A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



\'ilers appears to have left an heir of the same name, 

 who some years later attempted to recover the lost 

 rights, claiming suit from Peter de BurnhuU and 

 Alice his wife between 1274 and 1278.' 



Alan de Windle, the father of the Alan who was 

 tenant in 12 12, died before Easter 1200.' Shortly 

 afterwards his widow Edusa claimed from the son her 

 power in lands in Skelmersdale, Syfrethleyin Dalton, 

 Pemberton, and Windle.' The younger Alan, some- 

 times called ' Le Styward,' * perhaps survived until 

 about 1 240, when he was succeeded by a son of the 

 same name.' 



Alan de Windle III, later called Sir Alan,* was acting 

 as juror at various inquests from 1242 onwards.' In 

 1252 William de Ferrers, earl of Derby, was par- 

 doned for a false claim against him,' and next year 

 Alan de Windle and Thurstan de Holand joined in 

 resisting an encroachment by the earl.' Alan died 

 between 1256 and 1274, and was succeeded by the 

 above-named Peter de BurnhuU and his wife Alice, 

 the daughter and heir of Alan."" The new lord died 

 before 1292," leaving two sons, both under age ; 

 Peter, the elder, died without issue before i 298, and 

 Alan his brother succeeded." He was living in i 3 1 8," 

 but did not enjoy the manor long, for his son Peter 

 was in possession in 1324," but died soon afterwards. 



when his sisters Joan and Agnes inherited his manors. 

 The former married William Gerard, of Kingsley, in 

 Cheshire, and the latter David dc Egcrton." Ulti- 

 mately the whole inheritance was held by the 

 Gerards, so that it may be presumed there was no 

 issue by the other marriage. The manor has 

 descended regularly to the present Lord Gerard of 

 Brynn '° in Ashton. 



A dispute occurred in the early part of the reign 

 of Henry VIII, the Gerards wishing to escape the 

 dependence on Warrington. Sir Thomas Boteler, 

 however, succeeded in enforcing a claim for an annual 

 castle-guard rent of 1 2d'., and a relief of 10/." In 

 September, 1 5 16, at the general sessions, Sir Thomas 

 Gerard did homage for the manor, as for the tenth 

 part of a knight's fee, in the great hall of the castle of 

 Lancaster, ' where the justices of our Lord the King 

 were wont to dine and sup when they came to hold 

 session there,' and the names of the witnesses were 

 carefully recorded." 



Among the suits of the time of Edward III relating 

 to Windle was one between the families of Hindley 

 and Urmston." A family of longer standing was 

 that of Colley, or Cowley as the name was spelt in 

 later times. They appear from the end of the thir- 

 teenth century to the beginning of the seventeenth." 



* Assize R. 1341, m. 11 d.; De Banc. 

 R. 27, m- 2-;, Sec, Robert asserted that 

 defendants held of him by knight's service 

 and the service of keeping too pigs for 

 him in the wood of Lodbergh \ ibid. R. 

 41, m. 7 (/. 



■^ Farter, Land. Pipe R. 132, 141 ; 

 the younger Alan, as Alan de Pemberton, 

 in 1201 proffered 10 marks for his relief 

 after his father's death, and for having 

 right as to 40J. against Nicholas le 

 Boteler, who had been under-sheriff in 

 1197-8; ibid. 100. Alan senior may 

 therefore have died in 1197. 



* Final Cone, i, 37 ; dower was 

 assigned in Skelmersdale and Pembar- 

 toa. 



< De Banc. R. 230, m. 1721/.; 23;, 

 m. 1244/. See also a note under Rainhill, 

 where the Alan of I 318 names his great- 

 grandfather, Alan le Styward. 



Two of his charters, made early in 

 the thirteenth century, are given in the 

 Cockeriand Chartul. (Chct. Soc), ii, 608, 

 609. By one he gave Herthfelling in 

 Windle, in exchange for two oxgangs 

 there, to Ralph son of Adam de Prescot, 

 who afterwards gave it to Cockersand j it 

 lay on the eastern side of the township 

 adjoining Parr ; the deep Moss Lache 

 and its wood are mentioned. By the 

 second he confirmed Ralph's gift — the 

 donor being called Ralph de Windle \ the 

 land had been marked out by crosses. 



* Adam de Pemberton, younger son of 

 Alan senior, was living in 1 246 ; Final 

 Cone, i, 98. 



« Whallcy Couchcr (Chet. Soc), ii, 550, 

 a charter which belongs to the second 

 naif of the thirteenth century ; cf. ii, 

 499. 



7 Lanct. Inq. and Extents, 146, 186, 203. 

 Alan married Amice, who brought her 

 husband half the manor of Rainhill ; she 

 died between 1246 and 1256 ; Assize R. 

 404, m. 1 1 ; Final Cone, i, 125, 



8 Fine R. 49 (36 Hen. Ill), m. 22. 



» Cur. Reg. R. 150, m. 3 ; I5i,m.4</.; 

 152, m. 9; see the account of West 

 Derby. 



'" See a former note. Peter de Bum- 

 liull seems to have been known also 



as Peter dc Windle ; Coram Rege R. 12, 

 m. 87. The local name continued in 

 use ; the Parrs were accused of breaking 

 into Alan de Windle's house at Windle 

 and stealing his valuables in 1323; 

 Coram Rege R. 254, m. 46, 47 d. 



" Plac. de Quo IVarr. (Rec. Com.), 

 377- 



" De Banc. R. 124, m. <) d. ; Assize R. 

 419, m. 9 ; 420, m. 6 J ; 424, m. 2 ; 

 see the accounts of Rainhill, Ashton-in- 

 Makerfield, and Brindle. In 1305 there 

 was a suit between Alan de BurnhuU and 

 Thomas de Beetham, turning on the 

 boundaries between Windle and Kirkby; 

 Alan mentions Alan his grandfather as 

 possessed of the land he claimed ; it 

 descended to Peter, claimant's brother, 

 and then to himself ; Assize R. 420, 

 m. 4. 



" See the account of Rainhill. 



" Dods. MSS. cxjcxi, fol. 33 ; see also 

 Feud. .-l.-Jiy iii, 89. 



" De Banc. R. 284, m. 15. 



"In 1354 a settlement of the manors 

 of Windle and Rainhill was made by fine 

 between William Gerard and Joan his 

 wife and their son Peter and Catherine 

 his wife ; at that time Joan's sister Agnes 

 was still living, so that the Gerards had 

 only half the BurnhuU manors; Katherine, 

 the widow of Peter de BurnhuU, was also 

 living, and was in the enjoyment of her 

 dower; Final Cone, ii, 142. Katherine 

 had married Hugh de Venables by the 

 beginning of 133 1 ; De Banc. R. 284, 

 m. 119. 



In 1383, Agnes and Katherine being 

 dead, another settlement was made of the 

 same manors by Thomas Gerard, son of 

 Peter, and Maud his wife ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 2, m. 29. 



Sir Thomas Gerard, who died in 14 16, 

 held Windle by knight's service and the 

 rent of zod. a year ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Chet. Soc), i, 123. The Duchy Feodary 

 of 1483 states that Sir Thomas Gerard 

 then held Windle of Thomas Boteler. 

 For a settlement in 1703 see Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 251, ra. 61. 



" Kuerdcn MSS. iv, W. 38. From Sir 

 Thomas Gerard lod. for Windle appears 



in the list of Boteler properties in Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 13, m. 142. 



" Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 

 34. 35- 



" Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 2, m. viij, 

 and De Banc. R. 421, m. 108. 



"" William de Caleye claimed two mes- 

 suages and various lands in Windle from 

 Peter de Windle and Alice his wife in 

 1275 ; Coram Rege R. 12, m. 87. Alan 

 and Thomas dc Colley were defendants in 

 1307 ; Assize R. 431, m. 3 d. John son 

 of Roger de Whiston, Cecily his wife, 

 and Emma, the sister of Cecily, claimed 

 three acres in Windle from Alan son of 

 Alan de Colley in 1325-6 ; De Banc R. 

 258, m. 387 ; R. 261, m. 206. 



In 1552 a settlement was made of 

 Roger CoUey's lands in Windle, Sutton 

 and Melling ; Robert was his son and 

 heir, and Richard another son ; Pal. of 

 Lane Feet of F. bdle. 14, m. 118. A 

 further settlement was made by these 

 sons in 1571, when the property included 

 12 messuages and 2 horse mills ; Robert 

 Colley seems to have died childless, and 

 the heir was his brother's son Robert, 

 with remainders to Francis CoUey, and 

 others; ibid. bdle. 33, m. 191. The 

 William Colley here mentioned appears 

 to have been mortgaging or selling his 

 lands about this time ; Moore D. n. 763, 

 737 i Pal. of Lane Feet of F. bdle. 19, 

 m. 73, &c. 



In 1596 Francis Colley or Cowley sold 

 some land here to Thomas Foxe ; ibid, 

 bdle. 59, m. 251. The purchaser died 

 seven years later, holding lands in Windle 

 and Hardshaw of Sir Thomas Gerard and 

 Henry Travcrs ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec 

 Soc. Lanci". and Ches.), i, 3-6. The 

 estate of Roger CoUey was in 1560 the 

 subject of a fine, the deforciants being 

 Robert Worsley and Roger Chamock ; 

 PaL of Lane Feet of F. bdle. 22, m. 78. 

 Thomas and John Cowley, apparently 

 brothers, John being the son of Robert 

 Cowley of Prescot, entered the English 

 CoUege at Rome in 1624 and 1629; 

 Foley, Rec. S.J. vi, 305, 320. Another 

 John Cowley entered in 1662; ibid. »i, 

 404. 



