HALSALL
Heleshala, Herleshala, Dom. Bk.; Haleshal, 1224;
Haleshale, 1275; Halsale, 1278 and usual; Halshale,
1292; Halleshale, 1332; Halsall, xv century.
This township had formerly a great moss on the
west, covering about half the surface, and constituting
an effectual boundary. Down to recent times there
were also three large meres—Black Otter, White Otter,
and Gettern. The fenland has now been reclaimed
and converted into fertile fields under a mixed cultivation—corn, root crops, fodder, and hay. There is
some pasture land, and occasional osier beds fill up odd
corners. The soil is loamy, with clay beneath. The
low-lying ground is apt to become flooded after wet
weather or in winter-time, and deep ditches are
necessary to carry away superfluous water. In summer
these ditches are filled with a luxuriant fenland flora,
which thus finds shelter in an exposed country. The
scanty trees show by their inclination the prevalence
of winds from the west laden with salt. The ground
rises gently to the east; until on the boundary 95 ft.
is reached. The total area of the township is 6,995
acres. (fn. 1) The population in 1901 was 1,236.
The principal road is that from Downholland to
Scarisbrick and Southport; there are also cross-roads
from Ormskirk to Birkdale. The Liverpool, Southport, and Preston Junction Railway, now taken over
by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Company, formed a
branch through the township with a station called
Halsall, half a mile west of the church, and another at
Shirdley Hill.
The scattered houses of the village stand on the
higher ground near the church. To the south-east is
the hamlet of Bangors Green; Four Lane Ends is to
the north-east. From near the church an extensive
and comprehensive view of the surrounding county is
obtained. The northern arm of the Downholland
Brook rises in and drains part of the district, running
eventually into the River Alt, which is the natural
receptacle for all the streams and ditches hereabouts.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal crosses the southeastern portion of the township, with the usual
accompaniment of sett-laid roads and untidy wharfs.
Renacres Hall and La Mancha are on the north.
The township is governed by a parish council.
The wakes are held the first Sunday in July.
The hall is to the south-west of the church; between them was a water-mill, taken down about 1880.
North-east of the church are portions of the old rectory
house, consisting of a wall 55 ft. long, with three
doorways and three two-light windows, several traces
of cross walls, and a turret at the north-west. Part is
of fourteenth-century date. (fn. 2)
The roads having been diverted, the village green
is now within the rectory park. A cross stood there. (fn. 3)
The base of the churchyard cross (fn. 4) still remains. Two
other crosses—North Moor and Morris Lane—are
marked on the 1848 Ordnance map, but have disappeared. (fn. 5)
The turf is left uncut, in order to diminish the
danger of floods.
A natural curiosity of the district is the bituminous
turf, formerly used for lighting instead of candles. (fn. 6)
MANORS
HALSALL was held by Chetel in 1066;
its assessment was two plough-lands, and
the value 8s. It was in the privileged
three hides, and from the manner in which it is
named was evidently one of the principal manors of
the district. (fn. 7)
It was granted to the lord of Warrington for the
service of a pound of cummin, and the various inquisitions and surveys recognize its dependence on
Warrington. (fn. 8)
Pain de Vilers gave Halsall to Vivian Gernet in
marriage with his daughter Emma; it was to be held
by the service of one-tenth of a knight's fee. In 1212
Robert de Vilers was the lord of Halsall, and Alan
son of Simon held of him. (fn. 9) Alan de Halsall, otherwise called 'de Lydiate,' (fn. 10) was probably the husband
of the heiress of Vivian Gernet, for his wife Alice is
joined with him in Halsall charters. (fn. 11)
To Alan his son Simon (fn. 12) succeeded. A charter by
Robert de Vilers, his immediate lord, quitclaimed the
rent of 13s. of silver which Robert and his predecessors
had annually received from Simon son of Alan and
his predecessors in respect of the vill of Halsall, commuting the service into a pound of pepper. (fn. 13)
Simon, still living in 1242–3, (fn. 14) was a little later
succeeded by his son Gilbert, who in 1256 acknowledged the suit he owed to William le Boteler's court
of Warrington, promising that he would do suit there
from three weeks to three
weeks. William, on the other
hand, remitted all right to
claim from Gilbert or his heirs
'bode' or 'witness' or puture
for any of his serjeants. (fn. 15) Gilbert's name occurs as a witness
and otherwise, (fn. 16) but he seems
to have been very soon succeeded by his son Richard de
Halsall, who is frequently mentioned about the end of the
reign of Henry III. (fn. 17)
Halsall of Halsall (ancient). Argent, two bars azure within a bordure engrailed sable.
Richard died about 1275,
in which year his son Gilbert
had to answer Robert de Vilers respecting his tenure
of a messuage and plough-land in Halsall; the services due from Gilbert were alleged to be homage,
doing suit for Robert at the Warrington court, and
paying 1 mark a year, and they had been rendered in
the late king's reign by Gilbert's father Richard to
Robert's father Robert. (fn. 18) Gilbert denied that he held
land of Robert; and in reply to a later suit (1278)
he showed that there was an error in the writ;
for he had only two-thirds of the tenement, Denise,
widow of Richard, having the other third in dower. (fn. 19)
She afterwards married Hugh de Worthington, and in
1280 the suit by Robert de Vilers was continued,
Gilbert de Halsall warranting the third part to her
and her husband. The dispute ended by Robert's
acknowledging the manor to be Gilbert's right and
quitclaiming to him and his heirs in perpetuity; for
which release Gilbert gave him 10 marks of silver. (fn. 20)
From this time no more is heard of the mesne lordship
of Vilers. (fn. 21)
Gilbert's wife was another Denise; by her he
had a son Gilbert, who succeeded to Halsall some
time before 1296, in which year, as Gilbert son of
Gilbert de Halsall he received from William de
Cowdray, rector, all the meadow by the mill which
had been in the possession of Robert de Halsall. (fn. 22)
Two years later he came to an agreement with
Sir William le Boteler of Warrington and others as
to a diversion of the watercourse in Lydiate near
Eggergarth mill. (fn. 23) The succession had been rapid,
and Gilbert was no doubt very young at this time;
he was still in possession in 1346. (fn. 24) He secured the
land called the Edge in Halsall from its owners,
Robert and his son Richard, in 1317, (fn. 25) and acquired
Ainsdale from Nicholas Blundell of Crosby. (fn. 26) As
early as 1325 he made an agreement with Henry de
Atherton as to the marriage of his son Otes (fn. 27) with
Henry's sister Margaret, and settled upon this son and
his wife lands in Halsall and Barton; and Robert de
Parr granted them an annual rent of 40s. (fn. 28)
Otes succeeded his father about 1346. (fn. 29) The
marriage arranged for him in infancy did not prove
altogether satisfactory; and his wife Margaret afterwards sought maintenance before the bishop of Lichfield, her husband having unlawfully allied himself
with Katherine de Cowdray. Katherine was the name
of his wife in 1354. (fn. 30)
His son and heir was Gilbert, made a knight in
1388. In 1367 Otes de Halsall gave land in Barton
to Gilbert his son and Elizabeth his wife, probably
on the occasion of their marriage. (fn. 31) Some dispute
occurred about 1379 as to the title of David Hulme
of Maghull in the manor of Halsall, and this was
settled by Gilbert. (fn. 32) He was escheator for the county
in 22 Richard II. After his death two inquisitions
were made (1404), one of which states that 'on the
day of his forfeiture' he had no estates save those
found and appraised in an inquisition taken in
August, 1403. (fn. 33) The other recites the gifts of
Robert de Parr of the manors of Halsall and Downholland and lands there; also Argar Meols and Birkdale, with remainder to Otes son of Gilbert; these
had descended to Henry de Halsall, clerk, as son and
heir of Sir Gilbert, son of Otes; the grant by the
last-named to his son and his wife is also recorded,
with the statement that Gilbert died seised thereof,
and Elizabeth his wife was still living. (fn. 34)
Henry de Halsall, the heir, had embraced an
ecclesiastical career, and was in 1395 presented by
his father to the rectory of Halsall, which in 1413
he exchanged for the archdeaconry of Chester. He
retained his various preferments till his death on
7 March, 1422–3. (fn. 35) He wished to interfere as
little as possible with secular business, for one of his
earliest acts was to make a settlement on the marriage
of his brother Robert with Ellen daughter of Henry
de Scarisbrick; and then to arrange the dower of his
mother. (fn. 36)
His brother and successor Robert does not seem
to have survived him long, for from 1429 the name
of his son Henry frequently occurs. (fn. 37) The inquisitions taken after the death of Henry Halsall in July,
1471, give many details of the family history and property. Otes, his great-grandfather, had acquired a
messuage and 24 acres from Emma wife of Thomas
the clerk of Edge, and some similar properties. His
father Robert appears to have acquired other lands
in Halsall and the neighbouring villages—including
Thornfield Clerk, Blakehey, Dudleyhey and Branderth in Halsall; and these he had given to Henry
in 1426–7 on his marriage with Katherine, daughter
of Sir James Harrington, and they had descended to
his daughters and heirs, Margaret and Elizabeth (wife
of Lambert Stodagh), whose ages were forty and
thirty-eight years respectively. Most (or all) of the
lands, however, went to the heir male, his brother
Richard's son Hugh, who was of full age in 1472. (fn. 38)
Hugh's father Richard had been married at the
end of 1448 to Grace daughter of Sir John Tempest. (fn. 39)
Of Hugh himself nothing seems known; he was still
lord of Halsall in 1483. (fn. 40) His son (fn. 41) Henry, who was
made a knight by Lord Strange in Scotland in the
autumn of 1497, (fn. 42) married Margaret Stanley, daughter
of James Stanley, clerk. (fn. 43) Sir Henry died in June,
1522. At the inquisition taken after his death it was
found he had held the manors of Halsall, Renacres,
Lydiate, and Barton, and lands in Scarisbrick and
elsewhere; also the manors of Downholland and
Westleigh. (fn. 44) These had been assigned to trustees to
perform his will, made in 1518. (fn. 45) The manor of
Halsall was held of Thomas Butler by the twentieth
part of a knight's fee; the manor of Renacres of the
prior of St. John by the free rent of 12d. yearly,
being worth 40s. clear; the manor of Barton of the
heirs of Peter Holland by the service of 6d. yearly, its
clear value being 40s.; the premises of Downholland
were held of the same. (fn. 46)
Of his sons, Thomas the eldest succeeded him; he
was knighted in 1533 at the coronation of Anne
Boleyn. (fn. 47) His wife was Jane Stanley, daughter and
coheir of John Stanley, son and heir of John Stanley
of Weaver. (fn. 48) She brought him the manor of Melling
and other lands. Sir Thomas died in 1539, and in
the subsequent inquisition are recited the dispositions
he made of the estates. (fn. 49) The manors and services
correspond generally with those recorded in the
previous inquisition. Henry his son and heir was
eighteen years of age. (fn. 50)
Henry Halsall lived till 1574. (fn. 51) He married Anne,
daughter of Sir William Molyneux of Sefton by his
second wife Elizabeth, the heiress of Clifton, and this
daughter herself, by the death of her brothers without
issue, became heiress of the same. There was only
one son, Richard Halsall, who died before his father,
leaving an illegitimate son Cuthbert.
The inquisition after Henry's death, (fn. 52) which
happened on 21 December, 1574, states that he held
the manor of Melling in right of his mother; the
paternal manors of Halsall, Downholland, and Formby,
and various lands; also the advowson of the church of
Halsall; in addition, there was his wife's manor of
Clifton, with various lands and rights north of the
Ribble. A settlement was made of this great estate
in the spring of 1572, securing the wife's dower; (fn. 53)
the residue going to the following, in successive
remainders: To Edward Halsall, bastard son of Sir
Henry Halsall, for life; to Cuthbert Halsall, bastard
son of Richard, and his lawful male issue; to Thomas
Halsall of Melling and heirs male; to James Halsall
of Altcar and heirs male; to Thomas Halsall, brother
of James, and to his first, second, and third sons and
their heirs male; to Gilbert Halsall, bastard son of
Sir Thomas, and lawful heirs male; to Thomas Halsall,
of Barton, bastard son of Sir Thomas Halsall and lawful heirs male; to Silvester Halsall, bastard son of
Henry Halsall of Prescot, and heirs male. (fn. 54) His
lawful heirs were his nephew Bartholomew Hesketh
(son of his sister Jane), aged twenty-eight, and his
sister Maud Osbaldestone, aged forty. (fn. 55) Anne Halsall,
the widow of Henry, died in June or July, 1589. (fn. 56)
Edward Halsall, after coming into possession of
Halsall, occasionally resided there; he was a member
of commissions of array in 1577 and 1580, (fn. 57) and held
various public offices. His religious leanings are thus described in the report of 1590:
'Conformable, but otherwise
of no good note.' (fn. 58) He died
in 1594, having founded the
school at Halsall. He was
twice married, but his son
predeceased him. (fn. 59)
Halsall of Halsall. Argent, three serpents' heads erased azure langued gules.
After his death Cuthbert
Halsall succeeded, under the
disposition made by his grandfather Henry. (fn. 60) He was made
a knight in Dublin, 22 July,
1599, being apparently in the
suite of the earl of Essex. (fn. 61) He was a recusant in
1605, and the profits of his forfeitures as such were
assigned to Sir Thomas Mounson. (fn. 62) He was one of the
knights of the shire in 1614 (fn. 63) and sheriff in 1601
and 1612. (fn. 64) Within thirty years he had dissipated
his inheritance, and in 1631 was in prison for debt.
Halsall was sold in 1625, along with the advowson,
to Sir Charles Gerard, grandson of Sir Gilbert, who
was Master of the Rolls in Queen Elizabeth's time. (fn. 65)
Sir Charles Gerard married Penelope, daughter
of Sir Edward Fitton of Gawsworth, and one of the
heirs of her brother Sir Edward. Sir Charles, who
died at York about 1640, was buried at Halsall. (fn. 66)
He built a windmill there;
and there was also a watermill. (fn. 67) His eldest son, Charles,
was born about 1618, and took
the royal side in the Civil War,
as did his two brothers. He
greatly distinguished himself,
and was in 1645 created
Baron Gerard of Brandon in
Suffolk. He was obliged to
quit England during the rule
of Cromwell, and was reported
to be scheming the assassination
of the Protector. Returning
at the Restoration he had various promotions, and in
1678–9 he was created Viscount Brandon and earl of
Macclesfield. Afterwards he intrigued with the duke
of Monmouth, and in the time of James II was
obliged again to seek a refuge abroad, returning with
William prince of Orange, by whom he was rewarded
with offices of honour. He died in January, 1693–4,
and was buried at Westminster. (fn. 68) So far as the Halsall
estate was concerned, Lord Gerard went on with
the disputes with Robert Blundell of Ince as to the
boundaries of the adjacent manors of Birkdale and
Ainsdale and Renacres. These disputes lasted till
1719. (fn. 69)
Gerard, Earl of Macclesfield. Argent, a saltire gules.
His son Charles, born in Paris about 1659, was
knight of the shire (Lord Brandon) 1679–85 and
1689–94, and made lord lieutenant on the Revolution. He had been convicted of high treason in
connexion with the Rye House Plot, but pardoned. (fn. 70)
He died without legitimate issue in November, 1701,
and was succeeded in the titles by his brother Fitton,
who died unmarried in December, 1702, when the
earldom, &c., became extinct. (fn. 71)
Two sisters were co-heirs of the properties: Elizabeth, who married a distant cousin, Digby, fifth Lord
Gerard of Bromley, and died in 1700, leaving a
daughter and heiress Elizabeth,
who married James duke of
Hamilton; and Charlotte, wife
of Thomas Mainwaring, who
left a daughter and heiress
Charlotte, who married Lord
Mohun, and died in or before
1709. Lord Mohun, by the
will of the second Lord Macclesfield, became owner of his
wife's share of the Gerard
estates, and the duel between
him and the duke of Hamilton, in which both were killed (15 November,
1712), originated in a dispute about the division. (fn. 72)
His widow was made the heir to his part of the
estates, which included Halsall, and carried them
to her third husband, Colonel
Charles Mordaunt. (fn. 73) Though
Colonel Mordaunt had no
issue by her, he remained in
possession of the Gerard and
Fitton properties, and Halsall
descended to his son by a
second wife, (fn. 74) Charles Lewis
Mordaunt, who at one time
resided in the hall at Halsall. (fn. 75)
Eventually he sold the manor
to Thomas Eccleston, lord of
the adjoining manor of Scarisbrick, and the advowson of
the rectory to Jonathan Blundell of Liverpool. He
died at Ormskirk on 15 January, 1808, aged seventyeight. (fn. 76)
Mohun. Or, a cross engrailed sable.
Mordaunt. Argent, a chevron between three estoiles sable.
The manor has since descended with Scarisbrick.
Courts used to be held in July and October; (fn. 77)
there is still one kept in November.
The grant of RENACRES
(fn. 78) to the Hospitallers
has been related, and the Halsall family held it
under them. (fn. 79) On the sale of their estates early in
the seventeenth century it was acquired by Robert
Blundell of Ince, (fn. 80) and became involved in the dispute
between the latter and the earl of Macclesfield. In
depositions taken at the trial (1664) it was stated
that Sir Cuthbert had improved the lands belonging
to Renacres and let them in common with the
demesne lands of Halsall; and the tenants of Halsall
had 'done boon' in Renacres. (fn. 81) The owners or
tenants of Renacres had generally been called as
suitors at the courts of the manor of Halsall, though
none of them seem to have appeared there; and
they paid lays to the constable of Halsall. (fn. 82) So far
as Renacres was concerned, the cause was decided
in favour of the Blundells' claim in 1719, and it
has since descended with Ince Blundell. (fn. 83)
Renacres gave its name to one or more families
in the neighbourhood. (fn. 84)
SNAPE, as may be implied in its name, was a
border farm or hamlet. (fn. 85) Thomas son of Alan de
Snape granted (about 1300) certain land in Halsall
to Thomas the clerk of North Meols and Emma his
wife. After the death of Thomas de Snape, his
widow Alice taking her third as dower, this land was
claimed by his heiresses—Margery wife of Robert del
Riding of Sefton (Roger their son), Goditha wife of
Paulinus del Edge of Halsall, Avice wife of Adam de
Molyneux, Anabil wife of Robert the Tailor of
Lathom—in right of their sister Denise, who, they
said, died in possession. The jury found that
Thomas the clerk and his wife had been unjustly
disseised by force and arms, and must recover, the
damages being taxed at 34s. (fn. 86)