Townships: Eccleston

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1911.

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'Townships: Eccleston', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp162-166 [accessed 16 November 2024].

'Townships: Eccleston', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online, accessed November 16, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp162-166.

"Townships: Eccleston". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1911), , British History Online. Web. 16 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp162-166.

In this section

ECCLESTON

Ekeleston, 1203; Ecliston, 1252; Hecleston, 1284; Eccleston, 1301.

The township of Eccleston is divided into two parts by the River Yarrow, which flows through it westward to join the Douglas. The parish church, with the village, stands near the centre, on the southern bank of the river; in the northern half are Tingreave and Sarscow, while in the southern is Bradley Hall. The hamlet of Eccleston Green is near the border of Heskin. The surface rises from the Yarrow to the north-east and the south-east, reaching about 160 ft. above the ordnance datum in the south-east corner. The area is 2,089½ acres, (fn. 1) and the population in 1901 was 1,249.

The principal road is one between Wigan and Preston, passing north-west through the Green and the village to the church, where it crosses the river by a bridge, the mill being adjacent. Afterwards it divides; the main branch goes north to Preston, while the other goes north-west to join the road to Bretherton. From the village a road goes southwest to Mawdesley.

The hearth tax return of 1666 shows that there were then ninety-five hearths liable; the principal houses were those of Thomas Abbott with nine hearths, John Todd and Edward Parr six each. (fn. 2) Parr Hall is a three-story brick house with stone quoins and blue-slated roof, without architectural distinction except for the doorway, which has a good semi-domed hood on brackets, and a stone panel with the date 1721 and initials E P I TP.

There are several collieries, quarries and a cotton mill. Some hand-loom weaving also is carried on.

The soil is loamy, the subsoil clay. Wheat and oats are grown.

Manors

The manor of ECCLESTON, in which Heskin was long included, was from an early period held in moieties. This appears from the grant of a moiety of the church by Roger of Poitou in 1094, the other moiety being probably held by the predecessor of the Walton family. (fn. 3) No detailed account is given in the survey of 1212, when Eccleston and Heskin were no doubt included in the knight's fee held by Roger Gernet by the office of forester (fn. 4); but forty years later it was found that Roger Gernet had held of William Earl of Ferrers two plough-lands in Eccleston by service of the forest and to find a judge at the county court and a suitor at the earl's court. One plough-land was in demesne, and the other was held of Roger by Warine de Walton by the service of 4s. yearly. (fn. 5) Together with Halton and other members of the forester's fee this moiety of Eccleston, apparently known as the Manor of BRADLEY, descended to the Dacre family, (fn. 6) and after the temporary forfeiture (fn. 7) and partition in the time of Edward IV was by the king in 1473 assigned, together with Fishwick, to Sir Richard Fiennes and Joan his wife, the granddaughter and heir of Thomas Lord Dacre, who died in 1458. (fn. 8)

Their grandson Thomas Lord Dacre in 1506 sold his manors of Fishwick and Eccleston to Edmund Dudley, the minister of Henry VII. (fn. 9) After Dudley's execution and forfeiture these manors were with other lands allowed to his heir John, afterwards Duke of Northumberland. (fn. 10)

Fiennes. Azure three lions rampant or.

The manor passed through various hands, (fn. 11) and in 1539 it was sold to Richard Molyneux, (fn. 12) whose heir, on acquiring the other moiety, became sole lord.

Bradley Hall was sold to Adam Rigby, rector of Eccleston, (fn. 13) and came by 1836 into the hands of a sister of General John Rigbye Fletcher. (fn. 14) The present owner of the estate is said to be Mr. Charles Robert Fletcher Lutwidge. (fn. 15)

Of the hall practically nothing remains except a portion of the moat which is yet filled with water. The house, which stands at the south-east end of the village, a mile from the church, is now a modern farmstead, but parts of the farm buildings, which are of stone, apparently belong to an older building.

The other moiety of the manor, once held by the Waltons of the Gernets and their heirs, (fn. 16) was sold by the daughter and heir of William de Walton to Henry Earl of Lancaster in 1347, (fn. 17) but land in the township was held by the heirs of another branch of the Walton family, and as the manor of TINGREAVE descended in the line of Radcliffe (fn. 18) and Barton of Smithills until the 17th century. (fn. 19) The moiety of the manor of Eccleston, however, like the earldom and duchy of Lancaster, became part of the Crown's possessions, and after several grants, including one made in 1481 to Thomas Molyneux, (fn. 20) was sold by Henry VIII in 1545 to Thomas Fleetwood for £607 6s. 8d. (fn. 21) About fifty years later it was sold to Sir Richard Molyneux, (fn. 22) descending like Sefton until it was alienated in 1729 to pay off charges and debts. (fn. 23)

Sarscow appears to have been held by the Tunstall family in the 14th century. (fn. 24) Other surnames occurring in the earlier pleadings, &c., are Shurvington, Rawe, Whithalgh and Whittingham, but no detailed account can be given of these families. (fn. 25)

In the 16th century there were disputes as to the manor courts. (fn. 26)

Cockersand Abbey (fn. 27) had some land in the township.

Of the minor families of Eccleston one at least bore the local name, (fn. 28) but the Dicconsons, afterwards of Wrightington, became the most prominent. Hugh and Richard Dicconson have been named. Thomas son of John Dicconson died in 1597 holding a messuage and lands in Eccleston and other property in Euxton and Charnock Richard; he left a son and heir named John, two years old. (fn. 29) The principal representative of the family was William Dicconson, who died in 1604 holding a considerable estate in Eccleston, Heskin, Wrightington and other neighbouring townships. His heir was his nephew Edward son of Thomas Dicconson, then forty years of age. (fn. 30) A pedigree was recorded in 1664. (fn. 31) by which time Hugh grandson of Edward Dicconson had succeeded to Wrightington. (fn. 32)

Brick Hall, The Ancient Seat Of The Dicconsone, Eccleston

Their house, known as Brick Hall, as its name denotes, is a brick-built 17th-century two-story building standing at the north end of the village, with gabled stone-slated roofs and stone quoins, but without any distinctly architectural features.

A number of landowners' names may be collected from the inquisitions. (fn. 33) The freeholders in 1600 were Edward Crane, William Dicconson, William Eccleston, Hugh Nelson and Henry Rawe (or Rowe). (fn. 34) In 1628 William Dicconson and James Waring, a convicted recusant, were the landowners contributing to the subsidy. (fn. 35)

A court leet and court baron were formerly held a fortnight after Michaelmas each year for the joint manor of Eccleston and Heskin. (fn. 36)

The parish church has been described above. There is a small Wesleyan Methodist chapel, built in 1900, to replace one erected as early as 1813. (fn. 37)

Footnotes

  • 1. The Census Rep. 1901 gives 2,092 acres, including 16 of inland water.
  • 2. Subs. R. Lancs. bdle. 250, no. 9.
  • 3. See the account of the advowson. In 1203 William son of Edith remitted to Benedict Gernet one plough-land in Eccleston, retaining a sixth part, his mother's land, at a rent of 16d.; Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 12. This was, perhaps, the plough-land afterwards held in demesne by Roger Gernet.
  • 4. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 43. Robert the Forester of Eccleston seems to have held an oxgang of land there, perhaps as bailiff or serjeant of the Dacres; Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, p. 3.
  • 5. Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 188; the plough-land in demesne was worth 17s. a year.
  • 6. Eccleston was included in a Dacre settlement in 1311; Final Conc. ii, 7. Joan widow of William de Dacre in 1324–5 held 4 oxgangs of land in Eccleston, the tenants rendering 5s. a year for each; also a messuage, the moiety of a water-mill and various lands, the total value being 88s. 6d. a year; Inq. p.m. 18 Edw. II, no. 41. In 1338 Randle de Dacre obtained the royal licence to impark his wood at Eccleston, if it were not within the metes of the forest; Cal. Pat. 1338–40, p. 105. In 1362 it was recorded that the Dacre moiety of Eccleston was held of the lords of Leylandshire by homage and performing suit at the said wapentake from three weeks to three weeks; the capital messuage was decayed, and there were 60 acres of land in demesne, each worth 16d. a year, two parts being fit for sowing each year while the third lay fallow; Inq. p.m. 36 Edw. III, pt. i, no. 62. Sir Hugh de Dacre and William his son about 1379 gave to Robert de Pleasington and Agnes his wife the manor of Eccleston; Close, 3 Ric. II, m. 14 d. Sir Thomas Dacre died in 1458, having made a settlement of his manors of Fishwick and Bradley and certain lands in Eccleston, which were to descend to his son Humphrey for life, then to the heirs male of Sir Thomas, and in default to Thomas Clifford son of Joan daughter of Sir Thomas Dacre, then to the heirs of Randle Dacre and of Humphrey his brother; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 65.
  • 7. The brothers Randle and Humphrey Dacre fought on the Lancastrian side at Towton in 1461; the former was killed and the estates and honours of both were forfeited. See G.E.C. Complete Peerage, iii, 7.
  • 8. In 1462 and 1466 a considerable part of the Dacre estates, including Eccleston, seems to have been allowed to Sir Richard and Joan, but after Humphrey Dacre had made peace with the king he put forward his claims as heir male; and the decision of 1473 left only Fishwick and Eccleston to the Fiennes family; Cal. Pat. 1461–7, pp. 140, 534; Parl. R. vi, 43, 44; G.E.C. loc. cit. Richard Fenys or Fiennes Lord Dacre died in 1486 holding the manor of Fishwick and the moiety of the manor of Eccleston with various lands of the king as of his duchy of Lancaster by knights' service. Thomas his kinsman (grandson) and heir was fourteen years of age (in 1502); Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 58. It appears that Joan was living and Thomas a minor in 1506; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xxi, 41 d.
  • 9. Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 101, m. 12; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 21.
  • 10. L. and P. Hen. VIII, i, 1965. By this grant, made in 1511, a third of the manors of Fishwick and Eccleston, forfeited by Edmund Dudley, was allowed to Arthur Plantagenet and Elizabeth his wife, Dudley's widow, the remainder being given to Dudley's trustees (see ibid. no. 1212). John Dudley, the son and heir, was restored in blood soon afterwards; ibid. no. 2082. For his career see Dict. Nat. Biog.; also G.E.C. op. cit. vi, 87.
  • 11. Sir Thomas Seymour, Richard Austin and others were in 1530 plaintiffs in a fine concerning the manors of Bradley, Eccleston, and Fishwick, &c., the deforciants being Sir John Dudley and Joan his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle, 11, m. 113. Eight years later Edward Elrington and Grace his wife purchased the same manors from Thomas Seymour; ibid. bdle. 11, m. 16.
  • 12. Ibid. bdle. 12, m. 15. The sale included the reversion of the lands held by Mary widow of Sir Thomas Seymour. See also Com. Pleas D. Enr. East. 31 Hen. VIII. Sir William Molyneux, father of Richard, died in 1548 holding a messuage and lands in Eccleston of the heirs of Adam de Walton by a rent of 6d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. ix, no. 2. The son, Sir Richard, in virtue of the purchase recorded in the text, counted Eccleston, Heskin and Fishwick among his manors, but the tenure of 'the manor of Eccleston and Heskin' was described as before—of the heirs of Adam de Walton by a rent of 6d.; the annual value was £30 19s. 2½d.; ibid. xiii, no. 35.
  • 13. Hugh Dicconson was seised of a messuage and 500 acres of land called Bradley in 1562, and conveyed it to John Rowe as trustee; Duchy of Lanc. Plead. Eliz. li, D 1. Hugh Dicconson left a widow Elizabeth and a son and heir Richard, described as of Wraysholme, between whom there were disputes in 1584 respecting Bradley, &c.; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 258, m. 13. Adam Rigby died in 1627 holding the capital messuage called Bradley Hall, a dovecote, &c., with lands in Euxton, Whittingham and Goosnargh. Bradley was held of the king as of his duchy of Lancaster by the hundredth part of a knight's fee. The heir was Adam's nephew Alexander (son of Alexander) Rigby, aged thirty-one; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxvii, no. 30. The heir, described as 'of Middleton Hall' in Goosnargh, became a baron of the Exchequer in the Commonwealth. See Piccope MS. Pedigrees (Chet. Lib.), ii, p. 105; Fishwick, Goosnargh, 141. The hall was acquired by Sir T. Sclater 1657–63 and afterwards sold; Misc. Gen. et Her. i, 384.
  • 14. Baines, Lancs. (ed. 1836), iii, 477. The Bradley estate is probably that referred to in a fine respecting lands in Eccleston, Euxton and Croston in 1774, William Shaw the elder being plaintiff and the deforciants being John Fletcher, Mary his wife, Henry Lutwidge, Jane his wife, William Hulton, Lucy his wife, William Dalrymple, Diana his wife, and Elizabeth Molyneux, spinster; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 391, m. 89.
  • 15. For pedigree see Burke's Landed Gentry—Lutwidge of Holm Rook Hall, Cumberland. According to this the above-named Jane wife of Henry Lutwidge was a daughter of Capt. Rigby Molyneux of Preston, high sheriff in 1749 (P.R.O. List, 74), who was a grandson of Sir John Molyneux of Teversal, husband of Lucy daughter of Alexander Rigby.
  • 16. Adam son of Adam de Walton gave to Warine his son half the vill of Eccleston as Adam the elder had held it of Benedict Gernet and Adam the son of the heirs of Benedict; Piccope MSS., iii, p. 3. Master Adam de Walton in 1294 claimed 6 acres in Eccleston against William de Dacre. The land had been approved from the waste by Benedict Gernet and Warine de Walton, lords in common, and fell to the latter's share on a division. Adam son and heir of Warine demised it to William de Shorneton (? Shurventon) for 6s. a year, and this tenant sold his crops and title to William de Dacre; Assize R. 1299, m. 14. In 1301 the moiety of the manors of Eccleston and Heskin was included in a Walton agreement; Final Conc. i, 194. By 1320–1 it had come into the possession of Thurstan de Northlegh and Margery his wife; ibid. ii, 33, 43. See also Assize R. 1404, m. 26 d., 27. Afterwards it was recovered by William de Walton.
  • 17. Final Conc. ii, 123; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xi, p. 60 d. William de Bracebridge and Maud his wife were the vendors, and the sale included also the manor of Ulnes Walton and a moiety of Leyland. For further particulars see the account of Ulnes Walton.
  • 18. In 1339 William son of Robert de Radcliffe and Katherine his wife claimed the manors against William de Walton in accordance with the fine of 1301; ibid. xii, p. xxiii d. See Curia Regis R. 316, m. 18. William son of Robert de Radcliffe in 1359 purchased a messuage and land in Eccleston from Richard de Hale and Alice his wife; Final Conc. ii, 162. Robert de Legh, Maud his wife, William son of Robert de Radcliffe and Maud (? Katherine) his wife in 1365 claimed from John Duke of Lancaster and Blanche his wife the manors of Eccleston, Heskin and Leyland; De Banco R. 421, m. 225. Probably some agreement was made, in accordance with which the Leghs as well as the Radcliffes long held lands in Eccleston. Peter Legh died in 1540 holding messuages and lands in Eccleston of the king as of his duchy by the sixtieth part of a knight's fee; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. viii, no. 10. The messuage called the Tynedgreve was in 1393 held by Robert son of John de Eccleston; Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, p. 3, no. 282.
  • 19. For the Radcliffe and Barton families see the account of Halliwell in Deane. Sir Ralph de Radcliffe, who died in 1433, held lands in Eccleston, &c., of the king as duke by knights' service; they included a tenement in Eccleston called the Tingreave with land appurtenant held of the king by a rent of 6d., which Sir Ralph had settled upon a younger son Edmund; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 35. Ralph Radcliffe of Smithills died in 1485 holding the manor of Tingreave and lands there of the king as of his duchy of Lancaster by knights' service and the yearly rent of 6d.; also other messuages, lands, &c., in Eccleston, Croston, Leyland and Ulnes Walton by knights' service; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 12, 97. In 1549, after the death of Andrew Barton, the tenure of Tingreave was returned as in scoage, by a rent of 4s. 7d.; ibid. ix, no. 27. In later inquisitions the rent is given as 4s. 8d.; e.g. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 207. The manor of Tingreave is mentioned in a Barton settlement of 1652; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 152, m. 67. It was sold by Lord Fauconberg in 1721 to John Thornton; Preston Guardian Sketches, 733. 'Ingrave' Farm, Eccleston, was some time ago sold by the Rev. W. Michell to the late W. H. Talbot. It is situated in New Lane to the north-west of the church, and is a modern building of no particular interest; but the site is old, and is inclosed on all sides by the line of a square homestead moat. See V.C.H. Lancs. ii, 548.
  • 20. The manor of Ulnes Walton and half the manors of Eccleston, Leyland, Heskin and Kellamergh, &c., were in Apr. 1481 given by Edward IV to Thomas Molyneux and the heirs male of his body, with the proviso that if at the end of seventeen years the king should pay as much as the grantee had expended on the premises he might recover possession; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xix, pp. 20, 21. Thomas Molyneux died two years later, and the grant is recorded in the inq. p.m.; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 118. The grant was probably revoked, for in the act of resumption of 1485 half the manors of Eccleston and Heskin were reserved to Thomas and Agnes Wolton, farmers of them; Parl. R. vi, 382. A new lease of the manors of Ulnes Walton, Eccleston, Heskin, Leyland and Kellamergh was made by the king in 1487 to Sir Thomas Wolton and James his son; in 1502 the same manors were leased to William Wall (rector of Eccleston), in 1505 to Henry Farington, and in 1514 to Henry Farington and William his son and heir; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xxi, pp. a/54 d., 57 d., 59 d.; xxii, p. 33.
  • 21. Ibid. xxii, p. 210. The manors of Eccleston and Heskin, except advowsons, were included. Thomas Fleetwood and Bridget his wife made purchases and sales in Eccleston, Heskin and the neighbourhood; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 13, m. 268; 14, m. 91; 17, m. 174; 23, m. 65 (a settlement). At his death in 1576 Thomas Fleetwood of Rossall, &c., held the manors of Eccleston and Heskin, with lands there, of the queen as of her duchy by the fortieth part of a knight's fee; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xii, no. 2. These manors were among those settled on the second son William. Some portions of the estate were sold and settlements of the manor of Eccleston were made by William Fleetwood and Jane his wife in 1590 and 1591; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 52, m. 58; 53, m. 287.
  • 22. The fine last mentioned was probably in connexion with the sale, for it and a transcript of the accompanying recovery are among the Croxteth D. (bdle. H). There does not seem to be any record of the sale, but from that time the Molyneux family appear to have been sole lords of the manor. There is a court roll for Eccleston and Heskin, dated 1594, at Croxteth; H, 5. The manors of Eccleston and Heskin are named in the inquisition after the death of Sir Richard Molyneux of Sefton in 1623, but the jury did not know the tenure; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 390. A similar statement was made after the death of Lord Molyneux in 1636, and the manors were usually enumerated in family settlements; e.g. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 104, no. 18.
  • 23. In accordance with a Private Act 2 Geo. II, cap. 9. The manor and lands were probably sold in parcels. In a fine of 1803 respecting parcels in the (former Molyneux) manors of Eccleston, Heskin, &c., the deforciants were Samuel Fleetwood and wife, Margaret Warren widow, Nancy Lowes widow, John Gosnell and wife, Samuel Warren, Thomas Wiatt and wife, William Wainwright and wife, and Tryphosa Johnson spinster; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. Lent Assizes, 43 Geo. III.
  • 24. The messuage called Sarscow (Sarescogh) is named in 1401; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 529. It had been the property of Thomas Wayward, who in 1374 was defendant to a claim for dower made by Cecily widow of Thomas de Tunstall; De Banco R. 453, m. 338 d. Thomas son of Roger de Tunstall in 1354 claimed a messuage and land against Richard de Hale and Alice his wife. He stated that his father had given the premises to another son Ralph, whose daughter Margaret died without issue, whereupon the plaintiff should have succeeded; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 3, m. 8 d. Roger de Tunstall was defendant in 1344, Agnes widow of Thomas de Goldicar claiming dower; De Banco R. 338, m. 118. Earlier still, in 1323, Henry de Tunstall and Joan his wife were tenants of a moiety of the manor; Assize R. 425, m. 6. Master Ralph de Tunstall was in 1324 allowed to have a messuage, 56 acres of land, and 6 acres of meadow in Eccleston, which he had acquired from Margery widow of Adam Banastre without the king's licence. They were held of the king in chief as parcel of the manor of Bolton and wapentake of Eccleston; Inq. a.q.d. file 182, no. 6 (19 Edw. II); Cal. Pat. 1324–7, p. 185.
  • 25. In 1284 Thomas de Tunstall acknowledged the right of William de Shureneton to a messuage and land in Eccleston; Assize R. 1268, m. 12 d. William de Dacre and Joan his wife made an exchange of lands with William de Shurvington, from which it appears that the latter's surname was derived from lands in Eccleston; Piccope MSS. iii, p. 3, no. 259. William de Shurvinton was in 1310 one of the defendants to claims for dower made by Robert de Molyneux and his wife Anabil, widow of Richard de Goldicar; De Banco R. 182, m. 211 d.; 183, m. 260; 195, m. 152. Richard Germain of Mawdesley in 1339 transferred to his son Thomas all the lands he had acquired from Robert de Shurvinton in the vill of Eccleston in the hamlet of Heskin; Towneley MS. DD, no. 218. For Whithalgh see Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 329. Geoffrey son of Adam de Whittingham was in 1309–10 found to have held a messuage, &c., of Adam de Walton by a rent of 8d.; Inq. p.m. 3 Edw. II, no. 11. An exchange, by which Henry de Whittingham (son of Warine) gave his land in Whittingham to his brother Adam in return for an oxgang of land in Eccleston, may concern the Walton amily; Towneley MS. DD, no. 1885. John de Coppull had three messuages, &c., in Eccleston and Heskin settled on his issue by Emma his wife in 1388, with remainder to the heirs of Maud wife of John de Chisnall, who was in possession; Final Conc. iii, 31.
  • 26. In 1511 Richard Tomlinson of 'Cersco' (Sarscow) complained that having received his tenement from Sir Thomas Wolton, formerly bailiff, he had been disseised by Henry Farington, the present bailiff. Arthur Plantagenet complained that Farington had distrained some of his tenants and had kept a court in Eccleston unknown to him. The reply was that the court 'was warned in the church on a Sunday' to be held the following Wednesday, according to custom, but Richard Tomlinson (tenant of Arthur Plantagenet) had warned others not to appear, asserting that no court ought to be held unless the steward of the lord of Bradley was present with the king's steward and took half the profits. From the depositions it appeared that the old custom was for the king's steward or farmer to take the profits of one court and Lord Dacre's representative to take those of the succeeding court. The mill stood upon the common and the king had half the rent, the other half going to the lord of Bradley. See Duchy of Lanc. Dep. Hen. VIII, ix P, 1–1g. Mary widow of Sir Thomas Seymour in 1548 complained that Sir Henry Farington had caused the courts to be held in the name of the king only, instead of in the names of the two lords as formerly. He replied that in 1496–7 the court was held in the king's name, for he, as steward, had been ordered to summon the tenants to take oath at the court that they would wear no other badge than the red rose, and would be ready to serve the king. The next year's court had been held jointly in the names of the king and Edmund Dudley; ibid. Edw. VI, iii, S 1.
  • 27. Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 494–8. The grants were made probably between 1180 and 1210 by Avice de Walton and Adam her son. The placenames include Elminrode, Crocgreffeld, Saferscohe (Sarscow) and Linlands between Southbrook and Yarrow.
  • 28. Some deeds of the family have been preserved by Kuerden (iii, E 4, 5). Adam son of Stephen de Eccleston gave land to Adam son of the grantor's son William. Randle de Dacre in 1327 made an exchange with the same Adam son of William de Eccleston who in 1333 gave lands to his son John on his marriage, and made a settlement of his estate. In 1359 he exchanged Ravensacre for Sheepflat Carr with Thomas son of Roger de Tunstail, and in 1369 he released to Henry de Ugnall certain lands, including some in Kirkmeadow, appertaining to 1 oxgang of land. Robert son of John de Eccleston in 1380–1made a settlement of his lands, and is again named in 1393–4. John son of Robert Eccleston was eighty years old in 1468; his son Thomas had in 1456–7 been married to Joan daughter of Edward Charnock, but was dead in 1469. Hugh son and heir of Thomas Eccleston in 1488 made a lease to William his brother. Robert de Eccleston had a lease of a tenement in 1446–7; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 539. In 1449 Thomas Eccleston and William (son of John) Eccleston were defendants; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 12, m. 9b. William Eccleston died in 1640 holding a messuage, &c., of Lord Molyneux, and leaving as his heir his son John, aged forty; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxx, no. 51.
  • 29. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvii, no. 83. Alice widow of Thomas and Katherine widow of his father were living. John Dicconson of the Rowe died in 1639 holding the estate chiefly of Lord Molyneux by a rent of 8d.; he left a son and heir Thomas, eleven years old; ibid. xxviii, no. 71. The field names include Milner and Lydiate Leys, Rowe Moor and Barbles Moor. An Edmund Dicconson alias Hewson in 1590 purchased a messuage, &c., from William Fleetwood and Jane his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 52, m. 92.
  • 30. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 16–19. Part of the Eccleston and Heskin lands was held of Sir Richard Molyneux by a rent of 3s. 10d. and the residue of the king by the hundredth part of a knight's fee. A brass plate in the church commemorates him. Edward Dicconson died in 1605 holding the same lands, and leaving a son and heir named William, seven years of age; ibid. i, 38. From the pedigree it is found that William married Jane daughter and coheir of Hugh Nelson of Heskin, who died in 1629 holding lands, &c., in Heskin and Eccleston of Lord Molyneux; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), p. 923. The other daughters were Mary wife of John Crane and Anne wife of William Banastre, but the estate had been settled on the eldest daughter by a marriage covenant made in 1621. William and John Dicconson of Eccleston paid £10 each on refusing knighthood in 1631; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 214.
  • 31. Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 98.
  • 32. See further in the account of that township.
  • 33. Richard Shireburne, one of the lords of Leylandshire, died in 1513 holding lands in Eccleston of the king by a rent of 4d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 46. The lands descended with the other estates, but the tenure is not described in the later inquisitions. In two of these, however, it should be noticed that the 'fourth part of the wapentake of Eccleston in Leylandshire' is named, as if Eccleston had been the principal place in the hundred; ibid. vi, no. 65; viii, no. 33. The phrase has been noticed previously. Thomas Shireburne, 'esquire,' died at Eccleston in 1607 holding lands of Sir Richard Molyneux by 10d. rent; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 113. Sir Thomas Hesketh of Rufford died in 1588 holding lands in Eccleston, of which the tenure was unknown; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xv, no. 56. Richard son and heir of Henry Croston gave all his lands in Eccleston to Thomas Hesketh in 1530; Towneley MS. DD, no. 204. The Croston holding was perhaps derived from a grant by Stephen de Walton to Adam son of William de Croston, of land in the field called Longfurlong and abutting on a menegate; ibid. no. 69. In 1623 the Hesketh lands were stated to be held of Sir Richard Molyneux in socage; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 357. James Anderton of Euxton held lands in 1552 of Thomas Fleetwood by a rent of 3d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. ix, no. 14. Ewan Edmundson's messuages in 1587 were held of Sir Richard Molyneux by knights' service; ibid. xvii, no. 36. William Graddell in 1608 held lands of the king by knights' service; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 92. William Farington, 1611, held his lands of Sir Richard Molyneux; ibid. i, 184. Peter Mason, 1612, held his of the king by the two-hundredth part of a knight's fee; ibid. i, 215. William Moore, who died in 1641, held a messuage and lands, with common of pasture; his son and heir John was twenty-eight years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxix, no. 71. James Pilkington, who died in the same year, held a similar tenement of Sir Richard Molyneux; James the son and heir was nine years old; ibid. xxix, no. 56.
  • 34. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 244, 245. William Chorley owned lands in 1390; Final Conc. iii, 37. A later namesake died in 1529 holding two messuages, &c., of Sir Thomas Seymour by the rent of a rose; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 17. They appear to have been sold to John Crane in 1557–8; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 18, m. 4. The same John Crane afterwards purchased lands of Sir Richard Shireburne and others; ibid. bdle. 26, m. 7; 27, m. 87; 30, m. 99. Henry Rowe died in 1608 seised of two messuages, &c., held of Sir Richard Molyneux by a rent of 21d.; his son and heir John was six years old; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 93.
  • 35. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 169. The list of recusants at the same time is printed ibid. 186–7. James Warings of Eccleston had his estate sequestered by the Parliament in the Civil War; Cal. Com. for Comp. iii, 1953. A list of convicted recusants about 1670 is printed in Misc. (Cath. Rec. Soc.), v, 97.
  • 36. Baines, Lancs. (ed. 1836), iii, 469.
  • 37. Ibid. 476.
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