Townships: Ditton

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

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'Townships: Ditton', 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/pp395-402 [accessed 8 November 2024].

'Townships: Ditton', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1907), British History Online, accessed November 8, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp395-402.

"Townships: Ditton". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1907), , British History Online. Web. 8 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp395-402.

In this section

DITTON

Ditton, 1193.

On the south, Ditton Brook and the low-lying marshy ground along it must once have formed a definite physical boundary for the township. In the east-central portion is Ditton village, with Ditchfield to the west and Hough Green to the north. The eastern and northern boundaries are formed in great measure by two small brooks, Moss Brook dividing Ditton from Widnes, and what was formerly called Halliwell Brook from Cronton.

The country is flat and divided into pastures and arable fields where wheat and oats are generally grown on a clay soil. There are but few trees and scanty hedges, for the locality is too close to the manufacturing town of Widnes to escape the inevitable effects of smoke and chemical fumes. Around Hough Green the lower mottled sandstone of the bunter series occurs, elsewhere the pebble beds of this series of the new red sandstone. By Ditton Brook and on the Marsh there is a large area covered by alluvial deposits.

The area measures 1,898 acres. (fn. 1)

The road from Tarbock to Appleton passes eastwardly through the village, where it is joined by others from Cronton and Hale. The Garston and Widnes road crosses the southern corner of the township. The Cheshire Lines Committee's railway from Liverpool to Manchester crosses the northern part, with a station (Hough Green) near Ditchfield; at this point a line, passing through Ditton village, branches off to Widnes. The London and North Western line from Liverpool to Warrington crosses the southern corner, with a station (Ditton Junction) just upon the boundary of Halewood.

The population in 1901 numbered 2,605.

There is a parish council.

MANORS

The first distinct record of DITTON is in the Pipe Roll of 1194, when Richard de Ditton paid 20s. as his fine for having the king's good will after participating in the rebellion of John, count of Mortain. (fn. 2) The next entries are in the roll of 1201–2, when Richard, Philip, and Adam de Ditton paid their levies to a scutage; (fn. 3) and at the same time Philip de Ditton paid 12d. and Richard son of Martin 3s., due upon a tallage. (fn. 4) Two years later Richard son of Martin paid half a mark, and the same was contributed jointly by Adam, Philip, and Henry. (fn. 5)

The manor, assessed as a plough-land and held in thegnage, had therefore been divided early into several portions, the shares being thus described in 1212: 'Richard son of Martin holds half a ploughland and pays therefor 10s. of farm; Richard son of Outi holds of him two oxgangs of land by 5s., and Ralph one oxgang of land by 2s. 6d. Adam, Robert, Vincent, and Henry de Ditton hold half a ploughland for 10s. of farm.' (fn. 6) The descent of the senior moiety can be given only imperfectly; half of it at the end of the fourteenth century passed to a branch of the Tyldesleys by marriage. The part of this moiety held by Richard son of Outi descended to the Ditchfields, but nothing is clear as to the fate of that held by Ralph. The other moiety, after being much subdivided, became consolidated into two shares, of which the principal was again divided soon after 1400 by the marriage of the coheirs with Henry Blundell of Little Crosby and Richard Dawne, while the smaller share passed by marriage to the Coney family, by whom it seems to have been sold to the Blundells. (fn. 7) This brief summary may assist in following the more detailed account. (fn. 8)

I. The principal moiety appears to have descended from the Richard son of Martin of 1212 to a son Robert, (fn. 9) whose son 'John son of Robert de Ditton' was in possession for a very long period, probably from about 1250 to 1310. (fn. 10) The next step in the succession is uncertain. Robert the clerk appears to have followed; probably he was a younger son of John. (fn. 11) Then another John son of Robert de Ditton was the holder for about thirty years, dying in October, 1350. (fn. 12) His son Robert, as late as 1346, married Cecily daughter of Alan de Eltonhead, who afterwards married Henry Walsh, (fn. 13) and left two daughters as coheirs, Alice and Emma. (fn. 14) The former married Henry son of Ralph de Tyldesley; (fn. 15) what became of the latter is not ascertained; perhaps she married the Matthew de Tyldesley who witnessed many deeds of the time. (fn. 16)

Henry and Alice had a son Ralph who inherited their half of this moiety, and was succeeded by a son Henry. (fn. 17) The latter in turn was followed by Hugh Tyldesley, (fn. 18) from whom the descent is obscure until the time of Henry VIII, when Richard Tyldesley was in possession. (fn. 19) Various disputes followed his death, (fn. 20) and though a Tyldesley was reckoned among the freeholders of Ditton in 1600, (fn. 21) the name disappears, and the inheritance was probably sold. In 1750 Tyldesley Hall changed hands again, the vendors being the daughters and heirs of John Hurst of Scholes, near Prescot. It was soon afterwards held by Henry Pippard, and has descended with the Blundell of Crosby estate. (fn. 22)

In 1823 Ditton House was owned by John Watkins, who claimed the lordship of the manor, but this was not acknowledged. (fn. 23)

II. From the account of 1323 it may be gathered that the descendant of Henry son of Ralph held a twelfth of the manor, and the Fish or Fisher family another twelfth, indicating that a third part of this moiety had been divided between coheiresses. (fn. 24) Another third—i.e. a sixth of the whole manor— was held by the heir of the Henry de Ditton of 1212; (fn. 25) while the other third was held in two unequal parts—a ninth and an eighteenth—by families surnamed Ditton and Smith. (fn. 26)

Henry de Ditton son of Ralph was living about 1250. He had a grant of land from Richard son of Philip de Ditton, (fn. 27) and himself granted land in Thelisacre to Richard son of Robert. (fn. 28) He had two sons, John and William; (fn. 29) the former succeeded, and was followed by his son John, sometimes described as John son of John son of Henry, and at other times more shortly as John Henryson. (fn. 30) He had a son Henry and a daughter Alice. (fn. 31) Henry in 1348 married Joan daughter of John son of Robert, lord of the other moiety of Ditton, (fn. 32) and succeeded his father about two years later, dying in or before 1370. (fn. 33) He appears to have prospered, and added to his patrimony the twelfth part of the manor held by the Fish family, and the sixth part held by the descendants of Henry son of Philip. (fn. 34) His daughter and heir Margery married Richard son of Henry de Rixton, (fn. 35) and they in turn were succeeded by two daughters. (fn. 36) Joan married Henry son of Nicholas Blundell of Little Crosby, whose descendants have retained possession to the present time; (fn. 37) and Elizabeth married Richard son of Richard Dawne or Done of Crowton and seems to have had a son Thomas, living in 1481, but the subsequent history of this portion is unknown. (fn. 38)

Hugh Fish, contemporary with the Ralph father of Henry, and probably son of another Hugh, (fn. 39) had two sons, Richard and Robert. (fn. 40) The former succeeded, and was in turn followed by his son Richard, (fn. 41) who died about 1328, being succeeded by a son Hugh, living in 1347. (fn. 42) Hugh had a son Robert, (fn. 43) who appears to have sold his patrimony to John Henryson or his son Henry. (fn. 44)

The share of Henry son of Philip (fn. 45) seems to have descended intact to his son Adam, who was living in 1246, (fn. 46) and to his grandson Stephen, (fn. 47) who held it for about fifty years, 1265–1315 being the approximate dates. (fn. 48) Stephen was twice married, Maud and Margery being the names of his wives, (fn. 49) and several children are named—Thomas, his heir; Stephen, Adam, Roger, Margery, and Agnes. (fn. 50) Thomas, like his father, held this share of the manor for about fifty years, being mentioned as late as 1364. (fn. 51) He had issue, but, as already stated, appears to have sold or mortgaged the estate to Henry de Ditton about 1350.

The origin of the share held by Richard the Smith of Ditton is unknown; (fn. 52) he was succeeded before 1318 (fn. 53) by his son Thomas, who was living in 1347, and had a son Henry, (fn. 54) but appears to have sold his eighteenth part of the manor to Hugh son of Robert de Ditton. (fn. 55) The Smith family, however, continued here for some time longer. (fn. 56)

The Robert de Ditton who held a ninth of the manor in 1323 was son of a Richard son of Adam and Wimark. (fn. 57) It does not appear likely, however, that this was Richard son of the Adam living in 1201 and 1212; Adam and Richard were favourite names in the Ditton families. (fn. 58) Robert was succeeded in 1324–5 by his son Roger, aged nineteen, (fn. 59) and on his death by another son, Hugh, who, as stated above, acquired the inheritance of the Smith family, thus making his share a sixth. (fn. 60) He had a son Robert, (fn. 61) who was followed by his son Alan. (fn. 62) The succession here becomes uncertain. (fn. 63) An Alan Ditton was living in 1481; (fn. 64) probably it was his son Robert who was married as early as 1442–3 to Janet, daughter of Richard Tarleton. (fn. 65) Robert Ditton had two daughters, Margaret, who married a Coney, and Emmota, who married Thomas Shaw. (fn. 66)

Margaret Coney was succeeded by her son William, (fn. 67) and grandson Robert. (fn. 68) This last was succeeded by Henry Coney, who died in 1569, leaving a son Henry, under age. (fn. 69) Henry the younger died in 1598, his brother Robert being his heir; (fn. 70) and Robert, described as of Knowsley, dying shortly afterwards, left the inheritance to his brother William, of Ford in Bedfordshire. (fn. 71) In some manner not quite clear the 'hall of Coney' and the 'quarter' of the manor held with it, by the agency of John Ogle of Whiston, passed to William Coney of Ditton, described as a son of Henry Coney. (fn. 72) William Coney held it in 1621, (fn. 73) but appears to have sold it to the Blundells of Crosby, whose holding thus became a quarter of the whole manor; it is now described as a moiety, having, as above stated, been increased by other purchases.

The fate of the remainder is unknown. There was about 1820 no acknowledged lord of the manor. The cowgates on the marsh were merged in the general enclosure. There were 'no courts, no perambulation, no fishery, no wrecks.' (fn. 74)

Though many of the deeds of DITCHFIELD have been preserved by Kuerden, (fn. 75) a satisfactory descent cannot be made out. It appears certain that the estate was the two oxgangs of land which in 1212 were held of Richard de Ditton by Richard son of Outi. From Richard the succession was probably by his son Robert (fn. 76) and grandson Richard to the latter's sons Roger and John. (fn. 77) Roger son of Richard and Roger de Ditchfield were witnesses to charters of about the same time, so that it appears at least probable that these were merely different names for the same person. (fn. 78)

Roger de Ditchfield was followed by a John de Ditchfield, probably his son, witness to numerous local charters from about 1310 until his death in 1346 or 1347. (fn. 79) His son and heir Thomas succeeded, being mentioned for about three years. (fn. 80) The record of his dispute with the superior lord, John de Ditton, gives the first indication of the portion of the manor held by this family. John de Ditton was the representative of the Richard son of Martin of 1212, and in 1347 he complained that Thomas, son and heir of John de Ditchfield—'in mercy for many defaults'—had, though a minor and in ward, refused a suitable marriage which John as superior lord had offered, namely Katherine the daughter of John del Hey or Elizabeth daughter of Elizabeth de Prescot, and had married Margaret daughter of Adam de Singleton, whereby the plaintiff had suffered a loss of £200. It was found that Thomas held by knight's service and by a rent of 5s. a year—the service of Richard son of Outi in 1212—paying 10s. to the scutage of 40s.; the jury fixed the value of the marriage at 40 marks, and it was decided that John de Ditton should recover double this sum. (fn. 81)

To Thomas succeeded Henry de Ditchfield, probably his brother, (fn. 82) who about 1400 was followed by his son, another Henry. (fn. 83) The latter had several children—William, John, Joan, and Emmota. (fn. 84) William, the heir, was in 1438 contracted in marriage to Katherine daughter of Nicholas Risley; (fn. 85) he was living in 1482, (fn. 86) and was succeeded by his son Henry, mentioned in 1493. (fn. 87) After this Henry's death, the inheritance passed to his nephew Thomas, (fn. 88) son of Sir John de Ditchfield, (fn. 89) and John Ditchfield his son followed him. (fn. 90) Dying in August, 1545, he was succeeded by his son Hamlet, then thirty-four years of age, (fn. 91) who had a son William and a grandson John, living in 1613. (fn. 92) John's son Edward, born about 1593, had an only daughter and heir Elizabeth, (fn. 93) who married John Hoghton of Park Hall in Charnock Richard, having previously been the wife of John Lancaster of Rainhill; the inheritance passed to her children by the former union, the eldest of whom, William, was aged five in 1664. The Hoghtons afterwards inherited Thurnham and took the name of Dalton. They seem to have parted with Ditchfield late in the eighteenth century. (fn. 94) It was acquired by Thomas Shaw, (fn. 95) and now is owned by his daughter Mrs. James R. Mellor.

The Norrises of Speke had an estate here from early times connected with the grant of the mill on Ditton pool made by Henry de Walton. (fn. 96) Land was acquired in Ditton for the convenience of the mill, (fn. 97) and this appears to have been the holding of the family down to 1566, when Edward Norris purchased the lands of William Nicholasson. (fn. 98)

Several other families had lands in Ditton. (fn. 99) The local evidences contain a number of the field names as they existed in the fourteenth century, many of which will be found in the notes. (fn. 100)

The landowners contributing to the subsidy in 1628 were, besides those already mentioned, Alexander Rigby, Nicholas Croft, and Ellen Denton; the lastnamed paid double as a convicted recusant. (fn. 101) In 1666 the principal houses in the hearth-tax list were those of John Hoghton and Thethar Lathom, both apparently non-resident. (fn. 102) Margaret widow of James Hoghton, described as of Halewood, registered a small estate here in 1717. (fn. 103) The principal landowners in 1785 were Nicholas Blundell, — Watkins, and John Shaw. (fn. 104) About 1820 they were William Blundell, John Watkins, and — Shaw of Everton. (fn. 105)

The Society of Friends have a charity estate. (fn. 106)

An Enclosure Act was passed in 1797.

An ecclesiastical parish has been formed here, the church of St. Michael having been built in 1871, and a district assigned in 1875. (fn. 107) It is in the gift of trustees.

The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel, built in 1860; and an iron mission chapel.

The first building for Roman Catholic worship (fn. 108) was a school erected in 1860 by the Marchioness StapletonBretherton, who when the German Jesuits (fn. 109) were exiled gave them the Hall, formerly called the Grove, in 1872, and afterwards built the church of St. Michael, opened in 1878. These Jesuits left Ditton in 1895; for a time the church remained in charge of the English Jesuits, but has now been given up to the secular clergy. The estate has been sold to the Ditton Land Company. (fn. 110) The house is used by the Sisters of Nazareth as a boys' home.

Footnotes

  • 1. 1,936, of which 10 are inland water; there are also 4 acres of tidal water; census of 1901.
  • 2. Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 78.
  • 3. Ibid. 153. Richard de Ditton paid one mark and half a mark; possibly there were two of the name. Philip and Adam contributed each half a mark. The next name is William son of Stephen, paying the same; and though he is not styled 'de Ditton,' yet it appears that one of this name had formerly held an acre here, which about 1270 was granted by William del Marsh to William son of Richard, the clerk of Upton, in free marriage with Anota his daughter; Kuerden fol. MS. 260, n. 578.
  • 4. Lancs. Pipe R. 154. Between Philip and Richard are the names of Robert son of Robert, Robert son of Roger, and Adam son of Robert, 12d. each. Ralph son of Martin, 2s. also occurs.
  • 5. Ibid. 178–9.
  • 6. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 19. The several shares of the four holders of the second moiety are not given, but by a comparison of the entries it is probable that Adam and Henry each had a third, the other third being held by Robert and Vincent, who represent the Philip of the Pipe R. entry last cited. It appears that Henry was also a son of Philip, but his right to this portion may have been derived from his mother or his wife. The account in the text of the separate shares shows that though Henry's descendants had a sixth of the manor they paid 4s. rent, and that the other partners in the moiety paid 6s. in all.
  • 7. It will be most convenient to give here the various accounts of the lordship as recorded from time to time. In 1226 the tenants' names are not recorded, but 20s. for thegnage was paid; Inq. and Extents, 136. In 1298 John de Ditton and his partners held Ditton, rendering 20s. yearly, and Stephen (de Ditton) did suit; the same (Stephen) also held a ridge of land for 6d.; ibid. 287. Some charters of the intermediate period give the names of these partners. In one, of about 1250, John de Ditton son of Robert, Richard son of Adam, Henry son of Ralph, Randle son of Richard son of Martin, as 'lords of Ditton,' attested a grant by Stephen son of Adam de Ditton; and in another, of about the same date, the same description is given of John son of Robert de Ditton, Richard son of Adam, Henry son of Ralph, Richard de Holand, Richard son of Robert son of Philip, and Hugh Fish, as witnesses to another grant of the same Stephen son of Adam; Kuerden fol. MS. 197, n 639, and Blundell of Crosby evidences (Towneley), K. 87. In the roll of the foreign rent of Derbyshire in 1323–4 (Rentals and Surveys, 379, m. 8), it is recorded that 'Thomas de Ditton holds the sixth part of the town of Ditton and renders 4s. (sic) yearly; John de Ditton holds a moiety and renders 10s.; John son of John, a twelfth, rendering 18d.; Robert son of Richard, a ninth, rendering 2s.; Richard Fish, a twelfth, paying 18d.; and Thomas the Smith, an eighteenth, paying 12d.' The Survey of 1346 (Chet. Soc.), 30, gives a more detailed account: 'Ditton was held in socage for one plough-land and paid 20s. at the four quarter days; after the death of a tenant the rent was doubled in the name of relief. The tenants also owed suit to the county and wapentake and puture of the serjeants, and were bound to go with the bailiffs of the county and wapentake as far as the next township to witness distraints as often and when by their course it should happen, together with their other neighbours. John de Ditton paid 10s. and held a moiety of the town for half a plough-land; for the other moiety Hugh de Ditton paid 3s., holding the ninth and the eighteenth parts of a plough-land; Thomas son of Stephen, 4s., having the sixth part; Hugh Fisher, 18d., holding the twelfth, and John Henryson, 18d. holding the same.' A receipt for 3s., by William de Hornby, as the duke's receiver, was (about 1360) given to Robert son and heir of Hugh de Ditton, 'for double rent in the name of relief, for lands in Ditton'; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 13. In the Duchy Feodary of 1483 (Duchy of Lanc. Misc. cxxx) it is stated that 'Nicholas Blundell holds Ditton for 20s.'; but the words 'and his partners' must be understood. In Ditchfield deeds of 1481, in an agreement concerning the division of the commons, the following were the shares allotted: One quarter to Nicholas Blundell and Thomas Dawne; a quarter to Hugh Tyldesley and Henry Holt; a quarter to Henry Ditchfield and the heirs of Dandy; and the other quarter to Alan Ditton, Robert Moore, and Henry Thompson the Smith; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 247b, n. 68–70.
  • 8. The details are mainly taken from charters abstracted by Kuerden, about a hundred in the folio volume in the Chetham Library, from the Blundell deeds, and nearly as many more in his second volume at the College of Arms, from the Ditchfield deeds; also a number from Towneley's transcripts of the Blundell of Crosby deeds, copied from Kuerden; and others among the Norris deeds (B.M.).
  • 9. This step is doubtful, but seems justified by the succession. It is probable that the son of Richard son of Outi was also Robert, so that there would be two contemporaries of the same name.
  • 10. In 1270 he granted to Stephen son of Adam de Ditton four 'lands,' and Stephen undertook to do suit to the county and wapentake without loss to the grantor; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 118; Kuerden fol. MS. 96, n. 594. As John de Ditton he was witness to a Bold charter which must be dated before 1254; Bold D. (Hoghton), n. 84; and to one as late as 1310; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 261. He is described as John son of Robert as late as 1299, so that there were not two Johns in succession father and son; Kuerden fol. p. 260, n. 573.
  • 11. A release by Cecily widow of Roger Fish of Ditton to Henry the Smith of Tarbock was witnessed in the first place by 'John son of Robert, Robert his son,' followed by John de Ditchfield; the date may be placed about 1307. As Robert the clerk he attested a number of deeds; at first his name appears as the last of the witnesses; then it takes the place next after John de Ditton, and then the first place among the local witnesses, down to 1320; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 246, 243, 249; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 136, n. 383.
  • 12. He is sometimes described as John son of Robert the clerk, but more commonly as John son of Robert de Ditton, or John de Ditton only. In 1324–5 he granted to John de Ditchfield lands formerly held by Richard de Ditchfield in Ditton; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 247, n. 14. About the same time he had a dispute respecting common of pasture here with John son of John del Marsh; Assize R. 426, m. 8. He made a settlement of his estates in 1342 by enfeoffing his brother Robert of all his manor of Ditton, with wards, reliefs, escheats, &c., to be held by a rent of £40; and Robert immediately afterwards re-granted it, with the homage of all the free tenants, for a period of thirty years; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 91, 298. In 1347 he again appears as plaintiff, the lords of Tarbock in one case, and John de Ditchfield's heir in another, being defendants; Assize R. 1435, m. 37d.; De Banc. R. 352, m. 109. On 13 Oct. 1350, Henry and Roger de Ditton, executors of the will of John son of Robert de Ditton, formally reported to the court that he was dead; ibid.
  • 13. Kuerden fol. MS. p. 97, n. 641; and Bold D. (Warr.), G. 36. John de Ditton's grant to his son on this occasion comprised land in Mucklehurst in the New Wood, Liverdleigh Hough, Copped Wood and Hoke Lane, and Haywards Acre.
  • 14. In 1364 Ralph le Bruen, citizen of Chester, claimed from John Mulward of Thorp by Daventry the custody of Emma, one of the daughters and coheirs of Robert de Ditton, which had been granted to him by Henry Walsh and Cecily his wife—the latter no doubt the widow of Robert; De Banc. R. 418, m. 392. Somewhat earlier Alice daughter of Robert son of John de Ditton, and her sister Emma applied for a writ of novel disseisin concerning tenements in Ditton; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 334.
  • 15. See the note below. Henry de Tyldesley frequently occurs as a witness to charters from 1366.
  • 16. Matthew de Tyldesley's name usually follows Henry's. In 1367 he made complaints against Roger son of Stephen and Ellen his wife, and against Roger de Ditchfield for cutting down trees at Ditton; De Banc. R. 429, m. 12. In 1369 he made an exchange of land with Henry de Ditchfield; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 247, n. 21.
  • 17. A settlement was made by fine in 1389, Henry son of Ralph de Tyldesley and Alice his wife being plaintiffs. The property was described as seven messuages, 90 acres of land, 5 acres of meadow, &c., and 4s. 3½d. of rent in Ditton. The remainders were to Ralph their son and Nicholas his brother; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 3, m. 54. In 1416 Ralph de Tyldesley of Ditton granted to Henry his son and Joan daughter of Simon de Langtree of Penketh, on their marriage, lands in the Flats and elsewhere; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 14.
  • 18. Hugh Tyldesley of Ditton was one of a number of Ditton men charged with breaking the peace in 1442; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 4, m. 1 d. He was an arbitrator in 1472; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 207b; and witness to a charter in 1474; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 247b, n. 58. Hugh Tyldesley, described (perhaps by an error in copying) as son of Hugh, married, before 1448, Alice daughter of Henry Ditchfield; ibid. n. 71.
  • 19. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vii, n. 21. He held the capital messuage called Tyldesley Hall of the king, at a rent of 5s.— half the ancient rent of this moiety—and lands in Sutton of Tuger Bold. His heir was a grandson, Richard son of Hugh Tyldesley, aged six years. Richard seems to have died soon afterwards, leaving Francis as heir—probably a younger brother.
  • 20. John Tyldesley, clerk, and Thomas his brother, two of the sons of Richard, claiming as feoffees of Tyldesley Hall and other lands, complained in 1548 that Robert Williamson of Ditton and Elizabeth his wife, the guardians of the heir, Francis Tyldesley, with the countenance of 'divers great men of the county,' had obtained unlawful possession to the disseisin of Francis. The latter, on the other hand, complained that John and Thomas Tyldesley and others, 'conspiring together, assembled with force of arms and weapons of war,' and drove him out, broke open his chests, and took away his evidences, and still retained possession; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 36. John Tyldesley, by his will made some time in Mary's reign, bequeathed Tyldesley Hall in Ditton to his daughter Margaret, then a minor, with remainders to his brother Henry, also a clerk, and the Tyldesleys of Huyton; Wills (Chet. Soc. New Ser.), i, 229. He purchased land from Michael Willoughby and Katherine his wife in 1550; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 14, m. 283. Francis Tyldesley's right seems to have been acknowledged, and in 1564 John Tyldesley, as son and heir of Francis Tyldesley, deceased, was claimant against William Marsh and others, who held in right of Elizabeth Tyldesley, as daughter and heir, the legitimacy of the plaintiff being disputed. Elizabeth Tyldesley was plaintiff in another suit; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 299; iii, 516. An inventory of the goods of John Tyldesley of Ditton was taken in 1588; Wills (Chet. Soc. New Ser.), i, 229.
  • 21. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 239. John Tyldesley was a freeholder in 1628, contributing to the subsidy; Norris D. (B.M.). 'Mr. John Tyldesley' and his two sons are mentioned in the will of Henry Tyldesley of Ditton, shoemaker, proved at Chester in 1677.
  • 22. Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 362, from R. 24 of Geo. II at Preston. Duchy of Lanc. Rentals and Surv. bdle. 5, No. 13.
  • 23. Sherriff's map of 1823; Trans. Hist. Soc. xxii, 220.
  • 24. See note above: John son of John (son of Henry), a twelfth, paying 18d.; Richard Fish, the same.
  • 25. Thomas de Ditton, as shown below, was son of Stephen, a grandson of Henry de Ditton.
  • 26. Robert son of Richard de Ditton, a ninth, paying 2s.; and Thomas (son of Richard) the Smith, an eighteenth, paying 1s.
  • 27. Kuerden fol. MS. p. 98, n. 662.
  • 28. Ibid. n. 664. His widow Margery granted to her daughter Agnes all the land, called Longfield, which her mother Quenilda had given Margery on her marriage; ibid. p. 97, n. 638.
  • 29. William son of Henry de Ditton made grants to his niece Sibela; each was an acre in Easthead, between lands of Sibela and of Roger de Vilers and John del Marsh; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 95–6, n. 587 (dated 1316–17), 585. William had a son Richard, with land near the Oldgate Lane and in the Crook; ibid. 98, n. 660.
  • 30. In the same way his contemporary John son of John son of Dandy, was called John Dandyson. Several of John Henryson's charters have been preserved. They begin about 1310, and he is mentioned down to 1350. Some of the earliest were agreements with Richard Fish as to lands in the Rice, &c.; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 96, n. 591; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 230, K. 247. In 1324 he exchanged plots in Northwood and Netherwood with Richard son of Henry the Smith of Tarbock; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 265. In 1332 he made an exchange with John son of Roger of the Mill of Hale, of nine selions in Nicholsfield and Quitul (or Whittle), for land in the Meadowfield and the reversion of that held by Cecily widow of Roger; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 98, n. 658, &c. Hugh son of Robert de Ditton in 1340 granted to John and Margery his wife land in the Boukersfield for thirteen years; ibid. p. 97, n. 649. From John son of Roger Coke and Amery he procured a messuage and lands near Ditton Halgh, which had belonged to the mother; ibid. p. 213, n. 469. In March, 1348–9, about the time of his son's marriage, he made a general feoffment of his lands; Bold D. (Warr.), F. 184; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 98, n. 347. He seems to have died soon afterwards, Henry de Ditton taking his place as witness to charters from 1350 onwards.
  • 31. Alice was contracted in marriage to John son of Thomas de Ditton in 1342; ibid. p. 99, n. 362.
  • 32. The marriage covenants were drawn up at the beginning of 1349. John son of Robert agreed to pay John son of John 37 marks, and the latter settled on his son Henry and Joan his wife various tenements in Ditton, including the messuage of John Dandyson, with the free rent of 3d. paid by Alan le Norreys of Speke for the Walk Mill, and the service of William son of John de Ditchfield of 1d. rent; some field names are given — Crossfield, Sourfield, Corsholm Acre; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 96, n. 635.
  • 33. In this year Roger son of Stephen de Ditton gave Joan as widow of Henry a rent of 2s. for fifteen years; ibid. p. 97, n. 650. In March, 1367, the bishop of Lichfield granted Henry de Ditton a licence for his oratory at Ditton; Lich. Epis. Reg. v, fol. 16.
  • 34. Henry was a purchaser in 1344 and 1350; Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 121, 128. In 1355 Henry de Ditton gave his land in Haliwell Riding to Henry the Smith of Tarbock in exchange; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 276. Various disputes and agreements between Henry and Thomas de Ditton may be seen in Kuerden fol. MS. p. 98–9; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 343, &c. Margery the daughter of Thomas released to Henry all the lands he had had from her father, and Thomas's brother Roger sold his lands to Henry de Ditton (1368) and Henry de Rixton (1377); Kuerden fol. MS. 96–7. By a charter of 1369 Robert Fish of Ditton granted to Henry de Ditton a messuage and all his lands in Ditchfield; ibid. p. 136, n. 382. Henry also acquired the lands of Robert the Tailor—ibid. p. 397, n. 412; p. 98, n. 345; Richard de Astbrook—ibid. p. 38, n. 430; and John de Fulrig—ibid. p. 137, n. 440. It appears that Henry had a son of the same name, who in 1366 and 1368 called his father to warrant to him certain lands in Great Sankey; De Banc. R. 422, m. 373; 432, m. 139d.
  • 35. Margery in 1375 enfeoffed Henry Banastre, chaplain, and Richard son of Henry de Bold, of all her lands in Ditton, Sankey-cum-Penketh, and Eccleston, with all manor-houses, homages, &c., thereto belonging; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 98, n. 348. Margot widow of Richard de Rixton made an enfeoffment of certain lands in 1415; ibid. 359, R. 422.
  • 36. This statement rests on the authority of an entry in a seventeenth-century book of pedigrees 'from Mr. Erdswick's notes,' and is confirmed by the subsequent history of the properties; see also the account of Bold.
  • 37. The total inheritance was the twelfth of John Henryson, the twelfth of Richard Fish, and the sixth of Thomas de Ditton, in all a third; and the rent payable was the sum of 18d., 18d., and 4s., i.e. 7s. This explains the record in the Blundell inquisitions— e.g. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iv, n. 74— that they held their lands of the king by a rent of 3s. 6d., a moiety of the 7s.; but in that taken after the death of Richard Blundell in 1592, they are said to be held 'of the heirs of John son of John son of Henry de Ditton, by the rent of a red rose'; ibid. xv, n. 10. Later still, in 1638, William Blundell was said to have held a moiety of the manor of the king by fealty in free and common socage; this pointing to the acquisition of the Coney portion and a commutation of the ancient free rent. The Blundells' house at Ditton was called the Bank; it lay to the east of Ditchfield. There are numerous references to it in N. Blundell's Diary; e.g. 116.
  • 38. See preceding notes. Robert son of Richard Dawne of Crowton occurs in 1422; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 230, n. 71, 76. For the pedigree of the Dones of Crowton, see Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby) ii, 136.
  • 39. It will be seen that Hugh Fish had sons Richard (son Richard) and Robert; and contemporary with him was Hugh son of Hugh de Ditton, who had also sons Richard (son Richard) and Robert, so that probably the younger Hugh was Hugh the Fish. Hugh son of Hugh de Ditton granted to Richard his first-begotten and heir all his lands and liberties in Ditton; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 241. Richard son of Hugh de Ditton gave his brother Robert certain lands in Holcroft, Boukerfield, and Whittle; ibid. K. 248. Richard son of Richard son of Hugh de Ditton gave land at the head of his Black Moor to Henry the Smith of Tarbock; one head abutted on the highway from Ditton to Tarbock; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 243.
  • 40. Richard son of Hugh the Fish of Ditton granted land in the North Wood to Henry son of Robert the Corviser; one head abutted on the Out Lane near the Pinder's houses, and the other on Heywalle (usually Haliwell) Brook, with housebote, heybote and mastfall for his pigs, in return for his third best pig when he should have more than four, and a rent of a silver penny yearly; ibid. n. 246. Robert son of Hugh Fish (Feys) quitclaimed to his brother Richard the homage of Hugh the Cartwright and 2d. rent, and two other small rents; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 136, n. 387.
  • 41. Richard the Fish of Ditton in 1309–10 granted to his son Richard all his lands in Ditton, the son finding him food and clothing for the remainder of his life; ibid. p. 137, n. 443. The younger Richard was living in 1325; ibid. p. 260, n. 402. He had brothers Robert and Roger. He allowed to his brother Robert all the land newly approved at the head of Ditchfield; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 263. A grant by Roger son of Richard Fish in 1310 is among the Norris D. (B.M.), n. 261; and his widow Cecily released her right in the same; ibid. n. 247. Margery widow of Richard Fish granted 10d. rent to her son Hugh (Kuerden fol. MS. p. 137, n. 391); and in 1329 released to Thomas de Hale her right in certain of her late husband's lands; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 61.
  • 42. A release by Hugh son of Richard Fish to Richard the Smith of Tarbock; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 274.
  • 43. Probably the Robert son of Hugh, witness to a charter of 1361; Bold D. (Warr.), G. 26.
  • 44. Kuerden fol. MS. p. 136, n. 382.
  • 45. Philip de Ditton had several sons— Henry, Ralph (who had a son Roger), Robert (son Richard), and Richard. By a charter of about 1250 Robert son of Philip 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 Holcroft 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; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 83. Robert son of Richard Pyntel gave lands to Roger son of Ralph, son of Philip de Ditton; Dods. MSS. lviii, fol. 163b. 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; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 235, K. 149.
  • 46. He was plaintiff in a suit of that year against John son of Richard de Cuerdley; Randle de Ditton and Roger his brother, and Brun de Cuerdley were also concerned; Assize R. 404, m. 13 d. 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 3d.; while by another he gave Richard son of Adam the Carpenter of Upton 2 acres in Wetshaw in marriage with Felicia his daughter, at 1d. rent; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 97, n. 644; 98, n. 344.
  • 47. Evidence of descent has been given in preceding notes; he is usually styled Stephen son of Adam.
  • 48. 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, n. 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 3d. payable 'at the fair of Halton'; Blundell 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.
  • 49. 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.
  • 50. Some of these have been mentioned in previous notes.
  • 51. 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 11 marks to Stephen, and the same amount to the young couple, while Stephen gave them the half of his land in Ditton; 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; Duchy of Lanc. 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 vill; 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, n. 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. 224 d.
  • 52. A rent of 4d. 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 Tarbock; Norris D (B.M.), n. 240, 237.
  • 53. 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 he gave a selion in Astbrook Field; ibid. p. 136, n. 383. To John Henryson he granted his portion of the field called Netherwood, in the Holme; ibid. p. 99, n. 353, &c. To Richard son of Henry the Smith of Tarbock he gave a plat of land in the Outshooting near the Sourfield; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 238.
  • 54. Thomas the Smith was witness to a charter made in 1347; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 96, n. 598. He granted to Henry his firstborn son his capital messuage and all his lands and rights in Ditton, with remainder to Randle his younger son; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 247b, n. 36. In 1366 Henry was defendant in a complaint made by Henry de Ditton as to the mowing of his grass; De Banc. R. 425, m. 435 d. In the same year his daughter Alice was contracted in marriage to Thomas de Snape; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 96, n. 596.
  • 55. See note above, from the Survey of 1346, from which it appears that Hugh de Ditton then held the eighteenth part of the manor which was the Smiths' patrimony.
  • 56. 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 12d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxviii, n. 23.
  • 57. 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. 136, n. 583. 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, n. 662. Richard son of Wimark was also witness; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 87, K. 145.
  • 58. 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 2d. 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 1d.; 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 that the grantor was the Adam of the Survey of 1212; it appears that in later times both the Norrises and the Dandysons held of the descendants of Henry, son of Ralph de Ditton. The seal has the legend: + s' ADE DE DVSTES. Philip son of Adam de Ditton made a grant of land in Whittle to John Henryson; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 1.
  • 59. Robert son of Richard Wimark of Ditton died holding of the king by a service of 2s.; Roger his son and heir was nineteen years of age; Fine R. of 18 Edw. II, m. 12; Chan. Inq. p.m. 18 Edw. II, n. 6.
  • 60. Hugh de Ditton appears from 1332 to 1349 as witness to charters; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 98. He exchanged lands with John Henryson; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 94.
  • 61. Robert son of Hugh de Ditton is named as a landholder in 1355; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 276; and to his daughter Alice, on her marriage with Thomas son of Alan de Haysarm, in 1386–7, he made a grant of the lands in Rainford he had received with Emma his wife; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 96, n. 590. He enfeoffed Henry de Holbrook, chaplain, of all his goods and chattels in 1381–2, and was re-enfeoffed in 1389–90; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 50, K. 92. He acquired lands in Appleton in 1382; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 278. He is mentioned in a bond for £40 as late as 1399; Blundell of Crosby D.K. 57. In June, 1378, licence for an oratory at Ditton for two years was granted to Robert de Ditton; Lich. Epis. Reg. v, fol. 28.
  • 62. Alan is mentioned in the bond for £40 referred to in the last note. In 1445, his sister Alice, widow of John de Parr of Rainford, released to him all her right in the lands assigned to her by Robert her father; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 104, K. 97. John Ollerton, a Dominican friar of Chester, in 1441–2 gave a receipt for 19 marks to Alan de Ditton and Daveson de Widnes; ibid. K. 63. Alan is also mentioned in 1420, 1425, and 1431.
  • 63. A marriage contract of 1402–3 between a Robert de Ditton and Emma daughter of Robert de Molyneux describes the former as son of Alice, then wife of Henry de Ditchfield; he was to have all the lands descending to him from his brother, reasonable dower being allowed to Henry de Ditchfield and Alice; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 99, n. 470.
  • 64. See note above. There is nothing to show the connexion of this Alan with the Alan living in 1445.
  • 65. By an indenture of 1442–3—Ditton of Ditton granted the marriage of Robert his son to Janet daughter of Richard Tarleton; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 105.
  • 66. Ibid. K. 100, K. 107, K. 113; Margaret was dead, but Emma was living in 1509.
  • 67. Ibid. K. 113. He was still living in 1528; ibid. K. 96.
  • 68. Robert Coney of Prescot, son and heir of William, was by his father engaged in 1521 to marry Jane daughter of Ellen, widow of Thomas Trafford of Cheshire; ibid. K. 111, K. 112, K. 110. A Robert Coney of Ditton was living in 1562; ibid. K. 114.
  • 69. Henry was probably the son of Robert. He demised to William Marsh certain lands in Ditton in 1554; ibid. K. 109; and made a settlement for the benefit of Grace his wife in 1564; ibid. K. 102. The inquest after his death (Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xiii, n. 24) shows that he held messuages and lands in Ditton of the queen as of her manor of West Derby by a rent of 2s. and suit at the wapentake of West Derby. Henry Coney, his son and heir, was seventeen years of age. The rent agrees with that paid by Robert son of Richard in 1323, as compared with the 3s. paid by Hugh, son of Robert in 1346.
  • 70. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvii, n. 75. Besides the hall of Coney and a quarter of the manor of Ditton, held in socage by a rent of 2s., Henry Coney held lands in Rainhill, Knowsley, Huyton, and Glest in Eccleston. Robert Coney, his brother and heir, is said to have been forty-eight years of age, which would make him older than Henry.
  • 71. He died in 1600, his heirs being his daughters Margaret and Elizabeth, aged four and two years; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xviii, n. 24; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 108.
  • 72. As early as 1589, while Henry Coney was still living, William Coney, perhaps an illegitimate son, sold to John Ogle the hall of Coney and the quarter of the manor; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 51, m. 246; but after the death of Robert Coney the whole appears to have been transferred to William Coney of Ditton, Elizabeth, widow of William Coney of Ford afterwards releasing her right herein; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 108, K. 103. In 1600, Anne widow of Robert Coney claimed from William Coney and others the capital messuage called the hall of Coney; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii, 415.
  • 73. In this year Sir Thomas Ireland was plaintiff and William Coney and Elizabeth his wife, John Coney and Margaret his wife, deforciants in a fine concerning the fourth part of the manor of Ditton, and lands there; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 101. The names of the wives agree with those of the heirs of William Coney of Ford. As a number of the Coney deeds were among the Blundell muniments it appears certain that this family ultimately purchased the Coney lands. Some members of the family seem to have retained an interest in Ditton, as Margery Hawarden married Henry Coney of Ditton, gentleman, early in the seventeenth century; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 132. A Captain Coney of Ditton is mentioned in connexion with a trainband levy at the beginning of the Civil War; Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 31.
  • 74. Trans. Hist. Soc. xxii, 220; from a description by Edward Eyes in 1828, with additions by Joseph Boult.
  • 75. Vol. ii (College of Arms), fol. 247.
  • 76. A 'Robert son of Richard' attested several charters of the middle of the thirteenth century, but as there were probably two of the name—of Ditton and of Ditchfield—this step must be regarded as uncertain. In one charter mention is made of 'the land of Robert son of Richard'; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 98, n. 662.
  • 77. 'Richard son of Robert' attested the charter cited in the last note. One of this name exchanged land with Henry son of Ralph de Ditton, and made a grant to his own son John; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 98, n. 656, 664; 96, n. 592. He also made a grant to Ralph son of Philip de Ditton; Kuerden MSS, ii, fol. 247, n. 9.
  • 78. To several charters dating from about 1300 'Roger son of Richard' was witness, his name occurring after those of John son of Robert, and Stephen son of Adam; Kuerden MS. fol. p. 99,n. 505, &c.; Roger de Ditchfield's name occurs in a like position, ibid. 359, n. 423; 96, n. 594.
  • 79. John de Ditchfield received a grant of a new approvement from Richard de Slynehead and Agnes his wife, while in 1324–5 he had from John de Ditton certain land which had formerly been Richard de Ditchfield's; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 247, n. 7, 14. In 1330 he made a grant of land in the Townfield to John de Ditton; ibid. n. 16. In 1346 a John son of Robert de Ditchfield was one defendant to a suit by Henry son of John de Ditton, clerk, concerning the breaking into his close; but he may be a different person; De Banc. R. 345, m. 95 d.
  • 80. He attested charters in 1347, 1348, and 1349; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 96, n. 598; 97, n. 655; 98, n. 347. He granted land in Steresleigh to his brother William in 1349; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 247, n. 18; but Kuerden gives the name as John son of John de Ditchfield, and there may have been two Johns in succession.
  • 81. De Banc. R. 352, m. 109.
  • 82. Henry de Ditchfield was witness to a charter in 1356; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 99, n. 356; as Thomas was a minor in 1347, Henry can scarcely have been other than a brother. There are grants to and by him in Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 247, n. 21, 23.
  • 83. To Henry son of Henry de Ditchfield, Richard brother of Henry (the father) granted the lands which he held by the gift of his brother in 1404; ibid. n. 27, 26. Henry the father may have survived to this year if he were the husband of Alice de Ditton; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 99, n. 470. The younger Henry married Ellen, daughter of Thomas Travers of Whiston; Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 138b, n. 100; ii, fol. 247b, n. 71. Contemporary with him was another Henry de Ditchfield, the natural son of a Roger de Ditchfield; ibid. fol. 247, n. 31.
  • 84. The marriage of John son of Henry and Isabel in 1444 was accompanied by a grant of land in Sourfield; the remainders were to Thomas, Roger, Joan, and Emma; ibid. fol. 247b, n. 44. Joan married Richard Smith of Cuerdley and granted to William Ditchfield the lands which had descended to her in Ditton and Allerton; ibid. n. 45. There appears to have been another daughter, Alice, wife of Hugh Tyldesley; ibid. n. 71.
  • 85. Ibid. n. 43; see also n. 55–62, 64– 67, 71.
  • 86. Ibid. n. 56, 61, 67. In n. 70, however, dated a year earlier, Henry Ditchfield is given as in possession. The date may be erroneous.
  • 87. Ibid. n. 67, 80. His wife was Ellen Eston.
  • 88. Ibid. n. 72, dated 1506–7, in which Henry Ditchfield is described as the uncle of Thomas. Thomas married Isabel, sister of James Wetherby of Halsnead; ibid. n. 73.
  • 89. Nothing appears to be known of this Sir John; his widow Margery, by whom he had a son William, was living in 1506; ibid. n. 75, 76, 82.
  • 90. Ibid. n. 78, from which it appears that John, the son and heir, married Katherine, daughter of Richard Birkhead.
  • 91. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vii, n. 19. His capital messuage in Ditton was held of Richard Tyldesley, by a rent of 2s. 7½d.; other lands in Ditton were held of the king as duke of Lancaster by a rent of 2s.; he had lands also in Whiston and Allerton.
  • 92. See the pedigrees recorded at the Visitations of 1567 and 1613, published by the Chetham Society (1567, p. 123; 1613, p. 131).
  • 93. Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 172, 155. John Ditchfield, as a convicted recusant, paid double to the subsidy in 1628; Norris D. (B.M.). Edward Ditchfield his son had two-thirds of his estate sequestered for recusancy before 1649; then he was charged with 'delinquency' also, and the whole of his property taken from him; but one-third seems to have been restored, and in 1653 he petitioned to be allowed to contract for the remainder; Royalist Comp. P. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 254. He was described in 1650 as 'an arch-papist' by Colonel Gilbert Ireland; ibid. iv, 22. In Sept. 1663, a settlement was made of the manor of Ditton and half the manor of Charnock Richard; the deforciants being Dorothy Ditchfield, widow, and John Hoghton and Elizabeth his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 171, m. 99.
  • 94. Ditton was included among the Dalton manors in a fine of 1753; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 351, m. 191. In 1755 Robert Dalton sold (or mortgaged) his Ditchfield Hall estate, and sold Marsh Green to William Woods, skinner; Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 366, 284, from Rolls 27 and 29 of Geo. II at Preston.
  • 95. By fine in 1777 Thomas Shaw and Sarah his wife conveyed to Thomas Moore (no doubt as trustee) the manor of Ditton and various lands there, together with the moiety of a seat or pew in Farnworth chapel, and three pews in St. Thomas's Church, Liverpool; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 379, m. 82. Sherriff's map of 1823 gives T. Shaw as the owner; by Gregson he is called 'of Everton.'
  • 96. Norris D. (B.M.), n. 234.
  • 97. Ibid. n. 235–6; also n. 278–9.
  • 98. Ibid. n. 281–4; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 28, m. 139. The deeds show that these lands had been acquired at various times in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by the Smiths of Tarbock, beginning with Henry the Smith and his son Richard; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 237 onwards; over forty deeds. Some of these have been cited in the notes already given. Henry the Smith of Tarbock was succeeded by a son Richard, who had sons Henry, Robert, and Roger. See also P.R.O. Anct. D. A9081.
  • 99. Some of them held lands in the neighbouring townships, as Adam de Ireland; and in later times, as the inquisitions show, the Moores of Bank Hall, the Breres, Mossocks, and Bolds. Thomas de Hale and Mabel his wife acquired a holding early in the fourteenth century. Thomas de Hale died in or before 1330, in which year Mabel is called his widow; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 266. They had issue Richard, who took possession after his mother's death, but died without issue; William, outlawed for the murder of John le Norreys of West Derby in 1341, but afterwards pardoned and restored; Robert, killed at Tarbock in 1332 (Coram Rege R. 297, Rex. m. 264); Margery, Avina, and Margaret. John son of Robert le Norreys married Mabel, executrix of the will of John de Hale, in or before 1332; De Banc. R. 291, m. x. William enfeoffed Thomas de Molyneux of certain lands into which Richard de Bold had entered as son and heir of the daughter Margaret, who had married William de Bold. These particulars are from the record of the consequent lawsuit in Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 1, m. j. For William's crime see Assize R. 430, m. 12. Other families took surnames from localities in Ditton or its neighbourhood, as Marsh, Longton, Astbrook, Easthead, and Slynehead. The descendants of Award had the Halgh; those of Dandi (or Randle) continued for several generations, and by a Molyneux marriage acquired lands in Litherland also. Robert de Vilers held land in Easthead of Stephen son of Adam; Dods. MSS. lviii, fol. 163b. John and Roger de Vilers are also mentioned; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 248; Kuerden fol. MS. p. 96, n. 587. In 1611 Thomas Wycke had held lands here of Roger Rigby; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 111.
  • 100. For instance, Haliwell and its brook in the north; Black Moor and Sourfield on the Tarbock side; the Marsh in the south; the Halgh, Balshaw, Ditchfield, and Cropped Wood probably in the centre, and Brandearth and Whittle or Quethull on the eastern side.
  • 101. Norris D. (B.M.).
  • 102. Lay Subs. 250–9.
  • 103. Engl. Cath. Non-jurors, 122.
  • 104. Land-tax return at Preston.
  • 105. Gregson, Fragments (ed. Harland), 181.
  • 106. Quaker Char. Rep. (1905), p. 65.
  • 107. Lond. Gaz. 19 Mar. 1875.
  • 108. Nineteen names appear on the recusant roll of 1628.
  • 109. Father Wernz, now general of the order, studied at Ditton about 1880.
  • 110. Liverpool Cath. Ann. 1901; and information of Mr. Stapleton-Bretherton.
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