The line of descent is shown below. Biographies exist for higlighted Heaton Family Members

• Roger de Heaton
  • Richard de Heaton
    • Randle de Heaton
      • Ellis de Heaton
        • John de Heaton
          • John de Heaton
            • Richard Heaton
              • William Heaton
                • William Heaton
                  • Richard Heaton
                    • Lambert Heaton
                      • Fernando Heaton
                        • Ralph Heaton
                          • Atherton Heaton
                            • John Heaton
                              • Atherton Heaton
                                • John Heaton
                                  • Atherton Heaton
                                    • John Heaton
                                      • Mary Heaton married William Heyes

The following information is sourced from British History Online Website - https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp9-12

Manor
In the 12th century HEATON, assessed as one plough-land, appears to have been held in moieties by knight's service of the barons of Manchester. One moiety was included in the Barton fee,the Hulton family being the under-tenants; while the other half was held with Worthington, but afterwards severed, and held as the tenth part of a knight's fee by a family which assumed the local name.

The earliest known is a Randle de Heaton, followed in hereditary succession by Ellis, John, and John. The younger John made a settlement in 1332, from which it appears that he had sons John, Adam, and others. He or his son John was living in 1355. The son is said to have married a daughter and co-heir of Robert de Huyton of Billinge, and thus acquired the Birchley estate. Richard de Heaton was in 1385 appointed a keeper of the peace in Salford Hundred. Richard's son and heir William married Joan daughter and heir of Gilbert de Billinge, and thus increased the family estate in Billinge. William and Joan were living in 1422,but for the succeeding century little is known of the family.  William Heaton was holding the manor in 1473 by the ancient service. 

The next to occur is Richard Heaton who recorded a pedigree in 1533, from which it appears that he had been twice married. William, his eldest son, left two daughters, Jane and Alice; and by his second wife Elizabeth, daughter and eventual co-heir of Sir Richard Aughton of North Meols, he had no issue. He died in 1542, when family disputes, which had already begun, were continued with energy. Miles Gerard of Ince, who had married William's daughter Jane, claimed the manors of Heaton and Birchley, Alice, the other daughter, having died without issue.  The manors, however, passed to the heir male, William Heaton son of Ralph, half-brother of the William named above. A settlement was made in 1552, but the new owner appears very soon to have fallen into difficulties and mortgaged his possessions.

Christopher Anderton, said to be descended from the lords of Anderton, obtained an interest in the matter. In 1562 he purchased the adjoining manor of Lostock, with lands in Rumworth and Heaton,  but it was not till 1572 that he actually obtained the manor of Heaton, and many years more elapsed before his estate was secure. It is stated that the mortgage money was offered to him by the Heatons just after the expiry of the term, and, to the great scandal of the neighbours, he refused it and kept the manors. Heaton descended in the same way as Lostock to the Blundells of Ince.

The earliest known is a Randle de Heaton, followed in hereditary succession by Ellis, John, and John. 

The younger John made a settlement in 1332, from which it appears that he had sons John, Adam, and others. He or his son John was living in 1355.' The son is said to have married a daughter
and co-heir of Robert de Huyton of Billinge, and thus acquired the Birchley estate.

Richard de Heaton was in 1385 appointed a keeper of the peace in Salford Hundred.  Richard's son and heir William married Joan daughter and heir of Gilbert de Billinge,  and thus increased the family estate in Billinge. William and Joan were living in 1 422, but for the succeeding century little is known of the  family.

William Heaton was holding the manor in 1473 by the ancient service. 

The next to occur is Richard  Heaton who recorded a pedigree in 1533, from which it appears that he had been twice married. William, his eldest son, left two daughters, Jane and Alice ; and by his second  wife Elizabeth, daughter and eventual co-heir of Sir Richard Aughton of North Meols, he

9 Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 54. By 1241 the four oxgangs of land in Heaton seem to have become separated from Barton and held by Richard son of Christiana de Alreton ; Final
Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 88.

From the later descent it is probable that the above Richard son of Christiana was the younger Richard de Hulton, who was quickly succeeded by his brothers William and David, the latter continuing the line. Thus in 1256 David de Hulton was holding half a plough-land in Heaton, in which his brother's widow was claiming dower; Final Cone, i, 122. In 1302 Richard de Hulton son of David was holding the tenth part of a fee in Heaton of Thomas Grelley ; Inq. and Extents, i, 314.. In 1324 Richard de Hulton was returned as holding half a plough-land in ' Davyd Heton ' by a thegnage rent of 6s. %d. ; Duchy of Lane. Rentals and Surv. 379, m. 13. In the later division of the Hulton lands this probably went to the families of Farnworth and Halliwell ; and some part was obtained at a later time by the Hultons of Over Hulton. Thus William Hulton of Farnworth was in 1613 in possession of lands in Heaton ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 266 ; and Randle Barton of Smithills, who died in 1611, also had lands in Heaton ; ibid, i, 208.

Inq. and Extents, i, 54. Thomas de Worthington was holding half a knight's fee of Robert Grelley in 1212. In 1282 the manor was called Worthington, Coppull, and the appurtenances ; ibid. 250. Later Worthington is called 'half a fee, except the tenth part," the tenth part being Heaton. It is unlikely that there was only one manor in Heaton and that it was held in succession by the Hultons and Heatons ; for Richard de Hulton and John de Heaton are mentioned together in 1320, when, however, only the latter is stated to have held the tenth part of a fee, the former holding by the rent of a pair of spurs or zd., and puture of the Serjeants and foresters ; Mamecestre (Chet. Soc.), 288, 290.

The Heaton family were perhaps the successors in title of Henry de Bolton, who in 1 22 1 offered himself against Robert Grelley in a plea concerning the fixing of boundaries between Henry's lands in Heaton and Robert's in Horwich ; Cur. Reg. R. 79, m. 24. Licence of deafforestation in Heaton was in 1225 granted by the king to Robert Grelley for Henry de Bolton ; Cal. Pat. 1216-25, P- 576. By fine in 1227 Robert Grelley acknowledged Henry's right to land within the following boundaries : from Yaresworth Brook up by Ridley Syke to the middle point between two brooks falling into the syke towards the west, and so up between the brooks to the great road between Halliwell and Rivington, and to the High Edge, then by the Edge around Helmshead to the boundary of Halliwell ; Yorks. Feet of F. file 1 8, no. i.

Randle de Bolton was plaintiff in 1246 respecting lands in Heaton ; Assize R. 404, m. lod.

In 1278 Adam son of Richard de Heaton was non-suited in a claim for common of pasture brought against Ellis son of Randle de Heaton ; ibid. 1238, m. 31 d. Ellis de Heaton appears as plaintiff in 1292, alleging that Randle his father was disseised of two parts of 4 acres of wood and 3 acres of pasture in Heaton by one Roger de Pendlebury, who demised them to William de Pendlebury, from whom they appear to have been acquired by Richard son of David de Hulton ; ibid. 408, m. 49. He made a similar claim against Hugh de Halliwell (ibid.), but failed in both cases.

In 1301 John son of Ellis de Heaton was defendant in a claim made by John del Shaw for reasonable estovers in Heaton, without view of the foresters, for housebote and heybote ; ibid. I32i,m. 9 d.

According to the surveys of 1320 and 1322 John de Heaton owed homage and fealty for the tenth part of a fee in Heaton under the Forest, and rendered yearly for sake fee 8</. and for ward of Lancaster Castle izd., and puture of the Serjeants and foresters ; Mamecestre, 288, 379-

At that time four oxgangs in Heaton contributed proportionally to the maintenance of the foresters of Horwich ; ibid. 376, 377-

8 Final Cone, ii, 89. The children of John son of John de Heaton named in the remainders are John, Adam, Roger, Robert, Richard, Joan, and Agnes. The estate was the 'manor' of Heaton-under-Horwich ; no other estate there seems to have been so described.

In 1362 Richard Langtree and Margaret his wife brought a suit against Henry son of Adam de Heaton for waste, &c., in Heaton by Horwich ; De Banco R. 411, m. 217 d.

Hugh de Worthington and John de Heaton held of John La Warre half a knight's fee in Worthington and Heaton-under-Horwich, which William de Worthington formerly held ; Feud. Aids, iii, 89.

There does not seem to be any direct proof of this marriage, but it agrees with the descent of the estate.

Thomas son of Roger Banastre of Wrightington in or before 1361 married Aline daughter of John de Heaton ; John was a witness to the grant of lands then made ; Piccope's MSS. iii, 2 (communicated by Mr. J. H. Partington).

11 Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 523.
Richard de Heaton and Isolda his wife
held a fourth part of Billinge in 1374 ;
De Banco R. 454, m. 141.

12 Raines MSS. xxxvii B, 61. Dis-
pensation granted in 1398.

18 Final Cone, iii, 81.

18a A petition addressed to the Lord Chancellor in 1440 seems to refer to this family. In it Richard Barton of Middleton alleged that he had purchased the marriage of William son of Richard son of William Heaton, intending to wed him to his daughter Agnes. The younger William, under fourteen years of age, had been hidden away by Alexander Standish and his sister Isolda Heaton, who desired
to procure a divorce between him and Agnes ; Early Chan. Proc. bdle. 9, no. 204.

Richard is described as ' the heir of Heaton' in a document of 1461 relating to a corrody in the priory of Marrick on Swale, granted by Richard to his cousins William and Oliver Entwisle successively, and then by William son of Richard Heaton to his uncle Robert Heaton ; Ch. Gds. (Chet. Soc.), 29 (from the Weld Blundell D.).

14 Mamecestre, 480. It was held by
' the service of the tenth part of a knight's
fee and puture, and the rent of &d. a
year, with izd. for ward of the castle."

Katherine daughter of William Heaton married Henry son of Nicholas Blundell of Little Crosby in 1488-9 ; Kuerden, iii, C, 34, no. 580.

15 Visit, of 1533 (Chet. Soc.), p. 194 ;
the arms seem to be those of Billinge and
Heaton quarterly.

In 1530 Richard Heaton of Heaton gave to feoffees his manor of Billinge with lands, &c., in Billinge, Birchley, Rumworth, Lostock, and Ulverston. His will mentions his son William and Joan his wife and their children Alice and Jane ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 151, m. 8. He died after the Statute of Uses (1536), and his will was held to be void ; Duchy of Lane. Dep. xxxiv, G, la.

For pleadings regarding the woods in Horwich, between two of the younger sons, Richard and Bryan, see Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 119 ; ii, 219 ; the former seems to be wrongly dated.