| 1 |
The census of 1901 gives 1,231 acres,
including 9 of inland water. |
| 2 |
In 1666 it had thirty-three hearths;
Lay Subs. Lancs. 250–9. |
| 3 |
Downing to Alston Moor, 27. |
| 4 |
See Trans. Hist. Soc. vii, 184–8;
Gillow, Bibl. Dict. of Engl. Catholics, v,
463. |
| 5 |
Caröe and Gordon, Sefton, 52. |
| 6 |
Ibid. 120–3, quoting the churchwardens' accounts. On the remains of the
crosses see H. Taylor in Trans. Lancs. and
Ches. Antiq. Soc. xix, 184–5. |
| 7 |
Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxiii, 223; xxxiv,
25; and Caröe and Gordon, Sefton, 132–
486. The members assembled at Sefton
in the morning, went in procession to the
church, styled by them 'the cathedral,'
where they had a special pew at the west
end with three rows of seats for the burgesses and a separate square box for the
mayor. Then they had an early dinner
in a room called the Mansion House, part
of the old Church Inn, attended the afternoon service, and spent the rest of the
time in amusing themselves, or as they
expressed it, 'spending the afternoon with
the usual festivity and closing the day
with the utmost harmony.' Politics were
usually excluded, but on one occasion (in
1784) a halter was voted to Charles James
Fox, and the freedom of the corporation
to William Pitt. The heroes of the time
were toasted and much loyalty was exhibited, as, for instance, on the king's restoration to health in 1789. In the same
year resolutions were passed 'to show the
corporation's indignant sense of the ridiculous motion for abolishing the slave trade
proposed by Fanatic Wilberforce.' The
meetings continued till about 1810, but
in the later years were in the winter
held at the Coffee House, Bootle—Sefton
being probably difficult of access at that
season. |
| 8 |
V. C. H. Lancs. i, 284a. It should be
observed that in later times Sefton was
rated as five plough-lands only. |
| 9 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc.
Lanc. and Ches.), 12. The 10½ ploughlands seem to have been made up thus:
Sefton, 6; Thornton, 1; half Down
Litherland, 1½; Cuerden, 2. |
| 10 |
Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 427; see also
the account of Litherland.
Robert received a plough-land in Thornton from Pain de Vilers, lord of Warrington; Inq. and Extents, 7.
The surname is derived from Moulineaux (Molinelli) in the department of
the Seine Inférieure; see Rot. Normanniae
(Rec. Com.) i, passim. It has shown a
great variety of spellings, e.g. Mulineals,
1181; Molinell, 1193; Mulinas, 1212;
de Mulinellis, 1226; Mulyneus, 1242;
Molyneaus, 1249; Molyneus, 1256;
Molyneux, 1337. The more ancient
and correct form of the name was 'de'
Molyneux, but by the fourteenth century
'le' Molyneux had become usual. |
| 11 |
Perhaps there were two Richards in
succession, the earlier appearing in 1164;
Lancs. Pipe R. 375. |
| 12 |
Robert, the father of the Richard of
1212, made several grants recorded in the
survey, which at the date named were held
by his nephews; and Richard himself had
also made some grants; Inq. and Extents
12–14. One of these was to Simon his
brother of land called Hagenecroft in
Sefton; the bounds are of interest: In
length from the syke of the Yitefelt to
the syke nearest Hagenecroft at the road
from Sefton to Thornton; and in breadth
from Pepper-field to the next road, which
goes from Crosby towards the church.
The rent was to be 2s. a year. At the
end of the witnesses are the names Vivian
de Molyneux and Robert his brother, probably sons of the grantor. The charter is
at Croxteth, but the seal is missing;
Croxteth D. X, bdle. iv, n. 2. This land
appears to have reverted to the lord, for in
1249 William de Molyneux gave half or
the whole of it to Robert de Molyneux of
Thornton; Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs.
and Ches.), i, 110.
Richard de Molyneux appears in the
Pipe Roll of 1181–2 as offering 20s. for
leave to agree with the men of Singleton;
Lancs. Pipe R. 46. Shortly afterwards he
attested a charter by Albert Bussel; ibid.
377. In 1194 he rendered account of
100s. for securing the king's good will
after implication in the rebellion of Count
John; ibid. 77. From this time his
name occurs frequently as contributing to
scutages, &c.; ibid. 133 et seq.
He granted land in Larbreck to Cockersand Abbey; and he and his brother
Robert were witnesses to a grant to William Blundell of Ince; Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc.), i, 185; Whalley Coucher
(Chet. Soc.), ii, 498.
Richard de Molyneux married, it is
supposed, a daughter of one of the Gernets,
for Roger Gernet, master forester from
about 1140 to 1170, gave him Speke in
marriage, and Adam, Roger, and Vivian
soon appear among the Molyneux names;
Inq. and Extents, 43.
A Vivian de Molyneux was witness to
a Furness charter in the last years of
the twelfth century; Cal. Doc. Scotland,
i, 41. |
| 13 |
On 24 November, 1213, Adam de
Molyneux made fine with the king for
40 marks to have his father Richard's
lands; Lancs. Pipe R. 246.
Adam paid 6s. sakefee in 1226, and
was still holding the Sefton fee in 1242;
Inq. and Extents, 137, 147. He died between Oct. 1246 and Feb. 1249; Final
Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i,
104, 109. In 1228 he was one of those
commissioned to decide what parts of the
forest in Lancs. should be disforested;
Lancs. Pipe R. 420. |
| 14 |
The title 'Dominus' is prefixed in
Whalley Coucher, ii, 497 et seq.
An Edwin de Molyneux occurs about
1230; ibid. ii, 527. |
| 15 |
As William de Molyneux, son of
Adam, he granted to Henry, son of Thomas the Reeve, a portion of the demesne
of Sefton; and to Richard Fox and his
heirs several portions of land in territory
of the vill; to William, son of Simon de
Gragnethe, he gave a part of the demesne
lands upon the Gorsthill and a messuage
and curtilage in Little Sefton; and to his
brother Roger's son William he made
another grant upon the Gorsthill; Croxteth D. Ec, 1; Ee, 3, 4, 6; Ee, 5; Genl.
i, 2. Speke he granted to his daughter
Joan on her marriage with Robert Erneys of
Chester; Norris D. (B. M.), n. 480 *.
He had a brother Richard to whom he
was heir; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 12, m.
27b. |
| 16 |
Blundell of Crosby D. K. 278. |
| 17 |
Gisborne Molineux, Memoirs of the
Molineux Family, 3. No reference is given,
but it is possible that these lines were
once inscribed on a tomb in Sefton church. |
| 18 |
Assize R. 408, m. 36d. 100d. In
the former of these suits Margery, widow
of Robert de Molyneux, unsuccessfully
claimed certain tenements in Sefton. In
the latter Richard himself was plaintiff in
conjunction with William de Walton, they
alleging that William de Aintree and
others had carried away a cross from a
place called Hosyere Cross between Sefton
and Walton, probably obscuring the boundary; the cross was ordered to be replaced. An arbitration in 1300 respecting the bounds of Aintree and Sefton was
perhaps a result of this litigation; Croxteth D. Genl. i, 4. |
| 19 |
One of the most notable of his grants
was made to Thomas his son in 1315,
being a quitclaim of all his right in Little
Salton and other lands in the Lothians
which formerly belonged to Vivian de
Molyneux, 'whose heir I (Richard) am';
Lancs. Pipe R. 428, from Dods. MSS. lxi,
fol. 114. It is possible that Vivian de
Molyneux, who has been mentioned in a
previous note as living about 1200, was
an elder brother of Adam, who succeeded
to Sefton in 1213.
To Peter his son Richard de Molyneux
in 1311 granted a plot of his meadow
lying in the Little Hesteholm; and four
years later to Thomas his son, with remainder to Peter, Richard granted land in
Sefton lying between Sefton and Thornton, another piece on the Edge and three
acres in the Hesteholm—now Estham in
Sefton meadows; Croxteth D. Genl. i,
6, 7.
At the end of 1318 and beginning of
1319 there were a number of grants and
re-grants between the father on one side
and Peter and Thomas on the other;
ibid. Genl. i, 8–14. Emma, it appears
from them, was the mother of these sons,
if not of the heir. Emma was still living
in 1336; ibid. Genl. i, 22. In a claim
by her for dower will be found the names
of a number of the tenants; De Banc.
R. 240, m. 394 b. |
| 20 |
In July, 1320, William son of Richard
de Molyneux inspected various charters of
his father granting lands to Peter de
Molyneux, and confirmed them; Croxteth
D. Genl. i, 16–19. In 1321 he demanded
from Emma, his father's widow, and from
Peter and Thomas, three charters and
three bonds; De Banc. R. 238, m. 53.
In 1324 he obtained from William,
son of Robert the Fowler, certain lands
lying on the Moiedge in Sefton, towards
Great Crosby; ibid. X, i, 4.
Beside his heir he seems to have had a
son Robert and a daughter Emma; Duchy
of Lanc. Assize, R. 4, m. 11; De Banc.
R. 274, m. 16 d.
In 1324 Richard de Molyneux is given
as holding Sefton by the service of half a
knight's fee, 6s. sakefee, and 5s. castle
ward; Dods. MSS. cxxxi, fol. 34. This
probably refers to William's father, in
error. |
| 21 |
Rot. Scotiae (Rec. Com.), 218. |
| 22 |
Croxteth D. Genl. i, 26; by this
Richard de Molyneux, rector of Sefton,
appointed Richard del Lund, clerk, to
deliver to Richard, the son of William de
Molyneux, deceased, the manor of Sefton
with the appurtenances, and the homage
and service of the free tenants, &c. This
Richard seems to have immediately refeoffed the rector; ibid. i, 27.
In 1332 he was defendant in a suit
respecting houses and land in Sefton
brought by William son of Hugh de
Standish; and plaintiff in another case;
De Banc. R. 291, m. 185; 292, m. 554 d. |
| 23 |
Inq. p. m. 42 Edw. III, n. 40 (1st
Nos.); he had held the manor of Sefton
and the advowson of the church, with
remainder to his son William and heirs
male, of the duke of Lancaster, by homage
and suit at the wapentake of Derby from
three weeks to three weeks. The value
was about £55 a year, made up, £20
from the rents of tenants at will, and
the rest from the estimated worth of
the capital messuage and its appurtenances, 140 acres of arable land at 2s.
an acre, and 80 acres of meadow at
5s. an acre. He had also held the manors
of Down Litherland and Thornton.
In 1346 he was found to hold five
plough-lands in Sefton, one in Thornton,
and two in Cuerden by the service of half
a knight's fee and by paying yearly 11s.
for sake fee and ward of Lanc. Castle,
doing suit to county and wapentake by
his tenant Thomas the Demand; Survey
of 1346 (Chet. Soc.), 32. Litherland is
given separately, and said to be held in
socage.
He was twice married—to Agatha and
to Isabel—and nine sons and daughters
are mentioned, viz. William, Richard,
John (who had sons Thomas and Nicholas),
Robert, Thomas, Peter, Simon, Ellen and
Joan; see Croxteth D. Bb, i, 3, and Dep.
Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. p. 346.
In 1337 the manor of Down Litherland was settled on Richard, son of
William de Molyneux, and Agatha his
wife, and their sons William, Richard, and
Thomas; and seven years later to Gilbert
de Scarisbrick Richard granted a rent of
40 marks for the life of Agatha his wife;
Croxteth D. G. i, 8; Ee, 19.
In October, 1361, the feoffees gave to
Richard de Molyneux and Isabel his wife
the lands and tenements in Sefton, Thornton, &c., which they had had from
Richard. At the beginning of the following year Richard de Molyneux enfeoffed
Thomas del Hall and others of his manor
of Sefton and the advowson of the church,
and Thomas, son of Richard, released all
his right in the same; ibid. Genl. i, 35,
31–3. At the same time the father
released all his right in the same to his
son Richard; ibid. 34.
Isabel survived her husband and is mentioned in charters of 1365 and 1369;
ibid. Y. i, 8 and Genl. i, 37. In 1368
she, as widow of Richard, made a claim
against William de Molyneux for a third
part of the manor of Sefton. In the
pleadings it is stated that William was
son of William the son of Richard by his
first wife Agatha; De Banc. R. 431,
m. 29. |
| 24 |
Inq. p.m. 33 Edw. III, n. 99 (2nd
Nos.); on his marriage with Joan, daughter and heir of Robert de Holland of
Euxton and Ellel, William had received
from his father the manor of Larbreck.
He died on 1 October, 1358, at Château
Neuf en Thimerais, a district to the north-west of Chartres, his son William being
then stated to be twelve years of age.
A later inquisition (Inq. p. m. 36
Edw. III, pt. i, No. 120) makes the same
statement, but he was about two years
older.
An agreement was made in 1359 as to
the wardship and marriage of William son
of William son of Richard de Molyneux,
between Richard son of William de Molyneux, and John de Winwick, rector of
Wigan: the right of wardship was in
dispute, the king claiming it; Dep.
Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. p. 346. |
| 25 |
He did homage to the duke of
Lancaster 29 Sept. 1366, and had livery
of his lands; Inq. p. m. of his grandfather Richard. |
| 26 |
He is called a knight in the inquisition after his son's death. The tradition
is that he was made a banneret in 1367
after the battle of Navarette, but there is
no confirmation to be found in the Chronicles. He is further stated to have been
buried in Canterbury Cathedral, on his
return from abroad, but Weever, who
gives the inscription from a document at
Croxteth, states that there was no sign
left of the tomb. The inscription, stating that the deceased had been loved by
Edward as a friend, and that he had
fought in France and Navarre, gives the
date of his death as 1372, which seems
to be correct. See Weever, Fun. Mon.
(ed. 1631), 234; and Fuller, Worthies.
His widow Agnes received her dower
on 7 March, 1372–3, from the manor of
Sefton, a moiety of the manor of Litherland, rents of the free tenants of Thornton and Linacre, the manor of Euxton,
a moiety of the manor of Larbreck, a
third part of the manor of Ellel, and
lands in Newsham; Croxteth D. Genl.
i, 38. She afterwards married Sir Richard de Balderston; Abram, Blackburn,
414. |
| 27 |
Lancs. Inq. p. m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 29;
also mentioned as a minor in 1376; ibid.
i, 5. He was probably of age in June,
1389, when he became surety for Matthew
de Cantsfield; ibid. i. 16.
In the same month also Geoffrey, son
of Hugh de Warburton, granted the Sefton lands, &c., of which he had been
enfeoffed by William, son of Matthew de
Rixton, to Richard, son of Sir William de
Molyneux; Croxteth D. X. i, 19.
Livery of his lands was granted to
Richard, son and heir of Sir William
Molyneux on 3 Feb. 1389–90; Pal. of
Lanc. Warrants (Privy Seals), n. 33. |
| 28 |
For Thomas see the account of Edge
below. The wardship of Richard de
Molyneux of Sefton was granted to him
and Matthew de Ashton, clerk, in August,
1372, 400 marks being paid; Duchy of
Lanc. Misc. Bks. xiii, m. 79b. In 1378
Thomas sold to Edmund Lawrence all
his right in the marriage of Richard,
son and heir of Sir William; deed at
Croxteth. |
| 29 |
Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 70.
This states that Richard had in 1394
enfeoffed Master Richard de Winwick
and others of his manor of Sefton and
other manors and lands.
He was appointed sheriff at the beginning of 1397; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xliii,
App. 367; and was knight of the shire
in 1396–7; Pink and Beavan, Parl. Rep.
of Lancs. 44.
He married Ellen de Urswick, afterwards wife of Sir James de Harrington
and Sir John Savage; Ormerod, Ches.
(ed. Helsby), i, 712; Croxteth D. Genl.
i, 51. Besides the heir he had another
son, Robert, who in 1440 was tenant
of Altcar under the abbot of Merivale; Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxiv, 126. This
son is sometimes identified with the Robert
de Molyneux for whose ransom from the
Turks an indulgence was offered in 1448;
see Raines, Lancs. Chantries (Chet. Soc.),
110; Worc. Epis. Reg. Jo. Carpenter,
fol. 58; also with the Robert who
married the daughter and heir of Sir
Baldwin Lestrange; see Cal. Inq. p.m.
(Rec. Com.); and thirdly, with the Robert
who was brother and heir of Adam
Moleyns or Molyneux, bishop of Chichester from 1445 to 1450. For Sir Richard
and Adam see the Dict. Nat. Biog. The
bishop's arms are given by Dallaway as
'Azure a cross moline or.' |
| 30 |
See Dep. Keeper's Rep. xli, pp. 711,
715 et seq. These show that Sir Richard
was serving in France in 1418. He is
not named in Sir H. Nicolas's Agincourt, and appears to have returned to
Lancs. about 1420. In June 1421 he
received from the feoffees the manors of
Sefton and Euxton, &c.; Croxteth D.
Genl. i, 47; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxiii,
App. p. 23. |
| 31 |
See the account of Liverpool.
In 1437 a general pardon was granted
by the king to Sir Richard; Croxteth D.
i, 52. |
| 32 |
Croxteth D. W. 2, 3, 4. These grants
were made 28 July, 1446, upon Sir
Richard surrendering previous patents.
They were excepted from the acts of
resumption of 1450 and 1455; Parl. Rolls,
v, 194a, 315b. Sir Richard Molyneux
probably died between these years, as he
is named in the former year, while in the
latter 'Richard Molyneux, esquire, one of
the ushers of the king's chamber,' was
the privileged person. Sir Richard in
1431 exchanged lands in the Mysthacre
in Sefton for the mill pool and other
lands with a road, belonging to Robert
del Riding; Croxteth D. X. i, 26. The
constableship of the castle of Liverpool
was by a conviction for recusancy lost at
the end of the seventeenth century; the
stewardship of Salford hundred is held
by the present earl of Sefton as heir
male of Sir Richard. |
| 33 |
Her tomb is in Sefton church; she
died 17 January, 1439–40. |
| 34 |
Of the sons William was steward of
West Derby in 1444, and is mentioned
in 1453; Croxteth D. W. 1; Blundell
of Crosby D. K. 58. John and Henry
became rectors of Sefton. Thomas
founded the family of Molyneux of
Hawton, Notts.; a deed of his concerning the chantry founded at Walton by
his brother John is at Croxteth; Visit.
of Notts (Harl. Soc.), p. 72; Croxteth
D. Ee. 30. For descendants see G.E.C.
Complete Baronetage, i, 47. |
| 35 |
Croxteth D. Genl. i, 51. Richard
Molyneux began to acquire lands in Sefton before his father's death; ibid. X. i,
28–31. |
| 36 |
Thomas, James, and Margaret occur.
James became rector of Sefton. Margaret married John, son and heir of Sir
Thomas Dutton, and then William
Bulkeley of Eaton near Davenham; she
founded a chantry in Sefton church; see
Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxiv, 130. |
| 37 |
This statement is perhaps merely a
family tradition: it is borne out to some
extent by the date of the writ Diem
clausit extr. viz. 1462; Dep. Keeper's Rep.
xxxvii, App. p. 176. He is described as
'knight.' There is a notice of him in the
Dict. Nat. Biog. |
| 38 |
The marriage dispensation was granted
11 July, 1463; Lich. Epis. Reg. x, 160b,
quoted in Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby),
i, 649. For the settlement of the inheritance see Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxix,
App. p. 197. |
| 39 |
P.R.O. List, p. 72. |
| 40 |
On this occasion he made a will
which has been printed in Trans. Hist.
Soc. xxxiv, 138. |
| 41 |
By letters patent dated 22 May,
1481; the rent of £100 was remitted by
Richard III in August, 1483; Croxteth
D. The earliest grant of Croxteth Park
was made in 1473, to Thomas Molyneux;
ibid. F. 1. |
| 42 |
The acquisition is mentioned in the
will already cited. See also Croxteth D.
Genl. i, 61. |
| 43 |
Metcalfe, Bk. of Knights, 7. It is
said that his uncle, Thomas Molyneux of
Hawton, was also made a knight at the
same time by Richard, duke of Gloucester; Gisborne Molineux, op. cit. 32. A
note of Dods. (MSS. 1. 98) appears to
state that Lord Stanley made Thomas
Molyneux a banneret. |
| 44 |
Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 117.
Richard did not live long. |
| 45 |
Dame Anne Molyneux died 22 October, 1520; Sir William is called fortytwo years of age, which would make him
older than Richard, if the latter had been
only five in 1484; Dep. Keeper's Rep.
xxxix, App. p. 197; Duchy of Lanc. Inq.
p.m. v, n. 39. Her will has been
printed in Lancs. and Ches. Wills (Rec.
Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 162. |
| 46 |
Richard Molyneux was patron of
Sefton in 1489.
Early in 1500 William Molyneux was
described as 'son and heir' of Sir
Thomas, showing that Richard had died
in his minority; Croxteth D. N. 5. On
24 September, 1502, the representative
of his father's feoffees granted various
premises to William Molyneux; Duchy
of Lanc. Inq. p.m. v. n. 39. |
| 47 |
See the inscription on his brass in
Sefton church. The letter is at Croxteth,
as are the summonses to be ready in 1536
to join the earl of Shrewsbury (no doubt
against the Pilgrimage of Grace), and in
1542 to advance against the Scots;
Croxteth D. Genl. i, 73, 75, 76, 78.
For a fuller account of him see Dict.
Nat. Biog. and Gillow, Bibl. Dict. of Engl.
Cath. v, 71.
The printed Visits. begin at this time
(Chet. Soc.); the Molyneux of Sefton
pedigrees will be found as follows: 1533,
p. 135; 1567, p. 103; 1613, p. 131;
1664, p. 204. |
| 48 |
Itin. vii, 48. |
| 49 |
Croxteth D. Genl. i, 80. |
| 50 |
Brass at Sefton church. His will,
dated 1547, is among the Croxteth Deeds;
Genl. i, 81. The inquisition preserved
says nothing of his Sefton lands; it concerns only the Clifton estates which he
held in right of his second wife, and
which descended to his son by her,
Thomas Molyneux, then over twenty-one
years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m.
vii, n. 6. Thomas dying without issue
they went to his sister Anne, wife of
Henry Halsall of Halsall; Visit. of 1533,
p. 135. |
| 51 |
Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxix, App. p. 557. |
| 52 |
Metcalfe, Bk. of Knights, 109; the
second quarter of the arms recorded is
peculiar. |
| 53 |
P.R.O. List, 73. |
| 54 |
Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xiii, n. 35.
This states that he held the manor of
Sefton and the patronage of the church
there, and various lands in Sefton,
Netherton, and Lunt of the queen as of
her manor of West Derby in socage, by
fealty and doing suit at the wapentake of
West Derby from three weeks to three
weeks; it was worth £50 3s. 6½d. Also
he held five plough-lands in Sefton of
the queen as of her duchy of Lanc. for
the twelfth part of a knight's fee, the
value being 10s. This statement is
repeated in later inquisitions, e.g. Lancs.
Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.),
iii, 389; but there is nothing to show
how the 'manor' of Sefton came to be
separated from the 'five plough-lands' (instead of the six of Domesday Book) and
the two portions to be held in socage and
by knight's service respectively.
Sir Richard had acquired Altcar and
various other lands.
His brass is in Sefton church. By his
first wife he had a numerous offspring.
The inquisition states that he married his
second wife, Eleanor Eyves, widow, on
30 September, 1565, and that five unmarried daughters were living at Croxteth—
Alice, Anne, Ellen, Mary, and Eleanor.
Eleanor was still living in 1602; Ducatus
Lanc. iii, 468.
The eldest son William died before his
father, on 11 June, 1567, and was buried
at Standish; Dods. MSS. v, fol. 61. The
other sons were Richard, of Cunscough
in Melling; John, of Alt Grange and New
Hall in West Derby; Anthony, and
Alexander. Of these the first three held
constantly to the Roman Catholic religion,
Anthony being shipped off to the West
Indies in 1586 for his recusancy (Gillow,
Bibl. Dict. of Engl. Catholics, v, 72; will
in Gisborne Molineux, op. cit. 142); but
Alexander embraced the new order and
became rector of Walton. |
| 55 |
Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 211 (quoting
S.P.Dom. Eliz.xlviii, n. 35). Sir Richard's
son John, and his daughters Anne, Joan,
and Alice made the same vow. |
| 56 |
Inq. p.m. above cited. The marriage
covenant of William, son and heir apparent of Sir Richard Molyneux, and
Bridget, daughter of John Caryll and
sister of Thomas Caryll, is dated 2 June,
1558; Croxteth D. Genl. i, 85. A further arrangement was made in 1561;
ibid. ii, 1. |
| 57 |
The Visit. of 1567 gives him a daughter
of Lord Strange as bride; p. 104. |
| 58 |
Metcalfe, Bk. of Knights, 136. In 1589
he purchased Edge and other Osbaldeston
lands in the parish of Sefton; Croxteth
D. X. iii, 4. |
| 59 |
In 1588 and 1596; P. R. O. List,
73. He represented the county in Parliament in 1586, 1592, and 1603; Pink
and Beavan, op. cit. 66, 68, 69. |
| 60 |
Cal. S. P. Dom. 1603–10, p. 364. |
| 61 |
G. E. C. Complete Baronetage, i, 3. |
| 62 |
Crosby Rec. (Chet. Soc.), 23. |
| 63 |
Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 243 (quoting
S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxxxv, n. 4). |
| 64 |
The most distinguished of his sons
was Sir Vivian Molyneux, for whom see
Wood's Athenae, and Gillow, op. cit. v,
70. Both Richard, the eldest, and Vivian
were sent up to Oxf.; Foster, Alumni. |
| 65 |
Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and
Ches.), ii, 383–91. The manor of Tarbock was a fresh acquisition. The son
and heir, Richard, was then aged twentynine and more. Their race-horses were
kept at Walton; Assheton, Journ. (Chet.
Soc.), 79.
Sir Richard's will is printed in Gisborne
Molineux, op. cit. 142. |
| 66 |
G. E. C. Complete Peerage, v, 326. He
had been made a knight in 1603 (Metcalfe, Bk. of Knights, 164); and had served
as knight of the shire in 1625 and 1628;
Pink and Beavan, op. cit. 70. During
his father's lifetime in 1614 he had sat
for Wigan; ibid. 224. |
| 67 |
Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxvii, n.
59; Croxteth D. Genl. iii, 10. The
estates of the family had by this time attained their greatest extent, and the following brief view may be given: The
manors of Sefton, Netherton, and Lunt,
the 'five plough-lands' being described as
a twelfth part of a knight's fee; various
lands in the same; the manors of Thornton, Hulmore, and Ince Blundell, and
lands there; the manor of Down Litherland, with lands there and in Linacre,
Ford, and Orrell; the manor of Little
Crosby, Moorhouses and Great Crosby—
the manor of Great Crosby itself, recently granted, is not meant by this; the
manor of Aintree and lands there; the
manors of Walton and Fazakerley and
the advowson of the church of Walton;
various tenements in Kirkdale; threequarters of the manor of Maghull; the
manors (or parts) of Melling, Aughton,
Eccleston and Heskin, Euxton (with lands
there and in Cuerden, Whittle-le-Woods,
Farington, and Leyland), Lydiate, Fishwick
(and lands, &c. in Fishwick, Ribbleton and
Brockholes), Tarbock, Northend [in
Ince Blundell], and Kirkby; also various
burgages and lands in Liverpool, Charnock
Richard, West Derby, Ashton in Makerfield, Preston, Toxteth and Smithdown,
Gorehouses in Altcar, Heath Charnock,
Whiston, Heapey, and Cronton; and a
rent of £7 19s. from Hulme Walfield in
Cheshire; with fisheries, views of frankpledge, free warren, &c.
He had in 1628–9 procured an Act of
Parliament for altering the settlement of
the manor of Tarbock; Croxteth D.
Genl. iii, 7.
There are notices of the first three
viscounts in the Dict. Nat. Biog. |
| 68 |
See Cal. S. P. Dom. 1637–8, p. 224;
1640, p. 200; also R. D. Radcliffe's full
account of the second viscount and his
child-marriage to Henrietta Maria,
daughter of Lord Strange, in Trans. Hist.
Soc. (New Ser.), vii-viii, 245. This marriage was never completed, Lord Strange
apparently objecting. Lord Molyneux,
on 28 October, 1652, married Lady
Frances Seymour, eldest daughter of William, marquis of Hertford, afterwards
duke of Somerset; Croxteth D. Genl. iv,
2; but Henrietta Maria did not marry
until after her affianced husband's death,
when she became countess of Strafford;
G. E. C. Complete Peerage, vii, 264.
There is a notice of the second viscount
in Gillow, op. cit. v, 64. |
| 69 |
R. D. Radcliffe, loc. cit. 255–60.
Lord Strange does not seem to have found
him of much assistance; Stanley Papers
(Chet. Soc.), III, iii, B. 8. |
| 70 |
Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc.), 204.
There is a notice of Lord Molyneux's
part in the campaign in the Lancs. War
(Chet. Soc.), 37–9. |
| 71 |
Royalist Comp. P. (Rec. Soc. Lancs.
and Ches.), iv, 149, &c.; the houses at
Croxteth and Sefton had been plundered
in the time of the wars, and many evidences, as the counterparts of leases, had
been taken away or destroyed; p. 161. It
should be noticed that this Lord Molyneux is not described as a recusant,
though his brother Caryll was one. |
| 72 |
Ibid. 165. Provision for the widow's
jointure was made in Sept. 1654; Croxteth D. Genl. iv, 6. |
| 73 |
Kenyon MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com.), 187,
212; among other acts Lord Molyneux
appointed some of the gentry to be
deputy-lieutenants, who were, like himself, convicted recusants. The lieutenancy was restored to Lord Derby
in Sept. 1688; ibid. 198. A private
Act was passed after the Restoration
(15 Chas. II, c. 7) voiding conveyances
by Caryll, Lord Molyneux 'in the late
times.' |
| 74 |
Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), i, 248. |
| 75 |
Kenyon MSS. 293 seq; Jacobite Trials
(Chet. Soc.), 44, 62. |
| 76 |
Sefton Reg; Gillow, op. cit. v, 57.
The marriage contract of his eldest
son Richard with Mary Herbert, eldest
daughter of William, Lord Powys, was
dated 29 January, 1671–2; Croxteth D.
Genl. v, 5. Richard was buried at Sefton,
22 May, 1672. |
| 77 |
Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath. Nonjurors, 113, where a copy of the certificate
of his marriage to his second wife, Mary
Skelton, is given. This took place at
Warrington, 22 July, 1716, before a
Dominican priest, Thomas Worthington.
She died in London in 1765.
He made a vigorous effort to recover
the constableship of Liverpool Castle and
its valuable appurtenances, but failed;
Croxteth D. W. 29–37. |
| 78 |
Perhaps his age prevented it, he being
then sixty. His son Caryll died in 1745.
None of the family seem to have been
implicated in the Jacobite risings. |
| 79 |
Richard had in 1717 registered an
annuity of £1,100 and a house at Much
Woolton; Engl. Cath. Non-jurors, 151.
His son William died during his father's
lifetime, in 1707; he is described as
'papist' in the Sefton register. The
daughters were Mary, who died in 1752,
and Dorothy, who was living in 1740.
The former married Thomas Clifton of
Lytham, and had issue; afterwards she
married William Anderton of Euxton,
being buried at Sefton as his widow in
1753; there is also a statement that she
married Nicholas Tempest of Tong Hall
(Gent. Mag. 1737), but it appears to be a
mistake. Dorothy married John Baptist
Caryll (who died in 1788), of West
Grinstead; Gillow, Bibl. Dict. i, 421.
In 1729 an Act was passed (2 Geo. II,
cap. 9) for selling part of the settled estate
of Richard, Lord Viscount Molyneux,
for raising money to discharge his father's
incumbrances thereon, and likewise for
making provision for his brothers and
sisters, and for the payment of his own
debts. In accordance with this Eccleston
in Leyland and other manors, which had
in 1705 been settled on the marriage of
Richard with Mary, daughter of Lord
Brudenell, were sold to discharge the
various liabilities detailed in the Act. Lord
Molyneux's own debts are set down as
£7,440, but this includes a mortgage of
£3,000 on Woolton. Nine years later
an Act was passed for explaining and
amending a certain trust and power contained in the settlement made on the
marriage of Richard, Lord Molyneux;
11 Geo. II, cap. 5.
The will of Richard, Lord Molyneux,
dated 28 July, 1738, is enrolled at Preston;
twelfth roll of Geo. II. |
| 80 |
His will, dated 19 July, 1744, is enrolled at Preston; twenty-first roll of
Geo. II. |
| 81 |
Foley, Rec. S. J. vii, 514–16. Here
is corrected the error in the ordinary
pedigrees, by which Caryll the fifth viscount is made the father of Richard (who
has been doubled), William and Thomas
Molyneux, whereas he was the younger
brother of Richard and the elder brother
of the others. The descent is given rightly
in G. E. C. Complete Peerage.
The expression quoted is from the
Sefton Abstract of Title, p. 7, in the
indentures dated 13 July, 1746, concerning the marriage between Thomas
Molyneux and Maria, widow of John
Errington. |
| 82 |
Foley, op. cit. vii, 516. His will,
and that of his sister Bridget, who kept
house at the Scholes, are at Stonyhurst; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. x, App. iv,
190–1. |
| 83 |
The certificate is at Croxteth. He
had been educated at St. Omers; Gillow,
op. cit. v, 61. His guardians were his
mother, the duke of Beaufort (and after
his death the earl of Lichfield), and William Prujean of Gray's Inn. His mother
survived him, dying 14 August, 1795.
In 1759 an Act was passed to enable
the guardians to lease; Abstract of Title,
7–8. |
| 84 |
The marriage covenant was dated
26 Nov. 1768, Lord Molyneux being then
twenty years of age.
A step in the peerage appears to have
been considered the proper reward for
such conformity, as in the cases of
Lords Fauconberg and Waldegrave. In
Lord Sefton's case it had been determined
on as early as May, 1770; though the
patent is dated 30 Nov. 1771; Cal. Home
Off. P. 1770–2, pp. 35, 404; G.E.C.
Complete Peerage, vii, 101.
Lord Sefton showed no antipathy to
the religion he had renounced, granting
lands at Gill Moss and Netherton for
chapels to serve the missions which
had been served from Croxteth and
Sefton.
He represented the county in Parliament for a few years (1771–4) as a Whig;
Pink and Beavan, op. cit. 85.
In 1772 Lord Sefton came to an agreement with Henry Blundell of Ince concerning an exchange of some of the latter's
lands in Aughton, Maghull, and Lydiate
for lands of equal value in Ince Blundell
belonging to the former; this was confirmed by an Act of 12 Geo. III; Abstract
of Title, 15–18. |
| 85 |
G.E.C. Complete Peerage, vii, 101. |
| 86 |
So far as the estates were concerned
the great event of his tenure was the sale
of 1798, by which the manors of Great
Crosby, Melling, Maghull, Lydiate, and
Aughton were disposed of, also a great
amount of land, in order to pay off mortgages and make provision for various
claims; Abstract of Title, 36.
In addition to his political fame the
second earl was known as a 'bon vivant'
and sportsman; Ross, House of Sefton, 8–10;
also the note in G.E.C. |
| 87 |
Ross, 10–11. He also was a Whig,
and represented South Lancs. from 1832
to 1834; Pink and Beavan, op. cit. 95.
He was appointed lord-lieutenant of the
county in 1851. |
| 88 |
In politics a Liberal, becoming a
Unionist in 1886. He was appointed
lord-lieutenant of Lancs. in 1858. |
| 89 |
The peerages give information as to
the other descendants of the second and
later earls; see Crisp, Modern Visit. |
| 90 |
Blundell of Crosby D. K. 30. |
| 91 |
Ibid. K. 41. |
| 92 |
Ibid. K. 24. It is here described as
'six acres in Sefton, viz. Pepperfield.' |
| 93 |
Ibid. K. 44. |
| 94 |
Ibid. K. 40, K. 39. Other lands besides 'Pepperfield next Hanecroft' seem
to have been included in this sale. The
matter was concluded by a fine; ibid.
K. 45. |
| 95 |
Ibid. K. 42. It may be noted that
Richard de Molyneux, living in 1212,
had granted to Richard de Thornton a
'cultura'—whether in Sefton or not is
unrecorded—for 1 lb. of pepper by the
year; Inq. and Extents, 14.
The payment in the text seems to be
the result of the grant of a pound of pepper and 2s. rent from the Pepperfield,
made by William de Molyneux in 1249
to his relative Robert de Molyneux of
Thornton; Final Conc. i, 110. |
| 96 |
It may be the 'alia Sefton' of the
Fifteenth roll. |
| 97 |
Croxteth D. Genl. i, 7, quoted
above. Thomas seems to have been
known as 'of Sefton' or 'of the Edge,'
indifferently.
The grant did not include the whole of
the Edge, for in 1338 Robert de Riding's
share of 3 acres here was exchanged for
land belonging to William de Hokelaw
in Thornton; ibid. Y. iii, 14. |
| 98 |
Croxteth D. Genl. i, 29. Emma's
family name is unknown; the seal appended to this grant shows 'Per bend two
roundels counterchanged.' |
| 99 |
Ibid. i, 22. |
| 100 |
Ibid. D. i, 1. Cecily appears to
have been living in 1348; Kuerden
MSS. iv, K. 13.
Several of Thomas's children are known:
Thomas, Richard, Henry, and Emma.
Richard's wife was named Lettice; it
appears that she was the widow of John
de Rigmaiden of Wyresdale; Final Conc.
(Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 181.
Lettice was living at the Edge in 1376,
and claimed damages from Thomas le
Boteler of Marton for breaking into her
close; he was a creditor; De Banc. R.
457, m. 186d., &c. Lettice was also
defendant in a Chesh. suit in 1369;
Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), ii, 451 note.
There was a son Thomas, who had a
burgage in Bank Street, Liverpool, in
1381–2, and who is named in the will of
his uncle Thomas de Molyneux of Cuerdale; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 257, 256b,
and Final Conc. ii, 136.
Richard was dead in 1368; his widow
was living in 1378; ibid. fol. 249,
257b.
Emma was in 1340 contracted to marry
Richard, son of Nicholas Blundell of Little
Crosby; the agreement between Nicholas
and Cecily provides that the former shall
sustain his son and his betrothed, and
that part of Great Crosby shall be her
portion; ibid. fol. 257. |
| 101 |
Thomas de Molyneux of Cuerdale
was killed at the battle of Radcote Bridge,
20 Dec. 1387; his lands in Sefton called
the Edge were said to be of the clear
annual value of 100s.; Lancs. Inq. p.m.
(Chet. Soc.), i, 29. A fuller account of
him will be given under Cuerdale. He
was called Thomas de Molyneux del
Edge in 1349; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol.
256. |
| 102 |
Croxteth D. Genl. i, 41. Four years
later Henry Blundell and others certified
that Thomas de Molyneux of Cuerdale
had enfeoffed Gilbert de Halsall and
others of 'the manor of Edge' and other
lands in Sefton; ibid. i, 42–43. Joan
made a feoffment of her lands in 1401;
ibid. i, 46. |
| 103 |
In Oct. 1461 Geoffrey Osbaldeston
granted to his son John and Elizabeth his
wife 'a messuage with the meadows, feedings, pastures, and appurtenances called
the Edge in Sefton,' and all his other lands,
&c., in Sefton, Walton, Thornton, and Ince,
and tenements elsewhere; Croxteth D. X.
iii, 2. |
| 104 |
Ibid. X, iii, 3, 4; also Pal. of Lanc.
Feet of F. bdle. 51, m. 39. |
| 105 |
Royalist Comp. P. i, 145. From the
documents here printed it appears that the
grandfather's name was Lawrence also;
he had a lease of the Edge in 1620 from
Sir Richard Molyneux, for the lives of
Lawrence himself, William his eldest son
and Alice his wife, who was the daughter
of Richard Tatlock. The house was divided, one half being assigned to Lawrence
and his wife Ellen, and the other to William and his wife.
A detailed description of the house follows, with its upper and lower floors,
garrets, and farm buildings; and several
field names, including the Coningre or
Warren and the Hemp-yard. The 'Edge
Hest holm at the South side' repeats
words in the grant by Richard de Molyneux in 1315.
Lawrence Baron the grandfather died
in Sept. 1652; two-thirds of his estate
had been sequestrated for recusancy in
1643. The son William's death is not
mentioned; Alice his wife appears to
have married again, as she is called Alice
Allison.
From the Crosby Rec. (Chet. Soc.) it
appears that the above-named Ellen Baron,
wife of the grandfather, 'together with
divers other Catholics … were
committed to prison in the Castle of
Chester' in 1598; p. 23. The only recusant in 1628 who paid double to the
subsidy was Peter Hurdes; Norris D.
(B.M.); but in 1641 is a long list of recusants in the township, headed by Lawrence Baron, senior; Trans. Hist. Soc.
(New Ser.), xiv, 236. As no mention of
the younger Lawrence's religion is made
in 1653 it is probable that he had become
a Protestant. The sequestration was removed and arrears allowed; Cal. Com. for
Comp. iv, 3060. In 1666 Lawrence Baron
and Alice his mother paid for six hearths;
Lay Subs. Lancs. 250–9.
The elder Lawrence had another son,
John, who became a Jesuit. His account
of himself, given on entering the English
College at Rome in 1625, is of much interest: 'I was born in Lancashire and
am in my twenty-second year. My
parents are Lawrence Baron and Ellen his
wife, of the middle class of life. I have
an only brother and one sister, who, with
my parents, are Catholics. I made my
humanity studies under a Jesuit father in
the house of a certain nobleman, and was
never more than forty miles from my
father's house before I took my journey
hither'; Foley, Rec. S.J. i, 660. The
word 'nobleman' does not imply a title;
the school referred to was perhaps that
at Scarisbrick, where a priest was stationed before 1620. John Baron, known
as Burton, was ordained, and in 1632
sent on the English mission to 'a country
place among poor Catholics'—possibly
Sefton. After a short time he was recalled to the Continent and died at Watten
in 1638; Foley, op. cit. vi, 307; vii,
33.
There was at Over Darwen a family
named Baron, tenants of the Osbaldestons; Abram, Blackburn, 501. |
| 106 |
Diary, 135, 147, 161: 'Lawrence
Baron of Sefton, gentleman,' was one
of the jurors inquiring into the Altcar
riot of 1682; Kenyon MSS. 137. |
| 107 |
The earliest mention of the place is
in an undated deed by which Roger, son
of Adam son of Beatrice of Sefton, granted
to Adam his father half his land on the
Gorst hill; Croxteth D. X. iv, 1.
In 1375 Adam Hodgson and Emma
his wife sold the latter's life interest in a
messuage and twelve acres in the Gorst
hill to Thomas de Molyneux and Lettice,
widow of Richard de Molyneux; it was
the inheritance of Thomas del Gorsthill,
Emma's former husband; ibid. X. i, 17.
Ten years later Alan del Gorsthill sold
all his lands in that place, together with
the reversion of those held by Adam
Hodgson and Emmota his wife, to Thomas de Molyneux of Cuerdale; ibid. i, 18. |
| 108 |
Richard de Molyneux in 1343 leased
land in Sefton to Henry of Sefton and
Alice his wife; ibid. Ee. 17. |
| 109 |
There were Seftons at Liverpool from
an early time; see Lancs. Ct. R. (Rec.
Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 80. In 1354–7
Richard de Sefton of Liverpool acted as
the feoffee of Richard de Holland in a
settlement of the latter's estate in Sefton;
the remainders were to John, Joan, and
Agnes, children of Richard de Holland;
Croxteth D. X. iv, 8, 9. |
| 110 |
Engl. Cath. Non-jurors, 108, 98. The
will of Mary Cornwallis, dated 1727, was
proved in 1730; Payne, Rec. of Engl.
Cath. 25. |
| 111 |
These details are from a paper in
Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xiii, 146, 147.
It is there stated that 200 persons were
in 1774 confirmed by Bishop Wilson at
Sefton. |