SALFORD HUNDRED 



ECCLES 



IRLAM ** was early divided among several ten- 

 ants. 83 From one family, which adopted the local 

 surname, 84 the Hultons of Hulton acquired a holding M 

 which descended to the Farnworth stock, and appar- 

 ently to an Irlam branch. 86 The surname Irlam is 

 found in the district down to the i8th century. 87 

 About the i6th century the Lathoms of Irlam appear; 

 they were the principal local family for about two 

 centuries, holding, according to one inquisition, a 

 third part of the manor, and they had another estate 



at Hawthorn, near Wilmslow, on the Cheshire side 

 of the Mersey. 88 At the end of the i8th century 

 Irlam Hall was owned by John Greaves, a wealthy mer- 

 chant, partner with Sir Robert Peel as a banker, and 

 it descended in his family till 1 866. 89 Baines noted 

 in 1836 that the hall was used as a farm-house, and 

 was of Elizabeth's time, containing a principal beam 

 of massive size, the largest, probably, in the county. 



C4DISHE4D>vras in the izth century held of 

 the king by serjeanty of carpentry, one Edwin being 



8a Irwulham (1292) ; 'Irlam alias Ir- 

 wellham ' (1680). 



83 In 1322 Irlam, like Newham, Win- 

 ton, and Monton, was a hamlet of Barton, 

 in the possession of the lord of Man- 

 chester ; Mamecestre, ii, 379. 



84 Dolfin de Irlam about 1190 granted 

 his part of the land between the crooked 

 oak and the stub at the head of Wulpit- 

 croft, and his part of the wood between 

 Elmtree Pool and Elbrook, to the canons 

 of Cockersand ; Simon, the brother of 

 Dolfin, and John de Hulme concurred , 

 Cockertand Chartul. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 719- 

 21. About 1245 Henry, Abbot of Cocker- 

 tand, granted this land to Geoffrey de 

 Irlam and his heirs at a rent of i6d. ; a 

 mark of silver was to be paid at death in 

 lieu of relief, and half a mark at the 

 death of a wife; ibid. 722. In 1461 

 Richard del Booth held land in Irlam at 

 a rent of i6d. ; ibid, iv, 1238. 



William son of Avice de Irlam granted 

 to Adam son of William de Irlam certain 

 lands upon the ' Ruedis ' between the 

 high road and the marsh, at the rent of a 

 pair of white gloves or id. ; De TrafFord 

 D. no. 259. In 1292 inquiry was 

 made if William son of Avice de Irlam, 

 uncle of William son of Cecily de Irlam, 

 had been seised of a messuage and land 

 then tenanted by Adam de Didsbury and 

 Margery his wife ; Adam stating that he 

 held by grant of Cecily sister and heir of 

 the former William. The charter was 

 alleged to be a forgery, but a verdict was 

 given for Adam ; Assize R. 408, m. 5 d. 



85 Adam de Irlam (see last note) was 

 defendant in suits respecting lands in 

 1278 and 1279, the plaintiffs being 

 Richard and Ralph de Irlam ; De Banco 

 R. 23, m. 53; 24, m. 4; 28, m. 33. 

 Agnes widow of Adam in 1301 released 

 to Richard de Hulton the elder all her 

 right in her husband's lands ; De Trafford 

 D. no. 262 ; while Thomas, the son of 

 Adam, had in 1298 leased all his lands in 

 Irlam for six years to William de Hulton, 

 excepting the dower lands of his mother 

 Agnes ; Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. i6zb. 



Richard son of John de Irlam granted 

 to Richard de Hulton part of his land on 

 'Ruyedishe' in Irlam ; ibid. fol. 162. To 

 William son of John de Irlam, Richard 

 son of Richard the Harper released all 

 his claim upon Plumtree Butt, Thomas 

 son of Richard de Irlam being a witness ; 

 De Trafford D. no. 263, 266. In 1317 

 William son of William son of John de 

 Irlam granted all his lands in Irlam to 

 Richard de Hulton ; ibid. no. 265. 



86 Richard de Hulton in 1306 gave his 

 son Adam lands in Irlam and Sharpies 

 and the mill pool of Flixton, with the 

 service of John son of William de Hul- 

 ton from all lands in Irlam ; Dods. MSS. 

 cxlix, fol. 162. 



In 1324 Margaret widow of Adam 

 de Pendlebury claimed as dower the third 

 part of a plough-land in Irlam ; Richard 

 de Hulton was defendant, and charged 

 Margaret with adultery, but she alleged 



that she had been reconciled to her hus- 

 band 5 De Banco R. 248, m. I54d. 



Richard de Hulton in 1325 gave to 

 Robert son of Adam de Hulton, for life, 

 all his lands in the hamlet of Irlam in 

 the vill of Barton, excepting those which 

 he had acquired from Adam del Birches 

 of Didsbury ; Robert and his tenants were 

 to grind their corn at Richard's mill at 

 Flixton to the twentieth measure ; De 

 Trafford D. no. 264. The grandson, 

 Richard de Hulton, made a similar grant 

 in 1331 (ibid. no. 267), and in 1334 gave 

 to John son of Henry de Hulton [of 

 Farnworth] his purparty of the waste of 

 Irlam, then held for life by Robert son of 

 John de Hulton ; John de Hulton and 

 his tenants were to grind at the Flixton 

 mill, without giving multure, being ' hop- 

 per free ' for ever. William son of Ellen 

 de Irlam, one of the tenants, paid an 

 arrow as rent ; ibid. no. 2702. Adam 

 de Hulton granted his lands in Irlam to 

 his son Robert in 1340, with remainder 

 to another son, Adam ; ibid. no. 269. 

 The Booths of Barton acquired lands from 

 Cecily daughter of David de Hulton in 

 1350 from John de Barton in 1362, 

 and from Henry son of John de Hulton 

 of Irlam in 1425 ; ibid. no. 273-$. In the 

 last grant the ' Ferry houses ' are men- 

 tioned ; in 1360 there lived William del 

 Ferry of Irlam; Assize R. 451, m. 3. 

 Adam son of Adam de Hulton in 1368 

 sold his lands in Irlam to Thomas del 

 Booth ; Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 163. 



The Hultons of Farnworth continued 

 to hold land in Irlam in socage of the 

 lords of Manchester ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Chet. Soc.), ii, 6. The Booths of Bar- 

 ton and Asshaws of Shaw were also land- 

 owners in the i6th century, as appears by 

 the Cal. of Inquisitions p.m. In 1563 

 John Booth acquired from Richard Dut- 

 ton messuages and lands in Irlam, and a 

 free fishery in the Irwell ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 25, m. 269. 



8 7 Richard de Irlam and Alice his wife 

 and Thomas (son of Richard) and Maud 

 his wife were plaintiffs in 1360; Duchy 

 of Lane. Assize R. 8, m. 13. William 

 Irlam occurs in 1472 ; Agecroft D. 

 no. 345. In 1580 John Johnson alias 

 Irlam and Edmund Hey were deforciants 

 in a fine respecting property in Irlam, 

 Humphrey Barlow and Ellis Hey being 

 the plaintiffs ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdle. 42, m. 181. Thomas Irlam and 

 Isabel his wife in 15 84 sold land to Hum- 

 phrey Barlow ; ibid. bdle. 46, m. 98. 

 Thomas Irlam of Barton in 1631 paid 

 ^lo on declining knighthood ; Misc. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 215. 

 Frances Irlam of Pendleton in 1717 re- 

 gistered an estate as a 'papist' ; Engl. 

 Catb. Nonjurors, 153. 



88 Pedigrees are given in Dugdale's 

 Visit. 175 ; Earwaker, East Ches. i, 

 133 ; and Baines, Lanes, (ed. Croston), 

 iii, 272. The origin of this branch of 

 the Lathom family and of its interest in 

 Irlam has not been ascertained, but they 



371 



may have succeeded to the Westleigh 

 family; see Final Cone, ii, 1 2 1, and the 

 account of Rivington. In 1448 Oliver 

 Barton and George Massey were defor- 

 ciants of messuages and lands in Barton, 

 Irlam, Rivington and Westleigh ; appar- 

 ently the same as those held in later times 

 by the Lathoms ; ibid, iii, 1 14. 



In 1582 George Lathom made a settle- 

 ment of his estate of ten messuages, 100 

 acres of land, &c., in Irlam, Rivington, 

 Bedford, Westleigh and Liverpool ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 44, m. 42. George 

 Lathom died in Dec. 1602 ; he desired to 

 be buried in Eccles Church, where his 

 wife was buried. To his son Thomas he 

 left all his implements of husbandry, and 

 he names his other sons John and Henry; 

 Munch. C. Lett Rec. ii, 187. 



Edmund Lathom, grandson of George, 

 died 2 Apr. 1639, leaving as heir his son 

 Edmund, then twenty-four years of age. 

 The inquisition recites a settlement made 

 by the grandfather, and states that the 

 third part of the manor of Irlam was held 

 of Sir Cecil Trafford ; Towneley MS. 

 C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 755. Robert Tip- 

 ping of Irlam died in 1622, holding a 

 messuage and lands of Edmund Lathom 

 (the son of Thomas) by the rent of a pair 

 of white gloves possibly the land of 

 Adam de Irlam already mentioned ; Lanes. 

 Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 

 371. 



In 1680 Thomas Lathom of Irlam 

 agreed with his mother, Jane Lathom of 

 Hawthorn near Wilmslow, respecting her 

 annuity of 10, granting her his capital 

 messuages, Irlam Hall and Bedford Hall, 

 and lands there and in Rivington, Angle- 

 zarke, Manchester and Audenshaw, for 

 twenty-one years, to discharge the annuity 

 and various other debts ; deed in Man- 

 chester Free Library. John Halsall, 

 claiming by demise of John Leigh, com- 

 plained in 1695 of having been ejected by 

 Thomas Lathom from an estate in Irlam, 

 Bedford, &c. ; Exch. of Pleas, Trin. 7 

 Will. Ill, m. 41. 



Thomas Lathom actively assisted in the 

 revolution of 1688. His ultimate heir 

 was a daughter Jane, who married John 

 Fmney of Fulshaw Hall ; Earwaker, Eatt 

 Ches. i, 130, where it is stated that 

 Thomas Lathom had so far involved his 

 estate by his efforts in favour of William 

 III that he left his heir ' nothing more 

 than the coat of arms.' An account of 

 the Finneys is given, ibid, i, 153-6. 



89 Burke, Commoners, iv, 106. John 

 Greaves of Irlam died in Dec. 1815, and 

 his son John succeeded him ; being suc- 

 ceeded in Apr. 1 849, by his sister Mary, 

 who died in 1866 ; Raines, in Gastrell's 

 Notitia, ii, 50 ; Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1868), 

 i, 595 ; monument in Eccles Church. In 

 1886 the hall was owned by Mr. J. 

 Browne ; Lanes, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. iv, 

 307, 308. 



90 Cadwalesate, 1212 ; Kadewaldesire, 

 1222; Cadewallessiete, 1226 ; Cadewalle- 

 set, c. 1300 ; Cadewallesheved, 1350. 



