A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



In 1532 William abbot of Merivale complained 

 that the Halsalls had taken possession of part of his 

 land.' Sir William Molyneux and others were com- 

 missioned to make inquiry; after hearing the evidence 

 they were to make an exact boundarj', and send their 

 report to Westminster.' Thomas Halsall alleged that 

 the disputed land was part of a great moss called 

 DownhoUand Moss, of one thousand acres or more. He 

 gave his version of the boundary, and averred that he 

 and his predecessors had received 4V. a day from 

 persons wishing to take turf from this moss.' Judge- 

 ment was made by setting stakes, stones, limits, and 

 meres on the moss, beginning in the nook of the 

 Frith Dyke and going on to the Black Mere ;* all 

 to the north-east to be Halsall's ; all on the south- 

 west of the meres set on the moss to the dyke 

 following the woodside, and from the nook of the 

 Frith Dyke to Holland Causey, to be the abbot's.' 



The abbot in 1537 leased to Robert Molyneux of 

 Hawton in Nottinghamshire and William his son and 

 heir the manor, grange, and lordship of Altcar with the 

 mill and the tithes, ic, for eighty years ; the lessees 

 being bound, among other things, to maintain a priest 

 to celebrate in the hall, paying a monk £^ a year.' 

 The suppression of the abbey quickly followed, but the 

 Court of Augmentations ratified this lease in 1539.' 



In I 556 a commission was appointed by Philip and 

 Mary to make a division between the spiritualities and 

 temporalities of the manor." In 1558 for the sum of 

 jf 1,000, the crown sold the manor and grange, 'lately 

 in the occupation of Robert Molyneux and William 

 his son,' to Sir Richard Molyneux of Sefton, with the 

 reservation to the vicar of all his rights and endow- 

 ments, the lead in the windows and gutters, and the 

 bells. The manor was to be held as the twentieth 

 part of a knight's fee.' Shortly afterwards Francis 

 Molyneux of Hawton, who had inherited the eighty- 

 years' lease, surrendered the unexpired term to William, 



the son and heir apparent of Sir Richard Molyneux, 

 for 500 marks.'" Thus the Sefton family came into 

 full possession of the manor, which they have retained 

 to the present time." 



In 1609 Sir Richard Molyneux purchased the 

 spiritualities or tithes of Altcar, formerly demised to 

 Robert Molyneux and William his son at a rent of 

 £6 13/. 4d'., but 100/. was to be allowed to the cele- 

 brant of divine offices in the chapel, in accordance 

 with the lease of 1537." 



Sir Thomas Hesketh, attorney of the Court of Wards 

 and Liveries, and Thomas Ireland, learned in the law, 

 had, in 1 604, after perusal of the charters, decided that 

 all persons dwelling on lands at any time belonging to 

 Merivale Abbey were free of toll and duty in all fairs, 

 markets, towns, and villages ; and the earl of Derby, as 

 lord lieutenant, accordingly gave instructions that the 

 inhabitants of Altcar should enjoy this immunity." 



Three of those whose estates were confiscated by 

 the Parliament in 1652 were described as 'of Altcar' : 

 Edward Gore, who had land in Lydiate, Henry 

 Lovelady, and John Tickle." 



The hearth tax assessors in 1666 found only four 

 houses here with three hearths or more." 



Thomas, son of Cuthbert Formby of Formby, regis- 

 tered a leasehold estate here in i 71 7 as a ' Papist.""" 



In 1720 Edward Fazakerley had a lease of land here 

 from Lord Molyneux ; also of Hill House, lately in 

 the possession of Nicholas Fazakerley, deceased." 



A court-baron used to be held in May, and an 

 adjourned court in October;" the tenants of the manor 

 were bound to the service of clearing the marshes. 

 No courts are held now. 



The earliest record of any church or 

 CHURCH chapel at Altcar is that in the lease of 

 1429, already given, but there can be 

 little doubt that religious worship had been main- 

 tained in the manor-house, to which the chapel would 



to certain lands which were in dispute 

 between the latter and the abbot. The 

 situation of this debatable area is thus 

 described ; Upon the south part of the 

 new ditch between DownhoUand and 

 Altcar, beginning at the Frith Gate in the 

 south end of Helmescough, along this 

 new ditch to the north-west, then along 

 the old ditch to Helmescough Wood, 

 along the wood ditch to Holland Cause- 

 way, and so to the Black Mere, which is 

 common to the two townships ; Croxteth 

 D. A. 18. Improvements of the moss- 

 lands seem to have been the cause of the 

 disputes. 



^ The abbot described his boundaries as 

 follows : From a certain place called 

 Horse Hook (or Horse Plecks) near Barton 

 Pool (DownhoUand Brook) where the 

 division between the parish of Halsall 

 and Altcar begins, thence to Frith Stone, 

 thence to Wildmerc Pool, thence by a 

 'ri\er' to Drj'thalt a/ias Alepool, along 

 Dr>'thalt between the Frith, the Acres, 

 Hyndeford Meadow, and the Gore in 

 succession on one side, and Lydiate on the 

 other side, as far as Holy Beck Lane ; 

 and then between the Priest Meadow and 

 Sholy Wyke in Altcar and MaghuU down 

 to Great Alt. Places to the north and 

 east of these bounds were in Halsall 

 pari^h, those to the south and west 

 being in Altcar parish ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Depositions, Hen. VIII, xxiii, m. i. 



■■' Croxteth D. A. 



* The arbitrators went to view the 

 disputed mossland several times, and 



called before them sixteen 'old and 

 ancient' men of Altcar, who all gave the 

 bounds as stated by the abbot. These 

 said that the Frith stone had lately been 

 taken away or hidden — by the defendant, 

 as they supposed. The defendant's wit- 

 nesses described the boundary thus ; From 

 the Frith Gate north-west to the Black 

 Brow, west to the old ditch, along this to 

 the wood ditch, by this to Holland Causey 

 straight to the Black Mere, where they of 

 DownhoUand used to ' intercommon.' 



* Or, Goodleys Mere. 



* Duchy of Lane. Depositions (as 

 above) J Croxteth D. A. 17. 



Henry Gore, then tenant of the Gore 

 House in Altcar, was still to be at liberty 

 to put his cattle to pasture on the moss 

 from the Holland Causey. 



« Ibid. A. 37. ' Ibid. A. 35. 



" Croxteth D. A. 24.. The result of the 

 inquiry was that the spiritualities were 

 worth £6 13*. 4^. and the temporalities 

 £^0 a year. £^6 1 31. 4^. was the rent 

 the monks had been accustomed to receive 

 from Altcar ; A/sn. .^ng/. v, 483. 



» Croxteth D. A. 28 ; Pat. 4 and 5 Phil, 

 and Mary, pt. v. 



" Croxteth D. A. 29, 12. 



^1 The clear value of Altcar in 1623 was 

 considered to be ,^30 I 5J. ^d. ; Lanes. Inq. 

 p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes. & Ches.), iii, 389. 



The Wood House in Altcar — supposed 

 to have been the predecessor of Hill 

 House — with its appurtenances was in 

 1580 leased to Richard Radcliffe, who 

 married Bridget Caryll, the widow of the 



224 



above-named William Molyneux (who 

 predeceased his father), and his son 

 Richard. All 'the old ancient and ac- 

 customed rent and services * were to be 

 rendered; Croxteth D. A. 15. Theprcvio\i« 

 lessee was James Halsall, deceased. 



The Old Gore, in Gore Houses, was 

 in 1587 leased by Sir Richard Molyneux 

 to his uncle John Molyneux, ancestor of 

 Molyneux of New Hall and Alt Grange, 

 with the usual liberties of pasture and 

 turbary and also the right to dig for marl 

 to be used upon the tenement ; also ' with 

 housebote, hcdgebote, utongsbote, firebote, 

 heybote, and cartbote, to be taken in and 

 upon the premises and to be used and spent 

 upon the same.' Ibid. A. 16, 



" Croxteth D. A. 25. 



"Ibid. A. 22. James I in 1613 con- 

 firmed these privileges ; ibid. Bishop 

 Gastrell states : 'The inhabitants of this 

 township pay no toll in markets nor any- 

 thing to county bridges ' ; Not. Critr. 

 (Chet. Soc), ii, 163. 



*"* Index of Royalists (Index Soc), 4.2 4. 

 For Edward Gore see Roy. Com. Pap. (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 87. Nothing 

 seems recorded of the 'delinquency ' of the 

 others — probably it was religious. 



1* Lay Subs. Lanes. 250-9. 



"> Eagl. Cath. Non-jurors, 155. 



'? Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 206, 

 quoting 4th Roll of Geo. I at Preston. 

 They were of the family of Fazakerley of 

 Kirkby. 



" Held in 1836 ; so Bainei, Lanes. 

 (ist ed.),iv, 232-3. 



