SALFORD HUNDRED 



BURY 



oc. 1717 C. Barrett 58 



1722 Thomas Ryder 5S 



1725 John Boardman 



1738 John Lowe, B.A. 



1757 William Harrison 



1760 Richard Thickstone 



1764 John Smith 55 



1 8 10 William Holt, 56 M.A. (Brasenose 



Coll. Oxf.) 

 1849 George Nightingale, 57 M.A. (St. 



Cath. Coll. Camb.) 

 1875 Henry Dowsett 58 

 1905 George Lawson Merchant, M.A. 



(Worcester Coll. Oxf.) 



There was a chapel at EDENF1ELD 59 as early as 

 1541 ^ this was perhaps the building described 

 in 1546 as built by the tenants upon a piece of the 

 king's waste, in which their chaplain celebrated daily 

 for the souls of all the faithful departed. 61 An inquiry 

 was made about it in I552, 61 and it appears to have 

 been sold to William Kenyon, who next year was in 

 possession. 63 Possibly it was recovered or a new one 

 was built, for the tradition in Bishop Gastrell's time 

 was that the then-existing chapel had been consecrated 

 in the time of Elizabeth. 64 In the next century it, 

 like Holcombe, was kept up by the inhabitants, with- 

 out endowment. 65 In 1634 it had a separate curate, 66 

 but was vacant in i65o, 67 and was usually served by 

 the curate of Holcombe m down to the beginning of 

 last century ; down to 1733 service was held there 

 once a month only, but afterwards on alternate 

 Sundays. 69 It was rebuilt in 1778. No dedication 

 is known. A separate district was assigned to it in 

 i865. 70 The rector of Bury is patron. 



The curates and vicars since Edenfield became 

 separate from Holcombe have been : 



1842 Matthew Wilson 71 



1870 James Pearse Yeo " 



1902 Alfred Dinley Studdy Studdy, B.A. (Lond.) 



In recent times the following have been erected for 

 the worship of the Established Church : St. Anne's, 

 Tottington, in 1 799 patron, the rector of Bury ; n 

 St. Paul's, Ramsbottom, 1850, rebuilt 1 864 74 patron, 

 the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester, alternately ; 

 and St. Andrew's, in the same town, 1875 patron, 

 Sir John Grant Lawson ; " St. Mary's, Hawkshaw 

 Lane, 1892 patron, the Bishop of Manchester. 



St. John's Free Church of England, Tottington, 

 was built in 1867-8. 



The Wesleyans have a church at Tottington built 

 in 1820 and rebuilt in 1904; others at Walshaw, 

 at Hawkshaw Lane, at Ramsbottom, built in 1873, 

 and at Edenfield, built in 1832 and rebuilt in 1879. 

 The Primitive Methodists have churches at Rams- 

 bottom and Edenfield, built in 1889 and 1 88 1 

 respectively. The United Methodist Church is re- 

 presented at Ramsbottom, Holcombe Brook, and 

 Hawkshaw Lane. 



The Baptists have a church at Ramsbottom, built 

 in 1851 ; the Particular Baptists also have one 

 there. 



Protestant Nonconformity since 1662 is represented 

 by the chapel at Dundee. Henry Pendlebury, on 

 being expelled from Holcombe, continued to minister 

 in the district, principally at Bast House, on the other 

 side of the Irwell. His successor, Edward Rothwell 

 of Tunley, moved to Holcombe, and in 1712 there 

 built a chapel within a stone's throw of the old 

 chapel. Another chapel, still in use, was built nearer 

 Ramsbottom. The English Presbyterians and Inde- 

 pendents continued to occupy it until 1813, when it 

 was acquired by the Scottish Presbyterians, who still 

 retain it. 76 In 1832 a new church, St. Andrew's, now 

 belonging to the English Establishment, was built for 

 the congregation, but closed to them in 1869 ; they 

 returned to the old chapel for a time, but in 1873 

 the new church of St. Andrew was built for them ; 

 it is connected with the Presbyterian Church of 

 England. 77 



53 Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 36. 

 68 The Church Papers at Chester begin 

 here. 



55 There is a memorial tablet in the 

 church. A number of his memoranda 

 are printed in Holcombe Long Ago. A 

 list of his goods, including his gown, cas- 

 sock, and bands, and 71 books, is given 

 on p. 14. He valued his sermons at 20. 

 One of these, on the Arians, appears to 

 have been printed. 



56 There is a memorial brass in the 

 church. 



57 There is a memorial brass to him. 



58 Mr. Dowsett resigned in 1905 ; he 

 is the author of Notes on Holcombe (1901) 

 and Holcombe Long Ago (1902), which 

 have been freely quoted in this account 

 of the chapel and township. 



89 The older spellings were Ay tonfield 

 or Etonficld. 



60 In the Tottington Court Roll of 1542 

 it is recorded that Elizabeth Crabtree 

 made an assault on Margaret Henryson 

 and John Hey within Edenfield Chapel 

 on 8 Sept. 1541. Again in 1543 John 

 Shipplebottom was fined for having at 

 the time of vespers at Edenfield Chapel 

 beaten Thurstan Booth, to the distur- 

 bance of divine service in the chapel, and 

 to the danger of Thurstan's life had not 

 the people present given him assistance. 



41 Ct. R. of 22 May, 38 Hen. VIII ; 

 the land measured a rood and a half. 



62 Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), ii, 119. 

 There was only one set of vestments 

 remaining at that time ; Ch. Gds. 46. 

 The 'stock* wai sold for 401.; Raines, 

 Chant, ii, 273. Hugh Birtwisle was curate 

 of Edenfield in 1554 and 1563; he did 

 not appear in 1565 ; Visitation lists. 



63 Ct. R. of Thursday before Pentecost, 

 7 Edw. VI ; the land is called half an 

 acre. 



64 Notitia, ut sup. ' Consecrated ' may 

 mean no more than 'licensed for service.' 



65 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 

 12. William Kay of Edenfield was pre- 

 sented (about 1590) for having an ale 

 and minstrels who played upon the Sab- 

 bath day ; ibid. 582. 



66 See the note on Holcombe above. 



67 Commonwealth Ch. Surv. 44. Robert 

 Hill had been minister in 1647, but was 

 removed for misbehaviour ; then one 

 William Langley followed for a time 

 (1648), but though a Puritan he set the 

 Classis at defiance, and had to leave ; see 

 the notice of them in Shaw's Bury Classit, 

 233, 239-41. A Mr. Bridge was reproved 

 for ministering without ordination in 

 1649-50 ; ibid. 216. 



Edenfield was a separate parish for a 

 brief period (1659-60) ; Plund. Mins. 

 Accts. ii, 279. The Upper End of Tot- 

 tington, with Shuttle-worth, Cowpe, Lench, 

 and Musbury were assigned to it. 



68 Notitia, ii, 33. 



I 49 



89 Holtombe Long Ago, 85 j two ser- 

 mons were about 1767 preached on Sun- 

 days, and the Sacrament was administered 

 four times a year, Good Friday being one. 

 In the same volume (p. 38) is a record 

 of an ancient bequest of books to the 

 chapel. 



70 Lond. Gaz. 8 Aug. 1865. 



71 Died 13 Feb. 1870. 

 1* Died 29 Oct. 1901. 



78 A district was assigned to it in 1844; 

 Lond. Gax. 23 Feb. 



74 The district was formed in 1844 ; 

 LonJ. Gats. 3 June. 



75 The church was built in 1832 by 

 William Grant as a Presbyterian church, 

 and after being used for Anglican services 

 for some time, was formally transferred 

 to the Established Church in 1875. For 

 the district assigned to it, see Lond. Gaz. 15 

 Feb. 1876. 



76 Nightingale, Lanes. Nonconf. iii, 

 154-67. Bank Street Chapel, Bury, now 

 Unitarian, and Park Chapel, Walmersley, 

 are old offshoots of Holcombe. 



77 The story is also told in Barton, Bury, 

 213-20. It appears that Peter Ramsay, 

 the minister in 1813, offended the Grant 

 family by his personalities and was forcibly 

 ejected. After various changes Dr. An- 

 drew MacLean came as pastor in 1829, 

 and was so popular that St. Andrew's was 

 built for him by the Grants, who also 

 maintained it. In 1869, Dr. MacLean 



