Sir Thomas Assheton Knight

   Another name for Thomas was Sir Thomas Ashton Knight.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Background Information. ⁸³³
Sir Thomas de Assheton, is reputed to have been the son of Roger Fitz Orme de Assheton, but there is no certainty of this. He is regarded as the first knight of the line. He is supposed to have left two sons, Robert and Gilbert.

Glover, History of Ashton-under-Lyne and and the Surrounding District, p. 50

• Background Information. ⁸²⁶
During the reign of Henry II, William de Kirkby granted Ashton to one Orm, probably a relative, who thus became the immediate lord, and whose descendants assumed the local surname [From a plea of 1276; De Banc. R. 15, m. 4.]. A later Orm de Ashton, who is described as the 'son of Roger' in a fine of 1195 [Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), iii, 172.], was living in 1201 [Lancs. Pipe R. 116, 153]. He was succeeded by his son Thomas, and Robert de Ashton occurs in 1254 [Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 193], but the descent in the absence of evidence cannot be made out quite clearly. In 1274 Thomas de Ashton defended his title to the manor of Ashton against John de Kirkby [De Banc. R. 11, m. 3; 15, m. 4 (printed in Lancs. Pipe R. 405); 21, m. 8 d.; 27, m. 29; 28, m. 24 d], and in 1284 an agreement was made between them by which Thomas's right was acknowledged, a rent of 1d. being due from him [Final Conc. i, 162]. It is perhaps the same Thomas who occurs a number of times to 1307 [Assize R. 408, m. 21], while in 1320 John de Ashton held the manor of the lord of Manchester, rendering 20s. at the four terms and a hawk or 40s. at Michaelmas [Mamecestre (Chet. Soc.), ii, 290].

'The parish of Ashton-under-Lyne: Introduction, manor & boroughs', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4, pp. 338-347