Townships: Tarbock

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1907.

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'Townships: Tarbock', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1907), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp176-182 [accessed 25 November 2024].

'Townships: Tarbock', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1907), British History Online, accessed November 25, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp176-182.

"Townships: Tarbock". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1907), , British History Online. Web. 25 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp176-182.

In this section

TARBOCK

Torboc, Dom. Bk.; the regular spelling (with variants like Torbok or Torbock) till the xvii cent., when the present spelling appears, and has gradually prevailed. Turboc, 1245; Terbok, 1327.

The south-western boundary of Tarbock is formed principally by the old course of the Ditton Brook and its affluent the Netherley Brook. The northern boundary is in a great measure formed by two little brooks which divide it from Whiston, running one east and the other west, and uniting about the centre to form the Ochre Brook, which flows south and south-west through the township. Tarbock Green is near the centre of the township; Coney Green is a hamlet in the northern corner.

The area of the township is 2,446½ acres. (fn. 1) In 1901 the population was 590.

The flat country is divided into pastures and cultivated fields, where crops of potatoes, turnips, oats and wheat thrive in a loamy soil. It is not at all picturesque owing to its level nature and the absence of woods, excepting those of Halsnead Park, which fringe the township on the north. A little relief is given to the otherwise uninteresting landscape by the Ditton Brook, which is rather a pretty stream. With the exception of an area one mile square of the coal measures in the north part of the township the new red sandstone is elsewhere represented by the three beds of the bunter series, the lowest in the centre, the pebble beds in the south and east, and the upper bed in the western part.

Two principal roads cross Tarbock east and west; one near the northern boundary going from Huyton to Cronton and to Warrington; the other through the centre from Little Woolton to Ditton, crossing Ochre Brook at Millbridge and going through Tarbock Green. There are several cross-roads, including one from Prescot and Whiston to Halewood, passing Tarbock Hall and crossing Ditton Brook by Green Bridge. The Cheshire Lines Committee's railway from Liverpool to Manchester cuts through the southern corner of the township.

The principal industry is agriculture. There is also a brewery.

In 1824 there were several collieries at the northern end of the township, but they have now been worked out.

Tarbock is governed by a parish council.

A little hoard of silver and copper coins was discovered at a farm called the Old Sprink in 1838. (fn. 2)

MANOR

The manor of TARBOCK was held by Dot in 1066 in conjunction with Huyton. It early became part of the Widnes fee, and was held by the barons of Halton in Cheshire as a member of their manor of Knowsley at a rating of 3 plough-lands. It passed to the crown in the same manner as the remainder of the fee. (fn. 3)

The Lathom family, holding Knowsley under Widnes, twice assigned Tarbock as a portion for the younger sons. About the end of the twelfth century Richard son of Henry de Lathom was established here, holding of the lord of Knowsley. (fn. 4) He appears to have had three sons—Richard, Robert, and Henry. (fn. 5) Richard de Torbock, son of Richard son of Henry, was a witness to some Stanlaw charters. He granted to the prior and convent of Burscough an annual rent of 3s. from the mill which he held of them in Tarbock. (fn. 6)

His son Henry, later called Sir Henry de Torbock, was also a witness to many Stanlaw and other charters, in one place being described as bailiff between Ribble and Mersey. (fn. 7) In 1247–8 he had acquittance of all suits to county and hundred. (fn. 8) Nine years later he secured the privilege of free warren in Tarbock, Turton, Dalton, Whittle, and Bridehead; also a weekly market at Tarbock on Thursdays and an annual fair there on the eve, feast, and morrow of St. Andrew. (fn. 9) He married Ellen daughter of Jordan de Sankey, and her brother Robert gave as dowry lands in Wrightington and conveyed or reconveyed the manor of Welch Whittle also. (fn. 10) Henry held Dalton of the lord of Lathom in 1242, and his name occurs as late as 1251. (fn. 11)

His son and heir Robert succeeded him; (fn. 12) and left an only daughter and heiress Ellen, 'Lady of Tarbock,' who being a minor became the ward of her feudal superior, Robert de Lathom. He married her before 1283 to one of his younger sons, Henry de Lathom, (fn. 13) and thus for the second time a younger de Lathom became 'lord of Tarbock.' (fn. 14) He and his wife Ellen gave lands in Ridgate in Whiston to Burscough Priory, the gift being confirmed by Henry de Lacy and the bishop of Lichfield in 1287. (fn. 15) A more important act was his establishment of a private chapel or oratory at Tarbock, which he engaged should be no prejudice to the mother church of Huyton. (fn. 16) His name occurs in various pleas down to 1294. (fn. 17) Ten years later his widow Ellen de Torbock was plaintiff or defendant in similar pleas, and so down to 1332, about which time probably she died. (fn. 18)

She appears to have married a second husband, called John de Torbock, perhaps from his wife's inheritance. He in 1329 arranged for the succession of the manor of Tarbock and lands in Welch Whittle, Turton, Walton Lees in Dalton, &c.; from himself and his wife Ellen, they were to descend to his 'son and heir' Richard, or in default of heirs to John's brother William. (fn. 19)

Though the succeeding lord of Tarbock is called 'son and heir' of John de Torbock, it seems quite clear that he was the son of Ellen's former husband, and as 'Richard son of Ellen de Torbock' or 'Richard son of Henry de Lathom of Tarbock' he occurs in the plea rolls of the time. (fn. 20) He seems to have died shortly after his mother, leaving a son and heir Richard, (fn. 21) whose brief career was marked by matrimonial entanglements resulting in a forty years' dispute over the heirship.

Torbock of Tarbock. Or, an eagle's leg erased at the thigh gules; on a chief indented azure three plates.

First he married Margaret, by whom he had three daughters —Emma, Ellen, and Alice, who were minors at his death. Later he repudiated her and espoused Maud de Standish (fn. 22) at the door of the church of Ormskirk, having by her a son (perhaps posthumous) named Henry. Both Margaret and Maud survived him and married again, the former to Henry Russell of Chester (fn. 23) and the latter to Henry son of Bernard. In 1337 John de Holland claimed from Emma and her sisters, from their feudal guardians the Lathoms, from Margaret 'late wife of Richard de Torbock chivaler,' and others an annual rent of 3s. 4d. from the manor of Tarbock and a robe worth 20s. of the suit of his esquires which he alleged had in 1334 been granted to him by Richard de Torbock. At the same time John de Dutton (or Ditton) claimed from them a rent of 40s. and a robe (with a hood) of the value of 20s. by the year. (fn. 24) In 1341 Maud, then wife of Henry son of Bernard, sought dower against Katherine, formerly wife of Robert de Lathom, and Sir Thomas de Lathom, the guardians of the lands and heir of Sir Richard de Torbock, and against Henry Russell and Margaret his wife. The defence was that Maud was never legally married to Richard, and the question being referred to the bishop of Lichfield for inquiry he reported that there was no lawful marriage. (fn. 25) Five or six years later there was a contest between Katherine de Lathom and her son Thomas and Henry Russell of Chester as to the custody of the heirs. (fn. 26)

In the summer of 1344 the daughter Alice had 'entered into religion in the order of the [Gilbertine] nuns at Watton' in the East Riding; while Emma, the eldest daughter, had married Sir William Carles, probably a Shropshire man, (fn. 27) and fresh suits were instituted and a settlement of the property made. (fn. 28)

Henry, son of Maud, put forward his claims about 1363, when he must have been nearly thirty years of age. In November, 1364, Urban V sent his mandate to the archbishop of York to take order touching the case of Henry de Torbock, son of Richard de Torbock, knight, who died intestate, and of Maud, now also deceased, who duly married the said Richard; Henry had been defamed by William Carles, knt., and his wife Emma, who, in order to exclude him from his inheritance, said that he was illegitimate. (fn. 29) The prior of Burscough was accordingly delegated to inquire, and at Prescot in July, 1365, declared Henry to be legitimate. (fn. 30) At the beginning of 1365 the king directed the rolls to be searched with reference to the former claim by Maud for her dower; and in July sent a statement of Henry's claim to the bishop of Lichfield, commanding him to inquire into the legitimacy of the claimant. In November a further letter was sent by the king to the bishop on the petition of Sir William Carles and his wife Emma. The bishop's reply does not seem to have been preserved; being again directed to make inquiry, in November, 1372, on the following 25 April he certified to the justices at Westminster that upon diligent inquiry it was found that Henry de Torbock was legitimate. (fn. 31)

In the meantime a decision had been given in the king's court. In 1365 Sir William Carles and Emma his wife complained that Henry de Torbock and others had ousted them from their manor of Tarbock. Henry replied that he was the lawful son and heir and had therefore done no injury or disseisin, for Emma was a bastard and had no right in the manor. The recognitors acquiesced in the above decision that Henry was born in lawful wedlock and was the true and right heir of Richard de Torbock, and accordingly gave judgement that the claim of William and Emma was a false one. (fn. 32)

Henry de Torbock, now in possession, had to make complaints as to destruction of trees, &c. (fn. 33) On 7 March, 1370, as Henry son of Sir Richard de Torbock, he enfeoffed John Bellerby, vicar of Prestbury, (fn. 34) and Richard Causey of his manors of Tarbock, Turton, Walton Lees, Welch Whittle, and the fourth part of Dalton, and all his other lands. (fn. 35) This was probably in view of his marriage with Isabel, widow of Robert atte Poole, and daughter and heir of Thomas de Capenhurst. (fn. 36)

In 1375 John Carles, apparently the heir of Sir William, made another attempt to recover the manor of Tarbock; (fn. 37) but the bishop's declaration would decide the matter against him, and the last heard of this claim is in the Lent of 1391, when acknowledging that 'Henry son of Henry de Torbock is now of my certain knowledge' in possession of the manors in dispute, he quitclaimed all right in them and gave a warranty to the possessor. (fn. 38)

Henry son of Richard de Torbock, who thus recovered his father's manors, died about 1380, and in 1382 his son Richard made a settlement of them, the remainders being to Henry brother of Richard and others. Four years later, as Sir Richard de Torbock, knt., he made a further settlement. (fn. 39) He died on 8 February, 1386–7, in Spain, having no doubt accompanied the duke of Lancaster on his journey to claim the crown. At inquisitions in June, 1389, it was found that he had held Tarbock of the manor of Knowsley by knight's service and a rent of 7s. 6d.; also Walton Lees of the lord of Upholland in socage; and the manor of Turton of the lord of Lathom. He had no issue, and his next heirs were Sir William de Atherton, senior, and Elizabeth daughter of Sir Geoffrey de Worsley; but by virtue of the feoffments made his brother Henry, son of Henry de Torbock, then seventeen years of age, was heir to the manors and in possession of them. (fn. 40)

The new lord of Tarbock was made a knight in 1399–1400, and married (fn. 41) Katherine daughter of Sir Gilbert Halsall; in 1407 the succession was granted to her children, John, Thomas, William, Robert, Elizabeth, Ellen, and Alice. This was confirmed in May, 1418. (fn. 42) Sir Henry died soon afterwards, and his son and heir John died at Halsall on 30 September, 1420, leaving a son Henry, nine years of age, and two daughters, Margaret and Elizabeth, also very young. (fn. 43)

John de Torbock, who in 1410 had been espoused to Clemency, daughter of Ralph de Standish, (fn. 44) had before his death arranged for the succession to his estates, by enfeoffing Henry Halsall, archdeacon of Chester, and Richard Smith, chaplain; but misunderstandings followed. (fn. 45) The son Henry died within a year after his father, on 21 July, 1421, his sisters being his heirs, but by the entail, William, their uncle, claimed the manors, being then twenty-two years of age. (fn. 46)

The claims of the two daughters were at once in question, Sir John Stanley, the feudal superior, and Laurence Standish as kinsman, claiming from Archdeacon Halsall what the latter apparently would not give. The matter was referred to arbitration. (fn. 47) On 2 May, 1423 (or 1424), letters of protection and attorney were granted to William Torbock of Lancashire, going to France in the retinue of Christopher Preston, and similar protection on 8 May, 1430, to Sir William de Torbock, in the retinue of John duke of Norfolk. (fn. 48)

Sir William de Torbock was still living in 1441, (fn. 49) but died before 1447, when Dame Cecily was a widow. In 1459–60, his son and heir Richard and his wife Elizabeth received from the feoffees a messuage and land, called the Longriding, which had descended according to the charter of Sir Henry Torbock, Richard's grandfather. (fn. 50) Some other charters concerning him have survived, showing that he was alive in July, 1472. (fn. 51)

He was succeeded by his son Henry, knighted by Lord Stanley in July, 1482, on the taking of Berwick from the Scots. (fn. 52) He died on 1 May, 1489, and was succeeded by his brother William, then about twentyfive years of age. (fn. 53) In the following January Dame Elizabeth, wife of Sir John Done of Utkinton, agreed with him as to his marriage with her daughter Margery by her former husband, John Stanley of Weaver. (fn. 54) He was made a knight by George, Lord Strange, in Scotland, during the expedition of 1497. (fn. 55) William died 5 May, 1505, seised of the manor of Tarbock, held of the earl of Derby (as of the manor of Knowsley) by knight's service and worth £40 clear, and of a messuage and six acres in Ridgate. His son and heir was Thomas, aged eight years. (fn. 56)

In 1520 Thomas Torbock came to an agreement with Hamlet Harrington as to a corpse-way from Tarbock to Huyton church through the demesne lands of Huyton Hey; the owner of the latter agreed to allow the use of this way during the winter season, the ordinary road to be used during the summer. (fn. 57) He died on 20 September, 1554, holding the manor of Tarbock, with thirty-two messuages, a windmill, two water-mills, a fulling mill, and lands, wood, heath, and moor in the township, and rents from George Ireland, Richard Easthead, and Thomas Knolle, also the premises in Ridgate by Prescot; his son and heir was William Torbock, aged twenty-eight and more. (fn. 58)

William Torbock survived his father only three or four years. (fn. 59) His daughters Frances and Margaret were aged thirty months and two months at the inquest (fn. 60) —the latter was not yet born when his will was made—and his brother Edward succeeded him in the manor of Tarbock. (fn. 61) In January, 1577, he made a settlement of his manor and lands, first for his own use, then for that of his sons Edward and Thomas, and other family arrangements have been preserved. He and his son Edward in 1591 also came to a final agreement with William Orrell of Turton, as to Tarbock, Turton and Walton Lees. (fn. 62) The family appear to have become overwhelmed by debt, and in May, 1611, the manor was sold to Thomas Sutton of London, founder of the Charterhouse School. (fn. 63)

Before this, however, Edward Torbock the elder died, and administration had been granted in 1608 to his widow and son. He appears to have conformed externally to the change in religion made by Elizabeth, for in 1584 he was returned as 'suspected' only, and in 1590 was among the 'more usual comers to church, but not communicants.' (fn. 64) His son and heir had been made a knight by James I at Whitehall on 1 November, 1606, (fn. 65) but he was not able to retrieve the family fortunes and died in the King's Bench, a prisoner, being buried at St. George's, Southwark, on 28 May, 1617. (fn. 66)

As stated, the manor of Tarbock, with lands in Cronton and Whiston, and the rectory of Huyton had been sold to Thomas Sutton in 1611, Sir Edward's sons Edward and George joining in the sale. Thomas Sutton died in December, 1611, and his heir was his nephew Simon Baxter of London. (fn. 67) In July, 1614, Sir Richard Molyneux of Sefton entered into possession of Tarbock, having purchased it from Simon Baxter for £10,500. (fn. 68)

Sutton of London. Or, on a chevron between three annulets gules as many crescents of the first.

Sir Richard Molyneux died seised of the manor as well as of lands in Tarbock and Huyton and the rectory. (fn. 69) The manor has descended regularly to the present earl of Sefton. In 1798 quit-rents amounting to 6s. were paid by various tenants. The water-mill and the windmill were in operation.

Other persons or families also took surname from the place, some of them no doubt descendants of younger sons. (fn. 70)

The Easthead family also occurs. In 1339 William Easthead was in prison at Lancaster charged with the death of Henry son of Ellis le Keu of Tarbock; but the jury found that he was unjustly accused by one Robert Utting, whose wages William took, in his capacity as reaper for Ellen de Torbock. (fn. 71) John Easthead was a free tenant in 1600; and John Eastwood of Tarbock, gent., who died in 1613, held a messuage, etc., of Simon Baxter in socage by 4s. 4d. rent as well as lands in Burscough and Lathom. His son and heir was John Eastwood, then aged thirty. (fn. 72)

The Whitefields are a family whose records reach to Edward I's reign. Robert de Whitefield in 1292 claimed from Henry de Torbock and Ellen his wife acquittance of the service demanded from him by the superior lord, Henry de Lacy, in respect of a tenement in Tarbock, but was non-suited. (fn. 73) By an inquisition made in 1446–7 it was found that William Whitefield had held nineteen acres in Tarbock of Sir Henry de Torbock in socage by a service of 5s. He died on 7 September, 1402, and Richard Orme, aged twenty-three years, was his next heir, being son of Alice, the daughter of William Whitefield. (fn. 74)

An assessment of 1731 shows £73 to have been raised; John Torbock, as collector, occurs down to 1757. The principal contributor was, of course, Lord Molyneux, for demesne lands, tithes and mills, and part of the New Pale; his payments were doubled on account of his being a 'Papist.' Others in the township paying double for the same reason were Robert Waring, James Abram, Caryll Hawarden, and John Abram. (fn. 75) The other portion of the New Pale was occupied by James Glover. (fn. 76)

In 1786 a dispute arose as to Penny Lane croft, and the matter was referred to Charles Pole, mayor of Liverpool, for decision; from the witnesses' statements it appears that the croft was divided by a gutter into an eastern and a western part, and that the former was in Cronton, and the latter in Tarbock. (fn. 77)

In 1785 Lord Sefton contributed £57 to the land tax of £145; Nathaniel Milner, £5, was the next in amount.

The existence of an oratory at Tarbock has been noticed. (fn. 78) In 1332 Simon de Walton was charged with wounding Nicholas the chaplain of Tarbock. (fn. 79) Licences for an oratory occur in the Lichfield registers. (fn. 80) The Torbocks also had a chapel in Huyton church. (fn. 81) William Torbock in 1558 bequeathed to Sir George Robinson a black gown and yearly stipend of £4, for which he was to 'serve and say mass and other divine service that longs for a priest to do. . . . at the chapel that stands upon Tarbock Green. If the said chapel be not builded up at the time of my decease then I will that the said chapel shall be made up upon my costs and charge.' He also left for it a chalice of silver parcel-gilt, and a suit of vestments. (fn. 82) The Commonwealth surveyors and Bishop Gastrell make no allusion to the chapel; but in 1882 it was stated that it had been pulled down 'about fifty years ago,' and that it 'was rich in carved wood-work.' (fn. 83)

Footnotes

  • 1. This includes the detached triangular plot to the south-east, known as Little Tarbock, 39 acres, which has since 1877 been included in Ditton. At the same time a small detached portion of Cronton, called Cronton Heys, was united to Tarbock. The Census Report of 1901 gives the area as 2,413 acres, including 9 of inland water.
  • 2. W. T. Watkin, Roman Lancs. 237; also Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 14, with plate.
  • 3. V.C.H. Lancs. i, p. 283b. Dods. MSS. cxxxi, fol. 33; Surv. of 1346 (Chet. Soc.), 38, where Tarbock is put as 4 plough-lands, and Huyton as 2, making 6 in all.
  • 4. He gave to St. Werburgh's at Warburton the assart called Old Tarbock, the eastern end of which stretched as far as Haliwell Brook; the boundary followed the bank to Cockshoot Head, ascended the Cockshoot, went down the Cockshoot to Oldfield (Haldefelde) lache as far as the head of the old hedge, and along this hedge to Haliwell Brook; Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 607. The same Richard was a witness to the foundation charter of Burscough Priory, endowed by his elder brother Robert about 1189; Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 349–52.
  • 5. Henry was a clerk; to him the church of Flixton was granted for life by his uncle Roger son of Henry and Henry son of Bernard, and his name occurs as a witness to several charters. Ibid. 353, 354; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, 200, 291. Henry de Torbock the elder was defendant in 1246; Assize R. 404, m. 9.
  • 6. Whalley Coucher (Chet. Soc.), ii, 573, 577; Burscough Reg. fol. 44b.
  • 7. Whalley Coucher, ii, 575, 580, 586, &c. Norris D. (B.M.), 730.
  • 8. Close R. 163.
  • 9. Chart. R. 41 Hen. III, m. 2; the 'decollation of St. John Baptist' was at first written for 'St. Andrew.'
  • 10. Assize R. 418, m. 4d.; Kuerden MSS. iii, C. 36d. (end).
  • 11. Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 19 n.; Whalley Coucher (Chet. Soc.), i, 77. From William de Ferrers, earl of Derby, Henry de Torbock secured the right to enclose his wood, to have free park and beasts of the forest, but not to make any deer hey (saltarium), paying a rent of a sor sparrowhawk at St. Peter's Chains at the castle of Liverpool. The bounds of enclosure were—From the ditch which was the boundary between Tarbock and Ditton, up to the head of the ditch, then straight to the Sumespitt, and then to another Sumespitt and so to the pool which was the boundary of Tarbock and Hale [i.e. Halewood]; following the pool to Bradley Ford, then straight to Wulfstansholme, and following straight to the ridding which Hugh the Miller had held, and then straight to the ditch aforesaid. From Robert de Ferrers he obtained leave to enclose his park, doing it thoroughly well so that no beast of the forest of West Derby should be able to stray into it and be kept there; within bounds beginning at the road before the dwelling of Sir Henry, along the road to the little Benit (Beint), going round this and following the ditch (fossum) to the pales, following these to the road of the Oldfield; and along this road to the firstnamed road in front of Sir Henry's door; Croxteth D. Z. i, 40 (copy in an inspeximus of the deeds made in 1595). See also Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xxv, 22 d. Richard de Torbock (about 1334) claimed two parks within his manor; Duchy of Lanc. Forest Proc. 1–17, m. 3d. 6; Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 319.
  • 12. All that is recorded of him seems to be that he gave an oxgang of land, or rather a rent of 6s. 8d. secured upon it, to the priory of Norton in Cheshire; Croxteth D. Z. i, 29; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), i, 686. As however the grant of the oxgang in the demesne of Tarbock was ratified by Roger constable of Chester (d. 1211), this Robert could only have renewed an earlier grant. The words 'Robert lord of Tarbock' may refer to Robert son of Henry, the founder of Burscough, the canons for which are supposed to have come from Norton; Mon. Angl. vi, 314.
  • 13. Henry son of Robert de Lathom of Tarbock and Ellen his wife were defendants in a Turton suit in 1284; Assize R. 1268, m. 11; see R. 1271, m. 12.
  • 14. Assize R. 418, m. 4 d. He is usually called 'Henry de Lathom, lord of Tarbock,' but his descendants were 'de Torbock' simply. He acquired the land called Wulfstansholme from Nicholas of Tarbock and regranted it to Simon the son of Nicholas, with the common of pasture, &c., but with the reservation of his mills and riddings, and all improvements; the rent being two iron spurs of the value of a silver penny; Croxteth D. Z. i, 1, 2.
  • 15. White, Parochial Antiq. i, 434; Dugdale, Mon. vi, 460. The grant (1283) is in the B.M.; Add. MS. 20521. In 1299 the prior of Burscough was warden of a hospital for lepers at Ridgate; De Banc. R. 131, m. 329.
  • 16. Burscough Reg. fol. 44b.
  • 17. Some of his charters are preserved in Kuerden's volumes, iii, T. 2, 15–17. For £20 sterling he quitclaimed to Robert de Bold in 1284 all right in lands in Bold formerly held by Sir Henry de Torbock; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 194, n. 12. In 1294 Ellen de Torbock stated that her husband, Henry de Lathom, had died long ago in Scotland; De Banc. R. 131, m. 320.
  • 18. In one of her suits (1307) she claimed from Henry de Huyton 20 acres of pasture in Tarbock, into which she averred that Henry had no entry except by Henry de Lathom, formerly her husband, who demised them to him. The defendant, however, said that the land was in Huyton and not in Tarbock; De Banc. R. 164, m. 54. One of her latest suits (1328–30) seems to have been about the same land; the defendants on this occasion did not appear, and she recovered seisin; De Banc. R. 274, m. 42 d.; 275, m. 245; 282, m. 86 d. She and others were once accused of disseising Richard Leprous and John Leprous—the surname is noticeable—of their tenement in Tarbock, but they were acquitted; Assize R. 424, m. 6. Some of her charters are in Kuerden MSS. iii, T. 2; ii, fol. 266b.
  • 19. In November, the same year, as Ellen 'lady of Tarbock,' widow, she granted an acre of land in Tarbock to the priory of Burscough, lying between the land of Adam of Old Tarbock, and the lane near the grantor's own demesne. Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 200. Then in August, 1332, she (Croxteth D. Z. i, 40; Kuerden, MSS. iii, T. 2, n. 20) granted to Thurstan de Huyton and Maud his wife land in Tarbock within the following bounds: Beginning at a pit on the bank of Whiston Brook, and going from pit to pit to the old ditch (fossa) surrounding Huytonshaw, along the ditch to Whiston Brook, and down this brook to the pit first named. The rent was the nominal one of a rose, and the succession was settled—to John son of Thurstan and Maud, William his brother, Henry son of Robert de Huyton, Richard his brother, Robert son of William, brother of Henry de Huyton, Robert son of Henry de Huyton; Croxteth D. Z. i, 4.
  • 20. Assize R. 423, m. 1—a Worthington case; 426, m. 9—a Turton case; De Banc. R. 279, m. 5 d.; 292, m. 53.
  • 21. He is often but not invariably called Sir Richard de Torbock, knt. He appears to have died about 1334; Duchy of Lanc. Forest Proc. 1–17; cf. m. 3 d. (living) and m. 6 (dead). In 1333 Richard, son of Henry de Lathom of Tarbock, and in 1334 Richard, son of Richard de Torbock were successively plaintiffs in the same Parbold suit; De Banc. R. 293, m. 90; 297, m. 12. In the latter year Richard de Torbock is called grandson of Ellen de Torbock; ibid. R. 298, m. 30. But while the earlier pleadings speak of Richard, son of Richard de Torbock, as the husband of Maud, in a suit of Edward IV's reign (Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 60, m. 7) a charter was produced from Ellen de Torbock 'to Richard her son and Maud his wife.'
  • 22. So named in Assize R. 1435, m. 38 d.
  • 23. Perhaps the Henry Russell who was the lessee of the Dee Mills in 1341; Morris, Chest. under the Plantagenets, 104. Margaret was claiming dower against Maud in 1336; De Banc. R. 307, m. 200d. 195 d.
  • 24. Assize R. 1424, m. 8 d. 9. These suits are mentioned in later rolls, e.g. R. 1425, m. 4d.–6.
  • 25. Lichfield Epis. Reg. V. fol. 48 (quoting roll 288 of the pleas at Westminster, 15 Edw. III). Maud's claim was for a third part of a third of the manor.
  • 26. De Banc. R. 346, m. 285 d.; 351, m. 267 d. 303 d.; 353, m. 22 d.; 355, m. 202 d.
  • 27. He was a steward and warden of the forest of Lancaster in 1354; Duchy of Lanc. Forest Proc. 1–20, m. 8. He was one of the knights of the shire in 1353 and 1354; Pink and Beavan, Parly. Rep. of Lancs. 31.
  • 28. In a suit of 1368 by Robert (? Thomas) de Lathom the elder, and his wife Joan against Emma wife of Sir William Carles, the defendant is described as great-granddaughter of Henry de Lathom of Tarbock; De Banc. R. 432, m. 414. See also Geneal. xvi, 201–6. A settlement by fine was made in 1354 of the manors of Tarbock, Welch Whittle, and the quarter of Dalton, with various lands, Hugh Carles being the intermediary; Final Conc. ii, 139–41. Among the various lawsuits were the following:— Henry Lascelles of Walton Lees sought against Gilbert de Haydock the fourth part of two oxgangs in Dalton, &c. The defendant called to warrant Maud late the wife of Richard de Torbock, who stated that 'Richard son of Richard de Torbock' granted her for life the manor of Walton Lees (of which the disputed lands were part), and that on her death it would revert to Emma, wife of William Carles, and her sisters Ellen and Alice, as daughters and heirs of the said 'Richard son of Richard'; De Banc. R. 349, m. 243 d. There is no mention of Maud's son Henry, and she appears in this pleading to have acquiesced in the legitimacy of the former wife's children and their claim. Henry son of John de Ditchfield claimed a messuage and lands in Tarbock from Sir William Carles and his wife, who afterwards counter-claimed. Sir William and his wife claimed lands from Richard del Bridge. Assize R. 1435, m. 40 d., 48 d; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 3, m. j d.; 4, m. 17; 5, m. 19, 24 d.; 4, m. 1 d. 2. In 1362 Sir William had to complain that William de Brettargh and others had broken into his park at Tarbock, cut trees and done other damage, and that similar injuries had been suffered at Walton Lees and Turton; De Banc. R. 408, m. 163.
  • 29. Cal. of Papal Letters, iv, 51.
  • 30. Coram Reg. R. 420, m. 60. Sir William Carles attempted to bring the appeal within the royal prohibition of suits to Rome.
  • 31. Lichfield, Epis. Reg. v, fol. 48, 57; De Banc. R. 447, m. 142 d.
  • 32. Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 366, 367; De Banc. R. 434, m. 260. Sir William Carles in the following year charged the jurors and others with having been bribed by money or promises; thus Otes de Halsall had £20 from Henry de Torbock, John de Eccleston a like sum, William de Holland 20 marks, and others smaller gifts. Charters to Geoffrey de Wrightington, 'for his good services' to the successful claimant, are given by Kuerden (ii, fol. 266b, 6–9). Among the offences in 1374 charged against Henry de Chatherton, bailiff of the wapentake, was that he had in 1369 taken 100s. from Sir William Carles and Emma his wife for 'maintenance' in these suits, while at the same time he took £10 from Henry de Torbock; and so the said William and Emma lost the tenement in dispute; Coram Rege R. 454, m. 13. Carles seems to have proved his case, and the various gifts were declared forfeit, half to him and half to the king; but he did not recover the manor; Co. Plac. (Chancery) Lanc. n. 18; De Banc. R. 425, m. 573. In 1369 he appealed against the decision, but making no appearance in court was ordered to be silent for ever; De Banc. R. 434, m. 260.
  • 33. De Banc. R. 425, m. 526d.; 433, m. 192. Henry de Torbock's seal, as given by Kuerden, shows the Lathom coat differenced by a fesse, which the eagle's foot afterwards replaced.
  • 34. John de Bellerby, chaplain, had received 100s. in the case above. He died before August, 1369; Earwaker, East Ches. ii, 206. There is therefore some mistake in the dates.
  • 35. Croxteth, D. Z. i, 5.
  • 36. Robert atte Poole (Netherpool in Ches.) died in or before 1368: see Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), ii, 423. Isabel became a widow a second time, and in 1392 had the bishop's licence for an oratory at Tarbock; Lichfield Epis. Reg. vi, fol. 128b. In 1375 Henry and his wife Isabel (as executrix of Robert) sued Edmund, cousin and heir of Robert de Langton, for £18 due to the estate; De Banc. R. 460, m. 86 d. She was his second wife. His first wife Joan, living in 1365, is mentioned in the grants to Geoffrey de Wrightington; Kuerden fol. MS. (Chet. Lib.), 140.
  • 37. De Banc. R. 457, m. 136d. See Shropshire Visit. (Harl. Soc.), 9.
  • 38. Croxteth D. Z, i, 9.
  • 39. Ibid. i, 6–8. He was in the service of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster and in March, 1385, had the king's letters of protection, being about to go towards Scotland in the duke's retinue; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. p. 522. In the following year he had the bishop's licence for an oratory in Tarbock; Lich. Epis. Reg. vi, fol. 122. Richard de Torbock's seal (in Kuerden) shows the usual Torbock coat—Lathom differenced by an eagle's foot.
  • 40. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 35, and Piccope MSS. iii, 38. The reason for the jury's finding is unknown. Henry was probably only half-brother of Sir Richard. His age agrees with the date of the father's marriage with Isabel atte Poole. Joan, the widow of Sir Richard, was living in 1423; Croxteth D. Z, i, 19; Kuerden MSS. iii, T 2, n. 12.
  • 41. Sir Henry first married Margery daughter and coheir of John Dumvill of Oxton and Brimstage in Cheshire; in 1395 he quitclaimed his mother-in-law, Cecily, of all rights in Oxton and other of her husband's possessions, but with remainder to himself and his wife, daughter of John and Cecily. This marriage was very soon annulled, for about 1397 Margery married Sir Hugh de Holes, and their descendants, the earls of Shrewsbury, inherited the manors. Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi; App. ii, p. 464; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), ii, 443. In Oct. 1397, the bishop granted Henry de Torbock licence for an oratory for a year; Lichfield Epis. Reg. vi, fol. 136.
  • 42. Croxteth D. Z, i, 10, 12, 13. In 1414–15, Sir Henry released to Robert son of Geoffrey de Wrightington his right in the manor of Whittle; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 266, n. 20.
  • 43. Lancs. Rec. Inq. p.m. n. 24.
  • 44. C. 8, 20, n. 7—a sixteenth-century abstract of the Torbock title to Turton, now in the Chet. Lib., Manch.
  • 45. Croxteth D. Z. i, 14–17. The cousin and heir of Richard Smith was Robert son and heir of Adam de Mawdesley; ibid. Z, i, 28 (1472).
  • 46. Chet. Lib. C. 8, 20, n. 10.
  • 47. Nicholas Blundell of Little Crosby was appointed arbitrator, 'upon the high trust, truth and affection they had in him, a simple man of their kin, more than for any cunning that was in his person.' After a journey to London to take counsel with judge and 'apprentices' to the law, the serjeants having been retained, he gave his decision in June, 1422, to the effect that all the manors were to go to William, the heir male, and that Margery and Elizabeth were to renounce their claim on them, and to receive 200 marks on reaching the age of twenty-one; Croxteth, D. Z, i, 18. This decision did not give satisfaction, and three years later the matter was referred to Thomas Langley, bishop of Durham, and Richard Beauchamp, earl of Warwick; these, in a lengthy document, gave the manor of Tarbock to the heir male, the others to be divided between the sisters; Croxteth D. Z, i, 20, 21. This did not determine the matter; see Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 33, m. 13 d.; 34, m. 36. Margery was already married to Thomas Corbet, but died without issue; Elizabeth afterwards married William Orrell, living a widower in 1468. It appears from the decision that William Torbock was already married to his wife Cecily, and that he and his younger brother Robert were in France on the king's service.
  • 48. Norman R. (Dep. Keeper's Rep. xlviii), 230, 276. His wife Cecily was closely related to the Norrises of Speke, probably daughter of Sir Henry le Norreys, whose mother was Cecily. She was living, a widow, in 1478; her will, dated 1466, is printed in Baines' Lancs. (Croston's ed.), v, 73 n. Dame Cecily, in 1478, restored to the abbot of Norton the rent of 6s. 8d. from Tarbock, which had been withheld for forty years past; Croxteth D. Z, i, 29.
  • 49. Kuerden MSS. iii, T. 2, n. 4, 5.
  • 50. Croxteth D. Z, i, 25.
  • 51. Ibid. Z, i, 26–8. He granted a rent of 13s. 4d. from Tarbock to Lambert Stodagh in 1464; Kuerden MSS. iii, T. 2, n. 6. He made a grant of lands to William de Ditchfield in 1467; ibid. ii, fol. 247, n. 55.
  • 52. Metcalfe, Book of Knights, 7.
  • 53. Writ of Diem cl. extr. was issued 19 Hen. VII, and of Ad melius inquir. in 20 Hen. VII. The inquest taken after the death is preserved; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 544; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, n. 71. For settlement see Kuerden MSS. iii, T. 2, n. 2, 3.
  • 54. Croxteth D. Z, i, 31.
  • 55. Metcalfe, Book of Knights, 31. Before setting out on this adventure he had made his will and a settlement of his property, enfeoffing Robert Daniell, knight of the Rhodes, Sir William Norris of Speke, and others with the manor of Tarbock and other lands. His son and heir Henry was to have all his heirlooms and his daughters Margaret and Jane 200 and 100 marks respectively, and his brothers and sisters smaller presents. A 'sparver' of white sarsnet and black was to be given to the church of Huyton to pray for his soul and the souls of his father and mother and his brother Sir Henry; Croxteth D. Z. i, 31. This deed has a simple seal bearing the letter T; his armorial seal is engraved in Baines' Lancs. (Croston's ed.), v, 79. It is like that of his grandfather Sir William as given by Dodsworth, lviii, fol. 163 b.
  • 56. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iv, n. 32. The Henry mentioned in the will must have died, as Thomas had a younger brother Henry living in 29 Henry VIII. The latter is perhaps the Henry Torbock of a settlement by fine in 1549; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F, bdle. 13, m. 44.
  • 57. Croxteth D. Z, i, 33. The herald in 1533 dismissed Thomas Torbock with the remark, 'knoweth not his arms for a certenty'; Visit (Chet. Soc.), p. 131. In 1536 he was able to raise thirty-one men to serve against the rising in Yorkshire; L. and P. Henry VIII, xi, 511.
  • 58. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. x, n. 46; Croxteth D. Z. i, 34. A brief abstract of his will is printed in Wills (Chet. Soc. New S.), i, 230.
  • 59. His will, dated 14 May, 1558, is printed in full by Piccope, Wills (Chet. Soc.), i, 71–6.
  • 60. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xi, n. 14. See also the Little Woolton Court Rolls, Norris D. (B. M.).
  • 61. In 1577 he gave a silver bell with 10 marks to be competed for in the Liverpool races; Pal. Note Book, ii, 22.
  • 62. Croxteth D. Z. i, 35–9.
  • 63. Ibid. Z. i, 42–7, where are the settlements made on the marriage of Edward Torbock the younger with Margaret, daughter of Edward Norris. A large number of leases were made at the end of 1610 and beginning of 1611; these are at Croxteth, together with the various agreements connected with the sale; Z. bdles. iii, iv.
  • 64. Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 227, 245 (quoting S.P. Dom. Eliz. clxxv, n. 21; ccxxxv, n. 4). In the inventory of his goods taken in 1608 there is mention of 'Sir Robert's chamber,' as well as a chapel and chapel chamber, so that he had probably sheltered one of the old priests in his house sufficiently long to affix a name to the room. There is mention of the hall and about twenty chambers or rooms; among the more curious properties were 'a fair cockpen' worth £3, and 'a little boat' worth 10s.; Ches. Sheaf, 3 Ser. iv, 30.
  • 65. Metcalfe, Book of Knights, 157.
  • 66. Manning, Surrey, iii, 639.
  • 67. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 18.
  • 68. Croxteth D. Z. iv, 11. Possibly there was some agreement with Sir Edward Torbock also, for not only is there a tradition that Sir Richard acquired it as a payment for a gambling debt, but Dame Clemence Torbock (Sir Edward's second wife) in 1619 made a formal complaint that he refused to allow her dower right in certain lands purchased by him from Sir Edward Torbock, her late husband; Cal. of S. P. Dom. 1619–23, p. 49, and 1623–5, p. 121. See also Croxteth D. Z. iv, 24, 21. The Torbock family continued to reside in the neighbourhood, having some property in Cronton and Sutton. A younger son was for a time tenant of Tarbock Hall under the Molyneux family. Edward Torbock is said to have been governor of the Isle of Man in 1642. He is probably the 'Mr. Torbock of Tarbock' who accompanied Lord Strange in his attempts on Manchester; Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc.), 51. An Edward Torbock left England in 1622 to take service under the king of Spain in Flanders and became an officer. Being landed in Thanet in 1635 on account of ill-health he was imprisoned at Dover, refusing to take an oath of allegiance; Cal. of S. P. Dom. 1625–6, p. 132, and 1635, p. 44. For later descents, see Reliquary, xi.
  • 69. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 384.
  • 70. John son of Nicholas of Old Tarbock was a feoffee of Sir Henry de Torbock about 1290, and Adam son of Adam of Old Tarbock was defendant in a case brought by Sir Henry's widow Ellen in 1306. Henry son of Adam de Torbock was wounded at West Derby in 1332. Croxteth D. Z. i, 3; De Banc. R. 159, m. 48 d.; Assize R. 428. Margery widow of Simon de Torbock sought from Richard the Harper dower in a messuage and land at Tarbock. It appeared that she had run away from her husband with a certain Thomas the Thrower, and had lived with him at Conway, Rhuddlan, and elsewhere in North Wales. She had never been reconciled to Simon, and therefore her claim failed; Assize R. 408, m. 32.
  • 71. Inq. a.q.d. n. 26.
  • 72. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 243; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (same soc.), i, 285. Eastwood appears to be a mistake or variant of Easthead.
  • 73. Assize R. 408, m. 32. In 1367 Alice widow of Henry de Whitefield claimed from John son of Robert de Whitefield dower in lands in Tarbock, Much Woolton, and Childwall. John de Whitefield in November, 1371, granted to Roger de Whitefield the place (Quitefeld) from which they took their name. A refeoffment of lands in Lancashire was made to John de Whitefield in 1385–6. Somewhat later (1404) Sir John de Ireland of Hale quitclaimed to John de Whitefield senior, William de Whitefield his son, and Magot the daughter of William Passmich and their heirs, his right in the lands he had received from John de Whitefield by a deed of 1399. See De Banc. R. 426, m. 200 d.; Add. MS. 32107, n. 359; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 230, n. 10; iii, T. 2, n. 7; Croxteth D. Z. i, 11; Kuerden MSS. iii, T. 2, n. 18, 13.
  • 74. Lancs. Records, Inq. p.m. n. 36, 37. Probably it was in connexion with this that Richard Orme demanded from Cecily widow of Sir William Torbock a certain chest, no doubt that containing the family evidences; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 10, m. 4, 16b.
  • 75. In 1717 William Abram of Tarbock, yeoman, registered an estate here and at Thornton as a 'Papist;' he had sons Richard and John; Engl. Cath. Nonjurors, 126.
  • 76. Croxteth D.
  • 77. Croxteth D.
  • 78. 'A chapel of Ridgate within Tarbock' is mentioned in 1364; see the account of Whiston. Probably the 'oratory' of Sir Henry de Torbock was attached to his dwelling, for he states that it was intended 'for me and my family,' and no injury or prejudice was intended or would be done to the mother church of Huyton; he would in fact attend the church in person five times in the year at least, bringing the due and accustomed offerings, viz., on Christmas day, Easter day, Candlemas, Whit Sunday, St. Michael's day, and All Saints'; Burscough Reg. fol. 44b.
  • 79. Assize R. 428, m. 1.
  • 80. See preceding notes.
  • 81. Baines, Lancs. (ed. Croston), v, 73 n.; Wills (Chet. Soc. New Ser.), i, 230; Piccope, Wills (Chet. Soc.), i, 71.
  • 82. Piccope, Wills, i, 74. The 'chapel hall demesne' is mentioned in deeds a little later.
  • 83. Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxiv, 119.