A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Gilbert dc Halsall, with whom in one plea Robert 

 son of Alan de Holland was joined. The defence, 

 which was accepted, is noticeable : Barton was not 

 a vill, but a member of the vill of Downholland.' 

 Thus it had lost its ancient independent status. 



A local family took a surname from the hamlet. 

 In 1314 Richard son of Adam de Barton gave to his 

 son Roger land which the grantor had previously 

 purchased from his sister Anabel, formerly wife of 

 Robert the clerk of Halsall, except the house which 

 Richard's son and heir inhabited.' Robert son of 

 Richard de Barton gave to Robert de Cowdray some 

 arable land and meadow in the Flats in 1 344.' 



Roger son of Robert de Barton in 1375 gave to his 

 son Robert and Margaret his wife and their heirs 4 acres 

 with a chamber built in the garden.* About 1388 

 Robert son of Roger de Barton was refeofFed of his lands, 

 with remainders to Richard the son of Robert, and then 

 to Alice and Maud, his daughters.' The son appears 

 to have died without issue, so that the inheritance 

 came to the daughter Alice, who married Richard 

 Fazakerley ; while in September, 1 404, Maud, still 

 unmarried, quitclaimed all her right in the property 

 to Alice.' 



The next in possession was William Fazakerley,' 

 probably the son of Alice and Richard, and his son 

 Henry in 1495 enfeoffed Henry Molyneux, chap- 

 lain,' of a tenement in Barton then occupied by the 

 grantor's brother John.' He had in 149 1-2 arranged 

 for the marriage of his son Robert with Cecily, 

 daughter of John Ireland, of Sefton or Maghull, 

 brother of Richard Ireland.'" 



The son and heir of Robert and Cecily was 

 Thomas Fazakerley, who soon after the acquisition 

 of the Holland manors by the Halsall family, and 

 while still a minor, was 'pulled forth' of his holding 

 by divers men acting by order of Thomas Halsall. 

 Thereupon his relatives in Great Crosby and Thorn- 

 ton took possession of the disputed lands (including 

 the Peck and the Hook) by force in April, 1525, and 

 ' bette and hurted ' the tenants who had been in- 

 truded therein." 



Thomas Fazakerley seems to have died childless, 

 and Henry Halsall was in 1566 able to purchase 

 (through Gilbert Halsall of Barton ") the share held 

 by Alice, wife of Peter Snape of Formby, and one 01 

 the sisters and coheirs." 



A branch of the Norris family also had some 



holding here." Part at least of their estate was the 

 acre belonging to Cockersand Abbey, which was held 

 in 1501 by John Norris." 



The half of Barton held by knight's service by the 

 lords of Warrington was by Pain de Vilers granted 

 together with Ince Blundell, and the mesne lordship 

 was long considered to be in the hands of the lords 

 of this place." They quickly created subordinate 

 manors. One oxgang was granted to Simon Blundell ; 

 but this was about 1 240 given to William Russel 

 and Amabel his wife, probably as the latter's dowry. 

 Thereupon Benedict the son of Simon made his 

 claim in the king's court against Richard son and heir 

 of William Blundell, and it was decided that the 

 latter must compensate Simon by an equivalent grant." 



This oxgang in Barton descended regularly with 

 the manor of North Meols. The other three oxgangs 

 also came into the possession of the lords of North 

 Meols, and at the inquisition after the death of 

 William de Aughton in 1388, the jury were unable 

 to say of whom he had held a portion of Barton 

 rendering £z \y. lod. A further inquiry being 

 ordered, at first it was found that it was held of 

 John le Boteler of Warrington by knight's service 

 and the service of 10<2'. yearly ; but after yet an- 

 other inquiry the mesne lord was found to be John 

 Blundell of Ince.'" The later inquisitions of the 

 North Meols family describe their tenement as 

 held of the crown, in right of the duchy of Lan- 

 caster, by knight's service, viz. the sixth part of a 

 fee." 



John Waring and William Shepherd of Croxteth, 

 as ' Papists,' registered estates here in 1717.'° 



The rector of Halsall has established a mission 

 room in Barton. 



LYDIATE 



Leiate, Dom. Bk. ; Lydyate, 1276 ; and Lydeyate, 

 1292 ; the usual spellings. Liddigate occurs 1202, 

 Lichet, c. I 240 ; Lydegate, I 296 ; Lidgate, I 299 ; 

 Ledeyate, 1414 ; Lidezate, 1481." 



This township has an area ot 1,995 acres." 

 Lydiate proper is bounded on the south by small 

 brooks which divide it from Maghull, and on the 

 east and north by the Sudell or Lydiate Brook ; while 

 on the west the 25 ft. level is almost coincident with 

 the boundary. The township also includes the 



* Asjiie R. 408, m. 7 J. +8 J. 76. 



'Dods. MSS. cliii, fol. 49. Adam 

 son of Anabel contributed to the sub- 

 sidies of 1327 and 1332. 



"Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 230A. Otes de 

 Halsall some time afterwards acquired 

 meadow land from Robert de Barton and 

 his son Roger, and assigned it to his son 

 Gilbert and Elizabeth his wife in 1367 ; 

 Dods. MSS. xxxix. fol. 143, n. 63. In 

 1374 Adam son of Adam de Bredkirk 

 claimed from William de Barton a house 

 and lands in Barton as heir of a certain 

 Alice who married John de Bredkirk the 

 claimant's grandfather ; De Banc. R. 453, 

 m. 394. 



< Dods. MSS. cliii, fol. 49. 



' Ibid. fol. 49*. 



Mbid. 



^ Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 4, m. 3, i2i. 



■* See the note on Halsall chantry. 



9 Dods. MSS. cliii, fol. 50. 



»»Ibid. 



" Duchy of Lane. Pleadings, Hen. VIH, 



iii, H. 5. The disputes were settled in 

 Fazakerley's favour about 1 540 ; Dods. 

 MSS. cliii, fol. 49*, 50. 



" See the account of Halsall. 



" Dods. MSS. xxxix, fol. 142A, n. 58. 



'^ In i486 Henry son of John Norris, 

 late of Barton, was placed in possession of 

 certain lands in Formby. He had brothers 

 named William, Robert, Edward, Richard, 

 and James, and the ultimate remainder 

 mdicates that they were related to the 

 Speke family ; Formby D. 



'» Rentalc de Cockenand (Chet. Soc. 

 Misc.), 5. 



" Lanes. Inj. and Extents, 7, 147. A 

 dispute between William de Ferrers and 

 William le Boteler as to common of 

 pasture in the hey of Barton may refer to 

 this Barton ; Cur. Reg. R. 149 (37 Hen. 

 Ill), m. 17. 



1' Assize R. 404, m. 5 d. Two charters 

 at Ince Blundell complete the story. By 

 one Simon quitclaimed to Richard any 

 title or claim in lands in Ince and Barton ; 



200 



and in return he received an oxgang in 

 Ince ; Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxii, 189, 190. 



18 Pal. of Lane. Chan. Misc. bdle. i, n. 

 27 ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 30, 

 39. This inquest refers to three oxgangsj 

 the other was probably in the possession 

 of William's mother. In 1441 the 

 Botelers had a rent of \o\d. from 

 Barton ; ibid, ii, 49. The same sum was 

 paid by John Aughton in i 548 ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 13, m. 142. 



" Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xv, n. 

 44- 



The holding was described at four mes- 

 suages, 50 acres of land, 10 acres of 

 meadow, and 50 acres of moss. 



"» Eng. Calh. Non-jurors, 97, 121. 



''I For comparison may be cited Lawton 

 Lidgate in Cheshire (Church Lawton) ; 

 Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), iii, 1 5, 20. 

 Lidyate frequently occurs as a common 

 noun. 



^1,994, including 21 inland water j 

 census of 1901. 



