WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



LEIGH 



the pebble beds of the bunter series of the new red 

 sandstone, with a considerable area of alluvium in 

 the low ground by Pennington Brook. The popu- 

 lation in 1901 numbered 9,977 persons. The 

 Local Government Act, 1858, was adopted by the 

 township in 1863.' By the 38 and 39 Victoria, 

 cap. ccxi, the district was merged in that of Leigh. 

 Part of the township together with a portion of the 

 township of Westleigh was formed in 1854 into an 

 ecclesiastical parish. By a Local Government Order ' 

 in 1894 the civil parish of Pennington w.is included 

 in that of Leigh. The principal employments are 

 those of coal-mining, cotton-spinning and weaving, 

 and engineering.' The principal landowners are 

 Lord Lilford and Mr. C. G. Milnes-Gaskell, of 

 Wakefield. 



Before the Conquest and after, the 

 MANOR manor of PENNINGTON was dependent 

 upon the chief manor of Warrington, and 

 was held by the yearly rent of i u., thus retaining 

 some semblance of the earlier drengage tenure 

 observed in the adjoining township of Bedford. Both 

 townships were in the possession of the Bedford 

 family at the commencement ot the thirteenth 

 century — the dawn of documentary records in this 

 parish. At an early date the manor, like that of 

 Bedford, passed to the family of Kighley, as evidenced 

 by a charter of Sir Henry de Kighley, knt., dated at 

 Cropwell Butler in the year 1293, granting to Sir 

 WiUiam le Boteler of Warrington, his chief lord, all 

 his right in the homage, wardships, rent, and other 

 services of Adam de Pennington, his tenant of the 

 manor of Pennington.* The superior manor was 

 thus merged in the barony of which it was held, and 

 the descent of the mesne manor remains to be 

 described. 



Between 1200 and 1 22 1 Simon de Bedford gave 

 the manor to Margery daughter of Richard de 

 Pennington, William le Boteler, the chief lord,' 

 and Richard de Pennington, father of Margery, con- 

 firming the gift.' Shortly afterwards Margery gave 

 to Cockersand Abbey land bounded as follows : — 

 ' From Aldemulneford to the highway coming from 

 Beneford, following the highway towards Leigh church 

 to a ditch, descending the ditch to Goldelache and so 

 to the stream, and by the stream to Aldemulneford.' ' 

 Richard de Pennington, either the father or the son 

 of Margery, but probably the former, also gave land 

 by Westleigh church, namely ' from the churchyard 

 going down beside the church croft to Gildalache and 

 by a white thorn to the highway leading from 

 Bedford, thence by that way and by the churchyard 

 ditch to the first boundary.' " Margery married 

 Hugh son of William de RadcliiFe (living 1206), who 

 had received from his father ' all Hartshead, to wit 



2 carucates of land ' in Morley wapentake, co. York.' 

 Margery bore to her husband two sons, Richard and 

 William, who made a partition of their inheritance in 

 1246, after their mother's death, by which Richard 

 became possessed of the manor of Pennington.'" 



In 1293 Adam, who appears to have been son of 

 the last-named," gave half the manor to Roger son of 

 Richard de Bradshagh, in marriage with Joan his 

 daughter, excepting 4 oxgangs of land within certain 

 bounds beginning at Kymbil-lache unto Pennington 

 water, and so between the metes of Bedford and 

 Pennington to the bounds of Culcheth, and from 

 thence to the bounds of Kenyon, thence to the 

 bounds of Lowton, thence to Pennington Moss, 

 thence to the ' rynyorde ' " of Pininton, and thence 

 by Thomas Beneson's Croft, Kymbil, the Mulne Hey 

 and the ' He ' (Hey) to the Wallelache, thence to the 

 old Kirkegate, thence to the land of Master Henry de 

 Legth unto the metes of Bedford, and so to Penning- 

 ton ' He.' " Afterwards he gave to Roger and Joan 

 these 4 oxgangs, of which Roger de Byckershagh held 

 2 oxgangs, Henry the tailor and Thomas the reeve 

 each one oxgang, to hold ' tol-fre and hopre-fre ' in 

 all his mills in Pennington." In 1 299 Adam de 

 Pennington gave lands here to his bastard sons by 

 Elota Crakebone, who were then under age, namely, 

 to Adam 6 messuages, 18 acres of land and 10 acres 

 of wood, to Richard 2 messuages, 60 acres of land 

 and 60 acres of wood." In 1 301 Hugh is men- 

 tioned as elder brother of Richard and Adam.'° In 

 1299 Roger son of Agnes de Westleigh, Henry de 

 Leigh, William son of Richard de Bradshagh, Richard 

 son of Richard de Chaydoke, and Robert Crakebane 

 were free tenants of the manor — the total number 

 being seventeen in all — and there were then only 

 1 70 acres of waste in the manor, of which Adam de 

 Pennington held 30 acres in defence every year 

 between Michaelmas and Martinmas, and he and his 

 ancestors had also held in defence from the feast of 

 the Circumcision until the Ascension 66 acres of 

 wood on account of the eyries of their falcons. The 

 remainder was insufficient for the free tenants,'' and 

 in consequence Roger de Bradshagh and Joan gave to 

 Henry de Leigh a plat of land called the Aubres Hey 

 and 3 acres in Richard's field in exchange for common 

 of pasture in DuUinghurst, Pennington Moss, and 

 Dullinghurst Carrs.'* 



Adam de Pennington died about 1309, leaving 

 issue by his wife Joan, afterwards wife of Richard son 

 of Alexander de Pilkington," an only daughter Joan, 

 wife of Roger son of Richard de Bradshagh of 

 Pennington, which Richard was probably a younger 

 brother of Roger de Bradshagh of Westleigh. Roger 

 and Richard may perhaps be identified as younger 

 brothers of Henry de Bradshagh of Bradshaw, son and 



^ Lottd. Gaz. 4650. 



' Order No, 31736 of 29 Sept. 1894. 



3 Census Rep, 1901, pp. 178—9. 



* Harl. MS. 2112, 148*. Sealed with 

 a lion rampant guardant upon a lozenge 

 and square interlaced. Probably a bor- 

 rowed seal. 



s Harl. MS. 2112, 145. All the wit- 

 nesses' names in the charter of confir- 

 mation occur in the Great Inquest of 

 Service of A.D. 121 2. The occurrence of 

 Richard son of Robert de Lathom and 

 Richard le Waleys with Richard his son, 

 fixes the date of the confirmation before 



I22I. 



8 Dodsworth MSS. liii, 27. 



William 



de Bedford, brother of Simon, also con- 

 firmed the feoffment. The service was 

 I %d. yearly at St. Oswald and forinsec 

 service ; Worsley, Leigh Par. Church, 

 App. i. 



^ Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc. xliii), 

 713. * Ibid. 714. 



' Dodsworth MSS. cxvii, 142 ; Torks. 

 Feet of F. (Surtees Soc. xciv), 98. 



" Lanes. Feet of F. (Rec. Soc. xxxix), 

 149. 



"In 1315 Henry de Legh claimed 

 from Richard son of Richard de Penning- 

 ton, warranty of 4 acres of land here, 

 which Henry held of Richard, and for 

 which he had the charter of Adam de 



427 



Pennington, brother of the said Richard, 

 whose heir he the said Richard was. 

 De Banc. R. 208, m. I37</. 



i'^ The Rynyorde was the movable 

 fence which surrounded the open fields 

 dividing arable land from common. Deri- 

 vation, hring=A.S., a ring, circuit ; geard 

 =1 A.S. an enclosure. Cf. grind-gardr, Old 

 Norse = a hurdle or lattice fence. 



13 Harl. MS. 21 12, 1456. 



" Ibid. 



"Z,aHa.F«fo/'F. (Rec. Soc. xxxix), 186. 



1^ Assize R. 1321, m. 8. 



V Ibid. 1299, m. 14. 



IS Harl. MS. 2112, 148-8*. 



19 Towneley MS. GG. 2626. 



