Derbei, Dom. Bk. West Derbi, 1177.
West Derby in the eighteenth century the township was divided into four quarters: Woodside, on the east; Town row, embracing the village and the north-west portion; Low Hill, on the border of Liverpool; and Ackers End, the Old Swan district. The township lies on the edge of the open country, where the smoke-laden air of the city is exchanged for the fresher breezes which blow over open fields and through masses of foliage. The village of West Derby, but the larger houses set amidst gardens and paddocks are separated by airy spaces and are overshadowed by trees. The geological formation is mostly the new red sandstone or trias, consisting of pebble beds of the bunter series on the west and in the centre, alternating with the upper mottled sandstone of the same series between the centre and the west, recurring on the eastern side, except where a small area of the coal measures crops up in Croxteth Park. These alternating areas of different formation extend through the township and beyond from north-west to south-east.
At that time the principal road out of Liverpool, leading to Prescot and Warrington, ascended eastward, by Cheetham's Brow, to Low Hill, and went onward with fields on either side for about two miles to the Old Swan Inn, which has since given name to the hamlet around it. To the south of Prescot Road another led eastward from Liverpool. To the north of the Prescot Road a third road ran eastward; it was then called Rake Lane, and formed for some distance the boundary between this township and Everton. From the crossing Green Lane led away to the 'Old Swan.' The main road led upward to the Mill-house, near which had stood the ancient Derby windmill, Lark Hill lying to the north. As Mill Lane the road then descended to the village with its ancient chapel, being further prolonged, as Castle Lane, in the direction of Croxteth Hall. At the village cross-roads led south-east to Town Row, from which Deys Lane branched off; and north-west past New Hall in Carr Lane to Walton village. Carr Lane was a continuation of a road from Liverpool which crossed the Tue Brook at Club Moor, and went deviously onward to Kirkby.
WEST DERBY was the capital manor of the hundred, to which it gave name. As a royal manor it stands first in Domesday Book in the description of the land 'Between Ribble and Mersey,' and with its six berewicks was assessed at four hides; there was land for fifteen ploughs; and a forest two leagues long and one broad, with an aery of hawks. King Edward held it in 1066, and by the Conqueror it was given to Roger of Poitou who had temporarily lost his fief before 1086; but in 1094 Count Roger gave the tithe of his demesne in this vill to the abbey of St. Martin of Séez. It is possible that he built the castle here. After his banishment in 1102 West Derby with his other manors escheated to the crown, and was about 1115 granted to Stephen of Blois as part of the honour of Lancaster. At the beginning of the thirteenth century the vill was farmed by the king's bondmen or villeins at an ancient assized rent of £6, which the king had augmented by £2 since Easter, 1201. A considerable number of the people were removed to Liverpool in 1208 to form the new borough, and the sheriff had an allowance of the farm of the hundred, probably to make up for his loss on this account. There was anciently a considerable area of woodland, extending to 2,880 customary acres at the date of Domesday. In 1228 the boundaries of this were described by the knights who made the perambulation of the forest.
It thus appears that from an early time Litherland was divided into a half and two quarters; and this is perhaps the origin of the modern division into Litherland, Orrell, and Ford.
At the death of Edward the Confessor five thegns held SEFTON, which was assessed at one hide, and was worth 16s. At about 1100 by Roger of Poitou to the ancestor of Richard de Molyneux (living in 1212), and was the chief place of a fee consisting of ten and a half ploughlands held by this family by the service of half a knight. The ancestor mentioned was probably Robert de Molyneux, to whom about 1125 Stephen, count of Boulogne and Mortain, granted land in Down Litherland. Sextone in Domesday Book., Ceffton, 1242; Sefton, 1292, and afterwards general Shefton (1300) appears at times. Sephton became a common spelling in the xvii cent. The eastern boundary is formed by the River Alt, except where the present course of the stream has been restricted to the centre of Sefton meadows, the whole of these lying within the township. In time of frost they are flooded for the amusement of skaters. The church and the mill stand at the western edge. A few dwellings amid a clump of trees cluster round the church; there are also hamlets called Sefton Town, Buckley Hill, and Windle's Green. On the south, is a farmhouse, known as The Grange, retaining some seventeenth-century details, and a barn of late sixteenth-century date, though much patched with later work. The moated site of the ancient house of the Molyneux family lies to the south-east of the church, but nothing remains above the ground of the buildings finally dismantled in 1720.
NETHERTON hamlet of Sefton is along a principal road is that from Aintree village to Sefton Town. Before 1212 Richard de Molyneux had given to his son Robert three oxgangs of land, to be held by knight's service, a parcel called Arland or Ireland, afterward held by the Thornton family. The earliest place by name is in a charter of Richard de Molyneux of Sefton in 1318, granting his younger son Peter certain lands, together with the water-mill in 'the Netherton.' William Fairfellow and Agnes his wife released their lands here to Sir Richard Molyneux, Agnes making oath that she had made no feoffment of her lands in Sefton, except to a daughter of Simon de Molyneux, named Emmote, who had died at the age of fourteen. The story of St. Bennet's Church has been given in the account of Sefton. In 1433–4.
The MIDDLEWOOD estate, already mentioned, belonged to another Bickerstath family. Madoc son of Madoc de Aughton granted to his daughter Emma lands called the New Ridding and 'Steuensis Field.' This was afterwards known as the Cock Beck estate. She married Thomas Blundell and had a son Robert, who married Maud, daughter of William Blundell (of Ince), and had a daughter Joan. Maud married as her second husband Henry de Ince. No doubt through her influence, if not her right, the lands descended to her son Gilbert de Ince, whose wife Emma Ward was an heiress, Wido son of Madoc son of Bleddyn having granted lands known as Crawshaw to her ancestor William the Ward. Gilbert de Ince acquired Bangardus Field, and was a prominent man in the district in the latter part of the reign of Edward III.
THORNTON, Torentun Domesday Book.; Thorinton, 1212; Thorinton, Thornton, and Thorneton, 1292. In 1066 THORNTON was held by Ascha, its half-hide being worth beyond the customary. After the Conquest it was divided, two plough-lands being annexed, with Ince Blundell, to the barony of Warrington and the third to the Sefton fee. Pain de Vilers, lord of Warrington, granted one of these plough-lands to Robert de Molyneux of Sefton and the other to Eawin. There were thus three manors there. The portion held by the lord of Sefton in chief was granted by Robert de Molyneux, father of the Richard living in 1212, to his brother Gilbert to be held by knight's service; Richard son of Gilbert held it at the date named. In the Warrington fee the plough-land granted to Eawin was held by his son Gilbert in 1212. Gilbert was succeeded by his son Robert and by his son, another Robert was in possession in 1243. The younger Robert 'Priestsmock' had several sons but the eldest, knight Dominus Adam Demand who surrendered all his right for silver penny to the chief lord, William de Boteler who then granted it to Amery de Thornton. In this charter William le Boteler recites that Adam son of Robert the Priestsmock had surrendered his land in Thornton, and grants the same to Amery son of Simon together with the homage and service of Simon son of Adam for half an oxgang, but saving to the grantor the homage and service of Alan le Norreys, William Blundell, and of Thomas and John sons of the said Robert the Priestsmock; further he quitclaims to Amery and his heirs the suit of court at his barony of Warrington which Adam used to do for his land. The third plough-land, held of the lords of Warrington by Molyneux of Sefton. In 1246 Robert de Molyneux called upon Adam (Demand) de Molyneux of Sefton as mesne tenant to acquit him of the service which William le Boteler claimed in respect of the ploughland in Thornton, Robert complaining that he was distrained to do suit to the court of Warrington every three weeks.
Adam agreed to discharge the service, but his son William, on succeeding, neglected the obligation, and three years later Robert had again to complain that he was summoned to do 'bode and witness' at the Warrington court.
Richard son of Richard de Thornton and Simon son of Richard de Thornton occur during the first half of the thirteenth century. Richard son of Richard de Thornton was witness to a grant to Stanlaw Abbey made before 1250.Simon de Thornton died before 1246, leaving a son Amery. Alice, the widow of this Simon, who in 1295 released all her right in her husband's land in Aigburth to the monks of Stanlaw. Amery came to hold two of the three plough-lands; one from the lord of Sefton and the other from the lord of Warrington
In 1356 he had complained that Robert le Norreys of Melling, and Joan his wife, with John de Lancaster and Mabel his wife, had abducted the heir, who was by right his ward. Robert Molyneux's wife, Alice, is said to have been a daughter of Robert le Norreys. Their son Robert settled in Melling, and the story of his descendants will be found in the account of that township. Their manor of Thornton regularly descended to Dame Frances Blount, from whose trustees it was purchased in 1773 by the first earl of Sefton, who thus became possessed of all the manors in this place, either by descent or purchase. This complete lordship has descended to the present earl.
Afterwards this portion seems to have been divided, and at the beginning of the sixteenth century portions were held by the families of Ince, Tarleton, Lunt, and others. Portions appear to have been purchased from time to time by the lords of Sefton. In 1597 the lord of Warrington sold his right in the manor to Sir Richard Molyneux. There do not appear to have been any resident freeholders here in 1600.