Townships: Ulnes Walton

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

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Citation:

'Townships: Ulnes Walton', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp108-111 [accessed 8 November 2024].

'Townships: Ulnes Walton', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online, accessed November 8, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp108-111.

"Townships: Ulnes Walton". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1911), , British History Online. Web. 8 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp108-111.

In this section

ULNES WALTON

Waleton, 1203, 1301; Ulveswalton, 1284; Ulfneswalton, 1320; Ulneswalton, 1321. (fn. 1)

This township is crossed by the Lostock brook, flowing south-west to join the Yarrow. Wymott brook, an affluent, divides Ulnes Walton from Bretherton. The surface is flat and lies low, there being a slight rising to the north-east and south-east. To the south of the Lostock are Barbles or Barbers Moor in the west and Holcar in the east, to the north of it is Littlewood in the west. Folds is in the north-east corner. The area measures 2,105½ acres, (fn. 2) and there was a population of 551 in 1901.

The principal road is that going north from Eccleston to Longton; there are scattered dwellings situated beside it, but they are too few and too far apart to form a village. Another road, forming the southern boundary, goes from Croston Station to Chorley. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company's line from Liverpool to Preston crosses the western side of the township.

Fruit is grown extensively.

Pedestals of two ancient stone crosses remain. (fn. 3) There was a find of Roman coins in 1884. (fn. 4)

There were sixty-six hearths charged to the tax of 1666; the largest house was that of William Gradell, with six hearths. (fn. 5)

There is a parish council. A school board was formed in 1877. (fn. 6)

Manor

The manor of ULNES WALTON was a member of the fee or barony of Penwortham, and thus passed from Bussel to Lacy and so to the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster and the Crown. Of the lord of Penwortham it was held by the service of the fifth part of a knight's fee by a family surnamed Walton. (fn. 7) The earliest known member of it, Ulf de Walton, was living about 1160, (fn. 8) and he no doubt gave the distinguishing name of Ulf's (Ulnes) to the township. He had a son Adam, occurring a little later, (fn. 9) perhaps the same Adam de Walton who had to pay a mark to the scutage in 1203–4. (fn. 10) He was succeeded by a son Adam, who gave his moiety of Eccleston to his son Warine, (fn. 11) and in 1242 Warine de Walton held the fifth part of a knight's fee in Walton of the fee of the Earl of Lincoln (Lacy), and he of the fee of the Earl of Ferrers (as lord between Ribble and Mersey), and he of the king in chief. (fn. 12)

Warine had a son Adam, known as Master Adam, (fn. 13) who, at least ultimately, inherited the family manors and estates in Ulnes Walton, Eccleston, Leyland, and Hoole, &c. He made a settlement of the manor of Hoole in 1294, (fn. 14) and of the remainder of the estate in 1301; by this the manor of Walton, 30 acres in Leyland, 30s. rent in Kellamergh, and the moiety of the manors of Eccleston, Heskin and Leyland were settled on Adam de Walton of Hoole and his issue, with remainders to Adam de Walton of Mitton, William de Walton and Margery de Walton. (fn. 15) The two Adams died without issue, so that the inheritance came to William, after some disputes with the heirs of Adam de Walton of Hoole. (fn. 16) William had a daughter and heir Maud, (fn. 17) who married William de Bracebridge, and they, in 1347, granted the manor of Ulnes Walton and the moieties of Eccleston, Heskin and Leyland to Henry Earl of Lancaster, receiving in exchange Berleye (Barley) in Yorkshire. (fn. 18)

Margery sister of Adam, who married Thurstan de Northlegh, appears to have held lands in the township, (fn. 19) for her heirs, the Radcliffes and Bartons of Smithills (fn. 20) and the Leghs of Lyme, (fn. 21) long held lands here.

The manor, however, descended with the earldom and duchy of Lancaster, (fn. 22) until in 1551 the Crown sold it to Anthony Browne, (fn. 23) who in turn sold it in moieties, in 1558–9, to William Farington (fn. 24) and to Sir Thomas Gerard. (fn. 25) The former moiety has descended with the other Farington estates (fn. 26); the latter was in 1562 sold to Edward Earl of Derby, (fn. 27) whose successor, William, in conjunction with Edward Stanley, in 1597 sold it to Sir Richard Molyneux, (fn. 28) and it descended like Sefton (fn. 29) until 1729, when it was sold, (fn. 30) and has disappeared from view. (fn. 31)

There are a number of court rolls at Worden, beginning in 1503. The manor-house seems to have been at Littlewood. (fn. 32)

The Sutton family, (fn. 33) claiming by descent from one of the Waltons, long had an estate here, which descended to Gorsuch of Scarisbrick. The Faringtons (fn. 34) and other neighbouring landowners had estates in this township, as appears by the inquisitions. About 1600 the principal residents (fn. 35) appear to have been the Stopfords (fn. 36) and Gradwells or Gradells. (fn. 37) The estate of the latter on Barbles Moor became the property of Alexander Kershaw of Heskin, by whose representative it descended to L. Hargrave, and was sold. (fn. 38) Humphrey Marsh died in 1628 holding a messuage and land in Ulnes Walton of Lord Molyneux; his heir was a brother, Evan Marsh, and the family appear to have retained or increased the estate. (fn. 39)

Under the Commonwealth the estates of James Rutter (fn. 40) and William and Elizabeth Gradell were sequestered or sold. (fn. 41) In 1717, as 'Papists,' Christopher Gradell, (fn. 42) Robert and Hugh Jump and Thomas Langtree registered estates. (fn. 43) In 1787 the chief landowners were William Farington and John Marsh, and in 1798 the same, with Thomas Gardner and Edmund N. Kershaw added. (fn. 44)

The Hospitallers had an estate in Ulnes Walton. (fn. 45)

Footnotes

  • 1. It is usually impossible to distinguish between Ulues Walton and Ulnes Walton in the manuscripts; but in one case in 1331 the defence relied on the distinction, asserting that u was wrong; Assize R. 1404, m. 26 d. The variation in spelling between Ulves and Ulnes continued down to the 18th century. The local pronunciation seems to have been Oves Walton or Oos Walton; see Ducatus Lanc. passim.
  • 2. 2,107 acres, including 8 of inland water; Census Rep. 1901.
  • 3. Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xvii, 14; Lostock Brow and Roecroft's Crosses.
  • 4. Ibid. ii, 87, 119.
  • 5. Subs. R. Lancs. 250, no. 9.
  • 6. Lond. Gaz. 27 Nov. 1877.
  • 7. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 36. The 'fifth part of a knight's fee' indicates an ancient assessment of two plough-lands.
  • 8. Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 375; Ulf attested a charter from the lord of Penwortham to Richard Fitton.
  • 9. Ibid. 409.
  • 10. Ibid. 179. The scutage was nominally at 2½ marks for a knight's fee, so that Adam de Walton paid double.
  • 11. Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, p. 3; a charter of Adam son of Adam to his son Warine. The grantor states that his father Adam held of Benedict Gernet, who died about 1205.
  • 12. Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 149. As early as 1217 Warine de Walton (perhaps another person) made his peace with Hen. III; Rot. Lit. Claus. (Rec. Com.), 374. Warine was living in 1252; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 188–9. To Robert son of Adam de Holland he granted an assart in Ulnes Walton; Add. MS. 32104, no. 1168. In 1323 William de Holland held a messuage and land of the king (by grant of Alice daughter of Henry de Lacy) in socage, by a rent of 1d.; Inq. p.m. 17 Edw. II, no. 54.
  • 13. Master Adam was precentor of the church of Lichfield and died in or before 1306; De Banco R. 160, m. 151.
  • 14. Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 178. Hoole was granted to Adam de Walton, clerk, and his issue, with remainder to Master Adam and his heirs, and did not descend like Ulnes Walton. The heirs of Warine de Walton held the manor in 1302; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 315 (and p. xxii).
  • 15. Final Conc. i, 194. It is difficult to make out the relationships. The Adam de Walton of Hoole may be the same as the Adam the clerk of 1294 and the Adam of Mitton his nephew, son of John de Walton. It appears that in about 1310 Adam de Walton, parson of Mitton, held two plough-lands in Ulnes Walton, where ten plough-lands made a knight's fee; Lansdowne MS. 559, fol. 23. From a charter by Adam son of Warine de Walton it appears that he had out of charity brought up William de Walton, literate, from infancy, and that Margery de Walton was daughter of John de Walton; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxxviii, p. 284.
  • 16. In 1330 William de Walton held two-thirds of the manor, the other third being held by Emma, then wife of John de Croft; De Banco R. 284, m. 93; 287, m. 571. It appears that Emma was widow of Adam de Walton and wife of John de Croft as early as 1320; ibid. 235, m. 131 d. She was living in 1347. In 1311 Robert del Clough and Joan his wife claimed two-thirds of certain messuages, &c., in Eccleston and Ulnes Walton against Margery daughter of John de Walton, and it appeared that Joan, Margaret and Margery were the sisters and heirs of Adam son of John de Walton; ibid. 184, m. 53 d.; 187, m. 136 d. Margery had married Thurstan de Northlegh before 1315, when the suit was continued; ibid. 212, m. 322 d. From a continuation of the suit it is shown that John de Walton was brother and heir of an Adam de Walton; ibid. 222, no. 211 d. Afterwards (1320) Thurstan de Northlegh and his wife appear to have purchased the rights of Joan and her husband; Final Conc. ii, 33, 43; De Banco R. 233, no. 146. Thurstan de Northlegh was in 1322 said to hold two plough-lands in Ulnes Walton for the fifth part of a knight's fee; Duchy of Lanc. Knights' Fees, bdle. 1, no. 3. William de Walton seems to have acquired possession without dispute, but in 1331 Sir Thurstan de Northlegh and Margery his wife claimed the manor of Ulnes Walton against William de Walton, Sir William de Bradshagh, Mabel his wife, Robert son of Adam de Wettenhall and Maud his wife; Assize R. 1404, m. 27, 26 d. Again in 1343 William de Walton complained that Richard de Radcliffe had expelled him from his manor of Ulnes Walton in 1336; ibid. 430, m. 12, 18 d.; Cal. Pat. 1334–8, p. 511; 1343–5, p. 434.
  • 17. From a bond in 1338 it appears that William had two daughters, Maud and Agnes, then married respectively to Robert de Wettenhall and John Blount; Duchy of Lanc. Great Coucher, i, fol. 87b, no. 1. Earlier still, in 1332, the Bishop of Lichfield had granted a certificate as to Maud's legitimacy; she was the daughter of William by his wife Margery de Clayton; ibid. fol. 96b. The matter was, however, still in dispute in 1344; ibid. fol. 92, no. 2. After the death of Robert de Wettenhall Maud married William de Bracebridge, and the matter received a final decision in her favour; ibid. fol. 96b.
  • 18. Ibid. fol. 90, no. 7–12; Duchy of Lanc. Anct. D. L 1222; Final Conc. ii, 124. The sale included the whole of William de Walton's estate, including the reversion of that part held in dower by Emma wife of John de Croft. Margery daughter of John de Walton and widow of Thurstan de Northlegh put in her claim. It appears that in 1344 William de Walton had granted his manor of Ulnes Walton, land in Leyland, rent in Kellamergh and the moieties of the manors of Eccleston, Heskin and Leyland to Henry Earl of Lancaster for Henry's life at a rent of £50 a year, payable at Lichfield, where William seems to have lived; Great Coucher, i, fol. 89, no. 4.
  • 19. See the suits named in preceding notes. In 1331 Thurstan de Northlegh and Margery his wife, apart from the two-thirds of the manor, claimed various messuages, lands, mill and rent in Ulnes Walton, Leyland, Eccleston and Croston as part of Margery's inheritance; Assize R. 1404, m. 26 d., 28 d. They claimed part by a charter of Adam de Walton of Mitton, who had succeeded the Adam of Hoole.
  • 20. In the inquisitions their lands are said to be held of the king as of his duchy by knights' service; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 12; iv, no. 82. In 1612 the tenure was unknown; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 211. Ralph Radcliffe in 1413 remitted to the king all right, &c., in the manor of Ulnes Walton; Close, 1 Henry V, m. 34.
  • 21. Said to be held of the king as of the dissolved priory of St. John of Jerusalem in 1541 by a rent of 6d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. viii, no. 10. From the contemporary rental of the Hospitallers' lands it seems that Peter Legh and Andrew Barton jointly held a messuage, &c., paying a rent of 12d.; Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 83b.
  • 22. In 1355 Henry Duke of Lancaster held the fifth part of a knight's fee in Ulrres Walton, formerly held by Warine de Walton; Feud. Aids, iii, 86. There are several grants concerning it in the duchy records. In 1358 the duke granted the site of the manor with the demesne lands, &c., to his physician, Master Richard de Ireland, for life; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 345. For other grants to Sumner, Radcliffe and others see ibid. xl, App. 530, 531, 538, 539. The manor of Ulnes Walton, the moiety of the manors of Eccleston and Leyland, &c., were in 1366 demised by John of Gaunt to William de Chorley at a rent of £61. The oaks and trees of the south wood (Southbois) are mentioned. See Great Coucher, i, fol. 94, no. 7; Duchy of Lanc. Anct. D. L 2090. Other leases were to Robert Standish for life in 1372; William de Hoghton and Alice his wife for twenty years in 1401; and to Sir William Ashton for twenty years in 1435; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xiii, 9; xvi, 34 d.; xviii, 33. See also Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. i, no. 51 (21 Hen. VI). In 1481 the manors of Ulnes Walton, &c., were granted to Thomas Molyneux and his heirs with a provision for resumption which appears to have come into effect; for though held by Thomas at his death (Lancs. Inq. p.m. [Chet. Soc.], ii, 117) they were in 1487 demised to Sir Thomas Wolton and his son James for twenty-four years, in 1502 to William Wall, rector of Eccleston, for twenty years, and in 1505 to Henry Farington for a like period; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xix, 20; xxi, A 54 d., A 57 d., A 59 d. The last grant was in 1514 renewed to Henry Farington and William his son and heir for their lives; ibid. xxii, 33. A large number of references to disputes between members of the Farington family respecting Ulnes Walton will be found in the Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), passim.
  • 23. Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xxiii, 70 d. The grant included the manors of Ulnes Walton, Leyland and Kellamergh; turbary of Penwortham, lands called Conylache in Leyland and others lately belonging to Cockersand Abbey in Tarleton, Sollom and Holmes.
  • 24. In August 1558 Anthony Jebb was plaintiff and Anthony Browne, serjeantat-law, Joan his wife and William Hodson were deforciants in a fine respecting the manors of Ulnes Walton and Kellamergh, sixty messuages, water-mill, &c.; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 20, m. 4. Immediately afterwards the moiety of these manors was sold to William Farington; Com. Pleas D. Enr. Mich. 5 & 6 Phil. and Mary and 1 Eliz.
  • 25. The sales are recited in pleadings of 1601; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 289, m. 19.
  • 26. No 'manor' was claimed for William Farington of Worden in 1610, when his messuages and lands there were stated to be held of the king by the hundredth part of a knight's fee; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 181–4. The manor is named in settlements of the Farington estates in 1684 and later; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 213, m. 30; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 503, m. 4 d. (1715); 557, m. 8 (1742). Thomas Farington in 1616 sought a partition of forty messuages, two watermills, &c., held together by him and Sir Richard Molyneux; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 317, m. 41.
  • 27. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 24, m. 78. The deforciants of the moiety of the manors of Ulnes Walton and Kellamergh were Sir Thomas Gerard and Elizabeth his wife.
  • 28. Ibid. bdle. 58, m. 320; half the manor of Ulnes Walton, thirty messuages, two mills, dovecote, &c. From a later fine it appears that the estate was not finally disposed of in 1600; ibid. bdle. 62, m. 141.
  • 29. A fourth part of the manor was held by Sir Richard Molyneux in 1608; ibid. bdle. 73, m. 27. The other fourth part seems for a time to have been held by Ashton of Croston, as will be seen in a later note. In 1623 the 'manor' was found to have been held by Sir Richard Molyneux, by tenure unknown; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 384, 391. In a settlement of 1614 it is called the moiety of the manor, but the style varies; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 86, m. 19; 104, m. 18; 201, m. 4.
  • 30. It was among the manors, &c., sold under the provisions of a Private Act, 2 Geo. II, cap. 9.
  • 31. The deforciants in a fine respecting it in 1803 were Samuel Fleetwood and wife, Margaret Warren widow, Nancy Lowes widow, John Gosnell and wife, Samuel Warren, Thomas Wiatt and wife, William Wainwright and wife, and Tryphosa Johnson, spinster; Pal. of Lanc. Lent Assizes, 43 Geo. III. In 1870 this moiety of the manor was said to be vested 'in Longworth's heirs'; Baines, Lancs. ii, 119.
  • 32. Henry VI in 1444 demised to Sir Bertin Entwisle 'the site of the manor called Littlewood' for twenty years at a rent of £20, but it appeared that Sir William Ashton claimed under a previous lease; Early Chan. Proc. bdle. 14, no. 10. The free tenants in 1503, according to the court rolls, were Thomas Earl of Derby, Sir Peter Legh, William Molyneux, Thomas Hesketh, John Barton, Henry Farington, esquires, Christopher Leyland, Roger Farington, Gilbert Sutton, George Dandy, chantry priest, Robert Smith and John Clayton the younger; each held lands, &c., by knights' service and suit of court. In 1504 the cucking stool was out of repair. The manor-house of Littlewood was ruinous in 1505; the court was held at Littlewood in 1534. In 1578 it was ordered that the underwood on the banks of the Lostock (ash, willow, 'uler,' &c.) must be cut down and the banks made right, so that the river should be three yards wide. A sapling of ash was to be planted yearly by each tenant for every 6s. 8d. of his rent. Littlewood was claimed by Alice Dowager Countess of Derby (widow of Ferdinando fifth Earl) in 1595; Ducatus Lanc. iii, 323, 352. Later it appears that Littlewood and Leighouses pertained to the purchase made by Sir Richard Molyneux; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 386. But in 1622 the reversion of a moiety of the capital messuage called Littlewood, with various lands in Ulnes Walton, was the right of Thomas Ashton of Croston; ibid. iii, 330. It was held of the king in chief by knights' service, but was in the possession of Alice Dowager Countess of Derby as part of her dower. The next Thomas Ashton held three messuages, &c., in Ulnes Walton; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxix, no. 6. A court roll of 1673 preserved at Croxteth gives the lords of the manor as Caryll Lord Molyneux and George Farington. The following were suitors: Richard Leigh, Sir Rowland Belasyse, Lawrence Seymour, Richard Ashton, Roger Ashton, William Gradell, Nicholas Fazakerley, Seth Bushell, clerk, George Carter, Humphrey Marsh and Thomas Wigans. The cleansing of the ditches was the chief business. In 1709 a Mrs. Floyd owned Littlewood; Croston Ch. Bks. (Rev. W. G. Procter).
  • 33. William and Thomas de Sutton had a tenement in 1284; Assize R. 1268, m. 13. The former was non-suited in a claim against Master Adam de Walton in 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 23. Avice widow of William de Sutton claimed dower in a messuage and 6 oxgangs of land against Adam de Walton in 1307; De Banco R. 162, m. 190. From a further statement it appears that William son of Thomas de Sutton had granted the estate to Master Adam de Walton, and had died leaving a son and heir Thomas under age; ibid. 164, m. 172 d. Adam de Walton in 1308 called to warrant him John de Chisnall guardian of Thomas son and heir of William de Sutton; ibid. 170, m. 131. In a pleading of 1333 Thomas states that his great-grandfather Robert de Sutton married Agnes daughter of Dolphin de Walton; ibid. 296, m. 237 d. See also ibid. 284, m. 93; 290, m. 203 d. William son of Thomas de Sutton had a messuage and land in Ulnes Walton as early as 1330; Final Conc. ii, 76. There were remainders to Robert and Thomas, brothers of William. William de Sutton in 1347 complained that Henry son of Robert son of Thomas de Ulnes Walton, Mabel his wife, John del Dam, 'leech,' and others had broken his houses, &c.; De Banco R. 353, m. 157 d. It may be noted that William (infant) son of Henry son of Robert de Ulnes Walton was plaintiff respecting two messuages, &c., at Michaclmas 1352; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 2, m. 1. Some further account of the Sutton family will be found under Scarisbrick in Ormskirk. Gilbert Sutton was in 1518 found to have held his lands here of the Knights of St. John by a rent of 4d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. v, no. 67. About 1540 Thomas Gorsuch was holding the land (in Dodfield) by the same rent; Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 83b. James Gorsuch in 1580 sold a toft, &c., to James and William Stopford; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 42, m. 20. An Ayscow or Askue family occurs about 1330–50. In 1331 Joan widow of John de la Legh did not prosecute her claim against Roger de Aykyskowe; Assize R. 1404, m. 18. In 1347 it appears that Roger son of Roger de Aykescogh had by his wife Christiana left two daughters, Alice and Maud, who had a messuage and land; Assize R. 1435, m. 51 d.
  • 34. Margery widow of Richard son of Nicholas de Goldburn in 1343–7 claimed two messuages, &c., in Ulnes Walton against John son of William de Farington and William Doddeson of Eccleston, but failed; De Banco R. 336, m. 409 d.; Assize R. 1435, m. 48. John son of Nicholas de Goldburn occurs in a fine of 1333; Final Conc. ii, 90. Richard son of John Collinson (? Goldburn) at Pentecost, 1352, claimed a messuage and land against Alice daughter of John de Farington, Alice widow of William del Rowe and Joan widow of John de Farington; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 2, m. 8 d. William Farington died in 1502 holding land, &c., in Ulnes Walton of the Prior of St. John of Jerusalem by a rent of 3d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 67. Sir Henry Farington in 1540 held land in Dodfield; Kuerden MSS. loc. sup. cit. Roger (son of Robert) Farington of Ulnes Walton died in 1613 holding land of the king in socage; his son and heir William was thirteen years of age; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 244. Thomas Hesketh of Rufford in 1523 held 2 acres in Ulnes Walton, but the tenure was unknown; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. v, no. 16; vii, no. 14. James Anderton of Clayton died in 1630 holding a messuage and land in Ulnes Walton, but the tenure is not stated; ibid. xxvii, no. 56.
  • 35. James Stopford and William Gradell are named in that year; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 244. William Stopford contributed to the subsidy in 1628; ibid. ii, 166.
  • 36. A William Alanson died before 1578 holding lands, and leaving as heirs his two daughters Ellen and another (Margaret) wife of James Stopford; Court R. In 1562 a division was sought of four messuages and 26 acres of land held by Sir Peter Legh, Robert Barton on one side and James Stopford, Margaret his wife and Ellen Alanson on the other; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 212, m. 9. A settlement by Ellen daughter and heir of William Stopford was made in 1569; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 31, m. 24. James Stopford, Margaret his wife and William his illegitimate son had made a similar settlement in 1563; ibid. bdle. 25, m. 203. The same parties made a further settlement in 1587; ibid. bdle. 49, m. 138. William Stopford died in 1617 holding a messuage and land in Ulnes Walton and other lands, &c., in Preston, Leyland, Croston, Longton, &c.; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes. and Ches.), ii, 72. The premises in Ulnes Walton were held of Sir Richard Molyneux and William Farington in free socage. William Stopford son and heir of the deceased was twenty-three years of age.
  • 37. John Charnock (of Farington) died in 1574 holding a messuage and lands in Ulnes Walton occupied by the wife of Thomas Gradell and Christopher Gradell her son; they had been purchased of Sir Anthony Browne, but the tenure is not stated; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xii, no. 35. His heir was his brother William's son Thomas Charnock, over thirty years of age, and this Thomas in the following year made a settlement or partition of his estate in Fulwood, Aughton and Ulnes Walton, the plaintiffs in the fine being William Charnock, William Gradell and Roger Charnock; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 37, m. 191. John Charnock had in 1571 bequeathed his tenement in Ulnes Walton to his nephew William Gradell son of Christopher; Piccope, Wills (Chet. Soc.), ii, 209. William Gradell died in 1608 holding a messuage and lands in Ulnes Walton and Croston of the king (as duke) by knights' service; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 92. Alice his widow survived him, and his heir was his son Christopher, seventeen years of age. Christopher Gradell died in 1630 holding much the same estate of the king by the two-hundredth part of a knight's fee. His son and heir William was thirteen years old, and his wife Elizabeth survived him; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxv, no. 10. The recusant roll of 1628 contains the names of Christopher and Elizabeth Gradell and two other members of the family; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 175. The family were zealous Roman Catholics, and 'suffered every form of persecution rather than abjure their faith. They appear annually on the recusant rolls from their commencement under Elizabeth to the reign of James II. . . . They supplied the church with several virtuous and learned priests during the days of persecution and throughout the whole of that period maintained a chaplain at their house at Barbles Moor. The mansion has long since disappeared. . . . A corner of the garden had originally been used as a burial ground'; Gillow, Bibl. Dict. Engl. Cath., ii, 547. He states that the family became extinct in the male line by the death of the Rev. Christopher (son of Christopher) Gradell in 1758, after serving as the priest at Sheffield for twenty-two years. His two brothers had died unmarried, and the heirs were his three half-sisters, married to O'Neil, Taylor of Standish and Orrell of Blackbrook. The religion of the family and the presence of a resident chaplain explain the 'tradition' mentioned by Baines, that the house had been 'a monkish cell.' For the crosses there see Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xvii, 14. A long account of the family, by the late Mgr. R. Gradwell, appeared in the Preston Guardian in 1884.
  • 38. Baines, Lancs. (ed. 1870), ii, 119.
  • 39. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxx, no. 49.
  • 40. Sequestered for recusancy; Cal. Com. for Comp. iv, 2683.
  • 41. Sequestered for the recusancy of Elizabeth Gradell and the popery and delinquency of William Gradell her son; Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 90. William Gradell's estate was afterwards declared forfeit and sold; Index of Royalists (Index Soc.), 42.
  • 42. He was the son of the above-named William, and his sons William, Christopher and Richard are named; Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath. Non-jurors, 131. The son Christopher, as above stated, was the last of the line; he went to Douay in 1728. The will of Christopher Gradell, the father, and a deed (1735) by William Gradell are abstracted in Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, pp. 216, 336, from deeds enrolled at Preston.
  • 43. Estcourt and Payne, op. cit. 130, 131.
  • 44. Land tax returns at Preston.
  • 45. It is mentioned in 1292; Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 375. Some of the tenants have been named in preceding notes. The others about 1540 were: Edward Earl of Derby, paying 12d.; Sir Robert Hesketh, in Berle, 4d.; and some chaplains, probably for chantry lands, paying 12d. and 6d.; Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 83b. William Dicconson in 1604 held part of what had been the Hospitallers' lands by a rent of 4d.; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 19.
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