WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



Henfy Lathom the younger followed in his father's 

 steps as regards religion, suffering accordingly.' He 

 married Frances daughter of Richard Molyneux of 

 Cunscough ; by her he had three sons and several 

 daughters. The eldest son, Thomas, took up arms in 

 the royal cause in the Civil War, and was slain at 

 Newark ;' the second, Henry, became a monk at 

 Paris;' and the third, William, came into possession 

 of Mossborough. After his death it passed, by his 

 daughter Frances' marriage with Robert Molyneux 

 of Melling, to this family.' Their sons Robert and 

 William in succession followed.' The last-named 

 married Anne, daughter of John Harrington of Huy- 

 ton ; and, secondly, Gertrude Frances, daughter of 

 James Gorsuch of Scarisbrick, and on his dying in 1 745, 

 Mossborough passed to Frances his daughter by the 

 second marriage. She married Sir Edward Blount 

 of Sodington in 1 75 2.* Mossborough was sold by 

 the trustees to the earl of Derby in 1786;' his 

 descendant, the present earl, now owns it. 



James Collier of Rainford compounded for his 

 estate in 1649,' and Richard Hilton, as a 'Papist,' 

 registered an estate here and at Westhoughton in 



1717.' 



Excluding Mossborough Hall, there were in 1 666 

 only fifteen houses having three hearths and more." 



The improvement of Rainford Moss was begun 

 about 1780 by John Chorley of Prescot." 



In 1785 Mr. Samuel Booth, excise officer, con- 



PRESCOT 



tributed ^9, the earl of Derby ^3 1 5/. 6d., and 

 Edward Falkner £^\ \%s. ^d. towards the sum of 

 L\'i V- ''■d- in which the township was assessed to 

 land tax. 



Of the origin of the chapel and its 

 CHURCH ancient dedication no record has been 

 found. In 1541 Lawrence Robe(y) was 

 the curate in charge." Its fate at the Reformation is 

 unknown. In 1590 it was distinguished by having 

 ' a preacher ' as curate," but in 1 592 the curate, having 

 given no monitions, was excommunicated, as were 

 the principal man in the township, Henry Lathom, 

 and his wife Margaret." By 1610 it had sunk to 

 the usual level of chapels of ease, being served by 

 'a reading minister,' who was 'no preacher.'" 

 Mr. Cheeseman was curate in 1622." The Parliamen- 

 tary Committee, with their usual care for religion, in 

 1645 ordered that ^^35 should be paid out of the 

 tithes of Prescot, sequestered from the earl of Derby, 

 towards the maintenance of a minister at Rainford." 

 In 1650 Mr. Timothy Smith, 'an orthodox, godly, 

 preaching minister,' was in charge, with a stipend of 

 £^0 out of the sequestrations ; in addition there was 

 a capital stock of ^^60 or more given by various bene- 

 factors for the minister, when there might be one, or 

 for the poor of the township. On the chapel-yard 

 was erected a small building called the chapel chamber, 

 in which the minister had lived in former times, and 

 which had also been used as a schoolroom. In 1650 



the Benedictines of Dieulwart, taking the 

 name of Switbert ; he died as chaplain of 

 Mossborough in Dec. 164.0 ; George was 

 professed at Douay in 1619 and died in 

 1646 ; Gabriel was the first monk to be 

 professed at St. Edmund's, Paris, in 1622, 

 and died in 1635 ; Vincent, professed the 

 same year as Gabriel, at Douay, died 

 in 1640, These particulars are from 

 Mr. Joseph Gillow's essay in Trans. Hist. 

 Soc. (New Ser.), xiii, 128, 130, 136, 145. 

 See also fFills (Chet. Soc. New Ser.), i, 



2lg. 



^ * Mr. Lathom and his five brothers, 

 all priests, were at the meeting at Holy- 

 well in 1629 ' ; Foley, Rec. S.y. iv, 

 534 (quoting S.P. Dom. Chas. I, cli, 

 n. 13). His lands, among those of other 

 recusants, were leased by the king in 

 1623 to Anthony Croston ; Pat. 21 Jas. I 

 (27 July). In 1628, as convicted, he 

 paid double to the subsidy ; Norris D. 

 (B.M.). He made a settlement of his 

 property in 1632, and died about Christ- 

 mas, 1648, having been 'impotent in his 

 limbs ' for ten years previously, and having 

 two-thirds of his property sequestered for 

 recusancy ; Royalist Comp. P. iv, 65, 

 66. In 1641 Frances wife of Henry 

 Lathom, also Thomas, Anne, Margaret, 

 and Frances Lathom, were on the recusant 

 roll ; Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xiv, 

 240. 



* Gillow, Bihliog. Diet, ut sup. 



^ Gillow in Tram. Hist. Soc. ut sup. 

 136. He was professed in 1640 at- 

 St. Edmund's, Paris, taking the name of 

 Augustine ; he died in 1677. From the 

 account of Mossock of Bickerstaffe it 

 appears that he laboured in Lancashire. 



^ William Lathom married Mary 

 daughter of Sir Cuthbert Clifton ; her 

 second husband was Lawrence Breres of 

 Walton i Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 

 59, 86. He held the estate but a 

 short time, dying in March, 1652. In 

 1662 Lawrence Breres and Mrs. Frances 

 Lathom were living at Mossborough ; 



Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xvi, 134. 

 Mary Breres was there four years later ; 

 Lay Subs. 250-9. The house had twelve 

 hearths, ranking third in the parish of 

 Prescot. 



The sequestration of two-thirds of the 

 estates continued, but on William's death 

 Roger Bradshaw of Haigh, guardian of 

 the daughter and heir, Frances Lathom, 

 then about five years of age, petitioned the 

 Parliamentary Committee for a removal of 

 the sequestration, on the ground that she 

 was as yet ' no ways guilty of any fault.' 

 The guardianship had been entrusted to 

 Roger Bradshaw as the nearest capable 

 relation on the mother's side. See Royalist 

 Comp. P. iv, 64-7. She was married in 

 1664 ; Visit. (Chet. Soc), 202. Frances 

 Molyneux of Mossborough, widow, and 

 her son and heir Robert are mentioned 

 in a lease of 1688-9; Piccope MSS. 

 (Chet. Lib.), iii, 242, from a Roll of 

 Geo. II at Preston. 



^ From the Halsall registers it appears 

 that Robert Molyneux was born early in 

 1668, and William in Sept. 1669. The 

 former married Anne daughter of Sir James 

 Poole of Poole in Wirral, and in 1717 

 registered his estate in Rainford, valued at 

 jf 310 4J. i^d. a year, the remainder being 

 to his wife Anne and his brother William; 

 Engl. Cath. Non-jurors, 11;. His mother 

 Frances is mentioned. He was living in 

 1725 ; Piccope MSS. iii, 230, from 12th 

 R. of Geo. I, at Preston. His will was 

 proved in 1729. William Molyneux at 

 the same time was in possession of the 

 house at Melling, registering an estate 

 of ^80 there ; Engl. Cath. Non-jurors, 

 122. He received Aigburth Hall from 

 his brother-in-law John Harrington and 

 afterwards sold it ; see the account 

 of Garston. The inscription in Melling 

 church, placed there by his daugh- 

 ter Lady Blount, records that he died 

 on II March, 1744, aged seventy-five, 

 and his widow Frances on 18 October, 

 1750, aged fifty-five; they were not 



married till 1732 ; Piccope MSS. iii, 

 250, from the 5th R. of Geo. II at Pres- 

 ton. The will of William Molyneux 

 mentions his manor of Ravensmeois and 

 his capital messuage of Mossborough 

 Hall ; his daughter Frances was his heir, 

 and a cousin, Robert Billinge, son and 

 heir of John Billinge, was also named ; 

 ibid. 274, from i8th R. of Geo. II, at 

 Preston. 



^ G. E. C. Complete Baronetage, ii, 203. 

 Lady Blount died in 1787. 



7 Knowsley D. 



^ Royalist Composition P. ii, 73 ; he 

 seems to have taken arms for the king 

 in the 'first war.' 



® Engl, Cath. Non-jurors, 106. 



1" Lay Subs. 250-9. 



^^ An account of his work may be seen 

 in the Agricultural Sur-v, of Lanes, pub- 

 lished in 1795, p. 99. 



12 Clergy List of 1 541-2 (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 15. 



^8 Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 248 (quoting 

 S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxxxv, «. 4). 



" Trans. Hist, Soc, (New Ser.), x, 193. 



15 Kenyan MSS, (Hist. MSS. Com.), i2. 

 One Harper was * reader ' in 1 609 ; Rames 

 MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxii, 298. 



1^ Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 

 65. A Mr. Pyke was there in 1638 ; 

 Prescot Church Papers, 



* Before 1634 there were no seats in the 

 chapel, except those belonging to the an- 

 cestors of Henry Lathom of Mossborough, 

 upon whose ground it is said the chapel 

 was built i but in this year there was a 

 distribution of seats, made by commis- 

 sioners appointed by the bishop j upon 

 which distribution, over against the name 

 of every person who had a seat assigned 

 to him [were recorded] the sum he was 

 to pay the minister for his wages, and 

 another sum for his "fifteen" or assess- 

 ment towards the repair of the chapel* j 

 Gastrell, iVbftVw Cestr. (Chet. Soc), ii, 213. 



17 Plundered Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 11. 



49 



