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Old
Historic Families (4)
of the Northwest of England, Greater Manchester,
Cheshire & Lancashire
Alphabetical
Listing - continued...:
In 1586,
George Fell, a lawyer and member at the landed gentry, built
Swarthmoor Hall on land acquired around the time of the Percy
Rebellion in 1569. Fell's son Thomas inherited the house around
1634 and brought his new wife Margaret Askew to live there.
Thus he became the owner, by marriage, of Marsh Grange, his
wife's family home and estate in the Furness
Peninsula (now in Cumbria).
Thomas was a supporter of Oliver Cromwell
and the Parliamentarian cause during the Civil War, though
he disagreed with the execution of Charles I.
He managed nevertheless to hold on to his influential position
and was eventually made Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Thomas Fell served as a magistrate in Lancaster and was an
MP in Cromwell's Long Parliament.
The Gee
Family of Gee Cross
The name
'Gee' probably originated with the arrival of the Normans
in England and is perhaps a corruption of the Norman surname
'Gui' or 'Guy'. According to some sources, the Gee surname
cannot be traced further back than the 17th century, however,
the Gee name seems to have existed in Leicestershire from
1400, Nottinghamshire from 1460, and Lincolnshire from about
1340.
It is disputed whether the village of Gee Cross, in Hyde,
Greater Manchester, is named after the well-to-do Gee family,
or is perhaps a corruption or abbreviation of 'Gerrard's Cross',
a local stone cross which has long stood there. But it is
clear, however, that the Gees held important positions in
the neighbourhood from very early times and were known to
be local philanthropists from the 16th century up to recent
times. Later, American immigrants may have changed the name
to 'Jay'.
The
Gerrards of Brynne/Wigan
An ancient
and powerful landowning family in Lancashire, particularly
around the districts of present-day Wigan. The name Gerrard
(sometimes spelt Gerard, Garret, Garrett or Gerart) is an
old Anglo-Saxon name meaning "spear carrier" and
is recorded in the Doomsday book of 1086. The Fitz-Gerrards
of Brynne boasted an ancient ancestry going back to the times
of Alfred the Great.
Debretts identifies the Gerrard family as deriving its origin
from the same ancestor as the Duke of Leinster, the Marquess
of Lansdowne, the Lords Windsor, and many others. The descendants
of Gerald or Gerard, third son of Walter Fitz-Other, continued
the surname of Gerard, and eventually settled at the Brynne
in Lancashire. Sometime around 1250 William Gerrard inherited
Brynne Hall by marriage to the daughter and sole heiress of
Peter de Brynne. The family seat Brynne (Bryn) Hall dates
from the fourteenth century.
Documentation shows that the family owned lands around the
Winwick, Standish, Hindley and Ashton-in-Makerfield districts
of Lancashire in the mid-16th century.
In 1544 Thomas Gerratt had been made Earl of Hertford at Leith
in Scotland and by 1555 William Garrett had become Lord Mayor
of London. Subsequent family members became Attorney General
and Chancellor of Ireland.
The family name is still recorded by Gerrard's Bridge on the
nearby Leeds & Liverpool Canal as well as the Gerrard
Arms pub in Aspull. The Gerrard family tomb is at All Saints
Church in Wigan.
The
Glassbrooks of Glazebrook
The lands
of Glazebrook, just under 3000 acres of historic lands once
held by the Glassbrook family, lies within the County of Lancashire,
six miles to the north east of Warrington. It is the most
easterly township in the West Derby hundred, bordering the
Salford hundred, with its southern boundary the River Mersey.
This was the Earldom of the de Glasebrook family, and old
Norman French family who owned it in the eleventh century
- originally given by William the Conqueror to his illegitimate
son Galfe. Ownership is recorded in the Domesday Survey of
1086. Its existence predates the County Palatine of Lancashire,
which was not created until 1297, and there are many deeds
in existence related to the history and ownership of the lands.
The lands contain a railway station and the village of Glazebury,
as well as the River Glazebrook, which itself runs into the
Mersey. The source of the river is a lake called 'The Flash'
or the 'The Glaze'.
The Glassbrook family once successfully defended the lands
against the advancing Scots, whilst the Grosvenors held the
west against the Welsh, and the de Trafford's the east as
well as 10 other families who held the line, including the
de Botteliers (Bootle).
In the 1800 survey the district was known as Glassbrook. Nowadays,
the township comes under the administrative authority of the
County of Cheshire. Other family name derivations include
Glazebrook, Glassbrook and Glasebrook.
We
are indebted to Alan Glassbrook for providing the information
on the Glassbrook family.
The
Grelley Family of Manchester
Appearing
in the Roll of Battle Abbey (Hastings, 1066) the family name
first appears as 'Greile', in Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Greslet',
and in various later documents as Grelle, Gressy, Greslé,
Grille, Grylle, Grelly, Grelley, Greslai, Gredle, Gredley,
Gradley, Gredlai, Greidley, Gresley, and Greddle. Modern versions
also include Gradwell, Gradell and Gresley.
After the Norman Invasion of 1066, the Salford Hundred, along
with extensive other lands in Lancashire, (all the lands between
the Rivers Ribble and Mersey), were given by William the Conqueror
to one of his favourite barons, Rogier de Poitevin (also known
as Roger de Pitou). These lands included several fiefdoms,
the Manor of Manchester amongst them. Later, de Poitevin granted
this manor, in turn, to one of his own supporters, Albert
de Greslé (also known as Albert Greslet or Grelley).
Grelley was a Norman knight who had taken part in the Battle
of Hastings and was to become the first Baron of Manchester,
and his family held the manor thereafter for the next 200
years. Peter de Gresley was patron of the rectory of Manchester
in 1276. The family lived in Grelley Manor, which is now Chethams
Library, located adjacent to Manchester
Cathedral.
The last of the family to bear the title was Thomas Greddle,
(or Grelly), the eighth Baron of Manchester, and when he died
in 1347, unmarried, the vast estates of the family passed,
through the marriage of his sister Johanna with John de la
Warre, in to the de la
Warre Family.
Later branches, notably the Gradells of Ulneswalton, in Croston
were known to have settled in Clifton near Kirkham in the
18th century, and they have continued under the name Gradwell
to the present day.There is also a Gresley family in Derbyshire
and a Greasley family in Nottinghamshire (occasionally appears
as
Gresley), but whether or not these are related is open to
question and a matter for others to conclude.
We
are indebted to Geoff Gradwell for providing most of the information
on the Grelley family.
The Grimshaw
Family of Crowtree & Sabden
For the
greater part of the 19th century the Grimshaws of Crowtree were
one of the most influential families in Barrowford. Records
show the Grimshaw family history dating back certainly as early
as 1276 when one Richard De Grymishagh held the tenement of
Crowtree, near Blackburn, which he had inherited from his father
Walter. One Nicholas Grimshaw of Heyhouses lived in Sabden during
the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The main branch of the family
continued to live there latter years of the 17th century. The
family had probably taken its name from the local district,
originally spelt Grymishagh or Grymishaw, (meaning
'an open wood'). In the 14th century, Adam De Grimshaw had married
Cicely De Clayton, and thereafter this branch of the family
resided at Clayton Hall, Clayton Le Moors. The rest of the Grimshaw
family lived at Sabden, which was to be their family home from
around 1594 to 1800 when (another) Nicholas Grimshaw sold it.
The tragic Moorfield Pit disaster of 7th November 1883 saw 68
men and boys killed and injured, many of the Grimshaw men among
them - a plaque on the A678 bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool
Canal near the Moorfield Colliery site commemorates the event.
The
Grosvenors of Eaton Hall
Eaton Hall
in Cheshire has been the family home of the Grosvenor Family
since the 15th century. Sometime during the 1440s, Raufe, second
son of Sir Thomas Grosvenor of Hulme (near Northwich), married
Joan of Eton (or de Eaton),
the heiress to the Eton (later Eaton) Estate. By 1601 Richard
Grosvenor, (who was made 1st Baronet in 1622), had already acquired
lead and coal mines as well as stone quarrying interests in
Denbighshire, Coleshill and Rhuddlan, Flintshire, Wales. Richard's
son Roger having been killed in a duel in 1661, upon the death
of Sir Richard the baronetcy went directly to his grandson Thomas
(then aged 8).
The first Marquess of Westminster built Halkyn Castle in 1825.
The family acquired the manor of Holywell, Fulbrook and Greenfield
in 1809. A later Richard Grosvenor was created Baron Grosvenor
of Eaton in 1761, and Earl Grosvenor and Viscount Belgrave in
1784. The 1st Earl's only son, Robert, succeeded to the title
in 1802. In 1831 he was created Marquis of Westminster.
A later descendant, one Hugh Lupus (named after the 1st Norman
Earl of Chester) succeeded as the 3rd Marquis in 1869 and was
elevated to the Dukedom in 1874. Successive dukes held the estate
until the present day and Eaton is still the country seat of
the 6th Duke of Westminster and his family. The family still
has great wealth and many holdings throughout the UK including
large areas of central London and the 5 star Grosvenor Hotel
& Spa in the City of Chester.
The
Halsall Family of Halsall
In
1066 the township of Halsall was held by a man named Chettel.
Soon after Conquest the Barony of Warrington included the northern
portion of the parish of Halsall, as well as Barton and Lydiate.
By 1212 Robert de Vilers was the Lord of the Manor of Halsall
and the family name of 'de Halsall' seems to have been
adopted sometime before 1280, when Gilbert de Halsall is a prominent
figure in the region. He is recorded as having inherited a local
meadow and a mill. The name survives throughout several subsequent
centuries. In 1395, one Henry de Halsall, who had embraced an
ecclesiastical career, was presented by his father to the rectory
of Halsall, which in 1413 he exchanged for the archdeaconry of
Chester. A great deal of county intermarriage followed, amongst
them the Heskeths, the Molyneux of Sefton and the Stanleys of
Weaver.
A prominent Halsall of the early 15th century was Sir Gilbert
Halsall, who fought in the French wars and was bailiff of Evreux.
In the late 16th century, Edward Halsall was a powerful local
figure in the region and held various public offices - he had
founded the school at Halsall. A Henry Halsall was made a knight
in Dublin on 22 July 1599 and was probably sent to prison for
debt in 1631 whereupon the estates passed into ownership of Sir
Charles Gerard who had married Penelope, daughter of Sir Edward
Fitton of Gawsworth (near Macclesfield)
Descended
from William Fitz-Nigel, who died without male heirs, the family
passed through marriage of the female side to the Duttons, Warburtons
and Hattons, and possibly the Leghs and the Daniels families.
All these were major ruling families of Cheshire throughout several
centuries right up to modern times. The township of Tabley was
held by William Fitz-Nigel in the time of William the Conqueror
and is recorded as thus in the Domesday Book of 1086.
Sometimes
spelled Heton, the first appearance of the family name is one
Randle de Heaton, around 1135, of Heaton-under-the-Forest. In
1199 King John granted land to Roger de Heton around the River
Lune in North Lancashire in the Manor of Heton-in-Lonsdale.
Many sub-branches are followed along the way including Heatons
of Heaton-under-the Forest, Heatons of London, Heatons of Billinge,
Heatons - Clouch Branch and Ravenhurst Branch. The family came
south to live in the parish of Deane in Bolton. The Heatons
gradually enlarged its possessions over the following two centuries
and their family name appears as far south as Heaton Moor, Heaton
Mersey and Heaton Chapel and grew in power and influence, holding
various public appointments. In the 13th century two heads of
the family received knighthoods. Later, the lands was divided
amongst several sons and when finally, on the death of William
de Heton in 1387, most of the lands in Lancashire were inherited
by his two daughters they subsequently passed out of the hands
of the Heton family on their marriage, inheritance then only
passing down through the male line.
The Heskeths
originally acquired the Manor of Rufford through intermarriage
with the Fitton Family, when in 1275 Maud Fitton married Sir
Thomas Hesketh of Holmeswood, and half of Rufford came by way
of a dowry Their grandson, Sir John de Hesketh, later married
Alice Fitton, and thereby secured the rest of the estate and
became Lord of the Manor. Heskeths had for some time lived at
Martholme but eventually Rufford became the family's main home.
The Heskeths were great benefactors of the Church of St Lawrence
at Great Harwood. Thomas Hesketh founded a Chantry at the Church
in 1521 and bequeathed it an endownment of land. His son, (also
Thomas), was knighted at the coronation of Mary Tudor in 1553.
Despite being a fervent supporter of Queen Mary and himself
a Roman Catholic he managed to retain some status when the Protestant
Queen Elizabeth came to power in 1558 and went on to serve with
distinction becoming High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1563. Subsequent
generations married well into other powerful Lancastrian families,
notably the Stanleys, as well being elected as Members of Parliament
for Lancashire and High Sheriffs of the County. In 1593, Richard
Hesketh was involved in the plot to place the 5th Earl of Derby
on the throne, in succession to Elizabeth, but was betrayed
and sentenced to death. Family lands in Great Harwood, Tottleworth
and the house at Martholme eventually passed by marriage to
the de Hoghtons.
During the early 19th century the family fortunes fared badly
as new mechanisation and better transport systems hit the farming
and weaving industries hard, markets fell and tenenats rents
went unpaid so that in 1819 Sir Thomas Dalrymple Hesketh sold
the estate to Richard Grimshaw Lomax of Clayton-le-Moors for
the sum of £75,000. This sale ended all Hesketh power
in Rufford, their Lordship of the Manor having lasted over 500
years. Henceforth it was Richard Lomax who would own almost
the entire district having already purchased most of the reminder
of the Lower Town earlier in 1772.
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