St Chad's Poulton-le-Fylde

St James Stalmine

St Marys Hambleton

Holy Trinity  Freckleton

St Michael's  Kirkham

St John Out Rawcliffe

The Westbys were a major Catholic family in the Fylde with the family home at Mowbreck.    William Westby  married Elizabeth Rigmayden of Wedacre and both his daughters married into staunch Catholic families  

There is a surprisng and slightly mysterious connection to the Latwys family.  William Westby's will  reads:
"To Gilbert Latwys my son-in-law and his eldest son all my right in 1 messuage in Goosnargh called Clifton House now in the occupation of the said Gilbert."Jane Latewis,  Gilbert's wife was left one cow & one calf.

So in 1568 Gilbert Latewis was living in Clifton House with his wife Jane; but what is the meaning of the term 'son-in-law'?  If it is the modern day meaning then Gilbert Latewys must have married a daughter of William Westby.   William's daughter Elizabeth  married George Allen  of Rossall  Hall,  brother of cardinal William Allen,   and her sister Helen  married Ewan Haydock son of William Haydock of Cottam.  There is record of such a Latwyse Westby marriage and experts suggest the term probably meant something like step-son.

Gilbert Latewis died on  23rd October 1568, eleven or twelve years after William Westby, holding 60 acres of land in Warton, Thistleton, Goosnargh, Claughton, Bilsborrow, Tatham, Warton in Amounderness and Overgillet .   

Gilbert's son and heir William Latewis was 24 when his father died.  William recorded as 'Latus'  is described in various records as 'alias Latewyse', one of the earliest examples of the shortening of the name which would eventuallky lead to the 'Lewtas' version.      William, following the line of his family and the Westby family,  was a popish recusant and in 1607, two years before he died,  either his estate was forfeited or heavy fines levied on it.

William Latus's  will was proved on 13th June  1609 when he would have been 65.  In his will he  mentions his daughter Margaret, who had married Henry Keighley at Woodplumpton only a year before on 27th April 1608 and a second daughter Elizabeth Latus and a son Ralph Latus.  A list of recusants dated January 1595 notes in Kirkham parish Elizabeth 'Lewteth'  (surely Lewtas with a lisp) spinster servant in the house of Anne Westbye.  Anne is described as 'Anne Westbye of Mowbreake, widowe late wife of John Westbye esquire of ffaire lands and riche in goods.'  John Westby was the heir of William Westby.

William's widow,  Jennet Latus, (‘widow of William Latus of Goosnargh') in her will proved in 1615,  names her sons Ralph & Matthew.  Matthew, aged about 30 when his father  William Latus died  was his heir    Various records of Matthew exist - Matthew Latus was one of the  ‘24 sworn men' of Goosnargh in 1625;  'Mr Mathew Letus of the Longley tithe' in 1630,   'Mathew Letus of Goosnargh, gent'; in 1632 Matthew  was one of a group who paid fines for the recusancy of others - in this case his deceased father William.  In 1635 Matthew had a pew in the parish church  on the south side, the first set next to the chancel.

Matthew's will,  dated 1653,  names him as 'Mathys alias Mathias' of Goosnargh, gentleman..   He asked for 'Christian burial at the church or chapell of Goosnargh near unto my ancestors as conveniently may be'.  He bequeathed everything to Nicholas Cunliffe of Wycoller gent and Edward Shuttleworth of Barton gent and Richard Dunworth of Flax Hill gent,    'and for the maintenance and keeping of Grace Latus my loving wife'. 

 

   

The present day Latus Hall 

Henry Fishwick writes in his History of Goosnargh:  'Although this hall at the present day bears the name of the tything (Longley) we should not assign to it any great antiquity in fact we find no mention of it until the early part of the C17th.   It was probably built by the Latus family a little before 1706'.         Fishwick states that in his time Clifton's stood a few hundred yards from Longley Hall.          The current OS map shows three properties - Latus Hall, Longley and Clifton.

As Matthew left everything to  his wife and others it seems likely there were no sons alive at the time of his death to inherit.  If this was so, this particular line will have died out with Matthew in 1653.