A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



and a fifth of the annual value, estimated at only ^27, 

 was all that was allowed for the maintenance of the 

 children." Edward and his wife Esther were re- 

 turned as recusants in 1679,' and their son Thomas 

 registered his estate as a ' Papist 'in 171 7.' In 1 700, 

 however, the manor had been sold to Richard Bold, 

 and became merged in the superior lordship already 

 held by him.' 



The grant oi BURTON HE JD by Siegrith de Sut- 

 ton to Gilbert son of Henry de Haydock has been 

 mentioned.' Towards the end of the thirteenth cen- 

 tury Robert, son of Gilbert de Haydock, gave to 

 William, son of Adam de Burtonhead, a portion of 

 his land in Fernylea in Burtonhead,* but soon 

 the Haydocks gave place to Norrises. The grant just 

 named shows that there was a local family besides.' 



Alan le Norreys, whose sons Henry and Gilbert 

 afterwards acquired by marriage the superior lordship, 

 was in possession as early as 1246, when he appears 

 as one of the lords of Sutton, complaining of a dis- 

 seisin.* He was succeeded by his son Robert about 

 1276, and then the name of Robert le Norreys — 

 there being apparently two persons successively 

 bearing the name, father and son — occun for over 

 fifty years,' being succeeded by Nicholas son of 

 Robert, who is found as plaintiff as early as 13 19;"" 

 he died about 1349, his widow Emma appearing in 

 a suit in 1351." By virtue of a certain entailing 

 deed he was succeeded by Robert son of Nicholas le 

 Norreys, then a minor. This Nicholas, called 'of 

 Burtonhead,' lived until 1367, and then followed 

 Robert, born about 1335." Robert had sons Thomas 



1 Royaliii Camp. P. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), iii, 240-4^ Ralph Holland, of 

 Eccleston, probably an offshoot of the 

 Sutton family, on finding his estate se- 

 questered for recusancy took the oath of 

 abjuration and became a * constant fre- 

 quenter of the congregation of Ellens ' ; 

 Ibid. 238. 



' GiUow, as above. Richard Holland's 

 house had five hearths in 1666; Lay Subs. 

 250-9. 



^ Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath. Nort' 

 jur'.ri^ 122. The annual value was 

 given as {jo. At the same time Alex- 

 ander Holland, of Whiston, watchmaker, 

 registered his estate of ^19 in Sutton ; 

 Ibid. 121. 



* Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 244, m. 

 85, and Pal of Lane. Docquet R. 471, 411 

 (recovery). Besides the manor, the pro- 

 perty included water-mill, windmill, dove- 

 cote, &C. 



' Dods. MSS. xjtiii, fol. 7. The bounds, 

 which are minutely described, arc of 

 interest as identifying several places now 

 lost. They began at Thurstanshaches on 

 the border of Bold and Sutton, followed 

 Bold acres to the Chester Gate — the road 

 from Sutton to Chester, which may be 

 identified with one now forming a portion 

 of the boundary between the townships 

 named — along this road to Holbrook 

 head. This shows the position of Hol- 

 brook in Bold. From this point the 

 bounds went to * Priesteolers,' and by 

 Raven Syke to Ritherop Brook, which 

 divides Sutton from RainhiU ; along this 

 to Wetshaugh, thence to the Pye thorn 

 by Scoles in Eccleston, to Thetwall (now 

 Thatto), by Thatto Brook to Nutty 

 Brook; along this till it falls into Pogh- 

 den Brook, and by this to Shittersiche ; 

 thence in a line to Bale birch in Morkcl's 

 moss — near the present Marshall's Cross — 

 and thence straight to the starting point. 

 The grant included wards, reliefs, &e., 

 and the land was assessed as four oxgangs, 

 or an eighth part of the grantor's whole 

 vill ; though, a little later, as stated above, 

 the share of the Sutton family was called 

 three plough-lands. This grant itself ac- 

 counts for the loss of half a plough-land, 

 for it was to be held of the chief lords of 

 the fee directly by the usual services, viz. 

 sakefee and suit to the court of Widnes. 

 ' Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 229. 

 ' Richard, son of Walter de Burton- 

 head, early in the thirteenth century 

 granted 5 J acres, with Fernylea, to Cocker- 

 sand Abbey in free alms ; Cockersand 

 Charml. ii, 597. This grant, it is added, 

 had been made and confirmed by Siegrith 

 de Sutton. Robert son of Rod. de 

 Burtonhead granted all his land, except 

 the fourth part of an oxgang, to Alan, 



son of Hugh le Norreys, who had given 

 him money in his need ; And. D. P.R.O. 



A. 5935- 



From 1276 to 1279 a suit went on in 

 which Roger son of Robert of Burton- 

 head claimed half an oxgang from Robert 

 son of Alan le Norreys. The latter as- 

 serted that he had had it from Roger's 

 grandfather, Ralph, the son of Walter de 

 Burtonhead. De Banc. R. 14, m. 9. ; 18, 

 m. 2; 29, m. 13, 62</. &c. In 1283 Roger 

 quitclaimed to Robert all his right in 

 Burtonhead, except a quarter of an ox- 

 gang held of Robert ; Dods. MSS. cxlii, 

 fol. 2246. For a complaint by Roger de 

 Burtonhead against some of his neigh- 

 bours, see Coram Rege R. 47, m. 28. 



' Asszie R. 404, m. 4 d. It is pos- 

 sible that he held Burtonhead in right 

 of his wife Margaret, to whom he had 

 been married at this time \ Final Cone. 

 i, 106. He was defendant in a claim for 

 dower brought by Alice de Preston in 

 1258-9; Cur. Reg. R. 162, m. 43 d. 

 The suits in the last note, in which his 

 son Robert was defendant, show that he 

 died before 1276. It should be observed 

 that Robert's wife was called Agnes de 

 Burtonhead ; De Banc. R. 248, m. 149 </. 



• In a suit concerning 12 messuages 

 in Sutton in 1318-19, Robert le Norreys, 

 junior,was plaintiff, and Robert le Norreys, 

 senior, defendant. This may have been a 

 family settlement between son and father ; 

 but there were others of the name living 

 there, as about the same time Robert le 

 Norreys (apparently son of Robert) made 

 a claim upon Robert son of Gilbert le 

 Norreys for a mill and land in Sutton, 

 which the defendant stated had come to 

 him from Alan le Norreys, to whom 

 plaintiff or his father had given them ; 

 De Banc. R. 230, m. 192 ; 231, m. 

 1 1 3 (/. Robert le Norreys, junior, was at 

 this time defendant in a suit brought by 

 John de Sherdley for the restitution of a 

 tenement of which, it was said, Robert le 

 Norreys, senior, had disseised the plaintiff's 

 grandfather ; De Banc. R. 231, m. 103 d. 



Robert le Norreys of Burtonhead was a 

 defendant in a claim for land in 1284; 

 and he recovered land in 1288 from 

 Robert de Eccleston ; Assize R. 1265, 

 m. 21 d. ; Ahhre-v. Placit. (Rec. Com.), 

 322. This Robert granted to Robert son 

 of Robert the Mercer of Bold some land 

 on both sides of Poghden Brook, with the 

 water within the bounds ; the grant may 

 be dated about 1270, William de Bold 

 being a witness ; Towneley MS. GO. 

 1.2125. Robert le Norreys — junior, on 

 the supposition above stated — was a plain- 

 tiff in 1324-5, and paid to the subsidy in 

 1332; Assize R. 426, m. \ d. ; Exch. 

 Lay Subi. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 1 5. 



Robert son of Robert le Norreyi con- 

 firmed to Richard son of Peter the Smith 

 of Sutton all the lands held at the making 

 of the deed, Nov. 1312; Dods. MSS. 

 cxlii, fol. 242^. 



" De Banc. R. 225, m. 478. Nicholas 

 son of Robert le Norreys complained of 

 depasturing by Richard son of Gilbert le 

 Norreys. The suit may have been a 

 friendly one brought in the name of 

 Nicholas, a child, against his father's 

 cousin (Assize R. 418, m. 15) in order 

 to give notoriety to some grant to him 

 by the father; De Banc. R. 225, m. 

 478.^ 



Nicholas claimed the moiety of a mill 

 in Sutton from John de Sherdley in 

 1323 ; De Banc. R. 248, m. iS$d, To 

 Nicholas le Norreys, with Emma his wife, 

 Robert son of Gilbert Ic Norreys gave in 

 1330 certain lands which he had had 

 from Gilbert de Mcols for a limited 

 period ; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 245. To 

 Nicholas son of Robert le Norreys iz 

 acres on Poghden Bank were granted by 

 John son of Richard Hancockson in 1352 

 (an erroneous date) ; and late in 1349 he 

 enfeoffed Master Ranulf de Dacre, rector 

 of Prescot, of his mill at Poghden, with 

 its pool and appurtenances \ Dods. MSS. 

 cxlii, fol. 245 ; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 62. 



11 Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 1, m. iiij^. 

 She afterwards married a ' native ' and 

 her lands were forfeited ; DeJ>. Keeper*! 

 Rep. xxxii, App. 341. 



i'* In 1 349 Nicholas le Norreys, as 

 guardian of Robert and Thomas le Nor- 

 reys, sons of Nicholas, appeared in court 

 at Widnes with Thomas de Parr to take 

 up land to which Robert had become 

 heir, until he should come of age, paying 

 loj. a year, or at the rate of 6^. an acre 

 as admeasured ; four years later Robert 

 and Thomas appeared in court, and being 

 of full age were put in possession of their 

 lands ; Dods. MSS. xxxii, fol. 13. 



In 1 361 Nicholas le Norreys of Burton- 

 head received from William the Mercer 

 and Alice his wife a messuage and land 

 in Sutton. Five years later he and Alice 

 his wife were enfeoffed of certain lands 

 he had set apart, with remainders to 

 Agnes widow of Thomas de Parr, and 

 Robert and Thomas sons of Nicholas and 

 Alice ; with further remainders, in default 

 of issue, to Roger son of John de Coldale, 

 Gilbert le Norreys, junior, and Robert hi* 

 brother ; Dods. MSS. cxlii, foL 245, 

 245A. 



In 134$ the king pardoned Hugh son 

 of Robert le Norreys of Burtonhead and 

 Robert his brother outlawries incurred for 

 felonies committed at Liverpool, &C., on 

 14 Feb. of that year ; CaU Pat. i343-5> 

 p. 538. 



