A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



descended or to have been sold with Uplitherland, and 

 is thus held by Sir Tristram Tempest Tempest.' 



2. The share of Madoc de Aughton, ancestor of 

 the Aughton family, is harder to trace. He granted 

 to Einion de Aughton the mill by the pool of Augh- 

 ton and the land of Haylandhurst in exchange for the 

 overflow of tie mill waters.' Madoc his son gave to 

 William son of Jugge land adjoining Cokemonhurst.^ 

 Walter son of Madoc succeeded in or before the time 

 of Edward II.* Walter's heir was his son Thomas,* 

 who in turn was succeeded by Nicholas de Aughton, 

 probably his son or grandson, whose name occurs 

 down to the middle of the reign of Henry IV. He 

 was followed by his son and heir Roger.* Roger was 

 succeeded by his son and heir John de Aughton, 

 whose name occurs as late as 14.68. John probably 

 died without issue. The heir to this portion of the 

 manor and the lands held with it was Nicholas Augh- 



ton, son of Nicholas Aughton and Cecily his wife ; 

 and the latter Nicholas was son of Thomas de Augh- 

 ton, probably uncle or brother of the above-named 

 Roger. Nicholas Aughton the son married Emma, 

 and his son and heir John leaving two daughters, 

 Alice and Margery, the estate was divided between 

 them. Alice, though twice married — one of her hus- 

 bands was named David Griffith ' — died without issue 

 in 1520 ; and thus the whole came into the posses- 

 sion of John Starkie, grandson of Margery, who had 

 married a John Starkie, supposed to have been a 

 younger son of the Stretton family.' 



The will of John Starkie, son of Margery, has 

 been preserved. It is dated in September, 1526, and 

 was proved a year later.* In 1 545 John Starkie, his 

 son, conveyed to trustees his manor and estate in 

 Aughton.'" He died before 1569, when his son and 

 heir Henry was in possession, and said to be 34 years 



' Add. MS. 22644 (quoting ' Col. 

 Plumbc'a evidences'). 



One of the earliest charters relating to 

 this portion of Aughton is that of a grant 

 of land to Cockersand Abbey, made by 

 Richard le Walcys about 1210. The 

 bounds were — From Stanriford down the 

 brook to Slgcrith's pool, up this pool (or 

 brook) to the moor, and so to Stanriford. 

 This was afterwards held of the abbey by 

 John son of Richard of the Cross, who 

 released it to the abbot, granting also the 

 service of Hugh de Mulnclewe for * Her- 

 bert's assart' in Eggergarth. Simon de 

 Halsall also resigned all his claim in 

 Brookfield, apparently the same piece of 

 land ; and Henry le Waleys gave a quit- 

 claim. See Cockenand Cbartul. (Chet. Soc), 

 ii, 544-5, 752. The Walshes of Walsh 

 Hall were long the tenants under the 

 abbots, and after the dissolution under the 

 crown and the earls of Derby. 



The following charter, made about I 270, 

 is the original grant of Stockbridgc House. 

 John le Waleys of Litherland gave to 

 Robert son of Cokemon land within 

 bounds beginning at the road leading from 

 Aughton to Litherland, where a way leads 

 to Stockbridge syke ; along this way to 

 the road from Lydiate to Ormskirk, by 

 this road to the road from Aughton to 

 Halsall, and by the last road to Stockbridge 

 syke, then by the syke to the first-named 

 way ; Kuerden MSS. iii, A. 6, n. i. The 

 same John granted to William son of 

 Hcnr)- son of Wilcock land in Heine 

 HasweU (or Old Haselwall), Woodlache 

 snape, the Turmeris (touching the road 

 from Aughton to Halsall) and other par- 

 cels ; ibid. A. 6, n. 2. 



Some of the above names appear in 

 1267-8, when Robert de Winstanley pro- 

 ceeded against William son of Richard, 

 Thomas Cokemon's son of Haselwall, 

 Robert the Tunwright, Madoc son of 

 Bleddyn and Madoc son of Madoc in a 

 plea concerning common of pasture in 

 Aughton; Cur. Reg. R. 186, m. 19. 

 Cokemon's croft, on the north side of the 

 Hesleniacre, is referred to in a release by 

 Henry son of Henrv' de Aughton to Henry 

 de Litherland, together with the Fluland 

 or Fowland ; Townley MS. OO (in pos- 

 session of W. Farrer), n. 1351 ; Kuerden 

 MSS. ii, fol. 262, n. 37-S. 



* Charter at Ince Blundell. 



' Kuerden MSS. iii, A. I, n. I. 



* He made provision for his younger 

 children by granting a small piece of land, 

 with the appurtenances, to his son Gilbert, 

 with remainders to the latter's brothers 

 David and Richard ; Dods. MSS. cxiii, 

 fol. liyb. Richard de Aughton married 



Katherine de Cowdray, the heiress of 

 North Meols. 



* Some of his charters have been pre- 

 served. One gave to Owen son of William 

 son of Jeui certain land in Aughton ; 

 Add. MS. 32106, n. 57. Another, dated 

 1353, leased to Richard de Litherland the 

 Piatt meadow in the same township for a 

 term of 9 years, the rent being a wreath 

 of roses annually on St. John's Nativity ; 

 Ince Bundell deed in Gibson's Lydiate Hall, 

 p. xxxvi. * This deed was probably exe- 

 cuted at the local court, and the seal is 

 that of the judge, bearing the device of a 

 man's head surrounded by the inscription 

 REVELARI LEGISLANDO.' 



' After the death of Maud, daughter 

 and heir of Robert de Holand and widow 

 of Sir John Lovel, it was found that she 

 had held 6 acres in Aughton of Roger de 

 Aughton, in socage, at a yearly rent of 

 3^/. ; Lanes. In(j. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 2. 



7 It appears that she was his wife about 

 1500. 



^ This account is based upon plead- 

 ings of 1 540 and later years concerning 

 the inheritance. In them Henry Starkie 

 states that Alice Griffith, widow, daugh- 

 ter and one of the heirs of John Aughton, 

 held lands in Aughton, Lathom, Bicker- 

 staffc, Claughton, and Scarisbrick ; that 

 she gave parts, called Shadhouse, Stotfold- 

 shaw, Crawshaw, Coldshaw, Greetby, and 

 Mill House, and 3s. rent, to certain trus- 

 tees for the maintenance of a priest to be 

 named by her, who was to sing in Augh- 

 ton Church for a hundred years, Henry 

 Lcatherbarrow being the first. Henry 

 Starkie was to hold Stotfoldshaw during 

 this term at a rent of z6s. Sd., and his 

 complaint was that John Starkie (his 

 nephew) had taken possession a few 

 months ago, after Alice's death, as being 

 her heir. John Starkie in reply quoted 

 the disposition of this property made by 

 Nicholas, son of Thomas Aughton, by 

 which after the death of himself and 

 Cecily his wife it should descend to their 

 son and heir Nicholas. A later settle- 

 ment was made for the younger Nicholas 

 and his wife Emma, by which it descended 

 to John their son and heir, and so to 

 Margery Starkie and Alice Griffith ; from 

 Margery's son and heir John it had come 

 to defendant as his son and heir. He 

 alleged also that Alice, as wife of David 

 Griffith, had granted the lands in dispute 

 to feoffees for the benefit of her sister's 

 heirs. See Duchy of Lane. Pleadings 

 (n.d.), xix, S. I. 



John Starkie was the next to complain, 

 desiring to upset the trust for the main- 

 tenance of a priest. Sir William Leyland 



296 



was called upon to prove the validity of 

 Alice Griffith's will ; he stated that in 

 Lent, 1529, shortly before her death, she 

 had desired him and Sir Alexander Rad- 

 cliffe of Ordsall to be present at the mak- 

 ing of the will, and that she had told him 

 — Sir Alexander being absent through ill- 

 ness — she had given 4 marks yearly to 

 Henry Starkie, her sister's son, with re- 

 mainder to John Starkie. She did not 

 wish to disinherit the latter ; but he had 

 married without her consent, and there- 

 fore j^4 a year should be paid to a priest 

 to pray for the souls of her parents and 

 husbands until the sum amounted to one 

 half of the marriage (portion) ' after the 

 custom of the country.' Thomas Starkie, 

 aged about 60, then lying at the point of 

 death, having ' received all the rites of 

 holy church as a Christian man ought for 

 to do,' said no such will was made as his 

 brother Henry alleged, but Sir William 

 Leyland's statement was true. From the 

 statements made it appears that the testa- 

 trix was afraid that her nephew and the 

 priest would make a will too favourable 

 to the former; hence her desire to seethe 

 two knights.' In the end, after the priest's 

 yearly fee had been confirmed, the final 

 decree was in favour of John Starkie, 

 Henry Lcatherbarrow not to take any rent 

 from the premises in dispute until he 

 could show a better title ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Depos. Hen. VIII, xli, S. 1 ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Decrees and Orders, 34 Hen. VIII, 

 vii, fol. 150, and 34-35 Hen. VIII, vii, 

 fol. 1844. 



' He desired to be buried at Aughton 

 Church, before the altar of St. Nicholas. 

 He gave his best beast to the rector in 

 the name of principal; also loi. for a 

 trental of masses, to be distributed among 

 the priests, and 6s. id. for the repairs of 

 the church. His lands in Aughton in- 

 herited from his mother were to be to the 

 use of his wife Elizabeth and her children, 

 as also his two houses and moiety of a 

 salthouse in Northwich, and his goods 

 generally. He made a bequest to John 

 Starkie, his son ' unlawfully begotten ' ; 

 also to John Starkie his son and heir, 

 and Lawrence and Margery, his other 

 children; Piccope, Wills (Chet. Soc), 

 i, 6. 



1" Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdlc. 12, 

 m. 120. There was a windmill. In 1550 

 Henry Starkie and Katherine (Halsall) 

 were divorced ; Towneley MS. RR, n. 56. 

 This was a child-marriage. Then in 1553 

 Henry son and heir of John Starkie was 

 ciintracted to marry Isabel daughter of 

 Edward RadclifTe of Todmorden ; Towne- 

 ley MS. DD. n. 634. 



