ASHTON WITH STODDAY
Estun, Dom. Bk.; Eston, 1212; Hassheton,
Ashton, 1292; Esshton, Assheton, 1301.
Stodaye, 1246; Stodehahe, 1252; Stodhagh, 1301.
Locally pronounced Stodda.
This composite township occupies the eastern side
of the Lune estuary from the Conder north to Aldcliffe. The surface for the most part stands from
50 ft. to 100 ft. above sea level, being varied by depressions through which small brooks run down west
or south to the rivers named. The area of Ashton
proper is 1,661½ acres (fn. 1) ; it contains the hamlet of
Conder Green. Stodday occupies the northern end
of the township, with an area of 287½ acres; so that
the whole measures 1,949 acres. The population in
1901 was 181.
The principal road is that from Lancaster south
to Cockerham; on the west it has the wooded lands
of Lunecliffe (fn. 2) and Ashton Hall, and from Conder
Green at the south end a road goes east to Galgate.
There are minor roads leading east and west. The
Preston and Lancaster Canal goes north near the
eastern side, between steep banks covered with trees;
the towing-path is a pleasant walk. The single-line
railway from Lancaster to Glasson Dock runs through
the lower ground beside the Lune and has a station
at Conder Green; it is owned by the London and
North Western Company.
The soil is gravel, with clay subsoil. The park
around the hall was formerly celebrated for its fine
sylvan scenery. (fn. 3) At Stodday there is a snuff mill,
long disused.
James I stayed at Ashton Hall on 11–12 August
1617 and made two knights there. (fn. 4) Charles II also
stayed there for a night on his way south to Worcester
on 12 August 1651. (fn. 5)
Manors
In 1066 ASHTON was one of the
three manors of Cliber, Machern and
Gillemichael, and appears to have been
assessed as two plough-lands. (fn. 6) Afterwards it was
granted to Count Roger of Poitou, (fn. 7) and a little later
formed part of the lordship held by the Lancaster
family, being held by knight's service. In the time
of Henry II William de Lancaster I granted half a
plough-land there to Gilbert de Ashton to hold by the
service of half a mark yearly. (fn. 8) Its subsequent history
resembles that of Nether Wyresdale, the manor being
held in moieties in the 14th century by the Gynes
family (fn. 9) and the heirs of Bellew and others. (fn. 10) The
former moiety eventually came to the Crown (fn. 11) ; it
was in 1411 held by Philippa widow of Robert de
Vere by knight's service and 10d. rent, (fn. 12) and in 1509
by Margaret Countess of Richmond, mother of
Henry VII. (fn. 13) It was granted out on lease from time
to time, (fn. 14) and in 1574 was sold by Queen Elizabeth to
Sir Gilbert Gerard, sometime Master of the Rolls. (fn. 15)
The second moiety was shared or inherited by the
families of Stapleton (fn. 16) and Metham, (fn. 17) Thweng (fn. 18) and
Pedwardine, (fn. 19) and appears to have been acquired by
the Lawrences of Lancaster. Lawrence brother and
heir of John son of Thomas son of Roger de Lancaster
appears in 1292 putting forward a claim to land in
Skerton. (fn. 20) Then in 1 317 Lawrence son of Thomas
de Lancaster granted lands in Skerton, Ashton,
Brantbreck, Grisehead, &c., to his son John Lawrence
and Elizabeth his wife. (fn. 21) From this time Lawrence
was used as the family name. John Lawrence in
1331 complained of trespass on his fishery at Ashton. (fn. 22)
He in conjunction with Elizabeth his wife and
Edmund their son held the Stapleton part of Ashton
manor in 1338 for life. (fn. 23) The family then or a
little later obtained, apparently by marriage, the
estate of the Gentyl and Washington families in
Carleton, Scotforth and elsewhere. (fn. 24)
Edmund Lawrence in 1357 made a feoffment
of lands in Lancaster, Skerton, Ellel, Ashton and
Preesall, (fn. 25) and in 1373 it was found that he held for
life three plough-lands of Thomas de Stapleton by a
rent of 20 marks. (fn. 26) He died at the end of 1381 (fn. 27)
holding burgages in Lancaster and lands in Skerton
and Overton, and left a son and heir named Robert,
only ten years of age. (fn. 28) What holding was retained
in Ashton is not clear, but in the reigns of Henry IV
and Henry VI certain lands, in later times called
'Lawrence lands,' were demised to the family by the
Methams. (fn. 29) Robert Lawrence,
who was escheator of the
county in 1404. and later, (fn. 30)
complained of disseisin in
1407, (fn. 31) and it was alleged
against him that Edmund had
left no heir. (fn. 32) He was made
a knight, (fn. 33) and had a son and
heir of the same name who
in 1429, having married
Agnes daughter of Nicholas
Croft of Dalton, received lands in Middleton, Heysham
and Lancaster. (fn. 34)
Lawrence. Argent a cross raguly gules.
Robert Lawrence died in 1450 holding in Ashton
four messuages, &c., of the king as duke in socage by
a rent of 4d.; his son and heir James was twentytwo years of age. (fn. 35) This son was made a knight in
Scotland during the expedition of 1482, (fn. 36) and died
in 1490 holding the manors of Ashton and Stodday—
the former of the king as duke in socage by a rent of
2d. and the latter by a rose yearly. Thomas Lawrence,
his son and heir, was then twenty-four years old. (fn. 37)
He was made a knight at the marriage of Prince
Arthur in 1501. (fn. 38) Dying in 1504, (fn. 39) he was succeeded
by a brother John, (fn. 40) after whose death ten years
later (fn. 41) the inheritance was divided among a number
of families, representatives of his aunts Elizabeth,
Margaret, Agnes and Alice, daughters of Robert
Lawrence. (fn. 42)
Traces of the Lawrence estate in Ashton appear in
the inquisitions of some of the heirs, though the
tenures are not always recorded, (fn. 43) but by some agreement the manor descended through Boteler of Rawcliffe (fn. 44) to Radcliffe of Winmarleigh, and so by
marriage to the Gilbert Gerard (fn. 45) who, as has been
already shown, purchased the other moiety from
the Crown. Thus the whole became reunited in
him (fn. 46) and his descendants, the Gerards of Bromley
and the Dukes of Hamilton. (fn. 47) Ashton Hall became
one of their principal seats (fn. 48) ; it had a noted picture
gallery, and was surrounded by a beautiful park
extending to the Lune. (fn. 49) Archibald, the ninth
duke, died there in 1819. (fn. 50) At the sale of the
Hamilton estates in 1853 the manor of Ashton was
purchased by the late Le Gendre Nicholas Starkie of
Huntroyde, whose second son John Piers Chamberlain
Starkie had this estate. He represented North-East
Lancashire in Parliament from 1868 to 1880, and
died in 1888. (fn. 51) There is a memorial to him in
Lancaster Church.
Gerard of Bromley. Argent a saltire gules.
Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton. Gules three cinquefoils pierced ermine.
The estate was in 1884 sold by him and his
father's trustees to Mr. James Williamson (fn. 52) of Lancaster, manufacturer, who was
high sheriff in 1885 and
member for the Lancaster
division of the county from
1886 to 1895. On his elevation to the peerage in the
latter year he took his title
from this manor as Baron
Ashton of Ashton. (fn. 53) No
manor courts have been held
for a great number of years.
Williamson, Lord Ashton. Per cheveron or and argent a cheveron nebuly between two trefoils slipped in chief and a demi-eagle displayed in base all sable.
In 1340 a charter of free
warren was obtained by
William de Coucy for various
of his manors, Ashton and
Scotforth being among them. (fn. 54)
The free tenants in 1301 (fn. 55)
were Roger de Slene (fn. 56) ;
another who had a messuage and 5 acres for a rent of
20d. (fn. 57) ; Lawrence son of Thomas, who rendered
6s. 8d. yearly (fn. 58) ; John de Ashton, who held a
messuage and 4 oxgangs of land and paid 6s. 8d.
rent (fn. 59) ; and Randle, who paid 7d. (fn. 60) In a list compiled perhaps forty years later the free tenants are
thus recorded: William son of Lawrence, 6s. 8d.; the
same William, for Brantbreck, 1d.; Alan de Ashton,
17½d.; John Ward, 2s. 6d.; John son of William
the Clerk, 20d.; Gervase del Green, 20d.; Henry
Alcock, 5½d.; in all, 14s. 6d. (fn. 61)
ASHTON HALL lies about 3 miles to the south
of Lancaster overlooking the estuary of the Lune to
the west. With the exception of the mediaeval tower,
which forms the southern wing of the building, the
whole of the house is modern, having been rebuilt
by Mr. Starkie in a castellated Gothic style in 1856.
Views of the hall before this date (fn. 62) show the main
wing to have been of two stories above a lofty basement, with the principal entrance on the west side
facing what is known as the Green Court. Dr.
Whitaker (fn. 63) was of opinion that the walls throughout
the building, not only those of the tower, were of
the age of Edward III, but whether this was really
so it is now impossible to say. The probability is,
however, that if any buildings originally existed on the
north side of the present tower, which appears to be
of late 14th-century date, they were of wood or
erections of a more or less temporary nature. The
original structure consisted probably of the tower
alone, a good example of a tower-built house with a
turret at each angle set diagonally to the main structure, but what additions were made to the fabric
before Jacobean times, or whether there were any at
all, cannot now be well determined. The view of
the west front, as it was previous to 1856, shows a
slightly projecting porch of Renaissance design going
up the full height of the building and terminating in
a strapwork gable with ball ornaments. The doorway, which was raised well above the ground and
approached by a broad flight of steps, was roundheaded under a square label and flanked by coupled
Ionic columns supporting an entablature, and above
was a mullioned and transomed window of four lights
between coupled columns of the Corinthian order.
On either side of the porch modern square-headed
windows had been introduced, and the embattled
parapet appears to have been modern. On the east
side the whole of the elevation had been modernized
as well as the north wing, the appearance of the work
suggesting an early 19th-century date. Probably the
whole building, apart from the tower, was substantially of early 17th-century date, erected on the
usual plan of central hall and through passage and a
projecting wing at the north end, the tower forming
the corresponding south wing. This Jacobean building appears to have been altered more than once
before it was pulled down, and externally little but the
west entrance remained to indicate its architectural
character. The modern rebuilding has followed more
or less the original lines, the hall lying at the south
end of the main wing next the tower. The main
wing is now of one story only above the basement,
the hall going its full height and having a lofty opentimbered roof. The through passage or screen is
retained in substance as a modern entrance hall, with
a doorway at each end on both east and west fronts,
and the kitchen and offices are in the north wing.
Ashton Hall: the Mediaeval Tower
The approach to the Jacobean house was from the
west side through a stone gateway, which still remains
in a mutilated form, into the Green Court, which
was inclosed on the left by the north wing of the
house and on the south by a high fence wall running
west from the outer angle of the tower. This portion of the lay-out still obtains, though probably
altered in detail, but otherwise the surroundings of
the house have been modernized. A fish pond which
formerly lay on the north side, formed by the damming
of a small stream, has now been drained, (fn. 64) and no
signs of a moat such as probably surrounded the tower
now exist. The gateway has a wide segmental arch,
flanked on its west side by coupled Tuscan columns
supporting an entablature, and has an entrance 13 ft.
wide by 7 ft. deep, with groined roof and stone
seats.
The tower measures internally in the basement
50 ft. 10 in. by 25 ft. 10 in., the greater length
being from west to east, and is 42 ft. in height to
the top of the battlements from the present ground
level, but this has been raised at least 5 ft. (fn. 65) The
walls are 6 ft. thick, constructed of rubble masonry
of mixed sandstone and gritstone in large irregular
blocks with gritstone quoins and ashlar parapet.
Little but the shell of the tower now remains, the
interior being wholly modernized and divided up,
and all the original features either destroyed or
concealed. The ancient plan and arrangements are,
therefore, to a great extent lost, but probably consisted of a large room on each of the two floors
above the basement, with smaller apartments in the
turrets, one of which may have contained a staircase. The turrets vary slightly in size, but average
14. ft. 6 in. square externally with walls 3 ft. 9 in.
thick, and rise about 6 ft. above the top of the
parapet of the main walls. The parapet is embattled
and carried all round the building between the
turrets on a corbel table; the merlons and embrasures
being moulded all round. The turrets terminate
in similarly corbelled battlements. The leaded roof
and the floors are modern. Few of the old window
openings remain, three large square-headed sash
windows having been introduced into the long south
front on each floor, and there are two similar windows,
one to each floor, on the shorter east and west
fronts. The north side is now hidden by the modern
building, but in the basement are the embrasures of
two loopholes and two doorways now giving access
to the basement story of the middle wing. From
the easternmost of these doorways there was a
passage-way 2 ft. 9 in. wide in the thickness of the
wall which may have contained a staircase to the
upper floor, but it is now built up. There is a
similar passage in the thickness of the north wall at
the first floor level, which was, no doubt, the means
of communication between the turret rooms without
going through the chief apartment. The basement
has a segmental barrel vault and is 11 ft. 6 in. high in
the middle and 5 ft. at the sides. It has a wide
four-light mullioned window at its east end and
one of three lights at the west, both probably 17thcentury insertions. On the long south side there are
three loopholes 1 ft. 8 in. by 5 in. wide, now built up
but otherwise perfect, splaying out inside to a width
of 3 ft. 4 in. with segmental heads, and there are
similar built-up loopholes in the basement of the
turrets. The upper windows of the turrets were
small square openings, and most of these remain, but
modern windows, now built up, however, have been
introduced, those in the north-east turret being circular in shape. On the south side the evidence of the
masonry of the main wall seems to show that
originally there were two windows of some size to
each floor, but no indication of their architectural
character remains. There is a modern stone staircase 9 ft. in diameter in the south-east turret to
both floors, but the leads are approached directly
from the garden by a wooden stair in the south-west
turret. The whole of the internal arrangements
being modern are without architectural or antiquarian interest.
To the north-west of the house is a picturesque
17th-century stable of two stories with mullioned
windows and stone-slated roof.
STODDAY gave a surname to a family of which
some records have been preserved. Hugh son of
Bernard, Gilbert, Roger and William de Stodagh
were benefactors of Cockersand Abbey. (fn. 66) Gervase
de Stodagh occurs in 1301. (fn. 67) His son and heir (by
Helewise) was named John de Appletreehead; with
Alice his daughter he granted in free marriage to
John de Alburgh, clerk, land in the hamlet of Stodday
and a fishery in the Lune, together with the homage
of William son of Gervase. (fn. 68) Others of the name
occur, but their exact position in the township does
not appear. (fn. 69) John son and heir of Alan Stodagh (fn. 70)
was in 1434–5 the husband of Agnes daughter and
heir of John Lambert of Lancaster and Ellen his
wife. (fn. 71) He died in or before 1445, (fn. 72) and was
followed by a son Lambert Stodagh, (fn. 73) to whom in
1462 were granted two messuages with land held
partly of the chief lord of the fee, viz. the lord of
Ash ton, by the service of 3s. 4d., partly of the heir
of Sir John Hotham by 3s. 4d., and partly of the
lord of Goberthwaite, i.e. Nether Wyresdale, by
12d. (fn. 74) Lambert Stodagh died in 1511 holding lands
in Stodday, Lancaster, Scotforth and elsewhere; that
in Stodday was held of the king in socage. (fn. 75) The
estate was acquired by the Southworths of Highfield
in Lancaster, (fn. 76) and gradually dissipated. A century
ago the chief landowner in Stodday was Dr. Lawson
Whalley. His estate was in 1843, after his death,
acquired by Robert Bousfield, through whose elder
daughter it has descended to the present owner,
Mr. E. B. Dawson of Aldcliffe. (fn. 77)
Lancaster Priory had sites for granges at Ashton
and Grisehead. (fn. 78) Cockersand Abbey received a considerable number of benefactions in the township (fn. 79) ;
after the Suppression the whole or a large part was
purchased by Sir Thomas Holt of Gristlehurst. (fn. 80)
John Green of Ashton paid £10 in 1631 as a
composition after declining knighthood. (fn. 81) Philip
Wenman of Ashton, who had married Dame Elizabeth
Gerard, had his estate sequestered in May 1651 'for
some supposed late acting against the state.' (fn. 82) Richard
Taylor of Aldcliffe and Eleanor his wife, in her
right, registered a house at Ashton as 'Papists' in
1717. (fn. 83)
William de Lancaster granted 12d. a year from
the mill at Stodday to the monks of Lancaster on
their consent to his having a chapel at Ashton.
Nothing further is known of it. (fn. 84)