A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



his thirteen children is unknown. He appears to 

 have died in 1671, when administration was granted, 

 and his daughter Margaret, who married Edward 

 Stanley of Moor Hall, is called his heir ; Moor Hall 

 and Gerard's Hall thus passed into the same owner- 

 ship. 



The MICKERING was one of the estates sold by 

 the Bradshaghs in the reign of Henry V'lII. It was 

 purchased in 1547 by William Laithwaite ; ' a 

 further small portion was acquired in 1552.' 

 William died in 1565, and his son Robert in 1572, 

 when James Laithwaite succeeded to the Mickering.' 

 He died at the beginning of 1 6 1 o, and in his will 

 describes the difficulties he had had, and the heavy 

 payments necessary, before he obtained the estate. 

 These, he considered, amounted almost to a new 

 purchase ; consequently, he and his brother Henry, 

 having no male issue, resolved to put aside the 

 restriction imposed by their father. James willed 

 that the Mickering should go to his grandchild James 

 Buncough, although aware that William, the son of 

 Robert, was desirous to claim under the old entail.' 



James Burscough died in 1633, and the estate 

 descended to his second son Maximilian. The elder 

 brother Gilbert had his estate sequestered for 



' delinquency ' in 1643, and dying next year 

 Maximilian claimed it, conforming to the existing 

 government, but had to petition again in 1652, a 

 new sequestration being enforced.' In 1658 part of 

 it was purchased by John Tatlock of Cunscough from 

 Maximilian, and more in 1682 from his daughten. 

 From John Tatlock (who died in 1 712) this and 

 other estates descended to his son Richard ; and on 

 the latter's death in 1737 to his daughters Elizabeth 

 and Ellen. The latter died unmarried ; the former, 

 ultimately sole heir, married in 1 743 William John- 

 son, vicar of Whalley.' 



There was also a Bochard or Butcher family 

 residing in Aughton, the members of which are 

 mentioned from time to time.* 



One of the free tenants of Aughton about i 300 

 was Adam del Green. He had been a 'native' under 

 the priory of Burscough, and the charter of his 

 manumission has been preserved. By this the prior 

 and convent gave to Adam son of John del Green 

 and all his issue perpetual liberty, so that thence- 

 forward they should be free men of St. Nicholas of 

 Burscough wheresoever they wished to dwell ; for this 

 grant sixpence of silver was to be paid annually to the 

 priory.' 



WARRINGTON 



WARRINGTON 

 BURTONWOOD 



POULTON-WITH-FEARNHEAD 

 WOOLSTON-WITH-MARTINSCROFT 

 RIXTON-WITH-GLAZEBROOK 



The ancient parish of Warrington lies along the 

 northern bank of the Mersey between Sankey Brook 

 and Glazebrook ; the township of Burtonwood, how- 

 ever, lies to the north-west of this area, on the 

 western side of the Sankey. The total area is 

 12,954 acres, and ^^ population numbered 69,339 

 in 1901.' The surface is level and lies low. From 

 Fenketh on the west to Glazebrook on the east, 

 the geological formation consists wholly of the new 

 red sandstone or trias, and mainly of the upper 

 mottled sandstone of the bunter series of that for- 

 mation. In Great Sankey and Burtonwood the pebble 

 beds of the same series occur, and in Rixton-with- 



Glazebrook the keuper series, owing to the effect 

 of a fault running from south-east to north-west 

 through the township. The soil is loamy and fertile, 

 and the neighbourhood has long been famous for 

 potatoes and other vegetables.'" 



For the county lay, fixed in 1624, each of the 

 four townships paid equally, this parish contributing 

 £6 5/. when the hundred gave /'loo." To the ancient 

 fifteenth Warrington itself paid £2 1 21. SJ., Burton- 

 wood 18/. 4a'., Woolston-with-Poulton £1 21. id., 

 Rixton £1 2s. ^d., and Glazebrook 8/., making 

 £6 3.. 8^." 



The history of the parish is largely that of the town 



accusation of recusancy ; notwithstanding 

 his former conviction, he maintained that 

 though his wife was a recusant * he had 

 been brought up in the Protestant religion 

 according to the laws of England ; he was 

 conformable to the Church and Common- 

 wealth of England as the same is now 

 [165 1] established, to the best of his 

 knowledge.' Even in 1644 he had 'fre- 

 quented the church of Liverpool, joined 

 with the congregation there in prayers, 

 hearing the word and receiving the sacra- 

 ment from the hands of Joseph Thomson, 

 then minister there.' In 1652 he pro- 

 fessed that he dared not return to his 

 own county, on account of his debts, he, 

 his wife, and thirteen children being 

 forced to beg their bread. Soon after- 

 wards he took the oath of abjuration, and 

 it is probable that his lands were then 

 restored to him ; Realist Comf. P. (Rec, 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 27-33. I^ 

 some of these he is called *gent,*, and 

 in others * yeoman.' 



1 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 13, 

 m. 278. 



■^ Ibid, bdle. 14, m. 244. The pur- 

 chaser made a settlement in 1563, pro- 

 viding for the succession to his sons 

 James, Henry, Robert, and William in 

 tail male ; the names of the fields are 

 given as Wolton Greves, Green Hey, 

 Gorscy Hey, Oiler Croft, Bog Land, 

 Milne Croft, Washing Hey, Cow Hey, 

 and Geld Grass. 



* He had several lawsuits concerning 

 the property. James Bradshagh in 1516 

 had granted a long lease of the estate 

 which William Bradshagh had in 1535 

 confirmed and extended for sixty years, 

 and the new owner wanted possession ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Pleadings, Eliz. cxxii, 

 L. 2, 3 ; clxxiv, M. 17, 



■* Will at Chester j proved 24 April, 

 1610 ; inventory ^^45. 



* This number includes Latchford, but 

 not Orford. 



^ Royalist Comp. P. i, 257. From 

 the date of Gilbert's death, and the fact 

 that he was buried at Newbury, it will be 

 gathered that he fell, fighting on the 

 Royalist side, Oct. 1644. 



304 



' Much of the information as to this 

 estate ia derived from TAe Tailocht of 

 Cumcough, by A. Patchett {1901). See 

 the account of Melling, For descendants 

 see Burke's Landed Gentry, under Johnson 

 of Temple Belwood and Hughes of 

 Sherdley Hall. 



* The will of John Bochard, clerk, 

 made in 1542, shows that he was of 

 this neighbourhood. He left money 

 for Ormskirk church. He names hii 

 brother Hugh Bochard ; his sister ap- 

 pears to have married one Davy of 

 Chester, and several children are men- 

 tioned ; P.C.C. 20, Spcrt. The name 

 is preserved in Budget's or Butcher's 

 Lane. 



' Towneley MS. OO, n 142+. 



'" BaincB, Lanci. Direct, ii, 587. 



*^ Gregson, Fragments (cd. Harland), 16, 

 22. In Rixton-witJ-Glazebrook the former 

 part of the township paid twice as much as 

 the latter. Poulton and Woolston were 

 treated as one township. 



'" IbiJ. 18; that was when the hundred 

 paid ;f 106. 



