A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



a messuage and land in Cunscough, in the tenure of 

 Thomas Tatlock, held of the queen in chief by the 

 service of the sixtieth part of a knight's fee, the value 

 being 2 v- \<i- I-~iwrence Ireland, his son and heir, 

 was eighteen years of age.' 



The heir was engaged in many lawsuits.' He 

 died 6 May, 1609, leaving a widow and ten young 

 children, for whose benefit he had in 1605 enfeoffed 

 Sir Richard Molyneux and others, of Lydiate Hall, 

 Lydiate chapel near the manor-house, the dove-house, 

 barns, &c. Lydiate and Eggergarth are stated in the 

 inquisition to be held of Thomas Ireland of Warring- 

 ton in socage by the rent of a rose yearly, their value 

 being £<^ clear ; he also had tenements in Cunscough, 

 Melling, Aughton and Maghull.' 



Edward Ireland, his son by his second \vife Mary 

 Scarisbrick, was his heir, but only sixteen years of 

 age, and his wardship was granted by James I to 

 Barnaby Molyneux and Hugh Nelson.' He was 

 twice married ; bv his first wife he had two daughters ; 

 by his second — Margaret Norris, a granddaughter of 

 Edward Norris of Speke — he had a son and heir 

 Lawrence.' He died on I April, 1637,'' and the 

 inventory of his property has been preserved.' 



His son and heir Lawrence was only about three 

 years of age,' and was still under age in 165 i, when 

 his mother Margaret sent a petition to the Parlia- 

 mentary Commissioners touching the sequestration of 

 his estate. Like many others of his faith he was 

 sent to one of the colleges abroad to be educated. 

 On account of religion two-thirds of the Ireland 

 estate was sequestered, and the widow was allowed a 

 fifth in 165 I, to be increased to a third should she 

 prove that she was not a delinquent ;' Gilbert Ireland 

 of the Hutt, a distant relative and a strong partisan 

 of the Parliament, was made guardian. Mr. Ambrose, 



the Parliament's agent, 'had given reasons which 

 induced him to believe that young Mr. Ireland was 

 being brought up in popery ; namely, that his mother 

 demanding from him how her son should be main- 

 tained, he answered that if she would please he should 

 be brought up in the Protestant religion he might be 

 provided for according to his rank and quality, she re- 

 plied "she had rather see him hanged" ; that he could 

 never hear of him going to church, but that he had been 

 kept secret and conveyed from one papist's house to 

 another, whereof Mr. Ditchfield, a papist at Ditton, was 

 one ; and that it had then lately been given out that he 

 had been sent beyond the seas, where Mr. Ambrose 

 believed he then was.' It was replied that he had 

 been educated at Oxford,'" and only sent abroad by 

 licence from the Council of State. Colonel Gilbert 

 Ireland refused to stir ; ' he had heard they were 

 about to marry him (Lawrence) with Mr. Ditchfield 

 of Ditton's daughter, an arch-papist, signifying his 

 dislike thereof.' It appears therefore that the widowed 

 mother secured no better terms." 



Lawrence came of age in 1655, in which year he 

 granted a lease of Cunscough Hall to John Tatlock. 

 He married, about the beginning of 1658, Anne, 

 daughter of Edward Scarisbrick, but she died within 

 six years, leaving two daughters, Margaret and 

 Katherine. In 1664 he settled his estates on his elder 

 daughter and her heirs, with remainder to the younger 

 daughter and her heirs, and further remainders ; 

 gave the children into the guardianship of his mother, 

 and for himself sought admission into the Society of 

 Jesus. He made his profession in 1666, and was 

 ordained priest, but there is little further record of 

 his career," and his only connexion with Lydiate was 

 his settling a messuage in the place upon his younger 

 daughter Katherine in 1673 ; she afterwards became 



^ Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiii, 

 n. 25. 



* The Eiizabrthan pereecution added 

 to hii troubles \ he was presented as a 

 recusant in 1 584, and in 1 590 was among 

 those *iD some degree of conformity yet 

 in general note of evil affection in 

 religion.' Two years later George Ding- 

 lc\', a priest who had turned informer, 

 thus reported: * Mr. Ireland of Lydi.ite 

 hath not only rel.cvcd me and Seminary 

 priests before the late statute of 27 

 [Eliz.], at his own house, but has also 

 countenanced me and James Forthe at 

 Crosby since the same statute, by sitting 

 at the table with us, and I verily think 

 he relieved the said Forde or Forthe. 

 He is of very good living.* In 1598 he 

 was charged ;^lo for his wife's recusancy, 

 for Her Majesty's service in Ireland. Sec 

 Gibson, op. cit. 35, ;6 ; also 227, 245, 

 259. 



" Lane:. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 1 26-9 Will and inventory 

 are at Chester. The tenure recorded 

 shows that Lydiate had been enfranchised. 



* Two brothers of Edward Ireland's 

 entered the English College in Rome. 

 Alexander, the elder, on entering it in 

 I 626 stated that he * was converted from 

 heresy through his eldest brother and sent 

 to St. Omer's ' j he became a Jesuit. 

 Thomas, who entered in 16;^, stated that 

 tw o of his brothers were priests ; he had 

 been * brought up among Catholics till 

 ten years of age ; living among Protes- 

 tants he imbibed their heresy, but was 

 afterwards restored to the orthodox faith ' ; 

 Foley. Rec. S. y., vi, ; i 0, ^30. 



* The settlement of the estates he 

 made provided that in case of failure of 

 male issue, they should go to John Ire- 

 land's eldest son, and then to the other 

 sons. The trustees received formal seisin, 

 as the endorsement testified, * in the dining 

 chamber in the hall of Lydiate, being 

 parcel of land within mentioned, in the 

 name of all the manors and lands within 

 mentioned, to the within named Henry 

 Mnssock [of BickcrstafTe], James Halsall 

 [<jf Altcar], and Richard Formby [jun., 

 of Formby],' in the presence of Robert 

 Blundell and other witnesses. 



His will, made a week before his death, 

 expressed the desire that his body should 

 be buried as near as possible to his father's 

 resting-place in Halsall church. To his 

 son and heir Lawrence he gave a gilt 

 bowl, household goods, including all the 

 brewing vessels ; ' also all the armour 

 with the clock and the drum,' and box 

 containing money, &c. The residue of 

 his property was to be divided into three 

 equal parts, one for his wife, the other 

 two for his daughters, who were to share 

 equally. A third daughter (Mary) was 

 born before the date of the codicil, 

 20 March, in which she is mentioned. 



' He paid ^10 on declining knight- 

 hood in 1631 ; Mill. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 213. 



^ Printed by Gibson, op. cit. 36-43. 

 Beds and other furnishings included look- 

 ing-glasses, brushes, and a cradle. Kitchen 

 furniture included 'wooden bottles,' an 

 ark, two spinning-wheels, two hair cloths 

 for the kiln, chum, cheese-press, and 

 salting tubs. The miscellaneous goods 



204 



are interesting} they begin with *one 

 tree framed for a milne post, and one top 

 of a tree with broken wood upon the hill, 

 and an oiler at the wind milne,' and in- 

 cluded an old vial, a pair of broken 

 virginals, ox yokes and bows, horse collars, 

 hemp traces, and millstones. The goods 

 specially bequeathed to his son are duly set 

 out, and provide the names of some of the 

 chambers — the dining chamber, great 

 chamber, hall chamber, little chamber (or 

 Mistress Cllve chamber), buttery chamber, 

 green chamber, canaby chamber, garden 

 chamber, brcwhouse chamber, the nur- 

 series, squirrel chamber, ward chamber, 

 'rowling' chamber, great parlour, green 

 parlour, servants' chamber, cellar, hall, 

 kitchen, buttery, larder, brewhouse, 

 piggon, dairy. There were beds or bed- 

 stocks (sometimes more than one) in 

 each of the chambers, parlours, and 

 nurseries, except the hall chamber, 

 squirrel chamber, and rolling chamber. 

 The armour consisted of three corselets, 

 three musketeers complete, together with 

 a drum and the 'furniture ' complete for 

 a light horse. 



' He was born 23 May, 1634, according 

 to William Blundell ; Cavalier's Note 

 Book, 277. 



' Her offence was 'recusancy only' ^ 

 her son was, of course, too young to 

 have taken part in the war had he been 

 in England. 



'" His name ii not in Foster's Alumni 

 Oxon. 



" Royaliit Com/,. P. (Rec. Soc. Lane*. 

 and Ches.), iv, 14-23. 



" Foley, Rec. S. J. vii, 394. 



