WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



Simon, still living in 1242-3,' was a little later 

 succeeded by his son Gilbert, who in 1256 acknow- 

 ledged the suit he owed to William le Boteler's court 

 of Warrington, promising that he would do suit there 

 from three weeks to three 

 weeks. William, on the other 

 hand, remitted all right to 

 claim from Gilbert or his heirs 

 'bode' or 'witness' or puture 

 for any of his Serjeants.' Gil- 

 bert's name occurs as a witness 

 and otherwise,' but he seems 

 to have been very soon suc- 

 ceeded by his son Richard de 

 Halsall, who is frequently men- 

 tioned about the end of the 

 reign of Henry III.' 



Richard died about 1275, 

 in which year his son Gilbert 



had to answer Robert de Vilers respecting his tenure 

 of a messuage and plough-land in Halsall ; the ser- 

 vices due from Gilbert were alleged to be homage, 

 doing suit for Robert at the Warrington court, and 

 paying i mark a year, and they had been rendered in 

 the late king's reign by Gilbert's father Richard to 

 Robert's father Robert.' Gilbert denied that he held 

 land of Robert; and in reply to a later suit (1278) 

 he showed that there was an error in the writ ; 

 for he had only two-thirds of the tenement, Denise, 

 widow of Richard, having the other third in dower.* 

 She afterwards married Hugh de Worthington, and in 

 1280 the suit by Robert de Vilers was continued, 

 Gilbert de Halsall warranting the third part to her 



Halsall of Halsall 

 (ancient). Argent, nvo 

 bars azure 'within a bor- 

 dure engrailed sable. 



HALSALL 



and her husband. The dispute ended by Robert's 

 acknowledging the manor to be Gilbert's right and 

 quitclaiming to him and his heirs in perpetuity; for 

 which release Gilbert gave him 10 marks of silver.' 

 From this time no more is heard of the mesne lordship 

 of Vilers.' 



Gilbert's wife was another Denise ; by her he 

 had a son Gilbert, who succeeded to Halsall some 

 time before 1 296, in which year, as Gilbert son of 

 Gilbert de Halsall he received from William de 

 Cowdray, rector, all the meadow by the mill which 

 had been in the possession of Robert de Halsall.* 

 Two years later he came to an agreement with 

 Sir William le Boteler of Warrington and others as. 

 to a diversion of the watercourse in Lydiate near 

 Eggergarth mill."' The succession had been rapid, 

 and Gilbert was no doubt very young at this time ;; 

 he was still in possession in 1346." He secured the 

 land called the Edge in Halsall from its owners, 

 Robert and his son Richard, in 131 7," and acquired 

 Ainsdale from Nicholas Blundell of Crosby." As 

 early as 1325 he made an agreement with Henry de 

 Atherton as to the marriage of his son Otes " with 

 Henry's sister Margaret, and settled upon this son and 

 his wife lands in Halsall and Barton ; and Robert de 

 Parr granted them an annual rent of 40/." 



Otes succeeded his father about 1346." The 

 marriage arranged for him in infancy did not prove 

 altogether satisfactory ; and his wife Margaret after- 

 wards sought maintenance before the bishop of Lich- 

 field, her husband having unlawfully allied himself 

 with Katherine de Cowdray. Katherine was the name 

 of his wife in 1354." 



to AJreneshaw syke, and down the syke 

 as far as the first-named channel ; Dep, 

 Keeper's Rep, xxxvi, App. 198. 



To Richard de Scarisbrick Simon con- 

 firmed a grant previously made by Henry 

 de Halsall, viz. Trulbury, Thornyhead, 

 and Shurlacres (Schirewalacres), the 

 bounds being thus given : Going up from 

 Senecarr as far as Gorsuch, thence to 

 Rodelache between Wolfhow and Shurl- 

 acres, returning as far as Snape Head to 

 the west and thence to Snape Brook. The 

 annual rent was to be zs. in silver ; Trans. 

 Hist. Sac, xxxii, 1S8. 



Simon de Halsall was witness to an 

 agreement made about 1220 between 

 Siward son of Matthew de Halsall and 

 Henry Leg of Scultecroft, which mentions 

 the expedition {transfretatio) of Richard 

 earl of Cornwall ; Dods. MSS. xxxix, 

 fol. 139, n. 15. 



^ Lanes, Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 149. 



^ Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 129. 



' Trans, Hist, Soc. xxxii, 187. 



* As 'lord of Halsall ' Richard confirmed 

 to the Burscough canons all the land he 

 held of them hereditarily — namely, that 

 which Simon de Halsall had formerly 

 given, and which, after being held for a 

 time by Adam de Walshcroft, seems to 

 have been granted back to the Halsall 

 family ; Dep. Keeper's Rep, xxxvi, App, 

 198. His widow Denise and his son 

 Gilbert afterwards confirmed this ; ibid. 



Among Richard's other grants are one 

 to Richard son of Alan de MaghuU, of 

 land in Halsall for his homage and 

 service, and another of 3 acres to Alan ; 

 Dods. MSS. xxxix, fol. 141 h, n, 36, and 

 143, n. 66. 



^ De Banc. R. 14, m, 45 d. 



' De Banc. R. 27, m. 16; 30, m. 6 



The descent — Simon, s. Gilbert, s. 

 Richard, s. Gilbert— is from Assize R. 

 1294, m. 10. The first Gilbert (son of 

 Simon) is omitted in the pedigree in a 

 later suit ; Assize R. 426, m. 3. 



' Final Cone, 157. Gilbert granted 

 to Richard son of German a portion of 

 his land in Halsall ; Dods. MSS. xxxix, 

 fol. 141, n. 30 and 27. 



^ It would appear that it had been for- 

 feited before 1242, at which time the 

 manors held by Robert de Vilers in 121 2 

 — viz. Hoole, Windle, and Halsall — were 

 in the hands of the earl of Derby, as lord 

 of the land between Ribble and Mersey ; 

 Inq. and Extents, 147. Windle and 

 Halsall were restored to the lord of 

 Warrington, not to Robert de Vilers, 

 about 1260, so that from this time the 

 Halsalls held directly of the Botelers ; 

 Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 219*, n. 178. 

 9 Dods. MSS. xxxix, fol. 138, n. i. 

 ^^ Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 13 ; his seal 

 has the motto ' Crede michi.' 



" His lands were over ^^15 annual 

 value in 1324; and about that time he 

 held public offices ; Pari. Writs, ii, 968. 

 12 Dods. MSS. xxxix, fol. 141, ». 31. 

 ^ See the account of Ainsdale. 

 " Auti, Outhi, or Otho. 

 " Dods. loc. cit. fol. 140A, n. 24 ; 141, 

 n. 27 ; 142^, B. 53. It should be noted 

 that Otes asserted that he was under age 

 in Dec. 1346 ; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 3, 

 m. viij. 



It is not clear how Robert de Parr was 

 connected with the manor, but in Oct. 

 1325, he was deforciant and Gilbert 

 claimant of the manor of Halsall, a four- 

 teenth part of the manor of Downholland, 

 a moiety of the thirteenth part of the 

 same, and the advowson of Halsall 

 church, except 8 messuages, &c. After- 

 wards (1328) Gilbert acknowledged them 



to be Robert's right, and the latter 

 granted them to him for life ; and 

 granted further that the third part of the- 

 above tenement, held by Denise as dower 

 ' of the inheritance of the said Robert,' 

 should also go to Gilbert, and after his* 

 decease to his son Otes or heirs j Final 

 Cone, ii, 71. 



In 1378-9 Alan de Bradley, son and 

 heir of Robert de Parr, quitclaimed tO' 

 Gilbert son of Otes de Halsall all righfc 

 to the manor, &c., ' which the saidj 

 Robert my father had of the gift of Gil— 

 bert father of Otes' j Dods. MSS. xxxix, 

 fol. 142^ (52). A family of Paxr ofi' 

 Halsall appears in 1355 ; Duchy ofLanc^ 

 Assize R. 4, m. 7. 



^^ A Gilbert de Halsall occurs as plain- 

 tiff about 1350, but maybe Otes's bro- 

 ther J Assize R. 1444, m. 7. There may 

 have been a division of the Halsall estates 

 between Otes and Gilbert his brother j, 

 see the account of MaghuU. 



Otes was the tenant doing suit of 

 county and wapentake for William le- 

 Boteler, in the Sur-vey of 1346 (Chet.. 

 Soc), 38, His seal shows two bars, 

 within a bordure engrailed. 



17 Dods. MSS. xxxix, fol. 142, «. 50, 45. . 

 He seems to have been violent and law- 

 less in other respects also. His brother- 

 Gilbert, who agreed with him as to land 

 in Halsall in 1346 (ibid. fol. 142, n. 49), 

 had previously (in 1343) accused him of 

 taking his goods, and though Otes was 

 acquitted of this charge, he was convicted 

 of assault and sent to gaol j Assize R. . 

 430, m. 3, 4, 4 f/. 7 J. 8. He was charged 1 

 with other offences, including that oj ■ 

 putting Adam de Barton and his wife in.i 

 the stocks at Ormskirk ; Assize R. 432,, 

 m. id.; Exch. Misc. xc, 13. Afterwards^, 

 however, he appears to have reformed. 



He might have pleaded that his neigh- 



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