SALFORD HUNDRED 



MANCHESTER 



36 acres more; these 136 acres, it was considered, 

 might be taken by the lord of Manchester and 

 approved by him, provided enough pasture for the 

 commoners were reserved. 7 Some compromise was 

 no doubt made ; the Byrons do not appear again, 

 and John La Warre and Joan his wife afterwards 

 granted to Thomas son of Henry de Trafford 100 

 acres of moor and pasture in Heaton and Withington, 

 'namely, that moiety of the place called Burnage 

 lying next to Heaton, which moiety remained to the 

 said John and Joan after a partition of the whole 

 place made between them and Sir Richard de Long- 

 ford.' 8 



The Longford moiety passed, like Withington, to 

 the Mosleys 9 and Egertons ; the Trafford moiety 

 seems to have been sold to a number of small holders. 

 In 1798 William Egerton was the principal con- 

 tributor to the land tax, paying over a third ; 10 and 

 in 1 844 Wilbraham Egerton owned about half 11 the 

 land. 



Burnage was a township in 1655." 



In connexion with the Established Church, St. 

 Margaret's was consecrated in 1875 ; the Bishop 

 of Manchester is the patron. 13 A temporary district 

 of St. Chad has recently been created at Lady Barn ; 

 the patronage is vested in the Crown and the Bishop 

 of Manchester alternately. 



The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel at Lady 

 Barn. The Congregationalists also are represented. 



DENTON 



Dentun, c. 1220 ; Denton, 1282, and usually. 



This township, lying in the bend of the River 

 Tame, which bounds it on the south, has an area of 

 1,706 acres, being nearly 2 miles square. It was some- 

 times called Denton under Donishaw. The highest 

 land, reaching 340 ft., is on the eastern border, dividing 

 Denton from Haughton. The population of the two 

 townships, Denton and Haughton, together numbered 

 14,934 in 1901. 



The principal road is that crossing the township 

 from west to east, leading from Manchester to Hyde 



and passing through the village of Denton. Crossing 

 it, on and near the eastern border, is the road leading 

 south from Ashton to Stockport, with a bridge over 

 the Tame. The London and North- Western Com- 

 pany's railway from Stockport to Ashton runs through 

 the north-western half of the township, and has a 

 station, called Denton, on the Hyde Road. Part of 

 the Audenshaw reservoir lies in this township. 



The place has long been celebrated for its hat 

 manufacture. The trade, after a period of decline 

 has revived. 1 A coal mine is worked. 



The village wake used to be held on 10 August. 



A local board was formed in 1857.' This has 

 become an urban district council of fifteen members. 

 The district includes Haughton also. There is a 

 public library. 



The manor of DENTON, rated as a 

 M4NOR plough-land, 3 was from early times divided 

 into several portions. One moiety about 

 1 200 was held of the lord of Withington by Matthew 

 de Reddish ; the other moiety was of the same lord 

 held probably by a family or families bearing the local 

 name, of whom there are but few traces. 4 



To Richard, rector of Stockport, and his heirs 

 Matthew de Reddish granted four oxgangs of land in 

 Denton, that was to say a moiety of the vill, at a rent 

 of I2</. 4 Robert, rector of Mottram, no doubt an 

 heir of Richard, granted all his land in Denton, 

 namely two oxgangs, to his daughter Cecily, at \d. 

 rent to the grantor and 5</. to the lamp of St. Mary 

 at Manchester. 6 Cecily was twice married to a 

 Norris of Heaton Norris and to Robert de Shores- 

 worth. This Robert and Cecily his wife granted all 

 their Denton lands, as well in demesne as in service, 

 to their son William. 7 Later, in 1299, Cecily as 

 widow of Robert modified the gift by granting half 

 her father's land to her son Alexander and his heirs, 

 with reversion to William. 8 A release was also pro- 

 cured from William le Norreys. 9 



William de Shoresworth had a son Robert, whose 

 daughter Margaret inherited the Denton estate. 10 By 

 Sir William de Holland she had a son Thurstan, who 

 was liberally endowed by her and his father, the two 

 oxgangs of land in Denton, i.e. the fourth part of the 



7 Mamecestre ii, 283-4. If the land 

 should be recovered by the lord of 

 Manchester its value would be 34*. (or 

 id. an acre) annually. 



8 Charter printed by Booker, op. cit. 

 173 ; the grant was made in exchange 

 for 30 acres of pasture in Barton. A 

 rent of 701. was payable, and 20 acres of 

 other land seem to have been added. 



9 See the will of Sir Nicholas Mosley, 

 ibid. 134. 



10 Returns at Preston. 



11 Booker, op. cit. 175. 



12 Ibid. 174. 



18 A school, used for service, was built 

 about 1857 ; Booker, Didsbury, 176. For 

 the district assigned see Land. Gam. 29 Oct. 

 1875. 



1 Booker, Denton (Chet. Soc.), 9-13 ; 

 the trade was almost ruined about 1850 

 owing to the prevalence of the silk hat, 

 which the Denton hatter* had not adopted, 

 and to strikes. A few years later the 

 introduction of new forms of the felt hat 

 led to a revival. 



2 Land. Gas:. 24 Mar. 1857. 



8 Some uncertainty must exist until it 

 can be determined whether or not the two 



oxgangs of land in Haughton were part of 

 the eight in Denton. 



4 After Withington had been acquired 

 by the lords of Manchester, Denton was 

 reckoned a hamlet of Manchester ; e.g. 

 Towneley MS. DD, no. 1511. 



Lord Wilton's D. The land was 

 to be held of Matthew de Reddish and his 

 heirs ; the first witness was Matthew son 

 of William de Withington. 



6 Ibid. The two oxgangs of land 

 were held of Robert de Reddish ; they 

 were occupied separately, one by Jor- 

 dan, brother of the grantor, who had 

 Richard son of Robert de Hyde as an 

 under-tenant. 



' Ibid. The date is about 1280. There 

 was a remainder to Geoffrey, brother of 

 William. 8 Ibid. 



9 Ibid. In 1306 William le Norreys 

 of Heaton granted to Alexander, his 

 brother according to the flesh, all the 

 right of succession he might have to land 

 in Denton; and in 1308-9 gave all the 

 lands, &c., in his possession in Denton, 

 ' which is in the fee of Withington,' while 

 another deed of the same year calls the 

 grantee Alexander de Shoresworth. Ro- 



3" 



bert son and heir of William le Norreys ia 

 1310-11 released to Alexander de Shores- 

 worth all his right in two oxgangs of land 

 in Denton. 



A large number of Holland of Denton 

 deeds and abstracts are contained in Harl. 

 MS. 21 12, fol. 145/181, &c. Among 

 these is one by William le Norreys, lord 

 of Heaton, to Robert de Shoresworth and 

 Cecily mother of William ; ibid. fol. 1 647 

 200. Many deeds are printed from the 

 originals in Mr. W. F. Irvine's Holland 

 of Knutsford (1902). 



10 Robert son of William de Shoresworth 

 in 1281 released to his uncle Alexander 

 de Shoresworth all his lands, &c., in Den- 

 ton ; Harl. MS. 2112, fol. 149/185. 

 Alexander, who was probably acting as 

 trustee, would thus have the whole of 

 Cecily's land in his possession. In 1325-6 

 he made a feoffment of his capital mes- 

 suage and lands in Denton in the vill of 

 Withington, Adam de Ryecroft, vicar of 

 Huyton, being the feoffee ; and Adam im- 

 mediately regranted them, with remainder 

 to Thurstan son of Margaret de Shores- 

 worth ; ibid. fol. 148^/184/1. To these deeds 

 Sir William de Holland was a witness. 



