A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Before the Conquest Aughton con- 



MJS'ORS tained two manors — Aughton in the 



south and Litherland in the north. 



Uctred, in 1066, held Achetun, and Uctred, perhaps 



the same person, held Literknd ; in each case the 



assessment was a plough-land and the value ^zd} 



After the Conquest LITHERLAND seems to have 

 been included in the royal demesne or held in thegnage 

 at a rent or service of 10/. a year.' About the middle 

 of the twelfth century it was granted to Warin de 

 Lancaster, chief forester, by the serjeanty of keeping 

 the lord's falcons.' The thegnage tenant would hold 

 it of him. The mesne lordship did not endure very 

 long, for though King John, while count of Mortain 

 and afterwards as king, confirmed Uplitherland to 

 Warin's descendant, Henry de Lea, in 1207 he ex- 

 changed this manor and Liverpool for that of English 

 Lea in Amoundemess.' From this time the thegnage 

 tenant again held directly of the lords of the honour 

 of Lancaster. 



The first of these tenants whose name is known was 

 Richard le Waleys, who aho held a third of the manor 

 of Aughton. In I 2 I 2 it was found that he was hold- 

 ing a ploughland in Litherland for 10/. He died in 

 I 22 1, and his son and heir Richard agreed to pay 40/. 



— four times the annual rent — as his relief, and was 

 placed in possession.' He had also four oxgangs of 

 land in Whittle and a quarter of Dalton.' His 

 father's widow Quenilda was 'of the King's donation, 

 and her land was worth half a mark." In 1235 he 

 was one of the patrons of the rectory of Aughton,' 

 and was still living ten years later when he was 

 defendant in a suit brought by Henry de Standish.' 



After the death of Richard, a Robert le Waleys 

 appears to have been the principal member of the 

 family ; '" possibly he was a brother and held some 

 part of the manor, acting as guardian to John le 

 Waleys of Litherland, the son and heir of Richard, 

 who lived on till the beginning of the next century, 

 and was after his death said to have been a 'cen- 

 tenarian.'" John held Uplitherland in 1297, pay- 

 ing the old rent of 10/." Before 1303, however, he 

 had been succeeded by his son Richard." 



Richard married Maud, daughter of Robert dc 

 Bold of Bold, and was still holding the manor by 

 the old service in 1323-4;" in 1329, however, 

 Maud was a widow." 



Richard Walsh succeeded.'^ His name occurs as 

 witness to deeds down to 1 361. He left two 

 daughters — Maud, who married Roger son of Richard 



the interest on a sum of ^^21 91. derived 

 from the sale of marl from one of the fields. 

 In addition, a sum of ^^'^'o, of unknown 

 origin, belonging to the poor of the parish, 

 was secured upon the tolls of the turnpike 

 road from Liverpool to Preston ; this was 

 paying 4J per cent. The whole amount 

 was distributed on the Monday after 

 Christmas and Good Friday. 



At the inquiry held in April, 190 1, it 

 was found that a parcel of moss land had 

 been added (due to enclosures) to the 

 original lands of Sutch's charity, and the 

 whole (10 acres) was let for ,^25, out of 

 which taxes and repairs had to be paid. 

 No tithes were demanded from this land. 

 The Poor's Money of ^^60 could be traced 

 back to 1787 ; it is probably the fund 

 referred to by Bishop Gastrell, and may 

 include the ^10 bequeathed by Rector 

 Stananought. It has been increased by 

 sales of marl and from other sources, and 

 now amounts to ;^i6l, invested in a 

 Mersey Dock bond. A further addition 

 has been made by Alexander Wotherspoon, 

 of Sandlield, Wallasey, who by his will 

 (proved 1809) left ^50 to the rector of 

 Aughton, the interest to be given in bread 

 to the poor. This is invested with the 

 above sum, and all three are administered 

 as one, under the title of the ' United 

 Charities.' The rector and the parish 

 council having agreed upon a scheme, it 

 was sanctioned by the Charity Commis- 

 sioners in Sept. 1898. The trustees are 

 the rector, three nominees of the parish 

 council and one of the rector. There 

 are so few poor in the parish that it is 

 difficult to find objects for the charity 

 without having recourse to those in receipt 

 of outdoor relief. 



The Rev. George Vanbrugh bequeathed 

 ^3,000 as a memorial of himselfj ' which 

 might be beneficial to some of the poor 

 inhabitants of a place where his duties 

 were so long a labour of love.' His sugges- 

 tion was that almshouses should be built. 

 The lord of the manor granted a site, the 

 Church field, and seven almshouses were 

 built. One of the houses is occupied by 

 the parish nurse. There is a sum of 

 j^2,ooo belonging to this charity, produc- 

 '°K £^^ a year ; i 51. a month is paid to 

 each of the almspeople, and other gifts are 



made ; funeral expenses also are defrayed. 

 The beneficiaries are usually women and 

 must be members of the Church of England, 

 according to the founder's desire. 



Margaret Williams, widow, in 1878, 

 left ;^ioo, the interest to be applied to 

 the sick poor in Christ Church district. 



Catherine Bland of Aughton, by her 

 will (dated 1893 and proved 1899), de- 

 vised her land in Bold Lane, with * an 

 earnest request ' that it should not be sold 

 or built upon, and that out of the rent 

 ^12 should be paid to the churchwardens 

 for distribution among twelve elderly 

 persons of the parish church district. 

 The request has been acted upon by the 

 legatee. 



1 y.C.H. Lanes, i, p. 28+4. 



* Lanes. In^. and Extents (Rec. Soc, 

 Lanes, and Ches.), p. 27. 



It contributed a mark to the tallage of 

 1 177 ; Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 36. 



" See the account of Raven Meols. 



< Ibid. p. 116, 123; Charter R. 9 

 John, m. 6. 



» Fine R. 6 Hen. Ill, m. 9. 



' He granted part of his land in Dalton 

 to Burscough Priory j Burscough Reg. 

 fol. 35. 



7 Inf. and Extents, I 27. 



s Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 63. 



' Originalia R. 29 Hen. Ill, m. 6. 



1" He was witness to a number of the 

 early Scarisbrick charters ; but may have 

 been of the Waleys of Lathom family. 



" Dods. MSS. xxxix, fol. 140 b. See 

 the account of Melling chapel. 



John le Waleys was a benefactor of 

 Burscough, granting the prior and canons 

 a portion of his land near the northern 

 boundary of Litherland, with common of 

 pasture and other easements and liberties 

 in both Aughton and Litherland ; Bur- 

 scough Reg. fol. 36. Another charter 

 varied this grant, the words ' the boundary 

 between Hurleton and Litherland ' being 

 changed to ' Nazelarwe' and Litherland, 

 and free passage being reserved for the 

 grantor and his heirs and the tenant of his 

 land by Nazelarwe syke, to till and carry 

 away the produce of this land ; ibid. fol. 

 36 i. Further grants included Walsh- 

 croft, its bounds commencing at an oak 



292 



marked with a cross, and land in Aughton 

 adjoining Halsall, and next to lands held 

 by Simon de Ince and Adam de Bootle the 

 mason (' cementarius ') ; this last grant is 

 noteworthy for the easements, which in- 

 cluded ' housebote and heybote of oak and 

 other timber trees in the thick wood 

 ("nemus") of Aughton and Litherland, 

 except the shaw of Lamylache, which 

 must not be cut ' ; ibid. fol. 38. 



" In J. and Extents, 288. 



" Scarisbrick charters, Trans. Hist. Sue, 

 (New Ser.) xii, xiii. 



In 13 16 John, son of Simon, son of 

 Mabel, demised to Richard ten acres in 

 the townfields of Litherland, lying between 

 Mahount field and ' Crawachay,' which 

 divides Litherland from Halsall ; Charter 

 at Ince Blundell. 



" Dods. MSS. cxxxi, fol. 34. Richard's 

 name is among those returned by the 

 sheriff at this time as holding 15 librates 

 of land ; Palgrave, Mi/, f^rits, ii (i), 

 638. He was also a ' sub-custos pacis' 

 for the wapentake ; ibid, ii (2), 238. 



^* The marriage covenant was early in 

 1322 confirmed by a fine, which describes 

 his property as the manor of Litherland, 

 a fourth part of the manor of Dalton, and 

 a third part of the manor of Aughton and 

 the advowson of the church ; while the 

 two former and the advowson were settled 

 upon his issue by Maud, the third part of 

 Aughton was to descend to his son John 

 for life and then to another son Richard 

 and his heirs ; Final Cone, ii, 46. 



Maud his widow in 1329 demised 

 to her father, ' Richard ' de Bold, all the 

 lands as well in demesne as in service, 

 with wardships and other rights which 

 she had in dower ; Kuerden, fol. MS. 

 p. 448, n. 569. 



'* whether he was the son Richard 

 mentioned in the preceding note or 2 

 younger son is not clear. 



The third part of the manor of Augh- 

 ton continued to descend with Litherland. 

 The extent of the county made in 1346 

 states that ' Richard Walsh holds in soc- 

 age a plough-land in Uplitherland, with 

 the advowson of the church of Aughton 

 appurtenant to the same, rendering yearly 

 loj. for all services * ; Survey of 1 346 

 (Chet. Soc), p. 40. 



