SALFORD HUNDRED 



BURY 



of this part of the township. 18 If the suppositions 

 here made are correct this composite township repre- 

 sents an originally diverse tenure, Walmersley being 

 an integral part of the manor of Bury, while Shuttle- 

 worth was part of the manor of Tottington, and 

 came to be joined with Bury through a grant to the 

 ancestor of Adam de Bury. 



In 1796 the principal landowners were Richard 

 Nangreaves, John Lancashire, and the Rev. [Richard] 

 Formby. 19 



Complaint was made about the destruction of trees 

 in Fletcher Wood in Walmersley in I596. 20 Ellis 

 Fletcher paid 10 on refusing knighthood in 1631." 



Christ Church, Walmersley, was built in 1838 for 

 the Established worship, and rebuilt in 1883 ; the 

 patronage is in the hands of five trustees." At 

 Shuttleworth, St. John's in the Wilderness was built 

 in 1 848 ; the incumbents are presented alternately 

 by the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester.* 3 



The Wesleyan Methodists have a church at 

 Summerseat, opened in 1847, where the Primitive 

 Methodists have a chapel also. 



The Baptists have a chapel in Shuttleworth. 



The Congregationalists have one at Park. It 

 originated in a separation from Dundee Chapel, 

 Holcombe, in 1798." 



TOTTINGTON LOWER END 



Totinton, 1212 ; Totington, 1233. 



Tottington originally comprised all the northern 

 part of the parish of Bury. Shuttleworth, as above, 

 became incorporated with Walmersley through being 

 given to the lord of Bury ; Musbury and Cowpe 

 Lench were placed in the hundred of Blackburn, and 

 in the I7th or i8th century what remained of Tot- 

 tington was divided into two parts the Lower End 

 and the Higher End, south and north respectively. 



The Lower End contains the village of Tottington, 

 with the hamlets of Woolfold, Bolholt, and Walshaw 

 in the south ; Affetside and Hawkshaw in the west ; 

 Green Mount, Holcombe Brook, Redisher, Hazel- 

 hurst, and Holcombe in the centre, and Brooks- 

 bottom, Nuttall, Nuttall Lane, and Ramsbottom (with 



Tanners and Carr to its west) in the north-east, 

 along the Irwell, which there in general forms the 

 boundary. The north is occupied by the flat-topped 

 Harkles Hill ; which rises steeply on three sides, the 

 summit being 1,216 ft. high. To the north-west is 

 Scholes Height, 1, 3 50 ft. Magnificent views may be 

 obtained in clear weather over the surrounding 

 country ; Snowdon may sometimes be seen. On the 

 south side of Holcombe Brook the surface again rises 

 to the south-west, a height of 8 90 ft. being attained 

 at Affetside on the border. The township has an area 

 of 5,270^ acres. 1 The population of the present 

 township of Tottington was 6,118 in 1901. 



The principal road is that from Bury to Blackburn, 

 passing through the village of Tottington. Along the 

 south-west border runs another road, called Watling 

 Street, 2 which meets the former within the township 

 of Bradshaw, at a point from which a third road runs 

 eastward through Hawkshaw to Holcombe Brook and 

 then north-east and north to Ramsbottom and Has- 

 lingden. At Holcombe Brook it is joined by roads 

 from the south. There are several bridges over the 

 Irwell for roads into Walmersley and Shuttleworth. 

 The Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's railway 

 from Bury to Accrington runs along the eastern side 

 of the township, crossing the Irwell several times, and 

 having a station at Ramsbottom. A branch from 

 Bury has stations at Woolfold, Tottington, Green 

 Mount, and Holcombe Brook, which is the terminus. 



At Holcombe are the remains of a bloomery, prob- 

 ably of the Tudor period. 3 



There is a local tradition that men slain in battle 

 were buried at Holcombe, and weapons have been 

 found there. 4 



On the hill above Holcombe is a lofty tower, 

 erected in 1852 as a monument to Sir Robert Peel. 



In 1666 there were as many as 178 hearths liable 

 to the tax ; the dwellings were small, 5 Thomas Nut- 

 tail's, with five hearths, being the largest. 



James Wood, master of St. John's College, Cam- 

 bridge, 1805 to 1839, an ^ Dean of Ely, was born at 

 Birchhey, Tottington. 6 



In 1831 an annual fair was said to be held on 

 12 October. 7 



cliffe, Robert del Ewood, and others, and 

 the sheriff was ordered to take them. 

 Afterwards the parties made fine ; Coram 

 Rege R. 297, m. 6 ; R. 298, Rex, m. i d. 



A partition of 10 acres of wood, &c., 

 between Alice widow of Roger de Pilking- 

 ton and Roger de Shuttleworth and Roger 

 his son was made in 1348 ; De Banco R. 

 354, m. 3 d. 



In 1408 Hugh son of Roger, son of 

 Roger de Shuttleworth of Bury, was an 

 outlaw, unjustly, as he alleged ; Towneley 

 MS. RR, no. 1545. 



Agnes widow of John de Bradshagh 

 and John their son released in 1427 to 

 Ellen de Shuttleworth and Robert de 

 Radcliffe her son all their messuages, &c., 

 in a place called Questondene in Bury ; 

 Ct. of Wards, Deeds and Evidences, box 

 153, no. 7. 



In 1462 William Shuttleworth made 

 a settlement of his lands in Bury, and a 

 portion was granted to Peter his son and 

 Margaret the wife of Peter ; and in 1481 

 Margaret, as widow, released to Sir Thomas 

 Pilkington all her right in the lands which 

 had belonged to Peter Shuttleworth, grand- 

 father of her late husband ; Dods. MS. 

 cxlii, lol. 164, 165. 



18 Isabel widow of John Leigh of Shut- 

 tleworth is named in 1425-6 ; Final Cone. 

 iii, 1 24. This may refer to the Shuttle- 

 worth in Hapton, but there were in the 

 1 6th century Leighs who had land in 

 Bury ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 52, 

 m. 126 ; 57, m. 50. 



19 Land-tax returns at Preston. 



20 Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), iii, 343. 

 81 Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 



i, 216. 



83 The old church was ' a neat stone 

 structure,' with chancel, nave, and low 

 square tower, in which was a clock ; 

 Barton, Bury, 244. 



23 A district was formed in 1845 ; Land. 

 Gaz. 26 Aug. 



34 A full account of its fortunes will be 

 found in Nightingale, Lanes. Nonconf. iii, 

 167-78. It was at Bast House, to the 

 south-east of Gollinrod, that Henry 

 Pendlebury exercised his ministry after 

 being expelled from Holcombe in 1662 ; 

 ibid, iii, 158. 



1 According to the Census Rep. 1901, 

 the present townships of Tottington and 

 Ramsbottom contain respectively 2,543 

 and 6,424 acres, with 26 and, 76 acres of 

 inland water. 



8 An 'agger' is visible. 

 8 Trans. Hist. Soc. xxiv, 60 ; the place 

 is called Cinder Hill. 



4 Rev. H. Dowsett, Notes on Holcombe^ 



55- 



8 Subsidy R. bdle. 250, no. 9, 

 Lanes. 



8 He was bora in 1760, his father being 

 a weaver, who also had a small school. 

 James was educated by him and then at 

 Bury school ; afterwards he went up to 

 St. John's College, Cambridge, as a Kay 

 exhibitioner and sizar. He was the typi- 

 cal ' poor scholar,' came out senior wran- 

 gler, was elected fellow, and ultimately 

 master of the college. He became Dean 

 of Ely in 1820, and rector of Freshwater 

 in 1823, holding these preferments with 

 the mastership. He wrote a treatise on 

 Algebra and many other mathematical 

 works. He was a great benefactor to 

 the college, both in money and books, 

 and it may be mentioned that he aug- 

 mented the Kay exhibitions ; Baker, 

 Hist, of St. John's College (ed. Mayor), 

 ii, 1094-1104; Diet. Nat. Biog. There 

 is a memorial tablet in Holcombe 

 Church. 



1 Lewis's Gazetteer. 



