WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



CHILDWALL 



The Boulting house 



The bread loft 



The Kitchen 



The Dry larder 



The wet larder 



The Scullery 



The new kitchen 



The feather house 



The buttery 

 It will be seen that the first sixteen rooms seem to 

 be on the upper floor. Among them the chamber 

 over the gates is perhaps that over the main entrance, 

 and the chamber over the compast window may be 

 that in the upper part of the bay window at the 

 south-west angle of the inner court, already noted. 



The great parlour and little parlour, mentioned 

 next to the hall, would appear to be the great chamber 

 and the room at the north-west angle of the hall. 

 For the ' new little chapel ' it is difficult to suggest a 

 site. The mention of the new building should point 

 to Edward Norris's work, done in 1598 and after, 

 and the upper and lower galleries may be the inner 

 corridors. Some of the rooms mentioned may have 

 been detached from the main building — the dey- 

 house or dairy, for example, would most likely be so. 

 At the present day the house is rich in old furni- 

 ture of all kinds, and has some good tapestry. There 

 is a little old glass in the upper windows of the hall, 

 \vith the initials of William Norris, which must date 

 from the early part of the seventeenth century. 



The portion of Speke granted, probably, by Adam 

 de Molyneux to his son Roger descended as stated 

 above to Roger's son Richard and his grandson Sir 

 John.' Richard son of Roger de Molyneux in 1 3 1 4 

 made a grant to John his son of the moiety of his 

 land in Speke, with the moiety of the windmill, the 

 homage and service of John le Norreys, William de 

 Laghok, Roger de Culcheth, William de Molyneux, 

 and Margery, wife of Adam le Roo, for lands which 

 they held of the grantor, rendering yearly [,\z of 

 silver.* In 1 328 Beatrice, widow of Richard, made 

 grants of her dower-right in the Bankfield to her son 

 John, and in other lands to John le Norreys and Alan 

 his son and Emma, wife of Alan.' 



Sir John Molyneux made various agreements as to 

 the property, already alluded to, and about the end of 

 his life granted to Margery, formerly wife of Richard 

 de Bold, and to trustees, his manor in the vill of 

 Speke, and all his lands there, including the wood 



called Speke Greve, with the homage of Sir Henry le 

 Norreys, the heirs of Richard de Laghog, John le 

 Molineux of Oglet, Cecily le Roo, and the heirs of 

 Roger de Culchet.* 



Early in 1366 Henry de Charnock granted to 

 William his son and his wife Margaret, all his lands 

 and tenements in the vill of Speke, with homages, 

 rents, wards, reliefs, services of free tenants, and their 

 appurtenances and easements as fully as Sir John de 

 Molyneux had held them after the death of his father 

 Richard.^ The Molyneux manor thus descended to 

 the Charnocks in accordance with the settlement of 

 Richard de Molyneux, and the family continued to 

 hold land here till the sixteenth century.* The estate 

 seems then to have been acquired by the Norris 

 family.' 



Having thus traced the main line of Molyneux of 

 Speke, mention must be made of William de Molyneux, 

 son of Roger, and younger brother of Richard. He 

 appears to have been settled on a small holding in 

 Oglet." 



The name of Molyneux frequently occurs in the 

 Norris leases and documents as that of farmers in the 

 neighbourhood of Speke. In 1584 Edward Norris 

 granted a lease in Garston to Thomas Molyneux, 

 Edward his son, and Margaret wife of Edward, in 

 consideration ' of the good, faithful, diligent, and 

 acceptable service of Thomas and Edward Molyneux.' 

 The last named died about 161 8, and the lease was 

 renewed to his son Robert and Elizabeth his wife.' 



Speke itself gave a name to a family, or perhaps 

 several families. In 1292 Roger son of Henry de Speke 

 claimed from Alan le Norreys and his wife Margery 

 a tenement in Speke by Hale of which he said they 

 had disseised him. He was non-suited.'" This Speke 

 family held or farmed the mill of Speke, for in 1315 

 there was a release by Adam son of William de Speke 

 to Adam son of Roger de Speke, miller, and Alice his 

 wife and their heirs, of land in the field called Oglet 

 Siche ; and William son of the former Adam joined 

 in the act." Richard son of Gilbert de Speke trans- 

 ferred to Alan le Norreys in 1334 two oxgangs of 

 land in Speke.'* 



William de Molyneux of Sefton granted to William 

 de Allerton, for his homage and service, 22 acres in 

 Speke — 1 1 near Walleton near the wood of Speke, 

 and II near Oglet Siche — to hold in fee and inherit- 

 ance of the grantor with common easements, wood 

 and mast, rendering yearly <^s. of silver. '* 



• For this family see the account of 

 Little Crosby. Roger de Molyneux gave 

 a small portion to Alan the Sumpter, 

 otherwise called Alan of Amoundcrness, 

 and Alan late the Sumpter of the abbot 

 of Stanlaw, who secured other small plots 

 from the other lords of Speke ; Norris D. 

 (B.M.), +51-2, 459, 461. 



2 Norris D. (B.M.), 491-4- There 

 were remainders in succession to Mar- 

 garet, Joan, and her heirs by Adam son of 

 Henry de Charnock, Agnes andElizabeth, 

 sisters of John. At the same time Richard 

 granted to John his son and Agnes his 

 wife a moiety of his lands in Speke for the 

 yearly rent of a rose, with remainders to 

 John's sisters Joan de Charnock, Mar- 

 garet, and Maud, and to David and John 

 Blundell, who were sons of Agnes, another 

 sister. 



8 Ibid. 509-1. 



■•Ibid. 572-3. There is some error in 

 the dates. . . 



Thirty-two persons of Speke and vipi- 



nity were charged with entering the lands 

 of Sir John de Molyneux in 1359 with 

 force and arms and digging turf there. 

 This looks like an organized attempt to 

 resist some claim he had made ; Assize R. 

 451, m. 3. 



* John son of Sir Henry le Norreys, and 

 Robert de Charnock were among the 

 witnesses to this charter in the Norris 

 deeds (B.M.), n. 573*. This collection of 

 deeds appears to include all the Molyneux 

 charters. 



« In 1375 William de Charnock 

 brought a suit against Robert de Wiswall 

 and others for taking turf at Speke, and 

 another against Geoffrey de Osbaldeston 

 and others for breaking his weir at Speke ; 

 De Banc. R. 459, m. 49. 



Among the Norris deeds are an extent 

 of William de Charnock's portion of the 

 manor dated 1384-5, and rentals of ten 

 years later and 1399; also rentals of 

 Henry de Charnock 1409, and Robert 

 Charnock 1480 and 1489. 



Robert Charnock in 1498 gave lands in 

 Speke to feoffees ; Crosse D. 162. Henry 

 Charnock, who died in 1 5 34, held land 

 in Speke of Sir William Norris in so- 

 cage ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. viii, 

 «. 28. 



^ Sir William Norris purchased various 

 lands in Speke, &c., from Thomas Char- 

 nock in 1566 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdle. 28, m. 93. 



8 Many deeds relating to him and his 

 descendants will be found among the 

 Norris D. (B.M.). 



9 Norris Leases (B.M.). 



i** Assize R. 408, m. 36^. Roger was 

 in 1306 charged with an attempt to kill 

 William de Ireland ; Assize R. 421, m. ^d. 



11 Norris D. (B. M.), 504, 505. 



12 Ibid. 526. From other deeds in the 

 same collection (543-546, and 590 on) 

 can be traced the transfer of the Speke 

 family holdings to the Norris family. 



13 Ibid. 454. The family can be traced 

 a little further by means of these deeds. 



