WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



king directed the rolls to be searched with reference 

 to the former claim by Maud for her dower ; and in 

 July sent a statement of Henry's claim to the 

 bishop of Lichfield, commanding him to inquire into 

 the legitimacy of the claimant. In November a 

 further letter was sent by the king to the bishop on 

 the petition of Sir William Carles and his wife Emma. 

 The bishop's reply does not seem to have been pre- 

 served ; being again directed to make inquiry, in 

 November, I 3 72, on the following 2 5 April he certified 

 to the justices at Westminster that upon diligent inquiry 

 it was found that Henry de Torbock was legitimate.' 



In the meantime a decision had been given in the 

 king's court. In 1365 Sir William Carles and Emma 

 his wife complained that Henry de Torbock and 

 others had ousted them from their manor of Tarbock. 

 Henry replied that he was the lawful son and heir 

 and had therefore done no injury or disseisin, for 

 Emma was a bastard and had no right in the manor. 

 The recognitors acquiesced in the above decision that 

 Henry was born in lawful wedlock and was the true 

 and right heir of Richard de Torbock, and accord- 

 ingly gave judgement that the claim of William and 

 Emma was a felse one.' 



Henry de Torbock, now in possession, had to 

 make complaints as to destruction of trees, &c.' On 

 7 March, 1370, as Henry son of Sir Richard de 

 Torbock, he enfeoffed John Bellerby, vicar of Prest- 

 bury,' and Richard Causey of his manors of Tarbock, 

 Turton, Walton Lees, Welch Whittle, and the fourth 

 part of Dalton, and all his other lands.' This was 

 probably in view of his marriage with Isabel, widow 

 of Robert atte Poole, and daughter and heir of 

 Thomas de Capen hurst.* 



In 1375 John Carles, apparently the heir of Sir 

 William, made another attempt to recover the manor 

 of Tarbock ;' but the bishop's declaration would decide 

 the matter against him, and the last heard of this 



HUYTON 



claim is in the Lent of 1391, when acknowledging 

 that ' Henry son of Henry de Torbock is now of my 

 certain knowledge ' in possession of the manors in 

 dispute, he quitclaimed all right in them and gave a 

 warranty to the possessor.* 



Henry son of Richard de Torbock, who thus re- 

 covered his father's manors, died about 1380, and in 

 1382 his son Richard made a settlement of them, the 

 remainders being to Henry brother of Richard and 

 others. Four years later, as Sir Richard de Torbock, 

 knt., he made a further settlement.' He died on 

 8 February, 1 386-7, in Spain, having no doubt accom- 

 panied the duke of Lancaster on his journey to claim 

 the crown. At inquisitions in June, 1389, it was 

 found that he had held Tarbock of the manor of 

 Knowsley by knight's service and a rent of "]$. 6d. ; 

 also Walton Lees of the lord of UphoUand in socage ; 

 and the manor of Turton of the lord of Lathom. 

 He had no issue, and his next heirs were Sir William 

 de Atherton, senior, and Elizabeth daughter of Sir 

 Geoffrey de Worsley ; but by virtue of the feoffments 

 made his brother Henry, son of Henry de Torbock, 

 then seventeen years of age, was heir to the manors 

 and in possession of them.'" 



The new lord of Tarbock was made a knight in 

 1 399-1400, and married" Katherine daughter of 

 Sir Gilbert Halsall ; in 1407 the succession was 

 granted to her children, John, Thomas, William, 

 Robert, Elizabeth, Ellen, and Alice. This was con- 

 firmed in May, 1418.'^ Sir Henry died soon after- 

 wards, and his son and heir John died at Halsall on 

 30 September, 1420, leaving a son Henry, nine 

 years of age, and two daughters, Margaret and Eliza- 

 beth, also very young." 



John de Torbock, who in 1410 had been espoused 

 to Clemency, daughter of Ralph de Standish,'* had 

 before his death arranged for the succession to his 

 estates, by enfeoffing Henry Halsall, archdeacon of 



* Lichiield, Epis. Reg, v, fol. 48, 57 ; 

 De Banc. R. 447, m. 142 d, 



* Lanes, and Ches, Rec, (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, 366, 367 ; De Banc. 

 R. 434, m. 260. 



Sir William Carles in the following 

 year charged the jurors and others with 

 having been bribed by money or promises ; 

 thus Otes de Halsall had ^20 from Henry 

 de Torbock, John de Eccleston a like sum, 

 William de Holland 20 marks, and others 

 smaller gifts. Charters to Geoffrey de 

 Wrightington, * for his good services ' to 

 the successful claimant, are given by 

 Kuerden (ii, fol. 266b, 6-9). Among the 

 offences in 1374 charged against Henry 

 de Chatherton, bailiff of the wapentake, 

 was that he had in 1369 taken lOOs. from 

 Sir William Carles and Emma his wife for 

 * maintenance ' in these suits, while at the 

 same time he took ^^lo from Henry de 

 Torbock ; and so the said William and 

 Emma lost the tenement in dispute ; 

 Coram Rege R. 454, m. 1 3. Carles seems 

 to have proved his case, and the various 

 gifts were declared forfeit, half to him 

 and half to the king ; but he did not re- 

 cover the manor ; Co. Plac. (Chancery) 

 Lane. n. 18 ; De Banc. R. 425, m. 573. 

 In 1369 he appealed against the decision, 

 but making no appearance in court was 

 ordered to be silent for ever ; De Banc. R. 

 434, m. 260. 



' De Banc. R. 425, m. ^26 d. ; 433, 

 m. 192. 



Henry de Torbock*s seal, as given by 



Kuerden, shows the Lathom coat differ- 

 enced by a fesse, which the eagle's foot 

 afterwards replaced. 



* John de Bellerby, chaplain, had re- 

 ceived looj. in the case above. He died 

 before August, 1369 ; Earwaker, East 

 Ches, ii, 206. There is therefore some 

 mistake in the dates. 



s Croxteth, D. Z. i, 5. 



* Robert atte Poole (Netherpool in 

 Ches.) died in or before 1368 : see Orme- 

 rod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), ii, 423. Isabel 

 became a widow a second time, and in 1392 

 had the bishop's licence for an oratory at 

 Tarbock; Lichfield Epis. Reg. vi, fol. 128*. 



In 1375 Henry and his wife Isabel (as 

 executrix of Robert) sued Edmund, cousin 

 and heir of Robert de Langton, for ^^18 

 due to the estate ; De Banc. R. 460, 

 m. 86 d. She was his second wife. His 

 first wife Joan, living in 1365, is men- 

 tioned in the grants to Geoffrey de Wright- 

 ington ; Kuerden fol. MS. (Chet. Lib.), 

 140. 



7 De Banc. R. 457, m. 136 if. See 

 Shropshire fisit. (Harl. Soc. ), 9. 



8 Croxteth D. Z, i, 9. 

 3 Ibid, i, 6-8. 



He was in the service of John of Gaunt, 

 duke of Lancaster and in March, 1385, 

 had the king's letters of protection, being 

 about to go towards Scotland in the duke's 

 retinue ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 

 p. 522. In the following year he had the 

 bishop's licence for an oratory in Tarbock ; 

 Lich. Epis. Reg. vi, fol. 1 22. 



Richard de Torbock's seal (in Kuerden) 



179 



shows the usual Torbock coat — Lathom 

 differenced by an eagle's foot. 



1" Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 35, 

 and Piccope MSS. iii, 38. The reason for 

 the jury's finding is unknown. Henry was 

 probably only half-brother of Sir Richard. 

 His age agrees with the date of the 

 father's marriage with Isabel atte Poole. 



Joan, the widow of Sir Richard, was 

 living in 1423 ; Croxteth D. Z, i, 19 ; 

 Kuerden MSS. iii, T 2, n. 12. 



'1 Sir Henry first married Margery 

 daughter and coheir of John Dumvill of 

 Oxton and Brimstage in Cheshire ; in 

 1395 he quitclaimed his mother-in-law, 

 Cecily, of all rights in Oxton and other of 

 her husband's possessions, but with re- 

 mainder to himself and his wife, daughter 

 of John and Cecily. This marriage was 

 very soon annulled, for about 1397 Mar- 

 gery married Sir Hugh de Holes, and their 

 descendants, the earls of Shrewsbury, in- 

 herited the manors. Dep. Keeper's Rep. 

 xxxvi ; App. ii, p. 464 ; Ormerod, Ches. 

 (ed. Helsby), ii, 443. 



In Oct. 1397, the bishop granted 

 Henry de Torbock licence for an oratory 

 for a year; Lichfield Epis. Reg. vi, fol. 136. 



12 Croxteth D. Z, i, 10, 12, 13. In 

 1414-15, Sir Henry released to Robertson 

 of Geoffrey de Wrightington his right in 

 the manor of Whittle ; Kuerden MSS. ii, 

 fol. 266, n. 20. 



1' Lanes. Rec. Inq. p.m. n. 24. 



^* C. 8, 20, n. 7 — a sixteenth-century 

 abstract of the Torbock title to Turton^ 

 now in the Chet. Lib., Manch. 



