Townships: Aspull

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1911.

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Citation:

'Townships: Aspull', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp118-122 [accessed 10 December 2024].

'Townships: Aspull', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online, accessed December 10, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp118-122.

"Townships: Aspull". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1911), , British History Online. Web. 10 December 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp118-122.

In this section

ASPULL

Aspul, 1212; 1292; Hasphull, 1277; Haspehull, 1292; Aspehill, 1292; Aspell, 1301; Asphull, 1304, common; Aspull, 1356, common. Aspden and Aspshaw occur in the district.

This township, though in the parish of Wigan, is in the hundred of Salford. It is separated from Westhoughton by a brook running through Borden or Borsdane Wood, but has no marked physical separation from the other neighbouring townships, which, like itself, are in Wigan parish. The ground rises from south to north, reaching 400 ft. The area is 1,905 acres. (fn. 1) The population in 1901 was 8,388. (fn. 2)

The principal road leads north from Hindley to Haigh, passing through Pennington Green, which lies 2½ miles east-north-east of Wigan Church. To the south-west of this lies Hindley Hall, and a road branches off to the north-west, going through New Springs to Wigan. The Lancaster Canal passes through the western corner of the township.

Aspull Moor lies in the northern half of the township.

Cannel coal was found in Aspull. There are several large collieries, also malt kilns and a cotton mill. Wheat, oats, and potatoes are grown.

A local board was formed in 1876. This has been succeeded by an urban district council of nine members.

MANOR

The earliest notice of ASPULL is that contained in the survey of 1212, when, as one plough-land, it formed part of the Childwall fee held by Richard son of Robert de Lathom, under the lord of Manchester. (fn. 3) Immediately after this lands in Aspull are found among the possessions of William de Notton, being described as the right of Cecily his wife, daughter of Edith, lady of Barton-on-Irwell. (fn. 4) The Lathom mesne manor was commonly ignored (fn. 5); thus, in 1302 Richard de Ince, as son and heir of Henry de Sefton, and Adam de Hindley, were found to hold Aspull, as the eighth part of a knight's fee, directly of Thomas Grelley. (fn. 6) From this time the lordship has been held with the adjacent Ince by the families of Ince and Gerard in succession; until Aspull was sold to the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, lord of Haigh. (fn. 7)

The Hindley family appear to have had a quarter of the manor by grant of William son of Richard son of Enot de Aspull. The succession can be traced from Adam son of Hugh de Hindley, living in 1292, (fn. 8) until the 17th century, (fn. 9) when Roger Hindley suc ceeded. (fn. 10) HINDLEY HALL, as the residence of the Hindleys was called, became the property of James, a younger son of Robert Dukinfield of Cheshire. (fn. 11) In the 18th century it was acquired by the Leighs of Whitley Hall, Wigan, and Sir Robert Holt Leigh lived here till his death in 1843. (fn. 12) His estates then passed for life to his cousin Thomas Pemberton, who took the name of Leigh, and made Hindley Hall his residence; he was raised to the peerage as Baron Kingsdown in 1858. (fn. 13) After his death in 1867 it passed by the will of Sir R. H. Leigh to Mr. Roger Leigh, the present owner. (fn. 14)

Hindley. Azure a hart lodged argent.

The Knights Hospitallers held lands here from an early period. (fn. 15)

One of the ancient families here was that of Occleshaw. In 1246 Richard son of William recovered 8 acres in Aspull from Gilbert de Barton, Henry de Occleshaw, and Hugh his brother. (fn. 16) Thirty years later the prior of St. John of Jerusalem was claimant against John de Occleshaw and another; (fn. 17) and John de Occleshaw and Henry his brother occur in 1291. (fn. 18) Afterwards Occleshaw was acquired by the Ince family. (fn. 19)

Yet another early family was that of Gidlow, whose residence was long known as GIDLOW HALL. In 1291 Robert de Gidlow was a freeholder in Aspull, (fn. 20) and the name occurs frequently down to the 17th century, (fn. 21) when a short pedigree was recorded. (fn. 22) In 1584 and 1586 rights of way were investigated, Thomas Gidlow claiming a footpath from Gidlow Hall westward across Roger Hindley's meadows called Longer Hey to the highway between Aspull Moor and Pennington Green, and so to Wigan. (fn. 23)

Gidlow. Azure achever on argent between two leopard's heads in chief and a cross formy fitchy in base or.

The Houghtons of KIRKLEES long continued in possession; (fn. 24) Ralph Houghton in 1653 renounced his faith in order to secure his lands. (fn. 25) The Bradshaghs, already mentioned, (fn. 26) the Lathoms of Wolfall, (fn. 27) and the Lowes (fn. 28) also held lands here. Later families were the Rigbys (fn. 29) and Penningtons. (fn. 30)

In 1626 the landowners contributing to the subsidy were Roger Hindley, the heirs of Roger Bradshaw, Thomas Gidlow, and Ralph Houghton. The two last-named, as convicted recusants, paid double. (fn. 31)

The hearth tax roll of 1666 shows that 135 hearths were charged. The most considerable houses were those of Richard Green, nine hearths; Peter Orrell and James Dukinfield, eight each; Major Rigby and Thomas Molyneux, seven each; and Edward Gleast, six. (fn. 32)

John Roscow of Aspull compounded for his estate under the Commonwealth. (fn. 33) Besides Thomas and Richard Gerard of Highfield, the following 'papists' registered estates here in 1717:—James and Roger Leigh, Thomas Cooke, and Robert Taylor. (fn. 34)

The land tax returns of 1797 show the landowners to have been Robert Holt Leigh, Sir Richard Clayton, and others. (fn. 35)

In connexion with the Established Church St. Elizabeth's was built in 1882 by Mr. Roger Leigh. The patronage is vested in trustees. (fn. 36) There is also a licensed chapel known as Hindley Hall chapel.

There are Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist, and Independent Methodist churches.

The adherents of the ancient faith were formerly indebted to the lords of the manor for the mission established at Highfield; the Jesuits were serving it in 1701. (fn. 37) In 1858 the permanent church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception was erected (fn. 38); and more recently services have been commenced at New Springs.

Footnotes

  • 1. 1,906, including 23 of inland water, according to the Census of 1901.
  • 2. Including New Springs and Torlock.
  • 3. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 54. The fee was a composite one of 6½ plough-lands (of which Aspull formed one), held chiefly by Richard de Lathom, and partly by Roger de Samlesbury and Alexander de Harwood.
  • 4. The evidence of Edith's holding is contained in grants preserved in the Cockersand Chart. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 695–8. Edith de Barton herself gave the canons of Cockersand a portion of land in Aspull in free alms; Lonington Brook, Holelache, Scraplache, and Cranberry Lea, are named among the boundaries; no.6. William de Notton, with the assent of Cecily his wife, of whose dower it was, gave half of Hulgreave in Aspull; and added a portion bounded by the Roskit (brook), from the ford, thence by a lache and oaks marked with crosses to the Meanway, and so back to the ford; no. 4, 1. Sir Gilbert de Barton, son of William and Cecily, confirmed these gifts, and himself added the Millward's croft; the bounds of this went by Mickle Brook, starting at the ford, to the boundaries of Richard de Hindley's land, and by various dykes to Sinerhill Leach, and so to the ford; also waste near Brinshope; no. 5, 2. The land called Scrapps in Aspull was in 1501 held by Richard Houghton at a rent of 2d.; Cockersand Rent. (Chet. Soc.), 4.
  • 5. From a subsequent note it will be seen that the lordship of the Lathoms was recognized in 1290. In 1346–55 Sir Thomas de Lathom is said to have held the same fee, including Aspull; Feud. Aids, iii, 89.
  • 6. Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 314. Richard de Ince and Robert de Hindley held the same in 1322; Mamecestre (Chet. Soc.), 579. Towneley (GG, no. 1604), preserves an agreement between Henry de Sefton and the free tenants of Aspull, including those of the Hospitallers, their names being given. These granted to Henry as their lord all the land bounded by a line starting at Haigh on the west, going to the Quint-acres, Terneshaw Brook, Brinshope Bridge, and so to Quintacres; also land in Fald-worthing shaw. Henry on his part granted them certain liberties.
  • 7. See the account of Ince above. John son of Peter Gerard and Ellen his wife made a settlement of the manor of Aspull in 1421; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 5, m. 12. Thomas Gerard, in 1473, held the lordship of Aspull of the lord of Manchester by a rent of 8d. and the same sum for ward of the castle of Lancaster; Mamecestre, 481. Miles Gerard, in 1558, held the manor, &c., of Lord La Warre in socage by a rent of 18d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xi, no. 12. Aspull descended with Ince until the early years of the 18th century, when Richard son of Thomas Gerard of High-field appears to have sold it to the Gerards of Brynn. The manor of Aspull was Sir William Gerard's in 1796, as appears from R. 12 of the Lent Assizes, 1796 (Pal. of Lanc. Plea R.). It was sold to the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres before 1825; Baines, Lancs. (ed. 1836), iii, 553.
  • 8. A plea of 1292 gives an account of the acquisition. Adam de Hindley alleged that Robert de Lathom, Richard de Ince, Gilbert de Southworth, Emma his wife, and others had disseised him of a messuage and 12 acres of moor and pasture in Aspull. Gilbert, however, claimed nothing but common of pasture. Robert de Lathom claimed lordship only. Richard de Ince, as tenant, asserted that Adam had no right beyond common of pasture, but had inclosed the disputed land by night, his fence being promptly thrown down the next day. The jury, however, found that Adam's title was derived from William son of Richard son of Enot de Aspull, who had delivered seisin of all his lands to Adam de Hindley; that Henry de Sefton and Richard son of Enot had been lords of the waste in common, and had divided an approvement, Henry taking three parts and Richard the other part, amounting to 7 acres; that after they had lain uncultivated Adam inclosed them, at the same time adding 5 acres more without the assent of Richard de Ince, and he and his man dwelt there some time; that Richard ejected him vi et armis; and that the 7 acres should be restored to Adam, and the 5 remain waste as formerly; Assize R. 408, m. 6. The Hindleys had several branches, one by marriage acquiring Culcheth. The Hindleys of Aspull continued to hold land in Hindley also. Hugh de Hindley, father of Adam, is mentioned in 1258–9; Originalia, 43 Hen. III, m. 3. Hugh de Hindley was living in 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 12; and Beatrice widow of Hugh de Hindley—perhaps another Hugh—claimed dower in 1307; De Banco R. 161, m. 132; Lancs. and Ches. Hist. and Gen. Notes, i, 27. Adam son of Hugh de Hindley, and Robert his son, were defendants in a plea concerning a markate of rent in Hindley and Ince in 1291 and 1292; Assize R. 407, m. 3d.; 408, m. 7d. This suit arose through a certain Adam de Wood-house, who gave land as dower for his wife Alice; she took a second husband John Nightegale, and gave the land to Henry son of her previous husband, for the tent of 13s. 4d. Adam de Hindley seems to have secured the land, and refused to pay the rent; the jury allowed half a mark to the claimants. Then Cecily, widow of Henry son of Adam de Woodhouse, claimed dower from lands in Hindley and Ince from Adam son of Hugh de Hindley, and Maud his wife; they asserted that Henry was not dead, but living at Paris; Assize R. 408, m. 55. Adam de Hindley occurs as plaintiff or defendant in many suits; e.g. Assize R. 419, m. 12; 421, m. 1d.; 1411, m. 12d. There was another Adam son of Richard de Hindley; Assize R. 1294, m. 9d.
  • 9. A pedigree was recorded at the Visitation of 1613 (printed by Chet. Soc. pp. 117, 118), in which abstracts of some family deeds are given. From these and other sources it is possible to give an outline of the family history. The somewhat earlier pedigree printed in the Chet. Soc. Visit. of 1567 is from Harl. MS. 6159. Robert son of Adam de Hindley occurs in 1291, as already stated, and was in possession in 1322; Mamecestre, 379. He and his brothers Adam, Thomas, and John, seem to have taken a share in the rebellion of Thomas of Lancaster; Coram Rege R. 254, m. 60. Robert married Cecily daughter of Henry de Tyldesley; Visit. 117. She was a widow in 1329, when Henry de Atherton and Beatrice his wife claimed from her and Robert son of Robert de Hindley the fourth part of the manor of Aspull, and various lands in Aspull, Ince, and Hindley; but it was shown that Beatrice had granted them while sole; Assize R. 1411, m. 12d. From an earlier suit it appears that Beatrice was a daughter of Adam de Hindley's; Assize R. 420, m. 2d. Among the Culcheth deeds is a grant from Adam son of Hugh de Hindley to his daughter Beatrice, for her life, of his lands in Aspull, 'Kastrelegh' in Hindley, &c.; she was to pay a rent to her brother John; Lancs. and Ches. Hist. and Gen. Notes, i, 27. A release of lands was made in 1332 by Henry de Atherton to Robert son of Robert de Hindley; Visit. 117. Cecily the widow of Robert afterwards married Robert de Warrington; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 1, m. 5d. The younger Robert occurs in 1343 and 1358; Assize R. 430, m. 26; 438, m. 8. He was still living in 1365, as appears by a suit concerning lands in Windle, in which he was a plaintiff; the pedigree is there given as Robert son of Robert (and Cecily) son of Adam son of Hugh; and it is further stated that Robert the father was seised of the lands in dispute in the time of Edward I; De Banco R. 421, m. 108. 'Robert, who married Emma, a daughter and co-heir of Pemberton, had a son Hugh, as appears by a release made by Hugh son of Robert in 1398–9'; Visit. 117. Robert son of Hugh de Hindley was a plaintiff in 1447; and at the same time Robert and Adam de Hindley of Aspull were defendants in another suit; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 10, m. 2, 2b. Robert Hindley in 1473 held a messuage and lands in Aspull of the lord of Manchester by the service of the eighth part of a knight's fee and a rent of 2½d.; paying a further 2½d. for ward of the castle; Mamecestre, 480. This Robert Hindley and his son 'old Hugh Hindley' are both mentioned by aged witnesses in a dispute concerning the wastes of Hindley in 1528; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 165. He made a lease to his son Hugh in 1472; Visit. 117. Hugh Hindley had a son Robert who married Alice daughter of William Parr, as appears by an entail dated 1489–90; ibid. Alice wife of Robert Hindley the younger and her husband, as well as Hugh Hindley, had numerous disputes with the Parr family from 1466 onwards; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 30, m. 10; 44, m. 6 d.; &c. There were three sons, Hugh, Gilbert, and Roger. Hugh Hindley's name is entered in a list of the gentry compiled about 1512; he died 30 Apr. 1531 holding lands in Aspull called Greenhalf, Pilats croft, Kiln croft, and Rosket, of Thomas Gerard of Ince by the rent of 5s. 4d.; also Mickle croft of the heirs of John Aspull, by a rent of 12d.; and six messuages, 100 acres of land, &c. and a water-mill, of Lord La Warre, by knight's service and the rent of 2½d. a year. He held other lands in Ince, Hindley, Pemberton, and Parr. His son and heir was Robert, aged only about five years; but six other sons had annuities assigned to them; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 22. His wardship was assumed by Lord La Warre, who granted it to George Leigh, of Manchester, by whom it was sold to Peter Anderton, and by the last-named to Grace the widow of Hugh de Hindley; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 237. From a suit in 1549 it appears that Hugh Hindley had been married, about 1510 at Wigan, to Ellen Langton, both parties being 'within the age of consent;' and that they were in 1522 divorced by a decree of Richard Smith, rector of Bury, acting as commissary of Adam Becconsaw, rector of Brington and official of William Knight, archdeacon of Chester; and then Hugh married Grace Turner, Robert, declared heir in 1531, being their son. This decree was afterwards reversed in the Court of Arches, it appearing that Hugh and Ellen had lived together for eight years before the divorce was granted, and Gilbert, brother of Hugh, claimed the inheritance; on Gilbert's death without issue Roger, another brother, claimed it, and the court gave sentence in his favour, the dispossessed son Robert, then about twenty-four years of age, appearing and renouncing his title; Duchy Plead. iii, 69. Roger's son Robert, one of the 'gentlemen of the better sort' who were 'soundly affected in religion' in 1590 (Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 246), was living at the Visitation of 1613 (p. 118), and his will was proved in 1620. Roger Hindley was assessed to the subsidy in 1622, and refusing knighthood compounded in 1631; Misc. Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 162, 216.
  • 10. It appears from the Wigan Registers that he had several children; his wife Alice died in Jan. 1624–5; Roger Hindley himself was buried at Wigan, 15 Nov. 1651. Robert son of Roger Hindley was baptized at Winwick in 1607. Margaret, a 'daughter and co-heir of Roger Hindley of Hindley,' is said by Dugdale, Visit. (54), to have married Roger Bradshaw of Aspull; it appears from the registers that the marriage took place in 1596, a daughter Elizabeth was born in 1597, and in the following year the wife died.
  • 11. Ibid. p. 100; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), iii, 817. Old Mrs. Dukinfield and her son James are mentioned in Roger Lowe's Diary, 1663; Loc. Glean. Lancs. and Ches. i, 170, 171, 189. The mother left money to the chapel and school of Hindley.
  • 12. Alexander Leigh, the grandfather, procured the Act of 1720 for making the Douglas navigable from Wigan to Preston; for an anecdote of him see Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 458. Holt Leigh, the father, of Hindley Hall, Aspull, and Whitley Hall, Wigan, married Mary daughter and co-heir of Thomas Owen, of Upholland; acquiring the manors of Orrell and Billinge. Robert Holt Leigh was born at Wigan in 1762. He was educated at Manchester School, and Christ Church, Oxford, but though he passed the examinations he did not graduate till 1837. He was made a baronet in 1815, at the instance of Canning, and represented Wigan in Parliament from 1802 to 1820; he is described as 'a high Tory and firm Churchman, but strenuous Protestant.' He had a high reputation as a scholar, linguist, and man of culture, but 'over the latter years of his life it is better that a veil should be drawn. It is very sad to record folly and profligacy in the mature years of a life in which, otherwise, there is much to admire;' Manchester School Reg. (Chet. Soc.). He died at Hindley Hall, 21 Jan. 1843. His brother, Roger Holt Leigh, of Leeds, died 13 May 1831 from injuries received during election disturbances.
  • 13. Dict. Nat. Biog.; G.E.C. Complete Peerage, iv, 401.
  • 14. Burke, Landed Gentry.
  • 15. Plac. de Quo War. (Rec. Com.), 375. The rental compiled about 1540 shows that there were four tenements yielding a total rent of 4s., viz. one messuage held by Thomas Gorsuch, 6d.; Occleshaw, by Alexander Catterall, 18d.; Whittington House, by John Byrom, 12d.; and a messuage by William Houghton, 12d.; Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 84.
  • 16. Assize R. 404, m. 11 d.
  • 17. De Banco R. 18, m. 6; 21, m. 26.
  • 18. Assize R. 1294, m. 9 d.
  • 19. By her charter, Cecily daughter of John de Occleshaw granted to her first-born son John all that she had received from her father in Aspull; Henry de Occleshaw was a witness; Add. MS. 32104, fol. 117 (509). She is perhaps the same Cecily who, as wife of John de Worthington, in 1323–4 claimed a messuage and lands from Richard de Occleshaw and William son of Henry de Occleshaw; Assize R. 425, m. 3; and, as wife of John de Warrington, quitclaimed to Hugh de Ince the land called 'Oculshagh' in Aspull, of which John son of William de Occleshaw was once seised. Her grandson and heir, Thomas son of Henry son of Robert de Ulneswalton, in 1359 claimed it from Hugh de Ince; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 7, m. 2 d. Another Cecily, wife of Robert de Warrington, claimed dower here in 1351; ibid. R. 1, m. v d; 2, m. 2.
  • 20. Assize R. 1294, m. 9 d.; Henry son of Gunna and Roger de Swinley were other defendants. The Gidlows were probably so named from Gidlow in Wigan; the name is spelt Gydelowe, Gudelowe, Goodlaw, &c. Robert de Gidlow was plaintiff in 1304; Assize R. 420, m. 2d.
  • 21. Some family deeds have been preserved by Towneley (Add. MS. 32107, GG, no. 1586–1619), and these and others more briefly by Kuerden (ii, fol. 244b), but they are not sufficient for a complete history. Henry, lord of Ince, gave lands in Ince to William de Gidlow, with reasonable entry from his land in Aspull, by following the Mill Brook and that part on which the Harleton lies to Ince boundary, rendering two white gloves; GG, no. 1588. Robert de Gidlow gave the mill of Brinshope to Richard de Ince; Kuerden, loc. cit. no. 27. Henry de Sefton (father of Richard de Ince) gave land in Ince to Robert son of William de Gidlow in exchange for some the latter had from Roger son of Godith; also the greater hey in Aspull, the bounds mentioning Longshaw, Ballisdene, and the highway to Westhoughton; GG, nos. 1595, 1603. This latter was in 1294 transferred by Robert to his son William, except portions he had given to his daughter Ellen and another son Robert; 13s. a year was payable to Richard de Ince; no. 1593. William son of Robert de Gidlow in 1326 gave the Blackfield to his son Richard; nos. 1598–9. Robert son of Roger de Gidlow at Easter 1354 claimed a messuage and lands in Aspull from John son of Richard de Gidlow, Gilbert de Ince, and William de Ince of Aughton; but Gilbert de Ince showed that the father had held of him by knight's service, so that he had lawfully entered into possession, as guardian, on Roger's death; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 3, m. 3 d. Another John Gidlow, of the time of Henry VI, is the next of whom information is forthcoming; GG, no. 1586. Ralph son of John Gidlow was in 1444 contracted to marry Joan daughter of John and Elizabeth Parbold; no. 1591. In 1445 Thomas Pleasington accused John Gidlow and others of an assault upon him at Heapey, and Amice Gidlow accused Randle Charnock and others of waylaying her with intent to kill; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 8, m. 1, 1b; 9, m. 6, 2. In the same year Ralph Gidlow was to be arrested for felony; ibid. R. 7, m. 16b. In 1471–2 the feoffees regranted to John Gidlow, senior, all his messuages and lands in Aspull, with remainders to John son of Ralph son of the elder John; then to John, William, and Robert, brothers of Ralph; GG, no. 1600. Ralph Gidlow of Aspull referred his disputes with Roger Brown to arbitration in 1514; no. 1529. He was murdered with a dagger 22 Sept. 1531 by one Christopher Shakerley. Thomas Gerard of Ince was called out of his bed by the constables of Aspull to view the body and search for the felon; and on returning home with a crowd of neighbours, Cecily and Agnes, daughters of Ralph, desired him to take charge of two boxes belonging to their father. The complaint of Anne the widow followed; Duchy Plead. ii, 25–27. At the inquisition after Ralph's death it was found that he had held lands in Langtree, Coppull, and Aspull; the jury did not know what knight's service belonged to the last. Robert Gidlow his son and heir was sixteen years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 12. In 1535 another inquisition was made at the petition of Robert the heir. It appeared that Ralph Gidlow had in 1520 made a feoffment of the Dower house and others of his tenements in Aspull and Ince, &c., for the use of Anne Shakerley, widow, for her life. Robert asserted that he was of full age, and not sixteen only, when the former inquisition was taken; also that the premises in Aspull were held of Thomas Gerard of Ince and not of Lord La Warre. The messuage in Langtree had been the property of one John Perlebarn, whose heirs were Ralph Gidlow, Roger Haydock, and James Aspenall, descendants of his daughters Joan, Katherine, and Margaret. Joan had married a Gidlow (obviously the John Gidlow, senior, of a previous paragraph), and her son was Ralph father of John father of the Ralph Gidlow of 1531; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 6. On Robert's coming of age Lord La Warre remitted all actions, &c.; GG, no. 1610; and soon afterwards, in 1541, Robert made a settlement of his lands, the remainder being to Thomas his son and heir; Kuerden MSS. loc. cit. no. 20. In 1552 a further settlement seems to have been made by Robert Gidlow and Ellen his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 14, m. 106; and another including the capital messuage called Gidlow, Hindley House, Bank House, &c., three years later, perhaps on the marriage of his son Thomas with Elizabeth daughter of William Kenyon of Pilkington; GG, no. 1601, 1609, 1611. A release was made to Thomas in 1584 by John son of William Kenyon; GG, no. 1606. Two years later Thomas Gidlow was elected coroner; GG, no. 1608. He died 28 Oct. 1606, holding various lands and the Lee in Aspull of Miles Gerard of Ince, by a rent of 14s. and 12d.; also 12 acres and the water-mill of the king, as of the late Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. Thomas his son and heir was aged thirty-three years; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 73. William Kenyon, who died in 1557, held part of the old Hospitallers' lands in Aspull by the gift of Robert Gidlow; John his son and heir was sixty years of age in 1586; Duchy of Lanc. Inq.p.m.xiv, no.27.
  • 22. Visit. of 1613 (Chet. Soc.), 50. The last-named Thomas Gidlow recorded it; his son and heir, another Thomas, being then twenty years of age. The elder Thomas died about 1618–19, but the age of his son Thomas is given as only twenty-two years; Kuerden, loc. cit. no. 23. Thomas Gidlow contributed to the subsidy in 1622; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 162.
  • 23. Towneley, CG, no. 1613–15. Risley Hey and a stile called the Merrel are mentioned; also a lane called 'a certain lisle lane' which led to Aynscough Lane, going north to Aspull Moor.
  • 24. John son of Thomas de Halghton, or Houghton, of the Westhoughton family, had two messuages and land in Aspull in 1317; Final Conc. ii, 25. John son of Thomas de Houghton was defendant in a claim for dower in 1351 and 1352; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 1, m. v d. and R. 2, m. 2. A Ralph Houghton of Kirklees married Margery daughter of Richard Molyneux of Hawkley; Visit. of 1567 (Chet. Soc.), 109. For a plea of 1554–5 by Roger Heigham claiming against Ralph Houghton lands called Smyrrels and Gromerscroft in Aspull see Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 184. Richard Houghton acquired lands in Aspull, Ince, and Wigan from Christopher Kenyon and Margery his wife in 1572, and made a settlement in 1577; Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 255; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 34, m. 138; bdle. 39, m. 13. Ralph Houghton was a purchaser in 1593; ibid. bdle. 55, m. 200. He was one of the 'comers to church but no communicants' in 1590; Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 246. Richard Houghton of Kirklees in 1616 married Bridget daughter of Adam Mort; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 211. Richard son and heir apparent of Ralph Houghton of Kirklees in Aspull was a trustee for William Heaton in 1619; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 160. The succession of the various Richards and Ralphs is not quite clear; for Clemence Simpson, formerly wife of Ralph Houghton, in 1604–5 claimed an interest in the Great Scraps in Aspull; she had formerly had a writ of dower against Richard Houghton, uncle to Ralph, Thomas, and Anne Aspull, Christopher and Margaret Kenyon; Duchy of Lanc. Plead. Hil. 2 Jas. I, bdle. 221. A 'Mr. Ralph Houghton of Kirklees' was buried at Wigan 12 Aug. 1643.
  • 25. 'By some omission or mistake' his estate was in 1653 ordered to be sequestered; he had never 'acted against the State,' had subscribed the engagement, but was also required to take the oath of abjuration. He was conformable, but being infirm asked for more time; and afterwards took the oath. The sequestration was discharged in 1654; Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 293; Cal. of Com. for Compounding, iv, 3124.
  • 26. In 1343 John de Ince, John son of Henry de Tyldesley, and Robert son of Robert de Hindley were charged with having overthrown the house of William son of Adam de Bradshagh at Aspull, and shot at him; Assize R. 430, m. 18 d. 20d.26. In 1473 Henry Bradshagh held a messuage of the lord of Manchester, by rent of 2d. and 2d. for ward of the castle; Mamecestre, 480. The name of William Bradshagh of Aspull occurs in a list of the local gentry compiled about 1512. William Bradshagh contributed to the subsidy of 1541, 'for £20 in goods'; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 143. For his will see Lancs. and Ches. Wills (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 187. James Bradshagh in 1568 was deforciant of fourteen messuages in Aspull, Wigan, Hindley, and other places; Humphrey Bradshagh was one of the plaintiffs; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 30, m. 75. Roger Bradshagh was a purchaser or feoffee in 1583; ibid. bdle. 45, m. 122. He was reported as 'soundly affected in religion' in 1590; Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 246. Margaret Bradshagh, daughter of Roger Hindley, was in 1598 found to have held lands in Aspull called the Several or Inland of Miles Gerard by the hundredth part of a knight's fee; and other lands of Roger Hindley. Elizabeth Bradshagh, her daughter and heir, was only a year old; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvii, no. 43. Roger Bradshagh was a freeholder in 1600; Misc. (Rec. Soc.), i, 247. The same or a later Roger contributed to the subsidy of 1622 as a landowner; ibid. 162. He died 17 June 1625, holding three messuages and cottages and lands in Aspull of Edward Mosley, as of the manor of Manchester, by the tenth part of the eighth part of a knight's fee; also other messuages and lands in Hindley; William and John were his sons by his first wife, living in 1619, and Edward by his second wife Ellen; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxvi, no. 52. There is a short pedigree of these Bradshaghs in Dugdale, Visit. 54. About the end of the 17th century Nathaniel Molyneux had lands in the Hall of Bradshaw in Aspull, Westhoughton, &c.
  • 27. The Atherton family may have derived their holding here as also in Hindley from a grant by Adam de Hindley. In each township it seems to have descended to the Lathoms of Wolfall. The evidence, however, is defective. In 1420 Thomas de Atherton and Margery his wife were deforciants of eight messuages in Aspull, &c.; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 5, m. 16. In 1473 Thomas Lathom of Knowsley held of the lord of Manchester a messuage in Aspull, in right of his wife, daughter and heir of Henry Atherton of Prescot, by the rent of 3d. with 3d. for ward of the castle; Mamecestre, 481. The Lathoms, as the inquisitions show, held the lands here till the end of the 16th century, when Thomas Lathom and Frances his wife disposed of them; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 36, m. 158, 250.
  • 28. Robert Law or Lowe in 1473 held a messuage of the lord of Manchester, by a rent of 3d. and 3d. for castle ward; Mamecestre, 481.
  • 29. Alexander Rigby of Middleton in Goosnargh, who died in 1621, held land in Aspull of Thomas Gerard by a rent of 10s. 8d.; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 456, 458. His son, Joseph Rigby 'of Aspull,' Parliamentarian officer, to whom it had been bequeathed, is named in the pedigree in Dugdale, Visit. 245; Dict. Nat. Biog. Joseph and Alexander Rigby were clerks of the peace under the Commonwealth; Pal. Note Bk. iv, 144–5. The father, Major Joseph Rigby was, however, accused of 'impeding profits,' by trying by threats to secure the lands of 'papists and delinquents' for himself under value; Cal. of Com. for Compounding i, 371. The son, Alexander, was said to have joined Lord Derby in 1651; Cal. Com. Advancing Money, iii, 1455.
  • 30. In addition to those already named Robert Pennington, Robert Gorton, Roger Rycroft, and John Ainscough were free holders in 1600; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 249, 251. Robert Pennington contributed to the subsidy in 1622; ibid. 162. Pennington Hall is still marked on the map. Robert Gorton purchased a messuage &c. in 1581; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 43, m. 129. He died 10 Dec. 1624, holding a messuage and lands in Aspull of Edward Mosley, lord of Manchester, by the twentieth part of the eighth part of a knight's fee; James, his son and heir, was aged forty and more; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxvi, no. 48. James died soon afterwards; ibid. xxvi, no. 11. Roger Rycroft seems to have purchased part of the Lathom holding; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 36, m. 250. He died 15 Dec. 1612 holding of Miles Gerard, as of the manor of Aspull; his eldest son William having died before him he was succeeded by his grandson, Roger Rycroft the younger, son of William; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 314. Thomas Shaw and Alice his wife, and John Ainscough and Ellen his wife, were deforciants of a messuage and lands in Aspull in 1392; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 54, m. 67. Miles Ainscough of Aspull was a juror in 1619; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 127. John son of Henry del Ford of Aspull recovered land here from Robert son of Richard de Ince and a number of others, including John de Buckshagh, in 1356; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 5, m. 29. Emma de Buckshagh, who had been 'waived' for felony and died in 1401, held as widow of William Buckshagh some land here of Robert de Hulton and Katherine his wife, in right of the latter. Ellen daughter of William de Buckshagh was the heir, and twenty-two years of age in 1404; Lancs. Inq. (Chet. Soc.), i, 79, 80. The Suttons and Gorsuches of Scarisbrick also held land here, as appears by their inquisitions. Edward Gorsuch had a dispute as to lands called Asmoll and Brandearth in Aspull in 1639; Exch. Dep. 26. Hugh Swansey of Chorley was in 1567 found to have held lands in Aspull of William Gerard of Ince by a rent of 4d.; Robert was his son and heir; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xi, no. 29. Robert Swansey and Anne his wife, and Edward their son and heir apparent, were deforciants of lands in Aspull four years later; John Ainscough was one of the plaintiffs; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 33, m. 146. Peter Catterall of Shevington (1583) had held part of the Hospitallers' lands by a rent of 18d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 70. A yeoman family named Pemberton held land under the Hindleys. They became Quakers, suffering accordingly, and emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1682, being among the earliest settlers; Friends' Misc. (Phila.), vii; Life of John Pemberton.
  • 31. Lay Subs. R. bdle. 131, no. 312, Lancs.
  • 32. Ibid. bdle. 250, no. 9, Lancs.
  • 33. Cal. of Com. for Compounding, ii, 1151.
  • 34. Engl. Cath. Nonjurors, 153.
  • 35. R. H. Leigh possessed Hindley Hall, Bank House, Leyland's and Morris's; the devisees of James Hodson had Halliwell and Leylands, the same and — Doncaster had Kirklees; Sir R. Clayton had Gidlow Hall, and Sir John Smith Bradshaw Hall.
  • 36. Bridgeman, Wigan Ch. (Chet. Soc.), 784; Lond. Gaz. 24 Apr. 1883.
  • 37. Foley, Rec. Soc. Jesus, v, 320; Fr. Richard Moore was in charge, with an allowance of £5. Soon after him Fr. John Bennet was there until his death in 1751; ibid. v, 323; vii, 50. At this time 'Mr. Fazakerley' is named as the owner or tenant of Highfield.
  • 38. Salford Dioc. Cal.