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Townships
Kirkby Ireleth

Sponsor

Victoria County History

Publication

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8

Author

William Farrer & J. Brownbill (editors)

Year published

1914

Pages

392-400

Citation

'Townships: Kirkby Ireleth', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8 (1914), pp. 392-400. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53341 Date accessed: 21 November 2009. > Add to my bookshelf

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Contents

KIRKBY IRELETH
Manor Footnotes

KIRKBY IRELETH

Gerleworde, Dom. Bk.

Kyrkeby, c. 1160.

Kirkeby Irelith, c. 1200; Kyerkelith, 1201; Kyrkeby Yrlith, 1227. The local pronunciation is Kirby Irleth.

As there is an Ireleth adjacent to this township at the north end of Dalton, the name may anciently have been applied to the district, the northern half being distinguished as Kirkby Ireleth on a division. The modern postal name is Kirkby-in-Furness. The whole township has an area of 9,702½ acres (fn. 1) and has five customary divisions: Low Quarter, beside the Duddon estuary, 2,571½ acres; Middle Quarter, to the north, 1,047 acres; Heathwaite, 1,393 acres; Woodland, which has a detached part at the extreme north end, 1,315 acres; and Kirkby Moor, a narrow strip along the hills which bound the township on the east, 3,376 acres. The parish church stands at Beckside in Low Quarter, close to the boundary of Middle Quarter. The population of the whole was 1,477 in 1901.

Beckside hamlet is nearly a mile from the shore, being hidden from it by a slight hill, at the western foot of which is Sandside. Further south are the hamlets of Soutergate, Bank House and Gargreave. The surface on the east rises towards the hills. Middle Quarter is more hilly, but has level ground near Kirkby Pool, which bounds it on the west; about the centre is the hamlet called Chapels; Hallsteads is further north; and Grizebeck and Beanthwaite on the border of Heathwaite. This is a district of hills, divided by valleys opening from south-west to northeast; in its north-west corner is an open tract of moss-land. There are several extensive woods in this quarter. Woodland also is hilly, with some scattered woods, and has level and open land along Steers Pool, the boundary on the west. The chapel is about the centre, with Th;;rnthwaite to the south, Raisthwaite and Green Moor to the east and northeast; the detached part to the north is a wood called Haverigg Holme. Kirkby Moor, as stated, is the fell country at the back of the township; the peaks and spurs, rising in places to over 1,000 ft., are divided by many valleys, and contain circles, cairns and other signs of the primitive inhabitants.

The principal road is that north from Dalton through Soutergate and Grizebeck to Broughton. It has a branch to the shore at Sandside and to Beckside eastward, ascending the hills to cross to Ulverston. From this road grand views are obtained over the Duddon valley in ascending, and over the Ulverston plain and Morecambe Kay in descending to the east. At Grizebeck it is continued north through Woodland, and has a branch east to Lowick and Spark Bridge. The Furness railway line runs north along the shore, and has a station at Sandside called Kirkby.

The principal industry is that of slate quarrying, the hard blue slate of the hills on the east side having long been in great demand. The soil is gravel with subsoil of stone and slate, and the agricultural land is chiefly in pasture.

The township is governed by a parish council of ten members.

The cross which gave its name to Crosshouse, the old residence of the lords of the manor, is said to have been destroyed by Archbishop Sandys; there were traces of it till recently. (fn. 2)

Manor

In 1066 KIRKBY IRELETH seems to have been part of Earl Tostig's Hougun lordship. (fn. 3) It was in the king's hands in 1086, and in 1127 was included in Stephen's grant of a moiety of Furness to found the abbey, so that the immediate lords were afterwards stated to hold of the abbots. The pedigree of the Kirkby family can be traced to Orm son of Ailward or Eiward, to whom, as formerly stated, Albert Grelley, lord of Manchester, granted a knight's fee in Wrightington, &c, in marriage with his daughter Emma. (fn. 4) Roger son of Orm had a confirmation of Ashton and of Heaton, near Lancaster, from a later Albert Grelley, about 1160. (fn. 5) As Roger de Kirkby he attested a somewhat earlier grant of land in Copeland to Furness Abbey. (fn. 6) William de Lancaster granted Dunnerdale and Seathwaite to Roger, and the gift was confirmed by William's son William to William son of Roger probably about 1175. (fn. 7) The same William son of Roger released to the Abbot of Furness all claim to the advowson of the church at Kirkby. (fn. 8) From this time the descent of the manor is clear. (fn. 9)

Roger de Kirkby, who was the son of William, was about 1200 accused of being concerned in the death of Matthew son of Simon, and offered the king 50 marks and two chasours to be allowed his liberty on giving pledges to stand his trial if summoned. (fn. 10) He occurs again in 1212 (fn. 11) and probably died about ten years later, his son Alexander being defendant in 1225. (fn. 12) In 1227 Alexander de Kirkby released to the Abbot of Furness his claim to the advowson of the church (fn. 13) and also to 4 oxgangs of land in Kirkby. (fn. 14) In 1252 he granted the monks a part of Stephengarths adjoining their grange of Dunnerholme. (fn. 15) His younger son John was in possession in 1257 (fn. 16) and died about 1284, (fn. 17) leaving a son Alexander, (fn. 18) whose son and heir John de Kirkby was a minor in 1291, (fn. 19) his wardship being claimed by the Abbot of Furness. The abbot alleged that the manor was held of him by homage and fealty, the service of 30s. a year, ploughing, reaping, entertaining the abbot's grith-serjeant, doing suit at the court of his barony of Furness at Dalton from three weeks to three weeks and rendering a relief, if of full age, of 100s. (fn. 20) The jury refused to acknowledge the right of wardship, it being asserted that Kirkby, Pennington and Aldingham were exceptions in this respect, and John de Kirkby was placed in possession. (fn. 21)

In 1300 John son of Alexander de Kirkby gave his manors of Kirkby Ireleth and Dunnerdale to Robert de Lathom, probably as trustee (fn. 22) ; and later in the year they were restored to the same John and Margery his wife, with remainders to their issue and to the heirs of John. (fn. 23) Sir John de Kirkby acquired lands (fn. 24) and died about 1336, (fn. 25) his widow Margery appearing as defendant in that year. (fn. 26) His son, another Sir John, lived on till about 1382 and many of his deeds are on record. (fn. 27) One of the first, in 1337, was the procuring of a royal charter for free warren in his demesne lands of Kirkby and Dunnerdale and for the inclosure of 500 acres of land, wood and moor there in order to make parks. (fn. 28) In 1349 he did homage to the abbot, under protest that his act was not to prejudice the verdict his father had obtained in 1292. (fn. 29) He made a settlement of his manors of Kirkby and Dunnerdale in 1363, with remainders to Richard son of John, Robert son of Richard and Thomas brother of Sir John. (fn. 30) He added to the family possessions. (fn. 31) A drawing of his seal has been preserved. (fn. 32)


Kirkby of Kirkby. Argent two bars gules on a canton of the last a cross moline or.

Sir Richard, his son and heir, is named as early as 1356 (fn. 33) and held the manors till about 1425. (fn. 34) His eldest son Alexander, who married Isabel daughter of Sir Thomas Tunstall, died about 1402, leaving an infant daughter Isabel. (fn. 35) This led to a number of settlements for the benefit of Sir Richard's sons. (fn. 36) Isabel married Robert son and heir of Sir Robert Ogle, (fn. 37) a Yorkisr, who was summoned to Parliament as Lord Ogle in 1461 (fn. 38) and retained the manors till her death about 1474, (fn. 39) though she is said to have sold her right of inheritance in 1434–5 to Roger Kirkby, Sir Richard's second son. (fn. 40) Roger was succeeded by a son and heir Richard, (fn. 41) who left sons Henry and Richard. (fn. 42) The father as a Lancastrian was convicted of treason in 1461, (fn. 43) but the attainder was afterwards (1485) reversed and his estates allowed to his son Henry. (fn. 44)

Henry Kirkby fought at 'the Scottish Field,' i.e. Flodden, and was wounded. (fn. 45) He died in 1524 holding the manor of Kirkby in Furness with messuages called Crosshouse, &c, of Furness Abbey by knight's service; his heir was his brother Richard, aged forty. (fn. 46) This brother seems to have been a violent man and his attempt to gain possession of the estates led to a brawl in Kirkby Church, which was stayed by the intervention of the parish priest with the Sacrament and of various honest persons; but the priest took off his vestments and refused to say mass. (fn. 47) Richard Kirkby did homage to the Abbot of Furness for the manor in 1533. (fn. 48) He died in 1547 holding the manor of Kirkby with messuages, lands, woods, mills, &c, there of the king as of the late monastery of Furness by the service of one knight's fee; he had lands also in Broughton, Dunnerdale and Wrightington. His son and heir John was only three years old. (fn. 49) John Kirkby died in 1551 and the heir was found to be his kinsman Henry Kirkby, fifty years of age. (fn. 50) He had married Anne daughter of the last Richard Kirkby, (fn. 51) and at his death in 1566 left a son Roger, aged thirty-six. The manor of Kirkby, with lands there and in Torver and Dunnerdale, was said to be held of the queen as of her manor of Furness by the tenth part of a knight's fee. (fn. 52) A survey of the bounds was made about that time. (fn. 53)

Roger made a settlement of his manors in 1582, (fn. 54) and was still living in 1613, when a pedigree was recorded. (fn. 55) His eldest son Richard having died in 1587, leaving a son Roger, aged five, (fn. 56) this Roger succeeded his grandfather, and was about 1627 followed by his son, another Roger, (fn. 57) who died in 1643. This last Roger Kirkby was returned for Lancaster in the Short Parliament of 1640 (fn. 58) and for the county in the Long Parliament later in the same year. As a Royalist he was disabled from sitting in August 1642 (fn. 59) and soon afterwards removed from the list of justices. (fn. 60) In December he was acting as one of Lord Derby's council in Lancashire, being appointed one of the collectors of the subsidy in Lonsdale Hundred (fn. 61) and having charge of Lancaster Castle. (fn. 62) In the summer of 1643 he organized the Royalists of Cartmel and Furness, intending to relieve Thurland Castle, (fn. 63) but seems to have died before any fighting took place. His son Richard, about sixteen years of age, succeeded, and, taking arms against the Parliament, had his estates sequestered. He soon surrendered, taking the Negative Oath in November 1645 and the National Covenant the following August, when he made his petition. He was allowed to compound for a fine of £750 but had also to settle £75 a year on the minister of Hawkshead, he being the lay rector. (fn. 64) He survived the Restoration and it is said he was named as one of the proposed knights of the Royal Oak (fn. 65) ; he served as member for the borough of Lancaster from 1660 till 1681, (fn. 66) and recorded a pedigree in 1664. (fn. 67)

Colonel Richard Kirkby died 9 September 1681, (fn. 68) and was succeeded by his son Roger, born about 1650. Roger Kirkby also succeeded his father in the representation of Lancaster, 1685 to 1702, being regarded as a Tory. (fn. 69) He made a feoffment of his manors in 1689, (fn. 70) and mortgaged Kirkby to a London banker, agent to Catherine Duchess of Buckingham, who acquired it on her agent's insolvency. She left it to her grandson Constantine Phipps, (fn. 71) created Lord Mulgrave in 1767, and he in 1771 sold it to Lord John Cavendish, son of the third Duke of Devonshire. The heir male of Roger Kirkby, who owned Ashlack, was the nominal lord of the manor, but found it so encumbered that he could not clear it, and therefore passed away all right in it. (fn. 72) After Lord John's death (fn. 73) in 1796 the manor became united with the Furness Abbey and Holker estates of the Cavendish family and has since descended in the same way. A chief rent is paid to the Earl of Dalkeith as lord of Furness.

A court baron is held for the manor. The customs of the manor (fn. 74) were thus described in 1774: Each tenant on admittance paid the lord twenty years' rent as a fine; a widow during widowhood was entitled to half her husband's tenement; the tenant forfeited all to the lord for treason or felony, while for wilful perjury he paid twenty years' rent and for petty larceny ten years' rent. No one could let his land for more than seven years without the lord's permission. Every entire tenement had formerly been obliged to keep a horse furnished for the king's service, and to give as a boon a day's ploughing and harrowing. (fn. 75)

KIRKBY HALL, (fn. 76) originally known as the Crosshouse, stands about a mile to the north of Beckside village on an eminence gently sloping to the south, from which side it is approached through a modern avenue of beeches and sycamores leading to an open space in front of the house. The building, now a farm-house, is of two stories, with rough-cast walls, cylindrical chimneys and slated roofs, and externally is of little architectural interest, the windows being all low mullioned openings without transoms, and the roof at the south, or principal, front having an unbroken ridge with overhanging eaves and a hip at the west end, which gives the house a rather undistinguished appearance. The plan, however, is interesting. The hall occupies the middle of the house with a parlour or withdrawing room at the west end, to the north of which is a smaller room, forming a north-west wing under a lower gabled roof. The east wing, which is set at an irregular angle to the front and goes back about 60 ft., contains the kitchen and other rooms on the ground floor and may be the oldest part of the house, (fn. 77) and attached to it at the north end is a small wing running eastward of two stories, which was at one time accessible both from the kitchen and from the room above. To the south-west of the front is a detached building measuring externally 32 ft. by 24 ft., now cut up for farm purposes and a good deal modernized, standing at a different angle, the original use of which can now scarcely be determined. The south front is 76 ft. in length, with low mullioned windows to both stories and a doorway with depressed fourcentred red sandstone arch and splayed and moulded jambs. The door opens to the east end of the hall by a passage, at the north end of which is a circular oak staircase. The partition is modern, but apparently takes the place of an older screen. The hall measures about 25 ft. by 24 ft. up to the partition and is lit on the south side by two windows, one of three lights and the other a bay 8 ft. wide by 5 ft. 6 in. deep, of four lights and one on each return, in the south-west corner. There is also a single-light window, now blocked up, in the north-east corner, and on the north side a fireplace opening 9 ft. wide with segmental arch. From the hall a door opens in the south-west corner to the parlour or withdrawing room, now divided into two by a partition, but originally 24 ft. by 12 ft. 6 in., lit at the south end by a window of four lights and by a widely splayed opening in the west wall to the north of the fireplace. From the north-west corner of the hall an oblique passage with hollow-chamfered doorway leads to a small room now used as a dairy, 13 ft. 6 in. by 9 ft. 9 in., which has been lighted by at least two windows, one only of which, in the north-west corner, a narrow single light, now blocked up, retains its dressings. The east wing contains three rooms on the ground floor, the largest of which, on the north side, measuring 22 ft. by 16 ft. 6 in., is the kitchen. The fireplace opening at the north end is 11 ft. wide, but is now built up and a modern range inserted. In the west face of the chimney recess a small door opens into a closet 5 ft. by 3 ft. in the thickness of the wall, lit by a small window now blocked up, and there is a closet about 9 ft. long on the first floor immediately above. The kitchen is lit by a window on the east side, but there are also a narrow window at the north-west corner and a doorway immediately opposite, leading to the later north-east wing, both of which are built up. The south end of the east wing is occupied by an irregularly shaped room 18 ft. 6 in. by 13ft. 6 in. lighted by a three-light window to the front, and between this and the kitchen is a small room, now used as a coal cellar, originally lit by two narrow windows on the east side, one high up in the wall and oblique. (fn. 78) The staircase is 8 ft. in diameter with solid treads round a plain wood newel and is lighted from the outside and by a narrow opening to the kitchen at the first half-turn.


Plan of Kirkby Hall

The upper floors are at different levels, the hall being higher than the other ground floor rooms in the end wings. The front room of the east wing contains a fireplace with depressed four-centred arch, over which is a plaster panel with floral ornamentation and originally a shield with the arms of Kirkby, the mantling and cap of maintenance of which alone remain. Behind this room and over the 'coal cellar' is a small chamber known as the Skull Room, in which some niches are pointed out in the wall in which human skulls, the legend of which is now forgotten, are said to have stood. Over the hall are two bedrooms and a passage, the bedrooms divided by a partition said to have been formerly covered by oak panelling. (fn. 79)

The west wing had originally a gable to the front, facing down the avenue, the present hipped roof, the west slope of which is continued straight up till it joins the main roof above the hall, being quite modern. The upper floor was occupied by the chapel, a room 26 ft. by 14 ft., the flooring of which has been removed and to which access can now only be obtained by a trap-door in the ceiling of the passage or from the roof above the bedrooms. There was formerly a door to the west wing on the first floor in the corner of the room above the passage from the hall to the dairy, but this is now built up. The 'chapel' is divided into two bays by a king-post roof truss, and there is a three-light mullioned window at the south end and another at the north. It has two oak-framed doors, one of which on the east side led to the rooms above the hall and the other on the north to a room over the present dairy. The chapel, however, is chiefly remarkable for its mural decoration, (fn. 80) which consists of panels with birds, animals, texts and other inscriptions, all painted on plaster. The walls, which are 7 ft. high to the wall-plate, were probably at one time painted all over, but only fragments of the painting now remain, the east wall being the best preserved. It contains the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, with a decorated border dividing and inclosing two panels, the border apparently at one time having been continuous round the chapel. On the south side was the Creed, and there are remains of a text at the north end taken from Cranmer's Great Bible of 1541. On the west side the painting has been obliterated.


Kirkby Hall: South Front

In front of the house there is a small garden inclosed by a fence wall, upon which is a loose detached stone, two sides of which are carved with the arms of Kirkby and Lowther, the shields joined together at the angle by clasped hands, while on the third side are the initials of Roger and Agnes Kirkby with the date 1639, and on the fourth the initials of eleven of their children, five sons and six daughter, The stone, which may have formed part of a sundial, was found in the farmyard.

There were some minor families taking their name from Kirkby. (fn. 81) while others were surnamed from Ashlack, (fn. 82) Heathwaite, (fn. 83) Thornthwaite (fn. 84) and other estates (fn. 85) of which no continuous records exist.

ASHLACK HALL (fn. 86) stands about half a mile to the north-east of Grizebeck village on high ground in a sheltered hollow between the fells; which rise almost immediately behind the house on the north and west, the south side being open. The building, now a farm-house, is of two stories with rough-cast walls and slated roofs and is of late 16th or early 17th-century date, much modernized in the interior. It is cruciform in plan, but the east wing consists of stables and outbuildings, and the north limb, which is short and broad, is the result of alterations about the time of Charles II. The original building was [capital L]-shaped, the longer or south wing measuring 50 ft. 6 in. in length to the interior angle and the west wing 44 ft. All the windows in this portion facing west and south, as well as those at the end of the south wing, are the original low mullioned openings with external hood moulds, all of three lights, with the exception of a two-light window over the entrance, which is in the middle of the south wing, facing west. The door is square-headed with hood mould, and on a plaster panel above is the date 1667 with the initials of William Kirkby, but the date is probably later than this part of the building and was most likely put up at the time when the alterations and additions were made on the north. These consist of a large kitchen 20 ft. 6 in. by 18 ft. 3 in., which, with an adjacent staircase on the north-west, forms the north limb of the cross, and an east wing about 46 ft. in length, now used for farm purposes. The north limb projects only about 11 ft. m face of the main building, but has a frontage of 46 ft. The gables are all quite plain and covered with roughcast and without barge-boards, and the chimneys are of the cylindrical type common in the district. The house is architecturally without much interest. Originally the hall appears to have been at the north end of the south wing, measuring about 25 ft. by 20 ft., lighted by a single window on the west and with stairs leading from it on the east side between two walls. In the south-east corner of the hall are doors leading to two smaller rooms, one probably the withdrawing room, 18 ft. square, divided from it by a wall 6 ft. thick, and the other nearer the stairs, a parlour 13 ft. square, below which are cellars lit by original two-light windows. In the west wing are two rooms divided by a wall 8 ft. thick, one of which was probably the kitchen. The outer one, which is 21 ft. by 17 ft., is known as the Stone Parlour and is now a dairy. The hall is now cut up with modern walls and is reduced in size by the new additions, which encroach on it at the north end, the new kitchen chimney forming a mass of masonry 13 ft. thick in the centre of the house. The additions are loftier than the older parts of the building and the walls are of less thickness. The north wing is lit by tall wooden mullioned and transomed windows and there are remains of blocked windows on the north side of the west wing. The old entrance retains its oak nail-studded door and there is some 18th-century panelling in a large room over the kitchen, now divided by partitions.


Plan of Ashlack Hall

Richard Dodgson and John Whinfield of Kirkby and George Ashburner of Woodland were freeholders in 1600. (fn. 87)

As above shown, Furness Abbey had land in Kirkby. In 1300 the abbot complained of the cutting down of his trees. (fn. 88) In 1535 a rent of 5s. 6d. was drawn from Soutergate. (fn. 89)

The parish church at Beckside has been described above. The chapel at WOODLAND is of preReformation date, but its origin is unknown. (fn. 90) It was served by a 'reader' in 1650; as it had no endowment, the inhabitants contributed a small sum yearly. (fn. 91) It had about £7 a year in 1717. (fn. 92) The minister of Broughton in 1734 obtained the Bishop of Chester's licence for the chapel of Woodland, and going to it on the Sunday was opposed by Mr. Holme, vicar of Kirkby Ireleth, by virtue of the Dean of York's licence. Mr. Holme would not allow the doors to be opened and took the key away with him. At noon, however, the doors were opened—how is not stated—and the minister of Broughton went in, read the prayers and preached a sermon. (fn. 93) It may perhaps be inferred that there was no regular service at Woodland just then. The old chapel, rebuilt in 1689 and 1822, was replaced by the present church of St. John the Evangelist in 1864. (fn. 94) The benefice is styled a rectory (fn. 95) and the patronage is vested in five trustees, of whom the Bishop of Carlisle is one. The net annual value is stated to be £185. (fn. 96) At Grizebeck is the church of the Good Shepherd, opened in 1898, which serves as a chapel of ease. The following have been incumbents:—

—John Kendall
1821William Sandwith
1851Edwin Gilpin
1860Richard Palgrave Manclarke, M.A. (fn. 97) (Wadham Coll., Oxf.)
1868Edwin Charles Shawfield (fn. 98)
1893Henry Arthur Ditchett (fn. 99)
1894James Park, B.A. (fn. 100) (Christ's Coll., Camb.)

There is a Wesleyan Methodist chapel at Marshside. A Baptist chapel near St. Mary's Well in Middle Quarter was opened about 1826. A new chapel was built at Wall-end in 1876, but this is now occupied by 'Christian Brethren,' who purchased the old chapel and then moved to the new one. (fn. 101)

Footnotes

1 The Census Rep. of 1901 gives 8,730 acres, including 15 of inland water; also ii acres of tidal water and 194 of foreshore.
2 Lancs, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xxi, 19. About 1835 the remains of the cross upon a square base and steps stood about 50 yds. from the entrance to Kirkby Hall, being removed when the old oak carvings were taken to Holker Hall; Proc. Barrow Nat. Field Club, xvii, 112.
3 Ireleth was assessed as two ploughlands and Borch as six. There is an Ireleth in Dalton, which may be the one recorded, in which case it is probable that the whole of Kirkby Ireleth parish was included under 'Borch'; V.C.H. Lancs, i, 289b. Land called Boruoghe Heffe in Kirkby Ireleth is mentioned in a later note.
4 Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 55.
5 Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 403.
6 Dtp. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 178; the other witnesses include Eward de Copeland, Ailward de Broughton and Dolfin de Kirkby.
7 Farrer, op. cit. 442.
8 Furness Couch. (Chet. Soc), ii, 318.
9 The pedigree is shown in a pleading of 1276 respecting Ashton-under-Lyne thus: William (temp. Hen. II) —s. Roger —s. Alexander —s. Walter —bro. John de Kirkby, plaintiff; De Banco R. 15, m. 4.
10 Farrer, op. cit. 131, 140; Rot. de Oblatis et Fin. (Rec. Com.), 98.
11 Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 69, at Reddish. He married (perhaps as second wife) a daughter of Gilbert Fitz Reinfred, and in 1216 his eldest son by her, Richard (not named), was one of Gilbert's hostages; Rot. de Oblatis et Fin. 571. Richard, who was confined in Nottingham Castle, was ordered to be released in 1222; Rot. Lit. Claus. (Rec. Com.), i, 497. This Richard was perhaps the ancestor of the earlier Kirkbys of Upper Rawcliffe.
12 Cur. Reg. R. 89, m. 8; a dispute between the Abbot of Furness and Alexander de Kirkby (described as grandson of William son of Roger) respecting the advowson of Kirkby Ireleth. Alexander held Reddish about the same time; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 129.
13 Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 52.
14 Ibid. 50; for this the abbot gave him 5 marks of silver.
15 Furness Couch, ii, 316. Brother Walter Stelle made a ditch round it from the corner of the old hedge as far as Merebeck. The benefactor was to be buried in the abbey.
15 Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 211, 212. In 1278 John claimed a tenement as in Kirkby Ireleth against Roger de Lancaster; Assize R. 1238, m. 31; 1239, m. 39. Sir John de Kirkby and Alexander his son attested a grant by Richard son of Thomas Thirnwath to Gregory son of William de Kirkby; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 211.
About 1285 Alan de Kirkby son of Alexander released certain lands in Burton (? Broughton) to Roger son of Henry de Croft; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxxviii, 565. Alan would be a brother of Sir John.
17 A claim for wood and moor in Kirkby was made by John de Kirkby against Roger de Lancaster in 1284; Assize R. 1265, m. 4 d.
18 By a deed dated in London May 1285 Alexander son and heir of Sir John de Kirkby undertook to satisfy the Abbot of Furness as to the relief and homage for his lands held of the abbey within a week from his return home; Furness Couch, ii, 315.
Sibyl wife of Sir Alexander de Kirkby, with his consent, gave land in Heathwaite to Roger son of William de Wyresdale; Kuerden MSS. loc. cit. She is called Isabel in the assignment of dower; ibid. 311.
19 Assize R. 407, m. 3; the abbot was holding the manor of Kirkby Ireleth, but claimed nothing except custody during the minority.
20 Furness Couch, ii, 310–14, from Assize R. 408, m. 47, 47 d. The abbot said that the Kirkbys' sub-tenants held of them in the same manner, so that John de Kirkby, grandfather of the heir, had had the wardship of Richard son and heir of Thomas Dolfin; and Alexander, father of the heir, had had the wardship of Robert son and heir of Robert de Iminghow and likewise of Robert son and heir of Robert de Ripon.
21 He at once made a claim against the abbot for waste during the wardship; De Banco R. 100 m. 43 d.
22 Final Conc, i, 188.
23 Ibid. 191.
24 William son of Roger son of Gene gave all his land in Kirkby to Sir John; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 211. The situation of the grantor's estate is not known; his father attested several charters.
William son of William de Blankow gave all his land in Braunhow to Sir John, who was to maintain him for life; ibid. fol. 211b. Bernard son of Roger Baret gave to Sir John de Kirkby all his land between Frith and Soutergatc Bit in 1318–19; ibid. fol. 211. Alice widow of Lawrence de Sales gave him all her land in Kirkby in 1327; ibid. fol. 212.
Richard Waberfield, vicar of Kirkby Ireleth, gave to Sir John and Margery his wife all the lands he had had by gift of Adam son of Ralph de Kirkby; ibid. Galiena widow of Adam son of Ralph released to Sir John in 1333 all her claim to dower; ibid. fol. 211b. Sir John and Margery his wife had a grant from John son of Lawrence de Kirkby in 1324–5; ibid. 212; Assize R. 426, m. 1 d., 5. In the following year John son of Alexander de Kirkby made a grant to John son of Alan de Kirkby; Kuerden, loc. cit.
John Travers in 1330 claimed twentyfour years' arrears of the rent of £1 and a robe from John de Kirkby; De Banco R. 284, m. 340.
25 A brief note of his will, dated 1336, is given by Kuerden, loc. cit.
26 De Banco R. 306, m. 16.
27 The writ of diem cl. extr. wag issued early in 1383; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 356.
28 Chart. R. 11 Edw. III, m. 34, no. 70. In 1339 he had an exemption from being placed on assizes; Assize R. 435, m. 23.
29 Furness Couch, ii, 315.
30 Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 212. John de Kirkby had made a feoffment of the manors in 1355, but the uses are not stated; ibid. fol. 212b. Robert was perhaps the brother (not son) of Richard, as in a grant of the manor of Ashton-under-Lyne in 1356; ibid. fol. 211.
One John de Kirkby Ireleth, in prison at Wallingford, was in 1378 pardoned various robberies, &c, charged against him; Cal. Pat. 1377–81, p. 267.
31 In 1337 Alexander son of William son of Thomas de Heathwaite gave to Sir John de Kirkby all his land in Heathwaite, with the reversion of that held by Aline de Raufeld in dower after the death of Thomas his brother, and two years later he made a further grant; Kuerden MSS. iii, K 6.
32 Ibid.; it shows two bars and a canton. The seal of his son Sir Richard in 1418 had a cross on the canton; ibid. K8.
33 As in the grant of Ashton quoted above. In 1359 Richard son of Sir John de Kirkby released to trustees his right in the manors of Kirkby and Dunnerdale; ibid. The father in 1372 granted to Richard his son and Isabel his wife lands in Kirkby Ireleth called Shireland, which had been his son John's; a rent of 10 s. was to be paid and the remainder was to grantor's son Robert; ibid, ii, fol. 211 b. The father was still living in 1379 when Agnes de Wennington, with the consent of her husband Henry de Cole, gave to Richard son and heir of her lord Sir John de Kirkby land called Cowloc in Woodland; ibid. fol. 211.
In 1385–6 Adam son and heir of Thomas del Wood granted to Sir Richard de Kirkby land between Thornthwaite and the bounds of Ruhridding and Raisthwaite; ibid, iii, K 8.
34 Writ of diem cl. extr.; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxiii, App. 27.
35 The descent is recited in a declaration dated 3 Hen. IV; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 222. In 1408 Sir Richard allowed to Isabel widow of Alexander son and heir of Sir Richard a rent of 20 marks; ibid, iii, K 8.
36 In 1407 the feoffees restored to Sir Richard de Kirkby and Isabel his wife the manor of Wrightington, with remainders to Roger son of Richard and Ellen his wife, to Richard brother of Roger and to Roland brother of Richard; ibid, ii, fol. 211 b. The brother of Richard is elsewhere named as Robert (1407) or Ralph (1416); these may be errors of transcription or different sons of Sir Richard. In the following year Richard son of Sir Richard released to trustees his right in the manors of Kirkby and Dunnerdale; ibid. fol. 222. Sir Richard gave Raiand bis son and Margaret hit wife manor and land in Dalton, Ulverston, Torver, Kelton, Senehouse and Bolton for life, with remainder to Richard brother of Roland; ibid.
The trusteea, Sir William de Hoghton and others, in 1408 settled various lands on Sir Richard and his wife for life, with remainders to the sons Roger, Richard and Roland, and daughters Alice, Margery, Elizabeth and Joan; ibid, iii, K 8. In 1416 a settlement of the manors of Kirkby and Dunnerdale on Sir Richard's heirs male was made; ibid. In 1418 lands in those places were settled on the sons and daughters; ibid, ii, fol. 211b. In 1418–20 the manor of Wrightington was given to Roger son of Sir Richard and male issue, with remainders to Roger's brothers and sisters; ibid.
In the time of Henry V there were a number of disputes between the Abbot of Furness and the Kirkby family, the abbot among other things demanding in 1421 food and drink for his bailiff one day a week at Sir Richard's house at Kirkby; Towneley MS. CC, no. 894–6.
37 Sir Robert Ogle in 1423–4 acknowledged the receipt from Sir Richard Kirkby of 5 marks due from the lands of Isabel daughter of Alexander Kirkby, wife of Robert son of the said Sir Robert; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 222b, no. 223. In 1430–1 Sir Robert acknowledged a payment of,£8 13s. 4d. from Isabel lady of Kirkby; ibid. fol. 222, no. 192.
38 G.E.C. Complete Peerage, vi, 116. Lord Ogle succeeded his father in 1437 and died in 1469.
39 Sir Robert Ogle in 1454–5 made his cousin Sir Thomas Harrington his steward in his manors of Kirkby and Dunnerdale; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 222.
Dame Isabel Ogle in 1470 granted a lease of the manors of Kirkby and Dunnerdale to John Hudleston of Millom at 100 marks a year; ibid. fol. 222b. In 1474 was issued a Precipe to Isabel widow of Sir Robert Ogle to hold to a covenant concerning the manors of Kirkby and Dunnerdale made with John Widdrington and Isabel his wife (widow of Sir John Heron), John Heron and Robert Widdrington her sons; Pal. of Lanc. Writs Prothon. file 14 Edw. IV. According to a similar Precipe in 1475 (ibid. Ric. IIIHen. VII), the manors were to be divided between the tons John Heron and Robert Widdrington. See also Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 212b.
40 West, Furness (ed. 1774), 240; the price named is 1,000 marks. The deeds, &c, cited in the last note do not agree with this statement, which may be due to a mistake in reading a deed in Kuerden, by which in 1434–5 Roger Kirkby became bound in 1,000 marks to Sir Robert to abide the award of Sir William Harrington of Hornby; Kuerden MSS. iii, K 8. In 1435–6 Roger Kirkby enfeoffed Thomas Prior of Conishead of all hit lands, &c, in Kirkby and Dunnerdale, except those held for life, with reversion to Sir Robert Ogle and Elizabeth his wife (in her right); ibid, ii, fol. 222, no. 200.
In 1429–30 the trustees granted to Isabel widow of Sir Richard Kirkby various lands, including Raisthwaite, for her life, with remainders to Roger son of Sir Richard, John and Thomas sons of Richard, and Roland son of Robert, and in default of male issue to Sir Richard's daughters; ibid, iii, K 8, no. 227.
Two years later Isabel widow of Sir Richard and Roger Kirkby gave a release of all actions to Margaret widow of Roger Elston; ibid.
In the account of Upper Rawcliffe something has been said at to the uncertainty of the pedigree at this point. It appears that Roger married Ellen daughter of Sir Robert Urswick, and that she was dead in 1421. Roger's wife Ellen has been named in a deed cited above, dated 1407. He afterwards married a Joan, who is named in 1435–6, when lands in Wrightington were assigned to them; ibid, ii, fol. 222. The Upper Rawcliffe estate descended to Ellen's heirs, but not Kirkby; so that the Richard named in the text was probably Joan's son. Roger was living in 1447; ibid, iii, K 8. Joan afterwards married Gamel Pennington, and being by 1471 left a widow a second time released to Roland Thornburgh the Kirkby lands she had had as dower; ibid, ii, fol. 222b.
41 Ibid, iii, K 6; a grant to feoffeet of 'my manor of Colfshalt' (? Crosshall), &c, and lands in Kirkby Ireleth, dated 1456–7.
42 Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 116. Their mother was Anne sister of Sir Roger Bellingham, who was living about 1520; ibid, ii, 24.
43 Parl. R. v, 477; he is styled 'gentleman ' only. His estates were in 1467 granted to Sir John Hudleston; Cal. Pat. 1467–77. P. 40.
44 Parl. R. vi, 291; Henry's petition granted.
45 Duchy Plead, ii, 22; he was never the same man after the battle, having received many great strokes upon hit head.
46 Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. v, no. 58; he had made provision for his wife Anne, his bastard son John Kirkby and a chantry. The remainders were to hit brother Richard, then to the heirs male of Roger Kirkby his grandfather and then to William Kirkby (of Rawcliffe). The following are the houses, &c, named: Crosshouse, Heminghouse, Burnhow, Knotend, Slinehouse with Langmye, Croglinhole, Wellhouse, Thoghes Clote, Beanthwaite and Nether Beanthwaite, Capulside, Lorton, Ransgarth, Grizebeck Mill; some of them were in Torver or Dunnerdale. (There is now a Hinninghouse in Seathwaite.)
Henry Kirkby in 1506–7 granted to his brother Richard and Katherine his wife various tenements in Kirkby; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 221 b. His settlement in 1519 is given ibid, iii, K 7. Katherine was the daughter of John Fleming; Duchy Plead, i, 118.
47 Ibid. 116–19. The manor court was held in the church on Saturday, 17 Dec. 1524, Richard seizing the court roll by force, and the brawl took place on the Sunday morning. Richard, as already stated, took the lands his brother had assigned for the chantry. Anne the widow of Henry gave a box of evidences to the Abbot of Furness for safe keeping.
Richard Kirkby as heir of his brother Henry and son of Richard Kirkby deceased claimed the manors of Kirkby Hall and Kirkby Ireleth and various lands in 1525. Henry had died without issue, but had made an agreement with John Fleming for the marriage of plaintiff with John's daughter Katherine. Anne Kirkby widow of Henry alleged that she had possession for her life; Duchy of Lanc. Plead. Hen. VIII, xv, K 1.
48 Furness Couch, ii, 319; 'in the chamber of the abbot, with head uncovered, on bended knees, having his hands enclosed within the abbot's, he did homage and fealty to the said abbot, and took the oath,' in the presence of Thomas Seyton, steward of Muchland, and others, and promised 100s. as relief.
The free rent due to the abbey from Kirkby in 1535 was 23s. 4d.; Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 269.
49 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. ix, no. 40; also iii, no. 1, an inquiry in consequence of a complaint by Henry Kirkby and Anne his wife (daughter of Richard) alleging that an incorrect return had been made. See also Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 189, m. 4.
An annuity of 20 marks out of the lands of John Kirkby, during minority, was in 1547 granted to Sir Thomas Holcroft; Dtp. Keeper's Rep. xxxix, App. 555
50 Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. ix, no. 20; the pedigree is not here recited, but that recorded in 1613 asserts that the heir was son of Roger a younger son of Roger son of the Sir Richard who died about 1425; Visit. (Chet. Soc), 92. It calls Henry's wife Agnes, and omits a generation. Livery was granted to Henry Kirkby in 1552; Dep. Keeper's Rep. ut sup.
51 In 1556 various messuages, &c, in Kirkby Ireleth and Wrightington were settled on Henry Kirkby and Anne his wife with remainders to Thomas, a younger son, Roger the son and heir-apparent and to Anne and her issue; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 17, m. 149. Thomas appears to have sold part to Roger in 1575; ibid. bdle. 37, m. 36. Also in 1596; ibid. bdle. 59, m. 38.
52 Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xi, no. 21. Anne his widow died about the same time. Her will (1566) mentions her son Roger and Roger's son and heir Richard; Richmond Wills (Surt. Soc), 190.
53 The bounds of the lands of Kirkby of Crosshouse, corresponding with the township of Kirkby, have been copied by Kuerden from an undated document (c. 1560). They began at the little cross at Carsgill between the queen's land on the south and Kirkby on the north, went up to the great cross on the Mean Moor and to the cross of Scalesgill. The later names are Huirdstone, Rawmoss and Tongueslack, Ribbingdale (next to the lord's house), Skawdergamble, Bracken hill, Kipleston (a fair mere), Swainstyhalgh, Midmoss to Cocklache, Tewithole, cross-marked stone in Pool Moss, west end of Carr Moss, hanging stone at the north end of Burney, over Whithigh near Blue Knot, Meresyke, Rogerscale at the Raise, gill head, a piece of old wall like a sheep bell between Rattonhow and Fisherhow, the green ash, Whitestones, down to Roundmoss, Threapist, Crosseller gate, Huntpotdubb and so down Steers Pool to the water of Duddon; Kuerden MSS. iii, K 9.
54 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 44, m. 190. He had various disputes about his mill, &c, in 1588; Ducatus Lanc. iii, 203.
55 Visit. (Chet. Soc), 92. Roger Kirkby, described as 'old,' was a freeholder in 1600; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 230. For the family portraits (1603 on) see Cumb, and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. (new ser.), vi, 97.
56 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 48. He held a messuage in Kirkby of the queen as of her duchy of Lancaster by the two-hundredth part of a knight's fee. In the same year Roger son and heir of Richard Kirkby deceased obtained a messuage in Soutergate from Thomas Kirkby; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 49, m. 24.
57 There were settlements of the manors of Kirkby Ireleth and Ulverston, &c, in 1610 by Roger Kirkby the younger; in 1622 by Roger Kirkby, esq., and Roger his son and heir-apparent; and in 1636 by Roger Kirkby; ibid, bdle. 78, no. 17; 101, no. 9; 129, no. 25. In 1631 Roger Kirkby compounded for not taking knighthood by a fine of £25; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 220.
58 Pink and Beaven, Parl. Repre. of Lancs. 118.
59 Ibid. 71–2.
60 Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc), 60; Oct. 1642.
61 Ibid. 67.
62 He left it on the advance of Capt. Birch in Feb. 1642–3; ibid. 84.
63 Ibid. 149.
64 Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), iv, 43–6. His uncle John Kirkby also took the king's side, but surrendered in 1644 and, took the National Covenant in 1645; ibid. 42.
Richard Kirkby and Isabel his wife in 1657 held the manors of Kirkby and Ulverston, &c.; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 161, m. 88. His brother John Kirkby, who is commemorated on a brass in Coniston Church, was a benefactor to the parish; he lived with his sister Alice (wife of William Fleming) at Coniston Hall, dying there in 1680; Trans. Hist. Soc. xix, 121.
65 Baines, Lancs, (ed. 1868), i, 237.
66 Pink and Beaven, op. cit. 120–1. George Fox had an interview with him in 1663; Journ. (ed. 1765), 351.
67 Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 169.
68 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xii, App. vii, 397; he was buried at Kirkby Church between three of his wives, and a fourth wife was at the funeral.
69 Pink and Beaven, op. cit. 121–2; the exception was the Convention Parliament of 1689, when two Whigs were chosen, Roger Kirkby being elected in the same year on the death of one of them. Roger Kirkby was governor of Chester Castle in 1693.
70 Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 223, m. 41. A free fishery in Steers Pool was included.
71 The duchess was a natural daughter of James II. By her first husband (Lord Anglesey) she had a daughter Catherine, whose son was the Constantine Phipps named in the text. By her second husband (John Sheffield Duke of Buckingham) she had a son John, who died unmarried and left all his estates to his mother. She died in 1743.
72 West, Furness (ed. 1774), 246–7.
The Kirkby descent is thus traced: Roger Kirkby named in the text died in 1708, leaving a son Roger Baker, at whose death in 1717 the estate passed to a cousin William Kirkby of Adgarley (son of William). He died without issue in 1730, and his aunt Elizabeth Kirkby gave to her cousin William Kirkby of Ashlack, who was a son of William younger brother of the Richard who died in 1681. This cousin died in 1747 and was buried at Kirkby, leaving as heir his son William Comber Kirkby, who in 1774 was living at Ham in Surrey, having sold his interest in the manor.
73 There is a notice of Lord John Cavendish, a politician and friend of Burke, in Dict. Nat. Biog.
74 There were a number of disputes as to the fines and customs of the manor in the time of Elizabeth; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii, 163, 219, &c. In 1567 Edmund Stanley, Robert Kirkby and others complained of the demands of Roger Kirkby, who had succeeded his father Henry as lord of the manor. Plaintiffs had paid certain fines or gressoms on entering into their tenements, and Roger claimed fresh payments. They were also bound to find horses for service in the queen's wars, &c., and in addition Roger demanded services of ploughing, sowing, harrowing, reaping, &c.; Duchy of Lanc. Plead. Eliz. lxix, S 6. A settlement was afterwards made; Lancs, and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Chet.), ii, 258, 261, 288.
75 West, op. cit. 167–8.
76 Kirkby Hall is described at some length by Mr. H. S. Cowper, F.S.A., in Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. xiii, 271, and there is an illustrated article in North Lonsd. Mag. i, 39 (October 1894). Mr. Cowper's paper has been used in the following account.
77 Mr. Cowper thinks the east wing may be the original house, almost complete, as it stood at the beginning of the 16th century. In this form, he suggests, it may have been erected by Roland of Crosshouse or by his brother Sir Roger, the hall and west wing being added two generations later by Henry Kirkby of Crosshouse and built at an irregular angle in order to front the high road and procure a better aspect; Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. xiii, 271.
78 Mr. Cowper suggests that the present kitchen was the original hall and the smaller room at the front the kitchen, the circular staircase being probably contained in a projecting bay or tower. The only alteration necessary when the new house was built would thus be the cutting away of part of the west wall so as to get an entrance lobby, and the paring away of two sides of the staircase turret so that it should not encroach on the hall.
79 Some oak carvings from Kirkby Hall were taken to Holker Hall about 1843.
80 The paintings are described and illustrated in Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. xiii, 287–90. See also North Lond. Mag. i, 39.
81 Dolphin and Ulf de Kirkby occur about 1160; Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 311. William son of Henry de Million (?) gave Orm son of Dolphin de Kirkby all his forest between Ravensargh and Hirtfellmoss; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 211b. John son of Thomas de Bank granted land to Ralph son of Alan son of Orm de Kirkby, and the same Ralph son of Alan gave land in Million to Adam his son by Christiana de Conyers; ibid. Christiana widow of Ralph son of Alan in 1277 claimed dower against John de Kirkby, Thomas Skilhar and Robert de Ripon; De Banco R. 21, m. 76. She appears to have married the last named Robert in or before 1278; ibid. 27, m. 43 d. Adam son of Ralph was living in 1312–13; Kuerden, loc. cit. Galiena widow of Adam has been mentioned already.
Ralph de Kirkby gave to Adam de Kirkby his lord lands in Kirkby which had formerly belonged to Thomas son of Dolphin; ibid. Ralph de Kirkby bound himself to warrant Sir John de Kirkby against Christiana de Towers in respect of land at Under Perlesyke in Kirkby; Kuerden MSS. iii, k 6. Ralph may have been the brother of Sir Richard son of Alan, to whom John son of Robert son of Fulk granted land in Kirkby Ireleth, which Sir Gilbert Fitz Reinfred had had of his father's gift; ibid.
A later Alan had a son John, to whom as his kinsman Sir John (son of Sir John) de Kirkby in 1339 gave rights in various lands in Kirkby, Scarthbank and Langrigg; Kuerden MSS. ii. fol. 211b. Alan son of Alan de Kirkby in 1325–6 gave land in Grizebeck to his brother John; ibid. Joan daughter of John son of Alan de Kirkby surrendered her lands to John de Kirkby in 1361; ibid. iii, K 6.
82 Orm de Elslac gave to Alexander de Kirkby all his right in 3½ oxgangs of land in Kirkby which Serlo de Kirkby had held, but he reserved other lands, viz. Kirbolton and Elslac (Ashlack); ibid. ii, fol. 211. In 1292 John de Eskeslak claimed common of pasture in Kirkby Ireleth against John de Lancaster and Ingram de Gynes and Christiana his wife, but was non-suited; Assize R. 408, m. 63 d.
William de Eslac in 1317–18 released to Sir John de Kirkby all his right in William de Bronhou's former lands; Kuerden MSS. iii, K 6. A William de Bronhou had given his son land in Sourscales; ibid. ii, fol. 211. See also ibid. iii, K 6–8.
An 'Elslake,' perhaps this place, is named among the lands forfeited by Sir Thomas Broughton in 1487 and then granted to the Earl of Derby; Pat. 4 Hen. VII.
Afterwards, as will be seen from the text and notes, Ashlack became the seat of the heir male of the Kirkby family. Settlements were made in 1756 and 1778, and in 1828 it was sold to George Mason, in whose family it continued till 1887, when it was purchased by William Wakefield of Kendal. On his death in 1893 it descended to his son, Mr. Edward William Wakefield, the present owner; information of Mr. Wakefield.
83 Richard de Wakefield, chaplain, gave land in Heathwaite for a term of sixteen years to Thomas Sele; he had had it from William son of Roger de Kercroft; Kuerden MSS. iii, K 6. John son of Thomas de Heathwaite (?) granted to his lord John de Kirkby in 1329 land in Scarthbank called Presleghs; ibid, ii, fol. 211. Alexander son of William son of Thomas de Heathwaite in 1339 gave Sir John de Kirkby land in Heathwaite; ibid. fol. 212. He made a further grant in 1351; ibid.
84 Matthew and John de Thornthwaite occur as witnesses to Kirkby charters of the 13th century preserved by Kuerden. The estate is afterwards found in the hands of a Champney family, and in 1361 Richard son of Robert Champney granted all his lands in Thornth waite in Kirkby Ireleth to his son John; ibid. fol. 221. In 1437–8 John son of William Champney gave his lands to his uncle; ibid. fol. 222. John Champney in 1452–3 gave lands in Kirkby to Roland Kirkby; ibid iii, K 8.
To Katherine widow of a later Roland Kirkby John Hudleston in 1524–5 granted the wardship of her son Henry; ibid, ii, fol. 222.
85 Edith daughter of Gilbert le Rous of Raisthwaite released to William de Pool, who was to marry her, a fourth part of Raisthwaite; and Maud daughter of Geoffrey de Raisthwaite gave land in the same place to Benedict son of Alan de Pool; ibid, iii, K 8. Thomas and Edmund Pool had land in Kirkby in 1549, Edmund Dawson accusing them of trespass on Boruogh Heffe; Ducatus Lanc, i, 236.
Robert son and heir of Robert de Iminghou gave to Sir Richard son and heir of Sir John de Hudleston the land of Scalfits in Kirkby Ireleth, and Richard granted it in the same year (1311–12) to his brother Adam; Kuerden MSS. iii, K6. Ten years later Adam son of John de Hudleston gave to Sir John de Kirkby a messuage at Michaelflat; ibid, ii, fol. 212b. A place called Skelflat is named about 1550; Ducatus Lanc, i, 299; ii, 270; iii, 256.
William de Patrickdale was non-suited in 1292 in a claim against Alexander son of Alexander de Bolton respecting a tenement in Kirkby Ireleth; Assize R. 408, m. 46 d. Richard son of William de Patrickdale (deceased) of Furness in 1302 gave land in Kirkby to his brother William; Kuerden MSS. iii, K 8. William de Bolton and Emma his wife claimed dower in 1314 against Adam son of John de Hudleston and Joan his wife; De Banco R. 204, m. 199.
86 The description of Ashlack Hall is largely based on that by Mr. H. S. Cowper, F.S.A., in Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. xiii, 281–5.
87 Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 231.
88 Cal. Pat. 1292–1301, p. 550.
89 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 269.
90 It is marked on the map of 1577, but appears to have been unserved in 1547.
91 Commonw. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 136. It does not appear that anything was done to provide a 'godly minister' for the chapel as the parishioners desired.
92 Gastrell, Notitia Cestr. (Cher. Soc.), ii, 531; there is no mention of services or of a school, but it was outside the bishop's jurisdiction.
93 Chapelwardens' replies to visitation inquiries.
94 For bell see Cumb. and Westmld. Ant'tq. Soc. (new sen), ii, 301.
95 A district chapelry was assigned to it in 1876; Lond. Gaz. 4 July.
96 Carlisle Dioc. Cal.
97 Afterwards rector of Anmer.
98 His name was previously Shufflebotham. He became vicar of South Scarle in 1893.
99 Rector of Stockerston 1893.
100 The list of incumbents is due to Mr. Park.
101 F. N. Richardson, Old Bapt. Meeting-houses in Furness, 15. It was used as a poor-house before the Baptists had it, and is now turned into a cottage.