A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Chester, and Richard Smith, chaplain ; but misunder- 

 standings followed.' The son Henry died within a 

 year after his father, on 21 July, 1421, his sisters 

 being his heirs, but by the entail, William, their 

 uncle, claimed the manors, being then twenty-two 

 years of age.' 



The claims of the two daughters were at once in 

 question, Sir John Stanley, the feudal superior, and 

 Laurence Standish as kinsman, claiming from Arch- 

 deacon Halsall what the latter apparently would 

 not give. The matter was referred to arbitration.' 

 On 2 May, 1423 (or 1424), letters of protection 

 and attorney were granted to WiUiam Torbock of 

 Lancashire, going to France in the retinue of 

 Christopher Preston, and similar protection on 8 May, 

 1430, to Sir William de Torbock, in the retinue of 

 John duke of Norfolk.* 



Sir William de Torbock was still living in 1 441,' 

 but died before 1447, when Dame Cecily was a 

 widow. In 1459-60, his son and heir Richard and 

 his wife Elizabeth received from the feoffees a mes- 

 suage and land, called the Longriding, which had 

 descended according to the charter of Sir Henry 

 Torbock, Richard's grandfather." Some other char- 

 ters concerning him have survived, showing that he 

 was alive in July, 1472.' 



He was succeeded by his son Henry, knighted by 

 Lord Stanley in July, 1482, on the taking of Berwick 

 from the Scots." He died on i May, 1489, and was 

 succeeded by his brother William, then about twenty- 

 five years of age." In the following January Dame 

 Elizabeth, wife of Sir John Done of Utkinton, agreed 

 with him as to his marriage with her daughter 

 Margery by her former husband, John Stanley of 

 Weaver.'" He was made a knight by George, Lord 



Strange, in Scotland, during the expedition of 1497." 

 William died 5 May, 1505, seised of the manor of 

 Tarbock, held of the earl of Derby (as of the manor of 

 Knowsley) by knight's service and worth £^0 clear, 

 and of a messuage and six acres in Ridgatc. His 

 son and heir was Thomas, aged eight years. 



In 1520 Thomas Torbock came to an agreement 

 with Hamlet Harrington as to a corpse-way from 

 Tarbock to Huyton church through the demesne 

 lands of Huyton Hey ; the owner of the latter agreed 

 to allow the use of this way during the winter season, 

 the ordinary road to be used during the summer." 

 He died on 20 September, 1554, holding the manor 

 of Tarbock, with thirty-two messuages, a windmill, 

 two water-mills, a fulling mill, and lands, wood, heath, 

 and moor in the township, and rents from George 

 Ireland, Richard Easthead, and Thomas Knolle, also 

 the premises in Ridgate by Prescot ; his son and heir 

 was William Torbock, aged twenty-eight and more." 



William Torbock survived his father only three or 

 four years." His daughters Frances and Margaret 

 were aged thirty months and two months at the 

 inquest '* — the latter was not yet born when his will 

 was made — and his brother Edward succeeded him in 

 the manor of Tarbock." In January, 1577, he 

 made a settlement of his manor and lands, first for his 

 own use, then for that of his sons Edward and 

 Thomas, and other family arrangements have been 

 preserved. He and his son Edward in 1591 also 

 came to a final agreement with William Orrell of 

 Turton, as to Tarbock, Turton and Walton Lees.'* 

 The family appear to have become overwhelmed by 

 debt, and in May, 161 1, the manor was sold to 

 Thomas Sutton of London, founder of the Charter- 

 house School.'" 



• Croxteth D. Z. i, 14-17. The cou- 

 sin and heir of Richard Smith was Robert 

 flon and heir of Adam de Mawdesley ; 

 ibid. Z, i, 28 (1472). 



» Chet. Lib. C. 8, 20, n. 10. 



' Nicholas Blundell of Little Crosby 

 was appointed arbitrator, *upoa the high 

 trust, truth and atTection they had in him, 

 a simple man of their kin, more than for 

 any cunning that was in his person.* 

 After a journey to London to take coun- 

 sel with judge and 'apprentices' to the 

 law, the Serjeants having been retained, 

 he gave his decision in June, 1422, to the 

 effect that all the manors were to go to 

 William, the heir male, and that Margery 

 iind Elizabeth were to renounce their 

 claim on them, and to receive 200 marks 

 on reaching the age of twenty-one j Crox- 

 teth, D. Z, i, 18. 



This decision did not give satisfaction, 

 and three years later the matter was re- 

 ferred to Thomas Langley, bishop of 

 Durham, and Richard Beauchamp, earl of 

 "Warwick ; these, in a lengthy document, 

 ^ve the manor of Tarbock to the heir 

 male, the others to be divided between the 

 sisters; Croxteth D. Z, i, 20, 21. This 

 did not determine the matter ; see PaL of 

 Lane. Plea R. 33, m. 13 </. ; 34, m. 36. 



Margery was already married to Thomas 

 Corbet, but died without issue ; Elizabeth 

 afterwards married William Orrell, living 

 a widower in 1468. 



It appears from the decision that Wil- 

 liam Torbock was already married to his 

 wife Cecily, and that he and his younger 

 brother Robert were in France on the 

 king's service. 



* Norman R. {Def>. Kirfier's Rep. 

 Alviii), 230, 276. 



His wife Cecily was closely related to 



the Norrises of Speke, probably daughter 

 of Sir Henry le Norreys, whose mother 

 was Cecily. She was living, a widow, in 

 1478 ; her will, dated 1466, is printed in 

 Baines' Lams. (Croston's cd.), v, 73 n. 



Dame Cecily, in 1478, restored to the 

 abbot of Norton the rent of 61. %d. from 

 Tarbock, which had been withheld for 

 forty years past ; Croxteth D. Z, i, 29. 



' Kuerden MSS. iii, T. 2, n. 4, 5. 



' Croxteth D. Z, i, 25. 



■ Ibid. Z, i, 26-8. He granted a rent 

 of 1 3J. 4./. from Tarbock to Lambert 

 Stodagh in 1464 ; Kuerden MSS. iii, 

 T. 2, n. 6. He made a grant of lands to 

 William de Ditchfield in 1467 ; ibid, ii, 

 fol. 247, n. 55. 



' Metcalfe, B-ink of Knight!, 7. 



' Writ of Ditm cl. extr. was issued 



19 Hen. VII, and of Ad melius inquir. in 



20 Hen. VII. The inquest taken after 

 the death is preserved ; Dep. Keeper's 

 ^f- »1. App. 544 ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p.m. iii, n. 71. For settlement sec 

 Kuerden MSS. iii,T. 2, n. 2, 3. 



1» Croxteth D. Z, i, 31. 



" Metz3.\k, Book cf Knights, 31. Before 

 setting out on this adventure he had made 

 his will and a settlement of his property, 

 enfeoffing Robert Daniell, knight of the 

 Rhodes, Sir William Norris of Speke, and 

 others with the manor of Tarbock and 

 other lands. His son and heir Henry was 

 to have all his heirlooms and his daughters 

 Margaret and Jane 200 and 100 marks 

 respertively, and his brothers and sisters 

 smaller presents. A ' sparver ' of white 

 sarsnet and black was to be given to the 

 church of Huyton to pray for his soul 

 and the souls of his father and mother 

 and his brother Sir Henry ; Croxteth D. 

 Z. i, 31. This deed has a simple seal 



180 



bearing the letter T ; his armorial seal 

 is engraved in Baines' Lanes. (Croston's 

 ed.), V, 79. It is like that of his grand- 

 father Sir William as given by Dodsworth, 

 Iviii, fol. 163 b. 



'" Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, n. 32. 



The Henry mentioned in the will 

 must have died, as Thomas had a younger 

 brother Henry living in 29 Henry VIII. 

 The latter is perhaps the Henry "Torbock 

 of a settlement by fine in 1549 ; Pal, of 

 Lane. Feet of F, bdle. 13, m. 44. 



18 Croxteth D. Z, i, 33. The herald in 

 1533 dismissed Thomas Torbock with 

 the remark, ' knoweth not his arms for a 

 certenty' ; Visit (Chet. Soc), p. 131. In 

 1536 he was able to raise thirty-one men 

 to serve against the rising in Yorkshire ; 

 L. and P. Henry VIU, xi, 51 1. 



" Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. x, «. 46 ; 

 Croxteth D. Z. i, 34. A brief abstract of his 

 Willis printed in tVills (Chet. Soc. New S.), 

 i, 230. 



" His will, dated 14 May, 1558, is 

 printed in full by Piccope, IVills (Chet. 

 Soc), i, 71-6. 



" Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xi, n. 14. 

 See also the Little Woolton Court Rolls, 

 Norris D. (B. M.). 



1' In 1577 he gave a silver bell with 

 10 marks to be competed for in the 

 Liverpool races ; Pal. Note Book, ii, 22. 



^ Croxteth D. Z. i, 35-9. 



" Ibid. Z. i, 42-7, where are the 

 settlements made on the marriage of 

 Edward Torbock the younger with Mar- 

 garet, daughter of Edward Norris. A large 

 number of leases were made at the end of 

 i6io and beginning of 161 1 ; these are at 

 Croxteth, together with the various agree- 

 ments connected with the sale ; Z. 

 bdles. iii, iv. 



