| 1 |
2,318 acres according to the census
of 1901; 24 of inland water being included. In addition an acre of tidal water
and an acre of foreshore are within the
boundary. |
| 2 |
Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xix,
176–8. |
| 3 |
V.C.H. Lancs. i, 284a. |
| 4 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), 7. The superior lordship remained in the barons of Warrington, though the tenure was changed in
1597, as stated in the text. In 1548 a
rent of 6s. was due from Robert Blundell
for Ince; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle.
13, m. 142. |
| 5 |
Nothing appears to be known of
Roger, but probably he held the manor
of Stainsby in Derbyshire, parcel of the
Domesday fief of Count Roger of Poitou;
this had escheated to the lord of the
honour before 1164, and was re-granted
before 1170; Testa de Nevill (Rec.
Com.), 17b; Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 20–21. |
| 6 |
Ibid. 377; Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxii, 183. |
| 7 |
Inq. and Extents, 7; strictly the service was the proportion due from 3½
plough-lands where ten constituted a fee;
but it was more conveniently called the
third part; ibid. 147.
William also held a moiety of Larbreck
in Amounderness of the baron of Kendal;
probably in right of his mother; ibid. 3;
Whalley Coucher (Chet. Soc.), ii, 526.
He had certain public offices between
1212 and 1237; Inq. and Extents, 2;
Lancs. Pipe R. 420; Lancs. Lay Subs. (Rec.
Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 12, 40, 41, 49; in
the last case his name is struck through,
and Adam de Bury substituted. |
| 8 |
Whalley Coucher (Chet. Soc.), ii, 497;
this charter of Henry, son of Warin de
Lancaster, which may be dated about
1210, allows William Blundell to use
land on the right bank of the river,
where he might find it convenient, for a
rent of gilded spurs, or 4d. The privilege afterwards (1328) led to a dispute
between Sir Richard de Hoghton and the
abbot of Whalley; Croxteth D. O. ii, 7. |
| 9 |
Whalley Coucher, ii, 525. The four
oxgangs of land were to be held by knight's
service where 9½ plough-lands made one
fee. |
| 10 |
Ibid. ii, 489–90. The grantor describes himself as William son of Richard
Blundell; the charters gave the mill with
all its appurtenances, as well in corn as in
fish, and forbade his heirs to make any
pool or device for catching fish which
might injure the rights of the monks.
The latter might remove the mill to a
more convenient site on the Alt and take
land for the mill-pool. In return they
were to pray for the souls of himself, his
wife Agnes, and his ancestors and successors. The grants were confirmed by
William le Boteler; ibid. ii, 494. |
| 11 |
Ibid. ii, 490, 492. This land lay
within the ditch of Little Crosby on the
south, following it northward to the pool
falling into Skippool, down this to the
Alt, and following the Alt to the sea—i.e.
the tract within which Alt Grange is
situated—with common of pasture of the
whole vill of Ince for their sheep and
cows, and rights of turbary and housebote. |
| 12 |
Ibid. ii, 527. |
| 13 |
Inq. and Extents, 147. His name
occurs as witnessing charters; e.g. ibid. 20. |
| 14 |
Whalley Coucher, ii, 494, 498. At
the same time he enlarged the monks'
right of pasturage and gave up his right
to pasture in Sudmore; ibid. 500. Some
of these charters are now at Croxteth. |
| 15 |
Ibid. ii, 502; Robert of York was a
witness to this exchange. He also gave
some of his villeins to the monks; ibid.
ii, 522–4. One villein who had been
transferred by Richard's father gave 20s.
sterling for a confirmation of the gift, indicating how advantageous it then was to
serve a religious house, as compared with
a secular lord. |
| 16 |
Blundell of Crosby D. K. 291. Pasture as for two oxgangs was allowed.
Ince is described as 'within the forest,'
and the 'citizen of York' is called Robert
de Preston. If Gervase de Pencebech
were the same as Gervase de Ince, the
daughter Amarica must be the Amabil of
the Whalley Coucher. |
| 17 |
Add. MS. 32106, n. 577; Gilbert the
Cowherd had previously held it; turbary
and common of pasture were included. |
| 18 |
T. E. Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 91,
quoting an Ince Blundell charter. The
author had access to these charters, of
which a few have been printed in TransHist. Soc. xxxii–iv. By one of them
Richard Blundell granted to Hugh son of
Alan de Ainsdale a messuage on the Alt;
ibid. xxxiii, 265. By another he granted
an oxgang of land in Ince to Benedict son
of Simon; ibid. xxxii, 190, 189.
Rose, as widow of Richard Blundell,
quitclaimed to the monks all her dower
right in the lands he had given them, as
also in the land and pasture which he had
given to his daughter Amarica on her marriage with Gervase de Ince; they were to
pay her a mark of silver yearly, half at
Christmas and half at Halton fair;
Whalley Coucher, ii, 501. |
| 19 |
T. E. Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 93;
Jordan de Derby, on behalf of the earl,
afterwards resigned his right in the wardship of the heirs of John Blundell of
Ince to William le Boteler; Trans. Hist.
Soc. xxxiii, 266. As the earl's estates
were forfeited in 1266 through his participation in the rebellion of Simon de
Montfort, a limit is afforded for this claim
of wardship. |
| 20 |
Richard Blundell granted to his son
Robert one plough-land at a rent of 5s.;
Croxteth D. O. ii, 1. Robert Goch
quitclaimed to the monks of Stanlaw all
the land which his father Richard had
given them with his body; Whalley
Coucher, ii, 503. Jordan de Derby was a
witness to this charter.
As Robert son of Richard Blundell he
quitclaimed to William Blundell, 'my
lord and lord of Ince,' all his right in
lands near the Cow Holme; Trans. Hist.
Soc. xxxiii, 266. Margaret widow of
Robert Blundell was a plaintiff in 1283;
De Banc. R. 51, m. 72.
Margery daughter of Robert Goch
married John de Meols, and was living a
widow in 1311. John son of William de
Meols and Margery his wife claimed lands
in Ince in 1292 from Henry Blundell and
Henry de Greenoll; Assize R. 408, m.
60d. For notices of deeds by John and
Margery, see Lydiate Hall, 95. In 1318
Peter son of Richard de Molyneux of
Sefton purchased from her an oxgang and
land in Ince; Final Conc. (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 31.
William son and heir of John de
Ravensmeols granted to his brother
Hugh land in the Moorhouses in Ince,
'according to the charter which John my
father bought from Richard Blundell,
then lord of Ince'; and William son of
Hugh de Meols received the same lands
in 1340 from William Blundell, lord of
Ince; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 202,
K. 293.
The Goch plough-land probably came
into the hands of the Ballard family. |
| 21 |
Whalley Coucher, ii, 503–4. Here
he describes himself as son of John
Blundell, and speaks of his grandfather
Richard Blundell, son of Sir William.
His own gift was a piece of meadow in
Ince Marsh, around which Roger de
Upton, formerly granger of the abbey,
had made a ditch; it was confirmed by
the superior lord, William le Boteler;
ibid. 505. Confirmations were in 1283
secured from the king, who was at
Aberconway in Snowdon, and from his
brother Edmund, earl of Lancaster; ibid.
506, 507. |
| 22 |
Ibid. ii, 507. The monks had begun
an action, but friends intervening an
agreement was made, William Blundell
giving four marks and the above piece of
meadow. |
| 23 |
Ibid. ii, 509–11. William retained
the liberty of grinding his own corn either
at the windmill or the water-mill; the
monks gave him 10 marks of silver.
Another of his charters, to William
son of Wmyr of the Moorhouses, is in
Blundell of Crosby D. K. 253. Two
others, to Matthew de Molyneux and to
Richard Flock, are printed in Trans. Hist.
Soc. xxxiii, 267.
From Margery widow of Gilbert de
Greenoll he received a grant of four acres;
ibid. |
| 24 |
He was living in 1292 when he
appeared in support of the abbot of Stanlaw, from whom certain land in Ince was
claimed by Adam son of Robert de
Thornton, Adam asserting that his grandfather, Robert son of Gilbert de Thornton, had been disseised by a former William
Blundell; this claim was adjudged false;
Assize R. 408, m. 27d. William Blundell was at the same time a plaintiff
regarding his fishery rights; ibid. m. 43.
In the following year 'his widow Ellen,
in conjunction with Richard de Molyneux
of Sefton and another, covenanted to hold
Sir William le Boteler harmless for
damages or losses in regard to wardship,
&c.'; Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 95. |
| 25 |
William Blundell was witness to an
agreement as to Eggergarth Mill in 1298;
ibid. 44.
In 1315 William Blundell enfeoffed
Adam de Ruycroft, vicar of Huyton, of
the manor of Ince; and this was regranted
to him with remainder to his son William
and his daughters Emma, Maud, and
Clemency; ibid. 95. His seal, showing
a squirrel munching, with the legend
S. Willi. Blovndel, is appended to one of
his charters; ibid.
Agnes, late the wife of William Blundell, in 1331 claimed dower in lands held
by John the Harper, Gilbert del Wolfall,
and Peter de Molyneux; her claim was
prosecuted in the next year against the
two former defendants, and as they did
not appear, she succeeded; De Banc. R.
287, m. 178d.; 292, m. 66d.
In the same year (1331) William son
of William Blundell was defendant in a
case concerning lands in Ince; Assize R.
1404, m. 27. |
| 26 |
Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 96; details are
given.
In the same year he allowed turbary on
any common moss of Ince to William,
son of Simon, son of Henry; and in
1337 he granted to John de Derbyshire
the wardship and marriage of William
son of William Bimmeson, with his lands
in Ince; ibid.
In 1337 also William Blundell of Ince,
Agnes late wife of William Blundell of
Ince, and others, who brought an assize
of novel disseisin against Robert de
Bebington and Beatrix his wife, did not
prosecute; Assize R. 1424, m. 11. |
| 27 |
William Blundell in 1344 enfeoffed
Henry de Solihull, chaplain, of his manor
of Ince, and was re-enfeoffed the following year, having married Joan, daughter
of Matthew de Haydock; Gibson, Lydiate
Hall, 96. In 1343 a lease had been
granted to Henry, son of William Blundell of Ince, with remainder to John, the
brother of Henry, and to Emma, Almeria,
and Joan, their sisters; ibid. The pedigree of 1613, drawn up from the family
deeds, gives as father of the William who
married Joan, William whose wife was
Ellen; this is probably a confusion with
the William and Ellen recorded above;
Visit. of 1613 (Ches. Soc.), 76.
William Blundell and Joan his wife
were defendants in 1351, 1352, and 1355;
Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 1, m. ij (bis);
R. 2, m. iij; R. 4, m. 116. William
Blundell of Ince was defendant also in
claims for money due made by Sir John
de Molyneux in 1357 and 1358; ibid.
R. 6, m. 6; Assize R. 438, m. 18. In
1350 a violent assault with intent to
murder was made upon him in Sefton;
Assize R. 443, m. 7. He was witness to
a charter made in 1361; Blundell of
Crosby D. K. 266. |
| 28 |
John de Kenyon, chaplain, in 1366
granted to Joan widow of William Blundell the manor of Ince, with houses,
gardens, orchards, the holt adjoining the
said manor, turbary, &c.; with remainder
to Henry Blundell, brother and heir of
William, and Katherine his wife, daughter
of William son of Adam de Liverpool;
Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxii, 194; see also
Kuerden, iii, i, n. 312. William Blundell and Henry his brother attested a
charter in 1351 granting land to William
de Liverpool, clerk; Blundell of Crosby
D. K. 157.
Henry Blundell held the manor for but
a few years, dying in or before 1370,
when an agreement was made between
John de Haydock and Henry de Chatherton, no doubt concerning the marriage of
Katherine, the widow, with John de
Chatherton, or Chaderton; the deeds of
1315, 1344, and 1345, already mentioned,
touching the succession and marriage of
William Blundell, are recited in it;
Croxteth D. O. ii, 17.
He was succeeded by his brother John,
who early in 1374 made an enfeoffment
of Ince; Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 97.
In the same year his name occurs as witness to a charter; Blundell of Crosby
D. K. 292. The next year he settled
£10 a year on John son of Henry de
Chatherton, and Katherine his wife; this
arrangement was completed in 1379;
Lydiate Hall, 97; Final Conc. ii, 188.
Henry de Chatherton, bailiff of the
wapentake, was in 1374 charged with a
multitude of offences; among others,
that he had endeavoured to disinherit
John Blundell. He had purchased the
reversionary rights of John's sister Emma
(who was married and had a son Richard);
and his explanation that he had done so
in order to secure his daughter-in-law's
income not being accepted, he was found
guilty; Coram Rege R. 454, m. 13. |
| 29 |
John Blundell is mentioned in various
ways down to 1401–2; Lydiate Hall,
98; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 39;
Kuerden MSS. iii. 1, nn. 319, 673.
In 1375 the sheriff was ordered to
arrest and imprison John Blundell of
Ince until he paid a debt of £200 due to
Thomas de Molyneux of Cuerdale, John,
however, was not to be found within the
county and therefore his property was
seized, a full description being recorded.
He had the manor and manor-house, with
chapel, barns, &c.; orchards, arable land,
meadow, and pasture (in Flick Moor),
cattle and sheep, rents of the tenants and
tenants at will, &c. The outgoings
included 5s. 3d. a year paid to the
chief lord for the manor, £10 a year
to John de Chatherton and Katherine
his wife; 2 marks a year to Henry Blundell of Crosby, &c. The sheriff delivered
the lands, &c. to Thomas de Molyneux;
De Banc. R. 460, m. 323.
There followed some suits by Thomas;
De Banc. R. 461, m. 41, &c. |
| 30 |
Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 98. |
| 31 |
The feoffees, who included John de
Beconsaw, granted to John Blundell of
Ince all the lands they had had by his
gift, with remainder to William his son
and his heirs by Isabel his wife, and to
William, son and heir of the said William,
and Alice, daughter of Nicholas Blundell;
Blundell of Crosby D. K. 143. |
| 32 |
Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 98; the
feoffees named are the same as those in
the deed last cited. |
| 33 |
A step in the pedigree has been
inserted here, making a succession of three
Williams, instead of the two in the pedigree in Lydiate Hall, 84. As John
Blundell's father died about 1330 and
John lived till 1401, it seems unlikely
that his son William lived till 1450;
more probably this was his grandson, who
was born before 1390.
William Blundell in 1445 enfeoffed Sir
Thomas Stanley and Henry Blundell (of
Crosby) of his manor of Ince; Croxteth
D. O. ii, 21.
In 1447 a covenant of marriage was
made by which Robert son of William
Blundell was to marry Elizabeth, sister of
Thomas and Henry Dawn; William
Blundell, grandfather of Robert, was a
party to this; Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxiv, 135.
The elder William died before 1451,
when William Blundell of Ince conveyed
to Robert, his son and heir, and Elizabeth
his wife, various lands at Ince; Gibson,
Lydiate Hall, 99. Two years after this
an award was made between William
Blundell and Katherine, widow of his
father William, the arbitrator being Sir
Thomas Stanley; Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxiv,
140.
In 1461, Roger Sherdes and his wife
Alice, daughter of William Blundell,
released to William Blundell and his wife
Agnes all claims; Gibson, Lydiate Hall,
100. Early in the following year a
marriage was arranged by Robert Blundell
and Roger Asshaw between William Blundell and Joan Asshaw, their children;
William Blundell, the father of Robert,
is also mentioned; Trans. Hist. Soc.
xxxiv, 138. |
| 34 |
Gibson, Lydiate Hall, p. 100. |
| 35 |
Croxteth D. O. i, 8; it would appear
from this that William Blundell was very
old, and incapable of business, and that
Robert Blundell was dead.
In 1484 William Blundell arranged for
the dower of Agnes, his grandfather's
widow; four years later he arranged for
the marriage of his daughter Mary with
Thomas, son and heir of John, son of
Richard Singleton of Inglewhite; Gibson,
Lydiate Hall, 101. |
| 36 |
Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.),
i, 16.
William Blundell died 18 June, 1505,
holding Ince Blundell of Sir Thomas
Boteler by knight's service, viz. by the
third part of a fee, and by the rent of 5s.,
with 12d. for suit at court; the clear
value was £10. He also held land in
Lydiate; Robert Blundell was his next
heir, and thirty-four years of age; Duchy
of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, n. 65. He had also
a burgage in Liverpool; Gibson, Lydiate
Hall, 102. |
| 37 |
Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.),
i, 16.
In the same year he made a settlement
in favour of his wife, Elizabeth, daughter
of Roger Molyneux; others followed in
1508 and 1511; Gibson, op. cit. 103–4.
He also granted lands to his brother
Thomas for life, in 1509; ibid. 103.
This Thomas married a Ballard, showing
probably some appeasement of the family
quarrels, and became ancestor of the
Blundells of Cardington, one of whom
was raised to the peerage; Visit. of
1613 (Chet. Soc.), 77; Visit. of Beds.
(Harl. Soc.), 161; G.E.C. Complete
Peerage, i, 365; G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, i, 224. |
| 38 |
Robert Blundell died 28 Dec. 1511,
James, his son and heir, being eight years
of age in Sept. 1517; Duchy of Lanc.
Inq. p.m. iv, n. 17.
The inquisition recites the feoffment
of 1511, which was made for the purposes
of his will, directing dower to be given to
Elizabeth his wife, lands of 40s. a year
value to his younger son William for life;
£80 towards the marriages of his daughters
—Jane, Margery, Grace, and Ellen; his
brother Thomas is mentioned. |
| 39 |
Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.),
i, 30–2; also Gibson, op. cit. 104. |
| 40 |
Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. viii, n. 18;
no change is shown in the estates; William, the son and heir, was thirteen years
of age.
The inventory is printed in Lydiate
Hall, 105–6; the manor-house had a hall,
a parlour, a little parlour (both used as
bedrooms), a higher chamber, a new
chamber, and perhaps other rooms not
mentioned. |
| 41 |
Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. ix, n. 39;
Robert Blundell, brother and heir, was
over eighteen years of age in 1547. The
heir, on 15 Jan. 1549–50, i.e. soon after
he came of age, was called upon to fulfil
covenants made by his father for the
marriage of William Blundell and Elizabeth, natural daughter of Sir William
Molyneux, who had taken a second
husband, Edward Holme; Croxteth D. O.
ii, 28. In 1550 a settlement was made
by fine; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle.
14, m. 324.
Accounts of various settlements are
given in Lydiate Hall, 107; where also
may be seen the account of his killing, in
his own defence, one Richard Buck of
Sefton, for which he obtained the royal
pardon; 108–9.
Pedigrees are recorded in 1567, 1613,
and 1664; they are printed in the
Chetham Society's editions of the Visitations—1567, p. 114; 1613, pp. 76, 77;
and 1664, pp. 38, 39; also Misc. Gen.
and Her. i, 66 (1613).
The change of arms in 1613 should
be noticed; Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.),
vi, 263; Pal. Note Book, i, 57, 109;
iv, 26. |
| 42 |
Lydiate Hall 109, 231 (S.P. Dom.
Eliz. clxxxiii, n. 61), 227 (ibid. clxxv, n. 21).
He gave shelter to B. Lawrence Johnson,
and sent one of his sons to Douay;
Gillow, Bibl. Dict. Engl. Cath. iii, 637. |
| 43 |
In 1590 he was classed with those
'in some degree of conformity, yet in
general note of evil affection in religion,
non-communicants'; Gibson, op. cit., 245
(quoting S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxxxv, n. 4).
In the following year Thomas Blundell
released to Robert, son and heir of Robert
Blundell of Ince, his cottage, hempyard,
and land for a term of 100 years for a
rent of 11s. 6d.; this is accompanied by
a paper reciting that the grant was meant
for the father, although the son's name
was used; and should the queen seize
two-thirds of the rent Thomas Blundell
would indemnify Robert—an evasion of
the statute of 1587, by which two-thirds
of a recusant's property was sequestrated;
p. 110. In 1592 George Dingley, a priest
who had become a government informer,
stated that Robert Blundell of Ince 'kept
sundry years a recusant schoolmaster, that
is a seminary priest named Gardiner'; and
had 'lodged in his house and relieved since
the last statute of 27 (Eliz.)' not only
James Gardiner but the informant himself; he adds the significant hint: 'This
Blundell is of good wealth and competent
living and lands;' ibid. p. 111 (quoting
S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxv). Many of those
who conformed outwardly under the Elizabethan persecution refused in the somewhat
milder Stuart times, but this does not
seem to have been the case with Robert
Blundell, for in his will he directed that
he should be buried at Sefton 'in the
usual place where my ancestors have been
buried, that is to say, under or near the
form where I usually do sit, standing in
the north aisle of the said church'; ibid.
113.
Robert Blundell was plaintiff or defendant in numerous suits in the latter
part of Elizabeth's reign; Ducatus Lanc.
(Rec. Com.), iii, 184, &c. |
| 44 |
Ibid. 247 (quoting S.P. Dom. Eliz.
ccxxxv, n. 4). |
| 45 |
Ibid. 111. |
| 46 |
Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and
Ches.), ii, 27. This shows the change of
tenure, as stated in the text. Besides the
manor of Ince and lands in Liverpool and
Little Crosby he had had lands in Broughton,
in Amounderness and Preston; also, perhaps as trustee for his daughter, the manor
called The Hall of Garrett in Tyldesley. |
| 47 |
This is stated by John Blundell, who
for about a year studied at the English
College in Rome, after being educated at
home and at St. Omer's: 'I was baptized
by a Protestant minister in April 1637
… my parents and relations … have
suffered great losses on account of their
professing the Catholic faith. They were
formerly Protestants, but since their conversion have been constant in the faith.
I have brothers and sisters, and was always
a Catholic;' Foley, Rec. S.J. i, 246;
vi, 397. |
| 48 |
Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 118; Civil
War Tracts (Chet. Soc.), 75; Royalist
Comp. P. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.),
i, 199–200.
His house at Preston seems to have
been utilized as a prison by the Parliamentarians in 1644; Lancs. War (Chet.
Soc.), 49. |
| 49 |
Royalist Comp. P. i, 201; Cal. Com.
of Comp. iv, 3047. The manor and
lands were repurchased through William
West, the lawyer of Robert Blundell;
Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 119–20. The sale
took place under the Act of 1652 for the
benefit of the navy; Index of Royalists
(Index Soc.), 30. |
| 50 |
See Lydiate Hall, 114–16; also the
accounts of Halsall and Birkdale. |
| 51 |
Ibid. p. 125.
Henry Blundell in 1666 paid the tax
for sixteen hearths; Lay Subs. Lancs.
250/9. He and John Leathwaite of Ince
Blundell were indicted as recusants in
1678; Kenyon MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com.).
110. |
| 52 |
Lyd. Hall, 127. N. Blundell records:
16 May, 1708—'Mr. Plumbe sent an
express to give me notice concerning an
information made against Mr. Blundell of
Ince, by Parson Ellison [of Formby]. I
went to Ince to acquaint Mr. Blundell
therewith;' and on 26 July: 'I went to
Ormskirk sessions, where Mr. Molyneux
of Bold, Mr. Trafford, Mr. Harrington,
I, &c. compounded to prevent conviction.
We appeared in court before Sir Thomas
Stanley, Dr. Norris, and Mr. Case, all
justices of the peace. We Catholics that
got off our convictions dined all together
at Richard Wood's … and [later]
drank punch with Sir Thomas Stanley;'
Diary, 60–3. Henry Blundell died 4 June,
1711; ibid. 92. |
| 53 |
Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), ii, 416;
Foster, Lancs. Pedigrees. |
| 54 |
Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 130. |
| 55 |
Ibid. 131; see also the account of
Lydiate. |
| 56 |
Ibid. 133. For a recovery of the
manors of Ince Blundell, Formby, Ainsdale, and Birkdale by Henry Blundell, the
son, see Com. Pleas Recov. R. Trin. 33
& 34 Geo. II, m. 45. |
| 57 |
See Dict. Nat. Biog. He died 28 Aug.
1810. An engraving of his monument
in Sefton church is given in Gregson,
Fragments (ed. Harland), 222. |
| 58 |
Gibson, op. cit. 134. The Anderton
and Heaton estates were those alienated. |
| 59 |
Gibson, op. cit. 136–44, where the
will is printed together with an account
of the subsequent disputes.
To several of his tenants he directed
that leases should be given of their holdings at half the current rent; but his
liberality is stated to have had evil effects;
ibid. xxviii. |
| 60 |
In 1283 they were William Knott,
Alan the Young, Gilbert Blanchard,
Adam de Crosby, Henry son of William,
Peter de Leylandshire, Robert de Pekko,
Robert the Chanon, Alan his brother, and
Simon, son of Adam; Whalley Coucher,
ii, 511. Some of these occur in adjacent
townships; the last-named was Simon, son
of Adam de Lunt, defendant in a fishery
case in 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 43.
For 1344 a fuller list has been preserved; Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 96. |
| 61 |
This name occurs also in Litherland
and Little Crosby. Robert Ballardson
contributed to the subsidy of 1332; Exch.
Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.),
8. In the previous year Maud, widow of
William Ballard, had been plaintiff in an
Ince Blundell suit; Assize R. 1404, m.
27. In a similar suit Robert Ballard was
a plaintiff in 1337; Assize R. 1424, m.
11. Richard Ballard in 1340 had a grant
of land in Bold; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol.
196b, n. 33.
In 1351 Emma, widow of Robert Ballard, and Thomas, his son, were joined with
Robert de Knoll and Joan his wife, and
Lawrence Nowell and Katherine his wife
in a plea of novel disseisin brought against
William Blundell touching tenements in
Ince. The plaintiffs did not prosecute
and were non-suited, their pledges being
John and William Ballard; Duchy of
Lanc. Assize R. 1, m. ij. Richard de
Knoll and Joan his wife, a daughter
of John de Clough, in 1357 sold their
lands to Richard de Sefton; and shortly
afterwards Lawrence Nowell and Katherine his wife (perhaps another daughter)
sold to the same purchaser all the lands
descending to Katherine on the death of
her father; Croxteth D. O. ii, 11, 10.
Three years later William Blundell of
Ince released all his right in the lands
formerly held of him by John de Clough
by knight's service and a rent of 2s. 9d.,
and 7½d. for relief; the new possessor
was Richard de Aughton; ibid. O. ii, 12.
There are other notices of these transactions in Final Conc. ii, 155; Dep.
Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 337; Duchy of
Lanc. Assize R. 6, m. 3.
Thomas Ballard in 1344 bought land
of Robert son of Collt of Ince; and this
he sold, as bought of Robert Floke, to the
same Richard de Aughton in 1364;
Croxteth D. O. ii, 8, 13. A few years
later Richard de Aughton made a settlement of the lands he had acquired in Ince,
together with his lands and mill in Thornton, the remainder being to his son Richard; ibid. O. ii, 14–16. In 1417 Thomas, son of Richard de Aughton enfeoffed
John Totty and another of his lands;
ibid. O. ii, 20. There does not seem to
be anything further known of these
Aughtons, but their lands, as will be seen,
were acquired by Molyneux of Sefton.
Thomas Ballard and Margery his wife
in 1355 claimed fourteen acres in Ince
from William Blundell and Joan his wife;
the agreement stated that Thomas Ballard
should pay 15s. a year, carry with his
wagons, and give services with plough and
harrow like William Blundell's other
tenants; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 4, m.
16. Thomas and William Ballard paid
to the poll tax of 1381; Lay Subs. Lancs.
130/24.
Robert, son and heir of Thomas Ballard of Ince, quitclaimed to Sir John de
Bold in 1409–10 all rights to the land in
Bold he had by his father and his mother
Emma; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 202b, n. 67.
The dispute between the Ballards and
Blundells which began in 1463 has been
mentioned in the text. |
| 62 |
In 1505 Robert Ballard secured a right
to a third of the waste, and in 1509 sold
a moiety of his waste to William Molyneux of Sefton; Croxteth D. O. i, 1–3. |
| 63 |
In 1562 Richard Thorne and Cecily
his wife sold to Sir Richard Molyneux
their moiety of the third part of the
manor of Ince Blundell, with lands, mills,
&c., there and in the Moorhouses, North
End, Melling, the Old Marsh, the Low
Marsh, the Elcom acre, and Black carr;
ibid. O. i, 4, 5, 7; also Pal. of Lanc.
Feet of F. bdle. 24, m. 191. |
| 64 |
Thomas Massingberd and Dorothy
his wife, a daughter and co-heir of Richard Ballard, in 1569 sold this half; Croxteth D. O. i, 9; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F.
bdle. 33, m. 138. |
| 65 |
Thomas, son and heir of William
Blundell, sold to Sir Richard Molyneux
in 1579; and at the same time an agreement to divide the waste was made between Sir Richard and Robert Blundell
of Ince; ibid. O. i, 11, 10.
This appears to be the 'manor of North
End' named in the later Molyneux inquisitions, &c. |
| 66 |
By a charter of about 1260 William
de Molyneux, son of Adam, granted to
Richard Flock a messuage and lands in
Ince Marsh, which had descended to the
grantor after the death of Richard his
brother; Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxiii, 266.
This charter is similar to that given in
the Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 12, m. 27b,
quoted below.
Lands in Ince are mentioned among
the possessions of Richard de Molyneux
in 1361; Croxteth D. Genl. i, 35.
A certain John Molyneux and Katherine
his wife in 1438 granted all their lands in
Downholland, Lydiate, Ince Blundell and
the Moorhouses, to James Molyneux;
ibid. Genl. i, 53, 54.
The lands of Sir William Molyneux in
1548 were stated to be held of the heirs
of James Blundell in socage by a rent of
2s. 9d.; twenty years later they had
grown to a 'manor,' but were still held of
the Blundells, though no rent was payable; in 1623 the tenure was unknown;
Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. ix, n. 2; xiii,
n. 35; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs.
and Ches.), iii, 389. |
| 67 |
The monks' official in charge was
called the 'Granger of Alt' in 1283;
Whalley Coucher, ii, 505. The mill was
held by a miller whose right descended to
his sons; Alexander, the miller of Alt,
gave his son Thomas certain property, including a third part of the mill, sometime before 1250; Simon, son of Alexander, released to the monks his third part
of the mill held by his father by hereditary
right, the monks having paid him 100s.;
and for 20s. they purchased from the
widow her dower right; ibid. ii, 495–7.
But little occurs to show the connexion of the abbey with the township.
The abbot, from 1347 to 1351 prosecuted
William Blundell of Ince and others for
money owing; De Banc. R. 352, m.
xxiiij d. R. 360, m. 37. At last the
sheriff was ordered to distrain, notwithstanding the liberty of Henry, earl of
Lancaster; Henry Blundell and John his
brother were among the mainpernors;
ibid. R. 364, m. 91.
In 1366 John Amerison was charged
by the abbot with waste of lands in Ince;
De Banc. R. 424, m. 279.
On the other hand in 1441 Henry
Blundell proceeded against John, abbot of
Whalley, for damage in Little Crosby and
Ince caused by a flood, which he alleged
to be due to the abbot's neglect to repair
a ditch; the abbot replied that the water
running by the ditch was the Alt flowing
and re-flowing to and from the sea, and
that he was under no special obligation to
repair it; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 3,
m. 20b.
The abbot made a claim for common
of pasture about 1500; Ducatus Lanc.
(Rec. Com.), i, 124. |
| 68 |
The grant of Alt Grange to Thomas
Holt was by letters patent dated 1 Aug.
1543, a rent of £4 10s. 0½d. being
reserved to the crown, and he sold it in
the following November to Richard, son
and heir apparent of Sir William Molyneux; Croxteth D. X. ii, 1, 2, 5; Pat.
35 Hen. VIII, pt. iv. The tenant's
name was Moorcroft. |
| 69 |
The list of the lands exchanged is
printed in the Sefton Abstract of Title. |
| 70 |
Visit. of 1567 (Chet. Soc.), 104;
and Visit. of 1664 (Chet. Soc.), 203—
Molyneux of New Hall. |
| 71 |
Mentioned Royalist Comp. P. iv, 147.
In a deed of 1632 he is described as of
Alt Grange, brother and heir of John
Molyneux, deceased. |
| 72 |
Ibid. 145–8. He had in 1634 a
lease of Alt Grange from Lord Molyneux,
at a rent of £4 7s. 2d. He and his wife,
with many others, appear in the Recusant
Roll of 1641 in Ince Blundell; Trans.
Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xiv, 237. The
estate was sold for treason under the third
Act of 1652; Index of Royalists (Index
Soc.), p. 43. He was buried at Sefton
3 March, 1648–9. |
| 73 |
Royalist Comp. P. loc. cit.; Cal. Com.
for Comp. iv, 3171–2; the estate had
been discharged in April, 1654, on payment of a fine of £20.
The house in 1666 had five hearths
taxed; Lay Subs. Lancs. 250–9. |
| 74 |
He joined with his mother in the
petition concerning the sequestration.
For his age and marriage see Visit. of
1664, p. 203.
His brother, Edward, a secular priest,
for nearly forty years served the mission
at Alt Grange and the neighbourhood;
he was found dead on the sands, 28 April,
1704, and was buried in the Harkirk
ground at Little Crosby; N. Blundell,
Diary, p. 21; Crosby Rec. (Chet. Soc.),
pp. xxi, 81.
Thomas Molyneux or Wilkinson, S.J.,
is supposed to have been of this family;
perhaps a brother of Edward. He was a
victim of the Oates persecution, dying in
Morpeth gaol, of poison given by the
physician as it is believed, though it was
given out that he committed suicide;
Gillow, Bibl. Dict. of Engl. Cath. v, 69;
Foley, Rec. S.F. v, 657.
Richard Molyneux was buried at Sefton
7 May, 1686. |
| 75 |
An elder son John, born in 1660 and
baptized by Mr. Parr, a secular priest,
after studying at St. Omer's, entered the
English College at Rome in 1679; 'he
was always a Catholic and suffered for
his faith'; he went by his mother's name
of Harrington; Foley, Rec. S. J. vi, 429.
He was buried at Sefton 28 Jan. 1692–3,
as 'John Molyneux of West Derby,
gentleman.' His brother Richard, who
succeeded him, was buried at Sefton,
29 Jan. 1712–13; see N. Blundell, Diary,
110. |
| 76 |
He registered his leasehold estate
in Ince as a 'Papist' in 1717; Engl.
Cath. Non-jurors, 154. He had an elder
brother John living in 1719, who in a
deed of this date mentioned him and his
sisters Mary and Elizabeth, also Mrs.
Elizabeth Molyneux, widow; Piccope
MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 192, from Roll 7
of Geo. I at Preston.
In 1722 John Molyneux, of Alt Grange
and New Hall, was to marry Margaret,
daughter of Richard Moore of Heskin;
ibid. iii, 214, quoting second 5th Roll of
Geo. I. |
| 77 |
See the account of Huyton. |
| 78 |
He died at New Hall in West Derby,
and was buried at Sefton 23 Feb.
1734–5. |
| 79 |
He was buried at Sefton 3 March,
1734–5; his will, enrolled at Preston
(second 5th Roll of Geo. II), mentions his
wife Margaret, his mother-in-law Mary
Hawarden, his brother-in-law Bryan
Hawarden, his uncle Edward, and his
daughter Frances; Piccope MSS. (Chet.
Lib.), iii, 256.
For some monumental inscriptions, &c.,
relating to this family see Trans. Hist. Soc.
(New Ser.), xi, 99, 100. |
| 80 |
See the account of Huyton. |
| 81 |
Richard Lord Molyneux leased Alt
Grange to John Blanchard of Ince
in 1726; Richard Molyneux of Alt
Grange is mentioned; also his uncle
Edward and his deceased brother John,
and Margaret his wife; Piccope MSS.
iii, 244 (from a roll of Geo. II at
Preston.) |
| 82 |
Richard Blundell between 1249 and
1266 granted to William, son of Swain
Blanchard, two fields in his vill of Ince,
at a rent of 12d.; Blundell of Crosby D.
K. 247.
Gilbert Blanchard occurs in the list of
free tenants of 1283 given in a previous
note. In 1304 Richard, son of William
Blanchard, complained that Robert, son
of Gilbert Blanchard, William, son of
William Blanchard, and Richard Blundell
had disseised him of his messuage and
land in Ince; but he failed, as Robert
showed that he entered on one portion,
as heir, after the death of William his
grandfather, and William, son of William
Blanchard, by his father's gift; Assize R.
419, m. 12d.
Richard Blanchard paid to the subsidy
in 1332; Exch. Lay Subs. 8. Robert,
son of Richard Blanchard, was one of the
free tenants of 1344; Gibson, Lydiate
Hall, 97. Adam Blanchard was a juror
in 1375; De Banc. R. 460, m. 323.
Robert and Adam Blanchard contributed
to the poll-tax of 1381; Lay Subs. Lancs.
130/24.
Huan Blanchard, son and heir of John,
granted land in Ince Blundell in 1518;
Towneley MS. CC. (Chet. Lib.), n. 807.
Joseph Blanchard, of Lady Green,
occurs in 1713, and Richard Blanchard
was a leaseholder in 1834; N. Blundell,
Diary, 109; Gibson, op. cit. 139.
Families named Orshaw and Dey also
occur during the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries; Croxteth D. O. ii, 18, 22–25.
For others see Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F.
bdle. 1, m. 29; bdle. 3, m. 9. |
| 83 |
In 1374 Adam, son of Robert del
Moorhouses, claimed certain land from
John de Ashhurst; De Banc. R. 456,
m. 195; R. 457, m. 114d. But four
years earlier the defendant had given to
Henry Blundell all the lands, &c., he had
by the grant of Richard, son of William
del Moorhouses; and in 1406–7 Isabel,
as widow of John de Ashhurst, released all
her right in her husband's land to
Nicholas Blundell of Crosby; Kuerden
fol. MS. 38, n. 436, 432. |
| 84 |
The plaintiffs adduced a charter
granted by William de Molyneux (1250–
80) to Henry, son of William del
Moorhouses, of land called Ruholme in
Ince, which William de Sileby formerly
held of the gift of Richard Blundell, and
which descended to the grantor after the
death of Richard his brother, who had
had the same by the gift of Sir William
le Boteler. Henry, also known as Henry
son of Bimme, had issue Thomas and
Simon; the former had a son Roger and
grandson Alan, whose daughter and heir
was Ellen, wife of John Coldokes.
On the other side was adduced a charter by Henry, dated 1302, granting his
son Simon a moiety of his lands held
according to 'the ancient charters' of
William, son of John Blundell; for this
gift his sons Simon and Thomas were to
keep him in food and clothing for the
rest of his life. Simon's moiety accordingly descended to his son William and
grandson Thomas, and so to Emma, wife
of Richard Johnson of Little Crosby,
whose son John was joined as defendant;
Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 6, m. 26; R. 12,
m. 27 b.
A Thomas Coldoke was living here in
1595; Ducatus Lanc. iii, 332.
William, son of Richard Bimmeson,
claimed lands in Ince in 1342; Assize
R. 1435, m. 48. |
| 85 |
Eng. Cath. Non-jurors, 108, 122, 126,
148. One of Richard Tickle's daughters
had married Richard Molyneux of Alt
Grange, and their sons John and Richard
are mentioned. |
| 86 |
Ibid. 112. The Blundells of Carrside were a junior branch of the Ince
family; 'their names appear in the recusant rolls throughout the whole period
of persecution'; Gillow, Haydock Papers,
215, where particulars are given. |
| 87 |
The first missioners certainly known
are Edward Molyneux, already mentioned,
and Henry Tasburgh, S.J.; both in the
neighbourhood from about 1670. |
| 88 |
Foley, Rec. S.J. v, 320, 362; the
priest's residence for some time was the
New House in the Carr Houses, built in
1701; and see Crosby Rec. (Chet. Soc.),
81–2; N. Blundell, Diary, 2; Haydock
Papers, 213–14. |
| 89 |
Liverpool Cath. Ann. 1901. A Benedictine was in charge from 1826 to 1865;
Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xiii, 168. |