A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Adam de Coldcotes senior gave a house and the old 

 garden to his son Henry in 1358.' 



The Laghoic family had land here. At the begin- 

 ning of 1325 Richard de Laghok recovered in the 

 Court of Hale from John de Grelley of Barton (or 

 John de Barton) and Cecily his wik a toft and 30 

 acres of land. Seven yean later Adam son of 

 Richard de Lachog transferred the same tenement, 

 said to lie in ' le Brerehevid ' in Halewood, to 

 Richard son of Robert de Lachog. The family 

 acquired various other small properties by various 

 titles, and in 1364 John son of Roger Daukinson de 

 Lagog and Joan his wife sold a field called Hond- 

 field to Sir Henry le Norreys of Speke.' 



A little later there appears a John Layot (or Leyot), 

 possibly of the same family,' whose career was note- 

 worthy. He was baptized at Hale, and seems to have 

 been much attached to this place. He was ordained 

 deacon in Lent, 1382, on the title of his benefice, the 

 vicarage at Huyton.* In later years he is described as 

 a bachelor of decrees.' Yet he appears to have 

 married early in life, perhaps before he started on an 

 ecclesiastical career. He had at least two sons, Richard 

 and Robert. Richard was not only a master of arts, 

 but held the position of chancellor to the duke of 

 Bedford in 1420, so that he may well have been forty 

 years of age.' 



It was in favour of this son that the father, according 

 to the Irelands, endeavoured to settle his lands in Hale 

 without their cognisance. He had acquired lands 

 there in 1393,' and in order to overawe the lords of 

 the manor he executed a feoffment to the duke of 

 Bedford, who by deputy took seisin.' He died in 

 1427, and was buried in the middle of the chapel of 

 Hale, where he had made provision for two chantrj- 

 chaplains.' 



Various settlements were made. In 1426-7 Master 

 John Layot, rector of a mediety of the church of 

 Malpas, granted land in Hopkinsyard to Robert his 

 son, who duly took possession.'" John Layot junior. 



who succeeded, had two sons, John and Robert, of 

 whom Robert became rector of Chalke in Wiltshire 

 and in 1460 made a settlement of the property ; to 

 his mother Joan Smerley, if she survived him ; to his 

 brother John Layot, chaplain, and to Thomas and 

 William, the sons of John by Ellen, ' formerly his 

 wife,' and Elizabeth the daughter ; in case of failure 

 of all heirs the lands must be sold, and the money 

 delivered to the reeves of the chapel of Hale for its 

 maintenance, repair, and emendation, for the souls of 

 Robert himself and his parents, friends, and benefactors." 

 More than thirty years later still a John Layot, 

 vicar of Chalke, appears as owner ; and in 1497 he, 

 then rector of Fyfield, at which place one of the Norris 

 family was settled, appeared in St. John's, Chester, and 

 made a statement to the effect that he had made no 

 private settlement, and that after his death the pro- 

 perties must, by right of inheritance, pass to Sir 

 William Norris of Speke." 



In the meantime the lord of Hale had not been 

 idle. William Ireland had gathered evidence that the 

 L.iyot land had been copyhold, and having been trans- 

 ferred from one to another by deeds without any ap- 

 pearance before his manor court they were forfeited 

 to him ; and at Lancaster in 148 1 he had brought a 

 writ of assize of novel disseisin against John L.iyot, 

 priest, and Thomas Layot. The court rolls were pro- 

 duced, but the defendants had such ' great evident 

 proofs ' by original deeds and evidence of possession 

 that they won their case easily. Hence there was 

 no opposition when in 1493, on the death of John 

 Layot, chaplain. Sir William Norris at the hallmote 

 of the manor of Hale claimed certain lands there — 

 though by what right was unknown — and they were 

 delivered to him ; relief 2i</." 



The list of tenants in 1292 summoned to prove 

 their title to their holdings has been mentioned above. 

 There is also extant a rental of 1 324, commencing 

 with the name of Simon de Walton, lord of the manor 

 of Walton." 



' Norris D. (Rydal Hall), F. 12, 17. 



■'Norris D. (B.M.), 138, 140, 193, 

 194. In 1470 Thomas Lagholce, citizen 

 and tallow-chandler of London, son and 

 heir of William Laghoke, deceased, late 

 of St. Neols in Huntingdonshire, granted 

 to John Corker, Ralph Charnock, and 

 Henry Laghokc, barber, his land in Halcj 

 IbiJ. 172. 



^ Richard Layot of Hale was defendant 

 in a case of debt in 1353 ; Assize R. 

 435, m. II. Some of the family settled 

 in Chester ; Dcp. Keeper i Rep. xxxvi, 

 App. 283 1 xixix, pp. 266, 552 ; Norris 

 D. (B.M.), 166. 



^ Lich. Epis. Reg. v, fol. I26i. 



* He paid a visit to Rome, for he pro- 

 cured a free burial place at Hale from Cr- 

 ban VI (1378 to 1389) ; Family of Ireland 

 Blackburne, 48. At the beginning of 

 1389 he became rector of Fomham All 

 Saints in Suffolk, and next year rector 

 of Denford in Northants. ; Cal. of Pat, 

 13S8-9:, pp. 10, 191. In 1393 he 

 was rector of Coddington near Chest, 

 resigning in 1394 on appointment as 

 dean of St. John's, Chest. He was 

 also a canon of this church, holding tlie 

 second prebend of the Cross until his 

 death. In 1405 he became rector of a 

 mediety of Malpas, and also held Bangor 

 Ifcoed ; Ormerod, Ckei. (ed. Helsby), ii, 

 7;;, 6o~: i, 308, 310; for other digni- 

 ties see Le Neve's Fasti, i, 601, 63c ; 

 ii, 20;. In 141 1 he went abroad, again 



visiting Rome ; here he procured a dis- 

 pensation from residence for purposes of 

 study, Pope John XXIII testifying to 

 his * literary knowledge, moral rectitude, 

 and other praiseworthy gifts ' 5 Gregson, 

 Fragmenli, 204 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, 

 App. 283. The pope granted an indulgence 

 to benefactors of Hale chapel ; Cal. Papal 

 Letter:, vii, which volume contains other 

 references to Layot. 



' Sir John Colville and Richard Leyot, 

 dean of St. Asaph, were in 1419 entrusted 

 with the negotiation of a marriage 

 between John duke of Bedford and the 

 daughter of Frederick burgrave of 

 Nuremberg. Richard Leyot was in the 

 king's service in 1435, and in 1447 was 

 sent on an embassy to Denmark ; Rymer 

 FocJera (Syllabus), ii, 611, 661, 678. 

 He succeeded his father as dean of St. 

 John's, resigning in 143 1, and became 

 dean of Salisbury in 1446 (being then 

 LL.D.), holding it until 1449, in which 

 year probably he died ; Ormerod, op. cit. 

 i, 308, Le Neve, ii, 616. 



■ Norris D. (B.M.), 145, 146, 154. 



^ Family of Ireland Blackburne, 69. 



' Gregson, op. cit. p. 204. Some un- 

 certainty is created by the existence of a 

 John Layot junior, perhaps a brother, who 

 succeeded John Layot senior as rector of 

 Coddington in 1 394, and was soon after- 

 wards presented to St. Peter's in Chester ; 

 Ormerod, Chei. (Helsby), ii, 735 ; Dep. 

 Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, 283 ; xxxix, 108. 



148 



>» Norris D. (B.M.), 167, 168, and 

 (Rydal Hall), F. 20. In a contemporary 

 settlement for lands in Speke the re- 

 mainders are thus given : — John Layot 

 junior, Robert L.iyot, Thomas Layot 

 junior, William Layot, Thomas Layot, 

 clerk, senior, Joan Layot, the two last- 

 named for life ; then to William Norris 

 (of Speke), and to William de Ireland ; 

 Norris D. (Rydal Hall), F. 21. 



Thomas Layot, chaplain, took part in 

 certain recognizances in Cheshire, in 

 H35-37i Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvii, 

 441, 462. 



" Norris D. (B.M.), 171. 



'■' Norris D.(B,M.), 174-8. The lands 

 included the house known a» Layot's Hall, 

 Part's House, and other lands granted out 

 to various persons by Richard de Meath, 

 Henry de Hale his eon, and Robert de 

 Holand. The relief paid at Hale i> 

 curious — a silver cup value 401., 261. id. 

 In money, and a superaltar with all that 

 a priest needed for ministering the sacra- 

 ment. 



" Family of Ireland Blackburne, 61-9; 

 Norris D. (Rydal Hall), F. 32 : ibid. 

 (B.M.), 230. 



" Duchy of Lane. Rentals and Surveys, 

 379, m, 10. The separate holdings and 

 services of the others include : John de 

 Holland, a messuage and 30 acres, paying 

 yearly a pair of white spurs or zd. ; 

 Richard de Doustes, the same, but paying 

 ^d. more; Roger de Culcheth, 9 acres 



