A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



knighted. 16 He married Dorothy, a daughter and co- 

 heir of the Rev. William Ashton, rector of Prest- 

 wich. 17 



Their eldest son, Sir Ashton Lever, was high sheriff 

 in 1 77 1, 18 and made a knight in 1778, and died ten 

 years later without issue. He collected a large 

 museum of curiosities, wh ch was exhibited at his 

 residence at Alkrington. Wishing at length to dis- 

 pose of it, he obtained an Act of Parliament author- 

 izing him to do so by a lottery, and in 1785 the 

 drawing took place. The winner afterwards exhibited 

 the collection in London, and it was not dispersed 

 until l8o6. 19 Sir Ashton was succeeded by his 

 brother the Rev. John Lever, who left several child- 

 ren.* The younger son, John, settled at Alkrington, 

 and died in 1834, aged sixty-two. The estate then 



passed to his nephew Doming Rasbotham, who in 

 I 844 sold it to John Lees and his brothers of Clark's 

 Field near Oldham." Their representatives continue 

 to hold the manor and most of the land, but the hall 

 has been sold. It is a plain but well-designed brick 

 house erected in 1736 on the site of an older build- 

 ing by Sir Darcy Lever. The situation was formerly 

 one of much picturesqueness, being on elevated ground 

 in the midst of woods and overlooking Heaton Park, 

 and despite many changes in the surroundings it still 

 retains some of its former characteristics. The general 

 effect of the principal front is now somewhat spoiled 

 by the removal of the old window bars and the 

 substitution of plate glass, but it is still one of much 

 dignity. The hipped roof is partly concealed by a 

 high brick parapet. 



ALKRINGTON HALL 



18 Darcy Lever entered Brasenose Col- 

 lege in 1722, being seventeen years of 

 age; he was created D.C.L. in 1733; 

 Foster, Alumni. He made a settlement of 

 the manor of Alkrington in Mar. 1725, 

 previous to his marriage ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 293 ; ibid. Plea R. 520, 

 m. 5, 7. He was appointed sheriff 3 1 Dec. 

 1735, and his successor on 20 Jan. 1737 ; 

 P.R.O. List, 74. 



The pedigree of the family is set out in 

 the case of Lever v. Hunt, which was 

 carried up to the House of Lords in 1736-7. 

 It appeared that John Hunt of Manchester 

 had in 1 6 1 2 leased premises in Market Street 

 Lane, Manchester, for 120 years to Robert 

 Lever of Darcy Lever, clothier, who left 

 it to his son John. In 1642 and 1644 

 John Lever obtained the reversion of the 

 premises, and died intestate in 1645 > n ' s 

 widow Catherine afterwards entered into 

 possession and left them to a younger son 

 John, who had them for life, and was fol- 

 lowed by his son, who died without issue. 

 Robert the eldest son was followed by his 

 only son John, who gave the premises to 



a younger son John Revel ; on his death, 

 without issue, Sir Darcy Lever claimed as 

 brother and heir. John Andrews claimed 

 as the heir of the Robert Lever of 1612. 



17 The marriage took place at Prest- 

 wich 3 May 1725 ; and Sir Darcy Lever 

 was buried thereon 15 Aug. 1742; Booker, 

 207. 



18 P.R.O. List, 74. 



Ashton Lever was vouchee in a recovery 

 of the manor in 1753 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Plea R. 579, m. 2. 



19 There is an engraving of him in 

 Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1836), ii, 565, a 

 verbal portrait in Booker, op. cit. 205, 

 and a biography in Diet. Nat. Biog. 



He was educated at Corpus Christ! 

 College, Oxford, matriculating in 1748, 

 at nineteen years of age ; Foster, Alumni. 

 He died at Manchester, not without sus- 

 picion of having poisoned himself. 



His collection began with live birds, 

 and went on to shells, fossils, &c., and to 

 the weapons, &c., of savage tribes. In 

 1773, 'being tired out with the insolence 

 of the common people,' he restricted admis- 



8 4 



sion to his acquaintance and those who 

 came provided with a ticket from some one 

 known to him ; Booker, op. cit. 204. On 

 29 Aug. 1774 the visitors to the museum 

 numbered 3,320; Manch. Guardian Local 

 N. and Q. no. 1 244. The collection was 

 removed to London in October and shown 

 at Leicester House; in 1782 the sum of 

 ,2,253 was received for entrance fees. 

 Sir Ashton wished it to be kept together, 

 and having failed to induce the Govern- 

 ment to purchase it for the British 

 Museum he fell back on the lottery ; 

 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 516. 

 See also Pal. Note Bk. ii, 55, 85 ; Wai- 

 ford, Old and New Land, iii, 165. For 

 an account of the sale in 1 806 see Baines, 

 ut sup. 



A poem on the collection, dated 1774, 

 is reprinted in Oldham Notes and Glean. 

 ii, 99. 



20 The eldest son Darcy Lever, who 

 died at Edinburgh in 1839, wrote on 

 navigation ; see Diet. Nat. Biog. 



21 Canon Raines in Gastrell, Noeitia 

 (Chet. Sic.), ii, no. 



