BHO

Townships: Yealand Conyers

Pages 177-180

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1914.

This free content was digitised by double rekeying. All rights reserved.

Citation:

In this section

YEALAND CONYERS

Betheleghton, 1246; Leghton, 1348.

The southern half of Yealand lies upon the hilly ridge extending north from Warton Crag; here it attains a height of 400 ft. above sea level. On the eastern slope is the village of Yealand Conyers; on the western is Leighton, below which is the level tract of Leighton Moss. The eastern slope leads into an open vale, bounded on the east by gently rising ground. The township is well wooded, and there are fine views over the country. Near the south-west boundary is a copper mine. The area measures 1,581½ acres, (fn. 1) and there was a population of 267 in 1901.

The Lancaster and Kendal road goes north through the township. West of it, higher up the hill, goes the road through the village from Warton to Yealand Redmayne, with branches east and west. The main line of the London and North-Western railway runs through the eastern half of the township. Along the boundary at this side passes the Lancaster and Kendal Canal.

The soil is limestone. Barley, oats and roots are grown. In 1831 the inhabitants were largely employed in flax-spinning and linen manufacture. (fn. 2)

The township is governed by a parish council.

Manor

In 1066 there was only one manor of YEALAND, and it no doubt included Silverdale. The whole was assessed as four plough-lands, and was held by Earl Tostig as appurtenant to the neighbouring lordship of Beetham. Roger of Poitou held the same in 1086. (fn. 3) Later it became part of the barony of the Lancaster family, (fn. 4) being held by the service of the eighth part of a knight's fee, (fn. 5) and on division the Yealand Conyers part was assigned to Margaret de Ros of Kendal.

Before 1176 William de Lancaster I granted Yealand and Silverdale, as a plough-land and a half, this being apparently a moiety of the whole, to Adam de Avranches. (fn. 6) Adam was succeeded by his son Roger de Yealand, (fn. 7) who, with the assent of his wife Sunniva, gave land in his demesne there to the brethren of Cockersand (fn. 8); and Roger's son Adam de Yealand, (fn. 9) sheriff of the county from 1228 to 1233, (fn. 10) followed.

Adam left a daughter and heir Alice, (fn. 11) who married Robert de Conyers, and their portion thus acquired its distinctive name. The manor was also called LEIGHTON or Leighton Conyers. (fn. 12) Leighton seems at first to have been the demesne land, but was in later times regarded as a manor distinct from Yealand Conyers, and the tenures became confused. The Conyers family held it for half a century or more, (fn. 13) and it then passed, probably by marriage, to the Crofts of Dalton. (fn. 14) There was some dismemberment also, for younger branches of the Croft family had Tewitfield in Warton and Silverdale. The manor proper, Yealand Conyers and Leighton, descended with Dalton until the partition of 1489, when it was assigned to Sir Robert Middleton, (fn. 15) as son of Geoffrey, who had married Alison daughter and co-heir of James Croft. (fn. 16)

Conyers. Azure a maunch or.

Robert Middleton himself married Agnes or Anne daughter and heir of Roger Beetham. (fn. 17) He was made a knight at Hutton Field, near Berwick, in 1482. (fn. 18) His son Thomas (fn. 19) died at Kendal in 1517 holding certain messuages and land called the manor of Leighton, &c., of the heirs of Sir Thomas Parr by services unknown; lands in Yealand were held of the king as of his duchy by the tenth part of a knight's fee. (fn. 20) Geoffrey, the son and heir, aged fifteen, died in London a few months after his father, and then a younger son, Gervase, became heir. (fn. 21) His wardship and marriage were in 1520 granted to Sir William Parr. (fn. 22) He recovered part at least of the Beetham inheritance and died in 1548, leaving his son George to succeed him, he being twenty-six years old. (fn. 23)

Middleton of Leighton. Argent a saltire engrailed sable.

George Middleton, who recorded a pedigree in 1567, (fn. 24) died early in 1600 holding the manors of the queen—Yealand as of her duchy of Lancaster by the fourth part of a knight's fee and Leighton as of her barony of Kendal—and various other manors, lands, advowsons, &c. His heir was his son Thomas, aged twenty-three. (fn. 25) In the main the family continued faithful to the Roman Catholic religion, (fn. 26) their names occurring on the recusant rolls, though in some cases the head of the family temporized to escape fines and persecution. (fn. 27) Thomas Middleton was not a temporizer, for in 1629 he compounded by an annual fine of £100 for the two-thirds of his estates liable to sequestration for recusancy. (fn. 28) He recorded a pedigree in 1613, (fn. 29) and in 1631 paid £13 6s. 8d. as composition for refusing knighthood. (fn. 30) He died in 1640 holding the manors of Leighton (with the park), Yealand Conyers, Yealand Redmayne (with the new park), &c.; the heir was his son George, aged thirtythree. (fn. 31)

In May 1642 the tenants of the lordship of Yealand Redmayne, Yealand Conyers and Yealand Storrs complained of divers exactions. They held by inheritance according to the custom of the manor, by annual rents and services, a 'running fine or gressum ' called a 'town take,' being a double rent every tenth year and arbitrary fines at the death of lord or tenant, from two to four years' rent. A widow had paid no fine, but had given the best beast. Thomas Middleton, the late lord, and his son George had recently attempted to increase the arbitrary fines on succession up to twelve years' rent or more, and to alter the conditions of tenure. The park was overstocked with deer, which depastured the tenants' lands. (fn. 32) A decree in Chancery in 1659 confirmed an award made concerning the fines payable and other customs of the manors; it sets out the names of the tenants and the rents payable. The tenements were customary freehold, being conveyed by deed by the lord's licence, which could not be refused if the fine was paid. The lord admitted the heir on the death of a tenant. (fn. 33)

The Civil War then broke out, and George Middleton, who was made knight (fn. 34) and baronet (fn. 35) by the king in 1642, took a prominent part as a Royalist, (fn. 36) and was captured at the surrender of Dublin in 1647. His estates had been sequestered by the Parliament, but he was eventually allowed to compound. Nothing was said of his recusancy, (fn. 37) so that he was outwardly a conformist. Part of the estate was mortgaged to Sir Thomas Sclater. (fn. 38) A settlement of the manors was made in 1658. (fn. 39) Sir George outlived the Commonwealth, serving as sheriff in 1661 (fn. 40) and recording his pedigree in 1664. (fn. 41) He died in February 1673–4, (fn. 42) and his daughter Mary was his heir. She married Somerford Oldfield of Somerford in Cheshire (fn. 43) and had several children. The only son George Middleton Oldfield died intestate 25 January 1708–9, (fn. 44) and his heirs were his sister Katherine wife of Thomas Fletcher of Hutton in the Forest, Cumberland, and his niece Dorothy wife of Albert Hodgson or Hodshon, who was daughter of another sister Anne by Edmund Gooden. (fn. 45)

In 1711 a partition of the estates was made. Albert Hodshon took Leighton Hall and most of the demesnes, Thomas Fletcher taking the three manors of Yealand with other estates. Mr. Hodshon was a Roman Catholic and Jacobite, and, taking open part with the Scottish invaders of 1715, went with them to Preston, (fn. 46) and was probably captured there. His life interest in the Leighton estate was declared forfeit (fn. 47) and was sold by auction in 1723; it was bought for him by a friend, (fn. 48) and he continued to live at Leighton. The will of Dorothy wife of Albert Hodshon, dated 1751, disposed of the capital messuage of Leighton and Leighton Park, part of the inheritance of her uncle George Middleton Oldfield. (fn. 49) She had two daughters, Mary, who married George, younger son of Charles Towneley of Towneley, and Anne, who married Bryan Hawarden of Wigan. (fn. 50) Neither had any issue, and George Towneley, who became owner of the estate, where he resided till 1782, devised it to his nephew John Towneley of Towneley, and by him it was sold about 1790 to Alexander Worswick, son of Thomas Worswick, the Lancaster banker. (fn. 51) Alexander died in 1814, and was succeeded by his son Thomas, but the estates were sold after the failure of the bank in 1822. Leighton was purchased by a cousin, Richard Gillow of Lancaster, (fn. 52) and has descended to his great-grandson Mr. Charles Richard Gillow, the present owner. (fn. 53) There are no court rolls.

In 1713 Thomas and Katherine Fletcher sold the manors of Yealand Conyers, Yealand Redmayne and Yealand Storrs to Charles Gibson of Preston, whose family retained them till 1791, when they were sold to Thomas Rawlinson of Lancaster. (fn. 54) His heirs in 1816 sold the manors with other estates in Yealand to John Ford, (fn. 55) from whom they have descended to his grandson Mr. John Rawlinson Ford, the present lord of the manors. No courts are held, and all the lands have long been enfranchised. (fn. 56)

Apart from the lords of the manor there do not seem to have been any considerable holders of land in the township. (fn. 57) Robert Chorley of Yealand forfeited his house for 'treason' in the Commonwealth period. (fn. 58)

An Inclosure Act for both Yealands, including Waitham Moss and Hilderstone Moss, was passed in 1777. Mrs. Sarah Gibson as lady of the manor had 20 acres allotted to her. Her right to the mines was afterwards the subject of an action, and was disallowed. (fn. 59)

There are three places of worship in the township. For the Church of England St. John's was built in 1838 and enlarged in 1861 and 1882; the patronage is vested in the Hyndman trustees. (fn. 60) Two centuries ago almost all the people here belonged to the Society of Friends, (fn. 61) and their meeting-house was built in 1692. It is in regular use. For Roman Catholics during the long period of proscription the chapel at Leighton Hall was sometimes available (fn. 62); a mission was formally established in 1782, and the present church of St. Mary was built in 1852. (fn. 63)

Footnotes

  • 1. The Census Rep. 1901 gives 1,582 acres, including 4 of inland water.
  • 2. Lewis, Topog. Dict.
  • 3. V.C.H. Lancs. i, 290b.
  • 4. It formed part of their Warton or Carnforth fee.
  • 5. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 154. On the division of the Lancaster inheritance part of Leighton and Yealand, called the tenth part of a knight's fee, went to Margaret de Ros and her son William; Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 215. The other part went to Ingram de Gynes; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 317. In 1346 the partition is thus shown: Mary de St. Paul Countess of Pembroke held a plough-land in Yealand Redmayne, which paid 7½d. for castle ward, while Thomas de Ros had another plough-land in Yealand Conyers, which paid 5d.; Surv. of 1346 (Chet. Soc), 82. Silverdale, half a plough-land, paying 2½d., had been separated. Probably the three parts had been assessed as three plough-lands, paying 1s. 3d. for castle ward, and had been divided equally; the 7½d. on Yealand Redmayne may be the result of the gift of its moiety of Silverdale to Cartmel Priory, which was not charged.
  • 6. Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 149, printed in Final Conc. i, 107. The deed is a grant or confirmation of the same estate by William de Lancaster III to Adam de Yealand, grandson of the former Adam. A pleading of 1292 quoted below states that William de Lancaster made the partition, in virtue of his lordship, between the ancestors of Conyers and Redmayne.
  • 7. As the Yealand family soon afterwards had land in Ellel it seems certain that this was the 'Roger son of Adam' to whom Grimbald gave 2 oxgangs of land with Sunniva his daughter in free marriage; Final Conc. i, 27.
  • 8. Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc), iii, 996. The wife's name is denoted by S. in the charter.
  • 9. Adam son of Roger de Yealand gave to Cockcrsand Abbey a rent of 4s. from Ellel for the soul of his lady, Helewise de Lancaster; Chartul. iii, 769. Adam de Yealand occurs from 1202 onward; Final Conc. i, 13, &c. He had brothers Robert and William; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxxviii, 565. Another brother, Nicholas, was a benefactor of Cockersand Abbey; Cockersand Chartul. iii, 921, 768–9.
  • 10. P.R.O. List, 72; the surname is misprinted Irland (for Ieland). Adam de Yealand gave land in Warton in Amounderness, together with his body, to Cockersand Abbey; Chartul. i, 190. An Adam de Yealand was seneschal of the Bishop of Durham in 1225; Hutchinson, Dur. i, 199.
  • 11. She was one of the hostages of Gilbert Fitz Reinfred in 1216; Rot. de Oblatis et Fin. (Rec. Com.), 571. Robert de Conyers was tenant in 1242; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 154.
  • 12. In 1246 Robert de Conyers and Alice his wife, together with Matthew de Redmayne, complained that Thomas de Beetham took common in their land of Yealand. He replied that he and his ancestors had from the Conquest been seised of common there; neither plaintiffs nor he knew their severalty, for the land had never been partitioned; Assize R. 404, m. 12. Afterwards a definition of Thomas's right was agreed upon, eight of his men being allowed pasture right in Yealand within certain bounds, one of which was the road from Betheleghton (Leighton) to Silverdale; Final Conc. i, 108.
  • 13. In 1276 Alice de Conyers claimed the custody of the manor of Yealand during the minority of the heir of Adam de Conyers, who held by knight's service. The defendants were Margaret de Ros and others; Cal. Close, 1272–9, p. 313; De Banco R. 17, m. 107 d.; 18, m. 28 d. Adam was the son of Alice, and had received Sleddale from his mother; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. x, App. iv, 324. Isolda widow of William de Croft demanded of Robert son of Adam de Conyers, Nicholas le Gentyl, Katherine de Singleton and Thomas Skillehare in 1291 a statement of the services by which they held the tenement of Alice de Conyers in Yealand and Skerton; De Banco R. 87, m. 26 d. In 1301 a similar demand was made against Robert de Conyers—by what services did he hold his tenement in Leighton and Yealand of Margaret de Ros; ibid. 136, m. 14 d. Agnes widow of Adam de Conyers in 1292 released her dower-right to Gilbert de Burnollshead for a rent of 8 marks to be paid in the greater church of St. Edmund in Suffolk; Assize R. 408, m. 67 d. At the same time John, Alice and Agnes, the children (under age) of William de Conyers, claimed a tenement in Warton against Isolda de Croft; ibid. m. 58. Alice daughter of William de Conyers seems to have become heiress of ber father; Final Conc. i, 191. The above-named Isolda appears in numerous pleas of the time. She stated that one William de Lancaster, lord of both Yealands, gave one to the ancestors of Matthew de Redmayne, and the other to the ancestors of Robert Conyers, excepting a wood called Clenefoteslagh, which he gave to Adam de Yealand. Adam's daughter and heir Alice enfeoffed Isolda, who complained of trespass. The jury found that Matthew and Robert held the wood in common, but Robert had demised his property to Gilbert de Burnolfshead, and decided against Isolda, who paid 1 mark as fine; ibid. m. 10, 30 d. See also De Banco R. 69, m. 148. John son of Thomas de Rigmaiden gave land in Warton to Isolda with remainder to her son John de Croft; Dods. MSS. cviii, fol. 112. It is clear that Robert Conyers was lord of the manor from 1291 to 1301 at least.
  • 14. There seems to be no record of the way in which the Crofts acquired the manor. Lambert de Hubrightthorn (Hubberthorne) in 1302 claimed a messuage in Yealand against Roger de Croft; De Banco R. 144, m, 155. In 1310 Henry de Croft held the 'hamlet' of Leighton Conyers of William de Ros as of his barony of Kendal by a rent of 12d. and one niais hawk. Nicholas de Grendon held a fourth part of the same hamlet by 1d. rent; Inq. p.m. 3 Edw. II, no. 54. The 'manor' of Leighton Conyers (excepting one messuage in the manor) was settled on Henry de Croft in 1325; Final Conc. ii, 69. The manor was held indower by the widow of Roger de Croft, as appears by the fine. Adam de Redmayne, Sir Henry de Croft, John his son and Aline widow of Roger de Croft in 1337 held a wood in Yealand, and Adam desired a partition; ibid. 309, m. 212 d. John de Croft of Dalton in 1353 obtained a messuage and land from Gilbert Aleynson and Avice his wife; Final Conc. ii, 139. Sir John de Croft died in 1419 holding the manor of Leighton by knight's service and a rent of 5d.; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 140–1.
  • 15. Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 68, m. 7; the manor of Leighton with the vills of Yealand Conyers and Yealand Redmayne.
  • 16. The Middletons derived their surname from the place so called a few miles north of Kirkby Lonsdale. The agreement for the marriage of Geoffrey Middleton and Alison daughter of James son of Nicholas Croft is dated 1438–9; Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 149.
  • 17. Ibid, cviii, fol. 113b; cxlix, fol. 146b.
  • 18. Metcalfe, Bk. of Knights, 6; by Richard Duke of Gloucester.
  • 19. By an agreement of 1478 between Sir Thomas Strickland and Robert Middleton the latter's son Thomas was to marry Joan, the former's daughter; Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 146b.
  • 20. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 91. Joan survived her husband. The heir was found to be the son Gervase, aged sixteen. John Hyne, to whom £112 was owing, had been in possession, but complained in 1519 that he had been ousted; ibid, no. 97. The estate is here described as the manors of Yealand Conyers and Yealand Redmayne, four messuages in Over Kellet, moss-land called Warton Moss, and a messuage next Yealand Conyers called Leighton Hall.
  • 21. Ibid, v, no. 4; taken in 1520 to correct the earlier findings. Gervase was stated to be then seventeen years of age. Joan Middleton, his mother, died in 1526, Gervase being twenty-six years old; ibid, vi, no. 69.
  • 22. Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxix, App. 557. Gervase was born at Kendal 21 Dec. 1501; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 70.
  • 23. Ibid, ix, no. 11. The lands in the Yealands were said to be held of the king by knight's service, and Leighton of the Marquess of Northampton as of his manor of Parr (an error for Kendal). By his will he provided for Anne his wife, his sons George, William and Thomas and his daughters Elizabeth and Anne. George was to have the custody of Mary daughter of Gervase's sister until her marriage. George Middleton had livery of his lands in November 1548; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxix, App. 557. Richard Pallady —he was farmer of Warton rectory— married Anne the widow and they had a dispute with the heir as to certain goods, &c., at Leighton; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 103. George Middleton had further disputes concerning Thornbarrow, Homer, Flatts and other lands in Leighton; ibid, ii, 292, 313, 268; iii, 24.
  • 24. Visit. (Chet. Soc), 62.
  • 25. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvii, no. 51. Hilderstone Moss, Whiett Moss and Store Moss are named. For a claim by Margaret widow of George see Ducatus Lanc. iii, 422.
  • 26. The widow (second wife) of George Middleton was a recusant; Misc. (Cath. Rec. Soc), iv, 165.
  • 27. Information of Mr. Gillow.
  • 28. Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xxiv, 173.
  • 29. Visit. (Chet. Soc), 29. For family disputes of 1627 see Exch. Dep. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 20.
  • 30. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 222. In 1638 Robert Middleton appeared on behalf of his father Thomas, who had been summoned to answer for a deficiency in the arms shown at a muster; Cal. S. P, Dom. 1637–8, pp. 398, 410.
  • 31. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxix, no. 64. The Yealands were stated to be held of the king as of his duchy by the fourth part of a knight's fee, while Leighton was held of the king as of his pourparty of the barony of Kendal called the 'Marquess fee.'
  • 32. Duchy of Lanc. Plead, bdle. 370. The tenants thought the lord wished to depopulate the township.
  • 33. Information of Mr. J. R. Ford. The usual fine was fixed at eight years' rent.
  • 34. Metcalfe, op. cit. 199.
  • 35. G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, ii, 185.
  • 36. Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc.) 14, 24.
  • 37. Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iv, 131–5. His fine was fixed at £855 8s., and he settled a rectory of £60 a year on the ministry. The fine was subsequently increased to £1,015. His uncle Robert and brother Robert had annuities. In fines concerning the manor in 1653 and the whole estate in 1654 George Middleton and Anne his wife were deforciants; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 154, m. 92; 156, m. 135.
  • 38. Misc. Gen. et Her. i, 382–4.
  • 39. George Middleton, Anne his wife, Somerford Oldfield and Mary his wife were concerned in a suit respecting the manors and townships of Yealand Redmayne, Yealand Storrs, Yealand Conyers and Lindeth in 1659; Bill Bks. no. 6.
  • 40. P.R.O. List, 73. In the same year he made a settlement of his manor of Leighton-cum-Yealand; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 167, m. 109.
  • 41. Dugdale, Visit, (Chet. Soc), 198.
  • 42. He was buried at Warton, where there is a memorial brass. His widow was a convicted recusant and lived till 1705; Misc. (Cath. Rec. Soc), v, 241.
  • 43. Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), iii, 60. His will was proved in 1674.
  • 44. A feoffment of the manor of Leightoncum-Yealand was made by George Middleton Oldfield and Lady Frances his wife in 1705, Albert Hodshon being one of the plaintiffs; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 255, m. 78. Administration of G. M. Oldfield's effects was granted at Richmond in 1708 (O.S.). His son had died before him.
  • 45. The account of the descent of the manors since 1700 is due in the main to Mr. John Rawlinson Ford. In 1709 Thomas Fletcher and Katherine his wife had a moiety of the manor, and in 1711 Thomas Fletcher, Katherine his wife, Albert Hodshon and Dorothy his wife were deforciants; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 263, m. 38; 267, m. 27. Thomas Fletcher, having renounced the Roman Catholic religion, gave the government information as to estates, including Hodshon's (as below), supposed to be devoted to 'superstitious uses'—a proceeding specially disgraceful in his case. He died without issue.
  • 46. Payne, Rec. of Engl. Cath. 97.
  • 47. Dep. Keeper's Rep. v, App. 113. It was suspected that part was held in trust for Douay Seminary; Payne, op. cit. 151.
  • 48. In the Westmorland Note-bk. 1888–9, p. 359, is an extract from the proceedings of the Commissioners for Forfeited Estates setting forth Dorothy Hodshon's title, and stating that her husband's life interest had been sold for £1,562 to Thomas Winckley. The reference is due to Mr. Ford. Dorothy Hodshon, as heir of her brother Thomas Gooden, claimed Little Bolton in Pendleton. Albert Hodshon, Dorothy his wife, John Cort and Ellen his wife were deforciants in a fine concerning the manor in 1723; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 292, m. 57.
  • 49. Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 278, from R. 26 of Geo. II at Preston.
  • 50. The information as to the TowneleyWorswick descent is due to Mr. Joseph Gillow. According to Lucas, Albert Hodahon had two daughters, Anne and Mary, the latter in 1737 marrying Ralph Standish of Standish. In the rate-book for Yealand Redmayne 'Albert Hodshon esquire' was assessed until 1756. He appears to have died about that time, for 'Madam Standish' appears in his place in the constable's disbursements for the same year. 'Mr. George Townley' replaces her in 1758; note by Mr. J. R. Ford. Bryan Hawarden and Anne his wife were in 1765 in possession of a right in the manor of Leighton-with-Yealand; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 374, m. 143. In the following year the manor was in the hands of George Towneley, who settled it upon Elizabeth Williams, apparently on marriage; Com. Pleas D. Enr. Trin. 6 Geo. III. George Towneley died in 1786, and in the same year there was an agreement concerning the manor between John and Charles Towneley; ibid. Hil. 26 Geo. III.
  • 51. Thomas Worswick, who died in 1804, was son of Robert Worswick of Todderstaffe Hall, near Poulton-le-Fylde; Mr. Gillow's note.
  • 52. He was a descendant of the Gillows who founded the great furniture manufactory at Lancaster and who had sprung from a family seated at Singleton. According to Lanc. Rec. 1801–50 (p. 144), the Worswick estates were sold by auction in October 1823, and Leighton was bought by R. Gillow for £22,300. Mr. Joseph Gillow says the date of purchase was 1828.
  • 53. The descent is as follows: Richard Gillow, d. 1849 -s. Richard Thomas, d. 1905, aged ninety-eight, -s. Richard Charles, d.v.p. 1901 -s. Charles Richard, born 1870.
  • 54. The vendor was Charles Gibson of Lancaster, nephew and heir at law of Robert Gibson of Yealand Conyers, who had succeeded under the will of Sarah Gibson, spinster (d. 1778). For pedigree see Fishwick, Goosnargh, 159.
  • 55. John Ford was cousin of Thomas Rawlinson. See the pedigrees of the families in Foster's Lancs. Pedigrees.
  • 56. The last record of the holding of a court is 1682. By the award of 1658 it was provided that a tenant might grant his tenement by a deed declaring that the transfer was made with the consent of the lord, which consent the lord must formally endorse on the deed when the fine was offered him. The purchaser might, if he pleased, present the deed at the next court and ask the jury to declare that he was found to be tenant. It is supposed that the courts fell into disuse because purchasers did not trouble to take this course. In 1682 there appear to have been eight tenants in Yealand Storrs, twenty-three in Yealand Redmayne and nineteen in Yealand Conyers. These notes are due to Mr. Ford.
  • 57. Hubberthorne (Tunstall) and Hyning have been noticed under Warton. Bryan Tunstall died in 1513 holding a messuage, &c., in Yealand of Thomas Middleton in socage; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 3.
  • 58. Cal. Com. for Comp. v, 3224; Index of Royalists (Index Soc.), 42.
  • 59. Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. vi, 123. Mr. Ford gives the following reference for the action as to mining rights— Gibson v. Towneley, 2, Durnford and East's Reports.
  • 60. A district chapelry was formed for it in 1867; Lond. Gaz. 23 Aug.
  • 61. Lucas's 'Warton' MS. Dr. Sherlock when chaplain at Borwick Hall in 1654 had a controversy with the Quakers. William Higginson's house at Yealand was licensed as a meeting-place for them in 1689; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 230.
  • 62. The 'Papists' reported to the Bishop of Chester in 1717 numbered seven, but in 1767 they were fifty-four, including George Towneley, esq., and Mr. Wharton, priest; Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xviii, 220.
  • 63. Liverpool Cath. Annual. A century ago the priest in charge was Richard Basil Barrett (1781–1858), who while there wrote his Life of Card. Ximenes; Gillow, Bibl. Dict, of Engl. Cath. i, 144.