WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



ORMSKIRK 



Albert Grelley the elder a plough-land in Flixton, 

 with the church of the manor, to hold as a member 

 of the barony of Manchester.' Henry was succeeded 

 by his son Robert, who at Michaelmas, 1 169, rendered 

 account of 10 marks due by him to the aid to marry 

 the king's daughter.' His most notable act was the 

 foundation of the priory of Burscough in or before 

 ll8g.' He took part in the rebellion of his chief, 

 John, count of Mortain, in 1194, and later in the 

 year paid an instalment of the fine of 20 marks 

 incurred therefor.* He seems to have been married 

 twice ; his widow was Amabel daughter of Simon, 

 who was suing her stepson for dower in 1199. 

 Knowsley and Anglezark were subsequently assigned 

 to her." 



Richard son of Robert succeeded. Early in 1201 

 he had livery of his father's lands, paying for relief of 

 Lathom five marks and a palfrey at Pentecost and 

 the same at Michaelmas.^ The survey of 1 2 1 2 shows 

 that of the three plough-lands which he held de anti- 

 qultate in thegnage by a service of zos., one plough- 

 land, granted to Gospatrick as stated, was then held 

 by Roger son of Gospatrick, his undertenants being 

 Richard and John (l oxgang for 1 2</.) and William de 

 Stainford (3 oxgangs for 3/.) ; one plough-land had 

 been given to Burscough, and half a plough-land was 

 held by Richard de Elsintree for 4/. It would thus 

 appear that only half a plough-land was left in Richard's 

 own hands ; probably the demesne of Lathom.' 



Richard de Lathom confirmed his father's gifts to 

 the canons of Burscough.* His wife's name was Alice; 

 she survived him, and seems to have married Simon 



de Grubehead, who received Childwall, Roby, and 

 Anglezark as her dower." Richard died about 1220 

 and was succeeded by his eldest son Richard, who had 

 livery of his lands by writ dated 27 January, 1221 ; 

 he paid \oo!. for his relief" In 1229 a composition 

 was m.ide between him and Benedict, prior of Bur- 

 scough, as to the corn mills of Lathom and Knowsley, 

 which he held from the canons by a rent of 2/. and 

 also as to Cross Hall." He was a benefactor of 

 Cockersand Abbey." He died in the summer of 1 2 3 2, 

 having no issue by his wife Roesia, whose dower was 

 claimed in the following autumn." 



He was succeeded by his brother Robert, a man of 

 note in the aifairs of the county. He confirmed the 

 charter of Burscough and added the land of Adam de 

 Birkes, which his brother Richard had bequeathed 

 with his body, as well as two other plats." By his 

 marriage with Joan," sister and coheir of Thomas 

 son of Robert de Alfreton, he became possessed of a 

 moiety of her father's estates in Alfreton, Norton, and 

 Marnham, held of the honour of Tickhill.'" She prob- 

 ably died without issue, as these manors did not 

 remain with the Lathom family. Robert was made a 

 knight in I 243 in consequence of the king's writ to 

 enforce knighthood on all who had an estate of fifteen 

 librates of land." In 1249 ^^ county and castle of 

 Lancaster were committed to Sir Robert, during the 

 king's pleasure.'* By this appointment he held the 

 ofiice of sheriff from Easter, 1249, to Michaelmas, 

 1254; he held it again from Easter, 1 264, to Michael- 

 mas, 1265." His second wife was Joan, daughter of 

 Adam de Millom,'" by whom he had several children. 



^ Lanes. Inq, and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 57. See the account 

 of Flixton. His descendants held Child- 

 wall, &c. of the same barony. 



* Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 12, 15. 



^ Ibid. 349. Robert gave a ridding to 

 the nunnery at Chester. In 1534-5 the 

 nuns had a rent of 47. from Lathom. 



* Ibid. 77, 89. He received a grant 

 of Anglezark from Albert Grelley the 

 younger ; Lanes. Inq. and Extents, 58. 



" See the account of Knowsley. 



^ Rot. de Oblatis (Rec. Com.), 116. 

 Richard's name appears earlier, together 

 with his father's, as a witness to the 

 foundation charter of Lytham Priory, 

 between 1189 and 11 94. He was one of 

 the knights who made the survey of 1 2 1 2. 



'Lanes. Inq. and Extents, 16. No- 

 thing further is known of the under- 

 tenants, but it is probable that their 

 holdings are represented by the free rents 

 mentioned below. 



^ Burscough Reg. fol. lb. 



3 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 131; 

 ' Alice, who was the wife of Richard son 

 of Robert, was of the king's donation ; 

 she has been married. Her land is 

 worth 20s.' Also Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 44, 76. For Simon 

 de Grubehead see the account of Scaris- 

 brick. 



I" Fine R. Exeerpts (Rec. Com.), i, 60. 



" The 2J. from the mills was thence- 

 forward to be paid by Lathom Mill, 

 Simon the miller and his successors being 

 chargeable with it ; and ' when the said 

 Richard shall have gone the way of all 

 flesh, the mills shall return to the prior 

 and canons freely and wholly, without 

 gainsay by anyone, and the 2s, paid for 

 the mills shall cease ' ; Burscough Reg, 

 fol. 6. 



" He granted land in the Wythares in 

 Lathom, between the land of Swain on 



the north unto the Mosilache, following 

 this lache to Alton gate, thence to the 

 nearest ditch on the west, and so back 

 to Swain's land ; the brethren's crosses 

 indicate the boundary ; Cockersand Chartul. 

 (Chet. Soc), ii, 595. 



13 Cur. Reg. R. in, m. 16. 



!■* Burscough Reg. fol. 3, 3^. One of 

 these had been held by Stephen son of 

 Richard de Alton ; the bounds began 

 at the ford of Hurleton, ascending the 

 watercourse to Pilatecroft, around this to 

 the watercourse, following this to the 

 church road from Alton ; by this road 

 to Blacklache, by this to Fulshaw, and 

 following Fulshaw to Hurleton Ford ; 

 saving the exit of Richard de Riding 

 from the great lache by Pilatecroft unto 

 the little lache which extends to the 

 ford of Richard. The second grant was 

 of all the land of Richard de Riding, for 

 the fabric {pperi) of the priory church. 

 He also gave half a plough-land in Child- 

 wall to the monks of Stanlaw ; Whalley 

 Coueher (Chet. Soc), ii, 551. 



1* Otherwise Amicia ; Mon. Angi. 

 vi,8. 



"By writ of 11 Feb. 1242, he had 

 seisin of these estates, having done 

 homage and given security for the pay- 

 ment of his relief — £j los., the usual 

 render for a knight's fee and a half. 

 Later (27 May) he proffered ;^ioo and 

 1 5 marks (in lieu of three palfreys) for 

 wardship of the other moiety, belonging 

 to Thomas de Chaworth, son of his 

 wife's sister Alice, and it was granted to 

 him ; Fine R. 26 Hen. Ill, pt. i, m. 9 ; 

 and pt. ii, m. 6. In the Chart. R. 

 of 36 Hen. Ill is the grant of a 

 market at Alfreton to Robert de Lathom 

 and Thomas de Chaworth ; Robert 

 afterwards released to Thomas all his 

 right in the lordship. By the inquest 

 taken about Christmas, 1242, to inquire 



249 



as to the knights* fees which should 

 contribute to the scutage of Gascony, it 

 was found that in Notts, Robert de 

 Lathom held two-thirds of a knight's 

 fee in Alfreton and Norton of Alice, 

 countess of Eu, and half a knight's fee 

 of the earl of Leicester in Edwalton of 

 ancient feoffment ; while in Lanes, he 

 held one fee in Knowsley, Huyton, 

 and Roby of the earl of Lincoln, and 

 other fees in Childwall, Parbold, and 

 Wrightington, of the baron of Manchester ; 

 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 148, 154. 



17 Close R. 56, m. 4^. 



18 Fine R. 33 Hen. Ill, p t. i, m. 7. 

 The grant was repeated in 1254 j Origi- 

 nalia R. i, p. 13. 



19 P.R.O. Lht of Sheriffs, 72. It is 

 possible that he was sheriff continuously 

 from 1249 *o 1255, those whose names 

 appear in the list of sheriffs being his 

 deputies. ]n Sept. 1266, the king ex- 

 cused his coming to give account at the 

 Exchequer for the period during which 

 he had been sheriff, on the ground that 

 he was then, by the king's order, stay- 

 ing in Lanes, with horses and arms to 

 keep watch over the king's peace there ; 

 Close R. 87, m. i. 



20 Chartul. of Beauchief Abbey. In 

 1260 Robert de Lathom and Joan his 

 wife had a dispute with the abbot of 

 Furness concerning the advowson of 

 Millom J Cur. Reg. R. 166, m. zi d. and 

 169, m. 22.' Connected with this mar- 

 riage is the subject of the two coats 

 borne by Robert de Lathom. In a roll 

 of arms (Harl. MS. 6589) of this period 

 he is said to have borne * gules, fretty 

 vair* ; but about 1250 he sealed a charter 

 of manumission of Roger son of Gun- 

 hilda, and this seal bears the coat subse- 

 quently used by the family — *or, on a 

 chief indented azure, three plates.' The 

 former coat may have been that of his 



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