Henry Butler, of Rawcliffe Hall

Henry Butler (1541 – 1619)

Upon coming of age in 1562, Richard Boteler, as the eldest son and heir of his father, took possession of the family manor and estates, though shortly after conveyed Rawcliffe and other estates to his brother Henry Butler, who was then called on several occasions to defend actions in the Duchy court.

In 1564-5, Richard and Henry were joint defendants against James Beyne. The late Alexander Gosener of Stalmine had passed the manor of Stalmine and lands elsewhere to his daughters and heirs, one of whom was Margaret who had in 1545 enfeoffed Nicholas Boteler of Middle Rawcliffe of all of her portion of the manor at Stalmine subject to an annual payment of £4 19s 8d. James Beyne had complained that such rent had not been paid even though Richard and Henry had taken possession of the property two years before. The defendants denied everything and claimed that no rent was due.

In 1566, Richard and Henry were again defendants over the more serious question of their right to the title of their estates. The powerful plaintiffs complained that the late John Boteler (d 1533) of Rawcliffe had possessed the manors of Middle Rawcliffe, Out Rawcliffe, Withnel in the Woods, lands and tenements in Hambleton, Stalmine, Hoole and elsewhere, with 200 messuages, 6,600 acres of land and rents in many other places in Lancashire, and that after his death these estates descended by right to his daughters (Elizabeth, Ellen / Elynor, Isabel and Grace), of whom the four plaintiffs were their respective sons. The case was defended with reference to the wills of John Boteler (dated 1528) and Nicholas Boteler (dated 1554), and as Henry Butler continued as Lord of Rawcliffe, it can only be assumed that the plaintiffs lost their case (Fishwick, 1891, p149-151).

In 1567-8, Henry Butler defended another claim whereby William Burroe of Larbreck, owner of the manor of Larbreck and 20 acres of salt marsh by the River Wyre, had claimed that his fishing rights and related activities had been infringed by Henry, though Henry stated that he had the sole right to fishing the waters as rightful heir to the Rawcliffe estates (Fishwick, 1891, p151).

The Butler family, like most of those in the district, adhered to Roman Catholicism at the Reformation, though appear to have occasionally attended reformed services in order to avoid fines and sequestrations. However, in about 1610, the Vicar of St Michaels church at St Michaels on Wyre provided a report to Chester which identified Henry Butler, his wife Anne, their children and their respective partners, and their servants as recusants (those refusing to attend services of the Church of England) (Fishwick, 1891, p151-2).

As confirmed in the Inquest Post Mortem, Henry Butler of Middle Rawcliffe married Anne, daughter of Henry Banastre of Bank. He died on 24 Feb 1619, with his widow surviving him by only a few days. At the time of his death, he held the manors of Middle Rawcliffe and Out Rawcliffe as of fee, along with 20 houses, 8 cottages, a windmill, a dovecote, 30 gardens and 300 acres there. He also had two ferry boats for crossing the River Wyre, and owned considerable estates in Stalmine, Upper Rawcliffe and elsewhere. Shortly before he died, Henry Butler conveyed certain lands to Richard Molyneux, Richard Houghton, Thomas Tyldesley and others. His eldest son, William Butler, was to retain reasonable use of the slaughter house, old stable and kiln. After his death, part of the estates were to go to his wife, Anne, with the remainder to William, his eldest son and heir, and the remainder to Dorothy, wife of his grandson Henry Butler. Other parts of the estate were to be for use by Elizabeth, wife of William (his eldest son), with the remainder to go to his grandson, Henry. The manors of Middle and Out Rawcliffe were held from the Earl of Derby for military service and for an annual rent of 6s 8d (Fishwick, 1891, p153-4).

Sources: Farrer, W. & Brownbill, J. (eds) (1912). Townships: Out Rawcliffe. In: A History of the County of Lancaster: Vol 7, p273-276. Victoria County History, London. British History Online: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol7/pp273-276 (accessed 27 Feb 2021)

Fishwick, H. (1891) Old Halls and Old Families. In: The History of the Parish of St Michaels on Wyre in the County of Lancaster, Chap. 8, p149-154. Chetham Society, Charles Simms & Co Printers, Manchester.

Henry Butler's Will, dated 27th May 1619, was published and can be found at Lancashire Records Office in a book of published Wills in print form, though being written in Old English it is not easy to read. In the Will, it is confirmed that each of his three youngest sons (Nicholas, Thomas and Robert) have previously received a lease of land. Other relatives mentioned in the Will are Anne Smyth, his last grandchild remaining from his late daughter Joan, and other grandchildren John Atherton, Luke Haggerston, Anne Haggerston and Thomas Haggerston. The Executors of the Will were his grandchild Thomas Haggerston, his son Nicholas Butler and nephews Christopher and Richard Bannester (Banastre). He also requested his very good friends Maister Leigh, Parson of Standish, and William Foster of Garstang to be the overseers of the Will. The Will was witnessed by John Gaskell and Henry Dobson.