A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



charities. 67 In Heap, in addition to Heywood School, 

 1737, is the foundation of John Nuttall, ij6^^ 8 with 

 the more substantial recent gifts of William Clegg, 

 1887, and others. 69 Walmersley had a school at 

 Baldingstone, founded in \j\6, and over 22 for 

 the general benefit of the poor, the gifts of Richard 

 Haworth,i76o, 71 and John Hall, 1867." The most 

 considerable single charity is that founded in 1892-6 

 by Miss Nancy Ha worth for the poor of Walshaw, 

 partly in Tottington Lower End and partly in Elton. 7 * 

 Tottington has old school endowments and some gifts 

 for the poor, including ^35 a year from Miss Jane 

 Brennand's bequest in iSSz. 74 The township of 

 Cowpe Lench participates in Mrs. Alice Martha 

 Crabtree's bequest. 75 



BURY 



Biri, 1194; Buri, 1212 ; Bury, 1227, and usual; 

 Byry, 1292 ; Bery, 1323. 



The township of Bury lies principally in the narrow 

 tongue of land between the Irwell and the Roch, 

 stretching north for over 4 miles from the conflu- 

 ence of these streams. The surface is generally level, 

 but rises on the north-east border to a height of 600 ft. 

 The area is 2,329^ acres. 1 The population of the town- 

 ship in 1901 was 44,032 and of the borough 58,029. 



The town of Bury occupies the centre of the town- 

 ship. The church is situated above what was the old 

 course of the Irwell, the ground falling rapidly to the 

 north of the Bolton and Rochdale road leading past 

 the church. Just at the south-west corner of the 

 church this road is joined by that from Manchester, 



and the open space or Wylde 2 at that point is still 

 known as the Market-place. The statue of Sir Robert 

 Peel, erected in 1852, stands here ; and to the west 

 was formerly the fortified manor-house of the Pilking- 

 tons. The road leading west to Bolton descends to 

 cross the Irwell at Bury Bridge ; the district to the 

 south of it is called Tentersfield. Going east from the 

 church it passes through Freetown and Pits o' th' 

 Moor, to the north-east of the last-named being 

 Woodgate Hill. One branch of this road takes a more 

 southerly course, crossing the Roch at Heap Bridge 

 and leading to Heywood ; to the south of it lies Pirn- 

 hole. Another branch runs almost due north, passing 

 Chesham and its park on the right, and going through 

 Little Wood Cross and Limefield to Walmersley and 

 Haslingden. The Manchester road goes southerly 

 from the church, passing through Buckley Wells, Fish- 

 pool, and Redvales, to Blackford Bridge over the Roch. 



The Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's railway 

 from Manchester to Accrington passes north through 

 the township, with a station (Bolton Street) near the 

 church. A line to Tottington branches off from this. 

 The same company's line from Bolton to Rochdale 

 crosses the other at right angles, with a station (Knows- 

 ley Street) to the south of the former. 3 Electric tram- 

 cars run along the main thoroughfares in all directions. 



Bury has .long been a seat of the woollen manu- 

 facture ; Bury blankets are known everywhere. 

 Leland, about 1535, speaks of 'yarn sometime made 

 about Bury, a market town on Irwell ' ; 4 a deputy 

 aulnager was appointed in 1564 to stamp woollen 

 cloth.* Defoe, writing about 1730, observed that at 



6 ? Robert Shepherd in 1666 granted to 

 trustees a rent-charge of 9 arising from 

 his messuage called Hall-de-Hill in Elton; 

 they were to expend 7 IQJ. for the bene- 

 fit of poor householders in Bury, and in 

 apprenticing children. In 1828 the 9 

 was paid by the then owner of the pro- 

 perty, and was distributed in sums of from 

 5*. to 15*. among poor persons selected by 

 the trustees. 



William Yttes in 1810 bequeathed 

 400 for the benefit of the poor. This was 

 in 1828 invested in Government stock, 

 and the income 16 3*. lod. was distri- 

 buted in sums of I or. each. 



Thomas Openshaw, who died in 1869, 

 left 4,000 for the poor; Barton,5ary,io6. 



68 His 10 was lent to James Starky, 

 whose descendant, James Starky of Hey- 

 wood, in 1828 paid 81. a year interest ; it 

 was given on Good Friday to poor com- 

 municants. The capital was, in 1863, 

 given to the official trustees ; the in- 

 come, 5$. 8</., is distributed as formerly. 



Samuel Haworth in 1767 left a charge 

 of 2 los. a year for linen or woollen 

 cloth for the poor ; but his property being 

 leasehold, the charge expired when the 

 lease ran out, before 1828. 



Heywood School was discontinued in 

 1891. 



Bequests by Ann Bamford in 1778 for 

 education were void under the Mortmain 

 Acts. 



69 William Clegg gave 1,000 to com- 

 memorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee ; it is 

 now invested in consols, and the total in- 

 come is 27 ii. %d. a year. In 1890 the 

 sons of the Rev. Robert Minnitt gave 150 

 in fulfilment of their father's intention ; 

 this produces 4 6s. The two charities 

 are worked together ; tickets for 5*. each 

 are given to poor persons to be expended 

 on clothing or the like necessaries. 



'-The school was discontinued in 1883. 

 In this and similar cases the interest on 

 the capital is now applied to provide prizes, 

 &c., for school-children of the district. 



7 1 The residue of the testator's estate 

 produced 481 ; this sum was in 1828 in 

 the hands of Thomas Kay, and the in- 

 terest, 19 4*. g^d., was distributed in 

 doles of money. In 1831 the capital was 

 expended in the purchase of a copyhold 

 farm in Musbury ; this was sold in 1887 

 for 720, now represented by 649 con- 

 sols. The income, 17 i6s. %d. t is still 

 given in money doles to about ninety re- 

 cipients. 



? 2 His bequest was not available till 

 1876, when it was invested in 48 1 51. 8</. 

 consols, of which a third was allotted to 

 Walmersley. The income, 4 145. 8</., 

 is distributed in money doles and gifts of 

 flannel. 



' 8 Her will was proved in 1897. She 

 left 2,000, increased by a codicil to 

 3,000, to the minister and churchwar- 

 dens of the Jesse Haworth Memorial 

 Church for the benefit of workpeople at 

 her brother's mills at Walshaw, and of 

 the poor of the district. The income, 

 82 js. 4</., is distributed in money gifts. 



Thomas Howard in 1808 left a rent- 

 charge of 5 5.$. for the poor of Elton ; it 

 was distributed in blankets, but the charity 

 expired with the lives of the persons named 

 in the lease. 



?* She left 1,000 to the vicar and 

 churchwardens of St. Paul's, Ramsbottom, 

 to keep her gravestone in good order, and 

 to distribute the remainder of the income 

 to the poor. An additional amount of 

 41 8i. from other sources was invested 

 with it, and the total income is 35. All 

 but about 4*. for the care of the grave it 

 spent upon the poor in various ways, 5 

 being subscribed to the cottage hospital. 



128 



John Hall's benefaction has been de- 

 scribed above. A third of the amount was 

 allotted to Tottington Lower End, and 

 the income is distributed in payments to 

 the sick. 



The Rev. Thos. Bridge, rector of Mai- 

 pas ( 1 625-80), left 200 to the ' township' 

 of Holcombe ; as there was no such town- 

 ship the executors refused to pay, but gave 

 100 to Tottington. In 1828 the in- 

 come was applied, according to the testa- 

 tor's wish, in apprenticing children. The 

 capital has long been lost ; see Gastrell, 

 Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 32. 



John Buckley in 1737 gave 10 for 

 the poor of Tottington Lower End, but 

 nothing was known of it in 1828. 



Lawrence Rostron in 1812 directed that 

 his executors and their assigns should 

 distribute to the poor any interest they 

 might receive from the trustees of the 

 turnpike road from Rochdale to Edenfield. 

 Nothing is known of this charity since 

 1867. 



7* She in 1877 bequeathed 500 for 

 the ' deserving poor ' of St. James's, Water- 

 foot ; the ecclesiastical district includes 

 part of Cowpe Lench. See the End. Char. 

 Rep. for Whalley (Newchurch in Rossen- 

 dale), 1901, p. 22. 



1 3,828 acres, including 104 of inland 

 water. This is the area of the borough. 



2 B. T. Barton, Bury, 40. 



8 The Liverpool and Bury line was 

 opened in 1848. 



4 Itin. vii, 49 ; he also remarks that 

 Bury had ' but a poor market.' Camden, 

 on the other hand, calls it a market town 

 ' not less considerable than Rochdale ' ; 

 Brit. (ed. 1695), 745. 



6 8 Eliz. cap. 12 ; Bury is one of the 

 five towns named. For a Bury ulnage 

 case in 1547-9 see Duchy Plead. (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 6-10. 



