A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



the possessor.' About the end of the century it was 

 owned by John Hurst ' and occupied by the Har- 

 ringtons of Huyton, Charles Harrington dying here 

 in 1720 ;' later it descended to a family named 

 Cobham, and in 1785 belonged to the heirs of John 

 Williamson.* It was purchased about 1850 by 

 Bartholomew Bretherton from the trustees of the 

 marriage settlement of General Isaac Gascoyne ; and 

 is now owned by Mr. F. A. Stapleton-Bretherton of 

 RainhiU.' 



From GLEST one or more families took a surname, 

 but though some deeds have been preserved by 

 Towneley it is not possible to compile a continuous 

 history from them and such other notices of the place 



as occur. 



Adam de Glest in 1276 brought a suit against 

 Robert de Eccleston, which was terminated by the 

 plaintifPs death." The succession was probably ; 

 Richard — Robert — William, who was the principal 

 member of the family about 1370— 80, appearing in 

 the Eccleston rent roll of 1 373, as a charterer paying 

 a rent of 1 8d.' From this the succession seems to be : 

 Richard — Henry — William to Thomas, about the 

 beginning of the sixteenth century.' A James 

 Glest appears in the Eccleston rent roll of this time. 

 Humphrey and Ellis Glest follow.' This last was 

 succeeded by his son James ; after which there 

 seem to have been others of the name down to the 

 early part of the eighteenth century." 



Other local surnames occur, as Stonyhurst" and 



of the family history and holdings. The 

 above Henry Standish had a son and heir 

 John, who in 1523 settled lands in 

 UphoUand and Orrell upon Elizabeth, 

 daughter of James Manley, on her mar- 

 riage with his son and heir George. The 

 latter in 1 5+7 enfeoffed Richard Bower 

 of the Scholes and other lands. George's 

 son and heir William, described as of 

 Conington in Huntingdonshire, gentleman, 

 was long before his father's death hanged 

 at Tur Langton in Leicestershire for 

 murder ; and William's son William, aged 

 thirteen, was the heir of his grandfather, 

 who died 29 June, 1551. His will, dated 

 the day of his death, left the Scholes to 

 his son John for life. The tenure was by 

 knight's service, viz, by two parts of a 

 fee in five parts divided, and a rent 

 of 4.0J. ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. ix, 

 »■ 3- 



William Standish appears to have sold 

 or mortgaged part of his lands in 1561-8 ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdles. 25, m. 126, 

 132; 24, m. 229; 30, m. 87. To the 

 last of these his wife IVlargery was a party. 

 He died in 1602, seised of the capital 

 messuage called Scholes, with the lands 

 appertaining to it and other property in 

 Eccleston. John, the eldest son, suc- 

 ceeded, being nearly forty years of age ; 

 Lanci. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 46. A change had taken place 

 in the tenure, which was now socage and 

 id. rent, Henry Eccleston having parted 

 with the old 401. rent and the homage 

 and service of the tenant in 1565 ; Pal. 

 of Lane Feet of F. bdlc. 27, m. 52. The 

 heir is probably the 'John Standish, gent, 

 of Eccleston,' buried at Prescot 22 Mar. 

 1612. A William Standish was a free- 

 holder in the township in 1628 : Norris 

 D. (B.M.). 



' Oliver Lyme, who died in 1631, held 

 the hall of Scholes of Thomas Eccleston , 

 his son and heir was William, aged twenty- 

 three years, and his son William is men- 

 tioned in Oliver's will ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p.m. Mvii, n. 50. 



" John Hurst had two daughters and 

 coheirs — Anne, who married James Bret- 

 targh of the Holt and died in 1762, and 

 Catherine Cobham, a widow in 1750 ; 

 see the account of Little Woolton. The 

 latter or her heirs would be the vendors. 



Over a bedroom fireplace in the house 



1681 

 H E 

 A 



are the initials I H E ' probably refer- 



ring to the Hursts. A curious knocker 

 and a mediaeval lock may be seen in the 

 house, and there is a very good staircase. 

 In the garden is a ven- interesting seven- 

 teenth-century shrine, in the form of a 

 stone pillar carrying a rectangular niche 

 for a figure, but now empn- ; it is said to 



have been set up by Richard, lord Moly- 

 neux, the Jesuit. 



» N. Blundell's Diary, 138, 161. 



■• Land Tax Ret. at Preston. 



' Ex inform. Mr. Stapleton - Brether- 

 ton. 



® Assize R. 405, m. i. 



7 Richard son of Adam de Glest had a 

 grant from Robert de Eccleston at the 

 beginning of 1 303 ; Towneley MS. GG. 

 (Add. MS. 32107), n. 2082. In 1318 

 Richard de Glest granted his son Robert 

 land by the Woodbrook ^ ibid. n. 2087. 

 Robert de Prescot brought a complaint 

 in 1 346 against Robert and William de 

 Glest, Richard le Bower and others, con 

 cerning digging in his turbary ; De 

 Banc. R. 347, m. i ^d. Thirty years later 

 John son of William son of Roger de 

 Glest quitclaimed all rights in certain 

 tenements acquired by William son of 

 Robert from William son of Richard son 

 of Roger de Glest j GG. n. 2122, 2098. 



In 1 381 it appears from the poll tax 

 rolls that William and John Glest paid 

 in Eccleston. Besides William de Glest 

 the Eccleston rent-roll of 1373 mentions 

 * the heirs of John Glest.' 



The deeds in Towneley in the main 

 do not fit in well with the above 

 outline. They start with a certain Wil- 

 liam de Rainford who had sons Richard 

 and Roger ; ibid.n. 2086, 2084, 2121. 

 Roger de Glest and Beatrice his wife in 

 1 311 agreed with Robert de Fauroke- 

 shagh (Forshaw) that his daughter Emma 

 should wed their son Adam. (There was 

 another Adam, son of Hugh, living about 

 the same time ; ibid. n. 2107, and Assize 

 R. 420, m. 9.) William de Glest, son of 

 Roger the clerk of Prescot occurs in 1328, 

 and William son of Reginald de Glest 

 earlier ; GG. n. 2108, 2088. Adam son 

 of Roger de Glest in 1317 resigned to 

 Thomas de Shaldford all his claim in lands 

 granted to Thomas by Roger ; among the 

 witnesses were Roger, clerk of Prescot, 

 and Richard his brother ; GG. n. 384. 



In Dec. 1313, William de Glest 

 gave to Agnes, daughter of Thomas 

 Moody, and her issue, houses and lands in 

 Eccleston, naming the Wheatcroft and 

 Denecroft, and bamstead ; also the garden 

 which Robert, son of John de Rainford 

 held of the grantor ; with housebote, hey- 

 bote, and other easements. There was a 

 remainder to her brother Thomas. Bold 

 D. at Warr. F. 72. 



Among the various pleas are some 

 which may assist in tracing the history of 

 the place. In 1292 William son of 

 Beatrice de Glest, and Beatrice and Emma 

 his daughters, were accused of disseising 

 Richard de Wolfcroftshead of common 

 of pasture in Eccleston ; Assize R. 408, 

 n. 69. 



366 



^ About 1410 a settlement of his lands 

 was made by Richard de Glest, apparently 

 the son of William son of Robert j for 

 though his eldest son was Thomas, who 

 married Agnes, daughter of Richard, son 

 of Alan de Parr, the estate appears to have 

 descended to a younger son Henry, to 

 whom the feoffees of William son of 

 Robert gave up his lands in 1424 ; GG. 

 n, 2081, 21 14, 2089, 2090. 



In 1525 Thomas Glest claimed from 

 Humphrey Glest ten acres in Eccleston, 

 which Henry son of Walter de Ridgate 

 had given to Robert son of Richard de 

 Glest in free marriage with his daughter 

 Agnes ; the following was the pedigree 

 alleged — Richard de Glest — s. Robert, who 

 married Agnes — s. William — s. Richard 

 — s. Henry — s. William — s. Thomas 

 (plaintiff) ; Pal. of Lane. Plea. R. 141, 

 m. f)d. 



» Humphrey Glest of Glest in 1528 

 married Agnes, daughter of Ellis Gorsuch 

 of Knowsley, and it was probably their 

 son Ellis Glest who died in 1592, leaving 

 a son and heir James aged 40 years in 1 60 1 ; 

 though in a deed of 1578 his son and 

 heir was named John ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p. m. xviii, n. 19, 38 ; GG. n. 2095, 

 2101, &c, James Glest married a daugh- 

 ter and coheir of James Cropper of Rain- 

 ford ; Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com), iil, 



355- 



^° In 1 607 and laterdisputes occurred be- 

 tween Edward Eccleston and James Gleat 

 at to the services due to the lord of Eccles- 

 ton \ the latter seems to have justified hit 

 claim ; Pal. of Lane, Plea. R. 299, m. 

 10 d. ; 304, m. 17. 



" Amery de Eccleston brought suits 

 for dower against William and Roger de 

 Stonyhurst in 1 292 ; William's brother 

 Henry is also mentioned ; Assize R. 408, 

 m. 55(/. 53, loid. Twelve years later 

 Richard Fox complained that John son of 

 Henry de Stonyhurst and Agnes his 

 sister, Roger the clerk of Glest and Roger 

 de Glest had disseised him of his free 

 tenement in Eccleston ; but his suit 

 failed as he had not included Thomas, the 

 eldest son of the last named Roger, who 

 held jointly with his father under a char- 

 ter from John, son of Henry de Wolfall ; 

 Assize R. 419, m. 6 J, 



William de Stonyhurst was defendant 

 in claims made about the same time by 

 Robert de Eccleston, who failed and was 

 outlawed ; De Banc. R. 1 53, m. 104 ; and 

 161, m. 3651/. Henry son of William 

 de Stonyhurst occurs in 1345 and later 

 years ; De Banc. R. 344, m. ^od. ; 457, m. 

 i87</. 



The principal property seems to have 

 passed about 1344 into the hands of 

 Henry de Ditton, perhaps by purchase 

 from Cecily de Bury ; Final Cone, ii. 



