WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



HALSALL 



one of their three daughters and co-heiresses, brought 

 it to Sir Thomas Halsall, who died in 1539. His 

 widow afterwards married John Osbaldeston of Os- 

 baldeston, and died at this place 19 August, 1567.' 

 Inquisitions taken after the death of her son Henry 

 state that she held ■ the manor of Melling and ten 

 messuages, 200 acres of land, &c., in Melling and 

 Liverpool. The manor was held of the queen by 

 knight's service, and was worth £^ clear. By inden- 

 ture and fine in 1566 the succession was arranged 

 to Henry Halsall and his heirs, or in default to Jane's 

 other children, or to her right heirs. Henry Halsall 

 accordingly succeeded to the manor, and on his death 

 in 1575 without issue — his grandson Cuthbert being 

 illegitimate — it passed to Maud, wife of Edward 

 Osbaldeston, one of the daughters of Dame Jane 

 Halsall, and to Bartholomew Hesketh as son and heir 

 of her other daughter Joan, who had married Gabriel 

 Hesketh, the former being thirty-six years and the 

 latter twenty-two.' In 1587 Bartholomew Hesketh 

 purchased the Osbaldeston share,' but no further 

 mention is made of it after 1598 * in the known in- 

 quisitions or settlements of this family, nor does any 

 claim seem to have been made to it. 



The Molyneuxes of Sefton claimed a manor here 

 also. Sometimes it is described as Melling simply, 

 at others as ' half of Melling,' and at others is joined 

 with Lydiate. Sir William Molyneux purchased the 

 Swifts' share of Elizabeth Harrington's inheritance in 

 1521 and the Grimshaws' share in 1554.' In the 

 inquisition of 1 62 3 'the manor of Melling' is said 

 to be held of the king by knight's service, viz. by 

 the tenth part of a fee.' The family continued to 

 hold it down to the end of the eighteenth century, 

 when it was sold to John Foster for ^^1,050 ; eight 

 small chief-rents were payable, ranging from id. to 

 I/., and amounting to 5/. id. 



The manor-house in Melling now belongs to a 

 family named Cartwright. 



A charter by Robert de Byron granted land in 



Melling to Nicholas son of Henry de Bootle, at the 

 yearly rent of lij'. ; and a further grant at the same 

 rent was made in 1309.' Another charter granted 

 Adam son of Richard de Thorp land which Robert 

 de Brookfield formerly held, extending between Alt 

 and Melling Moor, and pannage of his pigs in the 

 common wood.' This same Adam de Thorp had 

 from William son and heir of Henry de Lea a grant 

 of all his lands and tenements in Melling, including 

 the homage of Richard de Lund (with %d. rent), 

 Adam del More, Robert de Byron {2d.), Richard son 

 of Robert ( I Oi^.), and Amery the priest's son {6d.), 

 at the yearly rent of three grains of pepper." In 

 1280 Baldwin de Lea granted all his lands in Melling 

 with various homages to William his son.'" In 1305 

 Emma de Aintree and her daughters Alice and 

 Margery, Alice de Parr, and others were charged 

 with having disseised Randle de Aintree and Hawise 

 his wife of their free tenement in Melling, but it was 

 found that the real holder was William son of Adam 

 Barret of Aintree, who had demised certain tene- 

 ments in Melling for a term of years to Gilbert the 

 brother of Emma, and that she had entered as 

 successor." 



It thus appears that Melling was much divided 

 from early times, making its lordship somewhat un- 

 certain. Hence the vague expression of the extent 

 of 1346, 'all the tenants and abbot of Cockersand,' 

 is easily understood." 



About the beginning of the fifteenth century the 

 Molyneux family of Thornton, who, as already shown, 

 had long claimed a manor," made Melling their 

 principal residence, their house being known as The 

 Wood, or Hall of the Wood. Robert de Molyneux, 

 the first described as ' of Melling,' " had a son John 

 who married Agnes daughter of Henry Blundell of 

 Crosby," and was succeeded by his son Robert and 

 his grandson John.'' The latter's son and heir 

 Robert died 5 July 1 541, leaving a son and heir 

 John, then aged twenty-three, and younger children.' 



1 See Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 28, 

 m. 15. 



^ Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiii, n. 34. ; 

 xiv, n. 81. Dame Jane's sisters were 

 Anne, who married John Swift, and 

 Margaret, who married Thomas Grim- 

 shaw. For the latter's claim see Add. 

 MS. 32105, n. 813. 



Margaret Grimshaw, widow, died in 

 1549, holding the third part of 34 mes- 

 suages, 1,000 acres of land, &c., 8 

 'oppells* of a horse-mill and a water- 

 mill in Melling, Aintree, and Liverpool. 

 All was held of the king by the third part 

 of a knight's fee, and 4J, ^^d. rent. The 

 heir was her son Richard, forty-six years 

 of age ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p. m. ix, 

 I.. 25. 



' Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 49, m. 

 168. 



* Ibid. bdle. 60, m. 139. Pal. of Lane. 

 Plea R. 245, m. 6, recites the settle- 

 ment ; John Pooley demanding certain 

 messuages, &c, in 1579. It may be 

 noticed that though the Halsalls had re- 

 tained no right in it Sir Cuthbert pro- 

 fessed to sell the manor of Melling in 

 1623 ; ibid. bdle. 102, m. 63. 



5 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 11, 

 m. 200 ; see also m. 203 ; and bdle. 15, 

 m. 1 1 3 ; in this last the * manor * is not 

 named. 



' Lanes. Inq. f.m, (Rec. Soe. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), iii, 390. 



< Croxteth D. U. ii, i, 4. 



8 Croxteth D. » Ibid. U. ii, 2. 



" Ibid. U. ii, 3. The Lea interest 

 was probably derived from the grant by 

 Randle de Melling. Baldwin de Lea 

 was brother of Sir Henry de Lea, who 

 died about 1288. The Feodary of 1483 

 states Henry de Lea held (about 1200) 

 6 car. in Melling by the king's charter ; 

 but this is an error. 



" Assize R. 420, m. 3 d. Another 

 case shows that Emma had had three 

 brothers — Henry, Gilbert, and Robert. 



" Survey of 1346 (Chet. Soc), 34. 



^ The names of a number of tenants 

 are given in a plea for dower in 1343 by 

 Agnes widow of Robert de Molyneux j 

 De Banco R. 334, m. 3911^. Alice, 

 widow of Robert de Molyneux of Melling 

 and wife of Nicholas, son of Robert de 

 Farington, occurs in 1362; ibid. 446, 

 m. 42. 



** He had younger sons, William and 

 Ralph, and William had a son Henry ; 

 see Dep. Keeper^s Rep. xxxiii, App. 39 j 

 Croxteth D. Genl. i, 55. Henry, who 

 was attainted of felony, died without 

 issue, his brother Thomas being heir ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Misc. Books, xix, 116 d. 



" Blundell of Crosby D., K.. 31. A 

 second wife was named Alice, she claimed 

 dower in 1471 ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 

 38, m. i%d. 



'« This descent — John, Robert, John — 

 is taken from the pedigree in the Visit. 

 of 1567 (Chet. Soe.), 100. 



211 



Robert Molyneux occurs in 1456 ; 

 Blundell of Crosby D., K. 33. 



The younger John was a collector of 

 the fifteenth in 1511-12, and found it 

 necessary to distrain in many eases ; 

 and the victims in revenge, while he was 

 absent at Lancaster sessions, took one of 

 his horses and kept it without food, and 

 also maltreated his son Henry ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Pleadings, Hen. VIII, iii, M. 1, 



William son of Robert Molyneux de- 

 ceased in 1440 granted all his lands in 

 the vill of Melling to Henry his son, 

 with remainder to Ralph (father of the 

 grantor) ; Croxteth D. Genl. i, 55. 



^7 The inquisition taken some years 

 after his death (Duchy of Lane. Inq. p. m. 

 ix, n. 38) gives a somewhat minute state- 

 ment of his possessions. These included 

 nine messuages, a windmill, arable land, 

 pasture, wood, &c. in Melling ; messuages 

 with lands in Thornton, Sefton, and Ain- 

 tree. There were also in Melling a rent 

 of i%d. from the tenement of Elizabeth 

 Stanley, another rent of 5^. j^d. from 

 Robert Bootle's tenement, and the service 

 of a reaper for one day in autumn ; rents 

 of 2i<^. and the service of two reapers 

 from William Merton, lol^d. and one 

 man for one day from John Ley, i\d. 

 from James Halsall, 14^/. from Richard 

 Pulley, \d. from Robert Ballard ; 51/. and 

 a reaper for one day from the heirs of 

 Sir Thomas Halsall ; similar rents and 

 services from minor tenants in Melling 



