Greene, they say that long before the said complainant "anything had" in the two fulling mills, Sir John Maunsell, late rector of Wigan, granted the town of Wigan, of which he was seized, and of which the said mills were part, to the then burgesses of Wigan, their heirs and assigns for ever, and the said burgesses enjoyed the same.[1]
It was ordered that, "forasmuch as there were several decrees made in this court in the 26th and 27th years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, for and on behalf of Edward Fleetwood, clerk, then parson of Wigan, against the defendant, William Langshawe, and against Robert Pennington and Thomas Pennington, for the interest and possession of one of the said fulling mills, namely, that fulling mill which was then in the possession of the then defendants, an injunction be awarded for the complainant's possession of and in the said fulling mill so as aforesaid decreed for the said Mr. Fleetwood, as well against the said defendant, William Langshawe, and all other persons claiming by, from or under him, as also against the said Robert Pennington and Thomas Pennington, and all persons claiming by or under them, since the first suit commenced; and the defendants may shew forth a writ to take their answers the next term, although the defendant Langshawe hath made a very uncertain answer."[2]
In the following Term (Trinity Term, 16 James I.) on 16th June, 1618, a final decree was made in the matter between John Bridgeman, plaintiff, and William Langshawe, Hugh Langshawe, Ralph Astley, senior, Ralph Astley, junior, and Edmund Grene, defendants:
"Whereas the complainant by his bill did entitle himself to two fulling mills in Wigan as parcel of the Glebe of the parsonage of Wigan whereof he is parson, and whereof he and his predecessors, parsons of Wigan, had suffered the defendants and other neighbours to have the use at the pleasure of the
