A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Appleton was held in bondage as three plough- 

 lands in the time of Edward II.* In 1351 Henry, 

 newly created duke of Lancaster, granted that each of 

 his tenants should in future hold severally and freely 

 the tenements hitherto held in bondage or at will.' 

 The history of the township is undistinguished until 

 the modern establishment of chemical works. The 

 courts appear to have been usually, or often, held at 

 Famworth,' 



Upton* and Denton gave surnames to local fami- 

 lies, the name Denton appearing dovra to recent 



times.* The Wright family was also of importance, 

 and their residence was known as Widncs Hall.* 

 Matthew Gregson states: 'There are [1817-24] 

 four estates in the townships of Appleton, Widnes, and 

 Upton, which have long been known by the names of 

 Upper House, Lower House, Carter's House, and 

 Peel House .... The Upper House belongs to 

 Mr. Cowley, who resides upon it ; the Lower is the 

 property of John Leigh, esq., and Carter's House 

 that of Mr. Taylor, both of Liverpool.' ' A family 

 named Hawarden were resident in the seventeenth 



1 This appears from the accounts of 

 Henry de Lacy cited above, as also from 

 the Halton feodary in Ormerod's Chei, 

 (cd. Helsby), i, 708. Originally Appleton 

 and Cronton seem to have been reckoned 

 as half a fee, or 6 plough-lands, and on 

 division Appleton as 3 or 4, with Cronton 

 as 3 or 2. 



In ii8i~2 Agnes Bonetablc owed 3 

 marks for a recognition of her right in 

 half a knight's fee in Appleton ; * she had 

 nothing' ; Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 4.7, 52. 

 In 1 1 98 Richard de Venables and Agnes 

 his wife owed 2 marks for a brief * de 

 mortc antecessoris' concerning the same ; 

 ibid. 106. 



2 Duchy of Lane. Misc. Vols. vol. cxxz, 

 fol. 8 ; also Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), 

 ii, 19;*. They were to pay the same 

 rents as hitherto — usually is. per acre — 

 do suit at the court of Widnes, pay heriot 

 and relief, and is. an acre at an aliena- 

 tion. A bailiflF was to be elected by them 

 to collect the lord's due, and see that the 

 decisions of the court were carried out. 

 Turbary was to be allowed each tenant 

 according to his holding, and 4J. a year 

 was to be paid for this right. As an ex- 

 ample, Robert de Ditton having acquired 

 ^ acres i rood In Appleton, came to the 

 court at Widnes in October, 1382, and 

 paid his relief, 5^. '^tJ., according to cus- 

 tom ; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 278. 



Gregson remarks that in 1820 the 

 farms were small, only 8 or 10 acres 

 apiece ; the tenure of the land was copy- 

 hold of inheritance at small annual rents, 

 a year's rent being paid on transfer j 

 Fragmcnh^ 1/8, 18 i, 



* There are over a hundred court rolls 

 at the Record Office, extending from 1 347 

 to the beginning of the last century, 

 though with many years lacking ; P.R.O. 

 List of Ct. R. (No. 6), i, i, etc, A 

 report upon them was drawn up by 

 Mr. Beamont in 1876 and printed at 

 Warrington. 



The earliest of these rolls shows that 

 courts were held every four weeks, on 

 Friday. Besides tines for various small 

 offences, such as brewing ale, 'once,' 

 assaults and trespasses, the rolls show 

 something of the government of the 

 manor and fee. On 21 Dec. 134.7, 

 * Roger de Denton appeared and took of 

 the lord the serjeanty of the fee of 

 Widnes this year, paying for the same 

 j^4' in July and September, and finding 

 pledges *for the farm and for faithful 

 service.' At the same time Thomas de 

 Wales and Richard de Denton appeared 

 and took * the little serjeanty of the 

 homage of Widnes this year, paying for 

 the same ^^4,' and offering pledges as 

 before. 



At other courts Sir Ralph de Beetham 

 fined to the lord zs. for his suit of Kirkby 

 for the year ; and William Gerard, senior, 

 put in his place Henry the Serjeant to 

 perform suit for him at the court of 

 Widncs for his moiety of Kirkby. The 



judge of Astley fined zs. for his suit of 

 Astley ; while the judge of Little Crosby 

 appeired with the king's writ authorizing 

 him to appoint an attorney, 'whereupon 

 he put in his place Roger de Denton by his 

 letters patent.' 



' At the Widnes court in 1512 Robert 

 Woodfall was charged with walking at 

 night through the King's street in Farn- 

 worth, in front of the houses of the 

 King's tenants, and with force and arms 

 — namely, a staff and dagger — calling out 

 "Whoever wishes to fight me, let him 

 come out," whereby the King's subjects 

 were disturbed and put in fear j where- 

 upon he was fined by the court ' ; Bea- 

 mont, Halton Rec. ij. 



The punishments inflicted at Widncs 

 included the pillory, cucking-stool, brank, 

 tumbrel, stocks, and whipping-post ; ibid. 

 36. For the right to imprison Widnes 

 men in Halton Castle see Ducatus Lane. 

 ii, 132-5. 



^ Richard de Upton occurs about 1240 ; 

 Bold D. (Warr.), F. 178. Richard, the 

 clerk of Upton, and William, the Ser- 

 jeant of Upton, about 1270; ibid. F. 350. 

 William son of Richard, the clerk of 

 Upton, about the same time married 

 Annota, daughter of William del Marsh 

 of Ditton J Kuerden, fol. MS. 260, n. 



578. 



* John Tyrel in 1272 confirmed an 

 acre in Denton to the monks of Stanlaw, 

 which his grandfather Hugh Tyrel had 

 formerly given them in alms, and which 

 Richard de Denton his uncle then held 

 from the abbot for life. About the same 

 time Henry son of Thomas de Denton 

 quitclaimed all right in this land \ Whalley 

 toucher (Chet. Soc), iii, 821-2. 



The Bold deeds at Warrington preserve 

 further particulars. About 1270 Simon, 

 abbot of Stanlaw, granted this acre to 

 Richard, son of Robert de Widnes — no 

 doubt the Richard de Denton above-men- 

 tioned — at a rent of izd. and half a mark 

 for relief; F. 350. Richard de Denton 

 afterwards gave it to Robert his son and his 

 wife Maud, who regranted it to the father 

 in 1306; F. 349, 348, 347. The acre 

 was by this time known as the Abbot's 

 Acre. Sec also Ducatus Lane, i, 263. The 

 same collection contains a number of the 

 deeds regarding lands in Farnworth. 



The Dentons have been named in pre- 

 ceding notes. Richard son of John de 

 Cronton and Isabel his wife, and others, 

 were plaintiffs in a suit against John, son 

 of Randle de Denton, in 1337 ; Assize 

 R. 1424, m. \\ d, John Denton and 

 Elizabeth his wife were recusants in 164 1 ; 

 Trans, Hist. Soc. (New Scr.), xiv, 241. 

 This was probably the reason of the 

 sequestration of the property in 1643-4, 

 when the Parliament obtained power, 

 though in 165 1 the authorities were un- 

 certain as to the cause ; Royalist Comp. P. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 120. 

 John Denton's land was afterwards de- 

 clared forfeited and sold ; Cal. Com. for 



388 



Comp, iv, 3169 ; Index of RoyaVnti (Index 

 Soc), 41. 



M. Gregson states : ' Denton's house 

 and lands are now (18 17) the property of 

 the editor [himself], and have been of 

 his maternal ancestors ever since 1669; 

 the last Denton, whose children sold it, 

 died in i66i ' ; Fragments^ 179. 



Families named Donington and Leigh 

 have been mentioned in the fourteenth 

 century. In 1323, by fine, Richard de 

 Donington and Emma his wife transferred 

 to Robert son of Richard, and Margery 

 his wife, a messuage and lands in Apple- 

 ton ; Final Cone, ii, 50. About five years 

 later Maud, widow of Robert de Don- 

 ington, claimed land held by Thomas, 

 son of Robert de Denton ; De Banc. R. 

 264, m. 115. Roger de Donington died 

 in 1449 50, holding lands here ; his 

 heriot was an ox, valued at 6s, id. ; the 

 heir was his son Richard, who may be 

 the Richard Donington, rector of Soli- 

 hull, who in 1454 purchased lands in 

 Denton ; Duchy of Lane. Ct. R, bdle. 5, 

 n. 67, 69. 



Lands here were in 1332 in dispute 

 between Richard son of Philip de la 

 Leigh, and Robert son of Robert, son of 

 Philip de la Leigh ; Assize R. 141 1, m. 

 12. Eight years later the same Richard 

 son of Philip granted a messuage and 

 lands to his son William, on his marriage 

 with Margery, daughter of Richard del 

 Ditchfield ; Dods. MSS. Iviii, fol. 163*. 



^ By a deed of 1437-8 Agnes, widow of 

 William Wright, daughter and heir of 

 Emmota de Denton, granted to Gilbert, 

 son of Sir Henry Bold, all her hereditary 

 lands, &c., within Widnes j Dods. MSS. 

 Iviii, fol. 163. Robert Wright in 1457 

 bought lands in Widnes, Denton, and 

 Appleton, from William Wright and 

 Agnes his wife, and afterwards sold them 

 to Robert Bold ; Duchy of Lane. Ct. R. 

 bdle. 5, fi. 69. In 1666 Robert and John 

 Wright had 5 hearths to be taxed at 

 Appleton, and Margaret Wright 5 at 

 Farnworth. 



The house has over the porch 

 1670 

 Tw : Mw : Hw 

 for Thomas, Martha, and Henry Wright. 

 In 1895 the owner and occupier was a 

 Mr, Cowley, said to be descended from 

 the Wrights j Information from Mr. R. D. 

 Radcliffe. 



T Fragments, 1 8 1. A view of Peel 

 House in 1819 is given ; ibid. 171. The 

 Upper House appears to be that also called 

 Widnes Hall or Widncs House. Lower 

 House formerly belonged to the Hawar- 

 dens ; see Gillow. 



The Carters were a recusant family, 

 Richard Banastre, an *old pricit,' being 

 sheltered in their house * by the Runcorn 

 boat' in 1586 ; Lydiate Hall, 229. They 

 appear in the roll of 1641, and suffered 

 accordingly under the Commonwealth, 

 Richard Carter's estate being absolutely 

 confiscated j Cal. Com, for Comp. v, 3202. 



