HUYTON WITH ROBY
Hitune, Dom. Bk.; Houton, 1258; Huton, 1278;
Hyton and Huyton, 1292. This last is the common
spelling from 1300.
The original township of Huyton has been united
with Roby to form the township of Huyton with Roby.
To them in 1877 was added Thingwall, (fn. 1) part of the
parish of Childwall. The area of the amalgamated
townships is 3,054 acres, (fn. 2) and the population in
1901 numbered 4,661. The country is somewhat
undulating in the north, but flat in most places. This
is quite a residential district with the dwellers in
the city of Liverpool, for pleasant country houses with
gardens and shrubberies are seen on all sides. Beyond the houses are open fields, some pastures, others
where corn, potatoes, and turnips are generally cultivated. The soil is sandy, with a solid base of red
sandstone. At Huyton Quarry the character of the
country varies; coal mines begin to indicate their
presence by shafts and ventilators. The Huyton
Quarry mine is the nearest to Liverpool of the South
Lancashire mines. To the east of Huyton village the
geological formation consists of the gannister beds
towards the north-east and the coal measures to the
south-east; in the western half of the township the
three beds of the bunter series of the new red sandstone are successively represented from north-west to
south-east. In Roby the same three beds occur respectively in (a) the north, (b) the centre, and (c) the
western half and eastern corner.
Huyton proper has an area of 1,819 acres. There
is no well-defined boundary between it and Roby to
the south-west. On the eastern side it is separated
from Whiston by a brook which runs through Tarbock
to join Ditton brook.
The main road from Liverpool to Prescot passes
through the northern part of the township, the South
Lancashire system of electric tramways running
along it from the Liverpool boundary to St. Helens
and beyond. The principal road for Huyton,
however, is that from Liverpool through Broadgreen
and Roby. The London and North-Western company's line from Liverpool to Manchester passes through
the centre, and just to the eastward of the village a
line branches off towards Prescot and St. Helens;
there are stations at the western and eastern ends of
the village called Huyton and Huyton Quarry respectively.
The Hazels or Red Hazels and Hurst House are
in the north-eastern corner of the township; Wolfall
Hall near the northern boundary, Dam House on the
border of Roby, and Huyton Hey to the south of the
railway near the station.
A local board was formed in 1877, and now the
united townships of Huyton, Roby, and Thingwall (fn. 3) are
governed by an urban district council of twelve members under the Act of 1894.
About 1830 wire-drawing for the watch-making
industry was engaged in, and there was a colliery. (fn. 4)
The flagstone quarry at the south-east of the township
is now closed. There is a brewery.
A cross on the village green near the church was
erected about 1820 from a design by Rickman. (fn. 5) It
was replaced in 1897 by the present cross. (fn. 6)
A halfpenny token was issued by Thomas Hodgson
of Huyton in 1666. (fn. 7)
MANORS
At the death of Edward the Confessor,
the manors of HUYTON and Tarbock
were held by Dot. The assessment was
one hide, quit of all customs except the geld; there was
land for four ploughs, and the value beyond the
customary rent was 20s. (fn. 8) Afterwards it became
part of the fee of Widnes, and was reckoned as a
member of Knowsley, with the Lathom family as
lords.
A subordinate manor was created or grew up about
the beginning of the thirteenth century. Robert
son of Henry de Lathom took to his second wife
Amabel, daughter of Simon, who was known as the
canon of Burscough. Robert died about 1198, leaving three sons by this marriage, Richard, Adam, (fn. 9) and
William, who took their surname from Knowsley or
Huyton indifferently. (fn. 10)
The eldest brother (fn. 11) seems to have settled at Wolfall, and his descendants took their name from it,
while Adam, though usually called 'de Knowsley,'
became possessed of Huyton proper—unjustly as was
afterwards alleged (fn. 12) —and his descendants were accordingly 'de Huyton.'
In 1258 Richard de Huyton (fn. 13) claimed from Adam
de Knowsley one-third of the manor of Huyton;
except the advowson of one-third of the church, and
a third of the mill, and of two oxgangs of land which
Richard when under age demised to him. When
Adam appeared, the justices found that he was not of
sound mind or good memory and could not speak,
and adjourned the matter. (fn. 14) Three years later Henry
de Knowsley, as assignee of Adam de Knowsley—
probably his son and heir—demanded from Nicholas,
then prior of Burscough, that he observe the covenant
regarding the mill at Huyton which his predecessor
Prior William had made with Adam. (fn. 15)
In 1252 Adam and his wife Godith, probably a
relative of the lords of Billinge, (fn. 16) sought from Adam
de Winstanley 1⅓ oxgang of land in Winstanley. (fn. 17)
The next step in the pedigree is not clear. It
would appear that Adam had several sons—Henry, (fn. 18)
Robert, and William, whose descendants held or
claimed the manor on a title said to be derived from
Adam de Knowsley. Henry de Huyton, if identical
with Henry de Knowsley, has been mentioned already
as the assignee of Adam in 1258. In 1292 he claimed
an acre of meadow from the prior of 'Burcho,' and the
person summoned triumphantly replied that he was
prior of 'Burscho.' (fn. 19) Henry was still living in 1307
when the prior of the Hospitallers complained of
his felling trees in Little Woolton. (fn. 20) In Billinge
he and Adam de Billinge were chief lords in 1291, in
right either of his wife or his mother; here his manor
descended to his son Robert, among whose daughters
or grand-daughters it was divided, (fn. 21) but Huyton went
to another son William, (fn. 22) who in 1306 had also been
summoned for cutting trees and doing other damage
in Little Woolton. (fn. 23) William de Huyton died about
1328, leaving a son and heir Robert, who being a
minor became the ward of Sir Thomas de Lathom as
lord of Knowsley. (fn. 24) He died about 1345, and his
daughter Katherine similarly became the ward of
Katherine, formerly wife of Sir Robert de Lathom,
and their son Sir Thomas.
A considerable amount of litigation followed; indeed there had been some already. (fn. 25) At the beginning of 1349 John le Norreys, younger brother of
Henry, lord of Speke, married the heiress, Katherine
de Huyton, and at once brought actions against
Emma de Newton and against Margery widow of
Robert de Huyton, on pleas that they were making
waste, &c., in the houses, woods, and gardens which
they severally held as dower in Huyton, and which
were Katherine's inheritance. (fn. 26)
Shortly afterwards (1350) Sir Thomas de Lathom
put forward his claim to the manor of Huyton as
against Margaret, then wife of John son of Richard the
Tailor of Warrington. (fn. 27)
In 1354 Henry de Walton, archdeacon of Richmond, purchased two-thirds of the manor from John
le Norreys of Speke. (fn. 28) The remaining third was sold
in 1357 to William de Walton by Avice de Brettargh and William de Brettargh. (fn. 29)
There were cross suits between the Waltons and
the Lathoms as to title. The archdeacon alleged
that Sir Thomas held of him, by virtue of his purchase, messuages, land, &c., by an annual service of
6s. 8d. Sir Thomas on the other hand asserted the
disseisin done to his great-grandfather, Richard son of
Robert son of Henry de Lathom, and claimed the
manor. (fn. 30) The suits went on for many years, but in
the end the Lathom claim seems to have prevailed. (fn. 31)
In 1366 Sir Thomas de Lathom
the elder claimed from Richard
de Causay, chaplain, the manor
of Huyton; two years later he
claimed it from Robert son of
Robert de Standen, certainly a
Walton trustee; in the next
year the latter prosecuted Robert
de Huyton for cutting down
trees at Huyton. (fn. 32) In 1371
Gilbert de Ince of Aughton, in
a deed made at Huyton, released William son of John de
Walton and the above Robert
Standen from all actions. (fn. 33) After
this the Walton connexion with the place seems to
have ended absolutely. (fn. 34)
Walton of Waltonle-Dale. Argent, a chevron gules between three falcons' heads erased sable beaked or.
The next Sir Thomas Lathom and his wife Joan,
after the recovery of the manor, made a settlement
of it in 1382; the remainders were thus stated: To
Margaret daughter of Thomas and Joan, and her
heirs male; to Isabel sister of Margaret; to Cecily
sister of Isabel; and to Katherine sister of Cecily;
then to Joan and her heirs for ever. (fn. 35) After Sir
Thomas's death his widow Joan, as wife of Roger de
Fazakerley, had a grant of one-third of the manor of
Huyton, pending the duke of Lancaster's claim to it. (fn. 36)
Joan afterwards married Sir Nicholas de Harrington of Farleton, and by fine in August, 1397, she
remitted to the above-named
Margaret de Lathom and her
heirs the moiety of the manor
of Huyton. (fn. 37) Margaret is said
to have married (fn. 38) Nicholas de
Harrington, a younger son of
Sir Nicholas by a former wife;
from them descended the Harringtons of Huyton Hey. In
1400 Sir Nicholas, the father,
made an agreement with Thomas de Hornby and Margery
his wife concerning the marriage of their daughter and
heir Sibyl with his grandson John son of Nicholas;
for this he would pay them 40 marks of silver, and
suitable settlements were to be made for John and
Sibyl. It appears that John was then under seven
years of age. (fn. 39)
Harrington of Huyton. Sable, a fret argent and a label or.
John, succeeding his father, occurs in 1442–3. (fn. 40) His
son and successor is said to have been Nicholas Harrington, (fn. 41) father of Hamlet (Hamo) Harrington, who
died 15 January, 1527–8. He was found to have
held the manor of Huyton, with lands, &c., in
Huyton and Knowsley, of Edward earl of Derby by
the fifth part of a knight's fee and a rent of 17½d.
He had also held the manor of Akefrith in Farleton, and other lands. His heir was Percival Harrington, son of his brother John, then aged twentyeight years. (fn. 42)
The heir very quickly arranged for his marriage.
He espoused Anne the only daughter of Henry
Norris of Speke, lately deceased; and assigned for
her benefit his manor of Akefrith in Farleton and the
Red Hazels in Huyton. (fn. 43)
Percival Harrington enjoyed his manors but a
short time, dying 24 January, 1534–5. (fn. 44) His son
and heir was John Harrington, aged only five years.
The boy's marriage was at once arranged by Sir William
Norris and others. (fn. 45) John was succeeded by his son
Percival (fn. 46) and he by his son John, (fn. 47) who died during
the Commonwealth period, being buried at Huyton
in 1653. His eldest son Robert having died before him,
he was followed by his grandson John, born about
1627. John was twice married. By his second wife,
Dorothy Tarleton of Aigburth, he had a son and heir
Charles. Together they obtained in 1713 an Act of
Parliament (fn. 48) to enable them to settle their estates and
to dispose of some of them for the payment of their
debts. Charles, though twice married, died without
issue in 1720, (fn. 49) and Huyton Hey went to the descendants of his aunt Elizabeth, who had married Richard
Molyneux of New Hall, West Derby, and Alt Grange
in Ince Blundell. (fn. 50)
After the Tarleton marriage the family seem to have
ceased to reside at Huyton. (fn. 51) Richard Molyneux of
New Hall did not long enjoy the Huyton estates,
dying in February 1734. His widow lived on till
1790. Their only son Richard died unmarried a
fortnight after his father, leaving his sister Frances sole
heir. She married in 1745 Thomas Seel of Liverpool, and by him had four daughters. (fn. 52) The eldest,
Amelia Maria, married Owen Wynne of Llanseck in
Denbighshire, but died childless; (fn. 53) the two youngest
daughters, Margaret and Alice, died unmarried in
1819 and 1797, and the second daughter Frances
was thus eventually sole heir. Thomas Seel the father
had increased the estates by purchasing from William
Wolfall the manor of Wolfall in Huyton, and entailed
the estate on his grandson.
This grandson was Thomas Unsworth, son of
Frances Seel by Thomas Unsworth, whose father, a
Liverpool merchant, had purchased a moiety of the
manor of Maghull, including the manor house.
Thomas the heir in 1814 assumed the name and arms
of Molyneux-Seel in accordance with his grandfather's
will, and on his aunt Margaret's death took possession
of Hurst House, and the estate and manor of Huyton
Hey. (fn. 54) He had a son and heir, Edmund Thomas,
born in Paris in 1824, and still surviving, also two
other sons, Charles William and Henry Harrington.
He sold Wolfall to the earl of Derby about 1828 and
died at Huyton Hey in 1881. Most of the remaining family estates have also been sold, but Huyton Hey
remains in the family. (fn. 55) The house so called, now a
farm-house, is still occupied. The site of a moated
hall is adjacent.
Molyneux of New Hall. Azure, a cross moline or and a canton argent.
Seel. Per fesse potent counter-potent pean and azure three wolves' heads erased counterchanged.
The Harringtons after the Reformation appear to
have adhered to the Roman Catholic religion, but to
have avoided convictions for recusancy, probably by
occasional attendances at church in Elizabeth's reign.
Thus, in 1590, 'Harrington of Harrington in Huyton parish, esquire,' was returned among others who
showed 'some degree of conformity, yet (were) in
general note of evil affection in religion.' (fn. 56) In 1641
Robert Harrington (fn. 57) and his wife for this reason paid
to the subsidy. (fn. 58) As one of the more notable recusants in Lancashire, John Harrington was in 1680
marked for banishment by the Parliament. (fn. 59) Their
alliances were with the Roman Catholic families of
the district, and their successors—Molyneux, Seel,
and Unsworth—have been of the same faith.
WOLFALL
WOLFALL
(fn. 60) was another manor in Huyton, (fn. 61) of
which mention has already been
made. Robert son of Henry
de Lathom, who died in 1198,
granted it to a Robert son of
Richard for a rent of 12d. payable at St. Bartholomew. (fn. 62) It
is possible that it reverted to
the grantor, for his own younger
son, Richard de Knowsley, appears to have settled there, and
to have had sons who took
Wolfall as a surname. Thus
Richard de Wolfall, son of
Richard de Knowsley, granted
land called Huyton Rawe to
Henry de Huyton. (fn. 63) In 1245 Richard de Wolfall
granted to Burscough Priory his millpool in Wolfall. (fn. 64)
Several sons are mentioned—Richard, John, William,
and Adam. (fn. 65)
Wolfall of Wolfall. Argent, two bends gules and an ermine tail between them.
An early charter by Robert de Lathom granted to
Richard son of Richard del Wolfall 52/3 oxgangs (fn. 66) of
land and half the wood and waste of Huyton with
the homage of Adam de Wolfall, William the Prophet, Henry de Derby, and others enfeoffed by
Richard de Wolfall the elder. (fn. 67)
In 1292 Richard de Wolfall sued Robert de Lathom
for release from the services which Henry de Lacy, as
lord of Widnes fee, demanded from the plaintiff; but
when the case came for trial Richard was unwilling to
make any statement, and therefore there was an adjournment sine die. (fn. 68) He had also complaint to make
as to John de Wolfall, whose annual service of 20d.
and a pair of gloves had not been rendered for three
years. (fn. 69) A little later, in 1307, John son of Adam de
Wolfall occurs granting to Adam de Waverton and
Alice his wife all his lands in Huyton. (fn. 70)
For a long period, though there are numerous
references to the family, the exact descent of the
manor is uncertain. (fn. 71)
In 1354 Adam son of Henry de Wolfall released to
John de Ashton the messuage which had descended
to him, and Thomas de Wolfall of Huyton and Joan
his wife released their right in the same. (fn. 72) One
Cecily daughter of Ellen, who had been wife of
Nicholas de Huyton, gave to Roger de Shuttleworth
her lands in Wolfall in 1349; (fn. 73) and shortly afterwards
Thomas de Wolfall and Joan his wife, with Richard
de Pennington and Cecily his wife (probably the
above Cecily), claimed from Adam son of Henry son
of Roger de Wolfall certain lands which they alleged
had been forfeited because of a felony committed by
the grandfather Roger, though they admitted that
Roger had continued to hold the lands after the
felony. (fn. 74)
In 1383 Robert de Wolfall, who was son of
Thomas, enfeoffed two chaplains of all his lands in
Huyton, and they appeared in the court of Widnes
in April, and made fine with the lord of Halton for
12d. (fn. 75) Robert's son and heir was John de Wolfall, (fn. 76)
who in the early years of Henry IV's reign made
settlements of his lands; the remainders were to
Alice and Margaret, daughters of John; then to his
brother Thomas; to his brothers Nicholas and
Thomas, and others. (fn. 77)
In 1511–12 Thomas Wolfall granted lands in
Huyton to William Wilbraham, and a little later
purchased three crofts from Hamlet Harrington; his
mother Joan in 1515–16 released to him her lands in
Huyton and Wolfall. (fn. 78) The succession is not clear. (fn. 79)
Thomas Wolfall was a freeholder in 1600; (fn. 80) his son
Thomas married Mary, daughter of Richard Moly
neux of Cunscough. (fn. 81) On the accession of Charles I
Thomas Wolfall received a general pardon, chiefly
required perhaps for recusancy, the family being adherents of the Roman Catholic religion. (fn. 82) He had two sons,
William and Thomas, and four daughters, and the
estates descended to his great-grandson William Wolfall, (fn. 83) born in 1643. This William mortgaged the
estates in 1674, and he and his wife Mary, daughter
of Thomas Carus, both died at the beginning of
1686, leaving three sons, Richard, William, and
Henry, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret.
Richard Wolfall made other mortgages in 1688 and
1694; he married Anne, daughter and heir of Edward
Stanley of Moor Hall, but on his dying childless in
1718 (fn. 84) the estates passed in succession to his brothers
William, who died in 1720, and Henry. (fn. 85) Henry's
son and heir William (fn. 86) in 1744 sold lands in Wolfall
to the earl of Derby, and in 1755, after many mortgages, sold the manor of Wolfall, Wolfall Hall, half
the manor of Huyton, &c., to Thomas Seel of Liverpool, (fn. 87) whose descendant and heir, as above stated, sold
Wolfall to the earl of Derby in 1828.
Another estate in Huyton, but not considered
manorial, was Deyne or DAM HOUSE, (fn. 88) which in
1664 was held by Thomas Wolfall, son of Thomas
Wolfall, also of the Dam House, who was, as stated,
the younger son of Thomas Wolfall of Wolfall. (fn. 89)
This estate had previously been held, at least for
a time, by the Tyldesley family, as to whom deeds preserved by Kuerden supply much information. (fn. 90)
Nicholas Tyldesley occurs in Elizabeth's reign. (fn. 91)
A feoffment of the property was made, the remainders
being to Michael, Thomas, George, William, and
Francis, brothers of Nicholas, and to Anthony
Tyldesley. (fn. 92) Nicholas Tyldesley died in 1603 holding
lands and rents in Huyton and Wolfall (Dam) of
William earl of Derby; Henry his son and heir was
twenty-six years of age. (fn. 93) His son Henry is mentioned in various bonds, and he and his sister or
daughter Ellen occur in 1627, about which time he
appears to have sold Dam House. (fn. 94)
The Red Hazels, already mentioned as part of the
lands of Burscough Priory, became the property of the
Ogles of Whiston, from whom it passed by marriage
to the Cases; one of the latter sold it to Joseph
Birch, created a baronet in 1831, whose son Sir
Thomas Birch, M.P. for Liverpool 1847–52, afterwards lived there. (fn. 95)
The Mossocks of Allerton and Cunscough, as heirs
of John Norris of Woolton (who was also described
as 'of Roby' or 'of Huyton'), held lands here in the
fifteenth century. The title was derived from grants
by the Wolfalls to the Ford family, whose heirs sold
to John Norris. (fn. 96)
Other families whose names occur in suits or deeds
are Lathom, Moss, (fn. 97) and Lyon. (fn. 98) Thomas Lathom of
Wolfall is named in a list of the gentry of the hundred
made in 1512. He died in April, 1515, holding a
capital messuage and various lands in Wolfall of
Thomas Wolfall by knight's service and the rent of
15d. per annum; also in Rainford, Aspull, Wigan,
Whiston, Glest, Ormskirk, and Eggergarth. His
widow Joan held these lands for nine years, and on
her death the son Thomas entered into possession,
although he was only nineteen years of age. (fn. 99) The
younger Thomas Lathom died in 1546, holding his
father's lands; his son and heir was another Thomas,
then only three years of age. (fn. 100) The last-named,
whose wife's name was Frances, sold his lands between
1573 and 1580. (fn. 101)
Richard Ogle, watchmaker, as a 'Papist' registered
in 1717 an estate here and at Rainhill, of the value
of £64 a year. (fn. 102)
In 1785 the principal owners, as shown by the
land-tax returns, were Thomas Seel and the Case
trustees.
The parish church and its chapel of ease have
already been described. William Bell, the vicar
ejected in 1662, afterwards ministered in Huyton,
but does not seem to have formed a permanent congregation.
The Methodists attempted services about 1800, but
were driven out by the mob. (fn. 103)
William Alexander of Prescot, an Independent
minister, occasionally preached here early last century,
and a chapel was opened in 1836. The work failed,
and 1856 is given as the date of the founding of the
Congregational church, which was at first a branch
from Crescent Chapel, Everton. A small chapel, now
used as a schoolroom, was opened, and was succeeded
in 1890 by a larger church, with a prominent spire. (fn. 104)
What provision was made from time to time after
the Reformation for those who adhered to the Roman
Catholic religion is unknown, except that at one
time a priest resided at Wolfall Hall. This, however,
ceased about the middle of the eighteenth century. (fn. 105)
A new mission was begun at Huyton in 1856 in a
temporary chapel near the station, a resident priest
being appointed in 1859. The present church of
St. Agnes at Huyton Quarry was built in 1861. (fn. 106)
ROBY—Rabil, Dom. Bk.; Rabi, 1292; Roby,
1332, and usually—is the south-western portion of
the township of Huyton-with-Roby, its separate area
being 1,059 acres. The surface is almost level.
The principal road is that from Liverpool to Prescot
by Broadgreen; this goes eastward through the centre
of the township, having the residences called Court
Hey and Roby Hall on the southern side of it. The
London and North-Western company's main line
from Liverpool to Manchester runs along an embankment to the north of the road; there is a station called
Roby. Court Hey was the seat of the late Robertson
Gladstone, brother of the statesman, and himself a
prominent personage in Liverpool.
Wheathill is at the boundary of the three townships
of Roby, Tarbock, and Little Woolton. Childwall
Brook separates Roby from Childwall. Page Moss
was at the northern corner.
There are the remains of an ancient stone cross by
the road from Liverpool to Prescot. The stocks used
to be next to it. (fn. 107) There is an old font in the churchyard. (fn. 108)
MANOR
In the time of Edward the Confessor
ROBY was one of the six manors of Uctred,
and as it is placed first in the list was no
doubt the chief of them, Knowsley coming next. (fn. 109)
The two together were assessed at one hide, and in
later times Roby was usually said to be of two ploughlands. (fn. 110) After the Conquest it lost its pre-eminence
and seems to have had no special manorial rights,
being a member of Knowsley and held in demesne.
To a subsidy levied by Henry III Roby contributed
12s. 2d. (fn. 111) but later than this its contributions are
always joined with those of Huyton.
On two occasions its immediate lords, the Lathoms,
endeavoured to raise its standing. In 1304 Robert
de Lathom procured from the king a charter allowing
a market and fair at Roby, and free warren there.
The market was a weekly one, on Fridays; and the
fair annual, on the eve, feast, and morrow of St. Wilfrid. (fn. 112) In 1372 Sir Thomas de Lathom granted a
charter making his vill of Roby a free borough for ever.
To each burgess he gave a rood of land as a burgage
for which 12d. in silver was to be paid the lord every
year. A burgess might dispose of his burgage, paying
the lord 4d. when he quitted it. Though the burgesses were to be free of toll, terrage, and stallage,
they were to bring their corn to the lord's mill to
grind, to the sixteenth measure, and render services
like other tenants of the vill, having at the same time
similar liberties of pasture and turbary. (fn. 113)
These attempts to 'improve' the position of Roby
appear to have met with no success, and there does
not seem to be any further allusion to the borough or
fair. The market is mentioned casually in an assize
roll of 1332, when John de Grelley, Simon son of
Simon de Bickerstath, Adam de Wolfall, and others,
were accused of having wounded Hugh and Thomas,
sons of Adam de Hake, in the market at Roby on the
Friday after St. James, in the year named. (fn. 114)
The place had already appeared on these rolls in
1246, for Hawe del Moor of Roby having been found
burnt in her own house there, her son Adam, the first
finder, was attached by Roger del Moor and Adam de
Knowsley, to give evidence. (fn. 115)
A suit brought by Sir Thomas de Lathom against
William son of Roger the Walker, concerning a messuage and 18 acres in Roby, introduces the questionable title of the Huyton family to their lands. Sir
Thomas asserted that the defendant had no right
except by the disseisin wrongfully made by Henry de
Huyton in the time of Edward I against his father,
Robert de Lathom. The defendant, however, asserted
that the premises were in Woolton, and not in Roby. (fn. 116)
In another case William de Whethill charged Roger
son of Adam de Longworth with taking a horse
belonging to him. (fn. 117)
Richard son of Robert gave to Burscough Priory
land between four crosses in Roby, with mast in
Roby and Huyton. (fn. 118) The Hospitallers had land here,
which about 1540 was held by the earl of Derby for
a rent of 12d. (fn. 119)
A 'manor' of Roby is mentioned in a fine of 1552
as held by Robert Knowl and his wife Joan, from
whom it was claimed by Henry Bury. (fn. 120) From the
latter, 'the capital messuage called Roby Hall' was in
turn claimed, perhaps as trustees, by Richard Sanderson and William Spencer in 1568. (fn. 121) In 1569 John
and Elizabeth Bury, claiming by descent, sought a
messuage, &c., in Roby, from George Stockley, who
alleged a conveyance from William Bury. (fn. 122)
The present Roby Hall was built by John Williamson of Liverpool (mayor 1761), who left three
daughters coheirs. One of these, Mary, in 1794
married General Isaac Gascoyne, for many years a
member for Liverpool, and they resided here. (fn. 123) Afterwards William Leigh, a Liverpool merchant, son of
William Leigh of Lymm, purchased it. (fn. 124)
George Childwall of Roby, gentleman, who died
in 1593, had held of the earl of Derby a messuage
and 8 acres by fealty and 2s. 4d. rent. Edward his
son sold this in 1611 to Thomas Wolfall, who resold
it to Henry Johnson of Roby. (fn. 125)
Hugh Holland of Roby registered an estate in
1717. (fn. 126) The land-tax returns of 1785 show the
principal owners to have been the earl of Derby,
Madame Stanley, and Madame Williamson.
Roby is called Comberley in 1328, perhaps by
some mistake of the clerk. (fn. 127)
For the adherents of the Established Church
St. Bartholomew's was built in 1850, and rebuilt in
1875. There is a burial-ground attached. An
ecclesiastical parish was formed in 1853. (fn. 128) The earl
of Derby is patron.