The Southworths Had Good Manors (Smith, 2018)

2.9 MB·English

by  Brian A. Smith, D.C.

What follows is a discussion of three of the Manor houses believed to be first built by Sir Gilbert de
Southworth in the first half of the 14th century. They are arranged chronologically by date of
construction and reflect the Manor of the same name.

Manor/Hall Page
Southworth Hall, circa 1320 2
Samlesbury Lower and Upper Halls, circa 1325 and 1330 respectively 8
Churches and Chapels of Samlesbury 20
Mellor Hall, circa 1340 26
Southworth
The earliest mention of Southworth is as 1 of the 6 vills of Newton Hundred in 1066 (another
was Croft). By 1100 Newton Hundred, which was named after its lord, had been replaced by the
Barony of Makerfield and the vill of Southworth had become the manor of Southworth. The
Barony had two parts: Newton manor and the fief of Newton. Southworth was part of the fief of
Newton which included Wigan, Ince, Hindley, Abram, Ashton, Pemberton, Billinge, Winstanley,
Haydock, Orrell, Winwick-with-Hulme, Woolston, Poulton, Middleton, Houghton, and half of
Golborne. Newton manor included Lowton, Kenyon, Arbury, the other half of Golborne and the
Church at Wigan. The Baron Newton was still overlord whether it was Newton Hundred or
Makerfield Barony or Newton manor or the fee of Newton. Eventually the name of Makerfield
incorporated the lord’s name and became Newton-in-Makerfield. In 1346 SIR ROBERT DE
LANGTON was Baron, holding 10 carucates from the King by the service of one knight’s fee,
wardship of Lancaster castle at Midsummer and suit of the county and wapentake. There were 17
tenants which encompass most, if not all, of those found in both the fief and the manor of
Newton in 1100. Croft is a new name in 1346 while Woolston and Poulton are no longer found.
Whether Croft subsumed all or part of one or both of those is possible, but not certain.
The manor of Southworth was about 10 miles north of the market town of Warrington in the
Hundred of West Derby and originally encompassed about 3,000 acres. The manor was split into
2 unequal parts around 1125: the western 1/ contained about 1,000 acres and retained the name
3
Southworth manor, while the eastern 2/ , about 2,000 acres, took the name of the vill of Croft.
3
Southworth Manor

Lords of Southworth & Croft
ROGER DE CROFT→→ GILBERT→→ GILBERT ((nneepphheeww)) →→ WILLIAM →→ GILBERT →→ GILBERT
c1175 <1212 1219 1270 1290 c1330
©2018, Brian A. Smith, DC
Exactly when the first manor-house was built on Southworth manor is unknown; there is a
stone plaque from the old Hall (that was razed in the early 1900s) that states the old Hall had
been built in 1400. But this is the date of the structure, not the year when the first hall was built.
One author states that there was a vill of Southworth in 1086 but this may be incorrect; the same
author listed Croft as a vill but it did not exist before 1125. That a Southworth manor of 3,000
acres did exist prior to 1125 favors the supposition that a manor-house existed, but there is no
written record.
If there ever was a manor-house on Croft manor, no mention is extant; there may have been
one built after it was separated from Southworth in 1125. Before Southworth was split, the whole
was under the lord of Southworth, possibly residing at the first Southworth Hall. Without
knowing the reason for splitting the manor it is difficult to say who held the lordship of either
manor. It is known that Croft manor was granted to ROGER, a descendant of GOSPATRIC, in 1165,
after which time he was known as ROGER DE CROFT. At some point in the following 25 years
ROGER DE CROFT was granted Dalton manor in the far north of Lancashire and he transferred the
seat of the DE CROFT family there, which required a manor-house. In 1190 ROGER DE CROFT was
granted Southworth manor for providing services as falconer to the count of Mortain. It is not
known if the Southworth Hall that had stood at the opening of the 12th century was still standing
at its end. With ROGER DE CROFT seated at Dalton manor by 1190, the northern and southern
manors would soon pass to different branches of the family. The actual acreage reported as being
held by ROGER was a fraction of the total acreage; in Croft he held 120 of the 2000+ acres of
manor lands and 180 of the 1000 acres in Southworth manor.1 Just how ROGER, who was lord of
Croft manor since about 1160, could have that title when he held less than 10% of the land is one
more area that’s fuzzy; perhaps his subtenants acreage was not included in his total.
In 1212 a country-wide listing of all properties was drawn up for KING JOHN. It may be the
most complete listing of lands but its accuracy is lacking. For instance it states that Croft manor
was held for providing falconry services; it was not.2 Southworth manor was held since 1190 for
providing services as falconer to the count of Mortain and the 180 acres (j carucate and a half)
of Southworth, or Suthewrthe, though held by GILBERT DE CROFT, was in the king’s hands in
1212. Perhaps this was because JOHN was no longer the count of Mortain; he became duke of
Normandy in 1199, the same year he became the English KING JOHN. The falconer’s service was
commuted to a rent of 15d and Southworth manor returned to GILBERT DE CROFT before 1250.
The first possible documentation for the existence of a manor-house at Southworth is from
1219. In that year, Southworth manor was gifted from uncle-to-nephew and the record of that
transaction allegedly mentions both the manor of Southworth and the hall. The 1219 charter
states the manor is a gift to his nephew GILBERT and that GILBERT DE CROFT made the transfer
with the consent of his heir. Nephew GILBERT agreed to pay one pound of black peppercorns or
black pepper annually to the lord of Makerfield. Black peppercorns were luxury items and very
expensive; a pound cost the equivalent of 20 hours of wages (today the cost is 15 minutes of
wages). The grant was duly confirmed by THURSTAN BANASTRE, lord of Makerfield (who died in
that year) and witnessed by HENRY DE CROFT, ROGER DE CROFT (relationship unknown) and
THURSTAN’S brother ROBERT BANASTRE. An annual payment of 13s 4d was later substituted for

1 “Makerfield; The Great Inquest of Service within the Lyme,” (1212) Lancashire Inquisitions post mortem, v 1,
1205-1307; p. 77.
2 “Townships: Southworth with Croft,” A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4 (1911), pp. 168-170. URL:
www.british-history.ac.uk. This is where this source confuses which manor was held by the falconer’s service.
©2018, Brian A. Smith, DC
the pound of peppercorns by the lord of Makerfield; this confirms that payment was to be made
to the lord of Makerfield and not to his uncle GILBERT DE CROFT.3
A manor-house was definitely standing in 1291
when a license was issued for a chapel-at-ease on
Southworth manor. Saint Oswald’s Roman Catholic
Church in Winwick had served generations of residents
of SOUTHWORTH manor, including the lords as attested
to by the presence of the SOUTHWORTH arms on its
tower. It was converted to the State mandated religion,
first English Catholic, then Church of England, during
the mid-16th century. Since the manor-house
Southworth Hall was considered old by 1300, it was
probably built years before its first mention in 1219 and could be the one dating to some time
before the 1125 split of Southworth manor.
Assuming the old hall of 1300 was the first hall, the second Southworth Hall dates to about
1320. The inscription in stone that dates it to 1400 is incorrect; an architectural analysis showed
it to be about 80 years older. The construction techniques used in building Southworth Hall were
compared with those used at Samlesbury Hall and the results indicated that, though they were
contemporaneous, Southworth Hall was the older of the two. The dating of the structure through
analysis of building techniques and materials places it in the 1310 – 1330 range. Given that
Samlesbury Hall was built in 1325 and that the lord of Southworth manor lived in Southworth
Hall before 1325, a logical scenario is the manor-house predating 1219 needed renovation or
rebuilding by 1320. The manor-house at Samlesbury had to be rebuilt because it was destroyed
in 1322 by Scottish raiders; while a similar fate could have befallen Southworth Hall, the records
are silent. For whatever reason, destruction, age, &c, the Southworth Hall standing at the start of
the 20th century was built around 1320. The first known description comes from the latter half of
the 14th century where the Hall is described as a spacious building of brick, wood and plaster
with two projecting gables. The Hall originally had two stories. The hall was rebuilt in 1420 by
SIR THOMAS DE SOUTHWORTH, lord of Southworth and Croft (and Samlesbury) and his wife
JOAN. SIR THOMAS became lord in 1415, at the age of 22; his wife was JOAN DE BOTHE. They
soon applied to HENRY DE HALSALL, Archdeacon of Chester, for a license to build a chapel to be
attached to their manor-house at Southworth (and another at Samlesbury Lower Hall). The
Archdeaconry was the northernmost extent of the diocese of Coventry and Lichfield and, in
1420, WILLIAM HEYWORTH, Bishop of Lichfield issued the license and a chapel was soon built
but no description of it is known to exist. SIR THOMAS and JOAN favored living at the refurbished
Southworth Hall where they raised their family of at least 4 children. After SIR THOMAS died in
1432 nothing else is heard about Southworth Hall until the middle of the next century.
What became of the attached chapel is unknown, but the suppression of the Roman Catholic
Church meant it had to be torn down or repurposed and incorporated into the main hall by mid-
16th century. The lords of Southworth were fervent Roman Catholics and built a secret chapel for
Mass to be heard in one of the Halls gable rooms around 1565; a couple priest-holes were
secreted about the Hall at the same time. Once again, the records fall silent for about a century
when another story has the lord of Southworth renting Croft manor to a CAPTAIN BRILLOCK, a

3 Ibid
©2018, Brian A. Smith, DC
Member of Parliament but a search of Parliament’s official history has no record of any such
member. A major renovation of Southworth Hall was undertaken in conjunction with a similar
project at Lower Hall in Samlesbury in 1604 by THOMAS SOUTHWORTH. He had been lord since
the death of his father SIR JOHN SOUTHWORTH, in 1595 but had only just come into possession of
the properties after 1603. The renovations were so costly and the family finances were so dismal,
that he had to mortgage the Lower Brockholes property to pay for them. On 24 February 1607 he
and his wife ROSAMOND LISTER, with two other couples, granted an annuity of ₤100 issuing out
of the manor-house of THOMAS SOUTHWORTH lately erected in Southworth called Southworth
Hall and the lands belonging thereto to hold during the lives of THOMAS and ROSAMOND to
MARTIN, MICHAEL and LAWRENCE LISTER, in-laws no doubt, to help bolster the failing
SOUTHWORTH fortunes.
Southworth manor, including the Hall, which had been mortgaged to the LISTERS in 1607,
may have defaulted to them before the November 1616 death of THOMAS but managed to be
saved by unknown means (possibly by loans from SIR THOMAS IRELAND). His eponymous
grandson and heir THOMAS sold some land in Croft to JAMES BANKES of Winstanley in 1618 and
some other Southworth parcels to THOMAS GOULDEN around the same time. A deed dated
September 1621 reflects the purchase by SIR THOMAS IRELAND of Bewsey, one of the parties
granting the annuity in 1607, of the manors, lands, tenements, rents, and services in Southworth,
Croft, Middleton, Arbury, Houghton (including Peel Hall), Winwick, Hulme, Orford, Warrington,
Fearnhead, Poulton, and Woolston for £500 from THOMAS SOUTHWORTH of Samlesbury. The
sale was done in accordance with agreements previously made by the seller’s father JOHN
SOUTHWORTH and grandfather THOMAS SOUTHWORTH which included the payment of an annuity
for £13 6s 8d to WILLIAM SOUTHWORTH, perhaps the seller’s uncle. SIR IRELAND, whose family
had been Barons of Warrington, sold Southworth manor later in the 17th century to the GERARDS
of Bryn.
The Commissioners of Enquiry had been empowered to look into the matter of estates held
by traitors, meaning Catholics, and where possible confiscate the lands. On 27 July 1716, the
undersheriff and bailiff were ordered to Southworth to assist in confiscating the manor;
apparently it was another Catholic that the manor was sold to a century earlier. The estate
appears more than once in the Treasury’s office Registers of Forfeited Estates of 1717 with
notations as late as 1740 being found.4 Southworth manor and Southworth Hall appear to have
been owned by different members of the GERARD family. In 1743 RICHARD GERARD bequeathed
Southworth and Croft manors to his brother THOMAS, a Jesuit priest. Yet other records reflect a
1744 purchase of Southworth Hall by WILLIAM GERARD of Ince Hall from his cousin JOHN
BEAUMONT BYERLEY. After a decade or so, WILLIAM GERARD donated Southworth Hall to the
Jesuits who already held the manor through FATHER THOMAS GERARD. The Jesuits had
established a mission at Southworth in the late 1600s where they held weekly Mass since then.
GERVASE HAMERTON, a Jesuit, was in charge of the mission of Southworth in 1701. At the end
of the century, a Jesuit college took up temporary residence. The order also had charge of nearby
Rixton Hall and Culcheth manor probably ran the college from all three.5 The Jesuit College at
Saint-Omer was established in 1593 in the Spanish Netherlands but with the French Revolution,

4 “Treasury Warrants: August 1717, 1-5” and “Declared Accounts: Forfeited Estates,” Calendar of Treasury books, Volume 31:
1717 (1960), pp. CDXVI-CDXXIV, 480-489. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk
5 Records of the English Province of the Society for Jesus, Volume 1 (1877) and 'Townships: Rixton with Glazebrook', A History
of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3 (1907), pp. 334-340.
©2018, Brian A. Smith, DC
was forced to abandon the continent, ending up at Stonyhurst Hall in Lancashire. The buildings
there were in a state of disrepair and while renovations were being made, the school took over
Southworth Hall and its private lands, plus 20 more acres. When the college buildings were
ready for students, the priests-holes built, and a tunnel running from Saint Mary’s Hall into the
gardens for use during raids (the tunnel still exists at Stonyhurst College), Southworth Hall
returned to being a Jesuit mission that worked with FATHER LOUIS DE RICHEBEC, an exile from
Normandy, to create a safer environment. The hall had been added onto at some point after 1621
with the addition of a 3rd story plus an annex. Logically it was the college that would need the
most room and could absorb such a cost much easier than a tenant farmer with just 20 acres of
ground. It remained as such until 1827, when FATHER RICHEBEC’S new church in Croft, Saint
Lewis’ Roman Catholic Church, was completed. Saint Lewis’ Church, whose Patron is SAINT
LOUIS, King of France, continues to serve the local community to this day.6 The limited registers
of the Jesuits contain records from 1795 to 1827 were turned over to the new Church. The
Southworth chapel remained in use for some years after 1827. Between 1820 and 1823 THOMAS
CLAUGHTON of Haydock had title but it was repossessed. The Jesuits then sold to EDWARD
GREENALL of Warrington; when he died in 1836 the manor was inherited by his 3rd son JOHN
GREENALL. When JOHN died in 1850, the manor was inherited by his daughter ELIZABETH, LADY
SHIFFNER. She sold it to SAMUEL BROOKS, after whose death it passed to a younger son THOMAS
BROOKS. In 1911 the owners were 2 sons of THOMAS BROOKS: JOSEPH RAYNOR BROOKS and
EDWARD BROOKs. 7 After an unknown number of renovations, additions and modifications that
changed the manor-house over the centuries it was time to rebuild. In 1931 the Hall was bought
by HARRY FAIRCLOUGH who decided to rebuild it, retaining the original dimensions of the Hall
and returning it to a 2-storey structure with no annex. Comparison with the etching on the first
page of this section does show the old and the new Halls to be quite similar. During the course of
the rebuild, a fireplace with a wide stone arch, dating from before 1500, was discovered behind a
wall and now is regularly used as it had been 600 years ago. The third Southworth Hall remains
in the FAIRCLOUGH family; the current owner is MARK FAIRCLOUGH.

6 Bolton History Centre, Bolton, County Lancaster.
7 “Townships: Southworth with Croft,” A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4 (1911), pp. 168-170.
©2018, Brian A. Smith, DC
Three 19th century descriptions survive: the 1831 description states it once belonged to the
Roman Catholic college of Stonyhurst, and part of it is still used as a chapel by professors of that
religion.8 An 1850 describes the structure as a farmhouse of wood, plaster and brick and in the
1880s it was a three-storey residence with projecting gabled sides and a two storey annex.
Records from the Diocese of Chester note that the Hall was in existence during the reign of
HENRY IV (1399 – 1413) and had a Roman Catholic chapel during Elizabethan times (1558 –
1603). A description of Christ Church in the parish of Croft with Southworth from 1848 states:
The 1,851 acre parish, with 1,155 inhabitants, was formed out of Winwick parish
by act of parliament, in 1845. The church was erected in 1833, at the cost of £4000,
defrayed by the rector of Winwick and society grants. The CROFT family held lands in
Croft in the early 14th century; Southworth gave name to the knightly family of
SOUTHWORTH. They subsequently passed to other families, and also belonged to the
Roman Catholic establishment at Stonyhurst. The population consists partly of
handloom weavers. There are places of worship for Unitarians and Methodists; and a
Roman Catholic chapel.9
Aerial view Southworth Hall on the left.
Southworth Manor lands have been
the sight of a sandstone quarry for
decades. Somewhat unexpectedly, areas
of Southworth Hall Farm, as some of the
manor is known, have turned up some
great archeological finds. Two bronze
axes were found in 1881 and a fine flint
knife came to light in 1961, both near
Southworth Hall. An ancient burial site,
or barrow, was being excavated in 1980
when an earlier and larger barrow, with
an estimated 800 burials, was found by
the Archaeology Department at
Liverpool University. Their dig yielded
two collapsed urns, one dating to 2,100
BCE, and three accessory vessels which are on display at the Warrington Museum.

For most of the last 2 centuries the manor lands were incorporated into the townships of
Burtonwood, Southworth-with-Croft, Poulton and Woolston. A major redistricting changed this
in 1974. Southworth-with-Croft was combined with a small part of Woolston to form the new
Croft Township. The remaining part of Woolston was divided into two separate townships, each
named Woolston, but one remains within Lancashire, the other is in Cheshire. Poulton and
Burtonwood are now the northern most parts of Warrington Borough which was also transferred
to Cheshire County.

8 “The Parish of Winick” Lancashire Online Parish Church Project, citing Rosemary Keery, Historic Culcheth - The Story of a
Village. ©Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks; http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Winwick/index.html
9 “Crewe - Croft,” A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 725-729. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk.
©2018, Brian A. Smith, DC
Samlesbury Manor
In Saxon times the area was held by EDWARD THE
CONFESSOR but by the late 12th century
COSPATRIC DE SAMLESBURY was the manorial
lord, holding it in thegnage to the DE LACEYS.
Thegnage meant that the Lord was responsible for
supplying a certain size contingent of men for the
King’s armies; in the case of Samlesbury, the
contingent repeatedly appears as a hundred men.
Thus COSPATRIC DE SAMLESBURY was the first lord of Samlesbury manor. He built a large,
timber manor house in a horse-shoe bend on the south bank of the River Ribble which enclosed
it on three sides.1 This same area was also the site of the later manor houses of Samlesbury lords.
As late as 1936 there was visible evidence of
several dwellings within a quarter mile radius
from the present Lower Hall Farm.2 One was
described at that time as marking the
foundation of COSPATRIC’S manor-house
while a second was probably the later
D’EWYAS stone tower. COSPATRIC’S timber
house had a courtyard surrounded by a strong
wall to keep out invaders. The hall was
located beside a ford, at one of the few
crossing points across the River Ribble, on
the winding old road between Blackburn and Preston, now named Potters Lane. Many
descriptions say there was a defensive moat around the hall but this is unlikely. First, given the
layout and style of buildings, a moat wouldn’t offer much benefit. Second, fish had to be
supplied for Friday meals and most manors had some sort of
pond to keep a store of fish; the “moat” was really a fish pond
and served no defensive purpose. A manor also had to have a
good store of grain and a place to have it ground; this
requirement was filled by construction of a grain mill in nearby
Samlesbury Bottoms.
The D’EWYAS construction was stone and has often been
described as a Peel Tower but this is probably incorrect. More
likely it was a bastle house – a stone structure that stabled
animals on the ground floor with living quarters on the first
floor (what we call the 2nd floor). The floors were connected
through a small opening inside wherein a ladder was lowered
from above for access; in safer areas a small staircase leading to
a heavy door connected the two levels.

1 “Townships: Samlesbury,” A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6 (1911), pp. 303-313. URL: http://www.british-
history.ac.uk/
2 Brief History of Samlesbury & Cuerdale; http://www.samlesbury.org.uk/history.htm
©2018, Brian A. Smith, D.C.
COSPATRICK was also lord of the Manor of Walton-le-Dale immediately east of Samlesbury.
From this manor he carved out the 1,000 acre Mellor Manor which he granted to a younger son.
Mellor and Samlesbury were reunited under the D’EWYAS family.

Manor houses at Samlesbury
COSPATRIC’S manor house was located near an ancient ford that crossed between Samlesbury
and Elston. He established a ferry service on the Ribble between the manor and that of
Brockhales on the opposite bank.3 Traversing the river wasn’t the only reason to drop by – the
Ferry Boat House also served beer.4

In 1243 Samlesbury was one of 59 manors in the Blackburn Hundred. A Manor could be held in
knight’s service which was where the men of the contingents required of the thegnage came from
– these were usually small manors, enough to support just the knight and his family but some did
encompass a thousand acres. In early 1322 THOMAS, 2ND EARL
OF LANCASTER was at the head of a baronial rebellion against
EDWARD II. While Lancaster only had 13 knights and 51 men-
at-arms at the time the forces available to the EARL were so
great that his military was a serious threat to that of the king.
The Lancaster knights and men-at-arms cost ₤15 a year to
maintain. This doesn’t sound like a lot of money, but it was a
hefty expense. To give you a sense of value: in 1374 ₤15 paid
the rent on a London merchant’s house for over 6 years; ₤15
was what a skilled laborer could expect to earn in 3 years!

THOMAS allied with ROBERT I, KING OF SCOTLAND whose truce with England ended in January
1322. THOMAS refused to intervene
when 3 Scottish contingents invaded
at the end of January 1322. EDWARD
ignored the Scots, focusing on
ending the rebellion which saw
THOMAS beheaded on 22 March
1322. Ransacking for several weeks
they set their eyes on the D’EWYAS
manor, a 4-story square stone
tower, which was left as a burning
ruin at the end of summer 1322. The
Scots looted Preston and set fire to
some of its wooden buildings before
rampaging throughout the pastoral
landscape of Grimsargh-with-
Brockholes with its timeless river
and field mosaics. ‘The Ribble ford
was used by ROBERT THE BRUCE in

3 Samlesbury and Cuerdale at http://www.samlesbury.org.uk/history.htm
4 R. Easton, A History of Samlesbury in the Hundred of Blackburn (1936)

©2018, Brian A. Smith, D.C.
midsummer 1322 when he burnt Lower Hall and robbed Samlesbury Church of valuables’. After
four weeks of absolute mayhem they went home to Scotland. “Samlesbury Church” means Saint
Leonard-the-Less and “Lower Hall” supports the idea that Samlesbury, which had two lords
since 1290, also had two manor houses from an early date. The Scots, left unchecked by the
Royal armies who were after LANCASTER and by the Baronial armies who were being chased by
the Royal army or helping the Royal army in the pursuit of LANCASTER, sacked many towns and
Samlesbury was one of the southernmost to be left in ruins. A writ issued 19 October 1323 called
for an investigation into the ransacking of Samlesbury to find out if any responsibility for the
damage was through the negligence of the keeper. The Inquest was held at Penwortham on 20
January 1324. A moiety in Samlesbury was forfeited by ROBERT DE HOLAND and WILLIAM DE
HOLDENE was the appointed keeper of the manor since the forfeit. Twelve statements were taken
and no negligence on the part of keeper of the manor was found. All losses were solely due to the
sudden coming of the Scots who carried away the plunder towards Scotland. Plundered items
included 18 oxen, 100 lances, saddles & reins; vestments, chalice, missal, and a psalter were
taken from the chapel; bowls, bedding and pots from the manor &c. Losses due to robbery came
to ₤143 19s 6d.5 Property damage was not accounted for in this record. From this record alone
it’s difficult to state with any certainty whether or not the damages were spread throughout the
manor or not. The specific mention of the DE HOLAND moiety and its keeper, who was cleared of
wrongdoing, is quite specific and there being no mention of the D’EWYAS moiety, despite the
known destruction of their tower, leads one to believe that something else was going on with the
DE HOLAND moiety.
On 16 August 1325 an inquisition was held regarding NICHOLAS D’EWYAS wish to insure the
ownership of the manor. He held it from the king in chief, which required an inquisition to
discover if such a move would deprive the king of any entitlement. It did not and the license
granting the manor to NICHOLAS, then to his daughter ALICE and her heirs by GILBERT DE
SOUTHWORTH, son of GILBERT DE SOUTHWORTH, and then to the right heirs of NICHOLAS
D’EWYAS was issued on 12 November 1325.6
The transfer of Samlesbury manor from NICHOLAS D’EWYAS to GILBERT DE SOUTHWORTH
occurred in the last 6 weeks of 1325 (considering the above license being issued in November
1325). In 1324 the lord directly responsible to the king was NICHOLAS D’EWYAS while in 1325 it
was GILBERT DE SOUTHWORTH. The transfer of Samlesbury has yet to be found but said transfer
is proven by a little-known holding of the manor of Samlesbury. A portion of the manor of
Alston, on the north side of the river Ribble, was held by the lord of Samlesbury. This share was
granted to ADAM DE HOGHTON around 1230 and after this, despite the DE HOGHTON
responsibility to the Samlesbury lord, records usually omit Samlesbury as the intermediate lord
between DE HOGHTON and the king. The 1324 and 1325 records that involve Alston name the
person who was directly responsible to the king, D’EWYAS and SOUTHWORTH respectively. Since
Alston was owned by Samlesbury manor, and not D’EWYAS or SOUTHWORTH as individuals,
their names can only appear in the records in their capacity as lord of Samlesbury with D’EWYAS
named in 1324 and SOUTHWORTH in 1325.

5“Inquest into the sacking of Samlesbury by the Scots, 20 January 1324,” Lancashire Inquisitions post mortem, v 2, 1310-1333;
pp. 162-4.
6 “Inquisition ad quod damnum 16 August 1325,” Lancashire Inquisitions post mortem, v 3, 1325 and holdings in 1335-6; pp. 23-
4. License in Calendar of Patent Rolls, Edward II, v5, p. 190. (GR Boynton, University of Iowa; 2003).
©2018, Brian A. Smith, D.C.