Aston juxta Budworth, Aston juxta Sutton, Appleton, Antrobus, Astmore, Barnton, Bartington, Bexton, Budworth (Great), Comberbach, Cotton, Church Hulme (Holmes Chapel), Cogshall, Crowley, Daresbury, Halton, Hatton, Kekewick, Lymm, Millington, Newton juxta Daresbury, Preston o’th Hill, Sutton, Stretton, Seven Oaks, Toft, Tabley (Over), Weston, Walton Superior, Walton Inferior, Whitley Superior, Whitley Inferior.
A jury is appointed, and sworn in by the deputy steward, and a constable and two burleymen are appointed.
The following is the form of oath administered to the foreman and rest of the jury:—
“You as foreman of this inquest, with the rest of your fellows, shall duly inquire and true presentment make of all such matters and things as relate to the present service, wherein you shall spare no man for fear, love, favour, or affection, nor present any man out of malice or hatred, but according as things here presentable shall come to your knowledge, by information or otherwise, so shall you make thereof true presentment without concealment. So help you God.”
Before the opening of the court by the deputy steward, the bailiff makes the following proclamation:—
“Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All manner of persons who owe suit and service to this Court Leet and view of Frankpledge and Court Baron of His Most Gracious Majesty the King, as Duke of Lancaster, Baron of Halton, and paramount Lord of this Manor and Fee, draw near, give your attendance, and answer to your names.”
No business is, of course, transacted, and the proceedings finish up with a dinner, over which the deputy steward presides.
As before stated, the court must have had jurisdiction over a wide area, as the jurors are summoned from Barnton, near Northwich, and from Toft and Tabley, near Knutsford, and also from Holmes Chapel. It is also evident from the extracts from Mr. Beamont’s book that minor courts were held in connection with the Halton Court at a variety of places, and it is also to be noticed that the jurisdiction of the court extended across the river Mersey into Lancashire, and that courts were held at Widnes and Farnworth. In fact, there is the Manor of Widnes, comprising land on the Lancashire side of the river, which also belongs to the Duchy of Lancaster, and of which the King is the lord, and it is presumed the jurisdiction of the court would extend over the area of this manor.
In some remarks on the last Court Leet, held in December 1908, the Warrington Guardian stated:
“That the Widnes or Farnworth Leet, which was subject to Halton, had the power to mete out only four punishments. These included the pillory, an ignominious punishment; and the cuck-stool or ducking-chair, for punishing a scold, of whose unruly member it was said: