SALFORD HUNDRED 



Bradshaw Hall lies in the north-east part of the 

 township, in a plot cut off from the main area by 

 Wince Brook. It was anciently part of the lands of 

 the Hospitallers, and was afterwards granted to the 

 Earls of Derby, of whom it was held in the early part 

 of the i yth century by a branch of the Chadderton 

 family. 22 



TONGE 



Tonge, 1392, usual ; Tong, 1482. 



This township occupies, as its name implies, a 

 tongue of land between the Irk on the north and its 

 affluent, the Wince Brook, on the south. The area 

 is 392 acres. The surface is mostly above the 300 ft. 

 level 360 ft. is reached at Mills Hill l sloping down 

 to the streams named. The population in 1901 was 

 included with Middleton.* 



The principal roads are those branching out from 

 Middleton, to the east to Oldham and to the south- 

 east to Hollinwood and Failsworth. Dwelling-houses 

 have spread out along these roads, so that the town- 

 ship has long been a suburb of Middleton, to which 

 borough it was added for local government purposes 

 in 1 86 1 , 3 In 1 894. Tonge lost its status as a township 

 or civil parish, and became completely merged in 

 Middleton. Sa 



The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company's 

 line from Manchester to Rochdale passes through 

 the eastern side, with a branch to Middleton, opened 

 in 1857. From this the part of Tonge called Middle- 

 ton Junction takes its name, though the junction itself 

 is in Chadderton. Middleton station is in Tonge. 

 A light railway is laid along the road from Middleton 

 to Oldham. The Manchester and Rochdale canal 

 touches the eastern border. 



In this township there were only fifteen hearths 

 liable to the tax in 1666 ; no house had more than 

 two. 4 



PRESTWICH WITH 

 OLDHAM 



Originally TONGE seems to have been 

 M4NOR a part of Alkrington, and is not called 

 a manor. It was, therefore, part of the 

 Prestwich lands, and does not come into notice for 

 some time after these lands had descended to the 

 Langleys of Agecroft. In 1 390 a Henry de Alkrington 

 died, holding of the king by knight's service two mes- 

 suages and certain lands in Alkrington called Tonge. 5 

 From the inquisition and subsequent pleadings it 

 appears that Henry was descended from Thomas the 

 son of Adam de Prestwich, whose daughters and 

 heirs left no legitimate offspring. 6 It would appear 

 that Thomas had a natural son named Henry 

 for whom he made provision by granting this out- 

 lying part of his manor of Alkrington. Henry's son 

 Henry died, as stated, in 1390, leaving a son Henry, 

 only eighteen months old. 7 He proved his age in 

 1412, and had livery of his lands; 8 afterwards he 

 took Tonge as his surname, and his descendants con- 

 tinued in possession until the i8th century. 



Henry de Tonge in 1437-8 laid claim to the 

 Prestwich inheritance, but illegitimacy was asserted 

 as a defence. 9 He died before 1470, when his son 

 Richard had to claim his inheritance against Thomas 

 Langley of Agecroft, who had expelled him. 10 The 

 suit was still proceeding in 1482, when John Langley 

 and Richard Tonge stated their claims. 11 In 1498 

 Richard assigned a portion of his lands in Tonge to 

 feoffees in view of the marriage of his son Thomas 

 with Margaret daughter of Thomas Newton ; he died 

 two years afterwards, holding various lands of the 

 king as Duke of Lancaster, by knight's service. His 

 son and heir Thomas was then eighteen years of age. 11 



Thomas duly proved his age in I5O4. 13 Three 

 years later it was awarded that Robert Langley and 

 his tenants in Alkrington should enjoy common of 

 pasture in Tonge Moor, but turbary was denied ex- 

 cept to certain tenants named. 14 In 1527 Thomas 

 Tonge granted to Robert Langley a part of the moor, 

 with common of pasture, turbary and marl. 15 The 



w Children of Edmund Chadderton aliat 

 Bradshaw appear in the Middleton registers 

 from 1615. 



Robert Chadderton, yeoman, died 8 Mar. 

 1638-9, holding a messuage and land 

 called Bradshaw in Alkrington, of William, 

 Earl of Derby, as of the dissolved priory of 

 St. John of Jerusalem ; he also held lands 

 in Audenshaw and in Manchester. By a 

 fine levied two years earlier the lands 

 were settled on Robert for his life, after 

 his decease a third part to Elizabeth his 

 wife, then to Edmund and Robert his 

 sons. Edmund the son and heir was 

 thirty-one years of age in 1639 ; Inq. 

 p.m. in Towneley MS. C. 8, 13 (Chet. 

 Lib.), p. 248. 



Robert Chadderton alias Bradshaw was 

 buried at Middlcton on 8 Mar. 1638-9 ; 

 an abstract of his will is given in Munch. 

 Ct. Lett Rec. iv, 114. 



Thomas Chadderton of Alkrington paid 

 to the land tax in 1787. 



The Hospitallers had lands in Acrington 

 {? Alkrington) in 1292 ; Plac.de Quo War. 

 (Rec. Com.), 375. 



iQ.S. 



* Pop. Ret. 1901. 



8 By the Middleton and Tonge Im- 

 provement Act. 



*a By Local Govt. Bd. Order 31625 of 

 1894. 



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



5 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 57, 



58, where several illustrative documents 

 are printed. 



In Feb. 1356-7, Henry son of Henry 

 son of Thomas demanded against John 

 de Radcliffe the elder and Joan his wife, 

 24 acres in Prestwich ; and against Alice, 

 widow of Thomas de Prestwich, 12 acres 

 in the same town ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Assize R. 5, m. 4. 



* See the account of Prestwich. 



~' Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 57. 

 Henry the son was baptized in Middleton 

 Church, 5 Oct. 1388. 



8 Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvii, App. 1 74. 



9 Lanes. Inq. p.m. i, 5 8. 



10 PaL of Lane. Plea R. 37, m. 12 d ; 

 Henry Tonge, father of Richard, was 

 seised of two messuages, 50 acres of land, 

 6 acres of meadow, and 4 acres of wood 

 called Tonge, in the vill of Prestwich, 

 and of 100 acres of moor called Tonge 

 Moor. After the death of Henry, 

 Richard entered, until Thomas Langley, 

 John Langley, and others expelled him. 

 The Langleys, in reply, quoted the fine of 

 1313 respecting the descent of the Prest- 

 wich lands. 



In 1450-1 Richard Tonge, 'yeoman,' 

 had been charged with felony by Thomas 

 Langley ; ibid. R. 17, m. 1 6. Later, 

 Richard had to complain that Edmund 

 Ashton and various others of Chadderton 

 had taken turf in his several turbary ; 

 ibid. R. 5 1, m. 7 d. 



85 



Abstracts of the Tonge title deeds are 

 contained in Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), 

 xiii, 172-81. 



11 Agecroft D. 85; the fine of 1313 

 was again referred to, and Richard Tonge 

 asserted the legitimacy of his descent from 

 Thomas son of Alice de Wolveley. See 

 also Pal. of Lane. Writs Proton, file 

 22 Edw. IV, a. 



19 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, 81 ; 

 the estate is described as three messuages, 

 50 acres of land, &c., and 100 acres of 

 moss and moor called Tonge Moor alias 

 Tonge in Prestwich. The bounds of the 

 portion given to the daughter-in-law's 

 trustees mentioned the 'little oak 

 marked," the 'water of Irk,' and the 

 Fyne meadow in Middleton. Richard 

 died 19 Apr. 1500; his son reached 

 eighteen years of age on the following 

 Michaelmas, and was already married. 



13 Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 544. 



14 Agecroft D. 95. 



15 Ibid. 102. In 1556 Sir Robert 

 Langley granted an acre of Tonge Moor, 

 at a rent of I2</. to Mary, widow of 

 Ralph Standish, and Edward, brother of 

 Ralph ; ibid. 122. 



The date of Thomas's death is given 

 as 1 6 Feb. 1542; the estate remained 

 unchanged ; the son and heir was John 

 Tonge, aged thirty ; H. Fishwick in 

 Lanes, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. x, 28, quoting 

 the Inq. p.m. 



