Manor of Rivington
Records are within a book Leverhulme sponsored, authored by William Fergusson Irvine using the same sources as an earlier work by Harland, the antiquarian who had inspected the Rivington Deeds and Documents, at Rivingon Hall in 1864.
The manor was not voluntarily registered under the Land Registration Act 2002[1] and resultingly no reference is made to it in modern title deeds.
Leverhulme was the last owner of the 5/8 share, according to a book he sponsored titled "A short history of the township of Rivington" published 1904.
[2] Irvine, who wrote a history of the village in 1904, speculates that the Rivingtons may have been the pre-Conquest owners and were dispossessed in Norman times by the Pilkingtons, possibly by marriage.
His wife was Elizabeth and his date of marriage established through a deed of 1317 in which Richard Del Knoll gave Roger land at Rivington, likely as a dowry.
[13] He married Katherine del Croke of Whittle, in 1402 his father had given him lands Pye-Ridding, kylleshurst and Knoll in Rivington.
The estate next passed to his grandson Robert, born 1451, died 1508, was to receive his inheritance on attaining age of majority in 1477.
[15] He is first recorded at Rivington Hall in the same year when he contracts Adam Holden to create a cross chamber and install two great windows there on the release of his inheritance from trust, his son and heir Richard Pilkington was born 1488, his father Rogers Inquisition Post Morten was held 1512 .
[23] George Pilkington died in 1597 and his eldest son, Robert, inherited an estate and rights in a manor burdened by debt from litigation.
[3] After Robert Pilkington's death, at the inquisition post mortem in 1610, it was stated that, on 6 July 1601 he was seized of the Manor of Rivington held of the Duchy of Lancaster in free and common socage, a form of tenure that later became freehold.
The sale deed was signed by two executors of Robert Pilkington, Richard Hutton and Thomas Tyldesley, within the sale agreement, "except and always foreprised out of the grant",[30] New Hall formerly known as Ferneley along with several fields, the Barne Flatt, the North Church Hill, South Church Hill, the Riding, the Great Meadow, the Middle Meadow, the Half Acre, the Cow Lane, the Rush Riding, the Ryding lying to the west of the new alehouse, the Mylne Croft, the land to Bullough Moor for the benefit of Katherine Pilkington, On 30 March 1611 a sale was agreed to George Aynesworth of land and property reserved to Katherine Pilkington being Ferneley alias New Hall, being tenanted, Barn Flatt, North Church hill, Church hill, Rydinge at Andertons tenement, Great Meadow and one further field.
[26] Roberts will had left 25 marks (£16-13-4d) per year to his brother James on condition he did not contest the will to which he had annexed a schedule of his debts.
Records exist of a manorial right held by the Lord of the Manor of Rivington, after Robert Pilkington's death being sworn on oath by all the inhabitants of Rivington, an example follows "Maye it please you[r] hon[our] to be Informed that wee, the Inhabittant[es] of Rivington, beinge Requested to Certiefye oure knowledge howe & in whatt maner the Constables of Rivington have beene usually Apointed to that s[er]vice, Doe hereby Certiefye youre hon[our]: that Mr Pilkington, late Lo[rd] of Rivington, and since his deathe thoes that have had his Inheritance, have yearly had the sole onely denominatio[u]n & Apointemente of the Constables w[i]thin Rivington w[i]thoute gainesayeinge of anie man, And thoes that weere by them soe Apointed have from tyme to tyme served the same office accordingly, And this order hathe beene observed, as wee have heard oulde men Reporte, beyond the memo[ur]ie of anie man, Soe w[i]th our humble duties wee Reste, and shall daly praye for you[r] hono[ur]: Marche the 12 in 1629."
[40] Jane Andrews inherited the Rivington Hall estate from her father, Robert Lever who died aged 80 in 1688.
Her share of the estate passed to her son, John Andrews who married Anne Mort of Wharton Hall, Little Hulton in 1682.
[41] John Andrews died without a male heir in 1743 and the estate passed to his daughter Abigail who married Joseph Wilson of Bolton.
Joseph Wilson died in 1765 and the estate reverted to the line of John Andrews' second son, Robert who had married Hannah Crompton in 1712.
[45] Ownership of the freehold estate passed on Robert Andrew's death to John William Crompton who married Margaret Evelyn Leighton in 1853.
John Crompton made a bad investment at Red Moss, Horwich and after approaching the trustees, it was decided to sell the estate.
The assertion that the Cromptons sold the manorial rights comes from a book Leverhulme sponsored titled "A short history of the township of Rivington, With Some Account of the Church and Grammar School."
In 1900 William Hesketh Lever purchased the Hall from the Crompton family and then later sold to Liverpool Corporation by agreement set out in the Liverpool Corporation Act 1902, the transfers completed between 1902 and 1905, the act makes no mention of the manor but does refer to shooting rights to be retained by Leverhulme, he retained an interest over all of his former land which is recorded at the Land Registry preventing development.
In 1640, after the death of Edmund Lathom, the inquisition stated George, the deceased's grandfather, held a quarter of Rivington manor of the Crown and had made a settlement in 1570.
[3] George Lathom of Huyton and his wife Elizabeth were engaged in legal action with Richard Pilkington and others in 1549 and 1550, regarding Moldesfield and land in Rivington.
John Shaw married Elizabeth Haydock of High Bullough in Anglezarke, he was a defendant in litigation in 1507, 1528, and 1545 relating to the eighth part of the manor originally held by the Hultons.
[3] The Shaw portion was sold to John Risley in 1656 to raise funds for recovery from the English Civil War.
[52] The right to the manorial title of this share was last a local man named Martin Brownlow, now deceased who's records are held at Bolton Library Archives.
