| 1 |
The Census of 1901 gives 774 acres,
which include 2 of inland water. |
| 2 |
Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xix, 184;
also Trans. Hist. Soc. xi, 255. |
| 3 |
V.C.H. Lancs. i, 284a. |
| 4 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), 7, 8, 13. |
| 5 |
Ibid. 7, 8. |
| 6 |
Ibid. 13. |
| 7 |
Richard son of Richard de Thornton
was witness to a grant to Stanlaw Abbey
made before 1250; Whalley Coucher. (Chet.
Soc.), ii, 524. He had land in Aigburth;
ibid. 561. Richard de Thornton and
Simon his son attested another charter
before 1242; ibid. 525.
It appears to have been Alice, the
widow of this Simon, who in 1295 released all her right in her husband's
land in Aigburth to the monks of Stanlaw; ibid. 586.
Henry de Thornton, witness to several
Ince and Aigburth charters of the first
half of the century, may have been of
this family; ibid. ii, 496, 560. |
| 8 |
Assize R. 404, m. 9; a claim concerning land in Amounderness, held by
Richard le Boteler as guardian of Amery,
son of Simon de Thornton. |
| 9 |
Inq. and Extents, 8. |
| 10 |
Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc.), ii,
554; a messuage with toft and croft between crofts of Randle the Rim and
Simon son of Gilbert.
Nicholas de Farington was tenant of
Jordan, abbot of Cockersand, in 1327;
he agreed to build a house and to pay
half a mark at death; Blundell of Crosby
D. K. 29. |
| 11 |
Adam de Molyneux and Robert son
of Robert held the two Warrington
plough-lands in that year; Inq. and Extents, 147.
In 1246, Maud widow of Richard son
of Gilbert brought a suit of dower against
Robert son of Robert and others concerning lands which her husband had given
her in Thornton, but withdrew before
trial; Assize R. 404, m. 11. |
| 12 |
Croxteth D. Y. iii, 3. In this charter William le Boteler recites that Adam
son of Robert the Priestsmock had surrendered his land in Thornton, and grants
the same to Amery son of Simon together with the homage and service of
Simon son of Adam for half an oxgang,
but saving to the grantor the homage and
service of Alan le Norreys, William
Blundell, and of Thomas and John sons
of the said Robert the Priestsmock;
further he quitclaims to Amery and his
heirs the suit of court at his barony of
Warrington which Adam used to do for
his land; a rent of a silver penny was
payable.
Adam son of Robert de Thornton was
living in 1292, when he claimed debts
from William son of Jordan de Hulton
and from William de Lea; Assize R. 408,
m. 95, 98, 99d.
Of the undertenants who thus came to
hold directly of the lords of Warrington,
but little is known:
(i) In a grant from Vivian son of
Robert de Orsau, or Orshaw, to John son
of Gerard de Hoton, it is stated that the
land he held from the Hospital of St. John
of Chester lay between the land of Alan
le Norreys and that of Amery son of
Simon; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 225.
In 1331 Richard de Yorton, who had
married the widow of Alan le Norreys,
gave a three years' lease of his lands in
Thornton to Thomas de Molyneux;
Croxteth D. Y. i, 2.
(ii) William son of William Blundell,
in 1300, granted an oxgang in the vill of
Thornton, held of William le Boteler, to
Peter son of Richard de Molyneux, with
remainders to Thomas and Joan, brother
and sister of Peter; ibid. Y. i, 1. In
1331 Agnes widow of William Blundell
of Ince sought dower from Peter de
Molyneux in four messuages and an oxgang
in Thornton; De Banc. R. 287, m. 178d.
(iii) Thomas son of Robert de Thornton gave his brother John a messuage
and croft at a rent of a pair of gloves,
value ½d.; Croxteth D. Y. iii, 2.
Thomas had a son Richard, who had sons
Adam and William; Adam had a daughter and heir Margery, who married John
son of Adam de Orshaw and had five
daughters, who divided the inheritance
among them.
This appears from a grant in 1327
by the feoffee, Robert son of Adam de
Molyneux, of Sefton, to John de Orshaw
and Margery his wife, on their marriage,
with remainder to Margery's uncle
William; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 272.
Also from a grant by Maud daughter of
John de Orshaw to Robert son of John
de Tarleton in 1356; this comprised her
share, viz. a quarter of the inheritance of
her mother Margery in Thornton, Ince,
and Little Crosby; Croxteth D. Y. iii,
17. Maud's sisters, Agnes, Ellen, Emma,
and Joan, are named in a suit in 1351;
Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 1, m. ij.
Very soon afterwards, in 1359, Robert
de Tarleton transferred his acquisition to
Richard de Molyneux of Sefton; Croxteth D. Y. i, 6.
John de Orshaw of Thornton contributed to the subsidy of 1332; Exch. Lay
Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 19. |
| 13 |
Amery de Thornton frequently occurs
in the latter part of Edward I's reign as
witness to charters; e.g. Whalley Coucher,
ii, 431 (dated 1292), 503, &c.
In 1292 he claimed a tenement in
Thornton from Richard de Molyneux,
but was non-suited; Assize R. 408, m.
58d. At the same time he was defendant
in another suit; ibid. m. 68d.; while
three years later he was once more a
plaintiff; Assize R. 1306, m. 19d.
Some grants by him have been preserved. By one, dated 1296, he gave part
of his plough-land, viz. an acre near his
mill in Thornton, to Richard son of
Thomas of Little Crosby; to be held of
the chief lord, Richard de Molyneux, by a
rent of ½d.; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 18.
He gave Richard son of Robert de Riding
a house and croft in Thornton, adding an
oxgang of land, to wit, the eighth part of
a plough-land, in 1295; in the following
year he granted an acre in the Meadowbutts to John del Lunt; the oxgang and
the acre were also to be held of Richard
de Molyneux as chief lord; Croxteth D.
Y. iii, 4–6. |
| 14 |
Amery probably died before 1300, for
in 1302 his son Simon had lands called
Witesike and Swartmoor from Richard
de Molyneux, and himself made a grant
in the Aldfield to Robert de Riding. In
1311 he gave to Hugh Drury land in the
Masefield next to the Little Holgate,
with the headland in the Little Blakefield; ibid. Ee. 11; Y. iii, 7 8.
Hugh Drury had several grants in
Sefton and Thornton from 1307 onwards;
ibid. Ee. 13, 14, 16; while Robert son
of Hugh Drury appears in 1311, and in
1328 Hugh Drury made a grant to his
son John; ibid. Y. iii, 10, 11.
In 1368 Isabel widow of Richard de
Molyneux claimed the custody of certain
land in Thornton held by Simon Baron,
as next of kin and heir of Margery
daughter of Simon de Thornton; De
Banc. R. 432, m. 251d.; 434, m. 220.
'Daughter' may be an error for sister. |
| 15 |
To Margery his daughter Amery
granted land in the territory of Thornton
called Soraniscroft, as well as an acre in
the Newfield towards Sefton, a rent of
½d. being payable to the chief lord; Croxteth D. Y. iii, 1.
William de Hokelaw and Margery his
wife and Margaret widow of Simon de
Thornton were in 1325 convicted of
having disseised Robert son of Thomas
Burgeys of his free tenement in Thornton; Assize R. 426, m. 6.
William de Hokelaw in 1331 procured
land in Thornton, abutting on the green,
from William son of Simon de Lund; and
in 1338 he made an exchange of lands
with Robert son of Richard de Riding;
Croxteth D. Y. iii, 13, 14.
In the following year Margery, as his
widow, gave to Geoffrey son of Henry de
Thornton the acre in the Newfield, and
the other in Soraniscroft above mentioned; ibid. Y. iii, 15. She made a
grant to John de Molyneux in 1346;
ibid. Y. i, 4. |
| 16 |
Ibid. Y. i, 4; iii, 16. In the same
year, however, Richard de Molyneux of
Sefton and the heirs of Margery de
Hokelaw were returned as holding the
Warrington part of Thornton which
Adam de Molyneux and Robert son of
Robert had formerly held; Feud. Aids,
iii, 90.
Who these heirs were does not clearly
appear, but the following deeds may
relate to this portion of the manor:—
Thomas de Betres in 1370 granted all
the Thornton lands, lordships, reliefs, &c.,
which he had had from Simon son of
Robert Waron, to Robert son of Robert
de Ince, with remainder to Emmota
daughter of Robert Waron, and to the
right heirs of Margery Hokelaw; Croxteth D. Y. iii, 18.
At Pentecost, 1398, John de Mytton,
as feoffee of William son of Walter de
Thornton, granted to the said William
and Emmota his wife all their lands in
Thornton, with remainder to Emmota
daughter of William and to Robert son of
Robert de Ince; ibid. Y. iii, 21.
Robert son of Robert de Ince in 1409
granted to his brother Simon all the
messuages and lands formerly held by
William Geoffreyson; ibid. Y. iii, 22.
Robert de Ince occurs as a witness to
charters from 1382 to 1409, and Simon
de Ince from 1414 to 1427; Amery and
Nicholas occur in 1418. Blundell of
Crosby D. K. 223, K. 40, K. 35, K. 34,
K. 37.
Then in 1489 Richard Tarleton gave
certain selions in fields called Crooks and
Derlogs in Thornton to Robert Ince in
exchange for the lands there; Croxteth
D. Y. iii, 29.
At the beginning of 1515 Richard de
Ince did homage and service at Bewsey
for his lands in Thornton held of Thomas
Butler by knight's service; Misc. (Rec.
Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 30. In 1505
Richard Tarleton had done similar homage; ibid. i, 16. There is, however,
nothing to show the origin or descent of
Tarleton's share of the manor. Gilbert
de Tarleton was a contributor to the
subsidy here in 1332; Exch. Lay Subs.
(Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 19.
John de Tarleton of Thornton occurs
in the poll-tax list of 1381; Lay Subs.
Lancs. 130–24. William de Tarleton
attested a Thornton charter in 1427–8;
Cecily widow of William de Tarleton had
in 1440 lands in Litherland, Scarisbrick,
Lydiate, Ormskirk, and Thornton; and
Richard Tarleton of Thornton was witness in 1421–2 and 1456–7. Blundell of
Crosby D. K. 34, K. 36, K. 27, K. 33.
The following were the services due to
the Butlers from Thornton in 1548:
From Richard Molyneux of Sefton, 2½d.
and a pound of pepper, and 6d.; from
John Molyneux, 20d.; from William
Tarleton, 1½d.; from Robert Bootle and
Elizabeth his wife, in her right, 13½d.;
from Bryan Lunt, ½d. Pal. of Lanc.
Feet of F. bdle. 13, m. 142. |
| 17 |
What is known of these is stated in
the previous note. |
| 18 |
The Lunt family or families long had
a holding here, and that part at least was
held of the barony of Warrington is proved
by the homage roll cited in a previous
note; for in 1505 John Lunt of Thornton did homage for lands in Thornton;
Misc. i, 18.
The earliest grant is one dated 1305,
when Robert de Molyneux of Thornton
and Simon son of Amery de Thornton together granted a small piece of land to
Henry son of Alan del Lunt, at a rent of a
rose to the chief lord; Croxteth D. Ee. 12.
At the beginning of 1342 William son
of Simon del Lunt granted lands in the
new approvement to Richard de Molyneux; ibid. Y. i, 3. Henry son of
William made a settlement of his lands
in 1354; he had had some from his
uncle Henry son of Simon del Lunt;
ibid, Y. i, 5; Ee. 23; Y. i, 8.
Joan daughter of Robert del Lunt
appears in 1384, making a feoffment of
the lands in Thornton she had received
from Robert son of Richard del Riding;
ibid, Y. iii, 19, 20; she made a further
one in 1388; ibid. Y. i, 9; Ee. 27. |
| 19 |
In the Croxteth D. are a few referring
to Hulmore in Thornton; it appears that
Richard Fowler sold to Dame Anne
Molyneux in 1488 a messuage and land
he had in 1476 received from Ralph
Bette and Ellen his wife; N. 1–4; see
also N. 6. |
| 20 |
This is clear from the references to
the Croxteth D. in previous notes. |
| 21 |
Ibid. Y. i, 12. |
| 22 |
It has been mentioned once or twice
in preceding notes. Richard de Molyneux
of Sefton held it in 1324 by the eighth
part of a knight's fee; Dods. MSS. cxxxi,
fol. 34.
In 1368 it was found that Richard de
Molyneux of Sefton had held the manor
of Thornton of Sir William le Boteler by
the service of 2s. and performing suit at
the court of Warrington; Inq. p.m. 42
Edw. III, n. 40 (1st Nos.). In 1623
the jurors could not learn what the tenure
was; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs.
and Ches.), iii, 389. |
| 23 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents, 7. The name
Robert de Molyneux appears frequently
among the witnesses to local charters, but
the succession of a number of Roberts
makes it almost impossible to distinguish
the different bearers of the name. |
| 24 |
Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and
Ches.), i, 104; Assize R. 404, m. 3d. |
| 25 |
Final Conc. i, 109. |
| 26 |
Possibly another generation should be
inserted.
Robert son of Robert de Molyneux
appears in suits relating to Melling in
1292 and 1305, his mother Margery being
alive; Assize R. 408, m. 32d. 34d. 68,
36; R. 420, m. 4d. Margery widow of
Robert de Molyneux was still living in
1316. Robert son of Robert de Molyneux of Thornton in 1310–11 granted
to Robert the Tasker land in the
southern part of the vill, next to land
of Hugh Drury's; Blundell of Crosby
D. K. 23. |
| 27 |
Assize R. 438, m. 6d. William le
Boteler claimed as capital lord of Robert's
land; but it will be seen by the statement
in the text that Richard de Molyneux of
Sefton was the mesne tenant. Hence
William le Boteler was defeated. His
statement was that Robert's manor of
Thornton was held by homage and fealty,
payment of 10s. to a scutage of 40s.,
doing suit from three weeks to three
weeks, and a yearly service of 21d. He
claimed £20 damages. |
| 28 |
Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 5, m. 15.
Norreys seems to have replied with a claim
for trespass; ibid. m. 22d.
Joan, as widow of Simon de Molyneux,
was a plaintiff in 1346; De Banc. R.
347, m. 226.
Robert came of age early in 1356, for
at Easter he brought a suit against Richard
de Molyneux for waste, sale, and destruction of lands, &c., in Thornton during
his guardianship; Duchy of Lanc. Assize
R. 5, m. 26. |
| 29 |
Visit. of 1567 (Chet. Soc.), 99. |
| 30 |
Thus Alice, widow of Robert de Molyneux of Thornton, granted land in this
place to Robert her son; while Robert
de Molyneux of Melling in 1399 gave
John Page of Thornton a portion of the
lands here he had had from Alice his
mother in exchange for another piece on
the Broadlake; Blundell of Crosby D.
K. 25, K. 28.
It was probably the younger Robert's
grandson Robert who in 1456–7 enfeoffed
Thomas Stanley and Thomas Molyneux,
son of Sir Richard Molyneux, late of
Sefton, of his manor of Thornton and all
his lands in Thornton and Sefton; ibid.
K. 33. |
| 31 |
Croxteth D. Y. ii—deeds of 2 March,
1756, and 8–9 June, 1773. |
| 32 |
Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 84. |
| 33 |
Croxteth D. O. ii, 14. |
| 34 |
Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc.), 111. |
| 35 |
Norris D. (B.M.). Robert's father,
William Bootle, described as 'gentleman,' died in 1595, holding five messuages and lands in Thornton of Sir
Richard Molyneux; but the inquest was
not taken till 1628, when Robert was
thirty-five years of age; his mother Anne
Stephenson was still living; Towneley
MS. C. 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 56.
Robert's son William was of another
mind; see the introduction to the parish,
and Royalist Comp. P. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and
Ches.), i, 210. |
| 36 |
Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xiv,
236. |
| 37 |
Engl. Cath. Non-jurors, 147. |