A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Alexander Hesketh, and Roger Bostock, lords of the 

 manor and parish of Aughton, concerning the election 

 of officers within the parish. 



The hall afterwards became the property of the 

 Stanleys of Hooton, owners of Moor Hall ; on the 

 sale of their esUtes in 1840 it was bought by 



Gaskell of Wigan ; in 1 8 5 7 it was again sold, 



to Edgar Musgrove, and after his death to Thomas 

 Seddon.' 



3. Bleddyn de Aughton was succeeded by his son 

 Madoc, who had three sons — Einion (sometimes sur- 

 named Gam), Wido or Guy, and Madoc. Several 

 charters of the elder Madoc have been preserved.' 

 Einion son of Madoc was twice married. By his 

 first wife he had two daughters, Margaret who mar- 

 ried Henry de Litherland, and Nesta (or Nigella) 

 who married Owen Seys ; ' by his second wife he 

 had a son John * and a daughter Dionysia.' 



About 1 320 the next Henry de Litherland demised 

 to Margaret his mother for life all his lands in 

 Aughton, except his field of Stockbridge, with services, 

 escheats, reliefs, &c., and the half of the wastes and 

 waters.' Henry's wife was Joan, and probably his 

 son was the Henr}- de Litherland who in 136 1 gave 

 a yearly rent of [^zo from his lands in Aughton to 

 William de Stanley and Agnes his wife, the widow of 

 John de Lascelles.' Eight years later William de 



Stanley gave to Agnes de Beckington,' formerly wife 

 of Henry de Litherland, lands in Wallasey, while 

 Agnes gave to William lands she had in Storeton in 

 Wirral.' Henry — apparently the same — was living in 

 1 37 1, when a re-feoffment of his lands in Liscard was 

 made to him ;'° and a little later a settlement of his 

 Cheshire lands was made upon John his son, with 

 remainders to his other children, Matthew and 

 Katherine." 



The Litherland family continued to hold lands in 

 Aughton down to the sixteenth century. In 1 548 

 William Bradshaw, of Uplitherland, released to Peter 

 Litherland his right in certain lands there;" but it 

 would appear from what has been stated above that 

 most, if not all, of the Litherland estate was, not long 

 afterwards, sold to the Irelands of Lydiate," who ac- 

 quired portions of other estates also." 



The Ireland estate continued to descend with 

 Lydiate, passing to the Andertons and Blundells in 

 succession. At the exchange of lands in 1772 by 

 Robert Blundell of Ince and his son Henry, the lands 

 in Aughton, including HoUinhurst, were given to the 

 earl of Sefton." 



The second of the sons of Madoc son of Bleddyn 

 was Guy, who renounced England for Wales and was 

 killed in or before September, 1282, while accom- 

 panying some Welshmen fighting against Edward I. 



1 Newstcad, Augbnn^ 87. 

 ' In one he granted to Einion his son 

 all the land which Thomas son of Coke- 

 mon held in Aughton and a third of the 

 Moor Hev; Towneley MS. OO. n. 1363 ; 

 K.uerden,'fol. MS. (Chet. Lib.) K.. p. 38. 

 See also Towneley 00, B. 1428. Kucrden 

 fol. MS. 449, n. 64. One grant was of 

 land on Cock Beck, beginning at Blake- 

 ford ; Kuerden, fcl. MS. p. 38. 



' In 1 292 the latter farmed all her 

 land for twenty years to Henry de Lither- 

 land ; Towneley MS. OO, n. 1358. 



* John married Alice daughter of Alan 

 dc Lascelles ; Towneley MS. OO, n. 

 1 3 50. 



^ Alter his death some dispute arose 

 as to a moiety of 22i. rent and lands in 

 Aughton, but in 1 292 the younger chil- 

 dren secured their right ; Assize R. 408, 

 m, 8. 



The claim of Thomas de Formby and 

 Eleanor his wife to a third of the manor 

 seems to refer to this portion, Eleanor 

 being probably daughter and heir of John 

 son of Einion ; Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 183. 



It seems possible also that the Dionysia 

 who married Richard son of William 

 Bymmcson of Formby was the daughter 

 of Einion \ ICuerden, fol. MS. 448, n. 6 1 2. 

 « Towneley MS. OO, n. 1359 (the date 

 given, 14 Edw. I, is probably an error for 

 14 Edw. II). A grant to Henry from 

 Adam le Flesheur mentions the road from 

 Lydiate to Ormskirk, and the lands of 

 Robert Wolvesey and William Pigin ; 

 Ince Blundell D. A re-feofFment in 1331 

 mentions his lands at Stockbridge, Hasel- 

 wall, and Oldfield end ; Kuerden's fol, 

 MS. p. 449, 1. 9. 



' Kuerden's fol. MS. 249, n. \\. 

 ^ Henry de Litherland and Agnes his 

 wife were defendants in a Cheshire plea 

 in 1369 ; Ormerod, CA«. (ed. Helsby), 

 ii, 451. 



* Kuerden's fol. MS. 4"5, n. 73 ; Orme- 

 rod, Cha. (ed. Helsby), ii, 446-7. 



i« Kuerden fol. MS. 315,0.77. He 

 was alive in 1375 ; Towneley MS. OO, 



" Kuerden foL MS. 137, n. 109. 

 The following notes may be useful : 

 John de Litherland was in 1404 pardoned 

 i^or a share in the Percy rising ; he ap- 

 pears on the Recognizance Rolls of 

 Ches. down to 14 16 ; Dep. Keeper^ s 

 Rep. zxix, App. 63 ; Rep. xxxvi, App. 

 463. In 1410 he was executor of the 

 will of the bishop of Sodor and Man \ 

 Towneley MS. OO, n. 1355. About the 

 same time John de Meols of Wallasey, 

 lord of Great Meols, made a grant to 

 Isabel, daughter of John son of Henry 

 dc Litherland ^ Towneley MS. GG. n. 

 2592. John had a dispute with the abbot 

 of St. Werburgh's in 1403 as to the pre- 

 sentation to Wallasey church ; Ormerod, 

 Chei. (ed. Helsby), ii, 477. His widow 

 Alice sued Henry de Litherland for dower 

 in 1426 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxix, App. 

 79. Sec also Ches. Sheaf [itr. 3), ii, 197. 

 His son Henry appears on the Recog- 

 nizance Rolls, &c., from 1427 to 1445, as a 

 commissioner or collector ; Dep. Keeper's 

 Rep. xxxvi, App. 463-4. He was a 

 godfather in 1412 ; and had a 'dies 

 amoris ' for settlement with John Launce- 

 lyn in 1422 ; Ormerod, Ches. (cd. Helsby), 

 "1 496, 774- He continued the suit as 

 to the Wallasey rectory. 



Edmund Litherland was bound over 

 to keep the peace towards the abbot of 

 St. Werburgh's, Chester, between 1464 

 and 1476 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 

 463-4. 



Henry de Litherland and his son John 

 made a grant in 1476 ; Towneley MS. 

 00, n. 1342. John Litherland occurs on 

 the Recognizance Rolls from 1476 to 

 1512 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 

 464, and xixix, 178. In 1 517 he made 

 a grant of lands in Wallasey on the 

 marriage of Robert, son and heir of Peter 

 Litherland, with Elizabeth, daughter and 

 heiress of Nicholas Page and Emma his 

 wife ; Kuerden fol. MS. 249, n. 21. 



The parentage of Peter Litherland, the 

 heir of the properties, docs not appear. 

 His son Robert died in 1557, leaving 

 as his son and heir John, the vendor of 

 .Aughton, then aged about eighteen 



298 



months j Dep, Keeper i Rep, xxix, App, 



178. 



1^ Kuerden, fol, MS. 475, n. 70, 72. 

 ^ A fine of 1588 mentions John 

 Litherland's wife £Uen ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 50, m. 14.6. The Wal- 

 lasey estates were sold by Edward Lither- 

 land ; Tram, Hist, Soc. (New Ser.), vii- 

 viii, 13, Hi >*» 38, 71- 



Lawrence Ireland in 1596 complained 

 that Henry Stanley of Bickerstaife and 

 others had disseised him of lands called 

 Litherland's earth, and Bear Hill, and the 

 Five or Fye lands, formerly belonging to 

 Robert Litherland and afterwards to his 

 son John, from whom the plaintiff had 

 bought them ; Duchy of Lane. Pleadings, 

 Eliz. clxxii, 1,2. From another complaint 

 it appears that John Litherland was in 

 possession of HoUinhurst in 1586, and 

 afterwards sold his lands to Lawrence Ire- 

 land, to whom the lessee continued to pay 

 the reserved rent ; Duchy of Lane. Plead- 

 ings, Eliz. clxv), S. 25. 



1^ The Irelands also purchased lands in 

 Aughton when William Bradshagh began 

 the dispersal of his estate ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Pleadings, Eliz. clxxxvii, B. I. 



Lawrence Ireland of Lydiate purchased 

 some of the Beconsaw inheritance from 

 Anthony and Joan Browne in 1556, and 

 from Dorothy Huddleston and her husband 

 Edmund in 1561 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of 

 F. bdle. 16, m. 95 (16 messuages, 100 

 acres of land, &c.) ; and bdle. 23, m. 68 

 (20 messuages, land, &c.). The purchase 

 of 1556 was resold in the next year to 

 Sir Richard Molyneux. 



When he bought the manor of Eggcr- 

 garth from James Scarisbrick in x$4-^ 

 Lawrence Ireland appears also to have 

 purchased lands in Aughton 5 at the in- 

 quest taken after his death his lands were 

 said to be held of the earl of Derby, by 

 services unknown ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. xi, n. 33. It does not appear that 

 any * manor* was claimed — sec, for in- 

 stance. Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanci. 

 and Ches.), i, 127 ; but in 1657 Lawrence 

 Ireland was one of the three lords of 

 Aughton. " Croxtcth D. 



