THE PEDIGREES OF ANCIENT FAMILIES.
ALLEN OF ROSSALL HALL.
The Allens who resided at Rossall Hall for a period of more than half
a century, and by intermarriage became connected with the Westbys of
Mowbreck, the Heskeths of Mains, and the Gillows of Bryning, sprang
from the county of Stafford. At the time of the Protestant Reformation,
George Allen, of Brookhouse, in the division just mentioned, held a long
lease of the Grange and Hall of Rossall from a kinsman of his family,
one of the abbots of Deulacres, a Staffordshire monastery, to which the
estate had been granted by King John. George Allen at his death left one
son, John, who resided at the Hall, and subsequently married Jane, the
sister of Thomas Lister, of Arnold Biggin, in Yorkshire. The offspring
of this marriage were Richard, William, Gabriel, George, who espoused
Elizabeth, the daughter of William Westby, of Mowbreck; Mary, afterwards
the wife of Thomas Worthington, of Blainscow; Elizabeth, subsequently
the wife of William Hesketh, of Mains Hall; and Anne, who married George
Gillow, of Bryning. Richard Allen, of Rossall Hall, the eldest son, left
at his demise a widow with three daughters, named respectively, Helen,
Catherine, and Mary, who were deprived of their possessions and rights
in the Grange in the year 1583 by Edmund Fleetwood, whose father had
purchased the reversion of the lease from Henry VIII., at the time when
the larger monastic institutions were dissolved in England. The widow
and her daughters fled to Rheims to escape further persecution, where
they were hospitably received by their near relative, Cardinal William
Allen, who interested the princely family of Guise in their behalf and so
obtained for them the means of subsistence.
William Allen, the second son of John Allen, of Rossall Hall, was born
in 1532, and at the early age of fifteen entered Oriel College, Oxford,
under the tutorship of Morgan Philips, perhaps the most eminent logician
of his day. Three years later he was elected to a fellowship. Upon the
accession of Mary he entered the church, and in 1556 was made principal
of St. Mary’s Hall, acting as Proctor for the two succeeding years. In
1558 he was created canon of York, but on the accession of Elizabeth, he
refused the Protestant oaths, was deprived of his fellowship, and, in
1560, retired to Louvaine, where he wrote his first work, entitled “A
Defence of the Doctrine of Catholics, concerning Purgatory and Prayers
for the Dead,” in answer to an attack on those dogmas by Bishop Jewell.
In 1565, the year in which this publication appeared and fermented great
excitement both here and abroad, William Allen determined, in spite of
the extreme dangers of such an act, to visit his native country, more
especially the home of his fathers at Rossall. Religious zeal prevented
his active spirit from being long at rest; after residing in England
about three years and visiting different parts of Lancashire, seeking
converts to his creed, he was obliged to secrete himself from the eye of
the law amongst his friends, Layton Hall and Mains Hall being two of his
hiding places, until a suitable opportunity occurred for escaping over
to the continent. Flanders was his destination, and from there he went
to Mechlin, afterwards taking up his abode at Douai, where he obtained a
doctor’s degree, and established an English seminary. This college, we
learn from the “Mem: Miss: Priests: Ed. 1741,” was founded in 1568 “to
train up English scholars in virtue and learning, and to qualify them
to labour in the vineyard of the Lord, on their return to their native
country; it was the first college in the Christian world, instituted
according to the model given by the council of Trent.”
Whilst engaged at the above scholastic institution, William Allen was
appointed canon of Cambray; subsequently when the English council
applied to the ruling powers of the Spanish Netherlands to suppress the
college of Douai, the Doctor and his assistants were received under the
protection of the house of Guise. Afterwards Doctor Allen, on being
appointed canon of Rheims, established another seminary in that city. At
that time perhaps no one was more admired and revered by the Catholic
party abroad, and detested by the Protestant subjects of England, than
William Allen. He was even accused by his countrymen at home of having
traitorously instigated Philip II. of Spain, to attempt the invasion and
conquest of England, and although he strenuously denied any agency in
that matter, it is certain that after the defeat of the Armada, he wrote
a defence of Sir William Stanley and Sir Rowland York, who had assisted
the enemy. In 1587, he was made cardinal of St. Martin in Montibus by
Pope Sectus V., and a little later was presented by the king of Spain
to a rich abbey in Naples with promises of still higher preferment. In
1588 he published the “Declaration of the Sentence of Sixtus the Fifth,”
which was directed against the government of the British queen, whom he
declared an usurper, obstinate and impenitent, and for these reasons to
be deprived. As an appendix to the work he issued shortly afterwards an
“Admonition to the Nobility and People of England and Ireland,” in which
he pronounced the queen an illegitimate daughter of Henry VIII. Although
the effect of these publications on the English nation was not, as he
hoped, to arouse the people to open rebellion, or in any way to advance
the Catholic cause, the efforts of the cardinal were so far appreciated
by the king of Spain that he promoted him to the archbishopric of
Mechlin. He lived at Rome during the remainder of his life in great
luxury and magnificence. On October 6th, 1594, this remarkable man
expired at his palace, in the 63rd year of his age, and was buried with
great pomp at the English church of the Holy Trinity in the ancient
imperial city.
BUTLER OF RAWCLIFFE HALL.
The name of Butler, or as it was formerly written Botiler, belonged to an
office in existence in earlier times, and was first assumed by Theobald
Walter, who married Maud, the sister of Thomas à Becket, on being
appointed _Butler_ of Ireland.
Theobald Walter-Botiler gave to his relative Richard Pincerna, or
Botiler, as the family was afterwards called, the whole of Out Rawcliffe
and one carucate of land in Staynole. This gentleman was the founder
of that branch of the Butlers which was established at Rawcliffe Hall
for so many generations. Sir Richard Botiler, of Rawcliffe, married
Alicia, in 1281, the daughter of William de Carleton, and thus obtained
the manor of Inskip. He had issue—William, Henry, Richard, Edmund, and
Galfrid. Richard Botiler, the third son, who had some possessions in
Marton, left at his death one son, also named Richard, who was living
in 1323, and became the progenitor of the Butlers of Kirkland. William,
the eldest son, espoused Johanna de Sifewast, a widow, by whom he had
Nicholas de Botiler, who was alive in 1322, and had issue by his wife
Olivia, one son, William Botiler, living in 1390. William Botiler had
three children—John, Richard, and Eleanor. John Botiler was created a
knight, and in 1393-4-5 was High Sheriff of the county of Lancaster. Sir
John Botiler left at his death, in 1404, three sons and one daughter,
the offspring of his marriage with Isabella, his second wife, who was
the widow of Sir John Butler, of Bewsey. Nicholas, the eldest son,
was also twice married, and had issue by his first wife, Margeria,
the daughter of Sir Richard Kirkeby,—John and Isabella Botiler. John
Botiler espoused, in 1448, Elizabeth, the daughter of William Botiler,
of Warrington, and had issue—Nicholas and Elizabeth Botiler. Nicholas
Botiler married Alice, the daughter of Sir Thomas Radcliffe, knt., and
was succeeded by his eldest son John Botiler, who subsequently espoused
Elizabeth, the daughter and heiress of Sir John Lawrence, knt., and had
issue—William, James, Richard, and Robert Botiler. James Botiler, the
second son, inherited the estates, most probably owing to the death of
William, his elder brother, and married Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir
Thomas Molyneux, knt., of Larbrick Hall. James Botiler, or Butler, was
living in 1500, but died shortly afterwards, leaving two sons and two
daughters—John, Nicholas, Isabella, and Elizabeth. John, the elder son,
had issue four daughters, whilst Nicholas, the second son, had issue by
his first wife, the daughter of Richard Bold, of Bold, two sons, Richard
and Henry, and by his second wife, Isabel, the daughter and co-heiress of
John Clayton, of Clayton, one daughter, who died in 1606. Richard Butler
married Agnes, the daughter of Sir Richard Houghton, knt., but having no
offspring, the estates of Rawcliffe passed to William Butler, the eldest
son of his younger brother, Henry Butler, somewhere about 1627. William
Butler espoused Elizabeth, the daughter of Cuthbert Clifton, of Westby,
by whom he had one son, Henry, who was thrice married, and had numerous
offspring. Richard, the eldest son of Henry Butler by his first wife,
Dorothy, the daughter of Henry Stanley, of Bickerstaffe, died before his
father, but left several sons, one of whom, also named Richard, succeeded
to the Rawcliffe property, and was thirty-two years of age in 1664;
another, Nicholas, was a colonel in the time of Charles I.; and another,
John, was a citizen of London. Richard Butler espoused Katherine, the
daughter of Thomas Carus, of Halton, by whom he had a large family, the
eldest of which, Henry, was six years of age in 1664. Henry Butler, of
Rawcliffe, espoused as his first wife, Katherine, the granddaughter, and
subsequently heiress, of Sir John Girlington, knt., of Thurland Castle,
and had issue—Richard, Christopher, Philip, Mary, and Katherine. Henry
Butler, and Richard, his eldest son, took part with the Pretender in
the rebellion of 1715, and for this piece of disaffection their estates
were confiscated by the crown, and afterwards sold. Henry Butler made
his escape over to France, but Richard was seized, tried, and condemned
to death. He died in prison, however, in 1716, before the time appointed
for his sentence to be carried out, leaving an only child, Catherine, by
his wife, Mary, the daughter of Henry Curwen, of Workington, who married
Edward Markham, of Ollarton, in the county of Nottingham, and died a
minor without issue. Henry Butler lived in the Isle of Man for several
years, and espoused Elizabeth Butler, of Kirkland, his third wife, but
had no further issue.
CLIFTON OF CLIFTON, WESTBY, AND LYTHAM.
The family of the Cliftons, whose present seat is Lytham Hall, has been
associated with the Fylde for many centuries. The earliest ancestor of
whom there exists any authentic record, was Sir William de Clyfton, who
lived in the time of William II., surnamed Rufus, and during the last
year of that monarch’s reign, A.D. 1100, gave certain lands in Salwick
to his son William upon his marriage. In 1258 a namesake and descendant
of this William de Clyfton held ten carucates of land in Amounderness,
and was a collector of aids for the county of Lancaster. His son Gilbert
de Clyfton was lord of the manors of Clifton, Westby, Fylde-Plumpton,
etc., and High Sheriff of the county in the years 1278, 1287, and 1289.
He died in 1324, during the reign of Edward II., and was succeeded by
his eldest son, Sir William de Clifton, who was Knight of the Shire for
Lancaster 1302-1304. Sir William de Clifton,[59] knt., the son of the
latter gentleman, came into possession of the estates on the demise
of his father, and married in 1329, Margaret, the daughter of Sir R.
Shireburne, knt., of Stonyhurst, by whom he had issue one son, Nicholas,
afterwards knighted. He also entailed the manors of Clifton and Westby
on his male issue, and settled the manor of Goosnargh upon his son and
heir. He died in 1365. Sir Nicholas de Clifton, during one portion of
his life, held the post of Governor of the Castle of Ham, in Picardy.
He married Margaret, the daughter of Sir Thomas West, of Snitterfield,
in Warwickshire, and had issue two sons—Robert and Thomas. The former,
who succeeded him, was Knight of the Shire 1382-1383, and espoused
Eleyne, the daughter of Sir Robert Ursewyck, knt., by whom he had three
sons—Thomas, Roger, and James. In course of time, Thomas, the eldest,
became the representative of the family, and married Agnes, the daughter
of Sir Richard Molyneux, of Sefton. This gentleman (Thomas Clifton),
accompanied the army of Henry V., when that monarch invaded France in
1415. He settled Goosnargh and Wood-Plumpton upon his second son, James,
while the other portion of the estates passed, on his death in 1442, to
Richard, his heir. Richard Clifton formed a matrimonial alliance with
Alice, the daughter of John Butler, of Rawcliffe, from which sprang
one child, James Clifton, who afterwards espoused Alice, the daughter
of Robert Lawrence, of Ashton. The offspring of the latter union were
Robert and John Clifton. The former on inheriting the property married
Margaret, the daughter of Nicholas Butler, of Bewsey, in Lancashire.
His children were Cuthbert and William; and now, for a few generations,
we have two separate branches, the descendants of these gentlemen,
which afterwards became united in the persons of their respective
representatives:—
SENIOR BRANCH.
Cuthbert Clifton, = Alice, d. and co-heiress of
of Clifton, | Sir John Lawrence, of
died 1512. | Ashton-under-Lyne.
|
|
Sir R. Hesketh, = Elizabeth Clifton, = Sir W. Molyneux,
of Rufford, died 1548. | of Sefton & Larbreck,
1st husband. | 2nd husband.
+------------------------------+
| | |
| | William Molyneux, died young.
Thos. Molyneux, Ann Molyneux, = Hy. Halsall
unmarried heiress of | of Halsall.
or without issue. her brother. |
+----------------------+
|
Richard Halsall, = Ann, d. of Alex. Barlow.
|
+---------+
|
Sir Cuthbert Halsall, = ( )
of Halsall and |
Clifton. |
+-------------+
|
Ann Halsall, = Thomas Clifton, [Transcriber’s Note: refer to the
daughter | of Westby JUNIOR BRANCH (below) for the
and | and Lytham, descent of this Thomas Clifton.]
co-heiress. | died 1657.
+--------+-----+--------------+-----------------------+
| | | |
Cuthbert Sir Thos. John Clifton. = Widow of Ten other
Clifton. Clifton. | Geo. Parkinson, children.
| of Fairsnape.
|
Thos. Clifton,
of Clifton, etc.
JUNIOR BRANCH.
William Clifton, = Isabel, d. of William
who inherited | Thornborough, of
Westby. | Hampsfield, in Furness.
+----------------------------+----+
| | |
Thos. Clifton, = Elinor, d. of Wm. Ellen.
of Westby. | Sir A. Osbaldiston,
| of Osbaldiston, co.
| Lancashire, Knt.
+----------------------------------+
| |-William
Cuthbert Clifton, = Catherine, d. of |-Ellen
of Westby. | Sir R. Houghton, |-Isabel
| of Houghton, Knt.
+------------------------+------------------+
| |
Thos. Clifton, = Mary, d. of Sir Ed. Seven other
of Westby. | Norreys, of Speke, Knt. children.
+------------+
|
Sir Cuthbert Clifton,[60] = Ann, d. of Sir Thos. Tyldesley,
of Westby & Lytham, | of Morley.
Knt. |
+--------------------------+-------------------------------+
| | |
Thomas Clifton, of Cuthbert Elizabeth.
Westby and Lytham, Colonel in the army of Charles
died 1657. I., and slain at Manchester.
This Thomas Clifton retained the Fairsnape estates, which he had
inherited from his mother, during his lifetime, but on his decease they
passed to his uncle. He married Eleanora Alathea, the daughter of Richard
Walmsley, of Dunkenhalgh, in Lancashire. At his death he left a family
of five daughters and two sons, the eldest of whom, Thomas Clifton, of
Clifton, Westby, and Lytham, subsequently espoused Mary, the daughter of
the fifth Viscount Molyneux. His heir, also Thomas, and born in 1728,
rebuilt Lytham Hall, and allied himself to the noble house of Abingdon by
marrying, as his third wife, Lady Jane Bertie, the daughter of the third
earl. The children of this union were seven, and John, the eldest, born
in 1764, inherited the estates, and married Elizabeth, the daughter of
Thomas Horsley Widdrington-Riddell, of Felton Park, Northumberland. John
Clifton was succeeded by his eldest son, Thomas, who had four brothers
and three sisters—John, William, Charles, Mary, Harriet, and Elizabeth.
Thomas Clifton, of Clifton and Lytham, born in 1788, was a justice of
the peace, a deputy-lieutenant, and in 1835, High Sheriff of the county
of Lancaster. He married Hetty, the daughter of Pellegrine Trevis, an
Italian gentleman of ancient lineage, by whom he had issue John Talbot,
born in 1819; Thomas Henry, lieut.-colonel in the army, and knight of the
Legion of Honour and of the Mejidie; Edward Arthur, died abroad in 1850;
Charles Frederick, who espoused Lady Edith Maud, eldest daughter of the
second Marquis of Hastings, and assumed in 1859, by act of parliament,
the arms and surname of Abney Hasting; and Augustus Wykenham, late
captain in the Rifle Brigade, who married Lady Bertha Lelgarde Hastings,
second daughter of the second Marquis of Hastings. John Talbot Clifton,
esq., is still living, and is the present lord of Lytham, Clifton, etc.
He was for some years colonel of the 1st. Royal Lancashire Militia, and
sat in Parliament from 1844 to 1847 as Member for North Lancashire. In
1844 he married Eleanor Cicily, the daughter of the Hon. Colonel Lowther,
M.P., and has one son, Thomas Henry Clifton, esq., who was born in 1845,
and is now one of the Members of Parliament for North Lancashire. John
Talbot Clifton, esq., is a justice of the peace, and deputy-lieutenant
of this county. Thomas Henry Clifton, esq., M.P., espoused, in 1867,
Madeline Diana Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Sir Andrew Agnew, bart.,
and has issue several children.
In 1872 Henry Lowther succeeded his uncle as third earl of Lonsdale,
and at the same time his sisters Eleanor Cicily, the wife of John
Talbot Clifton, esq., of Lytham Hall, and Augusta Mary, the wife of the
Right Hon. Gerard James Noel, M.P., younger son of the first earl of
Gainsborough, were elevated to the rank of earl’s daughters.
FLEETWOOD OF ROSSALL HALL.
This family sprang originally from Little Plumpton in the Fylde. Henry
Fleetwood being the first of whom there is any reliable record, and of
him nothing is known beyond the place of his residence, and the fact that
he had a son named Edmund. Edmund Fleetwood married Elizabeth Holland,
of Downholme, and was living about the middle and earlier portion of the
latter half of the fifteenth century. From that marriage there sprang one
son, William Fleetwood, who subsequently espoused Ellyn, the daughter of
Robert Standish, and had issue John, Thomas, and Robert Fleetwood. Of
these three sons, Thomas, the second, resided at Vach in the county of
Buckingham, and at the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.,
about 1536, purchased from that monarch the reversion of the lease of
Rossall Grange, then held by the Allens from the Abbot and convent of
Deulacres, in Staffordshire. Thomas Fleetwood married Barbara, the cousin
and heiress of Andrew Frances, of London, and had issue five sons, the
second and third of whom were knighted later in life, whilst the eldest,
Edmund, came into possession of Rossall Hall and estate in 1583, after
the demise of Richard Allen, whose widow and daughters were ejected.
Thus Edmund Fleetwood was the first of the name to reside at Rossall,
where he died about forty years later. This gentleman married Elizabeth,
the daughter of John Cheney, of Chesham Boys, in Buckinghamshire, and
had issue several sons and daughters. Paul, the eldest son and heir,
who succeeded him, was knighted by either James I. or Charles I., and
married Jane, the daughter of Richard Argall from the county of Kent, by
whom he had three sons and two daughters. Edmund, the eldest son, had no
male issue, and at his death, in 1644, Richard, his brother, succeeded
to the property and resided at Rossall Hall. Richard Fleetwood, who was
only fifteen years of age when the death of his predecessor occurred,
subsequently espoused a lady, named Anne Mayo, from the county of Herts,
by whom he had only two children, a son and a daughter, and as the former
died in youth, the estate passed to the next male heir on his demise.
The heir was found in the person of Francis, of Hackensall Hall, the
brother of Richard Fleetwood and the third son of Sir Paul Fleetwood.
Francis Fleetwood, of Rossall, married Mary, the daughter of C. Foster,
of Preesall, and had issue Richard Fleetwood, who succeeded him, and
a daughter. Richard Fleetwood resided at Rossall Hall, and married
Margaret, the daughter of Edwin Fleetwood, of Leyland, in 1674. The
offspring of that union were two sons, Edward and Paul, and a daughter
Margaret. Edward, the heir, was born in 1682, and practised for some
time as an attorney in Ireland. On the death of his father, however, he
inherited the property, and took up his abode at the ancestral Hall.
He espoused Sarah, the daughter of Edward Veale, of Whinney Heys.
Thomas Tyldesley, of Fox Hall, Blackpool, was on terms of friendship
and intimacy with the Fleetwoods of Rossall at that period, and on the
fourteenth of April, 1714, the following entry occurs in his diary,
referring to Edward Fleetwood, the lord of the manor, and his brother
Paul, also Edward Veale, the father of Mrs. Ed. Fleetwood, whom, for some
reason unknown, the diarist invariably designated Captain Veale:—“Went to
Rosshall. Dinᵈ with the trustys, yᵉ Lord & his lady, Mr. Paull, and Capᵗᵗ
Veal. Gave I. Gardiner 1s., and a boy 6d.; soe to ffox Hall.”
Paul Fleetwood, the younger brother of the “Lord” died in 1727 and was
buried at Kirkham, where some of his descendants still exist in very
humble circumstances.
The offspring of Edward Fleetwood consisted only of one child, a
daughter, named Margaret, who was born in 1715, and to whom the estates
appear to have descended on the decease of her father. On the sixteenth
of February, 1733, she married, at Bispham church, Roger Hesketh, of
North Meols and Tulketh. Roger Hesketh and his lady resided at Rossall
Hall until their respective demises, which happened, the latter in 1752,
and the former in 1791. Fleetwood and Sarah Hesketh were the children
of their union. On the decease of his father at the ripe age of 81
years, the son and heir, Fleetwood, had already been dead 22 years, and
consequently his son, Bold Fleetwood Hesketh, the eldest offspring of his
marriage, in 1759, with Frances, the third daughter of Peter Bold, of
Bold Hall, in the county of Lancaster, succeeded his grandfather Roger
Hesketh. Bold Fleetwood Hesketh, who was born in 1762, died unmarried in
1819, and was buried at Poulton, his younger brother, Robert Hesketh,
inheriting the Hall and estates. Robert Hesketh was in his 55th year when
he became possessed of the property, and had already been married 29
years to Maria, the daughter of Henry Rawlinson, of Lancaster, by whom he
had a numerous family. His four eldest sons died in youth and unmarried,
the oldest having only attained the age of twenty three, so that at
his decease in 1824 he was succeeded by his fifth son, Peter Hesketh.
This gentleman, who was born in 1801, espoused at Dover, in 1826, Eliza
Delamaire, the daughter of Sir Theophilus J. Metcalf, of Fern Hill,
Berkshire, by whom he had several children, who died in early youth. As
his second wife he married, in 1837, Verginie Marie, the daughter of
Senor Pedro Garcia, and had issue one son, Peter Louis Hesketh. In 1831,
Peter Hesketh obtained power by royal license to adopt the surname of
Fleetwood in addition to his own, and in 1838 he was created a baronet.
In 1844, Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood vacated Rossall Hall, and the site
is now occupied by a large public educational institution, denominated
the Northern Church of England School. Sir P. H. Fleetwood died, at
Brighton, in 1866, leaving one son and heir, the Rev. Sir Peter Louis
Hesketh Fleetwood, bart., M.A., of Sunbury on Thames, in the county of
Middlesex. The Rev. Charles Hesketh, M.A., rector of North Meols, is the
younger brother of the late Sir P. H. Fleetwood, and consequently uncle
to the present baronet.
FFRANCE OF LITTLE ECCLESTON HALL.
William, the son of John ffrance, who married the younger daughter of
Richard Kerston, of Little Eccleston, was the first of this family to
reside at the Hall, and he was living there at the beginning of the
seventeenth century. William ffrance had two sons and a daughter—John,
born 1647; Henry, born 1649; and Alice, born 1653. John, the eldest
son, succeeded to the Hall and estates on the demise of his father, and
married Deborah Elston, of Brockholes, by whom he had issue—Robert, who
died in 1671; Anne, died 1672; Thomas, died 1672; Deborah, died 1673;
John, born 1675; William, died 1680; Henry, died 1676; Mary, died 1701;
and Edward, died 1703. John ffrance, senʳ., survived all his sons except
John and Edward, and on his death, in 1690, was succeeded by the former
and elder of the two brothers. John ffrance, like his father, resided
at the Hall, and espoused Joan, daughter of John Cross, of Cross Hall,
by whom he had issue—John, born 1699; Anne, died 1702; and Henry, died
1707. John ffrance died in 1762, and his eldest son, John, inherited the
estates. This John ffrance married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of
Thomas Roe, of Out Rawcliffe, and by that union became possessed, later,
of Rawcliffe manor and Hall, to which the family of ffrance removed.
John ffrance, of Rawcliffe Hall, the son and heir of John and Elizabeth
ffrance, of Little Eccleston Hall, and subsequently of Rawcliffe, died
childless in 1817, aged 91 years, and bequeathed his property to Thomas
Wilson, of Preston, who assumed the name of ffrance.[61]
HESKETH OF MAINS HALL.
This family was descended from the Heskeths, of Rufford, through
William Hesketh, of Aughton, the sixth son of Thomas Hesketh, of
Rufford. Bartholomew, the son of William Hesketh, of Aughton, succeeded
to his father’s estates, and married Mary, the daughter of William
Norris, of Speke, by whom he had one son, George, residing at Little
Poulton Hall in 1570. George Hesketh married Dorothy, the daughter of
William Westby, of Mowbreck, and had issue a son, William, who, on his
father’s death, somewhere about 1571, inherited considerable property,
comprising possessions in no less than twenty-eight different townships
in Lancashire. William Hesketh, who was living in 1613, married
Elizabeth, the daughter of John Allen, of Rossall Hall, and sister to
Cardinal Allen. The children springing from that union were William and
Wilfrid. William, the elder son, is the first of the Heskeths mentioned
as inhabiting Mains Hall, and he appears to have been living there in
1613. We have no documents throwing any certain light upon the way in
which he gained possession of the seat, but it is most probable that he
purchased it. William Hesketh, of Mains Hall, espoused Anne, the daughter
of Hugh Anderton of Euxton, and had issue—Thomas, Roger, John, William,
Hugh, George, Anne, Alice, and Mary. Thomas, the eldest son, was nine
years old in 1613, hence it is extremely likely that he was the first
representative of the family born at Mains Hall. Thomas Hesketh was
twice married; the first time to Anne, the daughter of Simon Haydock,
of Hezantford, and after her decease, to Mary, the daughter of John
Westby, of Westby and Mowbreck. The children of his first marriage were
William; Thomas, an officer in the royalist army, and slain at Brindle
in 1651; Anne, who became the wife of Thomas Nelson, of Fairhurst; and
Margaret, afterwards the wife of Major George Westby, of Upper Rawcliffe.
William, the elder son, married Perpetua, the daughter of Thomas
Westby, of Mowbreck, and had issue—Thomas, born in 1659; William, who
died in infancy; John; Anne, married to Richard Leckonby, of Leckonby
House, Great Eccleston; Helen; Dorothy, married to Thomas Wilkinson,
of Claughton; Perpetua, died in infancy; and six other daughters, all
of whom died in youth. Thomas Hesketh, the eldest son, left four sons
and three daughters—William; Thomas, who was a priest; John; George;
Mary; Perpetua; and Anne. William Hesketh, the eldest of these sons, was
living at the same time as Thomas Tyldesley, who died in 1714, and was
a frequent visitor at Fox Hall. He married Mary, the daughter of John
Brockholes, of Claughton, and heiress to her brother William Brockholes,
of Claughton, and had issue—Thomas, Roger, William, Joseph, James,
Catherine (an abbess), Margaret, Anne, Mary (a nun), and Aloysia (a nun).
Thomas, the eldest son, inherited the property of his deceased uncle,
William Brockholes, and assumed the name and arms of Brockholes. He died
in 1766. Roger, the second son, also died in 1766. William, the third
son, was born in 1717, and in later years entered the “Society of Jesus,”
dying in 1741. Joseph succeeded to the Brockholes’ estates on the death
of his brother Thomas, and, like him, assumed the name of Brockholes. He
married Constantia, the daughter of Bazil Fitzherbert, of Swinnerton, and
dying in a few years without issue, was succeeded by his sole remaining
brother, James, who also assumed the name and arms of Brockholes,
and some years afterwards died unmarried. The Brockholes’ property
now passed, under the will of Joseph Hesketh-Brockholes, to William
Fitzherbert, the brother of his widow; and that gentleman, after the
manner of his predecessors, assumed the name of Brockholes. He espoused
Mary, the daughter and co-heiress of James Windsor Heneage, of Cadeby,
Lincolnshire, and had issue—Thomas Fitzherbert-Brockholes, of Claughton;
Catherine, abbess of the Benedictines at Ghent; Margaret; Ann; Mary, who
became a nun; and Frances.
HORNBY OF POULTON.
The Hornbys, of Poulton, were descended from Hugh Hornby, of Singleton,
who died about 1638, after having so far impoverished himself during
the civil wars as to be obliged to dispose of his estate at Bankfield,
inherited from his sister, and purchased from him by the Harrisons.
Geoffrey Hornby, the son of this gentleman, practised very successfully
as a solicitor in Preston, and probably was the first to acquire property
in Poulton. Edmund Hornby, his eldest son, of Poulton, where he also
practised as a solicitor, and Scale Hall, married Dorothy, the daughter
of Geoffrey Rishton, of Antley, in Lancashire, Member of Parliament
for Preston, and had issue—Geoffrey, George, and Anne. George, the
second son, went into holy orders, became rector of Whittingham, and
subsequently died without surviving offspring. Anne Hornby married
Edmund Cole, of Beaumont Cote, near Lancaster; and Geoffrey Hornby, who
inherited the Poulton property, as well as Scale Hall, espoused Susannah,
the daughter and heiress of Edward Sherdley, of Kirkham, gentleman, by
whom he had issue—Edmund and Geoffrey, the latter dying unmarried in
1801. Geoffrey Hornby, who died in 1732, was buried in Poulton church,
being succeeded by his son Edmund, who came into the possessions at
Poulton and Scale. Edmund Hornby, born in 1728, married Margaret,
the daughter of John Winckley, of Brockholes, and had issue one son,
Geoffrey, and three daughters. At his decease, in 1766, the estates
descended to his only son and heir, Geoffrey, born at Layton Hall in
1750, who, after being High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1774, and for some
time colonel of a Lancashire regiment of militia, entered the church and
became rector of Winwick. The Rev. Geoffrey Hornby espoused the Hon. Lucy
Smith Stanley, daughter of Lord Strange, and sister of the twelfth earl
of Derby, and had issue; but the departure of this representative of the
family from the homes of his fathers severed the close connection between
the town of Poulton and the name of Hornby, after an existence of about a
century.
HORNBY OF RIBBY HALL.
Richard Hornby, of Newton, who was born in 1613, married Elizabeth,
the daughter of Christopher Walmsley, of Elston, and had issue a son,
William Hornby, also of Newton. That gentleman had several children by
his wife Isabel, the eldest of whom, Robert Hornby, was born in 1690,
and espoused Elizabeth Sharrock, of Clifton, leaving issue by her at his
decease in 1768, three sons—Hugh, William, and Richard. Hugh Hornby took
up his abode at Kirkham, where he married Margaret, the daughter and
heiress of Joseph Hankinson, of the same place, and had issue—Joseph,
born in 1748; Robert, born in 1750, and died in 1776; Thomas, of
Kirkham, born in 1759, married Cicely, the daughter of Thomas Langton,
of that town, and died in 1824, having had a family of two sons and five
daughters; William, of Kirkham; John, of Blackburn and Raikes Hall,
Blackpool, born in 1763; Hugh, vicar of St. Michael’s-on-Wyre, born
in 1765; Alice, who became the wife of Richard Birley, of Blackburn;
and Elizabeth. Joseph Hornby was a deputy-lieutenant of the county of
Lancaster, and erected Ribby Hall. He married Margaret, the daughter of
Robert Wilson, of Preston, by whom he had Hugh; Margaret, who espoused
William Langton, of Manchester; and Alice, who died a spinster. Hugh
Hornby, the only son, born in 1799, succeeded to the Hall and lands on
the death of his father in 1832, and left issue at his own demise, in
1849, Hugh Hilton, Margaret Anne, and Mary Alice. Hugh Hilton Hornby, of
Ribby Hall, esq., who married his relative, Georgina, the daughter of the
Rev. Robert Hornby, M.A., J.P., in 1868, is the present representative of
the family, and was born in 1836.
John Hornby, of Blackburn and Raikes Hall, married Alice Kendal, a widow,
and the daughter of Daniel Backhouse, of Liverpool, by whom he had
four sons—Daniel, born in 1800, who espoused Frances, daughter of John
Birley, of Manchester, and dying in 1863, left issue, Fanny Backhouse
and Margaret Alice Hornby; Robert, born in 1804, M.A., a clergyman and
justice of the peace, who married Maria Leyland, daughter of Sir William
Fielden, bart., and had issue, Robert Montagu, William St. John Sumner,
Leyland, Frederick Fielden, Henry Wallace, Hugh, and ten daughters, the
first and third sons being captains in the army, and the second in the
royal navy; William Henry, of Staining Hall, J.P. and D.L., born in
1805, and Member of Parliament for Blackburn from 1857 to 1869, married
Susannah, only child of Edward Birley, of Kirkham, by whom he had John,
Edward Kenworthy, Henry Sudell, William Henry, Cecil Lumsden, Albert
Neilson, Charles Herbert, Elizabeth Henriana, Frances Mary, Augusta
Margaret, and Caroline Louisa, of whom Edward Kenworthy Hornby, esq.,
has sat as M.P. for Blackburn; John, M.A., formerly M.P. for Blackburn,
and born 1810, married Margaret, daughter of the Rev. Christopher Bird,
having issue, John Frederick, Wilfrid Bird, Edith Diana, and Clara
Margaret. The Rev. Hugh Hornby, M.A., sixth son of Hugh Hornby, of
Kirkham, was vicar of St. Michael’s-on-Wyre, and espoused Ann, daughter
of Dr. Joshua Starky, a physician, of Redbales, having issue one son,
William, now the Venerable Archdeacon Hornby, M.A., and the present vicar
of St. Michael’s, born in 1810. Archdeacon Hornby married, firstly,
Ellen, daughter of William Cross, esq., of Red Scar, and four years after
her decease, in 1844, Susan Charlotte, daughter of Admiral Sir Phipps
Hornby, K.C.B. The offspring of the earlier union were two—William Hugh
and Joseph Starky, both of whom died young; whilst those of the second
marriage are—William, Hugh Phipps, Phipps John, James John, William
Starky, Susan, and Anne Lucy, the eldest of whom, William, died in 1858,
aged thirteen years.
LECKONBY OF LECKONBY HOUSE.
John Leckonby, the earliest of the name we find mentioned as connected
with Great Eccleston, on the borders of which stood Leckonby House,
was living in 1621, and was twice married—first to Alice, the daughter
of Thomas Singleton, of Staining Hall, and subsequently, in 1625, to
Marie, the daughter of Henry Preston, of Preston. Richard Leckonby,
the eldest son and heir, was the offspring of his first marriage, and
like his father, became involved in the civil wars on the royal side.
Richard succeeded to the family estates sometime before 1646, for in
that year he compounded for them with Parliament. He left issue at his
death in 1669, by his wife, Isabel, a numerous family—John; Richard,
of Elswick; George; William, of Elswick; Sarah; Martha; and Mary, who
married Gilbert Whiteside, of Marton, gentleman. John Leckonby inherited
the estate, and resided at the ancestral mansion—Leckonby House. He
married Ann, the daughter of William Thompson, gent., of Little
Eccleston, but dying without offspring, was succeeded by his brother
Richard, who had espoused Ann, the daughter of William Hesketh, of
Mains Hall. The children of Richard Leckonby, of Leckonby House, were
William; Richard, who was born in 1696, and afterwards became a Romish
missionary; and Thomas, also a missionary, who died at Maryland in 1734.
William Leckonby, the eldest son, occupied Leckonby House, after the
decease of his father, as holder of the hereditary estates. He espoused
Anne, the daughter of Thomas Hothersall, of Hothersall Hall, and sister
and co-heiress of John Hothersall, and had issue—Richard; Thomas, born
in 1717, who entered the Order of Jesus; William, of Elswick, who died
in 1784; Anne, born in 1706; Bridget; and Mary, who became the wife of
Thomas Singleton, of Barnacre-with-Bonds, gent. Richard Leckonby, who
succeeded his father in 1728, inherited, in addition to the lands in
Great Eccleston and Elswick, the extensive manor of Hothersall, and by
his marriage with Mary, the daughter of William Hawthornthwaite, of
Catshaw, gent., came into possession, on the death of her brother John
Hawthornthwaite in 1760, of Catshaw, Lower Wyersdale, Hale, Luddocks, and
Stockenbridge. Notwithstanding these large accessions to the original
family domain, Richard Leckonby managed, by a long career of dissipation
and extravagance, to run through his resources, mortgaging his estates,
and bringing himself and his family to comparative poverty. He died in
1783, at about 68 years of age, having survived his wife many years, and
was buried at St. Michael’s-on-Wyre. His offspring were two sons, the
elder of whom was thrown from a pony and killed in early youth; whilst
the second, William, met with a fatal accident when hunting in Wyersdale
the year before the death of his father. William Leckonby, left, at his
untimely death, by his wife, Elizabeth, the daughter of James Taylor, of
Goosnargh, gent., two sons and a daughter. Of these children, Richard,
the eldest, died in 1795, when only sixteen years of age; James, the
second son, died in infancy; and Mary, their sister, married in 1799, at
the age of twenty-two years, Thomas Henry Hale Phipps, of Leighton House,
Wiltshire, a justice of the peace and deputy-lieutenant of his county, by
which union, Leckonby of Leckonby House, became a title of the past.
LEYLAND OF LEYLAND HOUSE AND KELLAMERGH.
Leyland House was occupied during the latter half of the seventeenth and
part of the eighteenth centuries by a family of wealth and position,
named the Leylands of Kellamergh. Christopher Leyland, the first of the
line recorded, resided at Leyland House in 1660, and married in 1665,
Margaret Andrew, of Lea, by whom he had issue—John; Ralph, died in 1675;
Anne, born 1671; Ellen, born 1679; Susan, died 1670; another Ralph, born
1680 and died 1711; Francis, died 1674; Bridget, died 1687; Roger, died
1678; and Thomas, who died in 1682.
John Leyland, who succeeded to the Kellamergh property and Leyland
House on the death of his father in 1716, married, in 1693, Elizabeth
Whitehead, and had offspring—Christopher, born 1694; Thomas, born 1699,
afterwards in holy orders; Joseph, died 1709; Ralph, born 1712; John,
died 1716; and William, who espoused Cicely, widow of Edward Rigby, of
Freckleton, and daughter of Thomas Shepherd Birley, by whom he had two
daughters, one of whom, Jane Leyland, subsequently married Thomas Langton.
Christopher Leyland inherited Kellamergh and the mansion on the demise
of his father, John Leyland, in 1745, and at his own death, some years
later, left one child, Elizabeth, who married, as her second husband, the
Rev. Edward Whitehead, vicar of Bolton.
LONGWORTH OF ST. MICHAEL’S HALL.
The family of Longworths, inhabiting St. Michael’s Hall until the early
part of the eighteenth century, was descended from the Longworths,
of Longworth, through Ralph, a younger son of Christopher Longworth,
of Longworth, by his wife Alice, the daughter of Thomas Standish, of
Duxbury. Ralph Longworth married Anne, the daughter of Thomas Kitchen,
and had issue two sons and one daughter. Robert, the younger son,
espoused Helen Hudson, whilst Elizabeth, his sister, married Richard
Blackburne, and afterwards Thomas Bell, of Kirkland. Richard, the elder
son and heir, is the first of the Longworths, described as of St.
Michael’s Hall, in Upper Rawcliffe. He married Margaret, the daughter
of George Cumming, of Upper Rawcliffe, and had issue—Ralph, Thomas,
Lawrence, Christopher, Anne, Elizabeth, and Katherine. Ralph, the
eldest son, espoused Jane, the daughter of Richard Cross, of Cross Hall,
in Chorley parish, but further than this fact, we have no information
concerning him. The family of the Crosses, into which he married,
belonged to Liverpool, and their old country seat, Cross Hall, is now
converted into cottages and workshops. Thomas Longworth, the second
son, born in 1622, resided at St. Michael’s Hall, and married Cicely,
the daughter of Nicholas Wilkinson, of Kirkland, by whom he had one
son—Richard Longworth. The latter representative, having succeeded in
course of time to the Hall and estates, was a justice of the peace for
the county of Lancaster, and on terms of intimacy with Thomas Tyldesley,
of Fox Hall, Edward Veale, of Whinney Heys, William Hesketh, of Mains
Hall, and a number of other leading gentry in the district. He married
Fleetwood, the daughter of Edward Shutteworth, of Larbrick, and Thornton
Hall, and left at his demise one son—Edward Longworth, who became a
doctor of medicine, and resided at St. Michael’s Hall until 1725, about
which time he removed to Penrith, in the county of Cumberland.
PARKER OF BRADKIRK HALL.
The Parkers, who inhabited Bradkirk Hall for over a hundred years, were
relatives of the Derby family, and came originally from Breightmet Hall,
near Bolton, where they had lived for many centuries. William Parker,
of Bradkirk Hall, who died in 1609, and was buried at Kirkham, is the
first of whom we have any authentic account, and he is stated to have
married Margaret, the daughter of Robert Shaw, of Crompton. The children
springing from that union were—John, who inherited Bradkirk Hall; Thomas,
of Bidstone, in the county of Chester; and Henry, who espoused, in
1609, Alice Threlfall, and became the founder of the family of Parkers
of Whittingham. John Parker, of Bradkirk Hall, married Margaret, the
daughter and co-heiress of Anthony Parker, of Radham Park, Yorkshire;
and after her decease he espoused Alice, the daughter of Richard
Mason, of Up-Holland, near Wigan, by whom he had three sons and one
daughter—William, Richard, John, and Margaret. The offspring of his first
marriage were Anthony, Elizabeth, Jennet, Anne, Alice, and Christopher.
Anthony died unmarried, and Christopher, the second son, born in 1625,
succeeded to Bradkirk Hall on the demise of his father. He was a justice
of the peace for the county of Lancaster, and married Katherine, sister
to James Lowde, of Kirkham, and daughter of Ralph Lowde, of Norfolk.
His children were Anthony; Alexander, who married Dorothy, the daughter
of Thomas Westby, of Mowbreck; John, William, Gerrard, Christopher,
Margaret, Mary, and Jane, the last married John Westby, of Mowbreck, at
Poulton church, in 1688. Anthony Parker, the eldest son, born in 1657,
lived at Bradkirk Hall, and espoused Mary, the daughter of Sir Thomas
Stringer, sergeant-at-law, by whom he had issue—Christopher, Catherine,
and Rebecca, who died young. Christopher Parker inherited Bradkirk Hall,
and was Member of Parliament for Clitheroe in 1708. He died unmarried
about 1713, and the Hall and estates passed by will to his sister
Catherine, the wife of Thomas Stanley, of Cross Hall, in Ormskirk Parish,
conjointly with her uncle Alexander Parker. In 1723 the possessions of
the deceased Christopher Parker in Lancashire and Yorkshire were sold by
Catherine Stanley and Alexander Parker. The latter, however, resided at
Bradkirk Hall for some time after that date with his wife Dorothy, the
daughter, as before stated, of Thomas Westby of Mowbreck, by whom he had
nine sons and two daughters. The sons appear to have died without issue,
and one of the daughters, Dorothy, married ⸺ Cowburn, whilst the other
Katherine, became the wife of William Jump, of Hesketh Bank.
RIGBY OF LAYTON HALL.
The Rigbys, of Layton, were descended from Adam Rigby, of Wigan, who
married Alice, the daughter of ⸺ Middleton, of Leighton, and had
issue—John, Alexander, and Ellen. John Rigby, of Wigan, married Joanna,
the daughter of Gilbert Molyneux, of Hawkley, and became the founder of
the family of Rigby of Middleton. Ellen became the wife of Hugh Forth;
and Alexander Rigby, of Burgh Hall, in the township of Duxbury, espoused
Joanna, the daughter of William Lathbroke, by whom he had three sons and
one daughter—Edward, Roger, Alexander, and Anne. Edward Rigby, of Burgh,
who purchased the estate of Woodenshaw from William, earl of Derby, in
1595, was the first of the family, as far as can be ascertained, who
held property in the Fylde, and from his _Inq. post mortem_, dated
1629-30, we find that he possessed Laiton, Great Laiton, Little Laiton,
Warbrecke, Blackepool, and Marton, besides other estates in Broughton
in Furness, Lancaster, Chorley, etc. This gentleman married Dorothy,
the daughter of Hugh Anderton, of Euxton, and had issue—Alexander,
Hugh, Alice, Jane, and Dorothy. Alexander Rigby, who was born in 1583,
succeeded to Layton Hall, and Burgh, on the death of his father, and
afterwards married Katherine, the daughter of Sir Edward Brabazon, of
Nether Whitacre, in the county of Warwick. In 1641, during the time of
Charles I., he was a colonel in the king’s forces, and was, somewhere
about that period, removed from the commission of the peace for this
county by command of Parliament on account of certain charges made
against him of favouring the royal party. In 1646 he compounded for
his sequestrated estates by paying £381 3s. 4d. His offspring were
Edward, of Burgh, and Layton Hall; Thomas, rector of St. Mary’s, Dublin;
William, a merchant; Mary, wife of John Moore, of Bank Hall; Elizabeth,
wife of Edward Chisenhall, of Chisenhall; Jane, the wife of the Rev.
Paul Lathome, rector of Standish; and Alexander, who died in infancy.
Edward, the eldest son, who died before his father, married Mary, the
daughter of Edward Hyde, of Norbury, and left issue—Alexander, William,
Hamlet, Robert, Richard, Mary, and Dorothy. Alexander Rigby, the heir,
who was born in 1634, was also an officer in the royalist army, and
erected a monument to Sir Thomas Tyldesley near the spot where he was
slain at Wigan-lane, at which battle “the grateful erector” fought as
cornet. He was High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1677 and 1678, and married
Alena, the daughter of George Birch, of Birch Hall, near Manchester. His
children were Edward, Alexander, Mary, Alice, Eleanor, and Elizabeth.
Of Edward we have no account beyond the fact that he was born in 1658,
and consequently must conclude that he died young. Alexander, the second
son, succeeded to the estates, and was knighted for some reason, which
cannot be discovered. He was High Sheriff of the county in 1691-2.
Mary, the eldest daughter, married Thomas Tyldesley, of Fox Hall, and
was co-heiress with Elizabeth, wife, and subsequently, in 1720, widow
of ⸺ Colley, to her brother, Sir Alexander Rigby, of Layton Hall and
Burgh, who married Alice, the daughter of Thomas Clifton, of Clifton,
Westby, and Lytham, but left no surviving offspring. Sir Alexander Rigby
is reputed to have been a gambler, and to have so impoverished his
estates, already seriously injured by the attachment of his family to the
fortunes of Charles I. and II., that he was compelled to dispose of his
possessions in Poulton and Layton for the benefit of his creditors. He
also appears to have been imprisoned for debt until released by an act
of Parliament, passed in the first year of George I., and his property
vested in trustees. His estates in Layton and Poulton were sold for
£19,200. After his liberation he resided in Poulton at his house on the
south side of the Market-place, where the family arms, bearing the date
1693, may still be seen fixed on the outer wall. The pew of the Rigbys
is still in existence in the parish church of that town, and has carved
on its door the initials A. R., and the date 1636, separated by a goat’s
head, the crest of the family.
SINGLETON OF STAINING HALL.
There is every reason to suppose that the Singletons who resided at
Staining Hall during the greater part of two centuries were a branch
of the family founded in the Fylde by Alan de Singleton, of Singleton.
George, the son of Robert Singleton by his wife Helen, the daughter of
John Westby, of Mowbreck, purchased the hamlet and manor of Staining from
Sir Thomas Holt, of Grislehurst, and was the first of the name to occupy
the Hall. He married Mary Osbaldeston, and left issue at his death, in
1552, William, the eldest; Hugh, who espoused Mary, sister of William
Carleton, of Carleton, and left a son, William, who died without issue;
Richard; Lawrence; and Margaret, the wife of Lawrence Carleton, heir
and subsequently successor to his brother William. William Singleton,
of Staining, became allied to Alice, the daughter and heiress of Thomas
ffarington, by whom he had Thomas, John, George, Richard, Helen, and
Margaret. On the demise of his father in 1556, Thomas, the heir, came
into possession of the estate; he married Alice, the daughter of James
Massey, and had one child, a daughter, Ellen, who espoused John Massey,
of Layton. Thomas Singleton died in 1563, and was succeeded by his
brother John, who had married Thomasine, the daughter of Robert Anderton,
and had issue two daughters, the elder of whom, Alice, became the wife
of Henry Huxley, of Birkenhead, and the younger, Elizabeth, of James
Massey, of Strangeways. John Singleton died in 1590, and was in his turn
succeeded by the next male representative, his brother George, who had
issue by his wife Mary, the daughter of John Houghton, of Penwortham or
Pendleton, two sons and a daughter—Thomas, George, and Anne, the wife
of Robert Parkinson, of Fairsnape. Thomas Singleton, the heir, became
lord of Staining in 1597, previously to which he had espoused Cicely,
the daughter of William Gerard, of Ince, and had issue Thomas, John,
Mary, Grace, Alice, the last of whom married John Leckonby, of Great
Eccleston, and Anne, the wife of Richard Bamber, of the Moor, near
Poulton. Thomas Singleton, the eldest son, succeeded to the lordship in
the natural course of events, and formed an alliance with Dorothy, the
daughter of James Anderton, of Clayton, who was left a widow in 1643,
when her husband was slain at Newbury Fight in command of a company of
royalists. The offspring of Thomas and Dorothy Singleton were John, born
in 1635 and died in 1668, who espoused Jane, the daughter of Edmund
Fleetwood, of Rossall; Thomas, who died childless; George; James; Anne,
of Bardsea, a spinster, living in 1690; Mary, the wife of John Mayfield;
and Dorothy, the wife of Alexander Butler, of Todderstaff Hall. John
Singleton, of Staining, whose widow married Thomas Cole, of Beaumont,
near Lancaster, justice of the peace, and deputy-lieutenant, had no
progeny, and the manor passed, either at once, or after the death of
the next brother, Thomas, to George Singleton, who had possession in
1679, but was dead in 1690, never having been married. He held Staining,
Hardhorne, Todderstaff, and Carleton manors or estates. The whole of
the property descended to John Mayfield, the son and heir of his sister
Mary, whose husband, John Mayfield, was dead. John Mayfield, of Staining,
etc., ultimately died without issue, and was succeeded by his nephew and
heir-at-law, William Blackburn, of Great Eccleston, whose offspring were
James, and Gabriel, under age in 1755.
STANLEY OF GREAT ECCLESTON HALL.
The Stanleys, of Great Eccleston, were descended from Henry, the fourth
earl of Derby, who was born in 1531, through Thomas Stanley, one of his
illegitimate children by Jane Halsall, of Knowsley, the others being
Dorothy and Ursula. Thomas Stanley settled at Great Eccleston Hall,
probably acquired by purchase, and married Mary, the relict of Richard
Barton, of Barton, near Preston, and the daughter of Robert Hesketh,
of Rufford. The offspring of that union were—Richard Stanley; Fernando
Stanley, of Broughton, who died unmarried in 1664; and Jane Stanley, who
was married to Henry Butler, of Rawcliffe Hall. Richard Stanley, the
eldest son, succeeded to Great Eccleston Hall and estate on the death of
his father, and espoused Mary, the daughter and sole heiress of Lambert
Tyldesley, of Garret, by whom he had one son, Thomas Stanley, who in
course of time inherited the Eccleston property, and married Frances,
the daughter of Major-General Sir Thomas Tyldesley, of Tyldesley and
Myerscough Lodge, the famous royalist officer slain at the battle of
Wigan-lane in 1651. Richard Stanley, the only child of this marriage,
resided at Great Eccleston Hall, and espoused Anne, the daughter and
eventually co-heiress of Thomas Culcheth, of Culcheth, by whom he had two
sons—Thomas and Henry Stanley. Richard Stanley, who died in 1714, was
buried at St. Michael’s church, and the following extract is taken from
the diary of Thomas Tyldesley, of Fox Hall, the grandson of Sir Thomas
Tyldesley, and consequently Richard Stanley’s cousin, who at that time
appears to have been in failing health, and whose death occurred on the
26th of January in the ensuing year:—
“October 16, 1714.—Wentt in ye morning to the ffuneral off Dick
Stanley. Partᵈ with Mr. Brandon att Dick Jackson’s dor; but fell
at Staven’s Poole; and soe wentt home.”
It may here be mentioned that for two years the cousins had not been
on very friendly terms, owing to Richard Stanley having at a meeting
of creditors, summoned by Thomas Tyldesley in 1712, when he had fallen
too deeply into debt, objected to an allowance being made to Winefride
and Agatha, daughters of Thomas Tyldesley by a second marriage. We
may form some idea of the strong feeling existing between them from
an entry made on the 7th of May, 1712, by Thomas Tyldesley in his
diary:—“Stanley—Dicke—very bitter against my two poor girlles, and
declared he would bee hanged beffor they had one penny allowed; yet my
honest and never-to-be-forgotten true friend Winckley, with much art
and sence, soe perswaded the otheʳ refferys that the slaving puppy was
compelled to consent to a small allowance to be sedulled—viz.: £100
each.” After the decease of Richard Stanley, Great Eccleston Hall, for
some reason we are unable to explain, passed into the possession of
Thomas Westby, of Upper Rawcliffe.
TYLDESLEY OF FOX HALL.
The family which inhabited the ancient mansion of Fox Hall in the time of
Charles II., and for many subsequent years, sprang originally from the
small village of Tyldesley, near Bolton-le-moors. When or how they first
became associated with the latter place is impossible to determine, as no
authentic documents bearing on the subject can be discovered; but that
they must have been established in or connected with the neighbourhood
at an early epoch is shown by the fact that Henry de Tyldesley held the
tenth part of a Knight’s fee in Tyldesley during the reign of Edward I.,
1272-1307. A Richard de Tyldesley was lord of the manor of Tyldesley
towards the close of the sovereignty of this monarch, and there is
sufficient evidence to warrant the assumption that he was the son and
heir of Henry de Tyldesley.
At a later period Thurstan de Tyldesley, a lineal descendant, who is
accredited with having done much to improve his native village, and
having built Wardley Hall, near Manchester, about 1547, was a justice of
the peace for the county of Lancaster, and Receiver-General for the Isle
of Man in 1532. He was on intimate and friendly terms with the earl of
Derby, and we may safely conjecture that the members of the two houses
had for long been familiarly known to each other, as we read that in
1405 Henry IV. granted a letter of protection to William de Stanley,
knt., John de Tyldesley, and several more, when they set out to take
possession of the Isle of Man and Peel Castle. In 1417, when Sir John
de Stanley, lord of the same island, was summoned to England, he left
Thurston de Tyldesley, a magistrate, to officiate as governor during
his absence. The Tyldesleys held extensive lands in Wardley, Morleys,
Myerscough, and Tyldesley, having seats at the three first-named manors.
Thurstan de Tyldesley, who erected Wardley Hall, was twice married and
had issue by each wife. To the offspring of the first, Parnell, daughter
of Geoffrey Shakerley, of Shakerley, he left Tyldesley and Wardley; and
to those of his second, Jane, daughter of Ralph Langton, baron of Newton,
he bequeathed Myerscough, and some minor property. There is nothing
calling for special notice concerning any, except two, of the descendants
from the first marriage—Sir Thomas Tyldesley, a great-grandson,
attorney-general for Lancashire in the reign of James I.; and his son,
who did not survive him many months, and terminated the elder branch.
In consequence of this failure of issue the Tyldesley estate, but not
Wardley, which had been sold, passed to the representatives of Thurstan’s
children by his second wife. The eldest son of the second alliance,
Edward, had espoused Anne, the daughter and heiress of Thomas Leyland, of
Morleys, and, subsequently, inherited the manor and Hall of Morleys. The
grandson and namesake of Edward Tyldesley, of Morleys and Tyldesley, who
was born in 1585, and died in 1618, entertained James I. for three days
at his seat, Myerscough Lodge, in 1617. Edward Tyldesley, of Myerscough,
was the father of Major-General Sir Thomas Tyldesley, knt., who so
greatly distinguished himself, by his fidelity and valour, in the wars
between King and Parliament. In those sanguinary and calamitous struggles
he served under the standard of royalty. He was slain at the battle of
Wigan-lane in 1651; and as a mark of esteem for his many virtues and
gallant deeds a monument was erected, near the spot where he fell, in
1679, by Alexander Rigby, of Layton Hall, High Sheriff for the county of
Lancaster. The monument was inscribed as under:—
“An high Act of Gratitude, which conveys the Memory of
SIR THOMAS TYLDESLEY
To posterity,
Who served King Charles the First as Lieutenant-Colonel
at Edge-Hill Battle,
After raising regiments of Horse, Foot, and Dragoons,
and for
The desperate storming of Burton on Trent, over a bridge of 36 arches,
RECEIVED THE HONOUR OF KNIGHTHOOD.
He afterwards served in all the wars in great command,
Was Governor of Litchfield,
And followed the fortune of the Crown through the Three Kingdoms,
And never compounded with the Rebels though strongly invested;
And on the 25th of August, A.D. 1651, was here slain,
Commanding as Major-General under the Earl of Derby,
To whom the grateful erector, Alexander Rigby, Esq., was Cornet;
And when he was High Sheriff of this county, A.D. 1679,
Placed the high obligation on the whole Family of the Tyldesleys,
To follow the noble example of their Loyal Ancestor.”
Sir Thomas Tyldesley married Frances, daughter of Ralph Standish, of
Standish, and had issue—Edward, born in 1635; Thomas, born in 1642;
Ralph, born in 1644; Bridget, who became the wife of Henry Blundell,
of Ince Blundell; Elizabeth; Frances, wife of Thomas Stanley, of Great
Eccleston; Anne, who was abbess of the English nuns at Paris in 1721;
Dorothy; Mary, wife of Richard Crane; and Margaret.
Edward Tyldesley, the eldest son and heir, followed in the footsteps of
his father, and was a staunch supporter of Charles II. When that monarch
had been restored to the throne of his ancestors he purposed creating
a fresh order of Knighthood, called the Royal Oak,[62] wherewith to
reward a number of his faithful adherents, whose social positions were
of sufficient standing to render them suitable recipients of the honour.
Edward Tyldesley was amongst those selected; but the design was abandoned
by the king under the advice of his ministers, who considered that it
was likely to produce jealousy and dissatisfaction in many quarters, and
might prove inimical to the peace of the nation. Under an impression,
which afterwards proved erroneous, that Charles II. intended to confer
upon him the lands of Layton Hawes, in recognition of the loyal services
of his father and himself, Edward Tyldesley erected a residence, called
Fox Hall, near its borders, where he lived during certain portions of
the year until his death, which occurred between 1685 and 1687. Edward
Tyldesley espoused Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Fleetwood, of Colwich, in
Staffordshire, and baron of Newton, in Lancashire; and after her decease,
Elizabeth, daughter of Adam Beaumont, of Whitley, by whom he had only
one child, Catherine Tyldesley, of Preston. The offspring of his union
with Anne Fleetwood were Thomas, Edward, Frances, and Maria. Thomas
Tyldesley succeeded to the estates, on the decease of his father, with
the exception of Tyldesley, which had been sold by Edward Tyldesley in
1685, and resided during a considerable part of his life at Fox Hall,
and occasionally at Myerscough Lodge. Thomas Tyldesley was born in 1657,
and at twenty-two years of age married Eleanor, daughter and co-heiress
of Thomas Holcroft, of Holcroft, by whom he had Edward, Dorothy, Frances,
Elizabeth, Eleanor, and Mary. After the death of his wife Eleanor, Thomas
Tyldesley espoused Mary, sister and co-heiress of Sir Alexander Rigby,
of Layton Hall, and had issue—Charles, Fleetwood, James, Agatha, and
Winefrid. Thomas Tyldesley, whilst living at Fox Hall, employed his time
chiefly in field sports, visits amongst the neighbouring gentry, and
frequent excursions to his more distant friends, as we learn from his
diary, a portion of which is still preserved. The following extracts from
it will illustrate what formed the favourite recreations of the numerous
well-to-do families peopling the Fylde at that era:—
“May 16, 1712.—In the morning went round the commone a ffowling,
and Franke Malley, Jo. Hull, and Ned Malley, shoot 12 times for
one poor twewittee; came home; after dinner Cos. W: W: went with
me to Thornton Marsh, where we had but bad suckses; tho wee
killed ffive or six head of ffowle.
“May 31, 1712.—Went to yᵉ Hays to see a race between Mr. Harper’s
mare and Sanderson’s; meet a greatt deal of good company, but
spent noe thing.
“June 7, 1712.—Pd. Mrs. 2s. 6d., pd. pro ffish 1s., pro meat 3s.;
and affter dinʳ went with cos Walton to bowle with old Beamont.
I spent 10d. att bowling green house with 4 grubcatchers and Tom
Walton, and Jo. Styeth.
“June 10, 1713.—Gave Joⁿ Malley and Jo. Parkinson 1s. to see yᵉ
cock ffeights. Gave Ned Malley 1s. for subsistence. Dinᵈ in the
cockpitt with Mr. Clifton and others. Spent in wine 6d., and pro
dinʳ 1s. Gave yᵉ fidler 6d. Spent in the pitt betwixt battles
6d.; I won near 30s.
“June 17, 1713.—Al day in yᵉ house and gardening; went to beed
about 7, and riss at 10, in ordʳ to goe a ffox hunting.
“Augᵗ 29, 1713.—Paid 2s. pro servant, &c.; soe a otter hunting to
Wire, but killed none.
“Septʳ 5, 1713.—In the morning Jos. Tounson and I went to
Staining; ... thence to Layton-heys to see a foot race, where I
won 6d. off Jos. Tounson—white against dun; soe home. Gave white
my winings.
“Octʳ 6, 1713.—We hunted yᵗᵗ hare ffive hours; but yᵉ ground soe
thorrowly drughted by long continewance of ffine wether that we
could not kill her.
“Decʳ 16, 1713.—In the morning went a coursing with Sʳ W: G:;
Lawʳ Rigby, &c.
“March 16, 1714.—In the morning sent Dick Gorney and 6 more harty
lads a ffishing; I stopᵈ with a showʳ of raine. Two of Rob.
Rich his sons came in on my godson, to whom I gave 1s.; thence
followed the ffishʳˢ, where we had very good sport, and tuck 8
brave large growen tenches, and 6 as noble carps as I have seen
tuke, severall pearch, some gudgeons, and a large eyell, and 6
great chevens.”
The diarist, Thomas Tyldesley, died in 1715, before the outbreak of
the rebellion, and was buried at Churchtown, near Garstang. Edward
Tyldesley, his eldest son, who succeeded him, had two children by his
wife Dorothy—James and Catherine. He was accused, tried, and acquitted
of taking part with the rebels of 1715, although the evidence clearly
convicted him of having led a body of men against the king’s forces. At
the death of Edward Tyldesley, in 1725, Myerscough no longer belonged to
the family, but Holcroft, acquired by marriage in 1679, passed to his son
James, who twenty years later served with the troops of Prince Charles,
the younger pretender, and died in 1765. The offspring of James Tyldesley
by Sarah, his wife, were Thomas, Charles, James, Henry, and Jane, all of
whom with their descendants seem to have sold or mortgaged the remnants
of the once large estates, and gradually drifted into poverty and
obscurity.
It will not be out of place in concluding the notice of a family
connected with the earliest infancy of Blackpool, to state something of
the character and habits of Thomas Tyldesley, of Fox Hall, as disclosed
by, and deduced from, the entries in his diary, which unfortunately
comprises only the last three years of his life. At the present time
the appearance of a party of gentlemen in this neighbourhood decorated
with curled wigs, surmounted by three-cornered hats, and habited in
long-figured waistcoats, plush breeches, and red-heeled boots, would
excite no little astonishment, yet in the days of the diarist the sight
must have been one of usual occurrence, for such was the style of costume
worn by the wealthier classes. The lower classes were clothed in garments
made from the undyed wool of the sheep and called hodden gray.
Thomas Tyldesley was a great equestrian, his journeys being so frequent
and rapid that it is difficult to be certain of his whereabouts when he
finished his day’s work and its minute record, with the final “soe to
beed.” He was on terms of intimacy and friendship with the Rigbys of
Layton, the Veales of Whinney Heys, the Westbys of Burn Hall, and all
the wealthy families in the neighbourhood. Fishing, hunting, coursing,
and shooting were his favourite recreations. Nor was he unmindful in
the midst of these amusements of the interests of his farm, as the
accompanying remarks amply testify:—“Very bussy all morning in my hay;”
and “Alday in the house and my garden, bussy transplanting colleflowʳ
and cabage plants;” whilst at other times we find him in communication
with various tenants relative to some portion or other of the Myerscough
property. Unless confined to bed by gout or rheumatism, and the
self-imposed, but fearful, “Phissickings” he underwent, swallowing
doses whose magnitude alone would appal most men of modern days, he
was ever actively engaged in either business or pleasure. Every item
of disbursement and every circumstance that occurred, even to the most
trivial, has found a place in his diary, and from it we learn that while
evidently anxious to avoid unnecessary expenditure, he was neither
parsimonious nor illiberal, always recompensing those who had been put
to any trouble on his account, and paying his share of each friendly
gathering with a scrupulous exactness. There is, however, a satisfaction
expressed in the words, “but spent noe thing,” after the brief notice
of the horse-race he had attended on the Hawes, which, when we call to
mind his natural generosity, showed that his income required care in its
expenditure, and was barely sufficient to support the position he held
by birth. Many other entries in his diary prove that he was frequently
short of money, and as his mode of living appears to have been far
from extravagant, it seems difficult at first sight to account for the
circumstance. But when we discover that he had for years been connected,
as one of the leading members and promoters, with a Catholic and Jacobite
Society at Walton-le-dale, having for its object the restoration of the
Stuarts, then in exile, and remember that a scheme of such magnitude and
importance could not possibly be matured or kept in activity without the
purses of its more earnest supporters suffering to a great extent, we
obtain in some measure an explanation of the matter.
The character of Thomas Tyldesley, as gleaned from his diary, may be
summarised as follows:—He was in every sense a country gentleman, fond of
field sports, happy on his farm, thoughtful of the condition and comfort
of his cattle, although sometimes given to hard, or at least far, riding;
for the rest, he was active and intelligent, liberal to his dependants,
careful in his household, and strictly honourable in all his dealings,
but above all he had an earnest and deep reverence for his creed and
principles that spared no sacrifice.
VEALE OF WHINNEY HEYS.
The Veales, of Whinney Heys, who during a time of considerable license
and extravagance, were renowned for their piety and frugality, were
descended from John Veale, of Mythorp. This gentleman was living during
the reign of Elizabeth, and furnished 1 caliver and 1 morion at the
military muster which took place in 1574. Francis Veale, the son of
John Veale, of Mythorp, is the first of the name we find described as
of Whinney Heys.[63] Francis Veale left a son, Edward, who resided
at Whinney Heys, and appeared amongst the list of Free-tenants of
Amounderness in 1621. According to Sir William Dugdale, he was a justice
of the peace for Lancashire in the reigns of James I. and Charles I.
Edward Veale married Ellen, the daughter and co-heiress, with her
younger sister Alice, of John Massey, of Layton and Carleton, and in
that way the Veales acquired much of their property in the neighbourhood
of Whinney Heys. The offspring of this union were—John, who was born
in 1605; Massey; Edward; Francis; Singleton; Ellen, who married Thomas
Heardson, of Cambridge; Juliana; Dorothy, who married George Sharples,
of Freckleton; Anne, who became the wife of John Austin, of London;
Alice; and Frances, the wife of William Wombwell, of London. The maiden
name of Mrs. Edward Veale’s mother was Singleton, she being the daughter
of Thomas Singleton, of Staining Hall, and for that reason we find
the name borne by one of the sons of Edward Veale. John Veale, the
eldest son, succeeded to the Hall and estate, and espoused Dorothy, the
daughter of Matthew Jepson, of Hawkswell, in Yorkshire. John Veale was
fifty-nine years of age in 1664, and at that date entered the names of
his ancestors, etc., before Sir William Dugdale at Preston, who was
on his heraldic visitation in Lancashire. The children of John Veale,
by Dorothy, his wife, were—John, Edward, Helen, Susan, and Jane. John
Veale, who was twenty years old in 1664, became the representative of the
family on the decease of his father, some time previous to which he had
married Susannah, the daughter of Geoffrey Rishton, of Antley, and by
her had issue—Edward, born in 1680; Ellen, the wife of Richard Sherdley,
of Kirkham, born in 1698; and Dorothy, who died unmarried in 1747, aged
76 years. John Veale was a justice of the peace for this county, and
died in 1704. After the death of John Veale, whose remains were interred
at Bispham church, Edward, his only son, inherited the lands and Hall
of Whinney Heys. Edward Veale was living at the same time as Thomas
Tyldesley, of Fox Hall, Blackpool, and between the two gentlemen a close
friendship seems to have existed, as we glean from the diary of the
latter, in which Edward Veale is frequently mentioned, being invariably,
for some reason, styled Captain,—perhaps he once held that rank in some
temporary or reserve force, for there is no record of his ever having
been connected with the regular troops. The following is a short extract
from the above diary in 1712:—
“Aug. 2.—Att my returne I wentt to yᵉ King’s Arms, and got my
dinʳ with Broʳ. We spent 1s. a pice in whitte wine, and as wee
went through yᵉ hall met with Just. Longworth,[64] Capᵗᵗ Veale,
Just. Pearson, Franke Nickinson, and small Lᵈ of Roshall.[65] Wee
were very merry upon yᵉ small Lord, and spent 1s. a pice in sack
and white wine, wʰ elevated yᵉ petite Lᵈ that before he went to
bed he tucke yᵉ ffriedom of biting his man Sharocke’s thumb off
just beyond yᵉ nail. I found cos. W: W: att home.”
Edward left issue at his death in 1723, at forty-three years of age—John,
Sarah, and Susannah. John Veale, the heir, entered into holy orders, and
subsequently died unmarried. Sarah and Susannah Veale, the co-heiresses
of their brother, married respectively Edward Fleetwood, of Rossall Hall
(the small lord), and John Fayle, of the Holmes, Thornton, who erected
Bridge House in Bispham, after the model of the original Hall of Whinney
Heys. The lands and residence of Whinney Heys eventually passed into the
possession of the Fleetwoods, of Rossall, through the wife of Edward
Fleetwood. The Veales were Puritans in religion, and one of the family,
named Edward Veale, whose father was the third son of Edward and Ellen
Veale mentioned above, and a lay member of the Presbyterian Classis for
this district in the time of the Commonwealth, attained considerable
eminence, first as a Puritan preacher and afterwards as a Nonconformist
minister. Calamy, in his _Nonconformist Memorial_, tells us that “Mr.
Edward Veale, of Christ Church, Oxford, afterwards of Trinity College,
Dublin, was ordained at Winwick in Lancashire, August 4th, 1657. When he
left Ireland he brought with him a testimonial of his being ‘a learned,
orthodox minister, of a sober, pious, and peaceable conversation, who
during his abode at the college was eminently useful for the instruction
of youth, and whose ministry had been often exercised in and about
the city of Dublin with great satisfaction to the godly, until he was
deprived of his fellowship for nonconformity to the ceremonies imposed
in the church, and for joining with other ministers in their endeavours
for a reformation;’ signed by Richard Charnock and six other respectable
ministers. He became chaplain to Sir William Waller, in Middlesex, and
afterwards settled as a Nonconformist pastor in Wapping, where he lived
to a good old age. He had several pupils, to whom he read university
learning, who were afterwards useful persons; one of whom was Mr.
Nathaniel Taylor. He died June 6th, 1708, aged 76. His funeral sermon was
preached by Mr. T. Symonds, who succeeded him.”
WESTBY OF MOWBRECK HALL AND BURN HALL.[66]
The family of this name, so long associated with the township of
Medlar-with-Wesham, in the parish of Kirkham, is descended from the
Westbys of Westby, in the county of York.
William Westby, who was under-sheriff of Lancashire in 1345, is the first
of the name, we can find, residing at Mowbreck; and a great-grandson of
his, named William Westby, is recorded as inheriting the Mowbreck and
Westby property in the reign of Henry VI., 1422-61. John Westby, the
son of the latter William, succeeded to the estates, residing, like his
ancestors, at Mowbreck Hall, and was twice married, the offspring of
the first union, with Mabill, daughter of Richard Botiler, being two
daughters; and of the second, with Eleanor Kirkby, of Rawcliffe, a son
and heir, named William, who succeeded him at his death in 1512. William
Westby, although the lawful holder of the estates, did not obtain control
over them until after 1517, being a minor at that date. He married
Elizabeth Rigmayden, of Wedacer, and had issue—John, Elizabeth, and
Helen. John Westby, the heir, had possession of Mowbreck, and Burn in
Thornton township, about the year 1556, after the decease of his father;
his places of residence were Mowbreck and Burn Halls. He was thrice
married, and by his last wife, Ann, daughter of Sir Richard Molyneux,
of Sefton and Larbrick, and widow of Thomas Dalton, of Thurnham, had
issue—John, Thomas, William, Ellen, and Mary. John Westby succeeded his
father in 1591, and dying unmarried in 1604, was in his turn succeeded
by his brother, Thomas Westby, who was twice married, and purchased the
estate of Whitehall, where the children of his second union established
themselves. The offspring of his first wife, Perpetua, daughter of Edward
Norris, of Speke, were—John, Thomas, Edward, William, Francis, Margaret,
Perpetua, and Anne. John Westby, the heir, came into the Mowbreck estate
and Burn Hall some time after 1622, but dying without issue in 1661, was
succeeded by his nephew, Thomas, the eldest son of his fourth brother,
Francis Westby, Thomas Westby, M.D., slain in the civil wars, and his two
other brothers, Edward and William, having died childless. Thomas Westby,
the inheritor of Westby, Mowbreck, and Burn, was born in 1641, and
espoused Bridget, daughter of Thomas Clifton, of Lytham Hall, his issue
being John, Thomas, William, Cuthbert, Robert, Francis, Bridget, Anne,
and Dorothy. John Westby, the eldest son, inherited Westby, Mowbreck, and
Burn Hall, on the demise of his father in 1700. Thomas Tyldesley, of Fox
Hall, was intimate with this gentleman, as observed from the following
entry in his diary in the year 1715:—
“June primo.—Went to Mains to prayers; thence with Jack Westby to
Burn to dinner; stayed till 4; thence to Whinneyheys; stayed till
9; soe home.”
John Westby married, in 1688, Jane, daughter of Christopher Parker,
of Bradkirk Hall, and had issue four daughters—Catherine, who married
Alexander Osbaldeston, of Sunderland; Bridget, the wife of William
Shuttleworth, of Turnover Hall; Mary, the wife of the Rev. Thomas
Alderson; and Anne, the wife of the Rev. J. Bennison, of London. At
the death of John Westby in 1722, Burn Hall and estate passed to the
Bennisons, whilst Mowbreck became the property of Thomas Westby, who died
childless six years later, and afterwards of Robert Westby, brothers of
the deceased John Westby. Margaret Shuttleworth, the daughter of William
and Bridget Shuttleworth, of Turnover, married her cousin, Thomas Westby,
of Whitehall, in 1744, and had numerous offspring, the eldest of whom,
John Westby, succeeded to Mowbreck, as heir-at-law, on the death of his
relative, Robert Westby, before mentioned, in 1762. This John Westby
died in 1811 unmarried, and was succeeded by his only surviving brother,
Thomas Westby. This gentleman also died unmarried, and was succeeded
in 1829 in the Turnover Hall estate, by his cousin, Thomas Westby,
heir-at-law, to whose eldest son, George Westby, he left Whitehall and
Mowbreck. George Westby espoused Mary Pauton, the eldest daughter of
Major John Tate, of the 6th West Indian Infantry, and had issue—Mary
Virginia Ann; Matilda Julia, wife of the Rev. Dr. Henry Hayman; Jocelyn
Tate; Ada Perpetua; Georgina Blanche; Ashley George, late captain in
the army; Cuthbert Menzies; Bernard Hægar, captain 16th regiment; Basil
Clifton, captain 16th regiment. George Westby died at Paris in 1842, and
was succeeded by his eldest son, Jocelyn Tate, the present holder, who
took by royal license the name and arms of Fazakerley on espousing, in
1862, Matilda Harriette Gillibrand-Fazakerley sister and co-heiress of
the late Henry Hawarden Gillibrand-Fazakerley, the son of Henry Hawarden
Fazakerley, of Gillibrand Hall, etc., and lord of the manor of Chorley.
Jocelyn Tate Fazakerley-Westby, of Mowbreck Hall, esq., was formerly a
cornet in the Scotch Greys, and is now a captain of Lancashire hussars,
yeomanry cavalry. He is a justice of the peace and a deputy-lieutenant of
the county of Lancaster.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]