Townships: Flixton

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1911.

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Citation:

'Townships: Flixton', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp46-50 [accessed 4 October 2024].

'Townships: Flixton', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online, accessed October 4, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp46-50.

"Townships: Flixton". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1911), , British History Online. Web. 4 October 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp46-50.

In this section

FLIXTON

Flixton, c. l 200.

The township of Flixton measures about 2¼ miles from east to west, with an average breadth of nearly 1½ miles. Its area is 1,564½ acres. (fn. 1) The general slope of the surface is from the north and east towards the opposite boundaries, the Mersey and Irwell, but nowhere is a greater height than 65 ft. above sea-level attained. The village and church lie near the centre of the southern boundary, with Shaw in the southeastern corner. The population in 1901 was 3,656. (fn. 2)

The principal road is that from Irlam—where formerly there was a ferry over the Irwell, as now over the ship canal—to Urmston and Stretford. From that road another runs southward to the church and then to the side of the Mersey; there is a bridge over the river at Carrington. (fn. 3) From the church a second road runs east to join the former one at Urmston. The Cheshire Lines Committee's railway from Manchester to Liverpool crosses the township diagonally, and has a station at Flixton, opened in 1873. (fn. 4) The Manchester Ship Canal passes along the western border, between large embankments, and has recently been adopted as the boundary of the township. (fn. 5) It should be observed that as the Mersey's course has varied from time to time, its stream as at present is not everywhere the exact boundary of the township and county. The land by the river on the south is called the Eea. In the south-west corner the land was assigned partly to Irlam and partly to Flixton.

The annual wake was held on the Sunday next after St. Michael's Day; it was noted for ecl pies. (fn. 6)

The government of the place since 1894 has been in the hands of a parish council.

A company of the 1st Volunteer Battalion Manchester Regiment, formed in 1872, practises at the drill hall.

Thomas Wood, a Methodist minister and writer, was born at Flixton in 1761. (fn. 7)

The well between Shaw Hall and Shawtown is never known to fail. (fn. 8)

Thralam, Cawdoe, and other field-names are recorded in a deed of 1699. (fn. 9)

A stone celt was found in 1846 near Shaw Hall. (fn. 10)

The stocks in the village were taken down about 1823. (fn. 11)

The land in the township was formerly to a great extent in the hands of yeomen, (fn. 12) who also were handloom weavers. (fn. 13)

Throwing at cocks on Shrove Tuesday, pace-egging at Easter, and other customs, were practised. (fn. 14)

Manors

The place first appears in the records as contributing a mark to the aid on the vills and men of the honour of Lancaster in 1176–7. (fn. 15)

From surveys of 1212 and 1226 it appears that at that time, and probably for a century before, FLIXTON was held in moieties, one half belonging to the demesne of the Crown, the other to the barony of Manchester. (fn. 16) The former or Salford moiety was granted with Ordsall to David de Hulton, (fn. 17) and passed to two branches of the Radcliffe family—of Ordsall and of Smithills, (fn. 18) descending with these estates till the 17th century, when the Radcliffe of Ordsall moiety was sold to the Asshaws of Shaw (fn. 19) and the Radcliffe of Smithills moiety, which had in the meantime descended to the Bartons and their heirs, was sold to a number of proprietors. (fn. 20) In 1779 a total rent of 20s. was paid to the duchy by—Greatrix (13s. 9d.) and a number of others. (fn. 21)

The Manchester moiety, which included the church, was granted as one plough-land by Albert Grelley senior to Henry son of Siward, to be held by the yearly service of 10s. (fn. 22) It did not, however, descend like Lathom, having become parted among younger branches of the family, so that about 1200 Roger son of Henry and Henry son of Bernard were in possession 'by hereditary right.' (fn. 23) The descent is obscure, but the whole seems to have been acquired by the Hulton family, (fn. 24) who held the other moiety. After the partition of their estates about 1330 one half, called SHAW, was held by the Hultons of Farnworth, and of them by the Valentines, (fn. 25) while the other half was divided between the two Radcliffe families, like the Salford moiety, and was in like manner disposed of in the 17th century. (fn. 26)

Thus about 1500 the manor of Flixton was held in a number of fractions, viz., the Salford moiety by Radcliffe of Ordsall and Radcliffe (or Barton) of Smithills; and the Manchester moiety as to twofourths by the same families, and as to the other half by Valentine, of Hulton of Farnworth as mesne tenant. (fn. 27)

The Valentine family appear early in the 1 3 th century. (fn. 28) In 1292 William Valentine secured from Richard de Urmston and Siegrith his wife the third part of two messuages and two oxgangs in Flixton; (fn. 29) and in 1308 Richard Valentine obtained from William Valentine an acknowledgement of his title to certain messuages and lands in Flixton, which William was to hold for life. (fn. 30) Richard Valentine was a tenant in 1320, (fn. 31) and Richard and Robert his son were among the defendant landholders of Flixton in 1338. (fn. 32)

Richard de Langley and Joan his wife at Pentecost 1352 claimed the wardship of John son and heir of Robert Valentine, against Thomas del Booth and John son of Robert de Worsley, on the ground that Robert had held a messuage and 80 acres in Flixton of Joan La Warre in socage, and Joan the plaintiff was next of kin to the heir on his mother's side, 'to whom the inheritance could not descend.' The heir had already been married to a Worsley, and the plaintiffs' claim being upheld damages were awarded to them. (fn. 33) If this refers to the main line of the family the heir must have died shortly afterwards, for in 1355 William son of John de Hulton successfully claimed the rent due from John son of Richard Valentine and heir of his 'ancestor' Robert Valentine, for lands in Flixton held of the plaintiff, who in turn held of the lord of Manchester in socage by a rent of 8s. a year. Plaintiff and defendant were both minors and had been taken into ward by the Lady La Warre, on the allegation that they held by knight's service, and the wardship of John Valentine had been granted by her to William son of Robert de Worsley. (fn. 34)

John Valentine died in 1395–6 holding land called the Shaw in Flixton, and leaving as heir his grandson John son of Richard Valentine, fourteen years of age. (fn. 35)

Nearly eighty years later Thomas Valentine held a moiety of the Manchester part of Flixton of Lord La Warre in socage by a rent of 8s. 2d., giving puture of one serjeant and doing suit to the court of Manchester. (fn. 36) In 1476 John son and heir apparent of Thomas Valentine, on his marriage with Joan, apparently a daughter of William Holland of Clifton, made a settlement of the estate in Flixton granted him by his father. (fn. 37) Joan the daughter and eventual heiress of John Valentine is stated to have married Lawrence Asshaw of Shaw; she had no children by him, but made him a grant of her lands, which he in turn bequeathed to his nephew Leonard, a younger son of Roger Asshaw or Ashall of Hall on the Hill in Charnock. (fn. 38)

Asshaw. Argent on a cheveron between three martlets vert as many crosses for my fitchy of the field.

The younger Leonard died on 31 December 1594 holding the manors of Astley and Shaw, and various lands in Flixton, Tyldesley, Worsley, Hulton, Barton, & In 1587 he had settled the manor of Shaw and various lands upon his second son, Lawrence, who, however, died without issue two years later and then a fresh settlement was made in 1591 in favour of the third son, Leonard, and his heirs male. (fn. 39) The eldest son, Edward, was still living, thirty-four years of age, in April 1595. Shaw and the lands in Flixton were stated to be held of George Hulton by fealty and a rent of 16s (fn. 40)

Leonard, who thus inherited Shaw, died there 12 April 1633, holding the manors of Shaw and Flixton, with views of frankpledge, the former of Thomas Hulton of Farnworth in socage, and the latter of Edward Mosley, as of his manor of Manchester, also in socage by a rent of 18d. Elizabeth, his daughter and heir, thirty years of age, was the wife of Peter, son of Sir Ralph Egerton of Ridley in Cheshire. (fn. 41)

Shaw Hall

Peter Egerton, who thus became lord of Shaw and Flixton in right of his wife, was one of the most prominent men in the county during the Civil War period. He was sheriff in 1641. (fn. 42) On the outbreak of the war he embraced the side of the Parliament, taking part in the defence of Manchester in 1642 (fn. 43) and the sieges of Lathom House; as General Egerton he received the surrender of this place in December 1645. (fn. 44) He died in 1656 by the accidental administration of poison. (fn. 45)

He was succeeded by his son Leonard and grandson Peter. (fn. 46) The family appear to have become impoverished, and their lands were gradually sold in the latter part of the 17th century. Peter Egerton died in 1712, and his son John sold the Shaw Hall estate in 1722 to William Latus. (fn. 47) On the new owner's death in 1764 it was advertised for sale. (fn. 48) It passed through various hands, and was in December 1845 purchased by Colonel George John Miller Ridehalgh of Fell Foot near Ulverston, and on the death of his widow became the property of Mr. George Ridehalgh. (fn. 49)

Shaw Hall lies to the east of the parish church about a quarter of a mile north of the River Mersey, and is said to have been built in the reign of James I. The house, however, has been almost entirely modernized, and on the outside no ancient features remain. It is a two-story gabled building the walls of which are now covered with modern rough-cast (except at the back, or west side, where they are of brick), and the roofs with blue slates, and the general appearance is uninteresting. The gables, of which the building possesses no less than fifteen, are rough-cast like the walls, and have either modern barge boards or copings, and all the windows are late insertions. A cupola, formerly containing a bell, which was originally a feature of the building on the outside, has disappeared.

The house is now divided into two separate dwellings, and contains some of its original fittings, though the plan has been a good deal altered. There is some good oak panelling in two of the lower rooms of the south house, but it has been patched with pitchpine, and painted and varnished. A lower room in the north house is also panelled in oak, similarly patched, but painted white. The hall is now divided, but there is an interesting staircase in the south house the balusters of which take the form of Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian columns, repeating in threes, with a thicker Corinthian column as newel. The handrail is modern. The other house has a good Jacobean staircase with twisted balusters, square newels, and original wide handrail.

The chief interest now attaching to the interior of Shaw Hall, however, lies in two pieces of tapestry in one of the upper rooms representing scenes from the life of Alexander, and a painting on the cove of the hall ceiling representing the wife of Darius kneeling before Alexander, together with a smaller allegorical circular painting on the ceiling of what is now the entrance porch to the north house. The paintings and tapestry are part of the original furniture of the house, and are said to be coeval with the building.

There was formerly a good deal of 17th-century heraldic glass in the windows, but most of this was taken out when the present sashes were inserted. It is still preserved, however, in the house, and though much broken and mutilated could easily be put together again and replaced.

Some fragments are still in position in the staircase window in the south house, the two upper lights of which contain two shields, one bearing the royal arms of the Stuart sovereigns, encircled by a garter, and the other being a quartered shield of the arms of Trafford with the crest of a man and flail. In the lower lights is a quarry with floral ornamentation and the words 'Asshawe de Shawe,' and another with a shield of Asshawe with five quarterings. The house is said formerly to have had a moat, but this had partially disappeared in 1847 (fn. 50) and is now planted over.

There is a stained-glass window in the church commemorating Arthur William Whitnal, 'lord of the manor of Flixton,' who died in 1890.

No courts have been held for a long period. As in other townships within the barony the constable of Flixton was in the 17th and 18th centuries summoned to attend the Court Leet at Manchester, but no attention was paid to the summons. (fn. 51)

The Booths of Barton also held land in Flixton. (fn. 52) The surname Flixton occurs, but was not used by a local family. (fn. 53)

Flixton House was formerly the residence of Ralph Wright, who died in 1831. (fn. 54) His estate, partly inherited and partly purchased, he endeavoured to make more compact and secluded by the closing and diverting of footpaths. This roused great opposition in the neighbourhood, and after several years of expensive litigation the attempt was defeated. (fn. 55)

The land tax return of 1787 shows that the land was then much divided; the largest contributor was William Allen, who paid about a sixteenth. (fn. 56)

The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel at Flixton.

Footnotes

  • 1. 1,458, including 44 of inland water; Census Rep. 1901. The changes of boundary made in 1896 resulted in a loss to the township.
  • 2. Population Ret.
  • 3. Old Carrington Bridge, pulled down about 1840, was a foot bridge, and carts had to cross by the ford. Another ford— the Stone ford—was opposite Flixton Church, and others by Shaw Hall and Hillam Farm; Langton, Flixton, 111.
  • 4. The station is known as 'the best laid out on the C.L.C. system'; R. Lawson, Flixton, 135.
  • 5. In 1896 by Local Govt. Bd. Order 34989.
  • 6. Lawson, op. cit. 87–92.
  • 7. Ibid. 114, quoting obituary notice in Meth. Mag. 1826; Local Gleanings Lancs. and Ches. i, 235. Robert Costerdine, 1726–1812, was another; Preston Guardian, quoting Meth. Mag. 1814.
  • 8. Lawson, op. cit. 58; Langton, Flixton, 91.
  • 9. Local Gleanings Lancs. and Ches. ii, 3; see also Langton, Flixton, 104–5, for a full list.
  • 10. Arch. Journ. vii, 389.
  • 11. Langton, op. cit. 99 ; the scold's bridle was also in use.
  • 12. For list of landowners and tenants in 1818 see ibid. 142, &
  • 13. Lawson, op. cit. 96.
  • 14. Ibid. 83; Langton, op. cit. 95, &
  • 15. Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 34. This no doubt refers to the Salford moiety. See also 151, 202.
  • 16. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 57, 138.
  • 17. Gregson, Fragments (ed. Harland), 347. The old farm of this moiety of Flixton had been raised by 2s. 6d. about 1199, Lancs. Pipe R. 131, 148. In 1226 it produced 10s.; the Hultons held it with Ordsall as the sixth part of a knight's fee; Inq. and Extents, i, 138, 312. Agnes widow of David de Hulton in 1292 had dower in Flixton; Assize R. 408, m. 92 d. Some Hulton disputes are noted below in the account of the Valentine family. In 1335 Richard de Hulton of Ordsall granted a piece of waste in Flixton to Thomas son of Adam de Hulme; De Trafford D.. no. 295, endorsed 'Hulme demesne.' The tenure is stated variously at different times. In 1346 John de Radcliffe held a moiety of Flixton in socage, paying a rent of 20s., and double rent as. relief; Add. MS. 32103, fol. 146b. Richard son of John de Radcliffe in 1369 claimed the moiety of the manor of Flixton (except 20 acres and the moiety of the mill) against Ralph son of William de Radcliffe, under a grant of Richard de Hulton of Ordsall to John son of Richard de Radcliffe; De Banco R. 43;, m. 63.
  • 18. Richard de Radcliffe, who died in 1380, held three parts of the moiety of Flixton by knight's service and a rent of 10s.; it contained six messuages and 80 acres of arable land, worth 1s. an acre yearly; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 8. Sibyl widow of Richard, afterwards wife of Sir Roger de Fulthorp, held as dower ten messuages, 100 acres of land, &, in Flixton, by knight's service and the rent of 17s. 6d.; Chan. Inq. p.m. 16 Ric. II, no. 15; also Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 528. (Sibyl's husband is called Ralph de Radcliffe in Fine R. 192, m. 11.) Sir John de Radcliffe died in 1422 holding a moiety of Flixton of the king as duke by the service of 10s.; Lancs. Inq. (ut sup.), i, 148. A settlement of the Ordsall moiety of Flixton was made in 1431 by Sir John de Radcliffe and Joan his wife, upon his son Alexander and Agnes his wife; Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 96. John Radcliffe in 1442 held the moiety of the manor of Flixton of the king as duke in socage, by a rent of 10s.; its clear value: was 100s.; Towneley MS. DD, no. 1480. William Radcliffe held it in like manner in 1498; Lancs. Inq. (ut sup.), ii, 124. Sir Alexander Radcliffe in 1549 held it by knight's service and a rent of 10s.; his son, Sir William, in 1568, held it by the sixth part of a fee and 10s.; and this is the statement in later inquisitions; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. ix, 26; xiii, 33; xv, 45; xvii, 35. From the above it would seem that the Ordsall family's holding was at some time divided, half being given to the Smithills family, the rent payable being reduced from 20s. to 10s. William son of William de Radcliffe was plaintiff in 1368 respecting the moiety of Flixton and lands in Blackburn; De Banco R. 431, m. 408 d. Sir Ralph de Radcliffe claimed a moiety of Flixton in 1401; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 530. Ralph Radcliffe of Smithills, who died in 1485, held lands in Flixton of the king by knight's service; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, 97. On the other hand the tenement of his heir, John Barton, in Flixton was in 1517 said to be held of the lord of Manchester; ibid, iv, no. 82. The later Barton inquisitions state that the moiety of the manor of Flixton was held of the Duchy by the sixth part of a knight's fee and the rent of 10s., the same as for the Ordsall part; ibid, ix, no. 27, & Among the Duchy rents paid to Queen Elizabeth occurs ' Richard Barton for half of Flixton, 10s.'; Baines, Lancs, (ed. Croston), i, 447. A similar finding was recorded in 1612 after the death of John Barton; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 211. See also Lancs, and Cbes. Recs. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 323, 325, 327.
  • 19. In 1608 Leonard Asshaw purchased from Sir John Radcliffe the manor of Flixton, with messuages, dovecote, lands, &, in Flixton and Shaw, and free fishings in the Mersey and Irwell; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 71, no. 26. From the inquisition quoted later it would seem that this included only the Manchester manor, but nothing further is known of the Ordsall holding.
  • 20. In an account of Flixton by Dr. Leech (Lanes, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. iv, 187) it is stated that the Bartons' estate 'seems to have been settled on Henry Bellasys and his wife Grace [Barton], but the greater part was sold off before the death of Thomas Barton [her father]. One of the deeds in the possession of Mr. Royle of Flixton . . . sets forth that in consideration of £240 Thomas, Lord Fauconbridge, Sir Thomas Barton, Henry Bellasys, and Grace his wife conveyed to John Hyde of Urmston certain lands in Flixton in the occupation of tenants named Platt, Wright, and Harper. This sale took place in 1628; and a second deed shows that in the following year a portion of land was conveyed by John Hyde to one John Harper, a shoemaker.' A further sale took place in 1631, the purchaser being Thomas Walkden; Loc. Gleanings Lancs. and Cbes. ii, 45. The manor of Flixton was included in Barton settlements of 1615 and 1627, but does not occur later; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdles. 88, no. 34; 111, no. 24.
  • 21. Duchy of Lane. Rentals, bdle. 14, no. 25 m.
  • 22. Inq. and Extents, i, 5 7. Albert Grelley died about 1162. The 'heir' of Henry son of Siward, who held in 1212, is not named, but the manor seems to have been given to the Parbold branch of the Lathom family.
  • 23. Lancs. Pipe R. 353, 355. These deeds concern the church, but the manor no doubt descended in the same way. In 1212 William de Flixton was defendant against Henry son of Bernard in a plea of land, but there was no trial as Henry did not appear; Curia Regis R. 56, m. 15.
  • 24. It must have been this moiety which was in 1255 held by Jordan de Hulton,when he assigned dower in seven oxgangs and 15 acres of land in Flixton to Amiria, widow of Robert de Hulton; Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 150. Richard son of David de Hulton in 1292 successfully defended his title to the manor of Flixton—probably the Manchester moiety —against Henry Whythoud of Coppull, Almarica his wife, William de Anderton, Almarica his wife, and others; Assize R. 408, m. 48 d. A rent from Flixton is named in the inquisition after the death of William Hulton of Farnworth in 1557; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m., x, no. 32.
  • 25. See the account of the Valentines later; the mesne lordship of the Hultons of Farnworth was often ignored. In 1320 Richard de Hulton and Richard Valentine held a moiety of Flixton in serjeanty, rendering 18d. for sake fee and puture of the serjeants; and Richard de Hulton [? alone] rendered 10s. and puture for a moiety of Flixton; Mamecestre (Chet. Soc), ii, 289. The word 'moiety' may refer to the whole of the Manchester part of Flixton, or to two parts of it held by different services. The total rent was iij. 6d. The sake fee for the moiety of Flixton occurs about 1300; Inq. and Extents, i, 301.
  • 26. In the above cited inquisition after the death of Sir Richard de Radcliffe in 13 80 he was found to have held a fourth part of a moiety of Flixton of John La Warre, lord of Manchester, by knight'i service and the rent of 20d. a year; in this part, as in the other part he held, there were six messuages and 80 acres of arable land, each worth 1s. a year. It is mentioned once again as 'a messuage in Flixton,' in 1569, after the death of Sir William Radcliffe; it was held of Lord La Warre in socage by a rent of 20d.; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiii, no. 33. Ralph Barton of Smithills was in 1593 recorded to have paid 20d. to the lord of Manchester for a 'moiety' of Flixton; Manch. Ct. Leet Rec. ii, 69.
  • 27. The Manchester moiety was thus described in 1473: Thomas Valentine, half, by a rent of 8s. 2d. and puture; Ralph Radcliffe, a quarter, by 20d., and Alexander Radcliffe of Ordsall, a quarter, by 20d.; in all, 11s. 6d., the same total as that in 1320 above recorded; Mamecestre, iii, 479. The division as thus described has been followed in the text, but as the rent for one oxgang was 15d. it would appear that the Radcliffes had one oxgang each and Valentine six, i.e. perhaps the original moiety together with two oxgangs acquired in 1292. The sake fee seems to have been divided thus: 5d., 5d., and 8d.
  • 28. William le Valentine attested a Barton deed in 1222; De Trafford D. no. 250. In 1261 William Valentine of Flixton, in a suit against Jordan de Hulton in a plea of land, made William his son his attorney; Curia Regis R. 171, m. 84 d. Somewhat later William son of Valentine de Flixton attested another Barton deed; De Trafford D. no. 206. In 1278 Richard de Urmston convicted Jordan de Hulton and William son of William son of Valentine de Flixton of levying a ditch in Urmston to the hurt of his free tenement, the passage of his cattle being impeded; Assize R. 1238, m. 33. The defence was that it was in Flixton. Six years later in another suit in which the same plaintiffs and defendants occur Richard the brother of William Valentine was among the latter; Assize R. 1265, m. 5 d.
  • 29. Final Conc. i, 174. Richard and Siegrith also in 1292 recovered two parts of two messuages and two oxgangs against Richard de Hulton and Thomas the Provost; Assize R. 408, m. 30 d. In the preceding year there had been suits between William Valentine on the one side and Richard de Urmston and Siegrith his wife, and Richard de Hulton and others; Assize R. 1294, m. 8. In 1290 Richard de Urmston and Siegrith his wife had claimed a third of two oxgangs against William son of William de Flixton—no doubt Valentine; Coram Rege R. 122, m. 9. Richard son of David de Hulton in 1292 was non-suited in a claim respecting a tenement in Flixton against William Valentine, William Valentine, and Richard son of William Valentine; Assize R. 408, m. 32 d., 21. On the other hand William Valentine also was non-suited in a claim against Richard de Hulton and Thomas de Urmston for throwing down a dyke in Flixton, & ibid. m. 32 d. A fine in 1303 between Richard de Hulton and William Pyke of Flixton and Alice his wife may refer to the Valentine holding; Final Conc. i, 202.
  • 30. Final Conc. ii, 1. Richard Valentine, clerk, attested an Irlam deed of about 1310; De Trafford D. no. 263. Later (in 1351) there is mention of a Joan wife of John son of Robert de Worsley, who was sister and heir of a Richard Valentine, who had had lands in Urmston; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 1, m. 1.
  • 31. Mamecestre, ii, 289. Richard le Valentine contributed to the subsidy of 1332; Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 38.
  • 32. Hugh de Walkden claimed and recovered a rent of 2os. and robe with hood (worth 20s.) granted him by Richard de Hulton the elder out of his lands in Flixton. The defendants included the said Richard and Maud his wife, also Robert de Legh, Richard de Hulton the younger and Margaret his wife, John de Radcliffe the elder (holding half the mill), and Richard de Radcliffe (holding the other half); Assize R. 1425, m. 3, 3 d. Six years later Adam de Hulton made a similar claim against John son of Richard de Radcliffe, holding a moiety of the manor, Richard the son of John, William son of Robert de Radcliffe, Robert Valentine and Agnes his wife, John son of Henry de Hulton and Alice his wife, and many others; Assize R. 1435, m. 34 d.; also m. 39. The above-named Maud wife of Richard de Hulton afterwards married Robert de Legh, and made a number of claims in 1351 and later against the Radcliffes respecting the moiety of the manor and the mill of Flixton; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 1, m. 5 d.; R. 2, m. 1; R. 4, m. 6 d., m. 29. John de Radcliffe, as holding the estate of Robert son of Roger de Radcliffe, defended by producing a quitclaim by the Leghs to the said Robert; ibid. R. 5, m. 25 d.; see also Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 332, 336, 338. The rent of a robe, or 20s., was claimed again in 1360 by Thomas son of Henry de Trafford; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 8, m. 13. He had in 1334 claimed 20 marks rent from Richard de Hulton; Coram Rege R. 297, m. 115 d.
  • 33. Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 2, m. 5 d. Joan was daughter of Jordan [de Tetlow], brother of Agnes wife of Robert Valentine the father. A 'de' is here and in some other cases inserted before Valentine; usually 'le' is inserted.
  • 34. Ibid. R. 4, m. 13. William de Worsley stated that the service due was 24s. a year, but William de Hulton corrected this. Damages of 60s. were granted and a fine of 10s. imposed.
  • 35. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet Soc), i, 69; the tenure is not stated. John Valentine attested an Urmston deed in 1445; Harl, MS. 2112, fol. 160.
  • 36. Mamecestre, ut supra.
  • 37. Vawdrey D. One field was named the Broadhey. Another Vawdrey deed is the decision of the arbitrator in 1508 regarding closes within the demesne of the Shaw, in consequence of disputes between Joan widow of Gilbert Langtree and Katherine widow of John Valentine. From deeds cited in the account of Bentcliffe in Eccles it appears probable that Joan Langtree was the widow of the John Valentine of the text, and Katherine the widow of his elder son John. The other son Thomas left two illegitimate children, one of whom was the ancestor of the Valentines of Bentcliffe, so that on Thomas's death about 1550 the Shaw estate went to his sister or her heirs. There is a legend of a 'Sir Ralph Valentine' who in setting out for Bosworth field vowed that he would return alive or dead. He was slain, and his wife on receiving his body at Flixton fell down dead; R. Lawson, op. cit. 52.
  • 38. Piccope's Wills (Chet. Soc.), i, 81 n, quoting Harl. MS. 1987, fol. 2, 5. The will of Lawrence Asshaw 'of the Shaw,' here printed, dated 4 July 1558, directed that he should be buried at Flixton, and that 20 marks should be spent on bells for the church, and in making a parclose within it, requiring the parish priest and parishioners there to pray for the souls of himself and others; and that other sums should be given to the poor of the neighbourhood and expended on the paving of the highway between the tithe barn and the church. There are numerous bequests, but nothing is said as to the descent of the manor. Settlements of his estates had, however, been made in 1521 (when Joan his wife was joined with him) and in 1554; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 11, m. 197; bdle. 15, m. 82. Lawrence Asshaw had before his death to defend his title to lands in Flixton; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), i, 279. The feoffees complained that Thomas Asshaw, nephew of Lawrence, and others came to the Shaw just before Lawrence's death and took away a number of deeds, and afterwards Thomas obtained possession of the house and demesne lands. One of the defendants alleged that he took the deeds at the desire of Joan wife of Lawrence; Duchy of Lane. Pleadings, xxxvi, M. 4.
  • 39. Leonard Asshaw matriculated at Oxford (Brasenose College) in 1584, being fifteen years of age; B.A. 1588; Foster, Alumni.
  • 40. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvi, no. 11; see also Manch. Court Leet Rec. ii, 91, 121. In the settlement of 1587 Edward the son and heir was associated with his father; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 49, m. 4. He was buried at Flixton 4 May 1611. The Asshaw estates also came to this family on the death of Lawrence's elder brother Thomas.
  • 41. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxviii, no. 39. As stated above he had purchased the Radcliffe manor of Flixton in 1608, but the tenure stated in the inquisition is that for the quarter of Flixton held of the lord of Manchester, the rent being 18d. instead of 20d. as in 1473. The inquisition recites a fine, Lent, 8 Jas. I Jane the widow was living at Shaw. Peter Egerton and Elizabeth Asshaw were married at Flixton 28 April 1610. A pedigree was recorded in 1613; Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 6. Leonard Asshaw in 1631 paid £25 fine on refusing knighthood; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.),i, 215. His funeral certificate is printed in the Record Society's volume, p. 198.
  • 42. P.R.O. List, 73.
  • 43. Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc.), 45, 52, 333. Soon afterwards the Parliament appointed him a magistrate; ibid. 60. In the following year he was placed on the committee for sequestering 'delinquents' estates'; ibid. 90; and in 1645 on the military committee; ibid. 210.
  • 44. Ibid. 167, 212; also Lancs. War (Chet. Soc.), 62.
  • 45. He was buried at Flixton 22 May 1656. Henry Newcome states that he 'used to take flour of brimstone for some distemper he had; and he sent the maid into the closet, and she mingled it with milk and he drank it, and it proved mercury; and by this woeful mistake he was poisoned and died within a few hours'; Autobiog. (Chet. Soc.), i, 79.
  • 46. A settlement was made in 1662 of the manors of Shaw and Flixton, with views of frankpledge, free fishery, &, by Leonard Egerton, Mary his wife, and Peter son and heir apparent; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 168, m. 100. A deed of sale to John Lowe in the same year is printed in Local Glean. Lancs. and Ches. i, 276. A pedigree was recorded in 1664; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 102. Leonard's age is given as forty-seven, Peter's as twenty-two; and that of Peter's daughter Mary as one year. Leonard Egerton was buried at Flixton 15 Jan. 1679–80; and Mary his widow 2 April 1681. Peter Egerton was buried 26 Mar. 1699. Soon afterwards, 3 Aug. 1699, an annuity of £25 a year was charged on Shaw Hall in favour of Mary Egerton, widow, by her son Peter Egerton and Anne his wife; Local Glean. Lancs. and Ches. ii, 3.
  • 47. These particulars are from Dr. Leech's paper already quoted, 191; he states that the last Peter Egerton was one of the leading florists of the country. Peter Egerton was sheriff in 1703; P.R.O. List, 74. In 1707 Peter Egerton and Anne his wife made a settlement of the manor of Shaw, and a messuage and lands in Shaw and Flixton; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 258, m. 37. For the fine accompanying the sale to William Latus the deforciants were John Egerton, Anne Egerton, widow, Henry Leigh, and Thomas Ashton; and the estate is described as the manor of Shaw, seven messuages, dovecote, 40 acres of land, &, free warren in Shawtown, Flixton, and Urmston, and free fishery in the Mersey and Irwell; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 289, m. 105. There is a further deed in Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 216 (from Roll 7, Geo. I at Preston), reciting a mortgage in 1707 and the sale in 1722. In 1748 the manor of Shaw, with the free fishery, was held by Peter Leigh and Elizabeth his wife, Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 569, m. 9; and they conveyed a moiety to John Girardot of Chaucour, esquire, together with a moiety of the prebend or parsonage of Flixton and the tithes and oblations belonging thereto; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 351, m. 138,175. Peter Leigh, of the West Hall, High Legh family, married a daughter of William Latus of Manchester. He was chief justice of South Carolina, and his son Egerton Leigh was made a baronet in 1773; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), i, 456. Some of the Egertons continued to live at Shaw, for in 1757 widow Egerton of Shaw Hall married Humphrey Owen, the curate of Flixton.
  • 48. The advertisement from the Manchester Mercury is printed in R. Lawson's Flixton, 53; it mentions the capital messuage of Shaw, with the demesne lands, also messuages, chief rents, tithes, &, in Flixton; the yearly value was £500, subject to a deduction of £48 2s. out of the tithes. In 1768 the manor of Shaw, with messuages, malthouse, dovecotes, lands, and appurtenances was sold by Lucy Latus, spinster, to John Salmon; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 380, m. 47.
  • 49. Information of Messrs. Taylor, Kirkman & Co., Manchester, solicitors of Mr. Ridehalgh. It was in 1836 the property of Miss Warburton; Baines, Lancs. (1st ed.). See also R. Lawson,loc. cit.
  • 50. Raines, notes to Gastrell's Notitia.
  • 51. Manch. Ct. Leet Rec. iv, 148, & The latest instance is in 1733 (vii, 25).
  • 52. The tenure is not stated; see the inquisitions of John Booth of Barton, Katherine Booth, and John Molyneux; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xii, 8 ; xiv, 135 xvii, 24. Margery Barton in 1581 claimed lands in Flixton against Ralph Barton and others; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii, 91, 107. Jane widow of Richard Eltorhead claimed dower in Shaw, Hulton, and Tyldesley in 1591; ibid, iii, 500.
  • 53. Agnes widow of German de Flixton was a plaintiff in 1246; Assize R. 404, m. 7. The Valentines seem occasionally to have been known as 'de Flixton,' but this use did not continue.
  • 54. The mural tablet in the cburch states that his life was one of 'unwearied exertion and usefulness and devoted attachment to his church, his king, and his country.' The Wright mausoleum is the most conspicuous object in the churchyard. See also Langton, Flixton, 20, for this family.
  • 55. A. Prentice, Recollections of Manch. 290–3; the cases lasted from 1824 to 1827.
  • 56. Returns at Preston.