A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Tramways, constructed by the district council, are 

 leased to the Corporation of Bury. 



A market-house was erected by the Earl of Wilton 

 in 1851 ; Friday is the market day. 8 The wakes 

 begin on the third Saturday in August. 



A convalescent hospital was presented to the town 

 in 1903 by Mr. Adam Crompton Bealey in memory 

 of his parents. 



A weekly newspaper, 'The Radcliffe Times, founded 

 in 1 899, is printed at Bury. 



A Roman road, commemorated by Blackburn Street, 

 passed northwards through RadclifFe Bridge. 



There was a cross to the north-west of the church. 9 



There were 108 hearths liable to the tax in 1666. 

 The rectory had only five hearths, but there was one 

 larger house, that of James Holland, with six. 10 



The following is the apportionment of agricultural 

 land in the parish: Arable land, 561 acres; permanent 

 grass, 1,221; woods and plantations, 75. 



There are several collieries, with cotton mills and 

 factories, the trades of the town including cotton- 

 spinning, the weaving of ginghams, scarves, handker- 

 chiefs, sarongs, &c., and the making of small-wares ; 

 bleaching, finishing, dyeing, paper-making, iron-found- 

 ing, and machine-making ; there are also chemical 

 manufactories. 



At his death in 1 066 Edward the Con- 

 M4NOR fessor held R4DCLIFFE as one hide. 11 

 The extent of the royal manor must have 

 been much greater than that of the present township, 

 which was in 1212 assessed as one plough-land only. 

 Allowing for a reduction of the assessment by a 

 third, it is clear that the later manor of RadclifFe can 

 have been but a fourth part of the original one. At 

 the later date mentioned it formed part of the 

 Marsey fee, and was held of Ranulf son of Roger 

 by William de RadclifFe." William was in possession 

 in 1193, when he proffered 5 marks for having the 

 king's favour after the rebellion of John, Count of 

 Mortain. 13 In 1 199 he paid 10 marks for an inquiry 

 concerning land in Hartshead, 14 and later he contri- 

 buted to tallage and scutage. 15 In 1202 he secured 



RADCLIFFE of Rad- 

 cliffe. Argent a bend- 

 let engrailed table. 



an acknowledgement of his right to the advowson of 

 RadclifFe Church. 16 He was one of the 'trusty 

 knights' who made the great Survey of 1212, at 

 which time he was found to hold, in addition to 

 RadclifFe, 1 2 oxgangs in Edge- 

 worth. 17 He died before 1221, 

 when his widow Eugenia sued 

 Adam de RadclifFe for her 

 dower in a plough-land in 

 RadclifFe, a plough-land in 

 Edgeworth, and 4 oxgangs of 

 land in Little Lever. 18 



Adam de RadclifFe is men- 

 tioned in 1223," and in 1227 

 acknowledged the service due 

 to the lord of Manchester 

 for Little Lever. 10 In 1246 

 as Adam son of William de 

 RadclifFe he was acquitted of having disseised Adam 

 son of Alexander de RadclifFe and Peter son of Adam 

 of 4 acres of common of pasture in RadclifFe, where 

 he had dug a mine ; but he was convicted of other 

 disseisin. 11 Adam had also to answer Cecily de 

 Gorhull, who claimed an oxgang in RadclifFe, of 

 which she alleged William father of Adam had 

 disseised her, but he alleged that Hugh son of 

 Spraging, Cecily's father, had exchanged that oxgang 

 for other land in Gorhull. 11 GeofFrey son of Hugh de 

 Gorhull in 1284 claimed a messuage and lands in 

 RadclifFe against Richard son of Robert de RadclifFe." 



Richard de RadclifFe was in 1 302 holding the eighth 

 part of a fee in RadclifFe of the Earl of Lancaster. 14 

 Two years later he had from the king a grant of free 

 warren in his demesne lands of RadclifFe and Quarl- 

 ton. 16 William son of Richard de RadclifFe is next 

 found in possession. He married Margaret daughter 

 and heir of Adam de Hindley, and with her had 

 Peasfurlong, a fourth part of Culcheth. 16 In 1324 he 

 held the manor of RadclifFe by homage and the yearly 

 service of 6s. for castle-ward and zs. 6d. for sake fee, 

 and by the service of the half and the tenth part of a 

 knight's fee.* 7 



8 There were unchartered fairs held at 

 the end of April and September ; Baines, 

 Lanes, (ed. 1868), i, 533. 



9 Lanes, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xxii, 139. 



10 Subs. R. bdle. 250, no. 9, Lanes. 



11 V.C.H. Lana. i, 287. 



18 Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 71. The service 

 mentioned is 6;. ; in later inquisitions it 

 is described as the eighth part of a knight's 

 fee, held of the Earl or Duke of Lancaster 

 directly. 



The parentage of William de Radcliffe 

 is not known. One Henry de Radcliffe 

 attested a charter in 1189 ; Farrer, Lanes. 

 Pipe R. 350. Alexander son of Uvieth 

 received 2 oxgangs in Little Lever from 

 Albert Grelley the younger (1162 to 

 1 1 So), and as Adam de Radcliffe was in 

 possession in 1227, it is possible that 

 Alexander was the father of William ; 

 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 57, 130. It 

 will be seen that an Adam son of Alex- 

 ander occurs in 1246. 



William de Radcliffe and Hugh his son 

 attested a Withington charter about 1200 ; 

 Hulme D. no. i. 



13 Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 77. 



14 Ibid. 117, 129, &c. He had given 

 Nicholas of the Oak the two plough-lands, 

 and seems to have desired to withdraw the 



grant, alleging it to have been made under 

 compulsion of confinement while in prison. 



15 Ibid. 151, 153, 176, &c. 



16 Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.),i, 10. 



*7 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, \, 2, 67. 



18 Ibid. 129 ; Curia Regis R. 78, m. 

 14 d. 



19 Final Cone, i, 44 n. 



30 Ibid, i, 47. This may be a different 

 Adam. 



31 Assize R. 404, m. 6 d. Adam son of 

 Alexander at the same time claimed, as 

 heir of his grandfather Simon de Rad- 

 cliffe, certain land in Radcliffe held by 

 Henry de Oswaldtwistle ; ibid. m. 12 d. 



aa Ibid. m. 1 1 d. 



39 Assize R. 1268, m. 12 d. Robert 

 de Radcliffe was probably the Robert son 

 of Adam, who had land in Oswaldtwistle 

 in 1241 ; Final Cone, i, 85. Robert was 

 a juror in 1269, and Richard in 1282; 

 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, \, 235, 244. 



John son of Adam son of William de 

 Radcliffe was nonsuited in a claim against 

 Roger de Middleton in 1292 ; Agnes 

 widow of Adam de Radcliffe was also non- 

 suited in a claim of dower ; Assize R. 

 408, m. 32 d. 30 d. 



24 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, \, 314. 



85 Chart. R. 97 (32 Edw. I), m. 2, no. 



58 



17; dated 23 July 1304. The 'park* 

 at Radcliffe used to be to the south of the 

 Tower. 



In the same year and up to 1307 

 Richard de Radcliffe had to defend his 

 title to a messuage and land in Radcliffe 

 which were claimed by William de Mark- 

 Ian, rector of Prestwich, as the free alms 

 of his church ; De Banco R. 149, m. 



2S5i R- i$5i m- 137 d -i R- 163. m - 

 162. Robert son of Richard de Rad- 

 cliffe, and William his brother were de- 

 fendants in 1306 and 1307 ; Coram Rege 

 R. 185, m. i d. ; R. 188, m. 38. Richard 

 de Radcliffe, Robert his son (dead in 1 309), 

 and Adam brother of Robert about the 

 same time seized the lands of Adam de 

 Lever in Little Lever, pretending a right 

 of wardship ; Assize R. 423, m. I d. 



26 They were married in or before 1303; 

 De Banco R. 148, m. 71 ; Margery was 

 a widow in 1333 ; Had. MS. 2112, fol. 

 1 5 2/'/ 1 88 A. See further in the account 

 of Culcheth. 



*7 Duchy of Lane. Rentals and Surv. 

 379, m. 13 ; Lanes. Inq. and Extents, ii, 

 102. 



In the elaborate pedigree in Whitaker, 

 Whalley, ii, 292, said to have been pre- 

 pared by William Radclyffe, Rouge Croix, 

 and verified by deeds in the Townelejr 



