A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Longford, 10 having no children, sold Withington and 

 left other estates to his sister's heir. 11 



The purchaser of the Withington manor in 1597 

 was Rowland Mosley. 1 * He was the son of Nicholas 

 Mosley, ' cotton man ' of Man- 

 chester, to whom, in 1568, 

 Hough End House had been 

 leased by Nicholas Longford, 13 

 the freehold being purchased 

 by Rowland and Francis Mos- 

 ley in 1588." Rowland was 

 bout fifty-three years of age at 

 his father's death ; he served 

 as high sheriff in i6i5-i6, 15 

 and died in 1617, leaving a 

 son and heir, Edward, born a 

 few months before the father's 

 death. 16 



Edward Mosley, in addition 



to the large paternal estates, also inherited Rolleston 

 in Staffordshire and other lands by the bequest of 



MOSLEY of Hough 

 End. Sable a che-veron 

 between three pickaxes 

 argent. 



his uncle Sir Edward Mosley, attorney-general of the 

 Duchy. 17 By his marriage he acquired yet further 

 property. 18 He was created a baronet in l64O. 19 

 Adhering zealously to the cause of Charles I he sup- 

 plied the king with money, and fought in Cheshire, 

 where he was taken prisoner at Middlewich in i643. 20 

 His estates were sequestered, but he at last made 

 peace with the Parliament by a fine of ^4,874." 

 His own dissipated and extravagant habits further 

 impoverished him, M He died at Hough End in 

 1657, leaving a son and heir, Edward, nineteen years 

 of age. 23 



The second Sir Edward was nominated as sheriff 

 in 1660, but does not appear to have served. 14 He 

 died at Hough End in October 1665. He had 

 married earlier in the year, but had no children, and 

 his next heir was his sister Mary, wife of Joseph 

 Maynard of Baling.* 5 By his will he left all his 

 manors and lands including his purchase of Hulme 

 to his cousin Edward Mosley, the second son of 

 Oswald Mosley of Ancoats, but with the obligation 



heath, moor, a water-mill and 401. rent, 

 of all which he made a settlement in 

 1510. The manors were held of Lord La 

 Warre by one knight's fee, and were 

 worth 80 a year. The heir was his 

 grandson Ralph, son of Nicholas and 

 Margery Longford, four years of age, and 

 in the wardship of Sir Thomas Gerard of 

 Brynn ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 

 47. The heir was made a knight in 

 1529 ; Shaw, op. cit. ii, 47. 



There are pedigrees of the Longford 

 family in Booker, Didsbury, 113, and 

 Thoroton, Notts, iii, 145. 



10 He was son of the last-named Sir 

 Ralph, and in possession in 1544, as ap- 

 pears by the inquisition after the death of 

 Edmund Entwisle, who held land in 

 Withington of the heir of Sir Ralph Long- 

 ford in socage ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 

 vii, 30. 



11 Among Earl Egerton of Tatton's 

 deeds are a number connected with Nicho- 

 las Longford. In 1566 Edward Tyldes- 

 ley of Morleys conveyed lands, &c. in 

 Withington to Nicholas Longford of Long- 

 ford. In 1587 Nicholas settled his capi- 

 tal messuage called Hough Hall, with the 

 park and various lands known as Hough 

 Park, Woodhead Meadow, Presefields, 

 Hondirne, Hough Fields, Hough Moss 

 and Moss Green, Willey Leys, Dove 

 Lache Meadow, &c., ' parcels of the de- 

 mesne lands of the manor of Hough other- 

 wise called the manor of Withington ' ; 

 also various messuages, lands, &c. in 

 Hough, Withington, Manchester, Dids- 

 bury, Chorlton, Rusholme, Haughton, and 

 Denton, for the jointure of Martha, then 

 his wife. His father Sir Ralph Longford 

 is named. Previous dispositions of the 

 estates were recited, when the remainders 

 were to Richard Longford and William 

 his brother, ' being near cousins to the said 

 Nicholas Longford ' ; to Maud his sister, 

 late wife of Sir George Vernon, and then 

 of Francis Hastings ; to Francis Dethick, 

 son of Humphrey Dethick and Elizabeth 

 his wife, another sister of Nicholas, and 

 to the said Elizabeth. The remainders 

 were varied in 1587, and a further change 

 was made in 1588, when Sir Christopher 

 Hatton and his heirs came first in the re- 

 mainders. The above-named Martha, as 

 ' Martha Southwell, one of the daughters 

 of Sir Robert Southwell, knight, deceased,' 

 also in 1591 released her right to Hatton. 

 In 1595 Sir William Hatton for 2,660 



conveyed the manors of Withington and 

 Hough to Sir Robert Cecil and others, 

 Nicholas Longford immediately afterwards 

 selling them the same manors. In Dec. 

 1597 Cecil and the others, for 8,000, 

 sold the same to Rowland Mosley. 



Fines relating to these various trans- 

 actions are : Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdles. 28, m. 121 ; 29, m. 19 ; 51, m. 

 234, 279 5 53. m - 16, 23 5 59> m. 355. 



12 See the preceding note. 



18 Earl Egerton's D. A rent of 251. 4^. 

 was to be paid, and a man was to be 

 provided in time of war ' to wait upon 

 Nicholas Longford and his heirs as hath 

 heretofore been accustomed.' One of the 

 best cattle was to be given as a heriot at 

 the death of every tenant during the 

 seventy years of the lease. 



In the grant of arms to Nicholas Mos- 

 ley in 1593 he is said to be the son of 

 Edward son of James son of Jenkin 

 Mosley of Hough or Hough's End ; 

 Mosley Family Memoirs, App. He re- 

 moved to London about 1575, prospered 

 in business, became alderman and lord 

 mayor, and was knighted in 1600. He 

 purchased the manor of Manchester in 

 1596. At Hough End he built a new 

 house, and retiring from business in 1602, 

 lived there till his death in 1612. He 

 was high sheriff of Lancashire in 1603-4; 

 P.R.O. List, 73. These and other par- 

 ticulars will be found in greater detail in 

 Axon's Mosley Memoranda (Chet. Soc.), 7; 

 Booker's Didsbury, 130-46, where are 

 printed the will of Sir Nicholas and his 

 widow Elizabeth ; Mosley Fam. Mem. 5- 

 10, where a view of his tomb is given ; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), ii, 4, showing that besides the 

 manor of Manchester he had acquired 

 lands, &c. in Withington and Chorlton 

 from Ellis Hey, others in Farnworth, 

 Kearsley, Hulme, and Barton from Sir 

 Edmund Trafford, and in Heaton Norris 

 from Lady Jane Lovell. From his will it 

 is evident that Sir Nicholas had large 

 estates not named in the inquisition. 



14 Earl Egerton's D. Rowland Mos- 

 ley, then son and heir apparent of Sir 

 Nicholas Mosley of the Hough, made an 

 entail of the estates in 1606 in concert 

 with his father. Rowland was to remain 

 seised of the manors and lordships of 

 Hough, Withington, and Didsbury, and 

 all the messuages, lands, &c. in Withing- 

 ton, Didsbury, Stretford, Turve Moss, 



290 



Chorlton, Moor End, Birchall Houses, 

 Burnage, Fallowfield, Rusholme, Heaton 

 Wood Green, Hough End, Moss Green, 

 Yeeld Houses, Little Heath, Barricroft, 

 and Ladybarn, with successive remainders 

 (in default of male issue) to his brothers 

 Francis and Edward, to the sons of 

 Anthony (another brother), to Anthony 

 Mosley of Manchester, and to Oswald 

 Mosley, both brothers of Sir Nicholas ; 

 ibid. In 1613 a surrender was made by 

 the tenants for life in many of the above- 

 named hamlets and in Moss Side and 

 Teand (tithe) barns ; ibid. 



ls P.R.O. List, 73. 



16 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc.), ii, 66- 

 70. The manor of Withington was held 

 of the king, as of his Duchy, by the ser- 

 vice of a knight's fee. Two indentures 

 are recited in the inquisition, giving the 

 settlements as made in 1617. 



J 7 Mosley Fam. Mem. 13, 14 ; the uncle's 

 part of the Alport estate, Manchester, was 

 included in the bequest. 



"Ibid. 15 ; Breadsall Park in Derby- 

 shire and lands in Leicestershire were 

 thus acquired. 



19 G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, ii, 79. 



20 M osley Fam. Mem. 17 ; Civil War 

 in Cbes. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 41 ' Sir Edward Mosley, a great wealthy 

 baronet of Lancashire and lord of Man- 

 chester.' The battle took place on 13 

 Mar. 1642-3. In the previous autumn 

 Alport Lodge, his house in Manchester, 

 had been used by Lord Strange as a point 

 of attack, and had afterwards been burnt 

 down ; Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc.), 

 52, 121. 



21 Axon, Mosley Mem. 1 1 ; Cal. of 

 Camp, for Compounding, ii, 1060 ; Royalist 

 Camp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 iv, 199. 



22 Axon, loc. cit. (referring to Harl. 

 Misc. iii, 499) and Booker, Didsbury, 147- 

 57, where are printed letters relating to a 

 debt of 2,000 with accumulated interest 

 due to Humphrey Chetham. A settle- 

 ment of the manors of Manchester, 

 Hough, Withington, Didsbury, and Hea- 

 ton Norris was made by Sir Edward 

 Mosley and Mary his wife in 1653 ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 151, m. 

 152. 



38 Axon, loc. cit. Mosley Fam. Mem. 1 9 



34 P.R.O. List, 73. 



35 Axon, op. cit. 1 1, 12. 



