A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



tenure being altered to knight's service, 14 and on 

 their forfeiture in 1485 it was granted to the Earl of 

 Derby, 16 and descended like Knowsley down to the 

 middle of the I yth century." There does not appear 

 to be any later record of a manor of Cheetham, the 

 estate probably having been dismembered by various 

 sales. 18 Lord Derby, however, is still the chief land- 

 owner. 



The principal estate in the 

 township, apart from the manor, 

 was that called STRJNGE- 

 WAYS? long held by the 

 family of that name, 20 but sold 

 about the middle of the iyth 

 century to the Hartleys, who 

 retained possession for several 



other demesne lands ; Plac. de Quo War, 

 (Rec. Com.), 369. His mother Alice 

 (living in 1302) confirmed a grant of lands 

 in Crompton made by him, as if they 

 were part of her inheritance ; Clowes 

 deeds. It is supposed that she was the 

 other sister and co-heir. Geoffrey de 

 Chetham's moiety of Allerton did not 

 descend in the same way, so that it is 

 probable he had no issue by his wife 

 Margery. 



By 1312, probably by arrangement be- 

 tween the heirs, the whole of the manor 

 of Cheetham was held by the Pilkingtons; 

 Final Cone, ii, 9, 33, 35. In 1313 Geof- 

 frey de Chadderton the elder appeared in 

 an assize of mart <f 'ancestor against Robert 

 de Ashton, Margery his wife ; Alexander, 

 Roger, and William, sons of Roger de 

 Pilkington, and Alice, widow of Alexan- 

 der de Pilkington ; Assize R. 424, m. 4, 

 10. This may refer to the Crompton 

 estate. 



Roger son of Roger de Pilkington in 

 1357 proceeded against various persons 

 for cutting his trees at Cheetham ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Assize R. 6, m. 7. 



15 In 1346 Roger de Pilkington held 

 the tenth part of a knight's fee in Cheet- 

 ham, paying 131. 4</. ; Add. MS. 32103, 

 fol. 1466. From the Book of Reasonable 

 Aid of 1378, it appears that Sir Roger de 

 Pilkington paid 2J. for the tenth part of a 

 knight's fee in Cheetham ; Harl. MS. 

 2085, fol. 422. So also in the inquisition 

 after the death of Sir Roger de Pilkington 

 in 1407 ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 

 86, from which it appears that the rent of 

 1 3 s. $d. was also paid. In the extent of 

 1445-6 it is stated that Sir John Pilking- 

 ton held one plough-land in Cheetham for 

 the tenth part of a knight's fee, the relief 

 due being 101. ; Duchy of Lane. Knights' 

 Fees, 2/20. Again, in 1483 Sir Thomas 

 Pilkington was found to hold the tenth 

 part of a fee in Cheetham ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Misc. 130. 



16 Pat. 4 Hen. VII ; styled the manor 

 of Cheetham or lordship of Cheetwood. 



J 7 Cheetham and Cheetwood are named 

 in 1521 among the manors of Thomas, 

 Earl of Derby, but no particulars are 

 given ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, 68. 



The manor of Cheetham and Cheet- 

 wood, together with lands there and in 

 Harwood and Breightmet, was sold or 

 mortgaged by William, Earl of Derby. 

 about 1596 to Sir Nicholas and Rowland 

 Mosley for 1,600. The purchasers 

 demanded further assurances, and appear 

 to have refused to complete the purchase, 

 according to a complaint by the earl in 

 1601 ; Duchy of Lane. Plead. Eliz. 

 ccii, D 10 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 

 58, m. 291. In 1608 Thomas Goodyer 

 was stated to hold lands in Cheetham of 

 Sir Nicholas Mosley as of his manor of 

 Cheetham ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 112. The later 

 history shows that Cheetham and Cheet- 

 wood were recovered by the earl, while 

 Breightmet and Harwood were alienated, 

 for in 1653 it was deposed that a 

 chief rent of 1 31. 4^. had been paid to 



the king for the Earl of Derby's land* in 

 Cheetham and Cheetwood ; Royalist Comp. 

 Papcrt (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 

 206. At this time lands in Cheetham, 

 Manchester, and Salford, paying 3 8 'old 

 rent* were part of the life estate of 

 Charlotte, the countess dowager ; ibid, ii, 

 185. In 1653 she leased to Thomas 

 Bird the water corn-mill called Travis 

 Mill in Cheetham. 



18 Some of the seventh earl's confiscated 

 lands were sold to Humphrey Kelsall ; 

 Royalist Comp. Papers, ii, 241 ; see also 

 Com. Pleas Recov. R. Mich. 1653, m. I. 



19 It is mentioned in 1322 in the 

 description of the bounds of Manchester ; 

 Mamecestre, ii, 372. The spelling varies 

 considerably, e.g. Strongways, 1306 ; 

 Strangewayes, 1349; Strangwishe, 1473. 



20 In 1304 Robert son of John Grelley 

 appeared against John de Strangeways, 

 Thomas and Geoffrey his brothers, for 

 the death of his brother John son of John 

 Grelley ; Coram Rege R. 176, m. 6 d. 

 Ellen de Strangeways and others were 

 afterwards charged with receiving the said 

 John de Strangeways ; Assize R. 421, m. 

 4. In 1345 Sibyl, widow of Geoffrey de 

 Strangeways, and Thomas son of Geoffrey, 

 were defendants in a plea regarding a 

 messuage and lands in Manchester ; De 

 Banco R. 343, m. I76d. In 1349 John 

 de Strangeways and Margery his wife had 

 a lease of a burgage in the Netheracres, 

 Manchester, from John de Prestwich ; 

 Lord Wilton's D. Thomas de Strange- 

 ways, a witness to this lease, was probably 

 the head of the family at that time, oc- 

 curring at various dates, down to his 

 death in 1386; e.g. Agecroft D., 

 no. 24 (1349), no. 29 (1362); Mamecestre, 

 iii, 454 (1359). At his death he held 

 Tetlow of the Langleys of Agecroft, and 

 his son Geoffrey, being only five years of 

 age, was committed to the guardianship of 

 Roger de Langley ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. 

 Soc.), i, 24, 50. 



John de Strangeways and Alice his wife 

 were living in 1377 ; Final Cone, iii, 56. 

 John occurs as a witness in 1381, and 

 Henry in 1383 ; Hulme D. The 

 latter also in 1410; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. 

 Soc. i, 94-5. In the same year James 

 Strangeways, the king's serjeant-at-law, 

 is named ; ibid, i, 97 ; see also Final 

 Cone, iii, 103. Other members of the 

 family or families occur in similar ways, 

 but no connected pedigree can be formed, 

 nor is it known how they acquired the 

 estate called Strangeways. Henry de 

 Strangeways was in 1385 in possession of 

 a manor in Tyldesley which he granted to 

 Thomas de Strangeways and Ellen his 

 wife and heirs male ; they had a daughter 

 Cecily ; ibid, iii, 25. Henry son of John 

 de Strangeways of Manchester had a bur- 

 gage in Salford in 1397 ; Dods. MS. cxlii, 

 fol. 165, no. 21. Nicholas son of Henry 

 Strangeways occurs in 1447 ; ibid. no. 

 22. William Strangeways of Cheetham 

 was in 1443 called upon to surrender a 

 chest of charters to Ralph de Prestwich ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 5, m. 7*. There 

 are some interesting notes concerning 



26O 



them in Har- STRANGEWAYS. SabU 



land, Maneh. t^o Itons passant ,n pale 

 Coll. (Chet. *jf f "* ar &' nt and 

 Soc.), ii, 140- Z ul "' 

 3 ; from these 



it appears that William Strangeways had 

 a grant of the Knolls (see below) in 1408, 

 and that John Strangeways had land by 

 the Irk in 1459. 



Thomas son and heir of John Strange- 

 ways, deceased, in 1478, enfeoffed 

 James and Richard Strangeways and a 

 number of others of his lands in Lanca- 

 shire ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 540. 

 Then in 1518 Philip son and heir of 

 Thomas Strangeways, lately deceased, 

 granted a tenement in the Millgate in 

 Manchester on lease ; Philip was to re- 

 tain a free passage through the tenement 

 and garden to the Irk in order to get 

 water, and also to wash clothes ; High 

 Legh D. (West Hall). 



In 1540 Philip Strangeways, described 

 as ' a wilful person,' and Thomas his son 

 and heir apparent, leased lands called the 

 Broad, Great Knolls, Hammecroft Bank, 

 &c., and the corn-mill at Strangeways to 

 one John Webster of Manchester, who 

 soon afterwards complained that they had 

 seized his corn ; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 156. 



Philip Strangeways and Stephen Beck 

 in 1544 disposed of three messuages, &c., 

 in Cheetham to Robert Fletcher ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 12, m. 238. Philip 

 died in 1556, being succeeded by his son 

 William (Manch. Ct. Leet Rec. i, 29), 

 who had already disposed of many por- 

 tions of the family property ; e.g. Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 14, m. 214, m. 51, 

 m. 40, m. 112, &c. In one of the fines 

 Philip Strangeways and Dulcibella his 

 wife are mentioned ; ibid. bdle. 14, ID. 

 208. A settlement had been made in 

 1544 by which the remainder (after 

 Philip and his son William and male issue) 

 was to George Strangeways, brother of 

 Philip ; the estate comprised twenty-four 

 messuages, twenty burgages, twenty cot- 

 tages, &c., a water-mill, with land, mea- 

 dow, pasture, wood, moor and heath, and 

 turbary,^ 1 31. 4^. rent, and the moiety of 

 a water-mill, in Cheetham, Strangeways, 

 Rochdale, Spotland, Oldham, Cheesden, 

 Manchester, Salford, Oldfield, Withing- 

 ton, and Ardwick ; ibid. bdle. 1 2, m. 

 268. 



William Strangeways died in 1565, 

 leaving a son Thomas as heir ; Ct. Leet 

 Rec. i, 93. Eleanor Strangeways, widow 

 of William, in 1568 gave acknowledge- 

 ments for rents received on behalf of 

 her son Thomas ; West Hall D. Two 

 years later Thomas Strangeways, seised in 

 fee of the mansion house and demesne of 

 Strangeways, was plaintiff in an assault 

 case ; Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), ii, 400. 

 The fortunes of the family were probably 

 declining, for alienations went on ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdles. 32, m. 82 ; 34, 

 m. 84 ; 56, m. 4 ; Ct. Leet Rec. i, 176. 

 In 1571 Thomas Strangeways sold a bur- 

 gage in Manchester lying near the Irk, 

 with a garden and kiln belonging thereto, 



