A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



In the middle of 1 2 77 the same Alice prosecuted 

 her claim against Robert de Halsall. The defendant 

 called William son of Benedict to warrant him as to 

 part ; as to the mill he denied that Benedict her hus- 

 band was ever in seisin, all his interest being 4J. yearly 

 rent.' 



In 1292 Emma, widow of William the Pinder, 

 claimed dower in a small holding from Robert de 

 Lydiate, and the latter called upon William son of 

 Benedict to warrant. This he failed to do. Emma 

 therefore recovered her dower against Robert, who was 

 to have the value of it out of William's lands.' 



Who this Robert de Lydiate alias de Halsall was 

 there is nothing to show ; he seems to have held a 

 small subordinate manor of William de Lydiate.' In 

 1303 Thomas son of Robert de Halsall gave 20/. for 

 licence to agree with Robert de Halsall of Lydiate.* 



The double lordship of Lydiate again comes out in 

 I 3 1 3 in a suit brought by the abbot of Cockersand 

 for common of pasture of which he had been dis- 

 seised, as he stated, by Benedict son of William de 

 Lydiate and Thomas son of Robert de Lydiate.' 

 Two years later the succession to what may be called 

 the junior moiety of the manor was settled by fine 

 between Thomas de Lydiate and his son Gilbert, the 

 remainders being to Gilbert's brothers William, Adam, 

 and John in succession.' 



About the same time (1315) Richard son of Bene- 

 dict de Lydiate settled an oxgang of land, Sic, on his 

 daughter Cecily, married to Elias de Occleshaw. He 

 had received this oxgang, which lay in Gildhouse, 

 from his brother William, and it had previously been 

 held by Adam de Churchlee.' 



Benedict de Lydiate, at Easter, 1325, complained 

 that Gilbert de Halsall, John del Wolfall, and Denise 



his wife, and others had disseised him of ten acres of 

 pasture in Lydiate. In this complaint he was joined 

 by Gilbert son of Thomas de Lydiate, and Margery 

 his wife ; also hy Alice, widow of Thomas ; as repre- 

 senting the other moiety of the manor." The defence 

 was that the land was ' wood, not pasture.' Benedict 

 and the others had enclosed the wood and so sought 

 to deprive the defendants of the right to send their 

 pigs there in mast-time. The jury took this view.' 



This case introduces another family into the history 

 of the township, the Wolfalls.'" A settlement was made 

 by fine in 1323 of two messuages, eighteen acres of 

 land, and \()d. rent in Lydiate upon John del Wolfall 

 and Denise his wife for life." From this time the 

 Wolfalls constantly appear in the neighbourhood in 

 various relations. 



Benedict de Lydiate must have died soon afterwards," 

 for though he paid to the subsidy in 1327 he is not 

 named in 1332. For a time Gilbert de Lydiate was 

 the foremost man in the township, as in the assize of 

 1 3 3 1 and the subsidy of 1332." John son of Benedict 

 becomes prominent about 1350." In that year he 

 pleaded that Sir William le Boteler of Warrington, 

 Elizabeth his wife, and many others, including the 

 Wolfalls and Elias de Gildhouse, had unjustly disseised 

 him of his free tenement in Lydiate, viz. two-thirds of 

 the manor. The recognitors decided in his favour, 

 saying that he was seised of it until the defendants 

 ousted him by force and arms." 



Shortly afterwards, in 1352, John de Lydiate and 

 two others were charged with having disseised Margery, 

 widow of Robert de Lydiate, of her third of the junior 

 moiety."' A year later Elizabeth daughter of Robert 

 de Lydiate claimed certain lands as her inheritance, of 

 which John de Lydiate and his tenants were in 



' De Banc. R. 20, m. ij d. The 

 writ had been issued on 4 April, 1276. 

 The mill was in Eggergarth. The widow 

 of some previous lord of Lydiate seems to 

 have taken as her second husband Adam 

 dc Churchlee (Prescot). 



In 1291 a claim by Sir William le 

 Boteler produced some further informa- 

 tion. Gilbert de Halsall and Robert de 

 Lydiate accused the superior lord and 

 others of having dispossessed them of part 

 of their free tenement in the township, 

 namely, in 35 acres of wood. Among the 

 defendants were William son of Robert de 

 Vcpont and Adam son of Simon de 

 Lydiate. Sir William put forward his 

 claim as being chief lord, but it appeared 

 that his right in the present case was due 

 to a demise to him by Adam de Churchlee, 

 who held (by the law of England) part of 

 the inheritance of William son of Bene- 

 dict ; and he had arbitrarily * approved ' 

 the 3; acres of wood. Gilbert de Halsall 

 was the heir of Simon de Halsall, who 

 had purchased an acre in Lydiate, with 

 rights of common ; and Robert shared the 

 vill with the above-named William son of 

 Benedict ; Assize R. 1294, m. 10. 



The Veponts occur in another local 

 suit at this time, Cecily relict of Robert 

 le Vepont proceeding against William le 

 Vepont, Richard le Vepont, and Juliana 

 relict of Robert le Vepont concerning 

 tenements in Lydiate, Eggergarth, and 

 DownhoUand ; she was non-suited ; As- 

 size R. 408, m. II. 



' Ibid. ra. 591/. 



» In 1304 Maud, late the wife of 

 Richard son of Robert de Lydiate, claimed 

 5 acres of land from Simon son of Simon 

 de Lydiate and Adam Blundel. Simon 



the father was a younger brother of 

 Richard, who had lived in adultery with 

 Maud for a long time, but on his death 

 bed, four years before this suit, espoused 

 her, yet without the Church's blessing and 

 the nuptial mass, Richard had no lawful 

 children, and his father Robert, who was 

 still living, entered as guardian and as- 

 signed the tenements to Maud as dower ; 

 Simon the claimant, was then under age ; 

 Assize R. 419, m. 6. 



William de Lydiate claimed 5J acres 

 from Robert de Halsall, as heir of his 

 father Richard, who had held them in 

 socage by the service of zyd. a year, pay- 

 ing zd. to the king's scutage of 401. ; but 

 his claim was rejected on account of his 

 illegitimate birth ; ibid. m. id. 



* De Banc. R. 148, m. iiid. 



' Assize R. 424, m. i d. It appeared 

 that Agnes, mother of Benedict, held a 

 third part, and as she was not named in 

 the writ the abbot's suit failed for the 

 time. 



« Final Cone, ii, 20. Simon son of 

 Simon de Lydiate also put in his claim, as 

 did Alan de Halsall. A short account of 

 a claim by Simon de Lydiate, his son 

 Robert, and grandson Adam, is given in 

 the account of Little Crosby. Another 

 grandson seems to have been William ; 

 ibid, ii, 165. 



' Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 24. 



* Alice widow of Thomas de Lydiate in 

 1323 claimed dower from Gilbert son of 

 Thomas de Lydiate, Richard son of Ro- 

 bert de Gildhouse and Richard his son, 

 Robert and William sons of Adam de 

 Orshaw, and many others ; De Banc. R. 

 248, m. 157. 



' Assize R. 426, m. 6. 



202 



*" See the account of Wolfall in Huy- 

 ton. 



'1 Final Cone, ii, 54. The remainder 

 was first to Thomas son of Henry del 

 Wolfall ; but if he should die without issue, 

 then one messuage and4 acres in Shourshagh 

 must go in succession to Richard, brother 

 of Thomas, for life, and then to Henry son 

 of Walter de Acton for life, and then to 

 Robert son of Roger de Wolfall and his 

 heirs ; the residue of the tenement was to 

 go to Gilbert son of Thomas de Lydiate for 

 life, and to Robert and John his brothers, 

 and after their death to Gilbert de Halsall 

 and his heirs. 



'^ ' Benedict de Lydiate ' was a witness 

 in 1329 (Blundell of Crosby D.). 



" Assize R. 1404, m. 17 j Exch. Lay 

 Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 21. 



" In the aid of 1346-55 John son of 

 Benedict de Lydiate is named ; Feud. 

 Aidsj iii, 90. John was probably very 

 young on succeeding. 



1* Assize R. 1444, m. 3. John's mother 

 seems to have been living and in possession 

 of her third of the manor. Elias de Gild- 

 house is no doubt the Elias de Occleshaw 

 mentioned already. He was called by the 

 latter name in 1355, when he was con- 

 stable of the vill ; Duchy of Lane. Assize 

 R. 4, m. 5. John brother of Henr)' 

 Blundell of Little Crosby acquired from 

 Elizabeth de Gildhouses her lands in 

 Lydiate in 1420; Pal. of Lane. Feet of 

 F. bdle. 5, m. 15. 



" Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 2, m. xj ; 

 Margery was a daughter of Henry de Wol- 

 fall. Robert son of Thomas de Lydiate 

 was defendant in a suit brought by Otes 

 de Halsall in the following year, but not 

 prosecuted ; Assize R. 435, m. 28. 



