SALFORD HUNDRED 



caster by the fourth part of a knight's fee, and by 3/. 

 yearly (for sake fee) and zs. for ward of Clitheroe 

 Castle. 21 



The heir, John, grandson of Margery, was only 

 fourteen years of age in 1407. He proved his age 

 in 141 5, 22 was made a knight, and was living in 1431 

 when he made a settlement 

 of his manor of Chadderton, 

 his wife at that time being 

 Elizabeth. 23 His heir, a son 

 Richard, died in 1436," leav- 

 ing a son a little over a year 

 old, "and three daughters, Joan, 

 Margery, and Elizabeth, who 

 succeeded their brother and 

 divided the inheritance among 

 them. Joan married Edmund 

 Ashton, of the Ashton-under- 

 Lyne family; their descendants, 

 the Ashtons of Chadderton 

 Hall, held the manor till the end of the 1 7th century. 

 Margery married Ralph Standish of Standish, and a 

 third of the manor long remained in the possession of 

 this family. Elizabeth married Robert Radcliffe of 

 the Ordsall family, and their descendants settled at 

 Foxdenton. 



Joan Ashton died in August 1478 ; her husband 

 Edmund continued in possession of her third part of 

 the manor until his death in March 148990 ; their 

 grandson Edmund son of John was then eleven years 

 of age. The mesne lordship of the Traffords, ignored 



ASHTON of Chadder- 

 ton. Argent a mullet 

 sable pierced of the field. 



PRESTWICH WITH 

 OLDHAM 



in some preceding inquisitions, was now exercised, 

 Sir John Traffbrd taking the wardship of the heir. 16 

 Edmund Ashton married Janet, one of the daughters 

 and co-heirs of Sir James Harrington," and died on 

 5 March 1542-3, leaving a son and heir James, then 

 forty-eight years of age. In addition to the third 

 part of Chadderton, he held the manor of Shuttle- 

 worth, and lands in Chadderton, Shuttleworth, 

 Oldham, and Rochdale. 28 James Ashton died 

 25 August 1549 ; his son Edmund, married in his 

 grandfather's lifetime to Anne daughter of Ralph 

 Prestwich, was over twenty-eight years of age. 29 

 This son Edmund left the family estate unaltered at 

 his death in August 1584, and was succeeded by his 

 son James, forty-nine years old. 30 A pedigree was re- 

 corded in I567. 31 



James Ashton married Dorothy, one of the four 

 daughters and co-heirs of Sir Robert Langley of 

 Agecroft, and received with her the advowson of 

 Prestwich and various lands ; and although they died 

 without issue, the Ashton family appear to have re- 

 tained Dorothy's share of the Langley property. 

 James Ashton was sheriff in 1590-1." At his death 

 in 1612, he was succeeded by his brother Richard's 

 son Edmund, only eleven years of age. S3 He served 

 as sheriff in 1627-8." He fought on the king's 

 side in the Civil War, being one of those who sur- 

 rendered at Oxford in 1646, and afterwards com- 

 pounded for his estate." He died early in 1650, 

 leaving a son James, 38 who had a family of nine chil- 

 dren. The eldest son, Edmund, was stated to be 



31 Inquisition recited, as above stated, 

 in Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 96. 

 The clear value was 20 marks. The 

 other Chadderton estate named is a plough- 

 land in Witton. 



John de Radcliffe seems to have mar- 

 ried a second time ; for the feoffees of 

 John son of Roger de Barlow in 1405 

 granted lands in Manchester and Spotland 

 to John de Radcliffe for life, with remain- 

 ders to Robert, Alice, Jemima, Joan, 

 Ellen, and Elizabeth, his children prob- 

 ably by Margery de Barlow, after whose 

 death the trustees had them. 



22 He was born 26 Jan. 1392-3, at 

 Medecroft, and baptized in Bury Church, 

 the sponsors being John de RadclifFe of 

 Chadderton and Margaret del Heap ; Dtp. 

 Keeper's Rep. xxxix, App. 543. 



23 Final Cone, iii, 97. Elizabeth, the 

 widow of Sir John, died 1 5 Aug. 1442 ; 

 her daughter and heir was Margaret, wife 

 of Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe, then aged about 

 thirty years ; Towneley MS. DD, no. 1489. 



24 The writs of Diem clausit extr. after 

 the deaths of Sir John de Radcliffe of 

 Chadderton and of Richard his son were 

 respectively issued on 7 Oct. and 13 Nov. 

 1436 ; Dtp. Keeper's Rep. xxxiii, App. 37. 



25 The inq. p.m. is in Towneley MS. 

 DD, no. 1487 ; in this the mesne lordship 

 of Sir Edmund Trafford is recognized ; 

 the clear value of the manor wa 30. 

 Richard and Elizabeth his wife had jointly 

 held messuages and lands in Spotland. 



26 Two records remain ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p.m. iii, 74, 80. In the former, Edmund 

 Ashton is stated to have died 20 Mar. 

 1489-90 ; in the latter, on 29 Aug. 1488. 

 The third part of the manor and lordship 

 of Chadderton, with ten messuages, 200 

 acres of land, &c., were held of the king 

 as Duke of Lancaster by the third part of 

 the fourth part of a knight's fee, and were 

 worth 20 a year clear Sir John Traf- 



ford sold the marriage of the heir to Ed- 

 ward Ashton, clerk, and other members 

 of the family, for 46 13*. d. The 

 inquisitions seem to have been taken, on 

 the heir's coming of age, in 1500 and 

 1501, and to have been connected with 

 the Traffords" mesne lordship and its 

 appurtenant right of wardship and mar- 

 riage. This mesne lordship having been 

 ignored in the inquisition the king, as 

 duke, put in a claim to the 4.6 131. $d. ; 

 to the ' utter undoing ' of the said Edward 

 Ashton and the others ; Duchy Plead. (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 47. The mat- 

 ter again came up in the cases of Thomas 

 Radcliffe and Ralph Standish, in 1511 and 

 1512 ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, 96 ; 

 iii, 2. 



V The agreement for the marriage was 

 made in 1491 ; Raines D. (Chet. Lib.), 

 bdle. 3, no. 47. On the division of the 

 Harrington of Wolfage estates' in 1517 

 James Ashton of Chadderton, son of Janet, 

 received lands in Brixworth valued at 

 15 151. a year, as his portion ; Norris 

 D. (B.M.). 



28 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. viii, 4 5 

 the rent of i zd. for sake fee is mentioned. 

 Edward Ashton, brother of Edmund, had 

 the manor of Shuttleworth for life. 



James Ashton had special livery of his 

 lands in 1545 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxix, 

 App. 550. A detailed account of his 

 possessions at the time is among the Raines 

 D. (Chet. Lib.), bdle. 4, no. 60. 



29 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. ix, 29. 

 The provision for the son's wife is recorded 

 in the previous inquisition. 



Edmund son of James Ashton had 

 special livery in 1550 ; Dep, Keeper's Rep. 

 xxxix, App. 550. 



80 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, 66. 

 A settlement of the manor, &c., was im- 

 mediately made by James Ashton ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 56, m. 33. 



The will of Edmund Ashton, dated 

 1583, is printed in Piccope, Wills (Chet. 

 Soc.), ii, 169, 170. 



. 81 Visit, of 1567 (Chet. Soc.), p. 20; 

 this records the marriage of James Ashton. 



82 P.R.O. List, 73. 



88 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 224. 



Annuities of 10 each were settled 

 on Richard Ashton in 1569, and on Ed- 

 mund Ashton in 1577, by their father 

 Edmund and elder brother James ; Raines 

 D. (Chet. Lib.), bdle. 4, no. 65, 66. The 

 will of James Ashton is printed in Shaw, 

 Oldham, 53. Richard Ashton died in May 

 1609, holding lands in Oldham ; his wife 

 Anne survived him, and his son Edmund 

 was eight years of age ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 145. 



In addition to their lands the Ashtons 

 had a lease of the tithes of Oldham cha- 

 pelry, and presented to the curacy ; Misc. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 112. 



84 P.R.O. List, 73. A settlement of 

 his third part of the manor was made in 

 1624; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 103, 

 no. 1 8. He paid ^25 in 1631 on declin- 

 ing knighthood ; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 216. An early will (1623) 

 of his is printed in Shaw, Oldham, 63. 



84 Roy. Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 91 ; he had taken the 

 National Covenant and the Negative 

 Oath. 



86 James Ashton of Chadderton was 

 buried at Oldham I May 1651. John 

 Vicars in Dagon Demolished says about 

 Mr. Ashton that he was ' once a desperate 

 Malignant in the first war against the 

 Parliament, but afterwards, having made 

 his peace, taken the Engagement, and 

 turned a great stickler for the present 

 times, was made a justice of peace and 

 became one of Mr. Constantine's greatest 

 enemies,'sequestered his benefice(Oldham), 



