WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



appears to have sold his patrimony to John Henryson 

 or his son Henry.' 



The share of Henry son of Philip ' seems to have 

 descended intact to his son Adam, who was living in 

 1 246,' and to his grandson Stephen,* who held it for 

 about fifty years, 1 265-1315 being the approximate 

 dates.' Stephen was twice married, Maud and 

 Margery being the names of his wives," and several 

 children are named — Thomas, his heir ; Stephen, 

 Adam, Roger, Margery, and Agnes.' Thomas, like 

 his father, held this share of the manor for about fifty 

 years, being mentioned as late as 1364.' He had 

 issue, but, as already stated, appears to have sold or 

 mortgaged the estate to Henry de Ditton about 1350. 



PRESCOT 



The origin of the share held by Richard the Smith 

 of Ditton is unknown ; ' he was succeeded before 

 1 3 18 '" by his son Thomas, who was living in 1347, 

 and had a son Henry," but appears to have sold his 

 eighteenth part of the manor to Hugh son of Robert 

 de Ditton.'" The Smith family, however, continued 

 here for some time longer." 



The Robert de Ditton who held a ninth ot 

 the manor in 1323 was son of a Richard son ot 

 Adam and Wimark.'* It does not appear likely, 

 however, that this was Richard son of the Adam 

 living in 1 201 and 1212 ; Adam and Richard were 

 favourite names in the Ditton families." Robert 

 was succeeded in 1324-5 by his son Roger, aged 



1 Kuerden fol. MS. p. 136, n. 382. 



' Philip de Ditton had several sons — 

 Henry, Ralph (who had a son Roger), 

 Robert (son Richard), and Richard. By a 

 charter of about i25oRobert sonofPhilip 

 and Richard son of Adam de Ditton 

 granted to Henry son of Philip de Ditton 

 all their share of Hardcroft, the bounds 

 being from the pool separating Hardcroft 

 and Holcrofl as far as Astbrook ; with 

 mastfall for his pigs bred in Ditton and 

 sixteen others purchased ; Dods. MSS. 

 cxlii, foL 229. Stephen son of Adam 

 son of Henry de Ditton granted land on 

 the Blackow to Richard son of Philip ; 

 BlundeU of Crosby D. K. 83. Robert 

 son of Richard Pyntel gave lands to Roger 

 son of Ralph, son of Philip de Ditton ; 

 Dods. MSS. Iviii, fol. 163^. Richard son 

 of Robert son of Philip de Ditton had 

 lands from Robert son of John de Glest, 

 and was witness to another charter of the 

 latter half of the thirteenth century j 

 BlundeU of Crosby D. K. 235, K. 149. 



* He was plaintiff in a suit of that year 

 against John son of Richard de Cuerdley j 

 Randle de Ditton and Roger his brother, 

 and Brun de Cuerdley were- also con- 

 cerned ; Assize R, 404, m. 1 3 f/. 



Two of his charters are extant. By 

 one, as Adam son of Henry de Ditton, 

 he granted Hugh the Carpenter all that 

 third part of his land between the lands 

 of Richard the Carpenter and John son of 

 Robert, stretching from the wood to 

 Plunter furlong, at a rent of ^d. ; while 

 by another he gave Richard son of Adam 

 the Carpenter of Upton 2 acres in Wet- 

 shawin marriage with Felicia his daughter, 

 at \d. rent ; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 97, n. 

 644 ; 98, n. 344. 



* Evidence of descent has been given in 

 preceding notes ; he is usually styled 

 Stephen son of Adam. 



* He was thus a contemporary, though 

 probably younger, of John son of Robert. 

 To some charters he was witness together 

 with William de Bold. He was defendant 

 in a plea in 1292 ; Assize R. 408, m. 

 103 d. The latest date of any of his 

 charters is 1313-14, and as his daughter 

 Margery made a grant two years later 

 than this, without any indication that her 

 father was still living, the date of his 

 death is approximately fixed ; Kuerden 

 fol. MS, p. 98, ». 659 ; 97, n. 653. With 

 the consent of Maud his wife he granted 

 to Hugh the Carpenter of the Marsh a 

 selion on Crosto (? Crosho), which Robert 

 son of Thomas de Ditton had held ; and 

 later he made a grant to Richard, Hugh's 

 son, in Whittle, one head abutting on the 

 Peel ; by another he gave Richard son of 

 William de Ditton all his land in the 

 Oldgate for a rent of 3</. payable 

 ' at the fair of Halton ' ; BlundeU of 

 Crosby D. K. 84, K. 2, K. 249. To 



William de Bold he gave up the lands in 

 Bold and la Quike which his father had 

 held ; Bold D. (Warr.), F. 58. 



' A release was made to him by John 

 son of Henry, Richard son of Robert, and 

 Richard son of Hugh de Ditton, of the 

 land of which Stephen became enfeoffed 

 through his marriage ; Kuerden fol. MS. 

 p. 97, n. 652. Stephen himself quitclaimed 

 to Alice his daughter, on her marriage 

 with Richard de Slynehead, a moiety of 

 the lands he had had with Maud his wife ; 

 ibid. n. 654. In 1309-10 he gave his son 

 Stephen land called Woodwal Hey and 

 another piece in Whittle, with remainders 

 to Adam, another son, and then to the 

 children of the grantor by Margery ; ibid, 

 n, 651. 



7 Some of these have been mentioned 

 in previous notes. 



^ By an agreement between his father 

 Stephen and John son of Hugh de Hulme, 

 Thomas was about 1310 contracted to 

 marry John's daughter Alice, her father 

 giving 1 1 marks to Stephen, and the same 

 amount to the young couple, while Ste- 

 phen gave them the half of his land in Dit- 

 ton 5 Kuerden fol. MS. p. 97, n, 643. From 

 a suit in 1354 it appears that Thomas 

 was then married to a Margery, and had 

 a daughter of the same name 5 Duchy of 

 Lane. Assize R. 3, m. iij d, Thomas 

 gave land in the Hook in 1335 ; Norris 

 D. (B.M.), n. 271. In a feoffment of 

 his possessions made in 1343 they are 

 described as a capital messuage, with 

 houses and garden ; the lordship of a 

 sixth part of the viU ; and many other 

 messuages and lands, approvements from 

 the waste, &c., and the reversion of lands 

 held in dower by Margery, then wife of 

 Alan Hurel ; Kuerden fol. p. 99, «. 354. 

 At the latest mention of him in 1364 he 

 was sueing Henry de Ditton, Robert son 

 of Hugh de Ditton, and Thomas de 

 Ditton, for money owing ; De Banc. R. 

 418, m. 2241/. 



^ A rent of 4^/. was given to Richard 

 the Smith of Ditton by Robert Pyntel ; 

 Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 247, n. 6. 



Richard the Smith of Ditton granted 

 to Richard called Faucus of Ditton and 

 Maud his wife a piece of land abutting 

 on the Mere ditch between Tarbock and 

 Ditton, and another piece lying towards 

 Upton, in the Brandearth ; and Maud, as 

 widow of Richard Faucus, gave land to 

 Richard son of Henry the Smith of Tar- 

 bock ; Norris D (B.M.), «. 240, 237. 



" In 1317-18 Thomas son of Richard 

 the Smith quitclaimed to William de 

 Larbreck, Serjeant of Alan le Norreys, 

 all his right in lands in Alton Field in 

 Ditton — one in the Overshot and the 

 other in the Nethershot — granted by Alan 

 to William ; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 96, n. 

 636. To Hugh son of Robert de Astbrook 



399 



he gave a Belion in Astbrook Field ; ibid, 

 p. 136, «. 383. To John Henryson he 

 granted his portion of the field called 

 Netherwood, in the Holme ; ibid. p. 99, 

 «■ 353> &c* To Richard son of Henry 

 the Smith of Tarbock he gave a plat of 

 land in the Outshooting near the Sour- 

 field ; Norris D. (B.M.), «. 238. 



1^ Thomas the Smith was witness to a 

 charter made in 1 347 ; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 

 96, n. 598. He granted to Henry his first- 

 born son his capital messuage and all his 

 lands and rights in Ditton, with remain- 

 der to Randle his younger son ; Kuerden 

 MSS. ii, fol. 247^, n, 36. 



In 1366 Henry was defendant in a 

 complaint made by Henry dc Ditton as 

 to the mowing of his grass ; De Banc. R. 

 425, m. 435^. In the same year his 

 daughter Alice was contracted in marriage 

 to Thomas de Snape ; Kuerden fol. MS. 

 p. 96, «. 596. 



^^ See note above, from the Survey of 

 1 346, from which it appears that Hugh 

 de Ditton then held the eighteenth part 

 of the manor which was the Smiths' 

 patrimony. 



^^ In the same note Henry Thompson 

 the Smith appears among the holders of 

 land in 1481. 



It should be observed also that Edward 

 Rawstorne of the Lumb near Bury, in 

 1634, held messuages, &c., in Ditton of 

 the king by a rent of 12c/.; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. xxviii, n. 23. 



" Robert son of Richard de Ditton 

 frequently occurs as a witness to charters ; 

 and in 1322-3 he appears to be described 

 as Robert son of Richard son of Adam ; 

 Kuerden fol. MS. p. 1 3 6, «. 5 8 3 . As Robert 

 son of Richard son of Wimark he had a 

 release of certain lands in 1324 ; Kuerden 

 fol. (Wh. Qu.) p. 330, n. 606. A Richard, 

 son of Adam de Ditton, was witness to 

 many charters of a generation earlier than 

 those in which the name of Robert son 

 Richard occurs, being a contemporary of 

 the earlier John son of Robert, and 

 Stephen son of Adam ; see e.g. Kuerden 

 fol. MS. p. 98, H, 662. Richard son of 

 Wimark was also witness ; BlundeU of 

 Crosby D. K. 87, K. 145. 



15 Adam son of Randle de Ditton 

 granted to Alan le Norreys, not later than 

 1250, all his land in Radcliffe head, viz. 

 as much as belonged to one and a half 

 oxgangs of land in Ditton, at a rent of 

 zd. or two iron spurs ; and Randle de 

 Ditton about the same time made a grant 

 to Alan of land in the same place, at a 

 rent of iJ. ; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 235, 

 236. From the endorsement of the 

 latter It appears that this Randle was the 

 ancestor of the Dandyson family. The 

 mention of one and a half oxgangs in the 

 former — about a sixth of the moiety of 

 Ditton — might lead to the supposition 



