The Eagle Tower alone remained when part of the estate was transferred
to John Lord Ashburnham, on his marriage, in 1714, with Henrietta,
daughter of William, ninth earl of Derby. Lord Ashburnham sold it to a
Furness, and he to Sir Thomas Bootle. Not a vestige now exists, and even
the records of the family are destroyed. "Golforden," says Mr Heywood,
in his interesting _Notes to a Journal of the Siege of Lathom,_ "along
whose banks knights and ladies have a thousand times made resort,
hearkening to stories as varied as those of Boccaccio;--the maudlin
well, where the pilgrim and the lazar devoutly cooled their parched
lips;--the mewing-house,--the training round,--every appendage to
antique baronial state,--all now are changed, and a modern mansion and a
new possessor fill the place."
This memorable siege, and the heroic defence by Lady Derby, though among
the most prominent topics in the history of the county, supply but few
materials which may not be found in records that already exist. Yet
there are incidents connected with them which the historian has left
unrecorded; occurrences, it might be, too trivial or too apocryphal for
his pen.
Pages:
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646