II. WILLIAM, son of Nigell, was the second Baron of Halton, and Constable of Cheshire. Anno 1086. In the Doomsday-book it states that William held these towns in Cheshire under Hugh Earl of Chester, to wit,

In Cestre Hundred:- Newton. Lee, one-half. Bruge, one-half.
In Mildest-vich Hundred:- Goostrey, one-half. Lache.
In Dudestan Hundred:- Clutton.
In Hamstan Hundred:- Over-Alderley-, one-half.*
In Riseton Hundred:- Barrow
In Bucklow Hundred:- Warburton, one-half. Millington. Knotsford. Over-Tabley. Nether-Pever, one half. Tatton, one-half.
In Wilaweston Hundred:- Neston, one-half. Rabie, one-half. Capeles, that is, Capenhurst. Berneston,
In Tunendon Hundred:- Halton. Weston. Aston. Norton. Endley.
Dutton,a part only. Little Legh. Aston juxta Budworth. Great Budworth. Whitley.

This William FitzNigell founded an Augustinian priory at Runcorn, in 1115. William Fitz-Nigell, Constable of Cheshire, died in 1133, about the end of Henry the First's reign, and was buried at Chester.
He had children William, constable junior; Agnes ( married Eustace Fitz-John, a great baron of the realm ), and Maud ( married Aubert de Grelley.)
Agnes' Father-in-Law had founded an Augustinian House of Canons at Bridlington, one of the first Augustinian Priories in England, and this may have been one reason why William chose to found an Augustinian Priory at Runcorn(?).

III. WILLIAM cCnstable of Cheshire, junior, son of William, was the third Baron of Halton.

He transferred the Canons of Runcorn to Norton. Thus Norton Priory was founded, and the unfinished(?) Runcorn Priory became a church belonging to Norton. Here is a translation of the document of transfer, (original in Latin). (Some interesting place spellings here:-)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. I, William, Constable of Chester, son of William Constable, son of William, I give and concede to the holy church of Mary de Norton, and the canons there serving God regularly, the same Norton for alms with all who belong to the cant, in the wood, with the forest and warren, in the plain, in the fields, in the pastures, in the water. :
And at the request and council of Roger Bishop of Chester, and with the advice of my men, to change the dwelling of the canons from Runcorna to Norton, which I give and grant to the canons in the alms and exchange of three plows of land in Stannings, and one carucate and a half in Astona; and in exchange for the whole Runcornae, besides the church and four bovates of land, and one fishery which is called good chickpeas, which pertains to the church of Runcorne itself, which is the church of the aforesaid canons.
I give also a community of woods, pastures, and waters, which belong to Haltona, to their side and their men; and two bovates of land in Halton with one remaining; and half of the whole of my fishery from Thelwall, and one bovate of land there with a fisherman; and two bovates in Wydneis, with the community of woods and ascuses which belong to Pultona, and I grant to him and his men staying in Wydneis, and the commons of woods and pastures from Cuerdleia; the mill of Barrow, and two parts of the tithes in the same town; and two-thirds of the tenth Sunday in Sutton; and similarly in Stanney, and Rabie, and Stannings and one mansion in Chester; and the church de Buddworth and the church of Downton and the tenth mill and one carucate of land in dominion in the same town and in the parish of Waver Toft, which is devoted to half a carucate of land in Leicestershire ; and the church of Radecliva and the fourth part windmills and tithes of the other three parts in the same village; and the church of Cneshall, and the tenth mo of lenders which belong to the same country, which are near the urn and the tenth mill of Alretona the church of Burton in Lindescia and the church de Piritona in Oxfordshire my data are, or are given for posterity for the salvation of their souls I grant.
Now I've done this at the suggestion and confirmation of Roger Bishop of Chester, and with the consent of Count Randal the Younger, for the salvation of Earl Hugh and Earl Richard, and Earl Ranulf, and for the salvation of my soul and my wife and the health of my soul my father and my mother and brothers and sisters and of all my ancestors and successors. This but alms from all services and customs much more so, I grant free and loose pleas and complaints as any alms ought to be freely and wildly granted or it may be: whosoever shall increase this alms or maintained through participation in that church of benefits to obtain the kingdom of heaven violate this in any way, or attempt to infringe upon , let him be punished in hell with Judas Pilate,and with Dathan and Abyron, unless he comes to make amends.
Witnessed by William the chaplain, Roger de Angervilla, Alfredo, Humphrey son, Nigel Ansgoti, son of Robert Petri

This William is said to be a nephew of Walter de Gant, and his sister Agnes named as Agnes de Gant, so it seems that William son of Nigell married a sister of Walter de Gant, and daughter of Gilbert. This William constable junior died in Normandy in the reign of king Stephen without children ; and so his inheritance was divided and shared between his two sisters. His seal had the impression of a griffin, with a serpent or snake sucking at the breast of the griffin.

IV Eustace, The Brother-in-Law of the 3rd Baron, inherited the Barony of Halton through his wife, Agnes. who was sister and coheir to William, Constable of Cheshire the younger. She was the second wife of Eustace FitzJohn ; by whom she had a son, Richard constable of Cheshire.
Agnes, with Eustace her husband, founded a Nunnery at Watton in Yorkshire. Eustace Fitz-John, 4th Baron of Halton, was slain in battle against the Welsh.

V RICHARD constable of Cheshire,a son of Eustace and Agnes, succeeded his father in the barony of Halton. In the beginning of the reign of Henry the Second he held one knight's fee in Smathe in the county of York. He married Albreda, or Awbrey, daughter and heir of Robert de Lizours, and sister by the mother, i.e. half-sister, to Robert Lacy, Baron of Pomfret castle in Yorkshire, commonly called Pontefract, "who made her his heir also, because he had no other so near allied unto him : in whose rights her posterity enjoyed sixty knight's fees, of the honor of Pomfret." (These appear to be the words of the book of Stanlaw monastery, according to Cambden in his Britannia, pag. 566, of the last edition, printed 1607.) Richard Fitz-Eustace had issue by Aubrey his wife, John, who succeeded constable of Cheshire ; Robert the Hospitaller, i.e., of the hospital of St. John of Hicrusalem in England, the grand priory being at Jerusalem ; Mary, married Robert de Aldford ; and Awbrey, married to Henry Bysset. Pecham tells us of another son, called Roger, lord of Warkworth in Northumberland, from whom are de scended the ancient barons of Clavering, the baron Evers, and sir John Clavering of Caloley in Northumberland : but question, whether this Roger was the son of this Richard Fitz-Eustace ; I find another family called Constables, descended from the Constables of Glocester ; and that Mbo(?) Constable had issue Roger, Henry, Walter, Matthew, and William. Richard Fitz-Eustace was dead before 1178, but I find not the precise year when he died. Aubrey his widow afterwards married William FitzWilliams, and had a son William.

VI John fitz Richard. He founded a new Cistercian Abbey at Stanlawe (Stanlow) on the banks of the River Mersey, in 1178. (Later, this Abbey was transferred to Whalley in Lancashire in 1296). In 1181 he was appointed, together with the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, to be a Governor of Ireland in Dublin. John died in Tyre (the Holy Land) in 1190.

VII. ROGER LACY constable of Cheshire, son and heir of John, succeeded his father, and was the seventh baron of Halton : he was sir-named "Hell", for his fierce and magnanimous spirit. He was the first of the Barons of Halton who assumed the sir-name of LACY ; which name he retained after the possessions of Robert Lacy of Pomfret castle in Yorkshire passed to him; this Robert Lacy died anno 1194, and in the year following a fine was levied at Winchester between this Roger Constable and Awbrey his grandmother, wherein she settles on him the great inheritance which belonged to Robert Lacy.
Roger Lacy was ranked as the "the most eminent Baron of the Realm" and he had to swear to be faithful to King John after the death of Richard 1st. John restored to Roger the Castle at Pontefract. He was one of the people who escorted the King of Scotland to Lincoln to do homage to King John, which he also witnessed. Roger de Lacy was also sent to Normandy to Fight against the French. Another exploit credited to Roger was that he went to the aid of Randle Blundeville, the Earl, of Chester, who was being besieged by the Welsh in Rothelent (Rhuddlan) castle. Roger gathered together a mob of "dissolute persons, players, minstrels, shoe makers and the like and marched speedily towards the enemy". The appearence of this mob caused the welsh to fear an army was approaching and they fled. In appreciation the Earl confers on Roger "authority over all the loose idle persons in Cheshire". Roger married Maud de Clare and had a son, John Lacy, who became the 8th Baron of Halton and later the Earl of Lincoln. Roger de Lacy died in 1211 A.D.

VIII John Lacy, Succeeded his Father as the 8th Baron of Halton. He was excommumicated by Pope Innocent the Third for conspiring against King John. He took part in the siege of Damiata,in Egypt, with others including Earl Randle of Chester. He was married twice, first to Alice (daughter of Gilbert de Aquila). She was buried at Norton Priory. He then married Margaret, Daughter and heir, or co-heir, of Robert de Quency, eldest son of Saher de Quency, Earl of Winchester.

IX Edmund Lacy, was the 9th Baron of Halton. He was the son of Margaret, who enjoyed the title to the Earldom of Lincoln while she lived. She outlived Edmund who therefore never officially became Earl of Lincoln, although in many official papers he was stiled as such. He was also a ward to the King, and the King had him marry Alice, daughter of the Marquis of Saluces in Italy and also cousin to the Queeen of England. Edmund Lacey died in 1258 and was buried in Stanlaw (Stanlow) Abbey on the Wirral.

Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln and constable of Cheshire, succeeded his father and was the 10th Baron of Halton. In 1284 King Edward I gave him the castle and Lordshire of Denbigh in 1284. He was titled:- Henry Lacy Earl of lincoln, constable of Cheshire, master of Roos and Rowynock, (both in Wales). Edward 1st made him the chief commissioner for the rectifying and discovering of the abuses and briberies of corrupt judges He was placed next after the Prince of Wales as the prime nobleman of England at one stage. Many historians have reported that he was very famous in all grand matters of state in the reign of Edward I. 1293, he was sent as ambassador to France to demand satisfaction for the goods of the English merchants which were been taken by the French. After Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, died he was made commander in chief of all the Kings forces in Gascoyn and for a time was Viceroy of the Dutchy of Aquitaine.
1298 He relieved the castle of Saint Catherine in Toulouse from a siege.
1299 he led the forward troops at the battle of Falkirk when the Kings army defeated the Scots.
When Edward the second was in Scotland, Henry Lacy was made Protector of England, and described as "An illustrious man in council, vigorous in every battle, a leader of the military in England, and the man of the highest distinction throughout the whole kingdom."
During his life, Henry also gave the church at Whalley in Lancashire, to Stanlow abbey, the monks at Stanlow later moved to Whalley and founded Whalley Abbey.
He had two wives. First was Margaret, daughter of Sir William Longspee. Henry was only SIX YEARS OLD at the time (They were married by an agreement between the two fathers with an exchange of land between them. Longspee had a right to the earldom of Salisbury yet he never enjoyed the title and neither did Henry Lacy, (even though lands of this Longspee belonged to him by his marriage.) Henry had two sons, and two daughters, by this first marriage. His sons,Edmund and John died when they were young. Only one daughter, Alice, survived and she became the sole heir to her father. She married Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster, Leicester and Derby. So on Henry's death the Barony of Halton was annexed and United to the Earldom of Lancashire. Henry Lacy's second wife was Joan, daughter of William Martin (Lord Keimis) but had no children by her. Henry Lacy died in 1310 aged 60, at his house in Lincoln's Inn,London. He was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral.

Thomas Plantagenet became the 11th.Baron of Halton through his wife, Alice, daughter of Henry Lacy. He was beheaded at Pomfret (Pontefract) in 1321, for rebelling against his sovereign King Edward the second. Because he had no issue to leave his estate to, his lands were forfeit to the crown. However,his widow Alice, had the earldom of Lincoln restored unto her by the king during her life in 1322 she also had the manor of Halton in Cheshire with everything belonging to it restored to her for life. She married three times in her lifetime but had no more children. She died in 1348.

Henry of Lancaster, Lord of Monmouth, surnamed Grismond, was brother, and heir, of Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster. He had all his brothers titles, lands and honours restored to him. He married Maud, daughter and soul heir of Sir Patrick de Chaworth, Lord of Kidwelly in Caermarthenshire and of Ogmore Castle in Glamorganshire. ( Maud had formally been given to Edmund, son of Henry Lacy, by Edward the first in 1282, when she was only five years old! ). Edward died at a very young age so they never were old enough to have children. Henry and Maud had one son, Henry, who became Earl of Derby. during his father's lifetime. They also had six daughters. In 1326, Henry of Lancaster, was sent with others to bring back the King who was "sulking"in Wales. The King was put into the care of Henry. Soon after this, the king was deposed, and his young son Edward was made king, Edward III. So the Baron of Halton was instrumental in betraying Edward II. Henry of Lancaster died. in 1345. In "Walsinghams History" he writes :-
"In the year 1345, the 19th year of the reign of Edward III, Henry, Earl of Lancaster, father of Henry, Earl of Derby died. He was buried at Leicester in the monastery of the Canons, in the presence of the King and Queen, together with archbishops and bishops, both old and new, and Earls and barons from almost the entire kingdom. His son was at that time in Gascony, engaged in military campaigns and performing brave and vigourous deeds for this reason, he wasn't able to attend his father's funeral."

Henry of Monmouth, surnamed Wry-neck, only son of Henry Grismond succeeded his father and became the 13th Baron of Halton. In 1349, he was created Earl of Lincoln. His full title was then 'Henry, Earl of Lancaster, Derby, Leicester, and Lincoln', and in 1350, he was created Duke of Lancaster, seemingly the first dukedom conferred on a subject of the King, since the Norman conquest! So the Earldom of Lancaster became a Dutchy. In 1345, the year of his father's death, Henry led an army in France which defeated the King of France. He married Isabel, daughter of Henry Lord Beaumont. They had two daughters. Maud married William, the Duke of Zeland and Earl of Henault. He was the eldest son of Louis, Duke of Bavarre, in 1352. The Second daughter, Blanche, married John of Gaunt, the Earl of Richmond and the fourth son of King Edward the third, in 1359. (He was also her cousin and had a dispensation of the court to marry her). The lands of the Dutchy were divided between the two sisters. Maud's husband, William, became Earl of Leicester, and John of Gaunt became Earl of Lancaster. Maud had no children and on her death in 1381, the Earldom of Leicester and all Maud's part of the lands belonging to Henry Duke of Lancaster, reverted back to John of Gaunt through his wife, Blanche. Henry of Lancaster died at Leicester. and was buried there.

John of Gaunt, fourth son of King Edward III, was born at Gaunt in Flanders in 1339. In 1342, he was created Earl of Richmond. He was created Duke of Lancaster. by his first wife, Blanche. daughter and co-heir of Henry, Duke of Lancaster. Henry's other daughter, Maud,, died childless in 1381 so the Earldom of Leicester and all her lands which belonged to Henry, Duke of Lancaster passed to John of Gaunt. Blanche died in 1369 and was buried at St Paul's Church in London. They had one son, Henry of Bolingbroke, because he was born in Bolingbroke castle. He was made Earl of Derby in 1385 and Duke of Harrogate in 1397. In 1398, he accused Thomas Marlborough, Duke of Norfolk, of dishonouring the king's person, which the Duke denied. To settle the matter, they were going to have combat to be fought at Coventry. The king intervened and proclaimed that the Duke of Hereford had been honourable. Even so, he banished Henry for 10 years. and the Duke of Norfolk for ever! However, Henry returned to England and deposed, Richard II . He made the King resign his crown to Henry publicly in the tower before the nobles of England.
So by armed force Henry made himself King of England as Henry IV. So the Duchy of Lancaster and the Barony of Halton were united to the crown of England. John of Gaunt and Blanche also had two daughters. Elizabeth, married first John Holland, the Duke of Exeter, and later, Sir John Cornwall, night of the garter, and Baron of Farnhope. Philippa, the second daughter, married, John, the King of Portugal. After Blanche's death, John of Gaunt married Constantia,(Constance), daughter and co-heir to Petro the late King of Spain. John's brother Edmund, the Earl of Cambridge married Isabella, the other daughter in 1372. John now called himself King of Castile and Leons. John and Constantia had a daughter, Katherine, who married Henry, son of King John of Spain, in 1389. By this marriage, peace was concluded between John of Gaunt and the King of Spain. John was to have 10,000 pound yearly for his whole life, and the life of his wife Constance. Constance died in 1394. John of Gaunt relinquished his title of King of Castile and Leons and was created Duke of Aquitaine by consent of Parliament. He now had the title:-


After the death of Constance the Duke went into Aquitaine in 1396 to meet the people, but he was suddenly called back into England by the King. As soon as he got back, he married Katherine Swynford, his old concubine who had also waited on Blanche John's first wife.