A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



married John Byrom of Salford, and Susan, who 

 married Alexander Potter of Manchester. 59 These 

 ladies bequeathed Foxdenton to their distant cousin 

 Alexander Radcliffe, great-great-great-grandson of the 

 Sir William Radcliffe of Ordsall from whom they 

 were descended. 60 



In this branch of the family the spelling Radclyffe 

 being used Foxdenton has descended to the present 

 time. 61 Alexander was duly succeeded by his son, 

 grandson, and great-grandson, each named Robert. 

 The last of them, dying in 1854, had a son and heir 

 Charles James, who was in 1882 followed by his son 

 Mr. Charles James Radclyffe, born in 1839, of Fox- 



denton and Hyde near Wareham. 61 Foxdenton ceased 

 to be the family residence about a century ago. 63 



The hall is a plain classic building with projecting 

 end wings and steep hipped roofs, erected probably 

 about the beginning of the i8th century. The first 

 hall was described as a ' noble and lofty edifice of the 

 1 6th century fronting northerly, with two wings, 

 overlooking a beautiful lawn.' ^ Of this house, how- 

 ever, nothing remains, and a stone under the steps of 

 the present hall on the north side, which bears the 

 date 1620, together with the initials W.R. and the 

 Radcliffe coat of arms, seems to indicate a rebuilding 

 of some portion of the house at the date mentioned. 631 * 



FOXDENTON HALL 



Susan, then wife of Alexander Potter of 

 Foxdenton, to Mary Radcliffe, to Sir 

 Alexander Radcliffe of Ordsall, &c. ; 

 Raines D. (Chet. Lib.), 4/72. See also 

 Cal. Com. for Compounding, ii, 1445. He 

 died about eighteen months after this, for 

 his widow Mary joined in a mortgage of 

 Foxdenton in 1654; Shaw, Oldham, 146. 

 By this time his sister Mary was the wife 

 of John Byrom of Salford. 



A fine respecting a third part of the 

 manors of Glodwick, Oldham, and Chad- 

 derton in 1662 may relate to the Radcliffe 

 inheritance ; the deforciants were John 

 Deane and Magdalen his wife ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 168, m. 118. 



59 Major Byrom and Dr. Potter were in 

 possession in 1667, when the manor court 

 allowed John Hall, with their permission, 

 to build a cottage, which might stand 'so 

 long as those who live therein do not beg, 

 but labour for their living ' ; Shaw, op. 

 cit. 169. 



60 The Potters resided at Foxdenton. 

 In 1681 Alexander Potter was assessed 

 there; ibid. 186. He and his wife made 

 a demise of their moiety of Foxdenton in 



1684 ; ibid. 192. He died in 1691, aged 

 eighty-eight, and was buried in Oldham 

 Church ; ibid. 205. His widow was buried 

 there 25 January 1696-7 ; ibid. 218. 



In 1692 there was a recovery of Mary 

 Byrom's moiety of the manor ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 228, m. 97. 



On ii May 1693 Susan Potter of Fox- 

 denton and Mary Byrom of Salford, widows, 

 made their wills, devising Foxdenton and 

 other estates to trustees, for the benefit of 

 John, grandson of Sir Alexander Radcliffe 

 of Ordsall, and then of Alexander, elder 

 son of Captain Robert Radcliffe, late of 

 Withenshaw he was killed in a duel in 

 1686 ; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), iii, 

 617 and his sons in tail male ; then of 

 Edward, younger son of Robert, &c. ; 

 Shaw, Oldham, pp. 210-13. Alexander 

 was at this time about fifteen years of age. 



Abstracts of a number of Radclyffe 

 leases from 1707 onwards are printed in 

 Shaw's Oldham, pp. 243, &c. On 6 Janu- 

 ary 1725-6 Alexander Radclyffe of Fox- 

 denton leased to Edmund Radclyffe the 

 messuage called Cowper's Tenement, 

 wood and timber and mines of coal 



J2O 



and stone being excepted, but with 

 reasonable hedgebote, &c. The rent was 

 to be 2 if., one day's ploughing (or 

 41. dd,\ the carriage of twenty baskets 

 of coal to Foxdenton Hall (or 21. fid.), one 

 day leading dung (or 21. 6</.), four days' 

 ' shearing ' in harvest (or 21. 8^.), three 

 days' harrowing (or 35.), two fat hens (or 

 ii. 4</.), at death the best beast ; two young 

 oaks or ashes were to be planted each 

 year ; ibid. 284. A ' fifteenth ' levied in 

 1720 is printed on p. 272. 



A settlement was made in 1730 by 

 Alexander Radclyffe, Elizabeth his wife, 

 and Robert Radclyffe ; Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 305, m. 97. 



61 Robert Radclyffe paid a duchy rent of 

 21. in 1779 ; Duchy of Lane. Rentals, 

 14/25 m. 



62 For pedigrees see Burke's Commoners, 

 iv, 399 ; Landed Gentry , Foster, Lanes. 

 Pedigrees. 



63 Butterworth says ' some time since,' 

 writing in 1817 ; Oldham, 146. 



63a Lanes, and Ches. Antiq. Sac. xi, 1 62. 

 63b Ibid. The stone was probably a 

 doorhead. 



