Eaves Lane - Chorley - History

[Lins_Australia]

Richard Chorley on 2nd February 1690, granted a lease over a property, to James Ainscow, for the life of his son John Ainscow.
The property was "in the Eaves Lane in C. (Chorley) late Tootells, formerly Wrennowes, and anciently Wareing Woods".
The names Tootell, Wrennowe and Wareing are of families of note in the area, so it appears the area took on the names of its occupants at different times.
The land was 9 acres, 1 rood, 24 perches.  Today being 3.8 hectares.

Question 1:  Do I assume that this was just an area of land that was being leased for agriculture ?  And whatever this means : the "Boones" were "shearing x 2" and "hens x 2".

Question 2: Whilst the lease was undertaken by James Ainscow for the life of his son John, there are two other people mentioned - "Ailese daughter of John Waring and Thomas Gillibrand son of Robert Gill.: soe long live".  I don't know why James Ainscow would be adding these extra people to the lease.  As it turned out, the lease lasted until 1704 when John Ainscow died.

Given that my Ainscow roots have been traced back to Chorley in this era, I was just curious as to what they were up to.  They seem to have been a family of some means, being involved in this lease, being Church Wardens, able to at least write their name, and to leave wills.

Cheers - Lindsay / Australia

[Gibel]

A few questions,

What is the book or manuscript called?

What are the headings for the columns on the right hand side?

One answer

The lease was granted on the lives of the 3 persons named not just John. Leases on 3 lives were quite usual. A fine ( we would perhaps think of it as a fee) was paid at the start of the lease. In some cases other names could be added later for a charge. In this case the landowner is stating at the lease can only be for 99 years or the lives of the persons named.

Sometimes the actual documents survive and they give much more information, usually on the date of the land, what has to be done to the land and other instructions.

[Lins_Australia]

The entry is in a section of a book on Lancashire, the section titled "The Chorley Survey.  Being An Abstract of the Survey taken on the 15th February 1652 of the Estate of Richard Chorley of Chorley Esquire".  Printed by The Record Society in 1896.  It is available online from archive.org

The columns on the right hand side are FYNE / RENT / BOONES.  The Boones heading has further columns, being SHEARING / HENS / CAPONS / COALES

So an upfront 'fee' paid to Richard Chorley for granting this lease - of 70 pounds.  One wonders about the industry needed to earn back such a large sum if it was land for agriculture.

All three names "soe long live" were young people - John Ainscow was 20, Alice Wareing was 17, and Thomas Gillebrand was 23.  After John Ainscow died, the next lease in 1704/5 - went to Thomas Mason, who had married Alice Wareing in 1692.

A son of this John Ainscow - Miles Ainscow born 1702 - (if I have the right person) - is on record in 1745 and 1746 (Lancashire Archives) being in dispute with neighbours for his attempts to "divert the course of an ancient waterway".  That waterway described on a document for "Sketch plans of a water course from Eaves Lane to Bagganley Brook, in Chorley, with reference to a dispute between James Parker and Miles Ainscow".

So Eaves Lane again an area of commercial interest it would seem.

[andrewalston]

Leases for "three lives" were common in Lancashire (I don't know about elsewhere).
Rather than stating a specific period of time, the lease would expire only at the death of the final person named.

The people would usually be the person spending the money, who would presumably get good use of the property, an adult son, who could take it on after his death, and a child who had survived the risks of the usual childhood illnesses.

There would normally be some means of renewing the lease so it could be handed down further, but the price might change.

Eaves Lane had mostly fields on each side until the end of the 19th century. The first Workhouse to be built in Chorley was erected there in 1788, presumably because it was far enough away from the town centre. Its larger replacement, on a much enlarged site, was erected in 1870-2. It later became a hospital (I was born there), and has since been demolished and replaced by housing.