TYLDESLEY OF FOX HALL.
The family which inhabited the ancient mansion of Fox Hall in the time of Charles II., and for many subsequent years, sprang originally from the small village of Tyldesley, near Bolton-le-moors. When or how they first became associated with the latter place is impossible to determine, as no authentic documents bearing on the subject can be discovered; but that they must have been established in or connected with the neighbourhood at an early epoch is shown by the fact that Henry de Tyldesley held the tenth part of a Knight’s fee in Tyldesley during the reign of Edward I., 1272-1307. A Richard de Tyldesley was lord of the manor of Tyldesley towards the close of the sovereignty of this monarch, and there is sufficient evidence to warrant the assumption that he was the son and heir of Henry de Tyldesley.
At a later period Thurstan de Tyldesley, a lineal descendant, who is accredited with having done much to improve his native village, and having built Wardley Hall, near Manchester, about 1547, was a justice of the peace for the county of Lancaster, and Receiver-General for the Isle of Man in 1532. He was on intimate and friendly terms with the earl of Derby, and we may safely conjecture that the members of the two houses had for long been familiarly known to each other, as we read that in 1405 Henry IV. granted a letter of protection to William de Stanley, knt., John de Tyldesley, and several more, when they set out to take possession of the Isle of Man and Peel Castle. In 1417, when Sir John de Stanley, lord of the same island, was summoned to England, he left Thurston de Tyldesley, a magistrate, to officiate as governor during his absence. The Tyldesleys held extensive lands in Wardley, Morleys, Myerscough, and Tyldesley, having seats at the three first-named manors. Thurstan de Tyldesley, who erected Wardley Hall, was twice married and had issue by each wife. To the offspring of the first, Parnell, daughter of Geoffrey Shakerley, of Shakerley, he left Tyldesley and Wardley; and to those of his second, Jane, daughter of Ralph Langton, baron of Newton, he bequeathed Myerscough, and some minor property. There is nothing calling for special notice concerning any, except two, of the descendants from the first marriage—Sir Thomas Tyldesley, a great-grandson, attorney-general for Lancashire in the reign of James I.; and his son, who did not survive him many months, and terminated the elder branch. In consequence of this failure of issue the Tyldesley estate, but not Wardley, which had been sold, passed to the representatives of Thurstan’s children by his second wife. The eldest son of the second alliance, Edward, had espoused Anne, the daughter and heiress of Thomas Leyland, of Morleys, and, subsequently, inherited the manor and Hall of Morleys. The grandson and namesake of Edward Tyldesley, of Morleys and Tyldesley, who was born in 1585, and died in 1618, entertained James I. for three days at his seat, Myerscough Lodge, in 1617. Edward Tyldesley, of Myerscough, was the father of Major-General Sir Thomas Tyldesley, knt., who so greatly distinguished himself, by his fidelity and valour, in the wars between King and Parliament. In those sanguinary and calamitous struggles he served under the standard of royalty. He was slain at the battle of Wigan-lane in 1651; and as a mark of esteem for his many virtues and gallant deeds a monument was erected, near the spot where he fell, in 1679, by Alexander Rigby, of Layton Hall, High Sheriff for the county of Lancaster. The monument was inscribed as under:—
“An high Act of Gratitude, which conveys the Memory of
SIR THOMAS TYLDESLEY
To posterity,
Who served King Charles the First as Lieutenant-Colonel at Edge-Hill Battle,
After raising regiments of Horse, Foot, and Dragoons,
and for
The desperate storming of Burton on Trent, over a bridge of 36 arches,
Received the Honour of Knighthood.
He afterwards served in all the wars in great command,
Was Governor of Litchfield,
And followed the fortune of the Crown through the Three Kingdoms,
And never compounded with the Rebels though strongly invested;
And on the 25th of August, A.D. 1651, was here slain,
Commanding as Major-General under the Earl of Derby,
To whom the grateful erector, Alexander Rigby, Esq., was Cornet;
And when he was High Sheriff of this county, A.D. 1679,
Placed the high obligation on the whole Family of the Tyldesleys,
To follow the noble example of their Loyal Ancestor.”
Sir Thomas Tyldesley married Frances, daughter of Ralph Standish, of Standish, and had issue—Edward, born in 1635; Thomas, born in 1642; Ralph, born in 1644; Bridget, who became the wife of Henry Blundell, of Ince Blundell; Elizabeth; Frances, wife of Thomas Stanley, of Great Eccleston; Anne, who was abbess of the English nuns at Paris in 1721; Dorothy; Mary, wife of Richard Crane; and Margaret.
Edward Tyldesley, the eldest son and heir, followed in the footsteps of his father, and was a staunch supporter of Charles II. When that monarch had been restored to the throne of his ancestors he purposed creating a fresh order of Knighthood, called the Royal Oak,[62] wherewith to reward a number of his faithful adherents, whose social positions were of sufficient standing to render them suitable recipients of the honour. Edward Tyldesley was amongst those selected; but the design was abandoned by the king under the advice of his ministers, who considered that it was likely to produce jealousy and dissatisfaction in many quarters, and might prove inimical to the peace of the nation. Under an impression, which afterwards proved erroneous, that Charles II. intended to confer upon him the lands of Layton Hawes, in recognition of the loyal services of his father and himself, Edward Tyldesley erected a residence, called Fox Hall, near its borders, where he lived during certain portions of the year until his death, which occurred between 1685 and 1687. Edward Tyldesley espoused Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Fleetwood, of Colwich, in Staffordshire, and baron of Newton, in Lancashire; and after her decease, Elizabeth, daughter of Adam Beaumont, of Whitley, by whom he had only one child, Catherine Tyldesley, of Preston. The offspring of his union with Anne Fleetwood were Thomas, Edward, Frances, and Maria. Thomas Tyldesley succeeded to the estates, on the decease of his father, with the exception of Tyldesley, which had been sold by Edward Tyldesley in 1685, and resided during a considerable part of his life at Fox Hall, and occasionally at Myerscough Lodge. Thomas Tyldesley was born in 1657, and at twenty-two years of age married Eleanor, daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Holcroft, of Holcroft, by whom he had Edward, Dorothy, Frances, Elizabeth, Eleanor, and Mary. After the death of his wife Eleanor, Thomas Tyldesley espoused Mary, sister and co-heiress of Sir Alexander Rigby, of Layton Hall, and had issue—Charles, Fleetwood, James, Agatha, and Winefrid. Thomas Tyldesley, whilst living at Fox Hall, employed his time chiefly in field sports, visits amongst the neighbouring gentry, and frequent excursions to his more distant friends, as we learn from his diary, a portion of which is still preserved. The following extracts from it will illustrate what formed the favourite recreations of the numerous well-to-do families peopling the Fylde at that era:—
“May 16, 1712.—In the morning went round the commone a ffowling, and Franke Malley, Jo. Hull, and Ned Malley, shoot 12 times for one poor twewittee; came home; after dinner Cos. W: W: went with me to Thornton Marsh, where we had but bad suckses; tho wee killed ffive or six head of ffowle.
“May 31, 1712.—Went to yᵉ Hays to see a race between Mr. Harper’s mare and Sanderson’s; meet a greatt deal of good company, but spent noe thing.
“June 7, 1712.—Pd. Mrs. 2s. 6d., pd. pro ffish 1s., pro meat 3s.; and affter dinʳ went with cos Walton to bowle with old Beamont. I spent 10d. att bowling green house with 4 grubcatchers and Tom Walton, and Jo. Styeth.
“June 10, 1713.—Gave Joⁿ Malley and Jo. Parkinson 1s. to see yᵉ cock ffeights. Gave Ned Malley 1s. for subsistence. Dinᵈ in the cockpitt with Mr. Clifton and others. Spent in wine 6d., and pro dinʳ 1s. Gave yᵉ fidler 6d. Spent in the pitt betwixt battles 6d.; I won near 30s.
“June 17, 1713.—Al day in yᵉ house and gardening; went to beed about 7, and riss at 10, in ordʳ to goe a ffox hunting.
“Augᵗ 29, 1713.—Paid 2s. pro servant, &c.; soe a otter hunting to Wire, but killed none.
“Septʳ 5, 1713.—In the morning Jos. Tounson and I went to Staining; ... thence to Layton-heys to see a foot race, where I won 6d. off Jos. Tounson—white against dun; soe home. Gave white my winings.
“Octʳ 6, 1713.—We hunted yᵗᵗ hare ffive hours; but yᵉ ground soe thorrowly drughted by long continewance of ffine wether that we could not kill her.
“Decʳ 16, 1713.—In the morning went a coursing with Sʳ W: G:; Lawʳ Rigby, &c.
“March 16, 1714.—In the morning sent Dick Gorney and 6 more harty lads a ffishing; I stopᵈ with a showʳ of raine. Two of Rob. Rich his sons came in on my godson, to whom I gave 1s.; thence followed the ffishʳˢ, where we had very good sport, and tuck 8 brave large growen tenches, and 6 as noble carps as I have seen tuke, severall pearch, some gudgeons, and a large eyell, and 6 great chevens.”
The diarist, Thomas Tyldesley, died in 1715, before the outbreak of the rebellion, and was buried at Churchtown, near Garstang. Edward Tyldesley, his eldest son, who succeeded him, had two children by his wife Dorothy—James and Catherine. He was accused, tried, and acquitted of taking part with the rebels of 1715, although the evidence clearly convicted him of having led a body of men against the king’s forces. At the death of Edward Tyldesley, in 1725, Myerscough no longer belonged to the family, but Holcroft, acquired by marriage in 1679, passed to his son James, who twenty years later served with the troops of Prince Charles, the younger pretender, and died in 1765. The offspring of James Tyldesley by Sarah, his wife, were Thomas, Charles, James, Henry, and Jane, all of whom with their descendants seem to have sold or mortgaged the remnants of the once large estates, and gradually drifted into poverty and obscurity.
It will not be out of place in concluding the notice of a family connected with the earliest infancy of Blackpool, to state something of the character and habits of Thomas Tyldesley, of Fox Hall, as disclosed by, and deduced from, the entries in his diary, which unfortunately comprises only the last three years of his life. At the present time the appearance of a party of gentlemen in this neighbourhood decorated with curled wigs, surmounted by three-cornered hats, and habited in long-figured waistcoats, plush breeches, and red-heeled boots, would excite no little astonishment, yet in the days of the diarist the sight must have been one of usual occurrence, for such was the style of costume worn by the wealthier classes. The lower classes were clothed in garments made from the undyed wool of the sheep and called hodden gray.
Thomas Tyldesley was a great equestrian, his journeys being so frequent and rapid that it is difficult to be certain of his whereabouts when he finished his day’s work and its minute record, with the final “soe to beed.” He was on terms of intimacy and friendship with the Rigbys of Layton, the Veales of Whinney Heys, the Westbys of Burn Hall, and all the wealthy families in the neighbourhood. Fishing, hunting, coursing, and shooting were his favourite recreations. Nor was he unmindful in the midst of these amusements of the interests of his farm, as the accompanying remarks amply testify:—“Very bussy all morning in my hay;” and “Alday in the house and my garden, bussy transplanting colleflowʳ and cabage plants;” whilst at other times we find him in communication with various tenants relative to some portion or other of the Myerscough property. Unless confined to bed by gout or rheumatism, and the self-imposed, but fearful, “Phissickings” he underwent, swallowing doses whose magnitude alone would appal most men of modern days, he was ever actively engaged in either business or pleasure. Every item of disbursement and every circumstance that occurred, even to the most trivial, has found a place in his diary, and from it we learn that while evidently anxious to avoid unnecessary expenditure, he was neither parsimonious nor illiberal, always recompensing those who had been put to any trouble on his account, and paying his share of each friendly gathering with a scrupulous exactness. There is, however, a satisfaction expressed in the words, “but spent noe thing,” after the brief notice of the horse-race he had attended on the Hawes, which, when we call to mind his natural generosity, showed that his income required care in its expenditure, and was barely sufficient to support the position he held by birth. Many other entries in his diary prove that he was frequently short of money, and as his mode of living appears to have been far from extravagant, it seems difficult at first sight to account for the circumstance. But when we discover that he had for years been connected, as one of the leading members and promoters, with a Catholic and Jacobite Society at Walton-le-dale, having for its object the restoration of the Stuarts, then in exile, and remember that a scheme of such magnitude and importance could not possibly be matured or kept in activity without the purses of its more earnest supporters suffering to a great extent, we obtain in some measure an explanation of the matter.
The character of Thomas Tyldesley, as gleaned from his diary, may be summarised as follows:—He was in every sense a country gentleman, fond of field sports, happy on his farm, thoughtful of the condition and comfort of his cattle, although sometimes given to hard, or at least far, riding; for the rest, he was active and intelligent, liberal to his dependants, careful in his household, and strictly honourable in all his dealings, but above all he had an earnest and deep reverence for his creed and principles that spared no sacrifice.