Page:VCH Lancaster 1.djvu/398

A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE policy, but an infeudation before the commencement of Roger's tenure of the land between Ribble and Mersey remains a possibility. In the absence of details in the survey it is only possible to hazard a guess that the 1½ hide in West Derby hundred comprised the manors of Knowsley, Roby, and Kirkby, and the 2½ hides and 1 carucate in Warrington hundred, the manors of Widnes, Appleton, Cronton, Cuerdley, Sutton, Eccleston, and Rainhill. After the date of Domesday, but whether by Roger of Poitou or by Henry I. is uncertain, some eight additional manors between Ribble and Mersey, and perhaps also the manor of Staining in Amounderness, were added to William fitz Nigel's fief, which was thereafter known as the lordship of Widnes, and is described in the Inquest of Service of 1212 as 'four knights' fees of the barony of the constable of Chester within the Lyme,' that is, of the Cheshire honour of Halton. This lordship or barony occupied the curious position of being territorially dependent upon the Cheshire honour of Halton and feudally dependent upon the honour of Lancaster.

Few acts of William fitz Nigel in connexion with his Lancashire manors remain upon record. An obscure manuscript compiled by Christopher Towneley contains a copy of a charter, executed before 1117, by which William fitz Nigel founded a priory of Austin canons at Runcorn, and endowed it with the churches of Periton, co. Oxford, and of Castle Donnington, co. Leicester, lands in the counties of Chester, Lincoln, and Leicester, and in this county two oxgangs of land in Widnes, with common right of the underwoods and feeding grounds belonging to Appleton and in Cuerdley, with two-thirds of the demesne tithes in 'Sutton beyond Meree' (in the parish of Prescot), which Thurstan gave, and two-thirds of the demesne tithes in Staining, in Amounderness, with the moiety of that vill, namely three ploughlands. His death probably occurred before 1130, but he was certainly living in 1125, when he attested Walter de Gant's confirmation of his former gifts to Bardney. He is described in another charter of Walter de Gant as 'nepos meus,' which suggests that he was cousin-german of Walter. This is rendered the more probable from the cousin's sister being styled Agnes de Gant. The connexion may have been by descent from common grandparents. His son and successor, William fitz William, removed the priory of Runcorn to Norton, and further endowed it with the vill of Norton in exchange for Runcorn and Staining, which latter vill was afterwards bestowed upon the abbey of Stanlaw. He also confirmed his father's gifts to Norton Priory by a charter executed between 1138 and 1150, and he or his successor also gave the moiety of the demesne tithes of Widnes and two oxgangs of land in Tarbock. All these gifts were confirmed by Henry II. in a charter which passed at Wallingford about 10 April, 1155. William fitz William died in Normandy, so says the chronicler of Norton, presumably before 1149, when Eustace fitz John, his successor, attested a charter of Ranulf, earl of