A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



1292 made an unsuccessful attempt to recover from 

 Abbot Gregory a messuage and 30 acres of land of 

 which he said he was disseised by the former Abbot 

 Robert.' On the other hand he was successful in 

 resisting a claim by Robert de Thornyhead of Hale.' 

 Margery, Adam's widow, granted to Adam son of 

 Henry de Garston land in the Rotherrakes, and may be 

 the Margery de Aigburth who had land in Quindal 

 Moor.' 



Roger de Toxteth, the son and heir, may be the 

 Roger the clerk, or Roger de Toxteth, clerk, concerned 

 in many of the local charters of his time.* By a fine 

 in I 3 I 5 this Roger arranged for the succession to his 

 property ; ' the remainders after Roger's own children 

 (unnamed) were to Thom.is son of Wenthlian 

 daughter of Anyan Vo)l, to Floria daughter of 

 Wenthlian, and to John son of Richard de Toxteth.' 

 Roger appears to have died in 1327, and in 1331 

 Thomas son of Roger de Toxteth made a claim against 

 Margaret widow of Richard as to land in Garston, 

 but did not prosecute it.' 



The succession is not clear at this point. The 

 next in evidence is Adam de Toxteth, a witness 

 to charters in 1342. He appears to have died early,' 

 for in 1344 there was an arrangement made as to the 

 succession to lands of his young son Roger, by Roger 

 de la More on the one part and John (son of William) 

 de la More on the other ; the latter was about to 

 marry Adam's widow Katherine, a daughter of John 

 del Ford.' Some years later the duke of Lancaster's 

 escheator took into his hands all the lands in Garston 

 that Adam de Toxteth had possessed, alleging that 

 Adam had made them over to Roger atte More (on 

 trust) after he had committed a certain felony. At 

 the trial in 1352 the jury found such to have been 



the case, and said the duke should have the issues for 

 six years, amounting to ^^9, which John de Liverpool 

 must pay.'" Restitution, however, must have been 

 obtained, for in 1360, when Roger the son and heir 

 of Adam came of age, John de la More released to 

 him two-thirds of his lands." 



About 1 361 Roger de Toxteth made a settlement 

 of his lands in Garston, Aigburth, Halewood, and 

 Wavertree on his marriage with Agnes daughter of 

 William de Slene." The succession again becomes 

 obscure for nearly a century." 



In 1484 a marriage was arranged between James 

 son of John Toxteth and Isabel his wife, and 

 Alice daughter of Thomas Norris of Speke." John, 

 probably a son of James, in 1525 entered into a bond 

 in j^20 to perform certain covenants." In 1544 

 there was a settlement of disputes between John 

 Toxteth of Aigburth and Henry Tarleton of Faza- 

 kerley on the one part and Sir William Norris on 

 the other part. Sir William had enclosed a piece of 

 waste in Aigburth Lane, as common appertaining to 

 the manor of Garston ; and he further claimed the 

 marriage of Ellen Toxteth, younger daughter and one 

 of the coheirs of John, for Richard Norris son and 

 heir apparent of Henry Norris of West Derby. 

 Arbitrators were appointed who decided in favour of 

 Sir William, expressing the wish that he would be 

 ' good master ' to the tenants of John Toxteth and 

 Alice his wife, as before the variance." The elder 

 daughter, not mentioned here, married William 

 Brettargh of the Holt in Little Woolton ; and this 

 family owned a portion of Aigburth until the be- 

 ginning of the eighteenth century." 



The mention of the Tarleton family is interesting ; 

 in one way or another they were connected with 



^ Assize R. 408, m.41 d. In 1Z95 the 

 plaintiff and his son and heir Roger re- 

 leased to the abbot their claim ; IVhalley 

 Coucher, ii, 587, 588. 



• Assize R. 408, m. 70 d. The follow- 

 ing pedigree was put forward by plaintiff: 

 Aldouse - 3. Henry - s. Henry - s. Robert 

 de Thornyhead. 



» Norris D. (B. M.), 723, 679. 



^ Roger's brother Richard was a clerk 

 also. Nothing further seems known of 

 the other brother William, but there was 

 a sister Agnes who married Richard 

 * called Wade* and had a daughter Floria, 

 #ho married John de Derlegh. Adam de 

 Toxteth gave to his daughter Agnes on her 

 marriage a plot in the newly ploughed 

 land outside the Bridge greves, for the 

 rent of a pair of white gloves j Norris D. 

 (B. M.), 724 ; see also 680, 684. Richard 

 Wade on his daughter's m.irriage gave her 

 all his lands in Garston for the rent of a 

 rose (1329), and in later years Richard 

 Wade junior and Agnes widow of Richard 

 Wade quitclaimed, and Roger de Toxteth 

 also; Norris D. (B. M.), 748, 750, 753, 

 760. 



In 1325 Roger had a dispute with his 

 brother Richard's widow Agnes and son 

 Richard and with Adam Wade concerning 

 land in Garston. The younger Richard 

 claimed to hold as heir of an elder brother 

 William, deceased, and Agnes claimed for 

 dower. The jur)-, however, held that 

 Roger's claim was justified, his brother 

 having had no more than a life interest ; 

 Assize R. 426, m. 6. 



^ Described as 8 messuages, 100 acres 

 of land, 6 acres of meadow, 100 acres of 

 pasture, and 8 acres of wood in Garston. 



* Final Cenc. ii, 21, 22. John son of 



Richard de Toxteth in 1347 had land 

 and a fishery in Aigburth and the Holme 

 in Garston ; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 230. 



Roger de Toxteth in 1323-4 claimed 

 from Robert de Blackburn and Ellen 

 his wife, a messuage and i ^ oxgangs of 

 land, and from Roger de Stanihurst and 

 Alice his wife a messuage and ^ oxgang, 

 as his inheritance through his mother 

 Margery de Garston. In the following 

 year Adam son of Robert de Blackburn 

 (a minor) appears as claimant of the same 

 properties; De Banc. R. 251, m. 1 17 i/. ; 

 255, m. 224 ; 257, m. 204. 



7 Assize R. 1404, m. 18. The widow, 

 however, released to Thomas the lands 

 her husband had held in Garston and 

 Aigburth ; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 231A. 



^ In I 343 two men were charged with 

 having beaten and wounded Adam de 

 Toxteth at Prcscot ; Assize R. 430, m. 27. 



» Norris D. (B. M.), 21. 



" Assize R. 432, m. i. 



^ The other third was the dower of 

 Roger's mother (John's wife). Roger had 

 younger brothers, John and "Thomas 5 the 

 next remainder was to Richard son of 

 Thomas de Molyneux ; Norris D. (B- M.), 

 192. 



Various suits arose out of the marriage 

 of Roger's mother to John de la More 

 (mayor of Liverpool in 1351). They re- 

 covered in I 346 the third (dower) part of 

 a messuage, 26 acres of land, and 2 acres 

 of meadow against John de Toxteth and 

 Richard his son ; De Banc. R. 348, 

 m. 126 J. 



I^ ^357 Jolin son of Alan le Norreys 

 of Speke proceeded against John de la 

 More for taking cattle in Garston in a 

 place called the Thorns ; while in the 



126 



following years John de la More and his 

 wife claimed from John le Norreys dower 

 right in a messuage and 30 acres of land 

 in Garston ; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 6, 

 m. 5 ; Assize R. 438, m. 8</.; Duchy of 

 Lane. Assize R. 7, m. 3. It was no doubt 

 as part of the same series of actions that 

 Roger de Toxteth, the heir, made a claim 

 (non-suited) for novel disseisin against 

 John le Norreys ; ibid. R. 6, m. 5 J. 



" Norris D. (B.M.), 22, 829, 830. The 

 remainders were to John de Blackburn, 

 Richard son of Thomas de Molyneux, 

 Stephen son of Anyon le Walcys, and 

 Richard son of John de Toxteth. 



^ Roger occurs among witnesses to 

 charters down to 1391 ; he was followed 

 by John de Toxteth, occurring 1400 to 

 1414, Richard de Toxteth of Aigburth 

 from 1435 to 1472, and John de Toxteth 

 from 1474 onwards ; Norris D. (B.M.). 



In 1448 Robert abbot of Cockersand 

 claimed gi. 4^. rent from lands in Aigburth 

 in Allerton, unjustly held by John Thorn- 

 ton, master of St. John's Hospital, Chester; 

 and izd. rent in Garston, unjustly held by 

 Richard Toxteth, and the jury agreed to 

 uphold his claims ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 

 II, m. 39. 



» Norris D. (B.M.), 928-31. 



« Ibid. 23. 



" Ibid. 24. 



1' By fine in i 570 William Brettargh 

 and Anne his wife transferred to William 

 Lathom and William Spencer houses and 

 lands in Aigburth and Garston ; and three 

 years later William Brettargh, son and 

 heir apparent of the above, sold to Edward 

 Norris of Speke the same for jf 160 ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 32, m. 135 ; 

 35. ™- 27- 



