Townships: Carleton

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1912.

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'Townships: Carleton', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7, (London, 1912) pp. 228-231. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol7/pp228-231 [accessed 18 March 2024]

In this section

CARLETON

Carlentun, Dom. Bk.; Karleton, 1241; Karlton, 1258; Carleton, 1294.

This township has an area of 2,031½ acres, (fn. 1) and in 1901 there were 684 inhabitants. It had three ancient divisions: Great Carleton in the centre Little Carleton to the south and Norcross in the north; as in the case of Poulton the hamlet in each case stands on ground rising a little above the general low level. The hamlet of Great Carleton has more recently been taken to include Norcross, and its area is 1,224 acres; while Little Carleton, which has three detached portions, one of them within Bispham, has 807½ acres.

The principal road is that going north from Blackpool to Fleetwood. It passes through each of the three hamlets; from Great Carleton a branch goes east to Poulton, and to the north a road from Bispham to Poulton crosses it at Four Lane Ends. The Poulton to Blackpool branch of the Wyre railway crosses the southern part of Carleton, going south-west; there is a station named Bispham.

There was formerly a cuck-stool in Great Carleton. (fn. 2)

The soil is a strong loam, and dairy farming is the chief industry.

The township has a parish council.

Manors

In 1066 CARLETON was assessed as four plough-lands and formed part of the Preston fee of Earl Tostig. (fn. 3) About a century afterwards it is found to be a member of the Wyresdale lordship of the Lancaster family, (fn. 4) of whom it was held by the heirs of Richard son of Roger, the lord of Woodplumpton. (fn. 5) In 1242 it was held in two moieties, called Little and Great Carleton, by Roger Gernet and Robert de Stockport respectively, (fn. 6) but, as will be seen below, the subsequent history cannot be traced clearly. (fn. 7)

A considerable portion was granted in alms to different religious houses. Four oxgangs of land were granted to Lytham Priory by its founder. (fn. 8) The same amount was given to Cockersand Abbey, (fn. 9) and augmented by 1 or 2 oxgangs. (fn. 10) To the Hospital of St. John Baptist outside the North Gate, Chester, an oxgang and a half of land was given (fn. 11); a meadow and a small piece of land were granted to Stanlaw Abbey. (fn. 12)

GREAT CARLETON was held by William son of Swain about 1200. (fn. 13) He was succeeded by his brother Walter, (fn. 14) whose son William became a knight. (fn. 15) In 1246 this William de Carleton called upon Robert de Stockport as mesne tenant to acquit him of the services demanded by William de Lancaster, including suit to the three weeks court at Garstang. (fn. 16) He had to renew his plea ten years later, when Agnes de Lancaster revived the claim, and then Robert agreed to acquit him accordingly. (fn. 17) Sir William was succeeded by a son Walter, (fn. 18) living in 1281, (fn. 19) but from that time little seems to be known of the family. (fn. 20) Their estate appears to be the 'manor of Carleton,' afterwards held by the Lawrences of Ashton near Lancaster, (fn. 21) and after the partition among their heirs lands in Carleton are found in the possession of Rigmaiden, (fn. 22) Butler, (fn. 23) Skillicome, (fn. 24) and Molyneux. (fn. 25) There seems to have been a partition, (fn. 26) Richard Skillicorne receiving Carleton, no doubt the 'manor of Great Carleton' which was in 1608 in the hands of Lawrence Livesey and Elizabeth his wife. (fn. 27) The Livesey estate was in that year purchased by Richard Shireburne of Stonyhurst. (fn. 28) A second fourth part was acquired by Evan Haughton, so that he had a moiety, which in 1614. was held by Richard Haughton and Margaret his wife. (fn. 29) Later it likewise was called the 'manor of Great Carleton,' (fn. 30) and was sold to Edward Moore of Bank Hall, (fn. 31) and probably sold by his heir to the Shireburnes, for their 'manor' was the only one known in later times. (fn. 32) In 1572 Sir Richard Shireburne had purchased the fourth part of an estate—no 'manor' is named—in Great Carleton, &c., from Lancelot Bold and Grace his wife. (fn. 33) The whole descended to Edward Joseph Weld of Lulworth, who about 1866 sold his interest to a number of small proprietors. (fn. 34)

NORCROSS in Great Carleton was at an early time held by a Norcross family, (fn. 35) but by 1281 had come into the hands of John de Shireburne and Eva his wife, being probably her inheritance. (fn. 36) It descended with the other Shireburne estates, (fn. 37) but no doubt became merged in the manor of Great Carleton. The manor courts were held at Norcross. (fn. 38)

LITTLE CARLETON was held by Henry de Whittington, who was a son of William son of Swain about 1230. (fn. 39) He was succeeded by a son Henry surnamed de Carleton. (fn. 40) The descent cannot be traced clearly. In 1347 among the tenants of William de Coucy's lordship of Wyresdale was Henry de Carleton holding a plough-land and a half in that town by knight's service. (fn. 41) Thomas Carleton, (fn. 42) who died in 1499, held similarly of the king, Margaret Countess of Richmond and John Rigmaiden as of their manor of Wyresdale. (fn. 43) His son George Carleton then twenty-two years of age, died in 1513 holding of the king and Thomas Rigmaiden, and leaving as heir a son William, aged eleven. (fn. 44) William's son Lawrence, who died in 1558, was the last of the male line. He held a capital messuage in Little Carleton called the Hall of Carleton, and various messuages, &c., in both parts of the township, of the duchy by knight's service. His heir was a sister Margery, thirty years of age, then wife of Thomas Almond. (fn. 45) She sold in 1561 to James Massey, (fn. 46) who recorded a pedigree as 'of Carleton' in 1567 (fn. 47); but the manor was claimed by the Singletons of Staining, (fn. 48) in which family it descended for some time, (fn. 49) and is then lost to sight. The hall went to decay. (fn. 50)

Massey of Carleton. Quarterly gules and argent, in the second quarter a mullet sable.

Of the minor owners but few occur in the records. (fn. 51) The chief family seems to have been that of Bamber of the Moor. (fn. 52) The tenure of James Bamber's land in Poulton in 1617 was a curious one—viz. of the heirs and assigns of William Oudlawe by ½d. rent. (fn. 53) William, his son and heir, was eight years old. Richard Bamber, perhaps brother of James, paid £10 in 1631, having declined knighthood. (fn. 54) The family adhered to Roman Catholicism, and one of the sons, John, was captain of a company in the king's service in the Civil War. (fn. 55) Another son, Edward, educated abroad and ordained priest, was sent on the English mission; after being imprisoned more than once he was captured in Lancashire, and after three years' imprisonment executed as a traitor at Lancaster 7 August 1646. (fn. 56) The family removed to Aughton, near Ormskirk, but retained their estate in Carleton till 1737. (fn. 57)

An oratory was allowed to Henry de Whittington in Little Carleton about 1240, (fn. 58) but it does not seem to have continued. (fn. 59)

Footnotes

  • 1. The Census Rep. 1901 gives 2,013 acres, including 5 of inland water. The diminution in area is accounted for by the transfer of the detached part of Little Carleton (Horseman's Hill), lying within Bispham, to the latter township in 1877; Loc. Govt. Bd. Order 6910.
  • 2. Thornber, Blackpool, 281.
  • 3. V.C.H. Lancs, i, 288a. The later assessment seems to have been three plough-lands only; perhaps one was added to Poulton.
  • 4. Ibid. 357, n. 13.
  • 5. Avice daughter of Richard son of Roger granted 3 oxgangs of land to Richard son of Robert de Carleton at a rent of 9s.; Lytham D. at Durham, 3 a, 2 ae, 4 ae, Ebor. no. 7. See also 4 a, 2 ae, 4 ae, Ebor. no. 6.
  • 6. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 154. Quenilda widow of Roger Gernet died in 1252 holding one plough-land in Carleton of the heir of Sir William de Lancaster by knight's service. She received nothing but 1d. farm at Michaelmas; ibid. 190.
  • 7. See the account of Little Carleton.
  • 8. Richard son of Roger, with the consent of his wife Margaret and his heirs, gave half a plough-land of his demesne in Carleton in alms; Lytham D. at Durham, 2 a, 4 ae, Ebor. no. 3. Some of the deeds are in Kuerden MSS. iii, C 1. Richard Prior of Durham and the convent gave Henry de Whittington 4 oxgangs of land in Carleton which they had had from Richard son of Roger, at a rent of half a mark yearly payable to Lytham Priory; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 67. Henry's acknowledgement of liability is at Durham; Lytham D. Misc. no. 477. Henry son of William son of Swain gave his son Michael 4 oxgangs of land in Carleton which he had received from the Prior of Lytham; Add. MS. 32106, no. 797. Henry's parentage is thus shown. The same Henry had had a grant of the water in the marsh between Poulton and Little Carleton from John son of Waldeve of Poulton for the rent of a pair of white gloves (or 1d.) payable at Lancaster fair; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 75. William de Carleton and Thomas his brother were witnesses.
  • 9. William son of Swain gave 4. oxgangs of his land in Carleton in free alms, reserving the 4 oxgangs he held in demesne and another 4 in Norcross; Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc), i, 143. This was confirmed by Walter his brother and heir, who added a further piece of land to endow a light during masses for the faithful at Cockersand; ibid. 144. Thomas de Norcross gave an acre in Norcross near Restinglaw, and his brother, William de Carleton, added half an oxgang in the same part of the township. This gift was confirmed by Walter son and heir of Sir William, and was occupied about 1270 by Henry de Haydock for a rent of 12d.; ibid. 144–6. In 1271 the canons made an exchange with Walter de Carleten, giving eleven 'falls' on the Hull (north of Walter's house) for eleven on the Smithy flat; ibid. 150. The half oxgang in Norcross was in 1322 held by Richard Boteler of Marton by a rent of 12d.; Inq. p.m. 16 Edw. II, no. 59. For the rentals 1451 to 1537 see Chartul. iii, 1266–7. The Cockersand lands were in 1560 granted by the Crown to Giles Parker, &c., to be held of the manor of East Greenwich in socage; Pat. 2 Eliz. pt. iv.
  • 10. Richard son of Roger gave an oxgang of land in alms; Cockersand Chartul. i, 143. William de Millum and Avice his wife, daughter of Richard son of Roger, gave an oxgang of land in Little Carleton, with toft and croft, and with the toft of a second oxgang lying towards a messuage formerly the Prior of Lytham's, and they gave also a piece of land in Hayholme in Little Carleton, viz. as much as pertained to 9½ oxgangs of land; ibid, i, 141–2, 326. Isoud daughter of Henry de Whittington gave 8 acres and 6 acres of her land, lying together on Langfield in Hayholme, adjoining the other Cockersand land and abutting towards Bispham Church; ibid. 145–6. Henry (de Carleton) son of Henry de Whittington also gave an acre, extending from Milanesmur west to the road from Great Carleton; ibid. 147. He also made other gifts, from which it appears that his part (Little Carleton) was nominally two plough-lands, for the sixteenth part of Ellercarr meadow pertained to the oxgang of land given by Richard son of Roger, and a sixteenth part of the waste; ibid. 147–50. Afterwards, as will be seen, it was considered to be a plough-land and a half. A number of place-names occur in the charters. The Abbot of Cockersand made claims against various persons in Little Carleton in 1297; De Banco R. 151, m. 159 d.
  • 11. Roger the prior and the brethren of the hospital gave Henry de Whittington the said oxgang and a half, with the sons of Maud de Carleton, lately the tenant, at a rent of 12d. payable at Chester fair. Should any dispute occur Henry and his heirs were to maintain the title by warrant of the charter which the hospital had had from Hugh de Moreton and Margaret his wife, daughter of Richard son of Roger; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 73b. Henry de Walton and Richard de Meath were among the witnesses, so that the date was about 1230.
  • 12. Henry de Whittington gave 3 acres on the south aide of Little Carleton, while Henry son of Henry de Carleton gave a meadow called Ellercarr in Little Carleton. The bounds of this meadow began at the ditch of Cecily de Layton, where it went down to Staining ditch, and extended east to Blacklache and west to Stockenbridge; Henry reserved the watercourse for the use of his mill. The former grant was confirmed by Robert de Stockport; Whalley Couch. (Chet. Soc), ii, 444–6. About 1540 'Whitbent' was occupied by William Carleton at a rent of 1s. 6d.; ibid, iv, 1244.
  • 13. See the Cockersand grants above quoted for the pedigree. From them it appears that this part was assessed as 12 oxgangs of land. William son of Swain in 1194–5 paid 100s. for the royal pardon after the rebellion of John Count of Mortain; Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 90.
  • 14. Walter son of Swain in 1202–3 owed 1 mark for licence to withdraw a plea; ibid. 170. In 1212 he held land in Great Eccleston; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 3.
  • 15. William de Carleton appears to have succeeded before 1226, when he obtained the wardship of his brother Michael's heir; Excerpta e Rot. Fin. (Rec. Com.), i, 136. He was collector of a subsidy in 1235 and a juror in 1244; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 142, 160. As shown in the text he was living in 1256. He is frequently styled 'knight,' e.g. Whalley Couch. ii, 444.
  • 16. Assize R. 404, m. 5.
  • 17. Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 120.
  • 18. He is mentioned in 1256; ibid, i, 128. He was a juror in 1257; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 210.
  • 19. He was in that year called to warrant by John de Shireburne; De Banco R. 41, m. 21 d. His possessions seem to have extended over a wide area, for about 1280 as Walter son of Sir William de Carleton he gave his son William the homage and service of Sir Richard le Boteler for lands in Inskip and Eccleston, Adam Laumwale in Norbreck, Richard (son of Sir Richard) le Boteler and John de Thornton in Marton and Lohonis, Roger de Warton in Warton, Hugh de Formby in Formby, Alan le Norreys and John son of William son of Edwin in Ravenmeols; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 83.
  • 20. Margery widow of William de Carleton claimed dower in land in Carleton in 1298 against Walter son of John de Shireburne and the Abbot of Cockersand; De Banco R. 122, m. 103. The lords in 1317 appear to have been John de Shireburne and Eva his wife and Randle le Gentyl, for they claimed the marriage of Richard son of Richard Boteler (of Marton) as a tenant by knight's service; De Banco R. 218, m. 176. An oxgang of land in Carleton was in 1340 included in a settlement by Robert de Washington the elder and Agnes his wife; Final Conc, ii, 113. Agnes was daughter and heir of Randle le Gentyl (note 40). See also Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 362.
  • 21. Robert Lawrence in 1450 held a moiety of the manor of Carleton of the king as of his duchy of Lancaster in socage by 1d. rent; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 56. The rent is the same as that formerly received by Quenilda Gernet, but her estate appears to have been Little Carleton. Sir James Lawrence, son of Robert, held similarly; ibid. 132.
  • 22. Thomas Rigmaiden of Wedacre in 1520 held his lands in Carleton and Sowerby of the king by the tenth part of a knight's fee; Duchy of Lanc. Inq, p.m. x, no. 65.
  • 23. The Carleton lands of John Butler of Rawcliffe were in 1534 said to be held of the king in socage; ibid, vii, no. 4. His daughter Eleanor inherited, but in 1557 her lands were found to have been held by knight's service; ibid, x, no. 19.
  • 24. Richard Skillicorne died in 1534 holding eight messuages, &c., in Carleton of the king as of his duchy by 1d. rent. His heirs were four daughters—Joan, who married Thomas Chaddock; Elizabeth, George Livesey; Anne, Henry Marsh; and Ellen, Evan Halghton or Haughton; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. x, no. 25. Evan Haughton and Joan his wife, in conjunction with Joan, Elizabeth and Anne, daughters and co-heirs of Richard Skillicorne, granted land in Carleton in 1550 to Henry Halsall of Prescot and Isabel his wife; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 262b.
  • 25. Carleton is named among the Clifton lands held by Sir William Molyneux and Elizabeth his wife in 1532; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 155, m. 8 d.
  • 26. Ibid. 163, m. 20, where the descent of the heirs of Lawrence is set forth.
  • 27. Lawrence Livesey of Sutton in Prescot was son of George and Elizabeth; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 189. In 1563 (1573) Elizabeth, as widow of George Livesey, made a feoffment of the Skillicorne lands; after her death they were to descend to her son Lawrence; Towneley MS. HH, no. 1540. A fourth part of the estate was in 1569 held by Thomas Foxe and Elizabeth his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 31, m. 160.
  • 28. Shireburne Abstract Bk. at Leagram. George Hull and eight others appear to have purchased a number of messuages, &c., in Great Carleton in 1608; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 73, no. 62.
  • 29. Evan Haughton purchased from Thomas Chaddock and Joan his wife their fourth part of the manor in 1566; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 28, m. 99. Evan Haughton of Pennington died in 1608 holding a moiety of eight messuages, &c., in Carleton of the king by ½d. rent; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 125. His son and heir was the Richard named in the text, who with his wife enfeoffed Edward, James and William Stanley of the manor of Great Carleton, with lands there and in Warton, Lancaster, &c.; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 85, no. 16.
  • 30. a Richard Haughton died in 1630 holding the manor of Great Carleton, with various lands, of the heirs of George Carleton by fealty only. The heir was a son Evan, aged forty. By an indenture of 1614 the remainders were to Dorothy and Francis Haughton; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 523.
  • 31. He purchased it from Mrs. Dorothy Shelvock, 'daughter to that Mr. Haughton which lived in Wavertree Lanc'; Irvine, Liverpool in time of Chas. II, 68–9. Among the Moore D. at Liverpool are leases of houses, &c., at Great Carleton by Richard Haughton of Wavertree and Margaret his wife; no. 765–6. Alexander Rigby of Burgh seems to have been tenant in 1649, leasing Carleton Hall and the demesne lands to Everill widow of Edmund Fleetwood; ibid. no. 767. Sir Cleave Moore and Margaret Moore spinster held the moiety of the manor of Great Carleton in 1691; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 226, m. 22. From the Shireburne abstract book it appears that Sir N. Shireburne purchased in 1701–2 some at least of Sir Cleave Moore's estate; the 'manor' is not named.
  • 32. Baines, Lancs, (ed. 1836), iv, 439– 40. The manor of Carleton or Great Carleton was regularly entered among the family estates in the 18th century; e.g. Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 452, m. 7 (1690, Carleton); 544, m. 13 (1737, Great Carleton); 625, m. 10 d./16.
  • 33. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 34, m. 56.
  • 34. Baines, Lancs, (ed. 1870), ii, 519.
  • 35. From the Cockersand charters already quoted it appears that Thomas de Norcross was a son of Walter de Carleton, son of Swain, and that Norcross was rated as half a plough-land.
  • 36. In the year named Christiana widow of Thomas de Norcross claimed dower in a messuage and 2½ oxgangs of land in Norcross against John and Eva; De Banco R. 43, m. 3. A later note shows the origin of another part of the Shireburne estate in Great Carleton (1348).
  • 37. Robert Shireburne died in 1492 holding lands in Carleton and Norcross of George Carleton in socage; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 92. His son Sir Richard in 1513 was said to hold in Carleton of the heirs of George Carleton and in Norcross of the Abbot of Dieulacres; ibid, iv, no. 46. This statement is repeated later. In 1594 Norcross was called a manor, but the tenure was not recorded; ibid, xvi, no. 3. A 'manor of Carleton' was said to be held by Sir Richard Shireburne of Stonyhurst in 1579 (Feet of F.) and 1594 and by his son Richard in 1628. The tenure was unknown.
  • 38. Fishwick, op. cit. 19; he states that 'the manorial rights were sold with Norcross Farm.'
  • 39. See the notes on the Lytham and Cockersand holding above; as Walter was the brother and heir of William, Henry must have been illegitimate. Henry de Whittington occurs in 1222–6; Lancs, Inq. and Extents, i, 131, 134. He was rector of Whittington—hence his surname—and is called a clerk; Lytham D. at Durham, 4 a, 2 ae, 4 ae, Ebor. no. 2.
  • 40. Henry de Carleton—probably there were two of the name in succession— occurs from 1258 to 1297; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 211, 297, &c. Henry de Carleton the elder and Amabil his wife in 1283 leased to Henry le Boteler of Rawcliffe for seven years an oxgang of land with house formerly tenanted by Roger the Carpenter, another oxgang (without a house) occupied by Richard de Kendal, a third (with house) formerly held by Robert the man of Gervase, and other lands, with easements appurtenant in Little Carleton; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 82a. Walter de Carleton was a witness.
  • 41. Inq. p.m. 20 Edw. III (2nd nos.), no. 63. Henry de Carleton at that time held land in Great Carleton also, and in 1348 he and his wife Margery complained of disseisin there by Alice widow of Sir Robert de Shireburne, Agnes widow of Robert de Washington, William de Edresford, Adam Anyon and John Beaver. As to one moiety Alice replied, saying she held by gift of the Abbot of Cockersand and of John de Shireburne; as to the other moiety Agnes said she entered as heir of her father Randle le Gentyl. The jurors said that Henry and Margery were lords of a moiety of the vill, and had been disseised by the defendants, except as to the portion held of the Abbot of Cockersand; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 81a; Assize R. 1444, m. 7. It appears that Alice and Agnes were sisters. The name of Henry de Carleton occurs 1387 to 1408; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet Soc.), i, 25, 91. One John Carleton and Alice his wife made a settlement of lands in Lancashire, &c., in 1408; Shireburne Abstract Bk. He is probably the John son of Henry Carleton of another deed; ibid. In 1420 the king ordered all proceedings to be suspended against the sureties of Henry de Carleton the elder, Henry the younger, Thomas de Carleton, and William de Carleton of Norcross, bastard, who were absent in the king's service in the parts of Aquitaine; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxiii, App. 18. It appears that Henry de Carleton had been outlawed for debt; ibid. One Thomas son of Nicholas of Little Carleton occurs in 1352; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxxviii, 103.
  • 42. Thomas Carleton of Little Carleton in 1476 granted to feoffees a tenement in Little Carleton, another in Hayholme in Great Carleton, and a meadow called Cardales in Norcross; Add. MS. 32106, no. 791. In 1492 an agreement was made that George son and heir-apparent of Thomas Carleton should marry Elizabeth daughter of Robert Clifton deceased; ibid. no. 800. A deed of about the same time (1491 ?) represents John Carleton as holding the manor of Little Carleton and providing for the wardship and marriage of his son and heir George; Anct. D. (P.R.O.), C 2978.
  • 43. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 49.
  • 44. Ibid, iv, no. 71. Joan widow of Thomas Carleton was still living, as was Elizabeth wife of George. Deeds of William Carleton, including a settlement in 1548 on his son Lawrence's marriage with Margaret daughter of George Singleton of Staining, with remainder to Margery sister of Lawrence, are recited in Fishwick's Poulton, 174, from the Shireburne D.
  • 45. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. x, no. 15. He had arranged that William Singleton (who died before Lawrence) and James Maesey should succeed him for fifteen years, with remainder to William son of Hugh Singleton. In 1557 a settlement of the manor was made by Lawrence Carleton, Thomas Anion and Margery his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 17, m. 45. It thus appears that Anion and Almond were the same.
  • 46. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 23, m. 91.
  • 47. Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 56. He was son of John Massey of Rixton. His estates descended to Veale of Whinney Heys.
  • 48. Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 233, m. 16 d. From the pedigree given it appears that William son of Hugh Singleton died without heirs, on which the estate should go (according to Lawrence Carleton's disposition) to his cousin Thomas son of William Singleton (brother of Hugh) and then to John Singleton, brother of Thomas, the plaintiff in 1573. See also Fish wick, op. cit. 175. John Singleton in 1582 purchased fourteen messuages, &c., in Little Carleton, Poulton and Norcross from Roger Pendlebury and Anne his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 44, m. 65. The Masseys retained part of the estate, including a windmill; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), ii, 117–19.
  • 49. John Singleton of Staining died in 1589 holding the manor of Carleton by knight's service, except 4 oxgangs of land, which were held of Thomas Holcroft; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xv, no. 47. The 4 oxgangs would be the share of Lytham Priory, its estates having been purchased by Sir Thomas Holcroft. The manors of Staining and Carleton continued to be held in conjunction as late as 1689; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 224, m. 150. A considerable estate m the two townships was in 1781 acquired by John Hankinson; ibid. 405, m. 167. What became of the manor of Little Carleton does not appear, but as many of the Carleton family deeds came into the hands of the Shireburnes they may have acquired it about 1690; Shireburne Abstract book.
  • 50. Thornber, writing in 1837, says: 'This hall was situated in the field opposite the farm-house called the Gezzerts, and its ruins are remembered by the present generation'; Blackpool, 281.
  • 51. Robert Clerk of Poulton in 1599 had a messuage in Carleton also; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvii, no. 44. Land in Carr meadow in Great Carleton was in 1557–8 claimed by Alice widow of William Hull, who afterwards married Thomas Pateson; Ducutus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), i, 298; ii, 231. Hull family deeds at Agecroft show that Richard Hull of Carleton, whose will was dated 1703, had land called Highfalong from his fatherin-law Richard Rossall, whose family resided there in the 17th century. The family and their relatives the Bucks acquired a considerable estate in the district. John Hull, vicar of Poulton 1835–64, was son of Dr. John Hull, the botanist, who was son of John Hull of Carleton and Poulton, apothecary; Fishwick, op. cit. 85.
  • 52. William Bamber, perhaps of this family, purchased a messuage, &c., at Norcross and Great Carleton in 1565 from William Butler; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 27, m. 15.
  • 53. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc.), ii, 74. James Bamber was of the Moor in Carleton, as appears by the registers, but his lands were in Poulton and Great Bispham.
  • 54. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 221. Richard's will was proved in 1636, his estate descending to his eldest son Thomas; Fishwick, op. cit. 180. There is, however, an inquisition after the death of one Richard Bamber of Layton and Carleton, in which he is stated to have died in 1639. The tenure of his estate in Carleton was not known. The heir was a son Thomas, aged thirtysix; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 58.
  • 55. War in Lancs. (Chet. Soc), 19, 25. John Bamber's estate—he is called 'of Layton'—was in 1652 ordered for sale by the Parliament; Index of Royalists (Index Soc.), 42. He had died in the Isle of Man in 1651, and his son Richard in 1653 petitioned for the discharge of the Lower Moor, in which his father, 'a Papist and delinquent,' had had a life interest in accordance with the settlement by Richard Bamber the grandfather in 1636; Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 120–4. Captain Roger Bamber of the Moor was in 1650 guardian of Edward Bamber, aged about ten, his kinsman, whom he was bringing up in the Protestant religion, the father's estate being sequestered for recusancy and delinquency; ibid. 124. Edward was probably a younger son of John, but in Cal. Com. for Comp. iv, 2644, he is called son of Edward.
  • 56. Challoner, Missionary Priests, no. 184; Gillow, Bibl. Dict, of Engl. Cath. i, 120–2. The cause of his beatification was allowed to be introduced at Rome in 1886; Pollen, Acts of Martyrs, 382. The story is inaccurately given by Challoner, if this be the Edward Bamber alias Leonard Helmes who was arrested at Plymouth in 1626 on a ship bound to Newhaven. He had studied at St. Omers and Seville, and had been ordained priest; Cal. S. P. Dom. 1625–6, p. 487. He conformed and was pardoned; ibid. 1627–8, p. 84. A little later an Edward Bamber was labouring in Lancashire; Misc. (Cath. Rec. Soc.), i, 115.
  • 57. John Bamber as a 'Papist' registered his estate in 1717; Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath. Nonjurors, 112. His son Thomas left his estates to his nephew Thomas, son of Robert Brownbill of Liverpool, who became a bankrupt; Gillow, op. cit. i, 122; Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 272, from R. 18 of Geo. II at Preston, &c.
  • 58. Lanc. Ch. ii, 428–30. Henry might maintain a priest at his own expense, but no injury to the tithes or other rights of the parish church was to be caused. As a guarantee he gave a rent-charge of 3s. on his water-mill in Carleton to the Prior and monks of Lancaster. Henry his son made a further agreement with the monks; ibid. 433.
  • 59. Robert the Chaplain occurs in 1332; Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 64.