Derby. It may be feared that habits of self-restraint and severe discipline were not formed or cultivated there.

The eldest son, Thomas, was born in 1560, and on the

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Thomas shalbe my Executowre, in as full and ample mañer as his sayd brother in his lieffe tyme was, and if they both die then Henrye ffarington seconde sone unto my late sone Henry ffarington, late of Maxfylde [Macclesfield] shalbe sowlle Executowre. P'vided alwayes that my fulle intente and meanyng is that all my bequests geftes grantes e legacies to my said wieffe & to the s1 Wm Tho' & Henry ffarington shall be upon this condisshon viz. That forasmvche as the sayd Thomas ffarington being my eldest soñe heyre apparente, hath not onlye bestowed himselfe at two severall tymes, sinse the beryall of his first wieffe, in marryadge without my pryvitie e cōsente, e greatlye to my greffe e discontentm, wthout any preferm to himselfe obtayned, or yet to the obtayning of any frends thereby, his nowe wieffe being dissended of a base beggarye parrentadge, ę she a verye undvtyfull, vnqwiet, e dis୧ obedient woman, e came vnto my howse of Worden to enter to take possessyon in the same, whowte my pryvitie e cōsente, I beinge then in possessyon of the same; And for that allsoe by her pswashon, advise, e allvrem* the sayd Thomas ffarington herr sayd husbande, is of late become verye vndutyfull verye frowarde e mallisshowslye bente towardes me, e towardes his naturall mother, wtball as appereth by his letters, wch I have of his oune hande wryting, redye to shewe, goeth abowttes to bargayne e sell the inherrytanse of all those my landes whatsoever, from after my ୧ death, to the dishenherrytanse of himselfe e sutche Children, as he had by his fyrste wieffe, who was a very godlye e vertvous gentlewoman, by whom he was greatelye prefered e advansed both wth landes e goods; And for that he hath alsoe of late bargaynede solde the Pattronadge of the Vicaradge of Lancaster from himselfe, e those his sayd Children wch he had by his sayd firste wieffe, the same being pvrchased by my sayd soñe wth money wch I e Mystris Elizabeth Benson beinge Mother to his sayd fyrst wieffe bestowed vpon him towardes the pvrchasing of the same vpon his promyse that he sholde assure the same from after his death to remayne vnto those his children weh he so had by his sayde fyrste wieffe wch Assurance I was presente att the sealling e delivery of the same in the presens of dyvars others as I will testifye before God, sins wch tyme my sayd Son having gotten into his handes e possessyon the sayd Coveyanse soe by him made of the sayd ୧

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3rd of August 1581, in the retired Church of Beetham, near Kirkby Lonsdale, married his cousin Mabel, daughter and heiress of William Benson of Hugill Hall in the county of

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Patronadge of the sayd Vickradge hath by the like intyssem* of his sayd nowe wieffe solde the inherrytanse thereof to the disinherrytanse of the same his saide Children wch he had by his sayd firste wieffe. In respecte of all wch hit is now my wille intente mynde e pvrpose to that ende I doe hereby wille lymitte dispose chardge my severall Executowres every of them that if they or any of theym during theyr severall lieffes doe voluntarrylye willinglye or consentinglye pmitt tollerate or suffer the same my sayd eldeste soñe or yet the nowe wieffe of the same my sayde eldest soñe at any tyme hereafter wittinglye or willinglye to come wthin any of my howses of Worden, Northbroke, Littlewoodde, the Lower Halle in Penwortham, Shawe Halle, or the tenement in Vlneswalton heretofore in the occupation of Joseph Legh disseased or yet in any other of my landes e tenem in what place soever or yet to possesse enjoie dwell in or occupie the same or any of them or any pte or pcell of the same That then all sutch estate tytle terme interest as is to my said wieffe the said WTM, Thomas ୧ Henry ffarington or any of them lymited e appointed as towching that person only wch shall willingly suffer the same my son Thomas ffarington or his nowe wieffe to enter possess occupie or enjoie any pte or pcell of my sayd howses or landes contrary to this my intent and meaning shall cease ende e determine to all intentes e purposes. And that from thenceforth he or they whom I have appointed hereby to succeed as Executowres shall enter upon all my sayd howses lands and goods as if she he or they who shall voluntarily consent or permitt my sayd Son or his wieffe to come within any of my sayd howses lands or tenementes or to possess occupie or enjoie the same, had been actvallye deade.

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"Itm I geve e bequeath to my sayd graundeson WTM ffarington the heires males of his bodye all my evidenses, wrytings, charters, exemplyfications, rentalls, cowrte rolls, terrowers, s'veys, other my wrytinges, and to descend to the heyre male as my inherrytanse of Worden is intaylled owght to ୧ come. Itm I give e bequeath to Thomas, second Sone of my sayd Son Thomas all my Estate and terme in the parcel of lande in ffarington called the Evyes," &c.

The attesting witnesses were Roger Kirkbie, Alexander Rigby, William

Westmoreland Esq. deceased, and the young widow of John Preston of Holker Esq.1 At this time Beetham Castle was a gloomy and fortified house of the Earl of Derby, and Mr. ffarington was the steward of the Manor. The marriage was probably negotiated by him, as he alluded to it with so much satisfaction in his Will, and it is stated to have taken place in the presence of a large company about two years after the lady had lost her first husband. It appears, however, that the widow had been embarrassed by the intrusive attentions or injudicious attachment of Mr. Geoffrey Osbaldeston, the third, but second surviving, son of Edward Osbaldeston of Osbaldeston Esq., and that he laboured for some time under the agreeable hallucination that she was his wife. There had been a clandestine contract of marriage alleged to have been publicly recognized,

Clayton, Thomas ffarington, Henry ffarington, William Sompner, John Atherton, and Henry Jacsonn.

In the very comprehensive schedule annexed are named, "one greate standinge Salte wth a cover being doble gilte, one trenser salte doble gilte; ii toñes of sylver pcell gilte; one neste of bowles of sylver playne, being depe bowles; one svgar boxe of sylver playne; one dosen of sylver spones being pcell gilte; my Ring of Golde whereon is engraven my cognysanse; iii Sealles of bone garnyshed wth silver wherein is engraven my armes; a Sealle all of Sylver whereon is graven the armes of my Auncestowres; my Clocke ୧ Belle at Worden; one long Carpette of Tapestrye worke for the long Table in the Dyning Chamber; all my printed Bookes of what sorte soever; all my wrytten Bookes whatsoever all my Rentalls, S'veys, Terrowers of any Landes whatsoever, and all my Mappes, Pedigrees Pictures." The Will was proved by the Executors therein named, by virtue of a commission issued from the Consistory Court of Chester to Mr. Thurstan Breres, Vicar of Leyland, on the 5th October 1610. (Worden Evid.)

1 Whitaker's Whalley, p. 559.

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2 See p. 120, Note.

but not by the immediate relatives of the widow, and its celebration was doubtless distasteful to the Prestons, as the father of the deceased husband was living and took the charge of his infant grandson and heir apparent. The gordian knot being at length severed by a facile decree of the Ecclesiastical Court, Mrs. Preston became Mrs. ffarington.'

1 On the 26th June 1580, Geoffrey Osbaldeston of Gray's Inn Gent. "convented" Mabel Preston, widow, at Wigan before Her Majesty's Commissioners for causes ecclesiastical within the diocese of Chester in a cause of contract of matrimony which the Commissioners remitted to the Court of William, Bishop of Chester, and on the said day the widow and John Bradley of Bethom Esq. were bound in £200 for the former to appear "without anye frustratorie delaye" by her Proctor to answer such allegations as the said Geoffrey should exhibit against her. In the mean time she was not to contract herself nor suffer herself to be contracted, nor to marry nor suffer herself to be married, to any person except the said Geoffrey before the 20th of September then next following, nor pending the said suit to depart out of the diocese of Chester. At the same time Geoffrey and his father were bound in £200 not "by any forcible or unlawful means to take away or practize the conveying away of the said Mabel without her consent from any place where she shall happen to be."

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It appears from the Court proceedings that "in one of the months of June, July, August, or September 1580," the words of matrimony were spoken in the chapel of Witherslack in the parish of Bethom before credible witnesses, Geoffrey holding the right hand of Mabel in his right hand and saying, "I Geoffrey take thee Mabel for," &c. and she in like manner; Mabella munera et oscula sive mutui amoris pignora à predicto Galfr. recepit." Although the parties were now regarded by their neighbours as man and wife, John Bradley Esq. and other friends of Mabel had "impiously and malignantly" sought to prevent the solemnization of the said matrimony, Bradley saying "in threatnyng wyse yt yf the said Geoffrey and Mabel dyd marrye they sholde never haue peniworth of her goods and yf eu) she spake to hym hee wolde take her for the falseste woman livinge." Mabel having been married "under compulsion" of Geoffrey, the Court on the 5th May 1581 pronounced sentence of dissolution "of the contract." On 26th July

Thomas ffarington was a gentleman of some accomplishments and learning, and seems especially to have cultivated a taste for music and flowers- probably for painting and poetry; and a mind could scarcely be abandoned altogether to dissipation which sought recreation in the fine arts, and indulged in contemplating the works of nature and the productions of genius. His portrait represents him not as a

1581 Geoffrey appeared before the Ecclesiastical Commissioners at Preston and cancelled all bonds and renounced his claim to Mabel, and declared it to be "lawful for her to marry whom she liked, notwithstanding his former allegations to the contrary." The sentence of the Commissioners, under their hands and seal, was pronounced on the same day by Henry Earl of Derby K.G., William, Lord Bishop of Chester, Sir Richard Sherburne, Sir John Radcliffe, Knights, Thomas Eccleston, Esq., Robert Parkinson, Commissary of Richmond, and John Caldwall M.A., seven of the Queen's Commissioners for causes ecclesiastical within the diocese of Chester, who declared that "Geoffrey Osbaldeston of Gray's Inn, second son of Edward Osbaldeston of Osbaldeston Esq., did, in his libel, allege a contract matrimonial made in form of law between him and Mabel, late wife of John Preston of Holker Gent. deceased," but the said Geoffrey having been called to prove the contract "whiche hee neyther haith doone nor can doo," as he himself confessed before the Commissioners at Preston, they "deliver and set free and at libertye the said Mabel to marry as she shall please without suit, trouble, or vexation from the said Geoffrey." The marriage of Thomas ffarington and Mabel Preston, on Thursday 3rd August 1581, was solemnized by Sir Henry Porter, Curate of Lancaster, in the presence of William ffarington, John Bradley, Thomas Talbot, Henry ffarington, Myles Aspinall, Henry ffeilden, and thirteen others, who certified the same under their hand; and the certificate of the marriage was exhibited at Lancaster 12th October 1595 to Henry Porter, Clerk, and by him deposed to before Nicholas Banastre, Jo. Braddyll, and Raufe Worseley, Commissioners. (Worden Evid.)

Geoffrey Osbaldeston was afterwards knighted, became Justice of the Common Pleas, and died unmarried in 1590. (See p. 166, Note.) His nephew, Sir Edward Osbaldeston, afterwards married Mary, daughter of Henry ffarington of Hutton Grange Esq. (Lanc. Visit. 1613.)