A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



John, was in possession in 1483, and died on 1 1 June, 

 1522.* 



From this time it is possible to give a more com- 

 plete account of the descent.* Ralph's grandson John 

 succeeded, being followed by his son Thomas,' whose 

 son Henry gready increased the family estates, though 

 some of his acquisitions were afterwards sold.* 

 Edward, his son, succeeded,* and in 161 8 Henry 

 Eccleston was described as ' son and heir apparent,' 

 and soon afterwards inherited the manors of Eccleston 

 and Burtonhead.*' He died in April, 1628, leaving 



two young sons, Edward' and Thomas ; the former 

 died within four years, leaving a son Henry, who 

 died in 1631, when the estates went to the above- 

 named Thomas, then nineteen years of age.' 



Thomas Eccleston * took an active part in defence 

 of the king's cause at the outbreak of the Civil War, 

 and suffered imprisonment. He was slain at ^Var- 

 rington in 1646."" His estates were sequestered by 

 the Parliament, but his two sons Henry and Thomas, 

 then aged nine and three years respectively, were in 

 some way secured alike from loss of faith and prop.rty." 



221 (quoting Rymer's Foed. ed. 1740, III, 

 il, 176. 



Henry de Eccleston had first place 

 among the witnesses to a Glest charter 

 in 1388; Townelcy MS. GG. n. 2098. 

 In 1395 he obtained a licence for his 

 oratory in the parish of Prcscot ; Lich. 

 Epis. Reg. VI, fol. 132^. In April, 1405, 

 William Daniell of Daresbury, senior, 

 and William Daniell, junior, granted to 

 Sir Thomas Gerard wardship of the lands 

 and heir of Henry de Eccleston, until the 

 heir should come of age ; 40 marks was 

 paid for this grant \ Dods. MSS. cjtlii, 

 fol. 242. 



This heir was probably the John de 

 Eccleston who is mentioned in the reigns 

 of Henry V and VI. Thus in the same 

 inquisition Sir Thomas Gerard, who died 

 in 1416, is said to have held part of Rain- 

 hill from the heir of Henry dc Eccleston, 

 and land in Eccleston from John dc 

 Eccleston ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 

 12;. John was a juror at the Widnes 

 court in 15 (?) Hen. VI, and witness to 

 charters in 1441 and 1453 ; Dods. MSS. 

 cxlii, fol. 240, 204,246 John de Eccles- 

 ton married Agnes, one of the daughters 

 and coheirs of Matthew de Kenyon (^who 

 died in 1419), and by her had lands in 

 Kenyon, Culcheth, &c. Agnes his widow 

 was living In 1459, when she made a 

 settlement of lands on her son William, 

 with remainder to his brother John ; 

 Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxxviii, 538 ; 

 Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 ii, 99. 



A rental of the second John, lord of 

 Eccleston, compiled about 1476, is pre- 

 served at Scarisbrick. It comprises both 

 Eccleston and Held. It shows that the 

 tollowing payments were made : To the 

 king, for sake and ward, 41. ^. ; to 

 Thomas Daniell, for rent of Ecclest-^n, 

 5j. \d. \ to the abbot of Cockeraand, lor 

 the Cockcrsand butts, 12./. ; to the kine, 

 for the fines of the Halmotcsof Ecclc-ton, 

 21.; to the baron of Newton, for land in 

 the Held, — . It also gives the services 

 of the free tenants : for every tenement 

 upon which a cart and plough can be 

 kept, one day's work at ploughing the 

 lord's land ; two days with a cart, viz. one 

 day carting the manure from the dung- 

 heap and one day carting fuel from the 

 turf-ground ; two days' reaping in autumn 

 and one cutting turf. These were the 

 double or greater averages. For a smaller 

 tenement, one day's work at digging turf, 

 two days' reaping, one day filling the carts 

 with manure ; these were the simple or 

 minor * averages.' Attendance at court 

 and halmote was required. The rights 

 of pasture and turbaiy were not prescrip- 

 tive, but by agreement between tenant 

 and lord. The zs. paid to the king was 

 for the liberty of appointing their own 

 officers and being excused from attendance 

 at the Farnworth court ; Beamont, Halton 

 Rec. 20. 



^ Ralph dc Eccleston was lord of the 



manor in 1483, according to the Duchy 

 Feodary ; Duchy of Lane. Misc. cxxx. 

 Two years later he was one of the trustees 

 nominated by Sir Richard Bold ; Dods. 

 MSS. cxlii, fol. 208, n. 105-6. One of his 

 rentals, made about 1520, but dated 1449, 

 is preserved at Scarisbrick ; the demesne 

 lands produced ^^75 41. 6d. 



The inquisition after Ralph's death 

 (Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, n. 46) gives 

 many particulars of interest. His father, 

 John Eccleston, in 1466 made provision 

 for Ralph's marriage with Agnes, daughter 

 of William Leyland, by granting them 

 messuages and lands in Eccleston and 

 Newton. His manors were Eccleston 

 and Rainhill, extending to 6 plough-lands, 

 and held of Tucher Bold, by the service 

 of half a knight's fee and a rent of 51. id.\ 

 Lowton and Newton held of Thomas 

 Langton by a rent of 3 51.; lands in Ken- 

 yon held of Thurstan Holland, and in 

 Culcheth of Lord FitzWalter. His son 

 Henry having died before him, his heir 

 was his grandson John, then aged twenty- 

 six. 



His will is given in full. It provided 

 for the marriage of his grandson and 

 heir John with Katherine, daughter of 

 Sir Henry Halsall. He desired to be 

 buried in Prescot church before St. Mary's 

 image ; his best *wike' beast was to be 

 paid to the curate as mortuary, and the 

 whole expenses of the burial were not to 

 exceed ^6 131, 4//. To the parish priest 

 of Prescot was to be paid i zd. a year, to 

 pray every Sunday for the souls of John 

 Eccleston and Agnes his wife, John Eccles- 

 ton and Ellen his wife, Henry Eccleston 

 and Ellen his wife — these being apparently 

 his grandparents parents, and son and 

 wife — also Catherine,William, and Richard 

 Eccleston. Ralph's son Henry was living 

 in 1 >o6 J Towneley MS. CC. n, 836. 



2 It is taken in the first place from the 

 pedigrees recorded in 1567 and 1664 — 

 /';>//. (Chet. Soc), 1567, p. 97, and 1664, 

 p. 101 ; and from other sources as given 

 below. 



* Besides Thomas there was a younger 

 son Henry, who with his wife Grace 

 settled certain lands in Parr and Lathom 

 upon their son Thomas, with remainder to 

 Henry's brother Thomas, and a further re- 

 mainder to the heirs male of his grand- 

 father Henry ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdle. 14, m. 145. A Thomas Eccleston 

 holding lands in Parr and Lathom died in 

 '^3^~3» leaving as his heir a grandson 

 Henry (son of Henry), then aged twenty- 

 one ; Towneley MS. C. 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 

 399- 



A settlement of certain property was 

 made in August, 1 5 56, by Thomas Eccles- 

 ton and Margery his wife ; Pal. of Lane, 

 Feet of F. bdle. 17, m. 114. Thomas 

 died before 1565, when Henry Eccleston 

 and Margery his wife were in possession ; 

 ibid. bdle. 27, m. 156. 



•* He died in 1598, holding the manor 

 of Eccleston of Richard Bold, with 100 



364 



messuages, &c., four windmills, two 

 water-mills, 1,000 acres of land. Sec, in 

 Eccleston, Sutton, Rainhill, Skelmeridale, 

 Rainford, Liverpool, Dicton, Childwall, 

 and Lathom ; free rents ; also certain 

 services of ploughing, shearing, delving 

 and leading of turves and filling and lead- 

 ing of dung ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 

 xvii, M. 9. The feet of fines contain 

 many particulars of his acquisitions. In 

 1590 he was described as 'of fair living,' 

 and in* some degree of conformity* to 

 the queen's ecclesiastical laws, though *in 

 general note of evil affection in religion' ; 

 he was afterwards a justice of the peace. 

 His wife Margery was a known recusant 

 and indicted thereof, and so was Mary, 

 the wife of his son and heir Edward. See 

 Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 244, 247 (quoting 

 S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxxxv, n, 4) ; Kenyon 

 MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com.), 583. 



* He was thirty-five years old at his 

 father's death. He was one of the * obsti- 

 nate ' persons who could not be found by 

 the sherift" in i 593 ; while five years later 

 he was specially assessed ^20 as a recu- 

 sant * for her Majesty's service in Ireland'; 

 Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 261-2 (quoting 

 S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxxxiii, and vol. cclxvi, 

 «. 80). In 1599 he was reported by the 

 bishop of Chester to the queen's ministers 

 as one of the chief matntainers of the mis- 

 sionary priests then labouring in Lanca- 

 shire ; Foley, Rec. S. J. l, 641 (quoting S.P. 

 Dom, Eliz. cclxxiv, n. 25). His possessions 

 were leased by the crown to Charles Grim- 

 ston ; Lanes, and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 344, Rentals of 

 1609 and 16 12 are preserved at Scaris- 

 brick. 



^ Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle, 94, m. 

 29. The will of Edward Eccleston was 

 proved in 1623. 



' Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxvi, n. 21. 

 In this Henry is stated to have died on 

 10 April, 1628, the heir being his son 

 Edward, aged eighteen years. Henry 

 Eccleston and his wife appeared regularly 

 in the recusant rolls ; Gillow, BibHog, 

 Diet, of Engl. Cath. ii, 154.' 



Edward Eccleston's will was proved at 

 Chester in 1631. 



^ Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxvii, n. 45. 

 Mary Ward, widow of Edward, father of 

 the Henry of 1 6 3 1 , was living at Eccleston, 

 as was Anne Hickman, widow of Henry 

 the greatgrandfather. 



^ Thomas Eccleston and Jane his wife 

 were in possession in 1637, when a settle- 

 ment of the estates was made 5 PaL of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 132, n, 37. 



^'^ Gillow, as above; Visit, of 1664 

 (Chet. Soc), loi. 



^^ Cal. Com. for Comf>., i, 506 ; *In 

 the cases of Eccleston and Ireland it 

 was pretended to us that the children 

 were under the tuition of CoL Ireland, 

 which appears by what you write to be a 

 deceit. We have written to CoL Ireland 

 to take the children into his custody and 

 see them placed with godly persons, to be 



