Landed families of Britain and Ireland

On this site, which was short-listed for the SAHGB Colvin Prize in 2019, I present the results of my research into the landowning families of the British Isles and the country houses which they owned. Comments, especially in the form of corrections, additional information or new illustrations, are very welcome. Please use the Contact Form in the right hand side bar to contact me privately or the comments facility at the bottom of the page to make a public comment.

Tuesday 28 July 2020

(425) Barton of Swinton Park, Stapleton Park, Saxby Hall and Caldy Manor

Barton of Saxby Hall etc.

This family trace their descent from William Barton (c.1533-88) of Prestbury (Cheshire), who was claimed to have been a younger son of Andrew Barton (d. 1549) of Smithills Hall. However there is strong evidence against such a straightforward connection between the two families, since no son of this name appears in the pedigree of the Smithills branch of the family supplied to the herald's visitation of 1567 by Andrew's eldest son, Robert Barton (c.1524-80). Furthermore, the will of William Barton (d. 1588) refers to a living brother Robert, whereas Robert son of Andrew died eight years earlier. William's status seems to have been that of a yeoman, and Francis Barton (c.1555-1636), his eldest son, was described as such. His son, William Andrew Barton (1579-1658), began the process of moving his family into the gentry class by buying the Deanswater estate at Woodford in Prestbury from the 1st Viscount Savage in 1616, but he had a large family and his property was dispersed among several sons in the next generation. Deanswater passed to his youngest son, Francis Barton (1635-79), and from him to his son George Barton (d. 1723), who towards the end of his long life made it over to his son George Barton (1702-38) and moved to Stockport (Ches.). The genealogy below begins with the younger George, who had four sons. The eldest two received lands and continued to be farmers, but the younger two (George Barton (1731-89) and Henry Barton (1737-1818)) went into partnership in the burgeoning Manchester cotton trade as fustian manufacturers. It was the wealth they generated that catapulted the family into the upper echelons of Manchester society and enabled them to invest in landed property.

Henry Barton (1737-1818) left a personal estate valued at £160,000 when he died, making him one of the richest men in Manchester. At some point late in the 18th century he purchased the Swinton Park estate in the parishes of Swinton and Pendlebury, about four miles west of the city. He evidently bought the estate from James Watson, who may have been a friend, business partner, or distant relative, for his youngest son was given the middle name Watson and three of his sons married three of the daughters of a John Watson of Preston (Lancs). The Swinton estate already included two substantial houses, known as Swinton House and Spring Wood, and Henry seems to have lived at the latter while Swinton House became the home of his eldest son, John Barton (1770-1831). John was a partner in the family firm, but was also involved for a time in Robert Owen's Chorlton Twist Co., which operated the New Lanark Mills near Glasgow until 1811. Perhaps using the capital released when this business was wound up in 1811, John purchased the Saxby Hall estate in north Lincolnshire in 1814, and he was almost certainly responsible for building a new entrance front on the house there. He seems subsequently to have divided his time between Swinton and Saxby. When he died in 1831 he left both estates to his only surviving son, John Watson Barton, who had been educated as a gentleman and was never actively involved in the cotton industry, although some of his capital may have been invested there.

Despite having inherited two estates, John Watson Barton (1798-1840) purchased a third in the 1830s. This was Stapleton Park near Pontefract in Yorkshire, which became his principal seat, while Saxby and Swinton were both let and Swinton House was sold a few months before his death. The attraction of Stapleton was almost certainly foxhunting, for the estate lay in the renowned hunting country of the Badsworth Hunt. The house was also much larger and grander than either of the places he inherited. Sadly, he did not live to enjoy the amenities of the estate for very long, and when he died at the end of 1840 his only son and heir, John Hope Barton (1833-76) was a child of seven. He was sent to Eton and Oxford, served in the local Yeomanry Cavalry, and was Master of the Badsworth for seven seasons from 1869 before dying in the hunting field at the age of forty-three, albeit of natural causes rather than an accident. Once again, the estate was in the hands of an only son who inherited as a child: indeed, Henry John Hope Barton (1873-1951) was even younger than his father had been. As he grew older, his mother engaged a tutor to prepare him for Eton and Oxford, a clergyman's son with the rather splendid name of Frank Sumner Utterton Hatchard (1861-1920). Hatchard, who had political ambitions and later tried several times to get elected to parliament, was only twelve years older than his charge and twenty years younger than his employer. Nonetheless, an attachment developed between Mrs Barton and Hatchard, and in 1887, when Henry was at the impressionable age of fourteen, they were married. One can imagine only too vividly how upsetting this home background may have been for the young man, but he seems to have survived it, took his degree from Oxford, joined the Yorkshire Dragoons and in due course came of age, married and produced a family. Either when he came of age or when he married, his mother and stepfather moved out of Stapleton Park to a substantial villa in Pontefract. Just before the First World War Henry relocated to Saxby Hall, and during the War he made Stapleton available to the Government as an emergency hospital, of which his wife acted as Commandant. When it was vacated in 1919 he sold the Stapleton estate, although in the glutted land market of the post-war years it can have realised only a fraction of its longer-term value. Henry and his family continued to live at Saxby until his death in 1951, and for a few years afterwards they retained the estate, but in 1955 it was sold.

On the death of Henry Barton (1737-1818), his own house on the Swinton Park estate, Spring Wood, passed to his youngest son, Richard Watson Barton (1788-1861), who was in business as a calico printer in Manchester. In 1832 Richard bought the manor of Caldy on the western side of the Wirral peninsula in Cheshire, which was then a remote and undeveloped property. He converted the existing 17th century farmhouse into a neo-Tudor house, which was perhaps intended at first as a holiday home. Richard was succeeded by his elder son, Richard Barton (1821-81), who was a barrister not a businessman. He sold Spring Wood in 1865 and further developed Caldy Manor as a permanent residence. His widow, who succeeded him in the estate, converted part of the house into an Anglican chapel. When she died in 1890 the estate passed to his younger brother, Alfred Barton (1824-93) and when his wife died in 1894 it passed to a first cousin once removed and her husband, Canon E.A. Waller (1836-1910), who sold it in 1906. The property was then divided, with the land being sold for suburban development, while the house remained in private ownership until the Second World War, later becoming a hospital and then a care home.

Swinton House, Swinton, Lancashire

There seems to have been a house on this site since the 17th century, and Swinton Park is marked on 18th century maps. In the late 18th century it was in the possession of James Watson, from whom it is said to have been bought by Henry Barton (1737-1818). It seems likely that James Watson was a near relation of John Watson of Preston (Lancs), three of whose daughters married Henry's sons in 1795, 1803 and 1817. When Henry acquired the estate, it already included both Swinton House and Spring Wood, and Henry himself occupied the latter. His son, John Barton (1770-1832), a Manchester cotton manufacturer 'who by his talents and industry raised himself to the highest station among the merchants of his time, and was a deputy lieutenant for the county of Lancaster', lived at Swinton House and may have remodelled the house. In 1831, the house passed to Barton's son, John Watson Barton (1798-1840), who lived in greater style at Stapleton Park (Yorks) from 1833 and rented the house out to tenants including Hugh Hornby Birley, who was in residence by 1837.

Swinton Park: the estate as shown on the 1st edn. 6" map surveyed in 1845.

After J.W. Barton's death in 1840, his trustees sold the estate to James Atherton (d. 1876), who probably altered the house. Atherton's wife died in 1874 and between then and his own death two years later he sold the park for £16,000 to a speculative builder from nearby Eccles called Joseph Speakman, who divided it into large plots for the building of substantial villas. Some of the money from the sale of the land was applied to doing up the house, which was described in 1876 as 'a capital and picturesquely situated Family Residence, with three entertaining rooms, ten bedrooms, bathroom, two kitchens, butler's pantry, laundry, cellars, and the usual offices', and it was stated that 'the house has just been considerably altered and improved, and can be ready for occupation in two or three weeks'. Other amenities included a stable and coach-house, two cottages, and 'a good flower and kitchen garden' with a conservatory and vinery. By then, James Atherton had died, and his unmarried daughter, Eleanor Alice Maude Atherton (1843-1901) moved into the house herself and lived there until her death. Unfortunately, no photograph of the building has yet been traced.

The environs of the house became steadily more suburban in the late 19th century, and after Miss Atherton's death it stood empty until in 1904 it was leased to the City of Manchester Education Committee, which bought the freehold in 1906. They repurposed the house as a special school for disabled children, and it remained in use for this purpose until 1937, when the school was relocated to Mobberley Hall in Cheshire. By then the setting of the house had been further compromised by the construction of the East Lancashire Road, and Swinton House was demolished soon afterwards. The site was developed as a small (perhaps municipal) housing estate: Atherton Road stands on the site of the house itself.

Descent: James Watson sold to Henry Barton (1737-1818); to son, John Barton (1770-1831); to son, John Watson Barton (1798-1840) who leased it to Hugh Hornby Birley (fl. 1837-40) and sold it in 1840 to James Atherton (d. 1876); land sold for building villas, 1875 and house advertised for sale 1876 but apparently not sold and occupied by Eleanor Alice Maude Atherton (1843-1901), leased in 1904 and sold 1906 to Manchester Corporation for use as a school for disabled children which moved out in 1937; demolished soon afterwards and the site redeveloped for housing.

Stapleton Park, Darrington, Yorkshire (WR)

The estate lies between the villages of Darrington and Womersley. There was no doubt a manor house here from medieval times, but our first information about it seems to be the assessment of the house at 10 hearths for the 1672 Hearth Tax. It is shown on a county map of c.1720 as standing just north of the River Went, nearly a mile to the south of the position that it occupied by the time it next appears on a map in c.1750. It seems certain, therefore, that the house was rebuilt on the new site by Samuel Walker (1695-1754) and not, as was stated in Neale's Views of Seats, by Edward Lascelles, who bought it in 1762. The appearance of the first house on the new site does not seem to be recorded, but the 1750 map suggests that it stood in a well-timbered landscape, and Edward Lascelles talked in January 1763 about his intention to extend the park and to 'enlarge the Clumps…in front of the House - I mean to make them appear as one Wood'.

Stapleton Park: the house and park shown on a county map of 1771.

He perhaps undertook these works under the guidance of Richard Woods, who worked at the other Lascelles seats of Harewood and Goldborough at this time. He also remodelled the hall to the designs of John Carr, although it is far from clear exactly what Carr did. Masons, carvers and roofers were all employed in 1762-64, but from the surviving papers it does not sound like a complete rebuilding. What was certainly new was the staircase, which later became the avowed model for one at Campsall Hall (Yorks WR). On balance, the evidence suggests that Carr enlarged or remodelled the house built by Samuel Walker. He also did some further work later for Lord Stourton, which may have included rebuilding the stable block (characteristically Carr) as well as estate walling.

Stapleton Park: an enlargement of a view of the house which appears in the background of a painting of Edward Petre's colt 'Sir John' by J.F. Herring. The painting is dated 1822 but the view of the house must be based on an earlier drawing, for it shows the west and south sides before the Greek Revival alterations of c.1815-21.

Stapleton Park, Darrington: east front after the early 19th century alterations, from an engraving by J.P. Neale, published in 1821.

Lord Stourton was a Roman Catholic, and in about 1800 he sold Stapleton to another leading Catholic, Robert Edward Petre (1743-1801), 9th Baron Petre. In 1809 the house came to his younger son, the Hon. Edward Petre (1794-1848), and after coming of age in 1815 he undertook a further transformation of the house in the Greek Revival style, which had been completed by about 1821. An obscure designer called William Cleave of Brewer's Green, Westminster (Middx) (who appears in trade directories as a timber merchant) is recorded as making 'great alterations' and exhibited 'a south-east view of improvements made at Stapleton Park' at the Royal Academy in 1820. He seems to have enlarged the house by one bay to the south and replaced the original porch with a new entrance front and porch on the south end elevation of the Carr house. He also removed the central pediment on the west side of the house and replaced it by a smaller label on the parapet, and lowered the window sills on the ground floor of the east front.

In 1829, the house had 'a suite of elegant apartments on the entrance floor' which consisted of a library 36x22 feet and dining room 40x27 feet separated by an ante room on the east front, and two drawing rooms hung with French silk on the west front. There was also a Catholic chapel, with a fine painting of the Crucifixion over the altar. At the same time as Cleave was altering the house, further work was done on the grounds 'under the superintendence of Mr. Payne', who has not been identified.

Stapleton Park, Darrington: the south (entrance) and west fronts of the house in about 1890.

Stapleford Park: the south and east fronts, c.1894. Image: Historic England.

Shortly before the First World War the house was let, and in 1915 it was offered to the Government as a VAD hospital, which Mrs. Barton herself managed as Commandant. The house was put up for sale by the Barton family in 1919 and was in part dispersed at auction.

In 1921, a dismantling sale of the mansion was held and by April, when "10,000 tons of brick rubbish and dressed stone" was for sale it had evidently been demolished. The site was sold to the government in 1937, with a view to building a new mental hospital for south Yorkshire on the site, but, no doubt because the Second World War caused plans for a hospital to be abandoned, nothing was ever built here. The estate was sold off in 1958. Today only the stable block remains on the site, while one of the lodges survives as a rather forlorn diner at the Darrington service station on the A1.

Descent: Sir Robert Scargill (d.1531); to daughter, Margaret (b.1513), wife of Sir John Gascoigne of Cardington, who sold 1574 to John Conyers of London... John Savile (1556-1630), 1st Baron Savile of Pomfret; to son, Thomas Savile (1590-c.1659), 1st Earl of Sussex, who sold to James Greenwood (c.1603-70); to son James Greenwood (c.1641-1713), who sold after 1690 to Samuel Walker of York; to nephew, also Samuel Walker (1695-1754); to daughter, Elizabeth, wife of William Rawstone; her trustees sold c.1753-56 to John Boldero (1713-89); sold 1762 to Edward Lascelles (1740-1820), later 1st Earl of Harewood; rented from 1782 and sold 1789 to Charles Philip Stourton (1752-1816), 17th Baron Stourton; sold c.1800 to Robert Edward Petre (1742-1801), 9th Lord Petre; to son, Robert Edward Petre (1763-1809), 10th Baron Petre; to brother, Hon. Edward Petre (1794-1848); rented 1833 and sold 1838 to John Watson Barton (1798-1840); to son, John Hope Barton (1833-76); to son, Henry John Hope Barton (1873-1951) who sold 1919; demolished 1921.

Saxby Hall, Saxby All Saints, Lincolnshire

Saxby Hall, Saxby All Saints: the house in the 1950s.

The house turns its back on the village street and the symmetrical early 19th century entrance front with shallow two-storey bows either side of the entrance doorcase faces west across an oval lawn to a view over the vale of Ancholme. The entrance front, with its pretty veranda wrapped around the ground floor, was built for John Barton (1770-1831), but behind it is an earlier, probably 18th century house, three rooms deep and stretching back to the street. On the left is an early 19th century wing and on the right a still later wing of 1935, added for Henry John Hope Barton (1873-1951). In 1845, when the house was advertised to let, it had a dining room, drawing room, breakfast room, and seven bedrooms with dressing rooms attached, as well as service accommodation. Today, the house has an open well staircase with ramped and wreathed handrail and plain balusters, and the main rooms have moulded cornices. The estate of 2,500 acres was sold in 1955 and the house is now operated as a wedding venue.

Descent: sold 1814 to John Barton (1770-1831); to son, John Watson Barton (1798-1840); to son, John Hope Barton (1833-76); to son, Henry John Hope Barton (1873-1951); sold 1955...

Caldy Manor, Cheshire

An irregular, neo-Jacobean house of red sandstone. At the core there is said to be a 17th century farmhouse which formed the centre of the estate when it was bought by Richard Watson Barton (1788-1861) in 1832. He converted it into a substantial house for occasional use, and the initial conversion is said to have been done by Robert Bushell Rampling (perhaps a relative of his mother), but little of this is visible now after many later alterations. Barton's son, Richard Barton (d. 1881) employed W. & J. Hay to make additions in 1864, and the central room on the principal front (facing the gardens) contains plasterwork dated 1877. At the south end of the building is an irregular courtyard separated from the village street only by a stone wall, and closed on the east by a wing which was converted into a chapel by C.E. Kempe in 1882 for Richard Barton's widow Elizabeth, whose father, Sir Benjamin Heywood, was a noted church builder in Manchester. The chapel was dismantled again when a school in the village was converted into a parish church by Douglas & Minshull in 1906-07, but its tower remains.

Caldy Manor: the house in 1905, before the Edwardian enlargement. Image: Historic England.

Caldy Manor: the garden front of the house today, after the Edwardian enlargement and later changes.

The northern end of the house was remodelled in 1907 by Sir Guy Dawber for Alexander Percy Eccles, a Liverpool cotton-broker. Dawber created a new entrance front, and added a 'Wrenaissance' style great hall and a billiard room, as well as altering some of the existing rooms. The house was separated from the estate in 1906, when the estate was bought by a company formed for the purpose, which developed Caldy as an up-market residential suburb. The house remained in private ownership until the Second World War, when it was adapted as a hospital, and the interiors were further compromised when the house was converted into a care home in 1985.

Descent: sold 1832 to Richard Watson Barton (1788-1861); to son, Richard Barton (d. 1881); to widow, Elizabeth and then to brother, Alfred Barton; to cousin, Rev. E.A. Waller, who sold 1906 to Alexander Percy Eccles... sold for conversion to hospital after WW2; sold c.1982 and converted into a care home.

Barton family of Swinton, Stapleton and Saxby

Barton, George (1702-38). Third son of George Barton (d. 1723) of Deanswater, Woodford, Prestbury (Ches.) and his wife, baptised at Prestbury, 11 August 1702. He married, 8 November 1724 at Colne (Lancs), Lucy (1696-1779), daughter of Oates Sagar of Catlow (Lancs), and had issue*:

(1) Richard Barton (1725-98), baptised at Manchester Collegiate Church, 21 September 1725; inherited the Deanswater estate from his father in 1738; married, 3 February 1766 at Wigan (Lancs) Jane Ashurst (d. 1766) but had no issue; died 15 May 1798 and was buried at Prestbury, where he and his wife are commemorated by a monument; will proved at Chester, 1798;

(2) John Barton (1730-54) (q.v.);

(3) George Barton (1731-89) (q.v.);

(4) Henry Barton (1737-1818) (q.v.);

He inherited Deanwater from his father in 1723. At his death the property passed to his eldest son.

He died between April and June 1738. His widow was buried at St Ann, Manchester, 20 July 1779.

*At least one other George Barton had children baptised in Manchester during the 1720s and 1730s, and since the registers do not normally record the names of the mothers it is not possible to be certain whether any more of these children belonged to this George Barton; it seems probable that they did.

Barton, John (1730-54). Second son of George Barton (1702-38) and his wife Lucy, daughter of Oates Sagar of Catlow (Lancs), baptised at Manchester Collegiate Church, 9 February 1729/30. He married, 28 May 1753 at Manchester Collegiate Church, Sarah (1727-1807), daughter of Jeremiah Bradshaw of Darcy Lever (Lancs), and had issue:

(1) James Barton (1754-1816), baptised at Manchester Collegiate Church, 14 July 1754; fustian manufacturer and merchant in partnership with his uncles George and Henry and later a calico printer in partnership with Thomas Stott and William Wright (Barton, Stott & Wright); inherited the Deanswater estate from his uncle Richard in 1798; married, 8 January 1787 at Manchester Collegiate Church, Dorothy Ann Nowell, and had issue two sons and two daughters; died at Hope Green, Adlington (Ches.), 6 September and was buried at Prestbury (Ches.), 10 September 1817.

He lived at Hope Green, Adlington (Ches.).

He was buried at St. Ann, Manchester, 22 August 1754. His widow died 20 May, and was buried at Manchester Cathedral, 23 May 1807; her will was proved at Chester, 14 October 1808.

Barton, George (1731-89). Third son of George Barton (1702-38) and his wife Lucy, daughter of Oates Sagar of Catlow (Lancs), baptised at Manchester Collegiate Church, 22 November 1731. Educated at Manchester Grammar School. Fustian manufacturer in Manchester, in partnership with his younger brother and nephew James. He married, 7 August 1759 at Upper Langwith (Derbys), Jane (1737-88), daughter of Rev. Michael Hartshorne, vicar of Langwith, and had issue:

(1) Susannah Barton (c.1760-61), born about 1760; died in infancy and was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 28 October 1761;

(2) Michael Barton (1761-66), baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 14 December 1761; died young and was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 10 September 1766;

(3) Lucy Barton (1763-1848), baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 17 October 1763; married, 19 November 1787 at Manchester, Thomas Stott (1759-1805) of Manchester, calico printer, and had issue five sons and three daughters; lived latterly with her son, George, at Eccleshill Hall (Yorks WR); buried at St Luke, Eccleshill (Yorks), 27 June 1848;

(4) George Barton (1765-67), baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 29 November 1765; died in infancy and was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 21 January 1767;

(5) Richard Barton (1767-71), baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 30 October 1767; died young and was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 27 September 1771;

(6) Jane Barton (b. 1770), baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 7 February 1770; probably died young;

(7) John Barton (b. 1772), baptised at St Ann, Marchester, 4 January 1772; probably died young;

(8) Sarah Barton (b. 1773), baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 16 April 1773; married 12 October 1795 at Llandeilo (Carmarthens.), Rev. Dorning Rasbotham (d. 1804), rector of St Mary, Manchester, son of Dorning Rasbotham, the Lancashire antiquarian, and had issue one son (who died young);

(9) Althea Barton (1775-1808), baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 20 March 1775; married 3 September 1792, Dr Joshua Wolstenholme Parr (1763-1810) of Liverpool and Pentre Parr, Ffarifach (Carmarthens.), chemical manufacturer, son of John Parr of Liverpool, merchant, and had issue two sons and two daughters; died at Pentre Parr, July 1808.

(10) Henry Barton (1779-1858), born 8 March and baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 8 April 1779; an officer in Royal Lancashire Militia (Capt.); lived at Carlton Hall, Carlton-in-Cleveland (Yorks NR) and Mount St John, Thirsk (Yorks NR) and later at Bebington (Ches.); married, 5 March 1801 at Tynemouth (Northbld), Margaretta (1784-1875), daughter of Thomas Tinley of North Shields (Northbld), and had issue; died in Rock Ferry (Ches.), 24 July 1858; will proved 26 January 1859 (effects under £300).

He lived in Manchester.

He died suddenly, 5 September and was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 7 September 1789; his will was proved at Chester, 23 November 1789. His wife was buried 31 January 1788.

Barton, Henry (1737-1818). Fourth son of George Barton (1702-38) and his wife Lucy, daughter of Oates Sagar of Catlow (Lancs), baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 7 November 1737. In partnership with his brother George and nephew James as fustian manufacturers in Manchester: he was one of the early cotton manufacturers and at his death left a substantial fortune. He married, 9 October 1769 at Manchester Collegiate Church, Mary (1747-1804), daughter of Joseph Bushell of Neston (Ches.), and had issue:

(1) John Barton (1770-1831) (q.v.);

(2) Mary Barton (1772-1853), baptised at Manchester Collegiate Church, 25 July 1772; married, 8 September 1794 at Manchester Collegiate Church, John Baldwin (c.1771-1821) of Ingthorpe Grange (Yorks), and had issue one son and one daughter; lived latterly at Little Burlings, Knockholt (Kent); died at Knockholt, 2 September 1853; will proved in the PCC, 22 October 1853;

(3) Henry Barton (1774-1807), baptised at Manchester Collegiate Church, 11 June 1774; cotton manufacturer in Manchester in partnership with his brother John; married, 6 September 1803 at Walton-le-Dale (Lancs), Elizabeth (b. 1782), daughter of John Watson of Preston (Lancs), and had issue one son (Henry Barton (1806-52) of Rangemore (Staffs), whose daughter Louisa Mary (1840-1919) and her husband, Canon Ernest Alured Waller (1836-1910) inherited Caldy Manor in 1894); buried at St Peter, Manchester, 3 May 1807;

(4) Richard Barton (d. 1776), probably born in 1776; died in infancy and was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 15 September 1776;

(5) Lucy Barton (1777-79), baptised at St. Ann, Manchester, 19 November 1777; died in infancy and was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 22 January 1779;

(6) Sarah Barton (1780-1868), baptised at Manchester Collegiate Church, 25 September 1780; married, 13 September 1803 at Eccles (Lancs), Robert Robinson Watson Robinson MD LRCP (1777-1866) of Preston (Lancs) and later of Swinton Park, physician, and had issue; died 25 December 1868; administration of goods granted 15 March 1869 (effects under £300);

(7) Elizabeth Barton (1783-90), baptised at Manchester Collegiate Church, 28 October 1783; died young and was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 21 November 1790;

(8) Richard Watson Barton (1788-1861) [for whom, see below, Barton family of Caldy Manor].

He purchased the Swinton House and Ward Hall estates in Lancashire 'about the end of the 18th century' and lived latterly at Spring Wood on the Swinton estate.

He died 26 October, and was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 2 November 1818; his will was proved in the PCY, 1820 (effects under £160,000). His wife was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 7 March 1804.

Barton, John (1770-1831). Eldest son of Henry Barton (1737-1818) of Swinton House, and his wife Mary, daughter of Joseph Bushell of Neston (Ches.), born 8 August and baptised at Manchester Collegiate Church, 24 August 1770. He joined the family business (Henry & John Barton & Co.) as a wholesale merchant and cotton manufacturer 'and by his talents and industry raised himself to the highest station among the merchants of his time'. From 1799 he was in partnership with his brother Henry and the philanthropist and social reformer, Robert Owen in the Chorlton Twist Co., which purchased the New Lanark Mills near Glasgow for £60,000 but was dissolved in 1811. He was a Governor of the Manchester Infirmary by 1795 and a member of the Manchester Board of Health from its inception in 1796. DL for Lancashire (from 1803). He married, 5 May 1795 at Preston (Lancs), Margaret (k/a Peggy) (1775-1823), daughter of John Watson of Preston, and had issue:

(1) William Henry Barton (b. & d. 1797), baptised at St Paul, Manchester, 19 August 1797; died in infancy and was buried at St Mary, Manchester, 29 November 1797;

(2) John Watson Barton (1798-1840) (q.v.);

(3) Mary Elizabeth Barton (1800-70), born 30 March and baptised at Manchester Collegiate Church, 11 May 1800; married, 2 October 1823, Thomas Heywood (1797-1866) of Hope End (Herefs), banker, antiquary, chairman of Worcester & Hereford Railway Co., 1840 and High Sheriff of Herefordshire, 1843, and had issue one son and two daughters; died 12 May 1870;

(4) Sophia Barton (1803-40), born 19 May 1803 and baptised at St Mary, Manchester, 19 January 1804; married, 9 April 1828 at Eccles (Lancs), Lt-Gen. Jeremiah Taylor (1789-1862) of Fern Hill House, Cropthorne (Worcs) and later of Prestbury Lodge (Glos), and had issue two sons and three daughters; buried at Lyme Regis (Dorset), 17 September 1840; administration of her goods (with will annexed) granted 25 January 1841;

(5) Margaret Barton (b. & d. 1806), born 19 March and baptised at St Mary, Manchester, 8 April 1806; died in infancy and was buried at St Peter, Manchester, 26 April 1806.

He inherited the Swinton House estate from his father in 1818 and purchased the Saxby Hall estate (Lincs) in 1814. He enlarged Saxby Hall soon afterwards.

He died 11 November and was buried at St Peter, Manchester, 19 November 1831; his will was proved in the PCY, March 1832. His wife died at Swinton, 22 February 1823 and was buried at Saxby All Saints, where she is commemorated by a memorial.

Barton, John Watson (1798-1840). Only surviving son of John Barton (1770-1831) and his wife Margaret, daughter of John Watson of Preston (Lancs), born 20 August and baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 28 November 1798. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford (matriculated 1817; hon. MA 1821). An officer in the North Lincolnshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Lt., 1831). JP (by 1826) and DL for Lindsey and JP for West Riding of Yorkshire. He married, 28 January 1830 at St Cuthbert, Edinburgh, Juliana (c.1810-88), second daughter of James Hope WS of Moray Place, Edinburgh, and had issue:

(1) Mary Jane Barton (b. 1830), born at Swinton House, 11 November 1830 and baptised at Saxby All Saints, 11 December 1833; unmarried and living in 1871;

(2) Julia Sophia Barton (1832-1903), born 5 June 1832 and baptised at Saxby All Saints, 11 December 1833; married, 21 September 1864, Rev. Charles Augustus Hope (1827-98), rector of Barwick-in-Elmet and canon of Ripon Cathedral, youngest son of Sir John Hope of Craighall (Fife), 11th bt., and had issue two sons (of whom John Augustus Hope succeeded to the Hope family baronetcy in 1918); died at White House, Inveresk (Midl.), 1 March 1903; will confirmed at Edinburgh, 22 April 1903 (estate £6,440);

(3) John Hope Barton (1833-76) (q.v.);

(4) Margaret Barton (1835-70), baptised at Saxby All Saints, 16 September 1835; married, 8 September 1859 at Darrington (Yorks WR), Rev. Charles Warren Markham (1835-96), rector of Aughton (Lancs) and later of Saxby All Saints (who m2, 26 August 1873 at Holy Trinity, Chelsea (Middx), Elizabeth Harriet (1834-1901), daughter of Lt-Col. John Barnett, and had further issue one daughter), only son of Lt-Col. Charles Markham, and had issue four sons; died 29 November 1870;

(5) Louisa Barton (1836-1916), born 5 October and baptised at Darrington, 17 October 1836; became a Sister of Mercy in the 1870s; died at House of Mercy, Clewer, Windsor, 19 July 1916; will proved 8 September 1916 (estate £1,184);

(6) Caroline Barton (1838-1916), baptised at Darrington, 5 June 1838; married, 10 January 1867 at Darrington, William Clayton Browne (later Browne-Clayton) (1835-1907) of Browne's Hill (Co. Carlow) and had issue three sons and nine daughters; died in Dublin, 24 September 1916; will proved 23 October 1916 (estate £1,696);

(7) Frances Barton (1840-1917), baptised at Darrington, 14 May 1840; died unmarried, 5 January 1917 and was buried at Saxby All Saints.

He inherited Swinton House and Saxby Hall from his father in 1831. He leased Stapleton Park from 1833 and purchased the freehold in 1838, and sold Swinton House in 1840.

He died 22 December 1840; his will was proved in the PCC, 19 January 1842. His widow died at Harrogate (Yorks WR), 25 October 1888; her will was proved 21 December 1888 (effects £7,209).

Barton, John Hope (1833-76). Only son of John Watson Barton (1798-1840) and his wife Juliana, second daughter of James Hope WS of Moray Place, Edinburgh, born 3 October and baptised at Saxby All Saints, 11 December 1833. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1852; BA 1856; MA 1864). An officer in the 1st West Yorkshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Cornet, 1853; Capt., 1861; retired 1874); JP and DL for West Riding of Yorkshire; High Sheriff of Yorkshire, 1863. Master of the Badsworth Hunt, 1869-76. The painter John Atkinson Grimshaw may have been a friend of the family as he painted a number of views in and around Stapleton Park in the 1870s. John Hope Barton married, 30 April 1872 at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., London, Florence Mary Annabella (1842-1924), daughter of Henry James Ramsden of Oxton Hall (Yorks), and had issue:

(1) Henry John Hope Barton (1873-1951) (q.v.).

He inherited Saxby Hall and Stapleton Park from his father in 1840 and came of age in 1854.

He died, apparently of a stroke, while hunting at Askern (Yorks), 20 March 1876, and St John's church, Wentbridge (Yorks WR) was erected in his memory; his will was proved 13 May 1876 (effects under £25,000). His widow married 2nd, 26 October 1887, her son's tutor, Frank Sumner Utterton Hatchard (1861-1920) of Hillthorpe, Pontefract (Yorks WR), son of Rev. Thomas Goodwin Hatchard, but had no further issue; she died 24 August and was buried at Wentbridge, 27 August 1924; her will was proved 2 February 1925 (estate £26,584).

Barton, Henry John Hope (1873-1951). Only child of John Hope Barton (1833-76) and his wife Florence Mary Annabella, daughter of Henry James Ramsden of Oxton Hall (Yorks), born in Chelsea, 25 February 1873. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1890; BA c.1893). An officer in the Yorkshire Dragoons (2nd Lt., 1891; Lt. by 1895; retired 1899). JP for West Riding of Yorkshire and Lindsey; High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, 1913. Master of the Badsworth Hunt, 1905-23. He married, 27 June 1903 at Swillington (Yorks), Emma Alice OBE DGStJ (1878-1964), daughter of George William Lowther of Swillington House, and had issue:

(1) Marjorie Florence Hope Barton (1905-85), born at Stapleton Park, 6 March and baptised at Darrington (Yorks), 9 April 1905; married, 21 October 1930 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Cdr. Thomas Stanley Fox-Pitt RN (1897-1985), second son of William Augustus Lane Lane-Fox (later Fox-Pitt), and had issue two daughters; died at Chapel Farm, Gidleigh Park (Devon), 12 August 1985; will proved 10 September 1985 (estate under £40,000);

(2) Diana Hope Barton (1907-98), born at Stapleton Park, 5 March and baptised at Darrington, 7 April 1907; died unmarried aged 91 on 28 September 1998 and was buried at Saxby All Saints; will proved 4 December 1998;

(3) John George Hope Barton (1908-56), born at Saxby Hall, 5 October and baptised at Saxby All Saints, 1 November 1908; served in Second World War as an officer in the Coldstream Guards (2nd Lt., 1940; Capt.); periodical publisher; married, 5 January 1944, Mary Alice (b. c.1905), actress, daughter of William Collins of Bottineau, North Dakota (USA) and formerly wife of Oliver Charles Wakefield (1909-56), but had no issue; died in London, 13 November 1956 and was buried at Saxby All Saints; will proved 7 December 1956 (estate £230,123);

(4) Alice Juliana Hope Barton (1911-2002), born 23 September and baptised at Saxby All Saints, 22 October 1911; died unmarried aged 91 on 11 November 2002 and was buried at Saxby All Saints;

(5) Robert Henry Hope Barton (1920-2004), born 28 October 1920; educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge; served in Second World War as an officer in the King's Royal Rifle Corps (2nd Lt., 1941; Capt.) and later a farmer at Eyston Smyths Farm, Belchamp Otten (Suffk); married, 10 January 1948 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), Diana Mary (1924-2018), daughter of Air Chief Marshal Sir (Henry) Robert Moore Brooke-Popham, and had issue one son and two daughters; died 17 January 2004 and was buried at Saxby All Saints; will proved 17 September 2004.

He inherited Saxby Hall and Stapleton Park from his father in 1876 and came of age in 1894. He sold Stapleton Park in 1919. Saxby Hall was sold after his death in 1955.

He died 20 September 1951; his will was proved 21 December 1951 (estate £50,879). His widow died 5 March 1964; her will was proved 28 July 1964 (estate £5,132).

Barton family of Caldy Manor

Barton, Richard Watson (1788-1861). Youngest son of Henry Barton (1737-1818) and his wife Mary, daughter of Joseph Bushell of Neston (Ches.), baptised at St Ann, Manchester, 29 July 1788. Calico printer in Manchester. He married, 7 October 1817 at St George, Bloomsbury (Middx), Mary, daughter of John Watson of Preston (Lancs), and had issue:

(1) Richard Barton (1821-81) (q.v.);

(2) Alfred Barton (1824-93) (q.v.).

He inherited Spring Wood, Swinton Park, from his father in 1818 and purchased the Caldy estate on the Wirral (Ches.) in 1834 and developed an existing farmhouse into Caldy Manor.

He died 16 November and was buried at Pendlebury (Lancs), 22 November 1861; will proved 20 December 1861 (effects under £30,000). His wife's date of death is unknown.

Barton, Richard (1821-81). Elder son of Richard Watson Barton (1788-1861) and his wife Mary, daughter of John Watson of Preston (Lancs), born 25 December 1821 and baptised at St Peter, Manchester, 1 January 1822. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford (matriculated 1840), Peterhouse, Cambridge (matriculated 1842; BA 1845; MA 1848) and the Inner Temple (admitted 1845; called to bar, 1849). Barrister-at-law. JP for Cheshire; High Sheriff of Cheshire, 1875. He married, 12 February 1850 at Eccles (Lancs), Elizabeth (1821-90), eldest daughter of Sir Benjamin Heywood of Claremont (Lancs), banker, and had issue:

(1) Reginald Heywood Barton (1850-51), born at Caldy Manor, 15 December and baptised at West Kirby (Ches.), 28 December 1850; died in infancy, Jan-Mar 1851.

He inherited Spring Wood and Caldy Manor from his father in 1861, but sold the former in 1865.

He died 17 April 1881; his will was proved 27 September and 1 December 1881 (effects £24,451). His widow died 27 January 1890; her will was proved 24 April 1890 (effects £37,650).

Barton, Alfred (1824-93). Younger son of Richard Watson Barton (1788-1861) and his wife Mary, daughter of John Watson of Preston (Lancs), baptised at St Peter, Manchester, 13 October 1824. He married, 30 July 1857 at Eccles (Lancs), Ellen (1839-94), daughter of Robert Brandt of Pendleton, barrister-at-law, but had no issue.

He inherited Caldy Manor from his elder brother in 1881. At his death it passed to his widow for life and then to his first cousin once removed, Louisa Mary (1840-1919), the wife of Canon Ernest Alured Waller (1836-1910), who sold 1906.

He died 11 May 1893; his will was proved 26 August 1893 (estate £66,192). His widow died 14 May 1894; her will was proved 30 August 1894 (effects £78,194).

Principal sources

Jones' Views of the Seats, Mansions, Castles etc. of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of England, 1829, p.29; C. Hartwell, M. Hyde, E. Hubbard & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Cheshire, 2nd edn., 2011, pp. 199-200.

Location of archives

Barton of Saxby Hall: estate papers, chiefly for Saxby, 1855-1941 [Lincolnshire Archives, 1 Barton]

Coat of arms

Azure, on a fesse between three bucks' heads cabossed or, a martlet gules between two acorns leaved proper.

Can you help?

Can anyone provide or point me towards a photograph of Swinton House, or any further information about the early history of the property?
Can anyone provide information about the ownership history of Saxby Hall since 1955?
I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated.
Any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated. I am always particularly pleased to hear from members of the family who can supply recent personal information for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 28 July 2020 and was updated 29 July 2020. I am most grateful to Sir Nicholas Mander, bt., for sharing his genealogical notes on this family with me, and to Lizzie of Wallwork History for advice on Swinton House.

Wednesday 22 July 2020

(424) Barton of Holme Hall and Smithills Hall

Barton of Smithills

This family were probably raised from relatively humble origins by John Barton (d. 1491), who became a wool trader and a merchant of the English staple at Calais. This was the period of maximum prosperity for the English wool industry, and John made a great deal of money. He acquired an estate at Holme-by-Newark (Notts) and built a new house there, which is said to have had in one window the inscription "I thanke God, and ever shall. It is the Sheepe hath payed for all". He also largely rebuilt the parish church at Holme and made provision in his will for rebuilding the north aisle of neighbouring North Muskham church too. At Holme he provided a fine cadaver tomb to commemorate his wife and himself, which was erected in his lifetime. His son, Ralph Barton and grandson, another John Barton (d. 1517) seem also to have been wool merchants. Both men married into the Radcliffes, a leading gentry family from Lancashire, and in this way Smithills Hall near Bolton (Lancs) came into their possession, probably on the marriage of the younger John Barton with Cecily Radcliffe in 1486. Both parties to this marriage were probably children at the time - Cecily seems to have been about thirteen - but even so it seems surprising that their eldest son and heir, Andrew Barton (c.1498-1549) was not born until more than ten years later. Cecily seems to have died in 1506, Andrew was married in about 1514 (when he would have been about sixteen), and John made over the Smithills estate to him two years later before being received into a house of Observant Friars at Richmond (Surrey), where he died the following year. It seems likely that the family were, at this time, retainers of the Earls of Derby, for Andrew's marriage was to a cadet branch of the Stanley family and the Richmond friary was one of a number of religious houses in the Richmond area which the Earls supported. Marriage and responsibility for two substantial estates no doubt disrupted Andrew's education. He entered the Middle Temple in 1517 but there is no evidence that he completed his studies, and in his will he described himself as 'not learned in the law'. With his career as a justice of the peace and member of parliament, however, it is clear that he had completed the transition from merchant to gentleman begun by his great-grandfather, and he considerably enlarged the house at Smithills Hall, turning it from a hall house into a courtyard house by the addition of two long wings. He and his wife are said to have had eleven children, but the names of only eight are known; the others probably died in infancy as they were not recorded at the 1567 visitation of Lancashire.

Smithills Hall: a view of the house in 1874. The long ranges on either side of the courtyard were added by the Barton family in the early 16th century and the chapel on the extreme right in the 1580s.

Andrew's eldest son was Robert Barton (c.1524-80), about whom little is known. His sole claim to fame is that as a justice of the peace he was responsible for the arrest of the Protestant martyr, George Marsh, in 1554. Local tradition asserts that after being questioned at Smithills, Marsh stamped his foot so hard to re-affirm his faith that a footprint was left in the stone floor, which is still shown today. This story tells us that Robert Barton adhered to the Roman Catholic faith, at least until the end of Queen Mary's reign. By contrast, his younger brother, Ralph Barton (c.1525-92) was bred to the law and under Queen Elizabeth saw a rapid rise to judicial office and other Crown appointments which must imply that he had conformed to the Protestant faith. It seems likely that this religious difference between the brothers underlay Robert's attempt to bequeath a major part of his property to his widow Margery, rather than transmitting it to Ralph as his heir male. This led to legal action by Ralph against Margery and to accusations of trespass by Margery against Ralph which were eventually resolved by a compromise negotiated in 1586 by Lord Burghley and Sir Francis Walsingham: august arbitrators indeed. Although Ralph Barton eventually secured possession of the Smithills estate, he did not enjoy it for very long, for he died in 1592 and it passed to his son and heir, Ralph Barton (1556-1611). He was educated at Grays Inn but also at Cambridge University, and was High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1605-06. When he died in 1611 he divided his property between his two sons, with Thomas receiving the Nottinghamshire estate and the younger Ralph receiving Smithills, suggesting that the former was still seen as as more prestigious. Thomas was evidently resident in Nottinghamshire in 1618-19, when he was High Sheriff there and was knighted at Welbeck Abbey by King James I, and he may not have acquired Smithills until after his brother's death in 1645. His only surviving child was a daughter, Grace (d. 1658), who married the Hon. Henry Belasyse in 1627 and had two sons. She predeceased her father, on whose death the Barton properties passed to her elder son, Thomas Belasyse (d. 1700), 1st Earl Fauconberg, whose younger brother, Sir Rowland Belasyse (d. 1699) actually lived at Smithills in the late 17th century. The estate was sold by the next generation in the 1720s.

Holme Hall, Holme-by-Newark, Nottinghamshire

Holme Hall, Holme-by-Newark: the present house.

'A fair stone house' was built here by John Barton (d. 1491), a rich wool merchant, who gave thanks for his blessings with the line "I thanke God, and ever shall. It is the Sheepe hath payed for all" which is recorded to have been inscribed in one of the windows. The property descended in the Barton family to Sir Thomas Barton (d. 1659), and then passed through his only daughter to the Belasyse family. It seems to have declined into a farmhouse in the 18th century, and was demolished and replaced in about 1800 by the present five bay, two-and-a-half storey house in red brick, with a hipped slate roof. By the later 19th century the Dukes of Newcastle had become the principal landowners at Holme, and this house was perhaps built by them, either for a gentleman farmer tenant or for rental to a gentry occupier like Charles Cane of Southwell, who was living here in 1891. The house has a three-bay, three storey rear extension and is now privately owned, but offers bed and breakfast accommodation. The previous house seems not to be recorded, either in views or on estate maps, but it would be most interesting to know something of its appearance.

Descent: John Barton (d. 1491); to son, Ralph Barton (d. by 1505); to son, John Barton (d. 1517); to son, Andrew Barton (c.1498-1549); to son, Robert Barton (c.1524-80); to brother, Ralph Barton (c.1525-92); to son, Ralph Barton (1556-1611); to son, Sir Thomas Barton (c.1583-1659); to grandson, Thomas Belasyse (d. 1700), 1st Earl Fauconberg...

Smithills Hall, Bolton, Lancashire

An account of this house was published in this earlier post.

Barton family of Holme Hall and Smithills Hall

John Barton (d. 1491) from his
monument at Holme.
Barton, John (d. 1491). Parentage unknown. A wool merchant of the Calais staple and vintner. He paid for the rebuilding of Holme church in about 1485 and left money in his will for rebuilding the north aisle of North Muskham church. He married Isabella ?Gernon, and had issue:

(1) Ralph Barton (d. by 1505) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Barton (fl. 1491); an executor of his father's will, by which he received 100 marks;

(3) Robert Barton (fl. 1491); evidently an Augustinian canon at Shelford Priory (Notts); received a bequest of 40 marks from his father;

(4) Richard Barton (fl. 1491); inherited 100 marks from his father and lands and tenements in Newark, Northgate and Osmundthorpe (Notts);

(5) Katherine Barton;

(6) Isabella Barton; married John Tamworth.

He acquired or inherited the manor of Holme-by-Newark (Notts) and built a new house there.

He died early in 1491 and was buried at Holme, where he and his wife are commemorated by a cadaver tomb; his will (dated 10 December 1490), was proved at York, 13 June 1491. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Barton, Ralph (d. by 1505). Eldest son of John Barton (d. 1491) and his wife Isabella ?Gernon. Wool merchant. He married, c.1467, Joan, daughter and co-heir of Sir Ralph Radcliffe of Radcliffe and Smithills (Lancs), and had issue:

(1) John Barton (d. 1517) (q.v.);

(2) Henry Barton;

(3) Elizabeth Barton; married Thomas Ardern;

(4) Stephen Barton;

(5) Christopher Barton; married Joan Molyneux (d. 1528) and had issue.

He inherited the Holme Hall estate from his father in 1491.

He was living in 1491, when he was an executor of his father's will, but died before 1505. His widow was living in 1505, but her date of death is unknown.

Barton, John (d. 1517). Eldest son of Ralph Barton (b. c.1445) and his wife Johanna Radcliffe, born about 1468? Wool merchant. On 12 July 1516 he retired from the world and entered the community of the Observant Friars at Richmond (Surrey), and was there professed. He married, 1486 (settlement 6 October), Cecily (c.1473?-1506), daughter of Ralph Radcliffe, and had issue including:

(1) Andrew Barton (c.1498-1549) (q.v.).

(2) Rev. Alexander Barton (d. 1568?), clerk in holy orders; probably the man who was vicar of Coldrede (Kent), by 1540 and later rector of Hunton (Kent), and died in 1568;

(3) Leonard Barton; died young;

(4) Francis Barton; died without issue.

He inherited the Holme estate near Newark from his father and Smithills Hall in right of his wife. In 1516, he settled his property on his son Andrew and became a friar.

He died early in 1517; an inquisition post mortem was held 2 April 1517. His wife died is said to have died in 1506.

Barton, Andrew (c.1498-1549). Eldest son of John Barton (d. 1517) and his wife Cecily, daughter of Ralph Radcliffe of Smithills Hall (Lancs), born about 1498. Educated at New Inn and Middle Temple (admitted 1517) and apparently later attached to the Inner Temple, but in his will described himself as 'not learned in the law'. MP for Lancashire, 1529; JP for Lancashire (by 1529) and Nottinghamshire, 1537-43. He was named as a Commissioner for Tenths of Spiritualities in Nottinghamshire, 1535, and for the Subsidy in Lancashire, 1541 and 1543. In 1547 he received a general pardon. He married, c.1514, Anne alias Agnes (d. 1530), daughter of Sir William Stanley of Hooton (Ches.) and had issue seven sons and four daughters including*:

(1) Robert Barton (c.1524-80) (q.v.);

(2) Ralph Barton (1525-92) (q.v.);

(3) Henry Barton; died without issue and probably young;

(4) Thurston Barton (d. by 1578); married Anne (who m2, 5 August 1578 at Leigh (Lancs), Nicholas Starkie of Huntroyd), daughter of John Parr of Kempnall and Cleworth Hall (Lancs); died before 1578;

(5) Cecily Barton (fl. 1549); married, 1542 (contract 2 June), Robert Holt (fl. 1556) of Stubley (Lancs), gent., and had issue;

(6) Margaret Barton (d. by 1568); married, as his first wife, John Westby (c.1518-91) of Mowbreck Hall, Preston (Lancs); died before 1568;

(7) Dorothy Barton (b. c.1529); married, 1567?, Sir William Gerard (c.1525-81), kt., judge, MP for Chester, 1555-72, Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin (though he was not a clergyman), 1576-81, and had issue two sons and four daughters; living in 1581;

(8) Eleanor Barton (d. 1565); married, c.1554, Edward Singleton (1511-67) of Broughton Tower (Lancs), and had issue including five sons (two of whom became Jesuit priests); died 13 December 1565.

He was given the Smithills Hall estate by his father in 1516, and purchased additional manors and lands, including Ramsgreave in Blackburn (Lancs) (formerly a property of Whalley Abbey) in 1540 and the manor of Oswaldtwistle, 1548. He sold Salford Hall (Lancs) in 1540.

He died 14 March 1548/9 and was buried at Bolton (Lancs); his will was proved at Chester in 1548/9. His wife died in 1530.

* Some sources also list a daughter, Sibell Barton (d. 1584) and a son, William Barton (c.1533-88), but they are not mentioned in the pedigree which Robert Barton provided to the 1567 visitation and were almost certainly not John's children as William's will of 1588 mentions a brother Robert then living.

Barton, Robert (c.1524-80). Eldest son of Andrew Barton (c.1498-1549) and his wife Anne alias Agnes, daughter of Sir William Stanley of Hooton (Ches), born about 1524. Probably remained a Roman Catholic. JP for Lancashire, in which capacity he was responsible for the arrest of the Protestant martyr, George Marsh, in 1554. He married*, c.1568, Margery (d. 1592), daughter of Sir Piers Legh of Bradley (Lancs), and had issue:

(1) Margaret Barton; died unmarried.

He inherited Smithills Hall from his father in 1549. At his death his widow inherited some of his property for life, but her possession of it was disputed by her brother-in-law, who entered the manor, dug coal there and made gifts of trees to third parties; the matter was settled by arbitration in 1586.

He died 10 September 1580. His widow married 2nd, Sir Richard Shuttleworth (c.1541-99) of Grays Inn and Gawthorpe Hall (Lancs), and died in 1592; administration of her goods was granted 9 May 1592.

* Some sources mention an earlier marriage to a Miss Shuttleworth, but I have found no evidence for this and it is probably a confusion arising from his widow's second marriage.

Barton, Ralph (1525-92). Second son of Andrew Barton (c.1498-1549) and his wife Anne alias Agnes, daughter of Sir William Stanley of Hooton (Ches), born 1525. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1542; called 1545; reader 1559, 1568; bencher, 1569). Barrister at law. MP for Wigan, 1558 and for Nottingham, 1563, 1571; Queen's Feodary in Nottinghamshire by 1560; Queen's attorney on the North Wales Circuit, 1563; Queen's Serjeant, 1564; Recorder of Nottingham, 1564-c.1582; Member of the Council for the Marches of Wales, 1570; JP for Nottinghamshire (by 1559), Herefordshire, Shropshire (by 1579) and Lancashire (by 1587). He had probably conformed to the Protestant religion by 1560. He married, 1555 (licence 14 June), Eleanor, daughter of Sir Robert Brereton and widow of [forename unknown] Brackenbury, and had issue nine children, including:

(1) Ralph Barton (1556-1611) (q.v.);

(2) Anne Barton (d. 1622); married Sir William Fleetwood (1563-1630) of Great Missenden (Bucks), MP for Preston, 1584, Poole, 1586 and Buckinghamshire, 1604-28, and had issue seven sons and seven daughters; buried at Great Missenden, 13 March 1621/2.

He disputed his sister-in-law's possession of the family's property, and the matter was settled in 1586 by the arbitration of Lord Burghley and Sir Francis Walsingham: the Smithills and Blackburn estates were listed among his possessions in his inquisition post mortem.

He died 18 March 1591/2 and was buried at Holme (Notts); his will was proved 3 June 1592. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Barton, Ralph alias Randle (1556-1611). Elder son of Ralph Barton (1525-92) and his wife Eleanor Brereton, born 1556. Educated at Nottingham, Grays Inn (admitted 1573) and Caius College, Cambridge (admitted 1575). JP for Lancashire by 1600; High Sheriff of Lancashire, 1605-06. He married*, and had issue:

(1) Sir Thomas Barton (c.1583-1659), kt. (q.v.);

(2) Ralph Barton (d. 1645); married, 18 December 1612 at Bolton (Lancs), Elizabeth (d. 1620?), daughter of John Wood of Turton but apparently had no issue; buried at Bolton, 21 January 1644/5;

(3) Marie Barton (d. 1603); died unmarried and was buried at Bolton, 22 November 1603;

(4) Frances Barton (d. 1608); died unmarried and was buried at Bolton, 20 October 1608;

(5) Jane Barton (fl. 1615-24); married, before 1615, as his second wife, Francis Burdett (1578-1637) of Birthwaite (Yorks) and had issue four sons and two daughters.

He inherited Smithills Hall from his father in 1592. At his death he had settled his Nottinghamshire estate on his elder son and his Lancashire estate on his younger son, with remainder to his elder son.

He died at Smithills, 10 December 1611, and was buried at Bolton (Lancs) the following day; his will was proved 2 January 1611/2 and an inquisition post mortem was held 15 April 1612. His widow is probably the 'ould Mrs Barton' buried at Bolton, 3 January 1632/3.

* Some sources state he married Elizabeth, daughter of John Wood of Turton, but this was his son and namesake.

Barton, Sir Thomas (c.1583-1659), kt. Elder son of Ralph alias Randle Barton (1556-1611) and his wife Elizabeth, born about 1583. Educated at Queens' College, Cambridge (admitted 1599). JP for Lancashire (by 1616); High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, 1618-19. He was knighted at Welbeck Abbey, 13 August 1619. A commissioner for the subsidy of 1622. Governor of Blackburn Grammar School. He married, 20 October 1607 at Ossington (Notts), Christiana (1586-1623), daughter of William Cartwright of Ossington, and had issue:

(1) Grace Barton (c.1610-60); married, 1626/7 (settlement 4 January), the Hon. Henry Belasyse (1604-47), MP for Thirsk, 1625-26 and for Yorkshire, 1628, 1640-44, son of Sir Thomas Belasyse (1577-1653), 2nd bt., 1st Baron Fauconberg and 1st Viscount Fauconberg, and had issue seven sons and seven daughters; died 7 January 1659/60;

(2) An unnamed child (b. & d. 1623); buried at Bolton 12 July 1623.

He inherited Smithills Hall from his younger brother in 1645. At his death it passed to his grandson, Thomas Belasyse (d. 1700), 1st Earl Fauconberg, but was occupied by his younger brother, Sir Rowland Belasyse (d. 1699).

He died 17 July and was buried at Bolton (Lancs), 17 August 1659. His wife died following childbirth, and was buried at Bolton, 17 July 1623.