A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



The descent of WOOLSTON corresponds with that 

 of the neighbouring manor of Poulton. 



MJNOR Both were in 1 094 bestowed upon the 

 abbey of St. Peter of Shrewsbury by 

 Count Roger of Poitou,' and both passed — pro- 

 bably by purchase — to the lord of Makerfield about 

 the reign of Henry II. From that date Woolston was 

 held by a number of free tenants as of the barony of 

 Newton in Makerfield. The names of those exist- 

 ing between 1 175 and 1 182 are recorded in a charter 

 of Ralph, abbot of Shrewsbury, granting to them in 

 fee the riddings or assarts of the ' Eyes ' lying within 

 a ditch by the water of Mersey for 2 1 pence yearly, 

 and one ' land ' or acre strip from each tenant for 

 ever as an obit.' In 1292 two- 

 thirds of the manor were held 

 by Robert de Woolston, whose 

 ancestors had been enfeoffed by 

 Robert Banastre, sometime lord 

 of Newton in Makerfield.' The 

 remaining third part was held 

 by Richard de Moston, lord of 

 Poulton, in right of his wife 

 Alice, daughter of Gilbert de 

 Haydock, whose ancestor had 

 likewise been enfeoffed by Robert 

 Banastre.' This third part de- 

 scended in the same succession 



as the manor of Poulton. Some considerable part of 

 it was held in 1292 by Richard son of Emma de 

 Woolston by the yearly service of 8/.' 



Robert son of Orm de Woolston, who was living 

 in 1293," had issue by Alice his wife four sons, Adam, 

 father of Agnes, by his wife Ellen, whom he divorced;' 

 Richard his heir, living in 1 3 1 3, when he was suing 

 Richard de Moston and Alice his wife for making 

 sale and destruction in their common wood and tur- 

 bary in Woolston;' Simon, living in 1309 ;' and John, 

 described as John son of Robert Ormeson '° in 1 3 18, 

 when Hugh de Woolston recovered against him and 



Woolston of Wools- 

 ton. Argent^ a luolf 

 pasiant sjhlc. 



Alice his mother two messuages in this vill." In 

 1326 and 1332 Richard de Woolston, Richard and 

 Robert de Martinscroft, Simon son of Robert, Henry 

 le Wolf and John de Hepay were the principal owncn 

 of land." In 1349 Emma, relict of Richard de 

 Woolston, was claiming her dower in the manor of 

 Woolston against Robert de Woolston her son and 

 Alice his wife, and in six messuages, 36 acres of land, 

 and 30/. of rent in this vill against Alice, relict of 

 Henry le Wolf.'' Robert de Woolston ' of the Ferny- 

 heued,' died before 1367, in which year Agnes hit 

 relict was sued by Thomas de Southworth for a mes- 

 suage and 100 acres of land which she held in dower, 

 and for waste which she had made in the wood of 

 Woolston." 



In 1359 the abbot of Shrewsbury brought a writ 

 of novel disseisin before the justices at Lancaster 

 against Robert son of Robert de Woolston touching 

 tenements here, but did not prosecute his writ." 

 Four years later the abbot successfully traversed the 

 finding of an inquest taken for the king to the effect 

 that one of the king's progenitors had given a plat 

 of land, called Wyldegreve, a fishery in the manor, 

 and 20/. of rent in Woolston, to find a monk to 

 celebrate divine service daily for ever in the chapel 

 of Wyldegreve for the souls of the kings of England, 

 which chantry had been withdrawn for many years 

 past, the lands being worth yearly 2p. and the 

 fishery 20/. An inquest found that the abbot and 

 his predecessors had held the tenements time out of 

 mind of the gift of Ranulf, earl of Chester, in free 

 alms, whereupon judgement was given for the abbot 

 with restitution of the tenements, the issues, and the 

 fishery.'" 



The descent of the family of Woolston is some- 

 what obscure during this time." In 1 40 1 Hugh de 

 Woolston was in possession of the manor." By the 

 marriage of his daughter Annabel (or Elizabeth) to 

 John de Hawarden of Hawarden, co. Flint, the 

 manor passed to the last-named family.'" In 1432 



' Farrer, Lanci. Pipe R. 270 et acq. 



« Ibid. 2S7. 



' Assize R. 408, m. 4.1 d. About the 

 year iz8$ Robert Banastre gave to Robert 

 dc Samlesbury j acres of land with 

 common of pasture in Woolston, begin- 

 ning at the Lache towards the north by 

 Levynges Croft and continuing between 

 the moss and the broolc until 3 acres were 

 fully completed ; Raines MSS. (Chet. 

 Lib.), xxxviii, 4.03, tt. 2. 



In 1290 Robert lord of Woolston ci- 

 changed land in Woolston for other land 

 between Helecroft on the east and the 

 Outlone on the west, with William de 

 Midelton and Ameria his wife, daughter 

 of Robert le Boteler, of whose inheritance 

 it was ; Towneley MS. HH, n. 1835. 



As Robert, lord of Woolston, he gave 

 to Robert son of Orm de Pesforlonc in 

 fee 2 plats of land in Woolston, viz. (i) be- 

 ginning at the land formerly Adam dc 

 Midelton's on the north, following the 

 ditch which the same Robert raised there 

 towards the east, to the highway leading 

 from Poulton to the wood of Femiheued, 

 and so following the ditches on the south 

 against the highway to the land of Adam 

 le Rede of Rixton ; (2) beginning at the 

 same highway on the west, following in 

 length by the land of Peter de Midelton 

 to the land of Andrew de Midelton, and 

 to the land of William Fox on the east, 

 following ditches southward to the Out- 

 lone, with estovers and pannage quit in the 



wood of Femiheued for 8t/. at St. Peter's 

 Chains. See Raines MSS. xxxviii, 41 1 (i). 



* Assize R. 408, m. 41 d, 60. 



' Ibid. m. 62 d. ; also m. 6 and m. 

 631/. In 1323 William de Moston re- 

 leased to Robert son of William son of 

 Tylle (Tillesson) 9J acres in Woolston 

 and Poulton, which Richard de Moston 

 father of William gave to Richard son of 

 Emma ; Raines MSS. xxxviii, 407, n. 3. 

 See Cal. Clou R. 1288-96, p. 252. 



' Land. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 276, 



'i Assize R. 423, m, i d. 



8 De Banc. R. 198, m. 56. 



• Assize R. 423. 



"> In 1343 Robert son of Richard de 

 Moston gave to Cecily daughter of Robert 

 del Wode and to Richard her eldest son 

 and his issue the lands and buildings in 

 Woolston and Poulton which had belonged 

 to Alice daughter of Richard Ormesson, 

 mother of the said Cecily, with remainders 

 to John son of Matthew de Southworth 

 by Agnes Drynkale, to Gilbert son of the 

 said Matthew, to Godith and Margery 

 daughters of the said Matthew ; Raines 

 MSS. xxxviii, 409, n. 2. 



'^ De Banc R. 221, m. 57 </. ; R. 223, 

 m. 119. 



'^ Lanes. Lay Sub. bdle. 1 30, n. 5 and 

 6. In Michaelmas term, 1328, Wil- 

 liam Lambe of Warrington sued in 

 the King's Bench for 20 marks debt, 

 Richard de Woolston, Richard son of 



Robert dc Martinscroft, Richard son of 

 Gilbert of the same place, John de Hepay 

 of Woolston, Robert son of Roger de 

 Woolston, Henry le Wolf of Woolston, 

 and Richard de Standys of Orford ; De 

 Banc. R. 275, m. 152 ; 276, m. 190. 



" De Banc. R. 357, m. iiid. 



" Ibid. R. 429, m. 453 ; 432, m. 347. 

 In 1353 Thomas son of Gilbert de South- 

 worth withdrew a plea against Richard 

 son of Robert de Woolston of the Ferny- 

 head and Agnes relict of Robert de 

 Woolston ; Assize R. 435, m. 4. In 

 1336 Agnes daughter of Simon son of 

 Robert son of Orme released to Thomas 

 de Southworth a messuage in the Ferny- 

 head in Woolston ; Towneley MS. HH, 

 n. 1934. 



^^ Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 7, m. 6. 



"Co. Plac. Lane. No. 10. See Cil. 

 Close R. 1327-30, p. 478. 



^^ In a complaint by Thomas Hawarden 

 the elder in I5i6(?) his pedigree is thus 

 traced : Richard de Woolston— s. Richard 

 — 8. Hugh — 8. Robert — s. Hugh— d. An- 

 nabel — s. Thomas Hawarden, the plaintiff, 

 who had a son Thomas ; Star Chamb. 

 Proc. Hen. VIII, xxv, 330, vi», 247. 



" Pal. of Lane. Plea R. i, m. 7. 



"In 1427 Richard Walker, rector of 

 Warrington, and other feoffees restored 

 certain of Hugh de Woolston's lands in 

 Martinscroft to him, with remainder to 

 Annabel, his daughter, wife of John de 

 Hawarden ; Towneley MS. GO, «. u65- 



