WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



HALSALL 



This township has a total area of 2,137 acres;' 

 of which 1,395^ acres belong to Mailing proper, 

 or the south-western half, and the remainder to 

 Cunscough' in the north-east. The ground rises 

 gradually from the Alt, the western boundary, to- 

 wards the north-east, reaching 1 20 ft. near the centre 

 of the township, where is the hamlet of Melling 

 Mount. The hamlet of Waddicar is to the east of 

 Melling village. The church and its few attendant 

 buildings stand upon a slightly elevated knoll of 

 sandstone rock, whence the surrounding country 

 appears in a level panorama. Fields of corn, potatoes, 

 and varied market-garden produce make patches of 

 different colours on every hand, whilst trees and bushes 

 are of the scantiest description. The country in the 

 northern portion of the district is rather richer in ap- 

 pearance ; there are a few more trees than in the south. 

 The soil throughout is sandy and loamy and fertile. 



The principal roads are the main road from Liver- 

 pool to Ormskirk, passing from Kirkby through Melling 

 Mount, and another but circuitous road connecting 

 the same places, coming from Aintree through the 

 village and thence to Maghull. The Leeds and 

 Liverpool Canal winds through the township. The 

 Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's railway from 

 Liverpool to Preston crosses the western corner. 



The population in 1 90 1 numbered 947. 



There are stone pottery works and a gun-cotton 

 factory. 



The township is governed by a parish council. 



A cross is marked on the 1848 map at Waddicar. 



Among the field names here in 1779 were Knots- 

 field, Cannock, Meakins Hey, Dyers Carr, and 

 Poolers Meadow. 



Godeve held MELLING in 1066 ; it 



MANORS was rated at two plough-lands, and valued 



at 10/. There was a wood a league in 



length by half a league in breadth, measurements 

 agreeing fairly well with those of Cunscough. It was 

 part of the privileged three-hide area, though physic- 

 ally separated from the main portion.' 



A century later it was held in thegnage, paying a 

 rent of I os. to the king. Siward de Melling seems to 

 have been tenant about that time ; his son Henry 

 was in possession in 1 193, and having shared in the 

 rebellion of John count of Mortain, next year made 

 peace with King Richard, his fine being a mark.* 

 Several grants by Henry son of Siward de Melling 

 are recorded in the Cockersand chartulary.* The 

 manor seems to have been divided with his brother 

 Thomas, who at the petition of his wife Maud made a 

 grant to the same house." 



The survey of 1 2 1 2 records that Henry de Melling 

 held four plough-lands' of the king. Thomas held one of 

 the plough-lands — the moiety of Melling referred to 

 in charters just cited — ' and the said Henry and 

 Thomas have given Northcroft and Hengarth and 

 Routhwaite, small cultures, to St. Mary of Cockersand 

 in alms." 



The notices of Melling in the thirteenth century 

 are scanty. Randle son of Adam de Quick, with the 

 consent of Alice his wife, granted the homage and 

 service of William son of Robert de Lund ; ' Thomas 

 de Routhwaite quitclaimed all his right in three 

 selions lying between the land of St. James of Birken- 

 head and that of Amery son of the chaplain ; '" William 

 son of Alan de Melling gave two ' lands ' to Cocker- 

 sand, one between the land of Robert de Molyneux 

 and the other in Melling Wood." 



Henry de Melling died in or before 1225, when 

 his son Thomas paid the king 2 zs. as relief on succes- 

 sion to the four plough-lands." Besides Thomas his 

 ' heir ' he mentioned his ' son ' Roger in one of the 

 Cockersand charters.'' 



^The Census Rep. of 1901 gives it 

 2,119 acres, including 13 of inland water. 

 By an order of the Local Government 

 Board a small detached portion of Mel- 

 ling was added to Simonswood in 1877 ; 

 this will account for the diminution. 



2 Or, K-eniscough. 



3 V.C.H. Land, i, 284A. 



■" Farrer, Land. Pipe R. 78, 86. He 

 paid J mark scutage in 1201-2; ibid. 153. 



5 By one he gave, at the request of his 

 wife Amaria in whose dower it was, the 

 whole of Hengarth and all his part of the 

 open land from Hengarthlache to the 

 boundary of BickerstafFe, with rights to 

 common in his moiety of the vill ; it was 

 given in free alms, quit of all secular ser- 

 vice, for the souls of his father and mother; 

 Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc), ii, 531. 



^ It included all the land between the 

 great street or highway and the boundary 

 of Simonswood — which street crossed the 

 Alt at the ford between Melling and 

 Thorp, stretching as far as Hengarthlache ; 

 and all his part of the open land from this 

 lache to BickerstafFe ; and in addition all 

 his part of Cunscough as far as the 

 boundaries of Aughton and Maghull, and 

 from the latter by a boundary through the 

 moss to the lache named, with common 

 rights in his part of the vill. His brother 

 Henry, as superior, confirmed this grant, 

 which he describes as Northcroft and half 

 Cunscough; ibid, ii, 534. 



A later grant by Henry describes the 

 boundaries with some minuteness ; From 

 the western side of Routhwaite, where 

 the carr goes down to Sandwath Brook, 

 along the brook to another which falls 



into it, and then across the field according 

 as land and wood separate between the 

 carr and the holt ; across on the south 

 side to another brook flowing down to 

 the Sandwath, and along Sandwath to the 

 end of Routhwaite on the south side ; 

 then across the field as the canons' crosses 

 show, and along the field as far as the 

 carr of Rouditch ; then as the carr and 

 field separate, as far as the crooked oak 

 on the south side, across to two oaks and 

 again across to a syke flowing down to 

 the Sandwath; ibid, ii, 532. 



Another of his charters mentions 

 Aythwaite, Oylin's Syke and Stockbridge ; 

 another Thorp and Westmoor. In 

 another the Church lane is named ; ibid. 



ii. 533, 538, 539- . 



Thomas de Melling made several grants 

 which were duly confirmed or supple- 

 mented by Henry. One of them mentions 

 * the land of the church * ; another Ful- 

 wath Shaw ; a third, the chapel and * the 

 headland between the fall and the flats,' 

 while a fourth speaks of * the road which 

 goes from Melling to Sefton ' ; ibid, ii, 

 536-9. 



' Two were in Upholland. 



s Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 1 5. 



Some land in Melling was held by 

 Birkenhead Priory, but the donor and the 

 date of gift are unknown. The priory 

 had in 1535 a rent of 2s. 6d. in Melling ; 

 Valor Eccl. ( Rec. Com.), v, 2 1 2. Part of 

 this land was afterwards held by Molyneux 

 of the Wood. For other small rents from 

 it see Pat. 4 & 5 Phil, and Mary, pt. xii. 



^ Cockersand Chartul. ii, 541. Randle 



209 



may be Randle de Melling, who, with Alice 

 his wife, before 1256 granted to Henry 

 de Lea two acres in Melling, with com- 

 mon of pasture, to hold of them and the 

 heirs of Alice in perpetuity for one clove 

 gillyflower 5 Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 118. 



"^^ Ibid, ii, 542. This Amery son of 

 Henry the chaplain held of the abbot land 

 with a messuage and gave it to John son of 

 Randle, who was to pay a rent of id. to 

 Cockersand; Kuerden fol. MS. 359, R. 65. 



1^ Cockersand Chartul. Vif 543. Rouditch, 

 Rudswain, and Pesehey ditch are men- 

 tioned in it. Routhwaite is mentioned 

 in a later plea (1265) when Nicholas de 

 Melling, clerk, accused Thomas de Rou- 

 thwaite, William son of John de Melling, 

 and Roger de Melling of having cut down 

 a tree in Nicholas's wood and then set 

 upon the complainant and grievously 

 wounded him ; Cur. Reg. R. 195, m. 21 d. 



Other holders of land occur incidentally 

 in the Cbariulary ; in some cases the 

 tenants and services in 1268 are noted in 

 the margin ; ibid, ii, 532, 535. 



"Pipe R. 9 Hen. IH (69, m. 6d.); 

 Excerfita e Rot. Fin. (Hen. Ill), i, 131. 

 The relief was the same as the annual 

 service. 



18 Cockersand Chartul. ii, 539 ; also 535. 

 Roger gave land in Hengarthslache to the 

 priory of Burscough, extending * as far as 

 the abbot of Cockersand's cross upon 

 Hange Pool.' He was also a witness to 

 the charter of the same priory by which 

 William de Melling gave a messuage with 

 its curtilage * where the hall used to be ' ; 

 Dep, Keeper^ s Rep. xxxvi, App. 198—9. 



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