A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



sons, John and William ; ' the lormer succeeded, 

 and was followed by his son John, sometimes 

 described as John son of John son of Henry, and 

 at other times more shortly as John Henrj-son.' 

 He had a son Henry and a daughter Alice.' 

 Henry in 1348 married Joan daughter of John son 

 of Robert, lord of the other moiety of Ditton,' 

 and succeeded his father about two years later, 

 dying in or before 1370.' He appears to have 

 prospered, and added to his patrimony the twelfth 

 part of the manor held by the Fish family, and 

 the sixth part held by the descendants of Henry 

 son of Philip.' His daughter and heir Margery 

 married Richard son of Henry de Rixton,' and 



they in turn were succeeded by two daughters.' 

 Joan married Henry son of Nicholas Blundell ot 

 Little Crosby, whose descendants have retained pos- 

 session to the present time ; ' and Elizabeth married 

 Richard son of Richard Dawne or Done of Crow- 

 ton and seems to have had a son Thomas, living 

 in 1 48 1, but the subsequent history of this portion 

 is unknovra.'" 



Hugh Fish, contemporary with the Ralph father of 

 Henry, and probably son of another Hugh," had two 

 sons, Richard and Robert." The former succeeded, 

 and was in turn followed by his son Richard," who 

 died about 1328, being succeeded by a son Hugh, 

 living in 1347." Hugh had a son Robert," who 



' William son of Henry de Ditton 

 made grants to his niece Sibela ; each 

 was an acre in Easthead, between lands of 

 SibeU and of Roger de Vilers and John 

 del Marsh ; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 95-6, n. 

 587 (dated 1316-17), 585. William had a 

 son Richard, with land near the Oldgate 

 Lane and in the Crook ; ibid. 98, n, 660. 



^ In the same way his contemporary 

 John son of John son of Dandy, was 

 called John Dandyson. 



Several of John Henryson's charters 

 have been presen'ed. They begin about 

 1310, and he is mentioned down to i3t;o. 

 Some of the earliest were agreements 

 with Richard Fish as to lands in the Rice, 

 &c. J Kuerden fol. MS. p. 96, n. 591 j 

 Blundell of Crosby D. K. 230, K. 2+7. In 

 1324 he exchanged plots in Northwood 

 and Nctherwood with Richard son of 

 Henry the Smith of Tarbock ; Norris D. 

 (B.M.), n. 265. 



In 1332 he made an exchange with 

 John son of Roger of the Mill of Hale, of 

 nine selions in Nicholsfield and Quitul 

 (or Whittle), for land in the Meadowfield 

 and the reversion of that held by Cecily 

 widow of Roger ; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 

 98, n. 658, &c. Hugh son of Robert de 

 Ditton in 1340 granted to John ana 

 Margery his wife land in the BoukersAeld 

 for thirteen years j ibid. p. 97, rt. 649. 

 From John son of Roger Coke and 

 Amery he procured a messuage and lands 

 near Ditton Halgh, which had belonged 

 to the mother ^ ibid. p. 213, n. 469. 



In March, 1 348-9, about the time of 

 his »on*» marriage, he made a general 

 feoffment of his lands ; Bold D. (Warr.), 

 F. 184 ; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 98, n. 347. 

 He seems to have died soon afterwards, 

 Henry de Ditton taking his place as wit- 

 ness to charters from 1350 onwards. 



' Alice was contracted in marriage to 

 John son of Thomas de Ditton in i 342 ; 

 ibid. p. 99, n. 362. 



* The marriage covenants were drawn 

 up at the beginning of 1349. John son 

 of Robert agreed to pay John son of John 

 37 marks, and the latter settled on his 

 son Henry and Joan his wife various 

 tenements in Ditton, including the 

 messuage of John Dandyson, with the 

 free rent of ji. paid by Alan le Norreys 

 of Speke for the Walk Mill, and the 

 service of William son of John de Ditch- 

 field of iJ. rent ; some field names are 

 given — Crossfield, Sourfield, Corshohn 

 Acre ; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 96, n. 635. 



' In this year Roger son of Stephen de 

 Ditton gave Joan as widow of Henry a 

 rent of 2t. for fifteen years ; ibid. p. 97, 

 B. 650. In March, 1367, the bishop of 

 Lichfield granted Henry de Ditton a 

 licence for his oratory at Ditton ; Lich. 

 Epis. Reg. V, foL 16. 



• Henry was a purchaser in 1 344 and 



1350 ; Final Cone, (Rec. Sec. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, 121, 128. In 1355 

 Henry de Ditton gave his land in Hali- 

 wcU Riding to Henry the Smith of Tar- 

 bock in exchange ; Norris D. (B.M.), 

 n. iy6. Various disputes and agreements 

 between Henry and Thomas de Ditton 

 may be seen in Kuerden fol. MS. p. 98-9 ; 

 Dt-p, Keepers Rep. xxxii, App. 343, &c. 

 Margery' the daughter of Thomas released 

 to Henry all the lands he had had from 

 her father, and Thomas's brother Roger 

 sold his lands to Henry de Ditton (1368) 

 and Henry de Rixton (1377}; Kuerden 

 fol. MS. 96-7. 



By a charter of 1369 Robert Fish of 

 Ditton granted to Henry de Ditton a 

 messuage and all his lands in Ditchlield ; 

 ibid. p. 136, n. 382. Henry also acquired 

 the lands of Robert the Tailor — ibid. p. 

 397, n. 412 ; p. 98, «. 345 ; Richard de 

 Astbrook — ibid. p. 38, n. 430 ; and John 

 de Fulrig — ibid. p. 137, n. 440. 



It appears that Henry had a son of the 

 same name, who in 1366 and 1368 called 

 his father to warrant to him certain lands 

 in Great Sankey ; De Banc. R. 422, 

 •n- 373 ; +3^, m. 139,/. 



7 Margery in 1375 enfeoffed Henry 

 Banastre, chaplain, and Richard son of 

 Henry de Bold, of all her lands in 

 Ditton, Sankey-cum-Penkcth, and Eccles- 

 ton, with all manor-houses, homages, &c., 

 thereto belonging ; Kuerden fol. MS. p, 

 98, n. 348. Margot widow of Richard de 

 Rixton made an enfeoffment of certain 

 lands in 1415 ; ibid. 359, R. 422. 



^ This statement rests on the authority 

 of an entry in a seventeenth-century book 

 of pedigrees 'from Mr, Erdswick's notes,' 

 and is confirmed by the subsequent his- 

 tory of the properties ; see also the 

 account of Bold. 



^ The total inheritance was the twelfth 

 of John Henryson, the twelfth of Richard 

 Fish, and the sixth of Thomas de Ditton, in 

 alia third; and the rent payable was the sum 

 of 18^., i%d., and 4J., i.e. ys. This explains 

 the record in the Blundell inquisitions — 

 e.g. Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, n. 74 — 

 that they held their lands of the king by 

 a rent of 31. 6d., a moiety of the ys.; but 

 in that taken after the death of Richard 

 Blundell in 1592, they are said to be held 

 ' of the heirs of John son of John son of 

 Henry de Ditton, by the rent of a red 

 rose'; ibid, xv, n. 10. Later still, in 

 1638, William Blundell was said to have 

 held a moiety of the manor of the king 

 by fealty in free and common socage ; 

 this pointing to the acquisition of the 

 Coney portion and a commutation of the 

 ancient free rent. 



The Blundells' house at Ditton was 

 called the Bank ; it lay to the east of 

 Ditchfield. There are numerous references 

 to it in N. Blundell's Diary ; e.g. 116. 



'" See preceding notes. Robert son of 

 Richard Dawne of Crowton occurs in 

 1422 ; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 230, n. 71, 

 76. For the pedigree of the Donei of 

 Crowton, see Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby) 

 ii, 136. 



" It will be seen that Hugh Fish had 

 sons Richard (son Richard) and Robert ; 

 and contemporary with him was Hugh 

 son of Hugh de Ditton, who had also 

 sons Richard (son Richard) and Robert, 

 so that probably the younger Hugh was 

 Hugh the Fish. Hugh son of Hugh de 

 Ditton granted to Richard his first- 

 begotten and heir all his lands and 

 liberties in Ditton; Blundell of Crosby D. 

 K. 241. Richard son of Hugh de Ditton 

 gave his brother Robert certain lands in 

 Holcroft, Boukerfield, and Whittle ; ibid. 

 K. 248. Richard son of Richard son of 

 Hugh de Ditton gave land at the head of 

 his Black Moor to Henry the Smith of 

 Tarbock ; one head abutted on the high- 

 way from Ditton to Tarbock ; Norris D. 

 (B.M.), n. 243. 



" Richard son of Hugh the Fish of 

 Ditton granted land in the North Wood 

 to Henry son of Robert the Corviser ; 

 one head abutted on the Out Lane near 

 the Finder's houses, and the other on 

 Heywalle (usually Haliwell) Brook, with 

 housebote, heybote and mastfall for his 

 pigs, in return for his third best pig when 

 he should have more than four, and a 

 rent of a silver penny yearly ; ibid, n. 246, 

 Robert son of Hugh Fish (Feys) quit- 

 claimed to his brother Richard the homage 

 of Hugh the Cartwright and id. rent, 

 and two other small rents ; Kuerden fol. 

 MS, p. 136, B, 387. 



•* Richard the Fish of Ditton in 1309-10 

 granted to his son Richard all his lands 

 in Ditton, the son finding him food and 

 clothing for the remainder of his life ; 

 ibid, p. 137, n. 443, 



The younger Richard was living in 

 132^ ; ibid. p. 260, n. 402. He had 

 brothers Robert and Roger, He allowed 

 to his brother Robert all the land newly 

 approved at the head of Ditchfield ; 

 Blundell of Crosby D, K, 263. A grant 

 by Roger son of Richard Fish in 1310 is 

 among the Norris D. (B.M.), n. 261 ; and 

 his widow Cecily released her right in the 

 same ; ibid, n. 247. 



Margery widow of Richard Fish granted 

 lod. rent to her son Hugh (Kuerden fol. 

 MS. p. I37,n. 391); and in 1329 released 

 to Thomas de Hale her right in certain 

 of her late husband's lands ; Blundell of 

 Crosby D. K. 61. 



" A release by Hugh son of Richard 

 Fish to Richard the Smith of Tarbock ; 

 Norris D. (B.M.), n. 274. 



" Probably the Robert son of Hugh, 

 witness to a charter of 1361 ; Bold D. 

 (Warr.), G. 26. 



