs in 1305 

 respecting land in Aintree which should 

 have descended to them after the death 

 of Gilbert their brother ; Assize R, 420, 

 m, 5. In 1307 they claimed lands from 

 the above-named Emma, daughter of 

 Henry de Aintree ; De Banc. R. 164, m. 

 142. 

 Twenty-five years later Roger de Wed- 



acre and Margery his wife claimed mes- 

 suages and lands in Aintree as of the 

 wife's right j De Banc. R. 280, m. 115 ; 

 R. 282, m. 13 J R. 288, m. 55 d. 



In one of the Randle Holme pedigrees 

 it is stated that Alice de Aintree married 

 Richard de MaghuU. This family had 

 land in Aintree from about 1300, for in 

 1 301 Richard de MaghuU and his wife 

 Alice warranted to his son Richard and 

 his wife certain lands in Aintree and 

 Melling ; Harl. MS. 2042, fol. 46. The 

 MaghuU family continued to hold land 

 here down to the sixteenth century ; 

 Croxteth D. B. v, i. 



2 John, son of Robert, son of Hiche of 

 Sefton in 1 321 enfeoffed Richard de Lunt, 

 clerk, of all the lands in Aintree which 

 had belonged to his father ; Harl. MS, 

 2042, fol. 46. 



William, son of John del Brooks, in 

 1398 granted an annual rent of 105. from 

 his lands in Aintree to John del Brooks ; 

 and in 1524 Thomas, son and heir of 

 Lawrence Hareflynch, and Margery his 

 wife, a daughter and coheir of Thomas 

 Brooks, granted lands here to Edward 

 Molyneux, rector of Sefton ; Croxteth D. 

 B. iii, I 2. 



8 Probably in his mother's right ; see 

 a previous note. 



■* Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 28 ; 

 though his father was living, his sisters 

 proved to be his heirs. Not long before, 

 in 1374, Adam de Hoghton held the 

 manor of Roger de Holland by a service 

 of 8j. id. yearly ; Coram Reg. R. 454 

 m. 13. 



There is a brief note of a fine between 

 William de Aintree and Maud de Byron 

 in Harl. MS. 2042, fol. 59. 



^ Sir Thomas's sisters were Margaret, 

 who married Sir William Harrington, and 

 Joan, who married Sir John Langton ; 

 Whitaker, Cranjen^ 11. For their descen- 

 dants see Whitaker, Whalley^ ii, 509, and 

 Cra'uen, 234 ; Lanes, and Ches, Rec. (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 330. 



In 1520 John Swift and Anne his wife, 

 a daughter and coheir of Elizabeth, lately 



wife of Richard Beaumont and previously 

 of John Stanley, demised all their part of 

 the manors, lands, mills, &c., in Aintree 

 and Melling to Edward Molyneux, rector 

 of Sefton, for his life at a rent of 5 marks j 

 and this was followed next year by a sale 

 of the same, Sir William Molyneux being 

 joined with his brother the rector in the 

 recoveries ; Croxteth D. B. ii, i, 2, 3, 8 j 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F, bdle. 11, m. 

 200. 



Thomas Grimshaw married Margaret, 

 another daughter of John Stanley; Whit- 

 aker, IVhalley^ ii, 274. 



In 15^2 a partition was made between 

 Richard Grimshaw, John Osbaldeston and 

 Joan his wife, and Richard Molyneux, by 

 which the last-named, who held one-third 

 by his purchase from the Swifts, secured 

 the manor of Aintree with the appurten- 

 ances, closes called the Great and Little 

 Gos, a meadow called the Farraches, the 

 messuages, &c., held by Thomas Heche 

 and others, a rent of -^d. from the lands 

 of Thomas MaghuU, id, from the heirs 

 of John Shurlacre, izd. from the heirs of 

 Robert Hey, zd. from John Abbe, ^d. 

 from John Hesketh, and certain mes- 

 suages, &c,, in Liverpool ; Croxteth D. 

 B. V, I. See also Pal. of Lane. Feet of 

 F. bdle. 15, m. 113. 



6 Croxteth D. B, iv, 2. This rent of 

 j^i2 issuing from Aintree and Melling Is 

 described as formerly paid to Sir Robert 

 Nevill. Sir Christopher Danby in 1536 

 took lands in Holtby, Heworth, and 

 Clifton near York, In exchange. 



7 In 1623 the manor of Aintree was 

 found to have been held by Sir Richard 

 Molyneux as the 40th part of a knight's 

 fe? ; the clear value was _^io 2s. ; Lanes. 

 Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 Hi, 389. 



8 Norris D. (B,M.). 



^Kenyan MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com.). 

 109 ; see also N. Blundell, Diary, 91, 

 Probably Richard Lathom of Liverpool, 

 surgeon, 1686. 



^*^ Engl. Cath. Nonjurors, 93 ; some 

 particulars of their families are given. 



lOI 



