This is a short paper relating to the pedigree of the Briercliffe's of Briercliffe, an old Lancashire yeoman family. The pedigree itself has been compiled by two members of the family who are members of our Society. Except for one incident the history of the family does not lend itself to picturesque treatment, but the pedigree is of interest to genealogists as one of the very few in any class of society to go back so far, and as being almost, if not quite, unique in the case of a family of yeoman rank. The extent of our knowledge of the Briercliffes is due to two or three happy accidents. One of these accidents is that in the seventeenth century a Lancashire gentleman, Christopher Towneley,was an industrious antiquary and had a habit of copying all deeds and family papers that he could lay hands on. Towneley copied twelve deeds in the possession of his neighbour Lawrence Briercliffe, of Burwains, and his transcripts are included in the Towneley MSS., an important series of transcripts,whose value is attested on almost every page of the Victoria County History. Another of these accidents is that Briercliffe was part of the Lacy estate, and of that estate several early and very detailed inquests were made; and still another accident is that the Briercliffe's were copyholders as well as freeholders within the honor of Clitheroe, and that honor possesses a remarkably full and complete set of records, records from which, without the assistance from any other source, pedigrees can be traced with certainty for four hundred years. As in most pedigrees going back to the middle ages there are in the Briercliffe pedigree a few weak links, but, following the practice that is usual in the case of pedigrees of much greater families, the continuous ownership of the same land has been taken as prima facie evidence of descent. And these weak links are remarkably few, and amount only to a doubt whether a certain Briercliffe was the son or grandson, or perhaps nephew, of his predecessor. The freehold estate of the family came to be known as Burwains, but that name does not occur in the early records. The family name, spelled Brercliffe or Brerecliffe in the early records, has, like the name of the township, become in modern times Briercliffe. Some branches of the family spell it Britcliffe, a spelling based on an old pronunciation. Briercliffe is in one of the bleakest parts of Lancashire, in the Pennine range, and in the early days a large part of its surface was waste. The cultivated or occupied parts were gradually increased by inclosure, but at all times the riches of the yeomen must have consisted in the fewness of their wants, for the productiveness of the soil was not great. The breed of men was, however, good, and for the most part the Briercliffe's were very long lived, and the average length of the generations shown in the pedigree is much above the normal, so much so as to suggest that in the period when exact dates are unobtainable a generation or two may have been missed. In the days before surnames were permanent there are several persons described as "of Brerecliffe " who may or may not all be of one family, but in the line with which we are dealing the occupation of the same property until the time of permanent surnames shows the identity of the family. The earliest of the line, Robert of Brerecliffe, is but a name as we know nothing of him save that he had land in Briercliffe and a son. This knowledge we owe to one of those family differences which are unpleasant at the time, but a godsend to the genealogist. In 1284 and 1285 there was an action at law in which his married great grandchild was plaintiff and the property in dispute had belonged to Robert, the great grandfather. Now a married great grandchild in 1284 implies that Robert was born probably in the last quarter of the twelfth century, and so we may safely date Robert of Briercliffe as being an owner in the early days of the thirteenth century if not a little earlier. For Robert's son Michael of Brerecliffe we have much more definite evidence. He occurs in the inq. p.m. of Edmund de Lacy taken in 1258 as holding three bovates or oxgangs of land and twelve acres in fee in Briercliffe and rendering 21s. yearly for all service, and he also had twelve acres of rodeland at 12d. per acre. The freehold estate was Burwains, the rodeland, i.e., reclaimed land, was Herd House, near Burwains, and the land which Michael of Brercliffe granted away in such a manner as to cause the lawsuit of 1284 was Windle House. Briercliffe is in a district where most of the land is copyhold, but it will be noticed that Michael's holding was in fee, that is freehold. Dr. Farrer says these small freeholds were created because it was inconvenient to have only bondmen or villeins - that is men of servile status - upon these demesne manors, and he suggests that some of the freeholders were descended from thegns who had been in possession before the Conquest. In one of the deeds transcribed by Towneley this Michael and his son Michael occur as witnesses. The deed is undated, but belongs to the middle of the thirteenth century. Besides this son Michael there was probably another son Matthew, called Mokocke and Yackocks, of Briercliffe. In 1277 Matthew and some neighbours were prosecuted by Christiana of Walesden for an assault. There is no record of Matthew's holding, but his son held the land that Michael had held, and doubtless it was also held by the intermediate generation. Matthew appears to have been succeeded by a son Michael , who died before 1311 and was succeeded by a brother Robert of Brerecliffe, who obtained releases from various relations of all right they had in the lands of Michael. Obviously Robert was in actual possession when these grants were made. At the inquest taken in 1311 of the lands of Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, it is stated that Robert, son of Mokock of Brerecliffe, held in Briercliffe sixty- three acres of land in fee and renders 21s. yearly, both the acreage and the rent agreeing precisely with that in the 1258 inquest. One of the deeds preserved by Towneley is a grant from Robert, son of Yakocks (another form of Matthew), of land in the Holts, near Annot Cross. This is dated 1313. Annot Cross is not, so far as I can find, mentioned by Mr. Taylor in his book on crosses. The Holts is presumably the same place as Holthill, in Briercliffe. In 1337 Robert of Brercliffe granted to his son Robert all his lands in Briercliffe rendering to the lord of the fee 20s. of silver. This son did not hold the property long, as in 1342 he granted it all to his son Robert and his son's wife Emery (Almerica) with remainder to his other sons Richard and John, without apparently retaining a life interest in it. This was probably on the occasion of his son's marriage. The son Robert has left no other record evidence of his existence, but his widow was living in 1409, when she granted to William Parker all the messuages, lands, &c., which she had from Robert of Brerecliffe the elder. The next recorded owner of the Briercliffe property was Robert of Briercliffe, who was perhaps a son of Robert and Emery, or perhaps a grandson or nephew. He was a man of at least middle age when first we hear of him in 1424, and may have been in possession for some years. One of the charters preserved by Towneley is a bond or mortgage in English which has some curious words and is also noteworthy as giving the conventional "de" of the charter-Latin in English, thus illustrating the fact that when our ancestors spoke English they spoke English and not a mixture of English and Latin, such as the antiquaries have produced in their translations of the Latin of the charters and records. In 1425 Lawrence was sued for 9s. 6d. which he had wrongfully detained from the executors of the will of Adam of the Ollerhead. In 1424 Lawrence granted to his son Thomas of Briercliffe a messuage and thirty-four acres in Briercliffe, which the son regranted in 1429 to William of Briercliffe the elder, probably one of those make-believe grants which our ancestors used to make with a view to the resettlement of an estate. After this Thomas the line of descent is not so clear as at an earlier date when the deeds copied by Towneley are available, or at a later date when the Clitheroe Court Rolls begin. Lawrence of Briercliffe, who occurs in a list of tenants in 1443, was probably the son and successor of Thomas. The next inheritor was Robert Brearcliffe of Briercliffe, who was one of the jurors in the halmote court of the manor of Ightenhill in 1496 and on many subsequent occasions. Besides the freehold estate of Burwains Robert had copyhold property in Briercliffe, the rent of which was 9s. 10d., and this, or a portion of it, he surrendered in 1523-4 to the use of Lawrence Brearcliffe. This copyhold of seventeen acres passed from father to son, the surrenders being recorded in the court rolls, which prove the succeeding generations for the next two hundred years. This son Lawrence, who was, according to his own statement, born about 1490, held at least twice the office of Grave of Ightenhill, the most considerable office in the manorial hierarchy, an office for which only the holders of the more important estates were eligible, these estates being called greaveships. In 1561 he surrendered seventeen acres of copyhold to his son, the rent being 5s. 8d. This son, Robert, was, like his father and grandfather, a busy man in the manorial courts. In 1591 he was Grave, but evidently had not then the property necessary, as he is stated to be elected with the assistance of the lands of two neighbours. He shared in the distribution of the wastes and commons which were allotted to all the freeholders and copyholders in 1594. By his first marriage he was childless, but when near seventy he married again and had a family. When he died an inq. p.m. was taken, and it was found that his freehold estate of Burwains was twenty-four acres of land and one acre of wood, held in free socage by fealty and a yearly rent of 7s. 4d., so that in the course of time the family estate had become smaller. The copyhold estate was found in the manorial inq. to be seventeen acres and a share of the commons. This Robert is the first of the family for whom the usual sources of information, registers, and wills are available, so that the Briercliffe's had twelve recorded generations before the beginning of parish registers, the source of most of our genealogy. Robert had two sons, Lawrence of Burwains and Robert of Hollingreave. The former lived almost throughout the seventeenth century, dying at the age of ninety-five in 1699. One of his works still exists, for in 1642 he rebuilt Burwains, and placed a date-stone with his initials. It was in the possession of this Lawrence that Christopher Towneley found the deeds he copied. He owned property at Earby and Haigh, in the parish of Thornton, near Skipton, and a fulling mill at Burnley. Many years before his death he had surrendered copyhold property to his son, and at Burwains he was succeeded by a great grandson, who was an infant. This Robert Briercliffe of Burwains was a spendthrift for whom the family had been waiting for fifteen generations. He, the only Briercliffe of Burwains who is described in a deed as "gentleman", died in Lancaster Castle, a prisoner for debt. His son, also Robert, succeeded to an encumbered estate, and soon after he came of age sold all his land at Briercliffe, both freehold and copyhold, and went to live in Yorkshire. But it was in Lancashire that he met his death - a violent one - in 1763. His descendants lived in Yorkshire for several generations. The younger brother of the rebuilder of Burwains was the founder of a branch of the family that has endured to this day and is well represented in our Society. This brother was Robert Brercliffe of Bendhill and Hollingreave in Briercliffe. He died in 1663, and Hollingreave, a copyhold of thirteen and a half acres, passed to his son Robert who died in 1709. His son Lawrence inherited Hollingreave when he came of age, and sold it about 1736, having settled at Midhope, in Gisburn parish, where he and his sons prospered as yeomen. His grandchildren settled in Lancashire, and his descendants have since lived mostly in the neighbourhood of Bolton, following the peaceful professions or engaged in manufacturing and doing their share of public work. And when the call came the men of the younger generation put on one side their peaceful avocations and rushed to the war, where they have earned some distinctions and, alas, have made in one case the supreme sacrifice. In the course of centuries several Briercliffe families have existed whose precise connection with the main stem is not known. Chief among these was the family of Briercliffe of Halifax, to which belonged John Briercliffe, the famous antiquary. His son married the sister of Dr. John Byrom, and so began a connection with Manchester. The last of this family lies in the cathedral, but the memory of his name is kept green by the Brearcliffe Charity, which distributes money to housekeepers, that is householders, of Manchester. Burwains, the old home of the family, is a large house for the period, 1642, when it was rebuilt. It is surrounded by a wall, and, unlike most yeoman's houses, is some distance from the farm buildings. There are several yew trees in the enclosure. In the north-west angle is a small room which is supposed to have been the chapel. The house has some plaster mouldings of the kind popular in the seventeenth century, including two coats of arms with charges thereon that are beyond my capacity to describe. There were at Burwains some alleged fonts, one of which is a stoup for holy water and the other a large kitchen mortar of fifteenth century date; the house also contains the Burwains charm or witchstone, which had been there from time beyond the memory of man, and also a rapier made at Solingen by Stetius Keuller, called locally Brerecliffe's sword. There was also an ancient horizontal stone sundial. All these family relics are now in the possession of Mr. T. H. Briercliffe. ________________

II. - PEDIGREES.
COMPILED BY R. D. & T. H. BRIERCLIFFE. ________

PEDIGREE A.
BRIERCLIFFE OF BRIERCLIFFE (BURWAINS). _____

ROBERT OF BRIERCLIFFE
is no contemporary evidence for his existence, but he is mentioned in a law suit in 1285, as father of Michael and as having freehold land in Briercliffe which was then in dispute. His birth date would probably be 1170 or a few years earlier or later. The grant of the freehold in Briercliffe was probably contemporary with that to Oswald Brun made by Robert de Lacy, who died in 1193, the land in that case being a half carucate, and the rent 17s. (Whittaker's Whalley, ii. 222, quoting Harl, MS. 2074, f.55b.)
Issue :-

MICHAEL, see below.

MICHAEL OF BRIERCLIFFE.
His parentage is stated in the pleadings of the lawsuit of 1285 (app. A). In 1258 in the Edmund de Lacy extent it is recorded that "Michael de Brereclive holds three bovates of land and twelve acres, and renders 21s.yearly for all service," his name being in the list of those holding by charter. (Farrer's Lancashire Inquests, i., 214.) He also held twelve acres of rodeland (reclaimed waste) in Briercliffe, at 12d. per acre, total rent 12s. a year. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, ii. xiv.). According to the pleadings in the lawsuit of 1285 he had held and granted away the land then in dispute, namely a freehold messuage and twenty-four acres in Briercliffe. The freehold, three bovates, and twelve acres have been identified as Burwains, the rodeland, as Herd House, near Burwains, and the property granted away as Windle House. Michael and his son Michael appear as witnesses to a charter made by Michael, son of Award Brun. (App. S.)
Probable issue :-
MICHAEL, witness to an undated charter. (App. S.)
MATTHEW, see below.
ANABEL, who is named in the lawsuit of 1284-5 as then deceased, and as the daughter of Michael. Her husband's name is not given, but she had a daughter and heiress, Maud (Matilda), wife of Henry of Shelf. (daughter). As the lawsuit was evidently a family dispute, it is probable that there was another daughter, who was wife of Henry of Windle, and mother of Maud (Matilda), wife, at the time of the lawsuit, of John, son of Randal of Fennycotes. In 1285, this Maud, had two daughters living, Alice and Agnes. The latter may be the Agnes, daughter of Richard of Barnside, who quitclaimed Robert of Briercliffe (App. B.), and, if the surmise is correct, Richard would be the previous husband of Maud.
ADAM of Briercliffe, who occurs as having been enfeoffed by Henry of Shelf of the lands in dispute in 1285, and having enfeoffed Richard, son of Richard the Greave, in the same lands. He is probably the Adam of Brerecliffe, the tailor, whose two sons, Adam and John, surrendered all rights in the lands of Robert of Briercliffe in 1333. (App. E.)

MATTHEW OF BRIERCLIFFE.
His parentage is inferred from the apparent inheritance of land, but it is possible that the mention of "Michael," son of Michael, is a mistake, either of the original scribe, or of Towneley, for "Matthew." The only mention of him in his lifetime is in De Banco Roll, No. 21, m. 28d. In the year 1277 (5 Edward I.) Christina of Walesdon sued Richard of Wynhull, Robert his brother, Henry of Monkeshall, Henry Dandyson, Alice of Wynhull, and Matthew of Brereclyf for assault. His name usually occurs in the colloquial form of Mokok and Yackok.
Issue:-
MICHAEL of Briercliffe. Was the son and probably successor of Matthew. All the mentions are posthumous. He died without male heirs. His daughter Ilbota quitclaimed land in Briercliffe to Robert. (App. D.)
ROBERT of Briercliffe, see below.
Probably also :-
JOHN, son of Mocock, who paid 5s. for entry to one messuage and 15 acres of land in Briercliffe in 1323, was perhaps another son, and may be the same as John, son of Mocok, who was fined the following year for cutting vert in Briercliffe (Perquisites of the halmote of Ightenhill, in Lancashire Court Rolls, 1323-4. pp. 29,34,Rec. Soc.). Possibly the John, son of Matthew, who was in 1311 a free tenant in Cliviger, having 20 acres, and paying 5s. 4d. and a pair of gloves worth 1d. (Harland's Three Lancashire Documents, De Lacy Inq., p. 12.) This may have been another man, as the other tenants in Cliviger included Dik, son of Mocock of Brerecroft, which is thought to be an error for Brerecroft = Barcroft.
THOMAS of Briercliffe, occurs in the extent of the manor of Colne, dated 1323 as a juror and as holding nineteen acres of rodland, and paying yearly 6s. 4d. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, i. 482,483.) Had a messuage and six acres in the manor of Colne, and paid 12s. for entry in 1323, and was amerced 2d. for unjust detention. (Lancashire Court Rolls, pp. 2, 3; Rec. Soc. xli.). Perhaps ancestor of the Briercliffe's who occur as of Colne a century later.

ROBERT OF BRIERCLIFFE
Probably succeeded his brother Michael, and was in possession of the freehold at Briercliffe in 1311 as appears by the inquisition post mortem of Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, taken 26th February, 1311: " In Brercliff, Robert, son of Mocock of Brercliff held of the said Earl of Lincoln there 63 acres of land in fee, and renders 21s. at the same term (i.e., the feast of St. Giles). (Harland's Three Lancashire Documents, Chet. Soc., 14; Farrer's Lancashire Inquests, ii. 6-7, in which the acreage is given as 58.) He either bought up the claims of others of the family, or found it desirable to obtain from them the releases or quitclaims of their rights in the property which had been Michael's. This include quitclaims from Agnes, daughter of Richard of Barnside (undated); Ilbota, daughter of Michael of Briercliffe (undated) and from Adam, son of Adam of Brerecliffe, the tailor, and John, his brother (1333). (App. B. D. E.) In 1335 he granted a yearly rent of 12d. for Mustiagh (Mustyhalgh) in Brerecliffe (App. R.), to Gilbert of the Legh, ancestor of the Towneley's of Towneley, and in 1337 granted his lands in Briercliffe to his son (App. F.). He paid2s. 6d. in the subsidy of 1332, no higher subsidy being paid in the township (Rec. Soc., xxxi., p. 30).
Issue :-
ROBERT, see below.

ROBERT OF BRIERCLIFFE
Had a grant from his father of the messuages and lands in Briercliffe in 1337. (App. F.) In 1340 he paid 2s. for two beasts wintering at Higham, also 2s. for two beasts in Feliclose and Royle. (D. of L, surveys, 9n. 74 n. 6.) In 1342-3 by deed he granted his estate in Briercliffe to his son Robert, with an entail, but apparently reserved no life interest. (App. G.) He was probably elderly at the time.
Issue :-
ROBERT, see below.
RICHARD, named in the entail created 1342-3, being next in remainder to Robert. (App. G.)
JOHN, named in the entail of 1342-3 as next in remainder to Richard. (App. G.)

ROBERT OF BRIERCLIFFE
Was the grantee of the lands in Briercliffe from his father in 1342-3, probably on his marriage. (App. G.) He married Almerica, who is named as wife of Robert in the grant of 1342-3, and survived for many years, making on 13th January, 1408-9, a grant to William Parker of messuages, lands, &c., which she had of the gift of Robert of Brerecliffe the elder. (App. K.) The occurrence of a grant (App.H0 by Henry Mollyng of Kelm, to John of Chesterfield, of Blyth, of lands in Notyheo (Nornay ? in Notts.) in the deed chest at Burwains suggests that it came in by marriage, and there is a possibility that Almerica, whose name in English is Emery, was one of the family of Chesterfield.
Issue :-
ROBERT, see below.

ROBERT OF BRIERCLIFFE
The deed of 1408-9 (App. K) mentions "Robert of Brerecliffe the elder," who may be Emery's father-in-law, but is more likely to have been her husband, in which case a son Robert is probable. Of him, or indeed any other Briercliffes of Briercliffe, there are no records until 1423-4.
Probable issue :-
LAWRENCE, see below.
WILLIAM, who was a witness to the grant from Lawrence to Thomas of Briercliffe in 1424 (App. M) and to whom in 1429 Thomas of Briercliffe granted his lands, William then being described as "the elder." (app. N.) A lease by Robert Walshaw to Miles Towneley of a rent arising from lands in Briercliffe, called Blackhouse, then in occupation of William, James, and the wife of John Briercliffe, is dated 1448. (App. O.) Possibly these were the sons of the elder William, and one of them may be ancestor of the later Briercliffes of Blackhouse.
JOHN, presented at the halmote of Ightenhill 8th February, 1424-5, for a fray with Richard Hanson, who was presented for a fray upon John of the Brereclif and his son Richard. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, ii. 1.)

LAWRENCE OF BRIERCLIFFE
His exact relationship with Robert and Emery is not known, but the dates suggest that he was a grandson. The earliest mention of him is in a charter, in English, dated 31st January, 1423-4, in which Richard of Ridehalgh undertakes to pay Lawrence of Brerecliffe 4d. per year. (App. J.) On 8th February, 1424-5, he was a juror at the halmote of the manor of Ightenhill, and at a halmote of the same manor, held on 25th September, 1425, he was sued by the executors of Adam of the Ollerhead (Holrenhead) for 9s. 6d., which he had wrongfully detained. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, ii,8.) On 24th December, 1424, he granted to his son Thomas a messuage and thirty-four acres of land in Briercliffe, and he was probably dead when his son regranted the land in 1429. (App. M, N.)
Issue:-
THOMAS, see below.

THOMAS OF BRIERCLIFFE
In 1424 his father granted him a messuage and thirty-four acres in Briercliffe, which on 24th June,1429, he granted to William of Brerecliffe the elder. (App. M, N.) This may have been a grant in connection with a settlement of the estate. If it was an actual grant it suggests that the later Briercliffes were descended from William and not from Thomas. It is the latest of the Burwains deeds copied by Towneley. No further mention of him is found.
Probable issue:-
LAWRENCE of Briercliffe.

LAWRENCE OF BRIERCLIFFE
His parentage is not proved but if he was not the son of Thomas he would most likely be the son of William the grantee of 1429, who was probably a son or grandson of Robert and Emery. His only occurrence in the records is in a list of tenants and freeholders of the honor of Clitheroe in 1443. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, i. 505.)
Probable issue:-
ROBERT BRERECLIFFE, see below.

ROBERT BRERECLIFFE OF BRIERCLIFFE.
Probably son of Lawrence. He appears in the court rolls of the halmote of the manor of Ightenhill as a juror in 1496, 1507, 1508 (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, ii. 10,18,22), as a feoffee in 1514 and 1518 (ibid., 39, 50), and at the halmote held on 16th March, 1523-4,John Smyth, greave of Ightenhill, surrendered a messuage and 17 acres of land lying in Briercliffe which Robert Brereclyff and John Yngham delivered to him, to the use of Lawrence Brereclyf and Peter Ormerod. Margaret, wife of the said Robert, forbad fine, for her dower. Lawrence and Peter find surety, Richard Halstead; and were admitted on fine of 5s.4d. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, ii. 65.) In the 1527 list of rents of copyhold of old fines, occurs "Robert Brereclyf, 9s.10d." (ibid., 382.) Married Margaret, who was living and had her dower reserved at the surrender of 1523-4.
Issue:-
LAWRENCE, see below.
JOHN, possibly another son of Robert, was of Musbury, where he had for a term of years the copyhold estate of the Duckworths by indenture dated 20th September, 1538, and again on 20th February, 1544-5, the holding consisting of a messuage, with appurtenances, and sixty acres of land, yearly rent 33s. 4d. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, iil. 57, 133); and was admitted at halmotes of the manor of Accrington, 15th November, 1538, and 21st April, 1545. John Brerecliffe, of Musbury, was amerced in 1543, 1545, 1546, for trespassing with beasts upon Haslingden Common without any rights (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, iii. 123, 134,137); and in 1548 he and another man were fined 6s. 8d. for making a fray together in Haslingden parish churchyard, to the evil example of all the King's subjects there. In the Duchy of Lancaster pleadings (Elizabeth, v. 65, w. 6) there is the following document, which throws some light on his family concerns: "To Sir Ambrose Cave, Knt., Privy Councillor, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancashire. Complaint by Thomas Warbartan, guardian and nearest friend of Robert, James, Isabel, and Agnes Brereclyff, yet being within the age of 21 years, children of John Brereclyffe, deceased; that one John Duckworth, of Musbury, co. Lancs., yeoman, was seised in his demesne, as of fee, according to the custom of the manor of Accrington, and in one messuage, 60 acres of arable land, meadow and pasture of the yearly rent of 33s. in Musbury and on payment of £22 by the said John Brereclyffe, John Duckworth at a halmote of the manor of Accrington held 21st April, 36 Henry VIII, caused Richard Heype, then grave of Rossindale to surrender to the late King the said premises which Peter Ormerode, John Nottall and John Rattlyfe at the special request of Duckworth and Joan his wife had before delivered to the said Heype, to the use of Christopher Nottall, son and heir apparent of John Nottall, Edward Taylor, of Musbury, John Ormerodd the younger, and John Woodroffe to hold to said Christopher Nottall and his heirs to the use expressed in Indentures made in 36 Henry VIII., that is, that said Christopher Nottall should stand seised of a moiety of the said premises and the lands in the tenure of John Brereclyffe and a parcel of land in Musbury called the Owetefield and another called the Parocke to the use of the said John Brereclyffe his heirs and assigns for and during the term of 38 years and at the end of that term to remain to the said John Duckworth and his issue. By force whereof John Brereclyffe entered into the moiety of the said premises aforesaid and took the issues and profits thereof and died intestate, after whose death one (blank) wife of the said John B. as administratrix of the said John entered into the same and after made her will and testament bequeathing to Robert, James, Isabel, and Agnes Brereclyffe the said moiety of the premises and made complainant to her executor, and being her brother, nominated him guardian of the said children and of the lands to their use at their lawful ages. Afterwards, about 10 years ago the said wife to John Brereclyffe died at Musbury and complainant entered into the premises and took the profits thereof to the use of the said children. But now the Indenture declaring the use of the premises aforesaid has come into the hands of Ralph Duckworth, son and heir of John Duckworth, decd., and he has wrongfully entered into the said premises, and taken the same to his own use and refuses to give up the same or the said Indenture wherefore complainant desires that Ralph Duckworth may be required to appear in the Court of the Duchy Chamber to answer the above. "Answer of Ralph Duckworth confirming all complainant alleges as to the surr. of the premises and the Indentures made and bequests in the last will of the wife of John Brereclyffe, but asserting that since on payment of £20 the said complainant at a court held in Accrington caused the said premises belonging to Robert, James, Isabel, and Agnes to be assured to said Ralph and heirs for ever, whereupon he entered into the same. He denies holding or retaining any deed or that he wrongfully entered the said premises." (No date, but Cave was Chancellor of the Duchy from 1558 to his death in 1568.)

LAWRENCE BRERECLIFFE OF BRIERCLIFFE
Born in 1490, as appears by his evidence in the case re the title to lands of Clitheroe Castle, being in 1548-9 aged 58 and a tenant of the King (Fishwicks Duchy Pleadings). In the undated "old greave book for the manor of Ightenhill" (apparently circa 1547), he is entered "Brerecliffe. Lawrence Brerecliffe, 9s. 10d." So his copyhold was exactly the same as that of Robert in 1527. From 1509 to 1562 he appears frequently in the court rolls, being a feoffee or surety in many surrenders. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, ii. 24, 50, 52, &c.) On 16th. March, 1523-4, he was admitted to a messuage and 17 acres of land in Briercliffe on fine of 5s. 4d., surrendered by Robert, presumably his father (ibid., 69),and in 1525 and 1529 was greave of Ightenhill (ibid. 73, 86). At the halmote of 16th. May, 1561, Lawrence Brereclyff, of Brereclyff, senior, and Peter Ormerod, of Ormerod, at the request of the said Lawrence, surrendered a messuage, buildings, and 17 acres of land in Brereclyff to the use of Robert, son of the said Lawrence. This was entered at the halmote of 3rd June, 1562,and it is probable that the father had died between the two dates. A reasonable dower was reserved to Mary, wife of Lawrence. The fine was 5s. 8d. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, ii. 317.) Marr. Mary
. Issue:
ROBERT, see below.
JOHN, of Whitehead, in Roughley Booth, Pendle Forest. Mentioned as son of Lawrence in 1555 (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, iii. 181), and in 1577 admitted at the halmote of Ightenhill to land at Whitehead called the Ynghead and Crossfield, rent 3s. 4d. (Roll, 60), and in 1582 the same property was leased to him, this time for a term of 31 years, rent 3s. 4d. to the king and 10s. to Christopher Bawdwene (Roll 65). In 1594 he was presented for hunting hares with greyhounds (Roll, 76), a privilege reserved for holders of land of at least 40s. per annum. In 1601 he was one of the men fined for not attending the Greave of Pendle in executing a warrant (Roll 84). He was named in his brother's deed of 12th. January, 1613-4, as next in remainder after the sons of Robert. Bur. at Colne, 11th. November, 1615. His wife was bur. at Colne 19th August, 1609, as "uxor."

ROBERT BRIERCLIFFE OF BURWAINS.
The earliest mention of him is in the court rolls for 1555, when he is described as Robert Brerecliff, son and heir apparent to Lawrence Brerecliff of Brerecliff, in a surrender as foeffee in a Walton family settlement. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, iii. 181.) He occurs as foeffee also in 1558-9 (ibid., ii. 283,288), and in 1559 he is styled Robert Brereclyff of Burwyns. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, ii. 296.) This is the first mention of Burwains in the court rolls. In 1562 he was admitted to land surrendered by his father (ibid., ii. 317). For many years he was a juror at the halmote court of Ightenhill (Rolls 51, 52, 56, 58, 61, 64, 67, 81, 83, 85, 86). On 14th May, 1591, he was elected Greave of Ightenhill with the help of the lands of Barnard Whitwham and Robert Robinson (Roll 73). In 1594, at the halmote of 5th April he was granted 648 parts of all wastes and commons out of 7,913 parts lying in Brerecliffe, to him and his heirs for ever, according to the customs of the manor, rent 7½d. (Roll 76). In the decree for the freeholders and copyholders within the manor of Ightenhill in the same year the details are given: Robert Breercliffe, freeholder in Breercliffe, was granted 23 acres, 2 rood, 0 far. pts., ould rent, 7s. 10d., new rent 1¾d., far. pts. 376. Robert Breercliffe, copyholder in Breercliffe, was granted 17 ac. 0 rd. 0 far. pts. ould rent, 5s. 8d., new rent, 5¾d., far. pts. 272 (Farrer, 11. 400). In 1602/3 he was fined for not doing suit at the halmote, and for not appearing at the halmote of Accrington at a trial upon the admonition of John Whitichar, of Miclehurst (Roll 85). In 1604/5, 1606/7, 1608/9, 1610, 1610/11, 1612/3, 1613, 1615/6, he was fined for not attending the halmote (Rolls 87, 89, 92, 93, 95, 96, 98). On 25th July,1611, and again in November, 1614, and March 1614-5, he was presented for absence, but not fined, the word "infirmus" being against the entry (Roll 93,97,98). At the halmote of 24th October, 1616, he was again presented for non-attendance. Against the record of the presentment is written "mortuus est" (Roll 99), which was probably added at the next court, as he was certainly not dead at that date. Died 10th April, 1617, and was buried at Burnley the following day. There was an inquisition post mortem taken as follows:- "Inquisition taken at Bolton, 12th May, 15 James (1617), before Edward Rigby, esq., Escheator, after the death of Robert Brearcliffe, yeoman, by the oath of Thomas Gudlawe, of Aspull, (and others), who say that long before his death he was seised in fee of 1 messuage, 1 garden, 24 acres of land meadow and pasture, and 1 acre of wood, with the appurtenances in Brearcliffe called Burwaines. He being so seised by deed dated 12th Jan., 11 James (1613-4), granted and confirmed to Geoffrey Shackleton and Joseph Sutcliffe the messuage and other premises in Brearcliffe, to the uses of the said deed, and in a certain schedule thereto annexed, specified and declared, the tenor whereof is as follows (here the deed is set out in full). The said Robert Brearcliffe, for many good causes and cons., but principally for the better advancement and support of Lawrence, Robert, John, Anne, and Jane Brearcliffe, his children, granted to the said Geoffrey Shackleton, son and heir of Richard Shackleton of Trauden, yeoman, and the said Joseph Sutcliffe, son and heir of Robert Sutcliffe, of Lee, in the county of York, yeoman, 1 capital messuage called Burwaynes and all other the buildings and hereditaments whatsoever lying and being in Brearcliffe, now in his own tenure, and all moors, wastes, and commons within the township of Brearcliffe afsd. to the said premises belonging, being in Brearcliffe or elsewhere in the county of Lancaster. To hold to the said Geoffrey Shackleton and Joseph Sutcliffe and their heirs for ever to the uses declared in a certain schedule to the said deed annexed, holding of the chief lords of that fee by the rent and service thereof due and accustomed. (Warranty clause.) (Here follows the schedule set out in English, the tenor whereof is as follows: That the said Geoffrey and John (the feoffees) and their heirs, and the survivor of them and his heirs should stand seised of all the said premises to the use of the said Robert Brearcliffe and his assigns for life without impeachment of waste and, after his decease, them as to one third part of the said premises to the use of Grace, wife of the said R. B., for the education and maintenance of the above named children of the said Robert, until such time as the said Lawrence (son of the said Robert) should attain the age of 21 years, if the said Grace did so long live and keep herself unmarried and chaste. The remainder as well as the said two parts of the said premises after the death, marriage, or miscarriage of the said Grace, as also the said third part of the said messuage and other premises before by these presents limited to the said Grace from and immediately after her decease to the use of the said Lawrence Brearcliffe and his heirs male, with remainder to the use of Robert B. (another son of the said R. B.) and his heirs male, with remainder to the use of John B. (another son of the said Robert, the father), and his heirs male, with remainder to the use of the heirs male of the said R. B., the grantor named in the writ, with remainder to the use of John Brearcliffe, brother of the said Robert (named in the writ) and his heirs male, with remainder to the use of the right heirs of the said Robert (named in the writ) for ever. Provided always that, if the said Grace should happen to die, marry, or miscarry before the said Lawrence or any other son of the said Robert who should inherit the said lands should accomplish the age of 21 years, that then the foeffees and their heirs immediately after such death, marriage, or miscarriage, should stand seised of the said two parts of the said messuage, &c. (before limited to the said Grace) to the use of such executor or executors as the said Robert should nominate by his last will in writing, and the said executor or executors should, out of the issues and profits of the said two parts, educate and bring up the above mentioned children until the said Law. B. or any other son of the said Robert who should inherit his lands, should attain the age of 21 years; anything before said to the contrary notwithstanding. Which said foeffment was executed in due form of law, by virtue whereof and by force of the Statute of Uses R. B. was seised of the messuage and other the premises afsd. as of freehold for life, with remainders thereof as afsd., and he afterwards died so seised. The messuage and other the premises in Brearcliffe are held of the King, as of his manor of Ightonhill, in free charge socage by fealty and the yearly rent of7s. 4d. to be paid yearly at the feast of St. Giles the Abbot and are worth per ann. (clear) 10s. "Robert Brearcliffe died April 10 last past; Grace, late his wife, is yet alive at Brearcliffe; Lawrence Brearcliffe is his son and next heir, and is aged at the time of taking this Inquisition 11 years 5 months and 7 days. (Vol. xxi. No. 22. 12th May, 1617.)" Robert married first a person whose name is unknown, as the record of her burial at Burnley on 5th November, 1602, is "uxor Robert Brearcliffe," and by her he had no surviving issue. He married secondly at Burnley, 23rd May, 1605, Grace, daughter of Richard Shackleton, of Trawden. She survived her husband only about a year, being buried at Burnley, 1st June,1618. Her will, proved at York, 3rd July, 1618, by the executor named is abstracted below:- "Mem. 26 Maie 1618 Grace Brearcliffe widdowe late wief of Rober Brearcliffe late of Burwains, yeoman, decd. being sick &c. did make her last will and testament nuncupative. Soul to Almighty God and body to Christian buriall within the parish of Burneley. All goods equally to Robert, John, Anne and Luce, her sons and daughters by her late husband Robert Brearcliffe. In regard to her said children were yonge and not able as then to take upon them the rule and government of those lands and goods which were left to them by their father for their education, childs parts, that these persons following sev'allie should have the education &c. of the said children &c. namely John Monknols of Townehouse in Marsden to have the education and bringing up of said Anne and Luce, and receive into his hands and custodie the portion belonging to one of them, and that Jeffery Shackleton of Trawden should take the portion of the said Robert, and that John Parker of the said daughters, and that James Foulds of Trawden should have the education of the said Robert, and that John Parker of Netherwood should have the education of the said John. Jeffery Shackelton sole exor. Witnesses Robert Brereton, John Swain."
Issue:-
ANNE, bap. at Burnley, 23rd March, 1603-4. Named in her father's deed and in her mother's will. Married at Colne, 19th June,1633, to Robert Hartley of Colne. He was living in 1641-2 when he administered his sister-in-law's estate.
LAWRENCE, see below.
ROBERT, see below (pedigree B.)
JOHN, bap. at Burnley, 19th July, 1611. Named in the entail of 1613-4, and in his mother's will. Was of Bend Hill and Cockden, Briercliffe. Bur. at Burnley, 7th April, 1659. Marr. at Burnley, 24th December, 1649, to Elizabeth Soar, who was bur. there, 6th March, 1651-2.
Issue:-
Isabel, bap. at Burnley, 28th July 1650. Mary, an illegitimate daughter of John Britcliffe and Margaret Katlowde, Great Marsden, was bap. at Colne, 25th March, 1649.
JANE, bap. at Burnley, 19th July, 1611, at the same time as her brother John. Is named in her father's deed of 1613-4, but died in infancy, being presumably the child bur. at Burnley, 6th March, 1614-5.
LUCY, bap. at Burnley, 20th July, 1615. Mentioned in her mother's will. Bur. at Skipton, Yorkshire, 12th January, 1640-1, the register of burials reading: "Luce Brearcliff of Colne pish. ch." (i. e., in the church). She was described as Lucy Brearcliffe, spinster, of Townehouse, Great Marsden, when her brother Lawrence and her brother-in-law Hartley administered her estate.

LAWRENCE BREARCLIFFE OF BURWAINS.
Bap. at Burnley, 25th December, 1605. On the 12th May, 1617, the date of his father's Inq. p. m., he was returned as son and next heir, and aged eleven years five months and seven days. In a list, dated July, 1617, of copyholders' names and rents occurs "Lawrence Brearcliffe, vs. viiid." (Court Roll 101). In 1621 there was another allotment of commons in Briercliffe to the freeholders and copyholders, Lawrence receiving as a freeholder 22 acres 2 roods and one acre of incroachment, and as a copyholder 55 acres, 1 rood, and 34 falls of land, 1 acre of incroachment, and a proportionate part of 25 acres of moss, the fine being 28s. 2d. Court Roll 103). About the same time he had a confirmation of copyhold land in Marsden, new hold, 4s. 6d. (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, ii. 442.) In 1642 he was allotted of commons and wastes in Briercliffe 1 acre 0 rood 16 falls 1 yard 1 foot (ibid., ii. 418). In 1626, John Parker, Lawrence Briercliffe, John and Bernard Towneley, and others paid as non-communicants (recusants) (Subsidy Rolls 130/317). In 1635 he was allotted pew No.9, north side of middle alley, at the redistribution of seats in Burnley church, and in 1634-5 he was churchwarden of Burnley. (Burnley Parish Register L.P.R.S.) In 1642 he rebuilt Burwains, and had the old date stone of the previous house placed over the entrance, as well as a stone with his own initials and the date. There is also a date in the wall of the kitchen. The former stone was broken two hundred years later. In 1658 he was one of the defendants in a law suite as to the right of the copyholders to get limestone in the parishes of Burnley and Colne. In 1662-3 his name occurs in a list of quit, assize, castleward, and pitture rents of the freeholders of Burnley and Cliviger, "Laurence Brerecliffe for Burrons 8d." (Farrer's Clitheroe Court Rolls, ii. 429). In 1666 he was assessed to the hearth tax on five hearths. Only one house in the township was larger, that of John Parker, Extwistle Hall, which had eleven hearths. John Vipon and Richard Wilkinson also had five hearths. Lawrence made surrenders to his son and grandson in 1680, 1681, and 1683, and in 1684. He was bur. at Burnley, 27th April, 1699, being aged 95, and having survived his son and his grandson. His will, dated 4th October, 1697, is given in abstract below:- "I Lawrence Briercliffe of Burwains in the parish of Burnley, yeoman, being aged but of perfect and disposing memory praised be God, do &c. "I commit my soul into the hands of Almighty God and my body to the ground to be buried in decent manner as my exors. shall think meet. "As concerning all my lands and tenements which now I stand seised or possessed of whether the same be freehold or lease I give my lands and tenements in Earby and a certain place called Haigh lying in the parish of Thornton, co. York, which I hold by assignment from John Brown and Thomas Higson absolutely and fully to Lawrence Briercliffe my grandson for the residue of the years yet to come in the assignment. To John Briercliffe my grandson that messuage and tenement called Wadsworth lying in Burnley, together with the fulling or walk mill with all streams cutts walls dams and calls for ever. And as touching the remainder of my personal estate, &c. after my debts and funerall expenses paid, I give to John Briercliffe my said grandson £5 to be paid at 21; to Henry Hammond of Catlow £10, 10s. 6d. which he oweth me; to Oliver Halsted my servant heretofore, £15; to Grace wife of Richard Cowling my granddaughter 1s. All the residue &c. to Lawrence Briercliffe my said grandson and I appoint the said Lawrence my grandson sole exor. (Signed) Lawrence Brearcliffe. Witnesses R. Kippax Thomas Leigh (mark) Ben. Robertshaw." As the grandson and exor. named in the will had died before the testator, administration with the will annexed was granted at Chester, 1st March, 1700-1, to Ann Brearcliffe, widow and relict of Lawrence the grandson. Lawrence mar. at Colne, 26th December, 1627, Grace dau. of James Foulds of Trawden. She was bur. at Burnley, 23rd December, 1644.
Issue:-
ROBERT, see below.
JOHN, bap. at Burnley, 7th February, 1631-2, bur. there 9th December, 1662.
WILLIAM, bap. at Burnley, 19th July, 1635, buried there 12th May, 1670.
GRACE, bap. at Burnley, 16th April, 1639, bur. there 17th November, 1668, being entered in the register as daughter of Lawrence Brearcliffe, near Boland.

ROBERT BREARCLIFFE OF BURWAINS.
Baptised at Burnley, 15th May, 1628. A foeffee of John Halstead's charity, founded 1672, of £3 yearly for the poor of Briercliffe with Extwistle.His father surrendered land to him in 1680, 1681, and 1683. Buried at Burnley, 25th May, 1691, in his father's lifetime. Married at Tossit (Tosside, in Gisburn Parish) 1671, Elizabeth Ramsbottom, probably she who was buried at Burnley, 12th December 1700.
ISSUE: -
LAWRENCE, see below.
GRACE, baptised at Burnley, 17 March, 1675; married to Richard Cowling, of Whalley; buried at Burnley, 11 January, 1699. Everyone at Chester, 1700, as Grace Brearcliffe, alias Cowling of Whalley.
JOHN, of Runcklehurst, also called of Hecklehurst, of Red Lees, and of Dyneley, baptised at Burnley: 26 October, 1679. According to the Holt manuscripts had Oaken Bank, or Eaves, from his grandfather, but the only one left to him by will was the messuage called Wadsworth in Burnley and a fulling mill. The only surrender to him by the grandfather was in 1694 in the halmote of Ightenhill, which may have been the Oakeneaves property. He was a party to several surrenders in the halmote of Ightenhill. In 1731 he surrendered the Lane House, in Briercliffe, to John and James Lord; in 1725 the was the feoffee of Burwains for his nephew; in 1736 he surrendered the plot of land at Haggate to Alan Edmonson, his heirs and assigned forever; in 1777 he let law House, in Cliviger, for 15 years to Roger Hartley; in 1769 he's joined Hartley's widow in the surrender of the same holding to John Wood. In 1740, being described as John Brearcliffe, of Hecklehurst in Cliviger, yeoman, the mortgaged Twoestoops and Cowden Laith, at Haggate in Briercliffe, and in 1741 sold Lane House, which property is described as the farm called Lane House, one messuage, one barn, two cottages, other buildings called Lanehouse, the Bank, Ingham Meadow, two crofts, the Bank Meadow, the Colt Meadow, the Marl Meadow, the Simmonfoot, the Laithfield, Yellowhill, Coalpitfield, etc., in Brearcliffe, 39 acres of land, Dukes rent, 17s. He is named in several later surrenders. Buried at Burnley, 9th April, 1746. Married at Burnley, 25th February 1700 - 1, to Mary Jackson, of Worsthorne. She consented to the sale of Lane House in 1741. They had issue a large family, whose descendants have been traced to the end of the eighteenth century, their connection with Briercliffe ceasing about the middle of the century.

LAWRENCE BREARCLIFFE OF BURWAINS, yeoman
Bap. At Burnley, 27th December, 1672. His grandfather left him the property at Earby and Haigh in Thornton, and the bulk of his estate, but he died before the testator, in whose will he was named as sole executor. Bur. At Burnley, 20th February, 1699-1700. Marr. Ann.
Issue:-
ROBERT, see below
LAWRENCE, bap. at Burnley, 26th April 1694.
ELIZABETH, bap. at Burnley, 7th January, 1796-7.
Daughter, bap. at Burnley, 26th December, 1698, her name not being given.

ROBERT BREARCLIFFE OF BURWAINS, yeoman.
Bap. at Burnley. 3rd February, 1692-3. In 1717 he barred the entail of Burwains [Burwains deeds]. He made numerous surrenders in the halmote of Ightenhill. In 1732 he mortgaged the closes called Cowerly, the Copy. the Coat Meadow, the Spout Meadow and the Simpson Meadow, to which he was readmitted the next year, during which he leased Simpsons for 17 years. In I736 he leased for 14 years Milnstonehill. Newfield, the little pasture, the new field, the Simpson field, the Coatmandyke, the Simpson Meadow, the Spout Meadow, closes at the New Laith, &c., lying near Burwains, of the yearly rent of 8s. 3½d. to the lord of the manor. In 1739 he mortgaged Simpson's cottage and later other lands. He died in Lancaster Castle, a prisoner for debt, in 1741. Marr. at Burnley, 9th May, 1715, to Alice, daughter of John Ingham, of Hurstwood. yeoman, by his wife Alice, daughter of Lawrence Brearcliffe, of Black House. Her marriage portion was £200. She was bur. at Burnley, 21st January, 1753.
Issue :-
ANN, b~). at Burnley, 7th June, 1716; marr. John Crossley. ofTodmorden, yeoman.
LAWRENCE, bap. at Burnley, 6th January, 1719-20: bur. there 8th June. 1729.
ALICE, marr. John Dyson, of Huddersfield, gent.
ROBERT, see below.
ELEANOR, bap. at Burnley, 13th May, 1725; marr. John Smith. of Wadsworth, Co. York, gent., who with his wife are named in the deeds relating to tile sale of Burwains.

ROBERT BREARCLIFFE OF BURWAINS, later of Haggate, yeoman and Jersey comber.
Bap. at Burnley, 1st January, 1728. The property was probably encumbered when he succeeded, and was disposed of soon after he came of age.
On 22nd May, 1752, Robert and his mother surrendered (sold) Boldsworth, near Burwains, the property including the Coatmandyke, the spout meadow, Simpson meadow, &c. "Be it remembered 5 Nov. 1753 comes Robert Brearcliffe late of Burwains within Briercliffe, but now of Haggate within Briercliffe aforesaid yeoman and Jersey comber only son and heir of Robert Brearcliffe late of Burwalns afsd yeoman decd. by Alice his wife, Dionysius Law of Edgeside in Forest of Rossendale clothier, and Ann his wife, which said Ann was strictly examined by Lawrence Robinson gent. Steward, that she was not constrained but of her own free will, formerly the wife of George Smith late of Habergham Eaves, weaver, decd. and one of the sisters and co-heirs of John Brearcliffe, decd. who was grandson and heir of John Brearcliffe late of Cliviger decd who survived John Ingham late of Hurstwood yeoman decd. his co-feoffee and Ann Tattersall an infant only child and heir of Mary Tattersall decd. the other sister and co-heir of the said John Brearcliffe the grandson decd. and in obedience to and judgement of an order of the High Court of Chancery bearing date the 12th day of July past and made upon the humble petition of the said Robert Brearcliffe the son whereby in pursuance of an Act of Parliament made in the 7th of her late Majesty Queen Ann entitled an Act to enable infants who are seised of property or estate in fee or by way of mortgage to make conveyance of such estate the said Ann Tattersall was enabled and ordered to surrender a moiety of the said copyhold lands and tenements hereafter mentioned as the said Robert Brearcliffe the son should direct and in consideration of the sum of £852 paid by Ambrose Robertshaw of Briercliffe yeoman unto the use or to the use of the said Robert Brearcliffe the son for the absolute purchase of the said copyhold lands and tenements and certain freehold lands and hereditaments in Briercliffe and in consideration of 5s apiece unto the said Dionysius Law Ann his wife and Ann Tattersall in hand by the said Ambrose Robertshaw they acknowledge the receipt and other good causes and considerations thereunto moving the said Robert Brearcliffe the son and also the said Dionysius Law Ann his wife and Ann Tattersall at the request and by the direction of the said Robert Brearcliffe the son testified by his joining herein every one of them surrender the Coatmandyke, the spout meadow and the Simpson meadow, formerly in three closes but now laid together the little pasture moss lying in Meartack upon Bullsworth in Briercliffe in all 11 acres in occupation of the said Ambrose Robertshaw."
He was killed 1st December, 1763.
Married i5th May, 1758, at Bradford, to Martha Vickers of Bradford.
Issue:-
JOHN, bap. at Bradford, 4th October, 175S.
ALICE, bap. at Bradford, 20th April, 1760.
PATIENCE, bap. at Bradford, 8th November, 1761.
JOSEPH, of Wibsey, near Bradford, and interested in Lob Common, near Colne. Bap. at Bradford, 1st May, 1763; died, 8th March, 1843. As the heir of Robert Brearcliffe, who dies in 1741, Joseph inherited Lob Common estate, near Colne, under the will of Mary Foulds of Trawden, proved 1817. He had a son, Robert Brearcliffe, who was of Wibsey, and had Lob Common estate in 1842-3, who died without issue.

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