A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Egerton, created Earl of Wilton in iSoi. K His 

 daughter and sole heir Eleanor married Robert, Earl 

 Grosvenor, afterwards Marquis of Westminster, and 

 the Heaton estates went to her second son, Thomas, 

 born in 1799, who by a special remainder succeeded 

 his maternal grandfather in 1814 as second Earl of 

 Wilton. He assumed the name of Egerton, and 

 dying in 1882,* was succeeded by his eldest surviving 

 son, Arthur Edward Holland Grey Egerton, who 

 died without issue in 1885. His heir was his brother, 

 Seymour John Grey Egerton, fourth earl. He died 

 in 1898, and his son, Arthur George Egerton, in 

 1901 sold Heaton Park and some adjacent lands 

 to the Corporation of Manchester, the price being 

 230,000. All rights, such as minerals, &c., were 

 included in the purchase. The park was opened to 

 the public on 24 September, 1902." 



Heaton House stands on an elevated situation in 

 Heaton Park, and was built in 1772 by Sir Thomas 

 Egerton (afterwards first Earl of Wilton), James 

 Wyatt being the architect. It is a lew classic struc- 

 ture facing south with a circular projection in the 

 centre surmounted by a dome, and east and west 

 wings connected with the main building by colon- 

 nades.* 8 There is a circular temple to the south-east 

 of the house, and later extensions were made on the 

 east side by the addition of conservatories. The 

 building, in which the Ionic order is used, is a good 

 specimen of the early work of Wyatt, and is now 

 used by the Manchester Corporation for exhibition 

 and other purposes in connection with the park. 



The land tax returns of 1787 show that Lord Grey 

 de Wilton paid about half the sums collected from 

 Great and from Little Heaton.* 9 



In 1852 the whole of the land in Great Heaton 

 belonged to the Earl of Wilton, except one cottage 



with its garden plot ; ' this cottage, situated at Catty 

 green, is claimed by the township as the representative 

 of its former owner, who upwards of a century ago, 

 mysteriously disappeared, leaving no traces of his 

 destination, and, what is more remarkable, no heirs 

 to succeed to his property.'* This lies on the edge 

 of a detached portion of Great Heaton, as also do 

 parts of Bow Lee and Rhodes. 31 Of Bow Lee, how- 

 ever, it is said that the cottages built there about 1800 

 stood on neutral ground, no decision being given as to 

 whether they were in Prestwich or in Middleton ; 

 hence they escaped local rates, and no relief was given 

 by either parish." 



In Little Heaton the hamlet of Simisters Lane takes 

 its names from James Somister, who about 1730 pur- 

 chased a small farm there, and prospering, afterwards 

 added three others, his estate reaching 52 acres. He 

 died in i78o. M 



From a feoffment of 1681 it appears that Robert 

 Lever of Alkrington owned the old hall of Heaton, 

 with its demesne lands. 14 



For the worship of the Established Church All 

 Saints' was built at Rhodes in 1864 ; the rector of 

 Middleton is the patron. There is attached the 

 school church of St. Thomas, Bow Lee. 



ALKRINGTON 



Alkinton, 1212 ; Alkeryngton, 1313 ; Alcrinton, 

 1324; Alkryngton, 1443. 



This township is bounded on the south-west by a 

 brook running into the Irk, and by the Irk itself and 

 its affluent the Wince Brook for the most part on the 

 north. The surface is mostly above the 300 ft. level, 

 but slopes downwards to the bounding brooks. 1 The 

 highest ground, 350 ft., is in the south-east and north- 



He was one of the Tory members for 

 Newton, 1747 to 1754 ; Pink and Beaven, 

 Part. Repre. of Lanct. 289. He died at 

 Heaton 8 July 1756, and was buried at 

 Prestwich, his epitaph stating that he was 

 pressed to continue to represent Newton, 

 * but preferring the satisfaction of a private 

 station declined it and retired to his 

 country seat, where he made great im- 

 provements, and lived usefully, hospitably, 

 and charitably amongst his neighbours.' 

 Some of his benefactions are recorded in 

 the account of the charities. His widow 

 Katherine, a daughter of the Rev. John 

 Copley, fellow of Manchester, lived till 

 1791. 



25 He was baptized 10 June 1749, at 

 Prestwich ; educated at Christ Church, 

 Oxford; M.A. 1769; Foster, Alumni} 

 knight of the shire for Lancashire, 1772 

 to 1784, being a Tory ; Pink and Beaven, 

 op. cit. 86-7 ; created Baron Grey de Wil- 

 ton in 1 784, and Viscount Grey de Wilton 

 and Earl of Wilton of Wilton Castle, 

 Herefordshire, in 1 80 1, this creation having 

 a special remainder, failing his issue male, 

 to the second and younger sons of his 

 daughter in tail male ; G.E.C. Complete 

 Peerage, viii, 161. In 1779 he paid a 

 rent of 6s. %d. for the manor of Heaton ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Rentals, 14, 25 m. In 

 the same year he raised a corps of in- 

 fantry the Royal Lancashire Volunteers 

 the expenses being borne by himself and 

 other private persons ; Drill Field, between 

 High Bank and Sedgeley Park, being used 

 for one of the companies for drill. He 

 was commander of the regiment as lieut.- 

 colonel. It was disbanded in 1783, but 



another was afterwards raised, of which 

 Lord Wilton was colonel ; he accom- 

 panied it to Ireland, and was stationed at 

 Dublin Castle in 1801, at the proclama- 

 tion of the Union ; Nicholls, PrestwicA, 

 57-63. He died 23 Sept. 1814, and was 

 buried at Prestwich ; his countess, Eleanor, 

 a daughter and co-heir of Sir Ralph Asshe- 

 ton of Middleton, died 3 Feb. 1816. 



38 G.E.C. Complete Peerage, loc. cit He 

 was a keen sportsman, being fond of hunt- 

 ing and yachting ; for a few years, 1827 to 

 1838, races were held at Heaton Park. 

 He was also devoted to music, encouraged 

 glee-singing, and was a good organist ; 

 Nicholls, PrestwicA, 42-8, with por- 

 trait. He composed the tune called ' Prest- 

 wich.' His countess, a daughter of the 

 twelfth Earl of Derby by his second wife, 

 Miss Farren, was the Lady Bountiful of 

 the district, 'idolized by the gentry and 

 tenantry, as well as by the poorest.' 



Private Acts of Parliament concerning 

 the disposition of the estates were passed 

 in 5 Geo. IV, cap. 1 1, and I Viet. cap. 37. 



^ Nicholls, op. cit. 111-15. The full 

 extent of the purchase is 693 acres. There 

 is a herd of deer in the park. 



28 There is a brief description of the 

 hall, with a view (1795), in Aikin, Country 

 Round Manch. 236. 



29 Returns at Preston. There was no 

 other considerable holder, but in 1784 

 Sir Assheton Lever had paid a quarter of 

 the tax for Little Heaton. 



80 Booker, Prestwich, 78. 



81 Richard son of Thomas the Choffer 

 of the Rhodes (Rodis) demised for life to 

 John the Keuer a house with inclosed 



82 



curtilage and a piece of land on which 

 Richard's chamber formerly stood ; this 

 was in 1336 ; Lord Wilton's D. 



83 Booker, op. cit. 81. Bow Lee Com- 

 mon is in a detached part of Little Heaton; 

 Bow Lee Farm in Middleton. 



In 1587 Richard Holland of Denton, 

 being by descent seised of a moiety of the 

 manor of Heaton and a third part of a 

 certain waste ground called the ' Balle 

 Lye,' parcel of the said manor, in the 

 parishes of Prestwich and Middleton, 

 complained that while certain of his 

 tenants dug turves in the Balle Lye, ac- 

 cording to custom, John Hopwood, Isabel 

 Hopwood, and others had entered Balle 

 Lye by night and cut those turves in 

 pieces, claiming the ground, or at least 

 common of turbary therein, by certain 

 deeds of which they had possessed them- 

 selves ; Duchy of Lane. Plead, cxlii, H. 4. 

 The Hopwoods of Rhodes Green are 

 noticed in Booker, op. cit. 230. 



88 Ibid. 80. 



84 Raines D. (Chet. Lib.). In a later 

 deed (1699) in the same collection Robert 

 Lever speaks of the dwelling house pur- 

 chased from Thomas Hilton, the lands 

 purchased from (i) James Lightbown, 

 (2) John Dauntesey, Otho Holland, and 

 Robert Ravald, and (3) Robert Johnson, 

 all in Heaton ; as well as others in Prest- 

 wich, purchased from Edmund Ashton. 

 As early as 1621, however, Robert Lever 

 of Darcy Lever had held lands in Heaton 

 Fallowfield of the king in socage ; Lanes. 

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

 ii, 255-7. 



1 Ordnance Survey. 



