The family of this name, so long associated with the township of Medlar-with-Wesham, in the parish of Kirkham, is descended from the Westbys of Westby, in the county of York.
William Westby, who was under-sheriff of Lancashire in 1345, is the first of the name, we can find, residing at Mowbreck; and a great-grandson of his, named William Westby, is recorded as inheriting the Mowbreck and Westby property in the reign of Henry VI., 1422-61. John Westby, the son of the latter William, succeeded to the estates, residing, like his ancestors, at Mowbreck Hall, and was twice married, the offspring of the first union, with Mabill, daughter of Richard Botiler, being two daughters; and of the second, with Eleanor Kirkby, of Rawcliffe, a son and heir, named William, who succeeded him at his death in 1512. William Westby, although the lawful holder of the estates, did not obtain control over them until after 1517, being a minor at that date. He married Elizabeth Rigmayden, of Wedacer, and had issue—John, Elizabeth, and Helen. John Westby, the heir, had possession of Mowbreck, and Burn in Thornton township, about the year 1556, after the decease of his father; his places of residence were Mowbreck and Burn Halls. He was thrice married, and by his last wife, Ann, daughter of Sir Richard Molyneux, of Sefton and Larbrick, and widow of Thomas Dalton, of Thurnham, had issue—John, Thomas, William, Ellen, and Mary. John Westby succeeded his father in 1591, and dying unmarried in 1604, was in his turn succeeded by his brother, Thomas Westby, who was twice married, and purchased the estate of Whitehall, where the children of his second union established themselves. The offspring of his first wife, Perpetua, daughter of Edward Norris, of Speke, were—John, Thomas, Edward, William, Francis, Margaret, Perpetua, and Anne. John Westby, the heir, came into the Mowbreck estate and Burn Hall some time after 1622, but dying without issue in 1661, was succeeded by his nephew, Thomas, the eldest son of his fourth brother, Francis Westby, Thomas Westby, M.D., slain in the civil wars, and his two other brothers, Edward and William, having died childless. Thomas Westby, the inheritor of Westby, Mowbreck, and Burn, was born in 1641, and espoused Bridget, daughter of Thomas Clifton, of Lytham Hall, his issue being John, Thomas, William, Cuthbert, Robert, Francis, Bridget, Anne, and Dorothy. John Westby, the eldest son, inherited Westby, Mowbreck, and Burn Hall, on the demise of his father in 1700. Thomas Tyldesley, of Fox Hall, was intimate with this gentleman, as observed from the following entry in his diary in the year 1715:—
“June primo.—Went to Mains to prayers; thence with Jack Westby to Burn to dinner; stayed till 4; thence to Whinneyheys; stayed till 9; soe home.”
John Westby married, in 1688, Jane, daughter of Christopher Parker, of Bradkirk Hall, and had issue four daughters—Catherine, who married Alexander Osbaldeston, of Sunderland; Bridget, the wife of William Shuttleworth, of Turnover Hall; Mary, the wife of the Rev. Thomas Alderson; and Anne, the wife of the Rev. J. Bennison, of London. At the death of John Westby in 1722, Burn Hall and estate passed to the Bennisons, whilst Mowbreck became the property of Thomas Westby, who died childless six years later, and afterwards of Robert Westby, brothers of the deceased John Westby. Margaret Shuttleworth, the daughter of William and Bridget Shuttleworth, of Turnover, married her cousin, Thomas Westby, of Whitehall, in 1744, and had numerous offspring, the eldest of whom, John Westby, succeeded to Mowbreck, as heir-at-law, on the death of his relative, Robert Westby, before mentioned, in 1762. This John Westby died in 1811 unmarried, and was succeeded by his only surviving brother, Thomas Westby. This gentleman also died unmarried, and was succeeded in 1829 in the Turnover Hall estate, by his cousin, Thomas Westby, heir-at-law, to whose eldest son, George Westby, he left Whitehall and Mowbreck. George Westby espoused Mary Pauton, the eldest daughter of Major John Tate, of the 6th West Indian Infantry, and had issue—Mary Virginia Ann; Matilda Julia, wife of the Rev. Dr. Henry Hayman; Jocelyn Tate; Ada Perpetua; Georgina Blanche; Ashley George, late captain in the army; Cuthbert Menzies; Bernard Hægar, captain 16th regiment; Basil Clifton, captain 16th regiment. George Westby died at Paris in 1842, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Jocelyn Tate, the present holder, who took by royal license the name and arms of Fazakerley on espousing, in 1862, Matilda Harriette Gillibrand-Fazakerley sister and co-heiress of the late Henry Hawarden Gillibrand-Fazakerley, the son of Henry Hawarden Fazakerley, of Gillibrand Hall, etc., and lord of the manor of Chorley.
Jocelyn Tate Fazakerley-Westby, of Mowbreck Hall, esq., was formerly a cornet in the Scotch Greys, and is now a captain of Lancashire hussars, yeomanry cavalry. He is a justice of the peace and a deputy-lieutenant of the county of Lancaster.
CHAPTER VII.
PARISH OF POULTON-LE-FYLDE.
Poulton.