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Townships
Parr

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Victoria County History

Publication

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3

Author

William Farrer & J. Brownbill (editors)

Year published

1907

Pages

377-382

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'Townships: Parr', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3 (1907), pp. 377-382. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41350&strquery=black+brook Date accessed: 19 May 2013. Add to my bookshelf

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Contents

PARR
MANOR Footnotes

PARR

Par, 1246; Parr and Parre, xvth century.

Parr is a township unpleasing to the eye, where the natural amenities have been replaced by everything unlovely that man could devise. Scarcely a green tree is to be seen, whilst collieries, chemical and iron works, huge banks and heaps of refuse, take the place of woods and fields and green meadows. Clouds of smoke and the fumes of chemical works hang continually over the district. On the south-east some waste mossland still remains, but altogether bereft of the vegetation which so often lends beauty to these undisturbed tracts.

The township has an area of 1,633 acres and is divided by the Sankey Brook into two nearly equal portions. It is bounded on the east by the Black Brook, while the moss on the south originally formed a physical division for Sutton, Parr, and Burtonwood. The ground rises gradually north and south of the bisecting brook, attaining nearly one hundred and fifty feet at the northern boundary. With the exception of a small area of lower mottled sandstone of the bunter series (new red sandstone) at Parr Moss, the coal measures are in evidence throughout the township.

The principal road is that from St. Helens north-eastwardly through Blackbrook to Ashton in Makerfield, the hamlet of Pocket Nook being situated next to St. Helens. (fn. 1) From this point another road takes a winding course to Earlestown in the east; passing Parr Stocks, Broad Oak, and Havannah. To the south is Ashton's Green.

A branch of the London and North Western Company's system, from St. Helens to Wigan, has a station on the northern boundary, Carr Mill; and the Great Central's St. Helens and South Lancashire line passes east and west through the township. There are also a number of railways for the service of the collieries, as Parr is a colliery district, the whole township being undermined. The St. Helens Canal crosses, alongside the Sankey Brook.

A local board was formed in 1865, (fn. 2) but dissolved in 1869 on the absorption of the township into St. Helens.

MANOR

The manor formed part of the Master Forester's fee, being held with Whiston by the Gernets, and then by the Dacres, of whom it was held by Travers of Whiston. (fn. 3) Under the latter an inferior or mesne manor was formed, held by the Lathoms (fn. 4) and Stanleys in succession. (fn. 5)

In the thirteenth century there appear to have been one or more families here bearing the local name, but the manor was held in moieties before 1290, Alan de Halsall of Parr being then lord of one moiety and Henry de Parr of the other. (fn. 6) Alan was the son of Richard de Halsall by Denise, afterwards the wife of Hugh de Worthington, (fn. 7) and it will be convenient to distinguish the two parts as the Halsall and Parr moieties.


Parr. Argent, two bars azure within a bordure engrailed sable.

I. The Halsall moiety was held by Alan until 1301, (fn. 8) about which time probably he died. His son Richard succeeded, and occurs down to 1335; he was known as Richard de Parr. (fn. 9) His son Alan de Parr was in possession in 1345, but died in or before 1367, (fn. 10) when his son Robert followed him, and held this part of the manor for forty years and more. (fn. 11) The succession is somewhat uncertain; the next to be mentioned is a John de Parr, (fn. 12) whose widow Ellen, daughter and coheir of Henry son of John de Parr, one of the lords of the other moiety of the manor, had dower in 1421. (fn. 13) Then came one or perhaps two Henrys in succession; (fn. 14) the later of them, if there were two, resumed Halsall as a surname and was known as Henry Halsall alias Parr. (fn. 15) His son John followed; (fn. 16) and then Bryan Parr, son and heir of John—the surname Halsall having been dropped again—was in possession in 1497. (fn. 17)

Bryan Parr died early in 1528, the heir being his son Thomas, twelve years of age. (fn. 18) Thomas died in 1559, leaving a son and heir William, nineteen years of age, and nine younger children. (fn. 19) This William Parr it was who, it is said, disposed of the manor to John Byrom of Byrom in Makerfield. (fn. 20) It remained in the latter family for a century and a half, and they seem to have made the hall their principal residence. (fn. 21) It was sold, with the other Byrom estates, in the time of George I, and became very much subdivided. (fn. 22) The manorial rights have been lost.

A fourth part of the Halsall moiety appears to have been early formed into a separate estate or mesne manor, but the evidence regarding it is defective. An Adam de Parr had a share of the lordship in 1313, (fn. 23) but somewhat earlier a Simon de Parr held or claimed two oxgangs of land in the manor. (fn. 24) He was followed by a son Alan and a grandson Richard; the latter, who died about 1350, left a young son also named Richard, whose wardship was claimed by Katherine de Lathom. (fn. 25)


Byrom of Byrom. Argent, a chevron between three hedgehogs sable.

The next in possession was, perhaps, the William de Parr who held an eighth part of the vill about 1370. (fn. 26) He appears to be the Sir William who in right of his wife became lord of Kendal. (fn. 27) From him descended Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal, who died in November, 1517, seised of various lands in Parr and Sutton, and a toft in Wigan, one parcel being held of Thomas, earl of Derby, by knight's service and the yearly rent of 15d., being thus identified with the quarter of a moiety held by the above-named William in 1370; another part was held of the Prior of St. John of Jerusalem by the rent of 12d.; and a third, of Bryan Parr, by the rent of 17d. (fn. 28) One of his daughters, Katherine, was the last consort of Henry VIII. His son and heir, William, aged five at his father's death, became marquis of Northampton, and after a chequered career died without acknowledged issue in 1570, his various manors falling to the crown. (fn. 29)

II. The Parr moiety was in 1291 held by Henry de Parr. (fn. 30) One Henry, son of Lawrence de Parr, in 1246 recovered from Roger son of Hugh half an oxgang of land there. (fn. 31) Henry's widow, Alice, in 1301 brought a suit against the lords of Parr, Henry son of Henry, and Alan. (fn. 32)

This Henry son of Henry de Parr, who may have succeeded much earlier than 1301, lived till 1332. (fn. 33) He seems, however, practically to have resigned the manor to his sons Robert and Richard. The former was of some prominence in the district, but his descendants had only a quarter of this moiety, held of Richard and his descendants, who were lords of the moiety. (fn. 34) In 1326–7 Richard de Parr married Ellen daughter of Adam de Tyldesley, by whom he had five sons. (fn. 35)

Richard was succeeded in or before 1351 by his son John, sometimes described as a knight, (fn. 36) who in turn, about 1390, was followed by his son Henry. (fn. 37) This last left two daughters his coheirs; one of them, Ellen, married John de Parr, heir to the Halsall moiety of the manor, and afterwards Richard de Holt; the other, Lucy, married Henry de Byrom, whose descendants, as already narrated, ultimately acquired the greater part of the manor by purchase. (fn. 38)

Something has already been said of Robert de Parr, son of Henry, who claimed this moiety as his right, (fn. 39) whose descendants, however, are found to have held but a quarter of it. His son Henry (fn. 40) and grandson Robert (fn. 41) have also been mentioned. The last-named had a son Nicholas, who married Agnes daughter of Robert, son of Alan de Parr, of the Halsall family; (fn. 42) Nicholas died in or before 1415, but his son Robert lived on until about 1482, (fn. 43) and was succeeded by a son John, who also must have been a very aged man when he died in 1512 or 1513. (fn. 44) The generations now follow rapidly; Robert the son of John was living in 1520, (fn. 45) but he and his son Robert were both dead in 1527, (fn. 46) and the latter's son and heir John died in May, 1530. (fn. 47) The heir was a daughter Grace, about eighteen months old at her father's death; she was made the king's ward, but the estate was claimed by her uncle Bryan as heir male. (fn. 48) The result does not appear, but Grace afterwards married Henry Eccleston, a younger son of the local family. (fn. 49) Although this branch of the Parrs appears to have been entitled to a fourth part of their moiety, no claim to a manor was made in the sixteenth century. The estate was known as Broad Oak.

Other Parr families occur. Richard de Parr of the Shaw is named in 1375; (fn. 50) Adam son of John de Parr in 1301; (fn. 51) John de Parr in 1321, (fn. 52) and a later Adam in 1347. (fn. 53)

The Hospitallers held land (fn. 54) now called Leafog or LAFFOG, (fn. 55) which they granted to a member of one of the Parr families, Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal and William his son holding it in the sixteenth century. (fn. 56) On the latter's death in 1570 it was granted by Queen Elizabeth to John Dudley, (fn. 57) from whom Thomas Norris of Orford acquired it, and by his daughter it passed to Thomas Tyldesley. (fn. 58) A resident family took surname from this place. (fn. 59)

The Hindleys of Aspull were concerned in various suits as to lands in Parr in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. (fn. 60)

The Orrells of BLACKBROOK are said to be derived from those of Pemberton, Humphrey Orrell removing to this place about the end of the seventeenth century. (fn. 61) Humphrey Orrell of Parr, yeoman and tanner, registered a freehold estate there and at Windle in 1717. (fn. 62) He was succeeded by his son and grandson, both named James; the latter's son, Charles, died unmarried in 1843; his two brothers, James and Philip, were priests; and his sisters all died unmarried at Blackbrook. The whole of their property was given to various ecclesiastical purposes, Blackbrook House becoming a convent of the Sisters of Mercy.

Some neighbouring landholders had estates in Parr. (fn. 63) The only freeholder recorded in 1600 was Edward Travis; (fn. 64) the subsidy list of 1628 does not name any. Under the Parliament the properties sequestrated were those of Bryan Howard and Emma Mather, both for recusancy. (fn. 65) The hearth tax list of 1666 includes twelve houses here having three hearths and more. (fn. 66) The land tax return for 1785 shows that the assigns of Sarah Clayton paid £18 for Parr Hall estate, and John Orrell £5 for Blackbrook out of a total of £50.

The Established Church has two places of worship in Parr; St. Peter's, built in 1844, and Holy Trinity, (fn. 67) Parr Mount, in 1863. The vicar of St. Helens presents to them.

There is a Free Gospel chapel at Blackbrook.

The Roman Catholic church of Blessed Mary Immaculate, Blackbrook, was consecrated in 1845. The mission is supposed to have been founded at the end of the seventeenth century, when Bryan Orrell, alias John Martin, an alumnus of Douay, 1686, came to serve at Blackbrook House, where, as stated above, his elder brother had settled. In 1754 a room to serve as a chapel was built, James Orrell, the owner, granting a 500 years' lease at a rent of 1s. (fn. 68) St. Vincent's, Derbyshire Hill, was opened in 1905.

Footnotes

1 It is said that Pocket Nook derives its name from the immense quantity of material put in here in making the canal, on account of the quicksand in Rainford Brook, known as 'Meddling Meg'; Brockbank, St. Helens, 21.
2 Lond. Gaz. 9 June, 1865.
3 Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 43; see also the account of Whiston.
4 The inquisition, taken in 1385, concerning the lands of Thomas de Lathom, who died in 1370, states that he was seised of 'the homage and service of Sir John de Parr, of Robert son of Henry de Parr, and of William de Parr, who held their tenements in Parr by knight's service and by rendering yearly 6s. 3d.; also of the service of Robert son of Alan de Parr, who held of him tenements in Parr in socage by rendering yearly 3s. 9d.'; all which Thomas de Lathom had held of John de Travers of Whiston by 1d. yearly for all service; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. ii, n. 7. It will be noticed that the yearly rent amounted to 10s. It is shown in the text that Sir John and Robert de Parr held between them half the manor, for which they would pay 5s.; William's part, therefore, belonged to the other half of the manor, but it does not appear why he held it by knight's service and Robert son of Alan the remainder in socage.
5 Parr is not, however, named in the Derby inquisitions.
6 Assize R. 1294, m. 8.
7 See the account of Halsall. In 1252–3 Geoffrey de Parr complained of an assault by Gilbert de Halsall (father of Richard) and others; Cur. Reg. R. 148, m. 5 d.
8 Assize R. 1321, m. 8 d. In 1295 Alan gave his son Richard two oxgangs in Parr; one of the witnesses was Gilbert de Halsall; Kuerden MSS. vi, fol. 86, n. 221. Earlier probably was the release by Geoffrey de Parr—named above—to Alan de Halsall of an oxgang in Parr formerly held by Geoffrey's father Richard; Henry de Parr was a witness; ibid. n. 252. As 'Alan de Parr' he was a juror in 1298; Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 284. Adam de Halsall, whose son Richard was a plaintiff in 1305, may have been a brother of Alan; Assize R. 420, m. 8.
9 Assize R. 420, m. 5 d.; R. 424, m. 2. Richard de Parr and Adam his brother, mentioned in the case last cited, were jurors in 1334; Duchy of Lanc. Forest Proceedings, 1/17, m. 7. Adam de Halsall of Parr and Robert his son are mentioned as holding land in Haydock in 1332; Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 82. Richard de Halsall contributed to the subsidy of 1327 in Parr; Lay Subs. 130/5. His wife's name is given as Cecily in Assize R. 1435, m. 47.
10 Alan son of Richard de Halsall was plaintiff in 1334 against Alice widow of Robert de Parr; William son of John de Parr was one of his pledges; Coram Rege R. 297, m. 11. He may be the Alan de Parr accused of killing the Millward in 1343; he and his brother Richard are mentioned several times in the assize roll of that year (430).
In 1356 Alice daughter of John de Bolton complained that Alan son of Richard de Parr had deprived her of 20s. rent, which she had had by his grant in 1345; she was, however, non-suited; Duchy of Lanc Assize R. 5, m. 14; R. 6, m. 1. He was probably in possession a year earlier, for in 1344 he granted his 'elder brother' Richard land newly approved in Parr; Kuerden MSS., vi, fol. 84, n. 174. The phrase quoted may indicate that he had two brothers, both younger than himself. His widow Agnes in 1367 claimed as dower a third of the moiety of the manor of Parr held by Robert son of Alan and Cecily his wife; De Banc. R. 428, m. 162.
11 He is named in inquisitions down to 1400; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 17, 25, 159. He had a brother Richard, whose daughter Agnes married Thomas de Glest in 1410, Robert son of Alan de Parr being witness to the marriage settlement; Towneley MSS. GG. n. 2089. In 1371 an extent of the possessions of Robert son of Alan de Parr was made before the sheriff. He had two-thirds of a messuage, orchard, and grange, worth 6d. a year after all outgoings; the fourth part of a water-mill, worth 4s., various lands, including the Parheye, worth 36s., &c.; Pal. of Lanc. Chan. file, bdle. 1621.
From the Lathom inquisition cited above it appears that Robert in 1370 held only three-fourths of the Halsall moiety.
12 John's father is not named. In 1421–2 Thomas Baxter, chaplain, gave Ellen, widow of John de Parr, the lands which Adam Taylor lately held of the gift of Robert de Parr; Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 169. Soon afterwards she quitclaimed her right to dower; ibid. n. 218. It would appear that she lived on until 1484; ibid. n. 208.
13 It was probably as the result of this marriage that this share of the manor was increased from three-eighths to over half, or perhaps three-fourths; it will be seen later that the chief-rent is variously stated.
14 It is not expressly stated that Henry de Parr was the son of the preceding Ellen, but he acted for her in the claim against the Byroms in 1438; Early Chan. Proc. bdle. 9, n. 28. He occurs a year or so earlier in a settlement of the estates; Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 176. He was witness, taking first place after the knights, to a grant by Robert son of Nicholas de Parr in 1439; Ct. of Wards and Liveries, box 13A, n. FD47, m. 1.
15 In 1467 Henry Halsall of Parr enfeoffed James Stanley, clerk, and others of his estates in Parr, Sutton, and Windle; and the following year, as Henry Halsall, lord of Parr, he granted lands to his son Thomas; Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 248, 237. Henry was witness to a Parr deed in 1474; Ct. of Wards and Liveries, box 13A. n. 47, m. 2. Richard Halsall was the first witness in a deed of two years earlier; ibid. m. 5.
A branch of the Parr family appears at Backford in Cheshire during the fifteenth century; see Appendices to Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvii and xxxix. Another branch was seated at Kempnough in Worsley; Visit. of 1567 (Chet. Soc.), 120.
16 In the Duchy Feodary of 1483 (Duchy of Lanc. Misc. cxxx) John Halsall was said to hold Parr of John Travers, and he of Lord Dacre, and he of the honour of Lancaster. The mesne lordship of the Stanleys is omitted. In November, 1483, on the engagement of his son Bryan to marry Elizabeth daughter of Robert Shakerley of Lathom, he enfeoffed Henry Shakerley and Thurstan Ainsworth of certain tenements in Parr; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 79, and R. 84, m. 2. In 1494 Robert Shakerley of Lathom was plaintiff in a suit against John Parr, Henry Lathom of Mossborough, and John Travers of Hardshaw, and there was a cross-suit; ibid. R. 78, m. 5, 5 d. About the same time there was an award between John and Emma Parr, his father's widow; Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 219. She appears to have married a John Molyneux, and was living in 1496; ibid. n. 202.
In 1485, as 'John Parr, son and heir of Henry Parr, otherwise called Henry Halsall of Parr,' he joined with John Travers of Hardshaw in a bond of £20 to John Parr, who held part of the other moiety of the manor, and Robert his son to abide the award of James Stanley, archdeacon of Chester, concerning a number of disputes between them; Ct. of Wards and Liveries, box 13A. n. FD38. The corresponding bond by the other John Parr is among the Crosse D. (Trans. Hist. Soc., (New Ser.), vi, n. 71). He enfeoffed William Shakerley and others in 1495–6 of all his lands in Lancashire, except 6 marks of rent held by Elizabeth his wife, &c.; Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 202, 190. He died in or before 1503, when his widow Elizabeth obtained her dower from Bryan Parr; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 95, m. 2 d.
17 In this year Bryan Parr and Elizabeth his wife and John (either his father or the other John Parr) brought cross-suits as to novel disseisin; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 83, m. 7, 8. In 1505 he gave a bond to the other John Parr and Robert his son to abide an arbitration concerning the eighth part of the water-mill of Parr, and various other matters in dispute; Ct. of Wards and Liveries, box 13A. n. FD48. Bryan and John Parr were counted among the gentry of the hundred in 1513.
18 Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, n. 51. He is stated to have held the manor of Parr of the earl of Derby by the tenth part of a knight's fee and a rent of 7s. 3½d. i.e. he held nearly three-fourths of the whole manor; the Parrs of Kendal, as seen above, held an eighth, so that the remaining eighth was left for the other Parr family. The wardship of the heir was granted to Henry bishop of St. Asaph and Thomas Radcliffe of Chadderton; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxix, App. 558.
19 Inq. p. m. xi, n. 19. The rent was then stated as 7s. 7½d. and the manor was held 'as of the manor of Knowsley.' Thomas's will is printed in full in Piccope's Wills (Chet. Soc.), iii, 118. He desired to be buried in the church of Prescot, and to have a trental of masses celebrated, leaving 10s. for this purpose. His widow Margaret married John Byrom. There were disputes between Richard and Thomas Parr and the Arrowsmith family in 1547 and 1549; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), i, 228, 243.
20 William's wife was Katherine, daughter of Thomas Eccleston of Eccleston; Visit. of 1567 (Chet. Soc.), 98. She in 1565 cited her husband in the Ecclesiastical Court for adultery and for leaving her without necessaries; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxii, 206. Settlements appear to have been made by William Parr in 1562, perhaps on his marriage, and in 1565; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 24, m. 102; 27, m. 18. He had already begun to dispose of his estates to John Byrom; ibid. bdle. 26, m. 181.
There does not seem to be any record of the sale of the manor itself, which is named in the inquisition after the death of John Byrom as held of the earl of Derby by the tenth part of a knight's fee and a rent of 5s. 7½d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvi, n. 37. In this inquisition a settlement made by William Parr is recited, the final remainder of the manor being to John Byrom. Kuerden has preserved several documents relating to these sales; loc. cit. n. 192–3, 180, 204, 226–8; and a bond in £2,000 given in 1597 by Henry Parr to Henry Byrom, sons of William and John respectively, may point to the conclusion of the transfer; ibid. n. 246. John Byrom had married Margaret, the widow of Thomas Parr, by 1560, in which year he had a dispute with William Parr concerning Hurst House in Parr; Ducatus Lanc. ii, 221. There were numerous other disputes between the two families and their lessees; ibid. iii, 5, 33, 38, 63, 99. Hurst House appears to have been in the possession of William Atherton and Katherine his wife in 1599; ibid. iii, 394.
A marriage licence for Peter Byrom, gentleman, and Katherine Parr was granted at Chester on 8 July, 1575; Pennant's Account Book (Ches. Dioc. Reg.).
21 An account of the family will be found under Byrom in Lowton. Parr was the only manor they claimed; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 271. It was at this time (1611) held of the earl of Derby, by the tenth part of a knight's fee and by 7s. rent, as in 1528. Settlements of the manor were made by fine in 1604 and 1631, Henry Byrom and Mary his wife being in possession in the former year, and Henry Byrom, their grandson, in the latter; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 66, m. 9; 120, n. 5.
22 A settlement of the Byrom estates, including the manor of Parr, was made in 1707, Samuel Byrom, the 'Beau,' being in possession; Pal. of Lanc. Feet. of F. bdle. 258, m. 33. By March, 1727, all apparently had been disposed of, and one-fifth part of the manor was then held by Richard Houghton and Eleanor his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 297, m. 126. A year later the deforciants of three parts of the manor 'in five parts divided' were George Tyrer and Jemima his wife, Banastre Parker and Anne his wife, and Thomas Case and Margaret his wife; ibid. bdle. 299, m. 184. The four wives were daughters and coheirs of William Clayton of Fulwood, who died in 1715, Sarah Clayton, unmarried, being sister; Gregson, Fragments (ed. Harland), 167. In 1745, in which year William Clayton's widow died, the manor was again the subject of a settlement by fine, the deforciants now being Thomas Tyrer, William Williamson and Elizabeth his wife, William Blundell and Margaret his wife, Eleanor Houghton, George Dickens, clerk, and Anne his wife, Anne Parker, widow, Thomas Case and Margaret his wife, and Sarah Clayton; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 332, m. 182. It appears that the manor had been purchased by William Clayton and divided equally among his daughters.
23 See a preceding note.
24 Simon de Parr was plaintiff in 1305, claiming from Richard de Parr and others 11 messuages and 2 oxgangs; and was at the same time defendant in suits brought by Richard son of Adam de Halsall, and Gilbert son of Alan de Parr; Assize R. 420, m. 5d. 8.
25 Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 1, m. 2, 1d.; R. 2, m. 1d., iiijd. This claim shows that the heir held directly of the Lathoms.
26 See Inq. p.m. of Thomas de Lathom, cited above. On the division of the waste in 1377, on the other hand, this eighth part is not recognized at all.
27 For some particulars concerning him see Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 524; Rep. xxxvi, App. 374; Pal. of Lanc. Chan. Misc. bdle. 1, file 2, n. 66. See also Topographer, iii, 352–60.
28 Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. v, n. 8.
29 See the account of Laffog.
30 Assize R. 1294, m. 8.
31 Assize R. 404, m. 10d. This was, perhaps, an earlier Henry.
32 Assize R. 1321, m. 8d.
33 Henry son of Henry de Parr appeared in a Sutton case as early as 1284; Assize R. 1265, m. 21d. Henry de Parr commenced an action against John son of Thomas de Wrightington in 1297; in 1305 the latter was joined in the defence by Alice his wife, whose sister Christiana is also mentioned; De Banc. R. 162, m. 11d.; Assize R. 420, m. 8. In 1328 John de Wrightington gave lands in Parr to Richard, son of Henry de Parr; Kuerden MSS. vi, fol. 86, n. 254. It appears that Alice was the daughter of Henry, son of Roger de Parr; ibid. n. 238. In 1316–17 Henry de Parr gave to Richard his son 40 messuages and land in Parr, Robert son of Henry de Parr being a witness; and there was a further grant eight years later; Kuerden MSS. vi, fol. 84, n. 184, 222. About 1317 Robert son of Henry de Parr surrendered his lands to his father, and in 1331, Richard the other son did likewise, Henry son of Robert granting to Henry de Parr, senior 6s. a year for life; ibid. n. 240, 235 and 179, 209.
34 Richard son of Henry de Parr, and Adam de Parr contributed to the subsidy of 1327; the father is not mentioned, and Robert was perhaps dead at this time; Lay Subs. 130/5. The peculiar relations between the brothers Richard and Robert are shown in a plea of 1317, in which Robert son of Henry de Parr, 'in mercy for many defaults,' was summoned to answer for seizing and detaining Richard's cattle in the early part of 1316 in a certain place called Kayhull. In defence he asserted that Richard held of him a moiety of the manor of Parr by fealty and the service of 5s., and the rent having been in arrears for five years he seized the cattle. Richard said that Kayhull was outside Robert's fee; De Banc. R. 220, m. 313.
Earlier than this, in 1313, Robert son of Henry de Parr had complained that the lords of the other moiety of the manor—Richard son of Alan de Halsall, and Adam his brother—with William Wolrich and others, had unjustly disseised him of 5s. of rent; Assize R. 420, m. 2.
Robert died before his father, for in 1325 Henry son of Robert de Parr began a suit of novel disseisin against Henry de Parr and Richard his son, which appears to have gone on for some years; Assize R. 426, m. 1d. Henry claimed the moiety of the manor, and the jury agreed that Henry the elder had disseised the plaintiff, the damages being taxed at 40s.; Assize R. 1404, m. 18d. These suits appear to have been merely steps in a series of family settlements.
Robert son of Henry de Parr, and John his brother have an unfavourable mention in the Coram Rege R. of 1323 (n. 254). The former was indicted for the death of John de Bickerton at Leyland church and for breaking into Alan de Windle's house; he pretended to be dumb at the trial; m. 46. The latter was accused of the death of two men, and seems to have been hanged; m. 48. See also m. 49d. 60. Henry de Parr is said to have been related to Robert de Holland; ibid. m. 60. See also m. 51, 51d, for his part in the overthrow of Adam Banastre in 1315.
35 Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 239. In 1337 a settlement of the manor was made, the remainders being to Richard's sons John, John, Henry, William, and Robert; ibid. n. 198, 199, 210. There appears to have been another son, Simon; Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 191. Richard was living in 1346; De Banc. R. 348, m. 235d.
36 See the Lathom inquisition quoted above. As John son of Richard de Parr, he in 1351 came to an agreement with Henry son of Robert de Parr concerning a parcel of land called Haselhurst; this he gave up to Henry, on condition that the latter recognized his title to parcels called Fallhey, Berewardsleigh, Bentihalgh, and Blackacre. He also confirmed the agreement his father Richard had made with Henry as to the waste; the latter was to have a quarter of it, and a money payment was to be made on account of approvement already made on Henry's lands by Sankey and Nottbrook, towards Morkels Moss; Ct. of Wards and Liveries, box 134, n. FD5.
A further agreement was made in 1377 between Sir John de Parr and Henry his son and Robert, son of the above-named Henry de Parr. Robert was to retain possession of the lands of Alan de Bradley, Marion his wife, and Robert their son. The approvements of the wastes were to be divided thus: half to Robert son of Alan de Parr, and of the other half, three parts to Sir John, and one part to Robert son of Henry; ibid. n. 47, m. 2.
In 1376 John de Parr, senior, was executor of the will of his younger brother, John de Parr, junior; De Banc. R. 461, m. 325. In 1386–7 he appointed Matthew de Sale his attorney for taking seisin from John Perpoint, chaplain; Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 183.
In 1337 Richard son of Robert de Parr gave to Richard Parr his uncle and Avice his wife land in Aspcroft which he had received from his brother Henry. In 1370 Alan Ascroft and Mabel his wife surrendered their land to John de Parr; Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 224, 223, 231.
37 Henry has been mentioned in the agreement of 1377. In 1370 a settlement had been made, by the agency of John de Barrow of Parr, the remainders being to Henry son of John son of Richard de Parr, and Elias, Nicholas, and Ralph, Henry's brothers; Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 200, 201. Henry came into possession before 1395–6, two deeds of his of this year being preserved by Kuerden (loc. cit. n. 194, 225), and in 1421 he made a settlement of his estate; ibid. n. 213. See also Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 5, m. 10, concerning 8 messuages in Parr, Warrington, Sutton, and Whiston; the remainder was to Lucy wife of Henry de Byrom.
38 Deeds by Ellen, widow of John de Parr, are given by Kuerden (loc. cit. n. 218, 217, 242); by the two latter she made gifts to her sister Lucy, the other coheir, then wife of Henry de Byrom.
Ellen and her second husband, Richard de Holt, in 1438 addressed a complaint to the bishop of Bath, as lord chancellor, as to the bad faith of the Byroms. When her father Henry was about eighty years of age he was influenced by Henry de Byrom to divide the manor, giving half to the latter as the share of his wife Lucy, the understanding being that Ellen was to have the other half on her father's death. Such a division was made, and after the father's death, about 1427, Ellen entered into possession. Now, however, the Byroms were putting forth a claim for half of her portion, alleging that the portion they had was an absolute gift, so that Lucy and her heirs had a title to half the rest. See Early Chan. Proc. bdle. 9, n. 28.
39 His widow Alice in 1337 came to an agreement with Richard son of Henry Parr, as to lands here; Kuerden, loc. cit. n. 196, 197. She was still living in 1348; see below. She was suing for dower in 1331; De Banc. R. 286, m. 17; R. 290, m. 60 d.; R. 292, m. 66. Richard, a younger son of Robert, has been mentioned above; his wife was named Margery; Assize R. 1435, m. 34.
40 With this Henry begins a series of fifty-one charters (originals or copies) preserved among the records of the Ct. of Wards and Liveries, their existence here being no doubt due to the disputes as to the inheritance in the reign of Hen. VIII. The earliest are grants in Aug. 1331, by Richard son of Henry de Parr to Henry son of Robert of various lands and reversions, and a share of the mill; Ct. of Wards and Liveries, box 13A, n. 47, m. 6. Three years later the same Richard de Parr released to Henry 'all his right in the fourth part of the moiety of the manor of Parr,' with certain small exceptions in the Overfield, Sonyhel, Micklecroft, and a croft by the hall, &c.; ibid. n. FD19. In 1335 there followed the grant of land between the wood of Parr and a field called Gilleridings; ibid. n. FD47, m. 1. In 1348 this Henry de Parr granted his son Robert all his lands in Parr and his part of the mill; with the reversion of lands held by his mother Alice. The remainders were to the daughters Alice, Agnes, and Joan. Ibid.
41 Robert son of Henry was in possession in 1370, as appears by the inquisition of Thomas de Lathom, cited above. In 1375 he made a grant to his son Nicholas of lands in the Holyend and the Middlefield, apparently on the occasion of the marriage of Nicholas with Agnes daughter of Robert son of Alan de Parr. The first remainder was to grantor's heirs by Cecily daughter of John Whitehead of Lathom. John de Rainford, Richard de Parr of Shaw, and William de Holland of Cayleigh were among the witnesses; ibid. m. 2. The agreement of 1377 between the several lords of the manor, in which Robert's claim to a quarter of this moiety was recognized, has been given above.
42 Little seems to be known of Nicholas beyond his first marriage with Agnes de Parr (or Halsall) above recorded, and his second union with Katherine daughter of John Benetson, the heiress of Lydiate. The latter, being out of her mind, in 1408 at Prescot granted all her patrimony to Ralph de Parr, probably a son of Nicholas by his former wife; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 102. Katherine lived till 1437; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxiii, App. 22, 38. Thurstan son of Ralph de Parr is mentioned in several later documents, about 1485; and Ralph his son also occurs. John de Parr received from the feoffee in 1429–30 lands which had belonged to Nicholas de Parr; Kuerden MSS. vi, fol. 84, n. 185.
43 Robert son of Nicholas de Parr made a feoffment in 1427 to Richard Haydock, rector of Sefton, of his capital messuage, with his lands, rents, and services, &c., and all his part of the mills; also messuages in Ormskirk and Lathom; Ct. of Wards and Liveries, box 13A. n. FD14. Another feoffment was made in 1438; ibid. n. 47, m. 5, and n. FD31. In the next year he mortgaged certain of his lands to Henry Byrom and John Byrom his son; the names given are White Carr in Pyefield, Riding, Dewbriddies, Sekynhullacre, and Mosshouse; ibid. n. FD47, m. 1. In 1462 there was an arbitration between him and the above-named Thurstan Parr, followed by a sale in 1463; ibid. n. 47, m. 3, 5. The arbitration records among other points that Robert had given Thurstan stone for a kiln; Robert was to be during his life 'free to dry his proper corns and malt' in Thurstan's kiln, as compensation for the latter's delay in returning an equal amount of stone. Robert granted Elizabeth his wife land in Parr (Plat Lache and White Carr) and Lathom for her life in 1472, and made a general feoffment in 1479; ibid. n. 47, m. 5 and 2; n. FD22.
44 John Parr, 'son and heir of Robert Parr,' first occurs in 1466, when he was already the father of three sons—John, Robert, and Reynold—on whom he settled all his goods and chattels, movable and immovable, alive or dead; ibid. n. FD6. John, at that time his 'son and heir,' is not mentioned later; and in 1482 the father, as heir of Robert Parr, 'lately deceased,' described Robert as his 'son and heir,' and released to him his patrimony in Ormskirk, including an acre by the mill of Greetby; ibid. n. 47, m. 5. In the following year he leased Ashen Carr to Thurstan Parr, and gave his part of the water-mill of Parr to his son Robert; ibid. n. 47, n. FD2; n. 47, m. 3. From this time there are a number of documents bearing upon disputes between the father and son, and two, already quoted, upon those between them and the lord of the manor. In March, 1512, he leased the Heighfield, Tode Hill, &c., to Ralph Molyneux, priest, and Bryan Molyneux; in October, 1513, his widow Constance made an agreement with his son Robert as to an arbitration about her dower; ibid. n. FD9, FD41, FD29, FD35. The arbitration is n. FD33.
45 An agreement between John Parr and Robert his son and heir in 1484 mentions the latter's wife; and in 1485 and 1488 there were fresh grants by the father to his son; ibid. n. 47, m. 3; 44, 1, 4; n. FD49. In 1493 Robert Parr made a feoffment of his land in the Sekeneld and Riding; and a further one in 1507; ibid. n. 47, m. 4. n. FD40, FD7, FD39; in these deeds Robert's father is described as John Parr of Broadoak, and Robert's wife is named as Joan. Early in 1511 another agreement was made with the father; ibid. n. FD3. Another deed mentions Robert Parr in 1513, and his son Robert is described as 'heir apparent of Robert Parr, senior,' in 1520; ibid. n. FD21, FD26.
46 Robert Parr in 1523 leased to Richard Halsall of Parr, tailor, a close called the Middle Riding; the father was probably dead at this time; ibid. n. FD8. From the inquisition after the death of Robert's son John it appears that in April, 1527, John Parr granted, as dower, certain lands to his mother Grace, who was still living in 1531.
47 Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, n. 3. From this it appears that Robert Parr, the grandfather, in 1513 made a settlement on the marriage of this John and Katherine his wife; the latter was living in 1531. The premises in Parr were held of the earl of Derby by knight's service, but by what part or what rent was unknown; the clear value was £7. The premises in Lathom were held in the same manner, and were worth 26s. 8d. a year.
48 Duchy Pleadings (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 196.
49 This appears by a fine of 1552; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 14, m. 145. The remainders were to Thomas son of Henry and Grace, and then to Thomas, Henry's brother. The latter, the head of the Eccleston family, had in 1549 received a number of Parr deeds from the court; Ct. of Wards and Liveries, box 13A, n. FD47.
From a schedule of deeds in the Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xiv, 97, it appears that the estates of this branch of the Eccleston family in Broadoak (Parr), Lathom, and Sutton descended to a Henry Eccleston, whose son Edward in 1671 married Thomasine Tickle. They had two daughters—Margery, who married Thomas Lyon, and Esther, whose son Edward Barton was living in 1721.
50 See a preceding note. He may be the Richard son of Richard de Parr of the Shaw of 1390; Townley's MS. GG, n. 2436, 2878 (feoffments of his lands in Parr and Widnes). Alice widow of Richard de Parr of the Shaw, and his daughter Margaret, widow of William de Ireland, were parties to deeds made in 1411; ibid. n. 2702, 2463. By a deed of the next year Ellen daughter of Richard de Pemberton quitclaimed to Alice all her right in a messuage called the Hollinhead in Parr; ibid. n. 2376.
51 He was defendant to a claim made by Robert son of Henry de Parr; Assize R. 1321, m. 10 d.
52 Kuerden MSS, vi, fol. 86, n. 212; Richard son of Patrick the Smith and Agnes his wife granted to John de Parr an acre in Sutton in 1320–1. He was perhaps the John son of Henry de Parr of 1328; De Banc. R. 274, m. 59 d.
53 Adam de Parr in 1342 brought a claim for novel disseisin against Richard son of Henry de Parr, Alan son of Richard de Parr, lords of the manor, and Alice widow of Robert de Parr; Assize R. 1435, m. 47. Shortly afterwards Alice seems to have married the claimant, though she must have been an elderly woman; De Banc. R. 348, m. 235 d. From this case it appears that Adam's title was derived from Henry de Parr.
54 The land was granted before 1193 by William son of Dolfin; Birch Chapel (Chet. Soc.), 189; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), i, 675. It is mentioned in the Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 375.
55 Laghoke, 1291; Lathok, 1292; Laghok, 1347.
56 So in the Inq. p.m. o Sir Thomas Parr already cited; about 1540 William Parr paid 12d. for a messuage called Laghoke, according to the rental in Kuerden, v, fol. 84.
57 Pat. 17 Eliz. pt. v; to John Dudley and others, a capital messuage, &c. called Laghogge in the tenure of Richard Parr; lately the estate of William marquis of Northampton. In 1585 Thomas Norris secured from Sir Gilbert Gerard, Master of the Rolls, and Anne his wife, a messuage and lands in Laffog, Windle, and Windleshaw; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 47, m. 23.
58 Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvi, n. 51. There were numerous suits with neighbouring landowners; Ducatus Lanc. iii, 275, &c. Shortly afterwards, in 1600, Thurstan eldest son of John Parr claimed possession from Thomas Fox and others; ibid. iii, 424. These were probably occupiers only. In 1617–8 Sir Thomas Tyldesley and Thomas Tyldesley his son and heir held a manor in Parr; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 91, n. 38.
59 Wigan de Laghok had land here in 1246, claimed by Richard de Flixton as his by descent; the claim was not prosecuted; Assize R. 404, m. 8. Roger de Laghoke was plaintiff against the lords of the manor in 1291; they had, he said, prevented him taking estovers, viz. housebote and heybote, in 40 acres of wood, as well as mast for his pigs; they had also raised a hedge across the direct way to the wood of Laghok, so that now he had to go nearly two leagues round, and the road to the pasture was also closed by it. The jurors ordered the hedge to be pulled down, but agreed that Roger had sufficient mast outside the 40 acres of wood recently enclosed. Assize R. 1294, m. 8. Hugh de Laghoke was non-suited in a claim against Roger in 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 54 d. William son of Hugh de Laghok gave a release of claim in Platt in Withington in 1314; Birch Chapel (Chet. Soc.), 192. Henry de Laghok and Alice his wife were with companions in 1343 accused of having in May the previous year invaded certain lands at Parr, 'with force and arms, to wit, with swords, bows and arrows.' The complainants were Robert son of Adam de Parr, Alice widow of Roger de Laghok, and John, Roger's son; Assize R. 430, m. 3, 3 d. In 1367 John son of Roger de Laghoke was plaintiff in a suit against Henry de Laghoke and Alice his wife; Assize R. 1435, m. 39d.
60 In 1466 Robert Hindley was plaintiff against John Parr, son of Robert; Charles Parr, Thomas Parr, Henry Parr; Robert Parr, son of Nicholas; William Parr; Robert Parr, son of John—all described as 'gentlemen'—and others. It appears that Alice Hindley, plaintiff's wife, had been seized and detained, together with some of his goods. Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 30, m. 9, 10. Robert de Parr, the father of Nicholas, had married, no doubt as his second wife, a certain Alice, who seems to have been a Hindley; at least, lands were given by Gilbert de Hindley to Robert and Alice and their issue. They had three sons—Matthew and Gilbert, who died childless, William, who had a daughter Alice, the wife of Robert Hindley, the plaintiff in this case; also three daughters—Sibyl, Maud, and Cecily; ibid. R. 40, m. 21. Eight years later Robert Hindley and Alice his wife and John Parr were plaintiffs against Thurstan Parr; ibid. R. 41, m. 11. In 1475 the first two appeared against Thurstan Parr and Ralph his son; Roger Parr, son of Edward; Alice Parr, and others, as to a seizure of their goods; ibid. R. 43, m. 3; R. 44, m. 6. The following year Thurstan Parr accused Hugh Hindley of Hindley, Robert Hindley and Alice, and others, of damaging his corn and grass; ibid. R. 44, m. 6d. Also R. 45, m. 5, and R. 47, m. 16. See further in the account of Aspull; also Ducatus Lanc. i, 163, &c. Hugh Hindley was in 1531 found to have held two messuages and lands of the earl of Derby, but the services were unknown; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, n. 22.
61 An account of this recusant family is given in Gillow's Bibliog. Dict. of Engl. Cath. v, 219, where many particulars may be seen; 'family manuscripts' are referred to as authorities.
62 Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath. Non-jurors, 127. The following small 'Papists'' estates were also registered: John Platt, collier; Roger Barton of Liverpool; and William Berry; ibid. 97, 120, 122.
63 e.g., the Worsleys of Pemberton and Asshaws of Flixton; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xv, n. 29; xvi, n. 11. Edmund Taylor of Burton Wood died in 1624, holding a messuage in Parr of the earl of Derby; and his son Ralph died in 1641, leaving a son and heir Edmund, seven years of age; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 418; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxix, n. 11. William Martin died in 1640, holding a part of Laffog demesne; Bryan, his son and heir, was twenty-four years old; ibid. xxx, n. 28.
64 Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 241.
65 Royalist Comp. P. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 305; iv, 126.
66 Lay Subs. 250–9. The largest house was Mrs. Chamberlain's, with eleven hearths; then follow Widow Callan, 6, Mr. Eccleston, 5, and Ralph Platt, 4. See also Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xvi, 135.
67 Lond. Gaz. 15 Sept. 1863.
68 Liverpool Cath. Ann. 1901, where the succession of the priests is given. Also Gillow, op. cit.
The recusant roll of 1628 gives thirty names in Parr.


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