A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



The interest ot the Irelands commenced in the 

 time of Adam Austin.' His son John de Ireland 

 acquired land from Adam son of William the Wood- 

 ward in 1 349, and made a grant to John son of 

 Alan le Norreys of Spekc.' 



The Norris family had, however, before this begun to 

 acquire lands in the township, Alan le Norreys of Speke 

 being apparently the first to do so.' A younger son of 

 Alan, John le Norreys, established himself at Woolton.* 

 John's elder son John, who succeeded, is mentioned in 

 the settlement made by Sir Henry le Norreys in I 367.' 

 His marriage was arranged in 1382, when it was 

 agreed that he should take to wife Anilla, daughter of 

 John Grelley, deceased ; for which Isabel Grelley, the 

 widow, gave him 26 marks ; besides which she was 

 to provide for him and Anilla at her table for 

 the first year after the espousals. William de Slene 

 also gave 40/. to John le Norreys on the day of the 

 marriage. John le Norreys occurs down to 1414-* 

 John le Norreys and Anilla had three daughters, viz. 

 Katherine, who married Roger Prestwich ; Joan, wife 

 of Henry Mossock ; and Margery, wife of Thomas 

 Bridge of Fazakerley. The last-named, in her 



widowhood, in 1433-4, relinquished all her inheri- 

 tance to Joan Mossock.' 



From 1329 to 1331 a number of grants were 

 made to Richard de Alvandlcy, otherwise de Bold.' 

 He was succeeded by a son Nicholas.' The Black- 

 burnes of Garston also had land in Woolton.'" The 

 Charnocks of Chamock," Lathoms of Allerton," and 

 Ormes " of Little Woolton were also landowners. 



A Norris of Speke rental compiled about 1460 has 

 been preserved. At the end is a ' Rental of Much 

 Woolton, taken out of all the old rentals that were 

 made when it was first given to God and Saint John, 

 of certain chief of all the freeholders with their 

 obits.' " 



About the beginning of Elizabeth's reign the 

 Brettarghs of the Holt in Little Woolton acquired 

 lands here. William Brettargh, who died in 1609, 

 held a cottage in Much Woolton in socage by fealty 

 and id. rent.'' The family are said to have owned 

 the site of Woolton Hall, which descended to the 

 Broughtons, and in 1704 became the property of 

 Richard, fifth Viscount Molyneux, whose widow died 

 there in 1766. Soon after this it was purchased by 



* One grant was made to him in 13 18 

 by John son of Richard Fychet, of two 

 butts in Harecroft, ' as they lie in landolcs,' 

 abutting on Carkcton on the west and the 

 highway on the east ^ Norris D. (B.M.), 



293. ^96. 3^^- 



"Norris deeds (B.M.), 358, 396. In 

 the sixteenth century John Ireland of the 

 Hutt held a messuage and 6 acres by a 

 rent of izd. j his cousin, John Ireland of 

 Lydiate, also held lands of the prior of 

 St. John J Duchy of Lane. Inq. p. m. vi, 



75 i i^'. >6- 



» Norris D. (Rydal Hall), F. 45, 69, 

 70, 73 ; ibid. (B.M.), 349, 356. 



In 1421 Sir Henry le Norreys, of Speke, 

 was appointed seneschal of the manors of 

 Much and Little Woolton, by grant of 

 brother Henry Crounhale, preceptor of 

 Egle and deputy of the prior of St. John 

 in England, and proxy of brother John 

 Etton, preceptor of Yevcley and Bargh 

 (Barrow) j all other lands, tenements, 

 rents, services, and sodality (^confrariam) 

 and appurtenances between Ribblc and 

 Mersey, except entries of tenants at will, 

 were included, but Sir Henry was to dis- 

 charge all the burdens upon the manors, 

 and to pay a rent of 38 marks annually ; 

 Norris D. (B.M.). Sir William Norris in 

 I 544 acquired the Ireland of Lydiate lands 

 by exchange ; there were two occupying 

 tenants, each paying a rent and 6d. as 

 * average' ; Norris O. (B.M.). 



* In 1349 John son of John GiUeson, 

 gave John son of Alan le Norreys, lands 

 in the Crossheld, the Crofts, and the Port- 

 way shot ; and Simon de Walton granted 

 him for life two acres on the Heath pre- 

 viously held by William son of John 

 Dobson. Thomas son of Robert del 

 Yate in 1350 further gave land in the 

 Watergate, the Blake branderth, the 

 Meadow doles, and in Aclow field near 

 the Low. Other lands were acquired. 

 See Norris D. (Rydal HaU), F. 78, 76, 

 75 ; ibid. (B.M.), 396, 350, 359, 360, 

 362. 



It was this John le Norreys (called *of 

 Speke') who was concerned in some 

 violent proceedings regarding the manor of 

 Huyton. He appears to have married 

 Katherine, one of the claimants ; but the 

 manor was passed to his brother Sir Henry, 

 ■who sold it very quickly j Final Cone. 



(Rec. See. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 138, 145 j 

 De Banc. R. 358, m. nod. A memo- 

 randum, dated 1372, is preserved stating 

 that * Sir John le Norreys, Knight [of 

 Spekc] received from Nicholas de Liver- 

 pool, clerk, five score and fifteen charters 

 concerning the inheritance of John ie 

 Norreys, of Woolton, and of Thomas del 

 Fordc, of Roby, which are in the keeping 

 of the prior of Holland by the delivery of 

 the aforesaid Nicholas ' ; Norris D. (B.M.), 



378-9. 



^ See the account of Speke. The elder 

 John le Norreys seems to have died before 

 1368, in which year Adam son of Wil- 

 liam the Woodward and Emma his wife, 

 sued John son of John le Norreys, for 

 a third part of 2 messuages and 4 acres 

 in Great Woolton; De Banc. R. 431, 

 m. 38^. 



* Norris D. (B.M.), 574, 390, 630 ; 

 Norris D. (Rydal Hall), F. 91. In 1394 

 Robert de Walton leased to John son of 

 John le Norreys 20 acres in Woolton for 

 twenty years at an annual rent of half a 

 mark ; Norris D. (B.M.), 397. In the 

 Inq. p. m. of Robert de Walton (3 Hen. IV, 

 rt. 27) it is stated he held 20 acres of land 

 in Much Woolton from the prior and 

 hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in 

 Smithfield, in socage by the service of 

 half a mark j the clear value was 10s. 



? Mossock D. (Kuerden MSS.'ii, fol. 230 

 on). John le Norreys and Anilla seem to 

 have made numerous settlements of the 

 property about 1416, and in the following 

 year arranged for the succession to Joan, 

 wife of Henry Mossock, and in default of 

 heirs to her sister Katherine j Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 5, m. 33. 



Near the end of the sixteenth century 

 Henry Mossock's lands in Woolton were 

 held of the queen in socage ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p. m. xvi, n. 28. 



^ He is elsewhere styled *son of Robert 

 son of Robert the Mercer of Bold * ; 

 Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 244. 



Richard son of Robert del Yate gave 

 him a half-acre in the Branderth, with 

 remainders to Richard, Nicholas, and 

 Simon, sons, and Thomas, Henry, and 

 John, brothers of the grantee ; Norris D. 

 (B.M.), 3^3-8. John son of WiUiam of 

 Much Woolton, also granted an acre 

 * under the Cliff* to Richard and his sons 



116 



by Anilla de Walton ; Norris D. (Rydal 

 Hall), F. 62-5. 



' In 1333 Ellen, daughter of Margery, 

 daughter of Dobbe, granted to Nicholas 

 son of Richard de Alvandley of Bold a 

 messuage which she had of the gift of 

 Richard, son of John Fouke her father, 

 along the * town ' to the * sty way ' on the 

 west ; and in I 350 William, son of Robert 

 del Low of Speke, granted him all his lands 

 in Much Woolton ; Norris D. (B.M.), 

 341, 361. 



'" John de Blackburne of Garston, who 

 died in 1405 (Inq. p. m. 6 Hen. IV), held 

 a messuage and 5 acres in Woolton of the 

 prior of St. John in socage ; the clear value 

 was 31. 4^. 



" Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. viii, n. 28. 



" Ibid.v, 7. 



^* The Orme family appear frequently 

 in the Norris charters of Much Woolton, 

 from 1426 onward; At the court of 

 Much Woolton held on 12 February, 

 I 542-3, it was found that Thomas Ormc 

 had died seised of a messuage there, paying 

 to the lord 61. ij. per annum, and that 

 Richard Orme, aged fifteen, was his son 

 and heir ; he paid his fine, and was ad- 

 mitted tenant according to the custom of 

 the manor. Norris D. (Rydal), fol. 104. 



" These names are : Thomas Norris, 

 Randle Chamock, Edward Lathom, Joan 

 wife of Henry Mossock, heir of Richard 

 de Parr ('now Sir Piers Leigh' — later 

 note). Cicely wife of Sir William Torbock, 

 Peter Warburton, John Ireland, William 

 Corker, Richard Primrose, priest, William 

 Fazakerley, Lawrence Ireland, John Crosse 

 of Liverpool, Thomas Gill, Roger Wain- 

 wright, Richard Melling and Katherine 

 his wife, Hugh Orme, Richard Jenkinson, 

 Richard Bushell, John Tomlinson, John 

 Harrison, William Webster, William 

 Brown, John Norris, John Richardson, 

 and Richard Orme. 



The seven following paid double the 

 rent at death as an 'obit' : William 

 Corker, Roger Coldcotes, John Harrison, 

 John Faux, William the Webster, Richard 

 Bushell, and John Bushell. 



The ' obits ' were the third part of the 

 chattels or other ' succession duty ' levied 

 by the Hospitallers as lords of the manor. 



^ Lane:. Inj. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 139, 140. 



