The most recent Ashcroft with whom we are concerned is Sarah Ashcroft ( ), born at Aughton and wife of John Culshaw ( ).

Transcription

1 ASHCROFT of AUGHTON The most recent Ashcroft with whom we are concerned is Sarah Ashcroft ( ), born at Aughton and wife of John Culshaw ( ). 1 The earliest Ashcroft traced in the direct line is William Ascroft (died 1684/5), an Aughton linen-webster, who was perhaps a son of Jamis Aiscrofte (fl at Ormskirk). ****************************************** Sarah Ashcroft s father was Peter Ashcroft ( ), an Aughton farmer. Peter s father was John Ashcroft, junior ( ), a yeoman of Aughton. John was a son of John Ashcroft, senior ( ), also an Aughton farmer, but born in the adjacent township of Bickerstaffe. John, senior was a son of James Ashcroft ( ), who farmed land at Bickerstaffe and Ormskirk. James was a son of Richard Ashcroft ( ), yeoman of Bickerstaffe and Aughton. Richard s father was William Ashcroft (died 1684/5), linen-weaver/webster of Aughton. William may well have been William, son of Jamis Aiscrofte, baptised at Ormskirk on 15 December Origins Our Ashcroft family seems to have had its origins in the south-west Lancashire parish of Aughton and in the townships of Bickerstaffe, Scarisbrick, Burscough and Skelmersdale in Aughton's adjacent parish of Ormskirk. 2 It has been suggested that the name Ashcroft derives from Ashcroft, Lancashire, 3 but no such place has been found and it may be wiser to explain the name more generally as dweller at a croft with an ash tree. 4 [There were leases to James Ascrofte of Skelmersdale in 1580/1 and Thomas (also of Skelmersdale) in 1582/3] 5 [Among the Ashcrofts paying hearth tax at Skelmersdale in 1666 were James, James, Henry and Margery]. 6 Jamis Aiscrofte of Ormskirk We have seen that William Ashcroft was perhaps a son of Jamis Aiscrofte of Ormskirk, baptised there on 15 December It is also possible that William was a son of Richard Ashcroft of Aughton (buried 9 January 1655/6) and his wife Margaret (buried 21 September 1652). 8 There are many incidences of James Ashcroft in the Ormskirk parish registers in this period. Jamis, son of Jamis Aiscroft was baptised on 14 December Jamis Ascrofte was buried in the church on 25 May Jamis, son of John Aiscrofte was baptised on 20 May Elloner, wife of Jamis Aiscroft, was buried on 3 May Jamis Aiscroft married Emlin Hesketh 9 on 19 November A child of Jamis Aiscroft was buried on 27 December Elizab., wife of James Ascroft was buried in church on 29 January 1613/4. 10 James Ascroft married Elizabeth Spencer 11 on 18 October Mary, daughter of James Ascroft was baptised on 27 August James was fl at Skelmersdale. 12 Henry, son of James Ascroft was baptised on 26 June James, son of James Ascroft was baptised on 19 1

2 February 1625/6. James Ashcroft married Margaret Parr, widow 13 at Prescot on 10 January 1627/8, by licence granted on 13 July James Ashcroft married Isabell Molyneux of Wigan 14 at Ormskirk on 25 January 1626/7, by licence granted on 22 January, with Thomas Ashcroft as bondsman. Edward, son of James was baptised on 15 April Elizabeth, daughter of James was baptised on 12 May Katheryne, daughter of James was baptised on 19 November Emlin, ux. James was buried on 15 April John, son of Jamis was baptised on 11 January 1637/8. Alis, daughter of Jamis Ascroft was baptised on 7 June William, son of James was baptised on 15 December James Ascrofte was constable of Burscough in 1641/2. 15 Sislie, daughter of Jamis was baptised on 16 October Thomas, son of James was baptised on 1 May Henry, son of James was baptised on 22 December Elizabeth, wife of James Ashcrofte of Scarisbrick was buried in church on 18 November James, of Scarisbrick was buried in church on 17 November Isabell Ashcroft, vid. de Lathom was buried in church on 29 March [Cicely and Edward Ashcroft each had one hearth at Bickerstaffe in 1663.] 16 William and Elizabeth Ashcroft William Ashcroft, an Aughton webster (weaver) was perhaps the son of Jamis Aiscrofte, baptised at Ormskirk on 15 December On 26 September 1666 a licence was issued for the marriage of William Ashcroft to Elizabeth Bickerstaffe, also of Aughton (for a wedding at Aughton or Halsall). The wedding does not appear in the registers of either parish, but may have been at Aughton: the marriage register for that year has only one entry and seems obviously defective. 17 One of the bondsmen for the licence was a brother James Ashcrofte (perhaps the James born to James Ashcroft at Ormskirk in 1625/6). 18 William had another brother Thomas (his executor in 1685): if this Thomas can be identified with Thomas Ashcroft of Bickerstaffe (died 1686), 19 husband of Alice and son of Cicely, then William also had sisters Ann (wife of Robert Lyon), Ellin (wife of Robert Fogg) and Margaret (wife of William Fogg), another sister (wife of John Hey) and a nephew Henry Ashcroft. William and Elizabeth Ashcroft s eldest child Richard was baptised at Aughton on 6 December James was baptised at Aughton on 6 July 1673; Margaret on 25 April 1676; Thomas on 11 April 1679; and Ellen on 17 December [At the bishop s visitation of 1669 there was a report of the existence of a conventicle in Aughton ( and others formerly ), but of attenders at them it was noted the number and the condition of people not great.] 20 William Ashcroft is not to be found in the Aughton hearth tax returns for 1662, 1664, 1666 or 1671, 21 although Thomas occurs in By 1676 William was occupying a small messuage and three acres of land in Aughton owned by Viscount Molyneux and previously occupied by John Webster, husbandman. On 8 March 1675/6 William (a linen weaver) surrendered the old lease for the premises and paying the consideration of 21, received a new lease at 6s rent per annum, for the lives of his wife Elizabeth and his then two children Richard and James. Peaceable possession was certified in November, with Thomas Bikursteth as a witness. 22 It seems likely that this holding is identical with that described in 1782 in the will of William s grandson James Ashcroft as Webster s at Aughton (2½ acres, owned by the Molyneux estate). It is unclear whether the name Websters relates to the tenancy of John Webster prior to 1676, to that of Robert Webster in 1785, or to the linen weaving trade carried on there. William Ashcroft was churchwarden at Aughton in As churchwarden that year he witnessed the 2

3 sacrament certificate of John Brownsword, the rector. 24 Death of William Ashcroft William Ashcroft of Aughton, webster made his will on 27 December He had already assigned over to his son Richard (by now 17/18) his own small messuage (in Aughton, the inheritance of Richard Mossock, gent ) and to James (11) his other small messuage (perhaps in Bickerstaffe or that leased from Lord Molyneux in Aughton): both these were now charged with the support of Elizabeth and the younger children, until Richard and James respectively reached the age of 26 (1692 and 1699). Elizabeth was in any case to have a half share of both during her lifetime, unless she re-married. Half William s goods were to be divided between his five children. The cupboards, dishboard [dresser] and great table were to remain in his house for Richard s use, while James was to have the dishboard, bedstocks [frames] and fall [folding] table at the other house. The executors were to be his wife Elizabeth; his brother Thomas Ashcroft (perhaps Thomas Ashcroft of Bickerstaffe, husband of Alice and son of Cicely, who died in 1686) and Robert Molyneux. The witnesses were Henry Mollineux and Richard Latham. William was buried at Aughton on 17 March 1684/5: an inventory was appraised on 20 April by Cuthbert Watkinson (died 1714), Robert and Henry Mollineux, and Richard Latham: it showed goods worth 57, adjusted to 37 after debts and bonds. William s trade as a linen-weaver is shown by the inclusion of linnen of all sorts ( 1 10s); yarn (6s 8d); and loomes, reeds and healds 25 ( 1 10s). Yet the chief value lay in the farm, where four cows; three calves; four mares; five ewes; and five lambs accounted for almost 30. Wheat on the ground was worth another 4 10s There were also pigs, geese and hens, together with threshed wheat, barley and blendcorn and beans, peas and kale. The inventory makes further mention of 7s-worth of pewter; brass pots and pans, a feather bed with boulsters and pillows, coverlets and blankets, a cort cupboard [three-tier shelving for display] and the usual kitchen equipment. Richard, James, Ellen and Margaret children of William Ashcroft, deceased were each left 5 in the will of Margaret Bickerstaffe, widow of Aughton (probably their maternal grandmother), made in 1686 and proved in Their brother Thomas was not mentioned: it was probably he (as Thomas Ascroft, Bicursteth ) who was buried at Ormskirk on 31 March Re marriage and death of William s widow Elizabeth William Ashcroft s widow Elizabeth married Robert Woofall by licence at Aughton on 15 June Elizabeth Woofall was buried at Aughton on 12 July Robert Woofal and Elizabeth Golborn married at Aughton on 27 January 1689/90. There were fl. at Aughton in 1690 Robert Woolfall of Aughton and his wife Elizabeth, sister of John Holme. Robert Woolfall was among those who signed the oath roll for Aughton in Elizabeth Woofall died in 1704 and was buried at Aughton on 27 September: Robert Woofull died there in 1709 and was buried on 30 April. It was probably William and Elizabeth Ashcroft s elder daughter Margaret (born 1676) who married Gabriel Haile of Bickerstaffe on 2 August 1702: Gabriel Hale was buried at Aughton on 4 January 1716 and Margaret on 25 April William s brothers James and Thomas Ashcroft We have seen that William Ashcroft had a brother James at the time of his marriage in 1666 and one Thomas who was named as his executor in his will in We have no further information about James. Thomas may have been Thomas Ashcroft of Bickerstaffe, husband of Alice; father of Henry; and son of Cicely; who was buried at Ormskirk on 31 March 1686: Cicely Ashcroft made her will on 28 March 1688, naming daughters Ann, wife of Robert Lyon; Ellen, wife of Robert Fogg; and Margaret, wife of William Fogg; and grandsons Edmund Hey and Henry Ashcroft. Cicely died at Bickerstaffe and was buried at Ormskirk on March : her will was proved on 28 May. 29 Alternatively William s brother may have 3

4 been Thomas Ashcroft, wright buried at Aughton on 14 February 1702/3; or Thomas Ashcroft buried there on 17 January 1708/9. Richard and Elizabeth Ashcroft Richard Ashcroft, baptised at Aughton on 6 December 1666, was 18 at the death of his father William in March 1684/5. Richard entered his inheritance on 6 February 1692/3 (having reached the previous December the age of 26 stipulated by his father s will). Margaret Ashcroft, the first of Richard s children was baptised at Aughton on 26 July 1691 ( daughter of Richard Ashcroft ) and his eldest son William was baptised there on 12 November 1693 ( son of Richard Ashcroft ). 30 [On 19 June 1694 Richard Ashcroft of Ormskirk parish married Elizabeth Ashurst of Ormskirk after banns at Ormskirk parish church. It seems unlikely that this was Richard of Aughton, unless his first two children were illegitimate, but baptised in his name; or children of an unrecorded previous marriage.] An assessment of Aughton for the poor rate in 1688 lists the occupiers of Ashcrofts two houses at 1s. Similar rates for 1694 and 1696 have Richard Ashcroft and James Ashcroft assessed at 3d and 4d each. 31 Richard appears in the 1696 association oath roll for Aughton. Richard, Henry, Thomas and another Richard all signed at Bickerstaffe and Skelmersdale. 32 A daughter Martha was baptised at Aughton on 26 Jun 1698 and Thomas son of Richard Ashcroft, husbandman on 23 March 1700/1. Richard s youngest surviving child James was baptised at Aughton on 3 September [An infant Richard, son of Richard Ashcroft of Lydiate was baptised at Aughton on 10 April 1708, but Richard, son of Richard Ashcroft was buried at Aughton on 9 August.] Richard and his brother James were again assessed for the Aughton poor rate at 1d (1700); and Richard alone at 6d (1703); 1s 9d (1710); and 1s 6d (1712). 33 Richard Ashcroft of Nearer House was surveyor of Aughton in 1703 and Richard served as churchwarden with Mr [Thomas] Bickersteth in : they signed the bishop s transcripts in this capacity. In 1716 the church acquired a new oak altar table: noted in 1908 as then in the vestry, the table carries a brass plate with the words Thomas Bickersteth, gent. and Richard Ashcroft, churchwardens Richard ( agricola ) was bondsman for the licence when his daughter Margaret Ashcroft ( of Ormskirk parish ) married Thomas Crookham ( agricola ) of Aughton at Ormskirk on 26 November Margaret may have been the second daughter of that name born to Richard Ashcroft, because the licence noted that she was marrying with the consent of her father, suggesting that she was born after Thomas and Margaret s son Richard Crookham was born at Burscough in 1718, although the couple were back in Aughton when their daughter Mary was born in 1720; another son John was born in Richard Ashcroft s daughter Martha Ashcroft married James Heyes of Bickerstaffe by licence at Ormskirk on 9 April 1725: 36 their son John Heys was born in Details of Richard Ashcroft s landholding are found in his will drawn up on 19 February 1722/3, by which time he was clearly living at Bickerstaffe. Richard s chief holding seems to have been in Bickerstaffe. This he bequeathed to his elder son William, describing it as a messuage and tenement held by two leases, one part under Sir Edward Stanley and the other under Mr Walmesley of Showley. The Stanley lease was of 18 acres by the lives of Richard, his son James and William Liptrot of Standish (born c. 1692, fl. 1737): 38 dated 2 March 1718/19, it replaced an 4

5 earlier lease with one life in being. The rent was 16s and one capon, with a 1s boon and a 115 entry fine. Richard s signature is on the indenture. 39 William was also to receive a cottage in Aughton held by lease under Woolfall. Other property described in Richard s will was William s cottage in Aughton held under lease from Viscount Molyneux (probably Webster s ): this he left to his wife Elizabeth, together with the parlour bed, the clock and the furniture belonging. One further cottage in Aughton, held under lease from Mr Walmesley, Richard left to his younger son James (then 19), to enter on the 2 February following his father s decease. Three of the landholders from whom Richard Ashcroft leased his properties were Roman Catholic recusants and it is likely that the properties bequeathed in his will were the same as those registered in 1717 as papists estates. In Bickerstaffe and Aughton was Mossock Demesne, a total of 60 acres let to Richard Ascroft, Margret Ascroft and three others at 54 rent under Richard Walmesley of Showley, gent (husband of Elizabeth Mossock of Mossock). The remaining three holdings were all in Aughton: these were a messuage and tenement with three acres let in 1707 for 18 and the surrender of the old lease, held at 10s rent under Walmesley; another messuage and tenement held for 7s and 40 under Richard Wolfall, esq. of Wolfall (Huyton); and the messuage and tenement (Websters) held under Viscount Molyneux at 6s rent by the lives of Richard and of his wife Elizabeth and young son James. 40 A clear picture of the fortunes of the Ashcroft family at this time comes from the inventory of goods drawn up on Richard s death in Only one house (probably in Bickerstaffe) is described: it was obviously the centre of a large dairy and arable farming operation. Downstairs were the house; the buttery; the kitchen; and the parlour. There were also rooms over the house, the kitchen and the parlour. In the house were pewter, brass, a firegrate, a clock and chairs and stools and there was more pewter and brass and a spice box in the buttery. The kitchen held brown ware, a cheese press and spinning wheels and there was a bed, stools and a furniture chest in the parlour. Upstairs lay another three beds, with bedding, linen and other furniture. There were four horses, cows valued at 49, corn at 30, together with a few sheep, some wheat, rye and meal and some 138 owing to the deceased, in bonds and mortgage payments. The total value of the goods came to an impressive 297 9s 8d. Deaths of Richard and Elizabeth Ashcroft and of their elder son William Thomas, son of Richard Ashcroft died at the age of 21 and was buried at Aughton on 13 February 1722/3. Richard himself drew up his will six days later on 19 February 1722/3. The executors were to be his eldest son William, his wife Elizabeth and his neighbour Joseph Taylor. Richard Ashcroft (yeoman, of Bickerstaffe) died, perhaps that day and was buried at Aughton on 21 February 1722/3. An inventory was appraised on 26 February by Mr Cristopher Ince of Aughton and Benjamin Fletcher of Bickerstaffe. It records due payments on mortgages granted to Henry Mollinex and Richard Goulborn. Richard s widow Elizabeth was rated (as widow Ashcroft ) at 8d in Aughton in 1724: 41 she died in 1726 and was buried (as Elizabeth Ashcroft ) at Aughton on 25 November. Richard and Elizabeth s elder son William (who had been churchwarden of Aughton in 1723) 42 made his will on 28 June 1728, leaving his Bickerstaffe lands to his younger brother James. There were further bequests to nephews and nieces ( 40 at 21 between his sister Margaret Crookham s children; 10 to his sister Martha s son John, son of James Heays) and 5 to his cousin Elizabeth Yeats, who has attended me. 43 William died on 6 July 1728 and the will was proved on 8 August. (Another William Ashcroft of Bickerstaffe, yeoman was buried at Ormskirk on 30 October 1726: administration was granted on 19 August 1727 to his sons Henry and Edward). 5

6 Richard and Elizabeth s daughters Margaret Crookham and Martha Ashcroft received legacies of 50 and 100 in their father s will in 1723 and further legacies from their brother William in James Ashcroft and his first wife Margaret Jarman Richard and Elizabeth Ashcroft s younger son James entered into his father s cottage in Aughton in February 1723/4 and inherited his father s principal lands in Bickerstaffe from his elder brother William in A new lease granted that year from the Molyneux estate of his messuage and two acres in Aughton was for James own life and those of his nephews John Crookham (born 1725) and John Heys (born 1728). 44 This property was almost certainly that later known as Webster s and then as Bold Farm in Holt Green. At Aughton on 9 July 1730 James (then 26, a husbandman) married Margaret Jarman of Bickerstaffe by licence, granted that day: both were of Bickerstaffe and the witnesses to the application were Thomas Latham and John Parkinson (the Aughton schoolmaster). 45 James Ashcroft was churchwarden of Aughton in 1730/1 and (as James Ashcrofte of Bickerstaffe ) in c A daughter Elizabeth was born to James Ashcroft of Bickerstaffe and baptised at Ormskirk on 10 November Richard, son of James and Margaret Ashcroft of Bickerstaffe was baptised at Ormskirk on 9 January 1733 and a daughter Betty on 16 March 1734/5. Death of James Ashcroft s wife Margaret Margaret Ashcroft of Bickerstaffe was buried at Aughton on 22 March 1734/5. James was rated in Aughton at 4s 8d in 1732 and 2s in 1735: 47 he paid 15s 8d land tax in James and Margaret s son Richard Ashcroft ( ) married Jennet, had a son James ( ), farmed at Bickerstaffe (where he was a freeholder in 1776) 49 and died in 1794 of a decline. He was buried at Aughton on 17 April. James and Ellen Ashcroft On 18 January 1735/6 James, widower, of Bickerstaffe, yeoman (signing as Ashcroft ) took out a licence to marry Ellen Frearson (single) of Euxton, Leyland. 50 The marriage seems not to have taken place at Leyland or Ormskirk, but their son John was baptised at Bickerstaffe s parish church in Ormskirk on 10 December 1736 ( son of James and Ellen Ascroft of Bickerstaffe ). James and Ellen also had daughters Margaret (wife of Richard Appleton, died?1792) and another daughter (wife of Robert Bullen). Ann, wife of Robert Bullen of Bickerstaffe, yeoman was buried at Aughton on 28 September James Ashcroft appears in Aughton land tax returns of 1732 and 1740 paying 3s 11d. 51 By 1745 James was paying 6d per annum in leys for his tenement held under Mr Stanley of Moor Hall. This payment continued as 7d until at least From 1755 Richard Ashcroft paid 6d for late Dr [Henry] Bartons Pudding Street land. 52 In 1742 James continued what was to become a long period of service to the parish, when he was one of those certifying the accounts of the parish constable: he was to do this again in 1746, 1747 and In he served for a year as one of the overseers of the poor, one of his duties being to attend for two days at quarter sessions in Wigan: he paid out 49 during his 12 months in office and ended up 3 16s 8d out of pocket. 53 James certified the churchwardens accounts in 1745, 1749 and 1752, the overseers accounts in 1749 and and those of the highways surveyor in In 1751 he was paid 9s for 6 loads of stones and 4s 8d for 14 stubs [all for highway repairs]. In 1752 the constable spent 3s on James Ashcroft and others when they worked together to fix the book by house row. 54 On 16 April 1745 James was one of the principal inhabitants and landowners of Aughton, meeting to decide 6

7 on action after a spate of robberies. 55 There was much excitement in the area on 25 November 1745, when 200 Jacobite sympathizers assembled in Ormskirk, beating drums, recruiting for the Young Pretender and proclaiming the Old Pretender as James III: they were eventually dispersed. 56 Rentals of the Molyneux estate in Aughton show James paying 6s in 1745 and A new lease of James Stanley lands at Bickerstaffe was granted in 1750 by his life and those of his son Richard and of William Liptrot (then 56): there was a fine of 64 10s and the rent was fixed at 1 0s 6d. 58 A further lease of James messuage and two acres in Aughton was granted in 1760 by the lives of James, his son John ( 23 ) and John Heys ( 32 ). 59 A Bickerstaffe lease of Stanley land was granted in 1765 by the lives of Richard Ashcroft, Jenet his wife (born c. 1716) and James their son. 60 James Ashcroft was again churchwarden of Aughton in and served as overseer again in This seems to have marked the end of his public service, apart from one further year as churchwarden in Marriage of John Ashcroft, senior On 31 August 1761 at Ormskirk, James son John Ashcroft married Grace Lyon, a daughter of Robert Lyon, tanner and yeoman of Cunscough, Melling (originally from Rainford), and of his wife Margaret. 61 John and Grace Ashcroft had three sons, all baptised at Aughton: James ( ) (23 September 1764); 62 Robert ( ) (4 September 1774); and John, junior ( ) (21 April 1776). In 1764 John Ashcroft and another were paid 1s 4d by the highways surveyor for mending a breach and 1s 8d for 4 loads of side stones and a stubb. 63 John now took up his father s service to the parish. He was an overseer for the poor in and then a frequent signatory of the accounts of the various parish officers. He first served as churchwarden in and On 10 March 1778 John and his fellowchurchwarden John Southworth wrote to Henry Blundell s steward seeking re-imbursement of 4s spent on repairs to the chancel roof in Aughton church. 66 Deaths of James and Ellen Ashcroft In 1769 James Ashcroft is shown holding a messuage and yard at Holt Green: some five statutory acres comprising Church Field (2.0.35) and Nearer and Further Meadow ( and ). 67 James Ashcroft of Aughton, yeoman made his will on 11 August 1775, leaving all his tenancies in Aughton and Bickerstaffe to his widow Ellen; sons John, of Aughton; and Richard, of Bickerstaffe; daughter Margaret Appleton; and son-in-law Robert Bullen (c fl. 1766). 68 These were now described as: Bowkers Green, Aughton (owned by William Stanley); the Royal Oak at Bickerstaffe (seven acres owned by the representatives of the late Thomas Walmesley); 20 acres at Bickerstaffe owned by Lord Derby); six acres at Aughton owned by T. Plumbe; Webster s at Aughton (2½ acres owned by Lord Sefton); and 2½ acres adjoining Holt Green at Aughton, owned by the late T. Walmesley. James daughter Margaret Appleton or her son was to be added as a life to the Bowkers Green lease. The Royal Oak and Lord Derby s 20 acres at Bickerstaffe were to go to Richard Ashcroft for the existing lives. Plumb s, Webster s and the 2½ acres at Holt Green were to go to John Ashcroft. The witnesses were James Moorcroft, Edward Aspinwall and Richard Woods. A new lease of the Stanley land at Bickerstaffe (probably Ashcroft s Farm ) was granted to James son Richard Ashcroft on 17 September 1781 by his life and those of his son James and nephew James. The rent was now 1 9s and the fine James Ashcroft appears in the first extant land tax returns for Aughton in 1781 (paying 4s) and Bickerstaffe (12s 8d). 70 James died later that year and was buried at Aughton on 28 October 1782: his estate was sworn above 300 7

8 and the will was proved on 9 June A new lease of Websters at Aughton was granted in 1783 by the life of John ( ), his son James ( ) and John Heys (b. 1728). 71 James Aughton property, held by his executors, was still rated at 4s in 1784 and 1785 (in which year it was owned by Ellen and occupied by Robert Webster). James widow Ellen died in 1787 and was buried on 10 May at Aughton ( of Bickerstaffe, widow ). James son Richard (shown as a protestant, when such distinctions were made in the early land tax returns) continued to hold land in Bickerstaffe in the succeeding years. He had already been paying 6s 1d in 1782; and by 1788 he paid 6s 1d for Horrockses; 3s 6d for Walmesley s; 10d for Molyneux s; and 12s 3d, no doubt for his father s 20 acres. Other land in Bickerstaffe (including Moss House and Taylors) continued to be held by one Henry Ashcroft. 72 Richard Ashcroft, yeoman died of a decline at Bickerstaffe in 1794, aged 62: he was buried at Aughton on 17 April. John and Grace Ashcroft John and Grace Ashcroft s sons James, Robert and John were all baptised at Aughton, John on 21 April John, senior seems at first to have held two properties in Aughton. In the 1781 land tax returns, in addition to his father s 4s land, John himself held 9s 4d worth of land (probably owned by Miss Julia Clifton) marked for a double charge as part of a papist s estate. 73 By 1782 he also held Green House, once again paying 18s 8d. 74 The Molyneux general rental of 1786 shows him paying 6s at Aughton on leases with three lives in being. 75 In 1788 Charles Stanley of Aughton registered as a papist s estate a messuage and four acres leased by William Stanley, esquire to John Ashcroft for 30 fine and 5s rent. 76 By 1787 John, senior held three sets of land in Aughton, for which he paid 19s 4d; 3s 9d (Green House); and 17s 6d (Miss Clifton s). A fourth holding (Clarkson s), costing 11s 3d followed in Miss Clifton s land was replaced in 1793 by some further closes costing 2s 3d and held under Sir T. Stanley Massey. By 1795 these assessments, similarly described, were 1 0s 8d; 6s 0d; 2s; and 16s 0d. John Ashcroft occurs in the freeholders lists for Aughton in 1792 ( 54 ); 1795 ( senior, 55 ); 1798 ( 60 ) and 1799 ( 61 ). 77 The 1797 survey of the Molyneux estate shows Bold Farm leased to John Ashcroft at a reserved rent of 6s by his life and that of his son James. There was a large cottage of brick and thatch in two tenements, with a small barn, occupied by Ann Babot and Henry Bispham. There were five acres and a reversion value of By 1796 John had the following six holdings: Plumbe s (a messuage and six acres, redeemed from land tax in 1799): 11s 3½d; Derby s: 15s 11¼d; Stanley s: 5s 3¼d; land: 11s 3½d; a holding occupied by William Hampson: 9s 3½d; together with fields owned by the executors of Sir Thomas Stanley Massey: 2s 0d. These holdings and assessments, with the exception of the 2s fields which were removed from the assessment on John Ashcroft s death, continued unchanged from 1800 at least until The land tax returns may be compared with the list of John s lands contained in his will drawn up in He was living on his Plumbe s holding (11s 3d); then came his freehold near the Holt Green ; then his leaseholds under Derby (15s 11d) and Stanleys (5s 3d); and finally a freehold called Watkinson s in Aughton and Lydiate (in what is now Back Lane, near Hollin House Green) 80 which in 1810 was occupied by his son John (9s 3d). John Ashcroft, senior was constable of Aughton in and and churchwarden in 1775, 1778, , , , and As constable in 1785 he travelled to courts in West Derby, Warrington, Ormskirk and to Blackburn for 4 days. His disbursements amounted to 28 5s 9d 8

9 and he was paid 8s for assessing [liability for tax on] windows. In 1787 he was paid 17s for having Ellen Thomas in custody and at Wigan sessions. Of John and Grace Ashcroft s three sons, James married (perhaps to Jane Ambrose at Wigan on 27 July 1785); Robert to Mary by 1798 and then, as a farmer, by licence on 17 February 1814 to Ann Darwin; 83 and John, junior on 6 January Marriage of John, junior and Mary Guy On 26 December 1805 Peter and Betty Guy marked their consent to the marriage of their daughter Mary (then 20) with John Ashcroft, junior. Ralph Lyon and Betty Ashcroft were their witnesses: she marked, while Lyon signed. The licence was granted on 28 December, with Lyon as bondsman: he and the bridegroom signed the papers and Betty Ashcroft marked. The wedding took place at Aughton on 6 January 1806, with Robert Ashcroft and Ann Gorse as witnesses. John and Mary had a daughter Ann (born 14 October 1806, baptized at Aughton 2 November; married Peter Pilkington by licence on 21 February 1837); 84 and sons James (born 19 January 1808, baptized at Aughton 14 February; buried 18 November 1884) and Peter (born 12 October 1812, baptized 8 November; died 1855). By 1810 John, junior was occupier of his father s 9s 3d freehold land in Aughton and Lydiate called Watkinsons. In 1830 and 1833 John was paid 7s 6d by the parish for jury duty at Kirkdale sessions. 85 Death of John Ashcroft, senior John Ashcroft of Aughton, yeoman made his will on 30 July 1810, leaving the entire benefits from his several freehold and leasehold messuages and lands of inheritance to his widow Grace for her lifetime. After Grace s death the eldest son James was to have his Plumbe s leasehold and the Holt Green land of inheritance ; Robert was to have the Derby and Stanley leaseholds; and John, junior was to have the land of inheritance called Watkinsons in Aughton and Lydiate (already in his occupation). The executors were to be his sons James, Robert and John and the witnesses were Caleb Lyon, James Wilson and Peter Barton. John Ashcroft, senior died on 27 February 1818, aged 81 and was buried at Aughton on 2 March: the will was proved on 30 May. A stone in Aughton churchyard bears the simple inscription Burial ground belonging to the family of John Ashcroft, who died 27 February His will was sworn under 600 and duty paid on his all freehold estate was 7 11s 2d. 87 An exterior view and interior plan of Aughton church as it appeared in c are to be found amongst the Hadfield manuscripts at Stafford. 88 After the death of John Ashcroft, senior the land tax return of 1819 onwards continued to show his five holdings with Grace as owner and occupier of the 11s 3d land and as occupier of Stanley s 5s 3d land. James held Squire Plumbe s 11s 3d tenement, while Robert Ashcroft held Lord Derby s 15s 11d land, Thomas Molineux s 4s 1d holding and Miss Watson s 1 18s 6d. John, junior continued to hold the 9s 3d land, under his mother Grace. Grace died in June 1824, aged 88, and was buried at Aughton on 21 June. Administration of her estate was granted in 1826 to James and John Ashcroft, her sons, both yeomen of Ormskirk. By 1831 James held all the land which had been in his name and his mother s in Robert and John s holdings were also identical to those of 1819, except that John held a further tenement taxed at 17s 3d. The Hadfield manuscripts include a sketch of the interior of Aughton church as it appeared in September 1836, before the wholesale Victorian alterations. 89 9

10 John and Grace Ashcroft s eldest son James Ashcroft died aged 75 at Aughton in James was buried on 6 August. An inquest was held on 5 November, at which Hannah Coxhead and Ellen Gaskell of Aughton were witnesses. The coroner s fee was 1 6s 8d, plus 9s for travelling 12 miles: 3s was paid to the witnesses and 3s 6d for room hire. The parish provided four jurors at a cost of 8s. 91 Administration of James estate was granted in December A further inquest on 3 April 1841 followed the death of his son James: on this occasion the only witness was Margaret Ashcroft, doubtless his widow. 92 James, junior (55) was buried that day at Aughton. At the 1841 census James, junior s widow Margaret (c ) is found at Mill Lane with her children Ann (15) and Jane Ashcroft (14). 93 In 1851 Margaret ( formerly labourer s wife ) was at Moss Lane: 94 she died in 1859, aged The will of John Ashcroft, senior had specifically provided that if his eldest son James were to die without children, the Holt Green freehold was to revert to Robert and John as tenants in common. When John Ashcroft made his will in 1810, he neglected to assign remaining periods of 500 and 1000 years in his leasehold of a cottage and closes of land at Maghull leased from the Molyneux estate on 17 February 1704, 13 November 1725 and 23 May 1725 ( Thistley Hey; Barn Hey; Rook Hey; Brook Hey; Near and Further Moss Hey). By 1843 John had no living legal representative and the Molyneux estate applied for power of administration to make such an assignation: this was granted on 17 June Deaths of Mary and John Ashcroft, junior Mary Ashcroft, who had been suffering from inflammation of the breast died on 24 October 1838, aged 53 and was buried at Aughton on 29 October. 96 At the 1841 census her widower John (now 65) was head of household at Holly Lane (Back Lane), living with his newly-married son and daughter-in-law Peter and Martha Ashcroft, their son James (10 days) and Martha s younger sister Ellen Guy (20), a servant. Their neighbours at High House were Thomas Winteryall (independent) and Edward Johnson (an agricultural labourer) and at High Lane, William Rainford (an agricultural labourer). 97 The electoral registers of 1842 and 1845 show John Ashcroft with a freehold house at Back Lane. 98 John is shown by the 1843 tithe award as owner and occupier of the 15 acres comprising Town Hey (660); Barn Hey (777); Knowl (1199); Barn Hey (1209); Garden Croft (1210); House, etc. (1211). 99 By his will made on 13 April 1848 John Ashcroft appointed his sons Peter and James as his executors. The messuage in which he was now living and Lower Golding Meadow and Holt Green together with several closes called Church Land were to go to Edward Lyon of Skelmersdale and William Lyon of Melling in trust respectively for John s granddaughter Grace Pilkington (probably born at Clitheroe in 1837) and his son Peter and for his son James. Peter and James were to be tenants in common of all his lands and an endowment policy made on 28 March 1838 with Guardian Fire and Life of London and 3000 was to go to Grace Pilkington. 100 John died of consumption, aged 74, on 13 April 1850 and was buried that day at Aughton. The death was registered on 22 April by James Ashcroft (who had been in attendance ). A memorial inscription to John and Mary Ashcroft can be seen in Aughton churchyard: Mary wife of John Ashcroft, Aughton who exchanged time for eternity on the 24 th Octr 1838 aged 53 years. Also of the above John Ashcroft who departed this life on the 13 th day of April 1850 aged 74 years. 101 John Ashcroft s estate was first sworn under 200 and then under 450 and the will was proved on 23 September Peter and Martha Ashcroft 10

11 John and Mary Ashcroft s son Peter was born on 12 October 1812 and was baptised on 8 November at Aughton. On 8 October 1840 as a farmer of Aughton he took out a licence to marry Martha Guy. Both were over 21 and the marriage took place at Aughton on 13 October, with Thomas and Ellen Guy and James Ashcroft as witnesses. In 1841 Peter and Martha were still living at Peter s father s farm at Holly Lane (Back Lane), Aughton. 103 Their children were James (then 10 days old, , baptised at Aughton on 6 June 1841, son of Peter, farmer and Martha); Robert (baptised at Aughton on 8 January 1843); Mary ( , baptised at Aughton on 3 March 1845); William ( ), born c. December 1846, baptized at Aughton 19 January 1847, buried there on 29 January 1848; William (born 10 September 1848), baptised at Ormskirk Methodist Church 1 October); John (born?april 1850); Ann (born 26 November 1851, baptised at Ormskirk Methodist Church on 21 December 1851); and Sarah (born on 18 September 1853 and baptised at Ormskirk Methodist Church on 9 October). The baptism of Peter and Martha Ashcroft s younger children from 1848 provides the first evidence of the family s link with the Methodist Chapel in Ormskirk, 104 which was later to become strong through the association of Peter s elder brother James. In 1851 Peter Ashcroft s farm next to High House was described as at Back Lane, near Holly (now Hollin) House Green, Aughton: he farmed 29 acres and employed two labourers and a boy. 105 Their neighbours were Matthew Wright (agricultural labourer) and at High House, John Widdowson (a retired watchcasemaker). 106 Peter is shown at Back Lane in a directory of An advertisement for a sale at other premises in Holly House Green gives a full list of agricultural implements in use there. 108 Mr P. Ashcroft was one of the donors to the Patriotic Fund in December By his will made on 20 February 1855 Peter made his brother James and nephew Ralph his executors and devised Barn Meadow or Lower Golding Meadow to James. Peter died of delirium tremens and effusion on the brain on 27 February 1855 and was buried at Aughton on 2 March: he was only 42. The death was registered on 7 March by his widow Martha and a notice appeared in the newly-founded Ormskirk Advertiser. 110 On 11 September 1856 the Advertiser announced the sale of two acres of barley arranged by James on the farm lately occupied by Peter Ashcroft, deceased. There was a further sale of 2½ acres of hay grass on 18 June 1858 in a field near the Holly House Green lately occupied by Peter Ashcroft deceased. 111 In 1857 the estate duty registers recorded Peter as insolvent as to personal estate : duty was paid in Peter s widow Martha now moved to Chapel Street, Ormskirk where as a landed proprietor (1861) she lived with her son Robert (18), a printer s apprentice and daughters Mary (16), Ann (nine) and Sarah (seven). Sarah was in 1861 a scholar : 113 she was educated at a private school. 114 The neighbours in 1861 were John Blundell (a retired farmer) and William Bell (a joiner). Robert and Jane Ashcroft John and Grace Ashcroft s middle son Robert was the longest surviving. We have seen that he was married first to Mary (by 1798) and then to Ann Darwin (c ) in In 1841 and 1851 Robert and Ann were farming 19 acres at Towns Green. 115 At the time of the 1843 tithe award Robert Ashcroft was occupier of 21 acres at Town Green under Lord Derby: Woosey s Acre (1031); House (1067); Garden Croft (1068); Brick Kiln Hey (1070 & 1074); Road (1071); Nearer Meadow (1072); Further Meadow (1073); Half Acre (1075/6); Nearer and Further Bold Lane Fields (1106 and 1107)

12 Robert was also owner of 29 acres at Holt Green occupied by James Ashcroft. This lay to the east and north of Aughton church and comprised Browy Hey (776); Bull Stake (778); Browns Meadow (779); Water Mill Hey (780); Rough Hey (781); Church Field (782); Church Hey (783); Barn Hey (808); Horse Pasture (809); Potato Croft (810). (James Ashcroft also occupied additional land under Plumbe Tempest: see below). Ann died on 16 July 1858, aged 74 and was buried at Aughton on 20 July. Robert died on 22 March 1861, aged 86 and was buried at Aughton on 25 March. By his will made on 8 April 1857 Robert appointed his late brother John s eldest son James and his sons Ralph and John as executors: the will was proved on 18 April After certain bequests to nephews and nieces and one of 200 to his daughter Jane (wife of Henry Riding), Robert left his estate in two equal parts to his nephew James and to the children of Peter Ashcroft. 117 The Ormskirk Advertiser announced the availability of Robert s house, farm and 20 acres for letting. Peter and Martha Ashcroft s son Robert, by now a Preston printer s compositor, married Ann Ormesher, an Ormskirk nailmaker s daughter by licence at Ormskirk in A daughter was born to them when Robert was a Chorley printer in The family lived afterwards in Preston, moving to 5 The Grove, Ormskirk by and to 45 Church Street by Robert Ashcroft, printer, was the main beneficiary in the will of his aunt Ellen Guy, of Aughton, schoolmistress, who died on 19 February 1895: Ellen Guy had been living in a cottage at 25 Wigan Road, Ormskirk in By 1871 only Sarah (17) and Mary (26), both dressmakers, were left at 42 Chapel Street, Ormskirk with their mother late farmer : their neighbours were Ann Blundell (44, a former housekeeper) and John Aspinwall (40, a joiner). 122 By 1873 Martha owned 7 acres, with a rental value of In 1881 Martha, a seamstress, had only her daughter Mary living with her: the neighbours were Ann Blundell and Kirkdale-born Henry Ashcroft (40). 124 Sarah Ashcroft marries John Culshaw Martha Ashcroft s daughter Sarah married John Culshaw on 2 August 1877 at Ormskirk Old Wesleyan Church, in Chapel Street. 125 Martha Ashcroft, widow of the late Mr Peter Ashcroft of Aughton, 126 died of congestion of the liver, icterus [jaundice] and exhaustion at the home of her son-in-law John Culshaw at Southport Road, Ormskirk aged 66, on 7 October Martha s death was registered on 8 October by her son James (of Mill Lane, Lathom) and Martha was buried at Aughton on 10 October. Sarah and John Culshaw were living at Southport Road, Ormskirk in 1885 when their daughter Mary Frances was born: by that year John had a vote as the owner of No 3 Court, 1 Southport Road (1890 and Court Cottage ). 127 Martha s unmarried daughter Mary also died at Southport Road on 12 September 1885, making her sister Sarah Culshaw her executor. By September 1906 when Mary Frances married Albert Edward Molyneux, John and Sarah were living in Walton at 24 Haddon Avenue. 128 John Culshaw beloved and loving husband of Sarah died aged 80 on 7 May 1934 at the residence of his son-in-law [J.W. Bagnall], 16 Whitchurch Road, Withington, Manchester. The burial took place at Kirkdale Cemetery, Longmoor Lane, Aintree at 2.30 p.m. on Friday 11 May, after a 2.00 p.m. service at Brook Road Methodist Church, Rice Lane, Walton. Enquiries were to be addressed to Sans Souci, 19 Lower Lane, Fazakerley [residence of her daughter Mary Frances Molyneux]. 129 John s widow Sarah late of Aintree died aged 81 on 29 March 1935 also at Whitchurch Road, Withington and was buried at Kirkdale on 1 April

13 Sarah s eldest brother James Ashcroft married Henrietta Riley (an attorney s daughter) at Ormskirk parish church by licence on 28 September He was a Burscough Bridge joiner in James, together with his wife Henrietta and six surviving children emigrated to New Zealand on the British King in 1884 and lived at Hawkes Bay. Henrietta died in 1904 and James in 1930 at Otahuhu, near Auckland. Among the children of James and Henrietta Ashcroft were twins Alfred Wells and Arthur (born in 1869): extraordinarily Alfred became an Anglican priest (serving in Tasmania until his death in 1913), 132 while Arthur was a Methodist Minister (at Palmerston North in 1921 and Wellington in 1929). 133 Peter and Martha Ashcroft s daughter Ann(ie) married her widowed first cousin Jabez Ashcroft (son of Peter s brother James) in the March quarter 1878 and in 1881 they were living at West View, Ormskirk. Jabez already had a daughter Grace and a son Harry Lyon Ashcroft (born 1873 and 1876) and Annie now bore him Martha (1880), Annie (1886), Nellie (Ellen, 1887) 134 and Dorothy (1891). By 1891 the family were at 5 Littledale Road, Wallasey (Jabez was a shippers clerk); in 1901 they were at 28 Brompton Road, Liscard; and in 1911 at 3 Crescent Road, Egremont, Wallasey. Jabez Ashcroft died at 16 Sherwood Road, Egremont on 14 January 1922: his will was proved on 6 April by his son Harry Lyon Ashcroft. The last Ashcrofts in Aughton Following the removal of Martha Ashcroft and her family to Ormskirk by 1861 and the death of Robert Ashcroft in that year, the main representatives of the Ashcroft family left in Aughton were John and Mary Ashcroft s eldest son James and his wife Dorothy (the parents of Jabez). James ( ) was a farmer, who married his second cousin Dorothy Lyon ( ) of Melling by licence granted on 2 February 1832 (with Peter Guy and Jane Lyon as witnesses) and at the 1841 census they were living at Johnsons, Holt Green with their children Elizabeth (Betsy) (born at Melling in 1832 and baptised at Aughton on 13 December); Ralph ( ) (born at Aughton and baptised on 14 May); John (born 1835 and baptized at Aughton on 17 June); James (c ) and Grace (born c. 1838). 135 [Neither James nor Grace was baptised at Aughton and were perhaps baptised at a Methodist chapel]. The tithe award shows James as occupier of 29 acres owned by his uncle Robert Ashcroft (see above) and of a further 11 acres owned by Tempest Plumbe and comprising Middle Pasture (812); Hill (813); Carthorse Croft (814); House (815); Nearer and Further Sharp s Croft (1126 and 1127); and Cud s (1171). 136 In 1845 James was occupying a house and 20 acres at Bold Lane. 137 By 1851 at Bold Lane, next to Smithy Lane, James was farming 42 acres and employing two labourers. The family unit was identical, with the addition of young Jabez (born SEP 1845). Other sons Samuel (born MAR 1852) and Robert were born to James and Dorothy. 138 James was shown at Bowl Lane [recte Bold] as a farmer in directories of 1854 and 1855: 139 he had a vote at Bold Street in James and Dorothy s eldest son Ralph died at Bold Lane in 1857, aged 23 and was buried on 2 July. By 1860 James was a leading figure at Ormskirk s Wesleyan Chapel in Chapel Street, presiding at the sermons there on 7 October 1860 in aid of the Wesleyan Missionary Society: he also presided at the Chapel s anniversary celebrations in On 6 November 1860 there was an accident outside James Ashcroft s house in Bold Lane when a drunken man was killed by his own cart-load of slates from Liverpool. In 1861 James and Dorothy Ashcroft were at Bold Lane with Elizabeth, John, James, Grace, Jabez and Samuel. 142 In October 1861 James Ashcroft s freehold, ¾ mile from Town Green, now in possession of John Ashcroft ), including Bull Slake, Browy Hey, Barn Hey, Rough Hey, Water Mill Hey, was sold at The Buck i t Vine, Ormskirk. 143 Betsy daughter of James Ashcroft, yeoman, Bold Lane married Josiah Wainwright, an Ormskirk ironmonger by licence on 21 October Jabez married Bessie Ann Baxendale at Southport Methodist Church on 14 August In May 1868 the body of a fully grown child (dead for six days) was found on Mr James Ashcroft s farm, Aughton, tied up in cloth in manure brought from Liverpool

14 In 1868 James Ashcroft of Aughton was near Island House at Bold Lane. 145 In 1871 James, a landowner and Dorothy were at Bold Lane Cottage with their sons John (farmer of ten acres) and Samuel (a banker s clerk). 146 Their son James died aged 35 in Rushton Street, Liverpool on 13 April The 1873 return of land shows James paying 74 rental on 19 acres at Aughton. The wife of Mr Jabez Ashcroft, Wigan Road gave birth to a son [Harry] on 14 April Dorothy Ashcroft died at Bold Lane Cottage on 22 March 1876 and her daughter-in-law Bessie (wife of Jabez) at Southport in December On 22 August in that year Mr J. Ashcroft, Aughton played a prominent part in the foundation stone-laying of Emmanuel Methodist Church, in Derby Street, Ormskirk and was a subscriber. 149 We have seen that Jabez married his first cousin Anne Ashcroft in By 1882 Jabez was a correspondent of 30 Beresford Road, Toxteth Park. 150 In January 1875 the Ormskirk Advertiser reported the diversion of Church Lane, Aughton from the school to the turnpike, through the land of James Ashcroft. John ( eldest surviving son of Mr James Ashcroft ) married Elizabeth Sephton at Aughton on 24 October At the 1881 census John (45 and a farmer of 11 acres) was head of household at Bold Lane Cottage (next to Springwood Lodge) with his wife Elizabeth (32), father James (73) and a young nephew Frank (ten). 151 John Ashcroft appears in the voters lists of 1880 (Bold Lane); 1885 (occupier of farm, Bold Lane); 1890 and 1895 (farms in Prescot Road). 152 James Ashcroft died on 14 November 1884 aged 76 and was buried at Aughton on 18 November: separate memorials to James and Dorothy can be seen in Aughton churchyard. James made provision in his will for his sons John, Robert, Jabez and Samuel and daughters Grace and Betty. To John he left his messuage and plot containing to the front of Bold lane from the hedge of the front garden 24 yards and in depth backwards until the thorn fence which crosses from Church Lane to a field of Mrs Bland s and fences on the west and north. By 1891 John Ashcroft retired farmer and Elizabeth were living at Springfield Place, Long Lane, Aughton. They were at 37 Dyers Lane, Ormskirk in 1901 and here John died on 14 August Between 1898 and 1904 subscriptions to the Methodist Historic Fund were paid in the names of James and Dorothy Ashcroft (in memoriam), of John and Elizabeth of Dyers Lane and of Henry, Jabez and Alice of 42 Chapel Street, Ormskirk. T.M. Steel (revised 12 May 2011) 14