SALFORD HUNDRED 



MIDDLETON 



poor, 78 and in conjunction with Thornham shares in 

 the widows' gown charity. 79 Thornham has an 

 educational fund, 80 and Ainsworth a small sum for 

 the poor. 81 Some benefactions have been lost. 8 * 



MIDDLETON 



Midelton, 1212 ; Middelton, 1292. 



This township stretches for about 2 miles along 

 the north bank of the rich valley of the Irk, and has an 

 area of 1,930 acres. 1 The highest point, nearly 

 5 oo ft., is on the northern border; from this the 

 higher ground stretches south-east towards the centre, 

 with a valley to the north, through which Langley 

 Brook flows west to the Roch, and another valley to 

 the east, through which Whit Brook and another 

 flow south from Hopwood to the Irk. The portion 

 of the township to the north-east of the latter brook 

 is called Boarshaw. Hebers and Langley occupy the 

 northern part of the township ; Bowler and Rhodes 

 the western ; Woodside is in the centre ; and Middle- 

 ton with its church, and formerly its hall, grew up in 

 the angle between the Irk and Whit Brook. On 

 the other side of the Irk is Tonge, now incorporated 

 with Middleton. The population in 1901 was 

 25,178.' 



The principal road is the ' new road ' from Man- 

 chester to Rochdale, which crosses the Irk by a bridge, 

 and passes northward through the town to the west 

 of the church, and is there called Long Street. Out- 

 side the town a branch of it runs north-west and 



north to Hey wood. Another road to Heywood runs 

 near the west and north-west border. The other 

 principal road is the Manchester road from the west 

 through Rhodes, keeping near the Irk, and joining 

 the Rochdale road to the south-west of the church. 

 It continues eastward, through the Market Place, and 

 then divides, going south and east into Tonge, and 

 north-east to Thornham. The Lancashire and York- 

 shire Company's railway from Manchester to Roch- 

 dale, and the canal between the same places, pass 

 through the extreme north-east part of the township. 

 There are light railways along the roads from Rhodes 

 to Tonge and Oldham, and from Middleton to Roch- 

 dale. The town is also connected with Manchester 

 and other places by electric tramways. 



In 1840 the town was described as * situated in a 

 fertile vale, skirted by rising grounds, well cultivated 

 and rendered pleasant by groves of trees ; a narrow 

 steep ridge of sandy soil extends along the eastern 

 side of the place, and a large number of the buildings 

 have been erected on the summit and slope of this 

 hill ; a considerable number of cottages which may 

 be considered a part of the town are on the sides and 

 at the foot of the western and eastern banks of the 

 eminence." There was foimerly a medicinal well, 

 commemorated by the name Spaw. 



The curfew bell is still rung at ten o'clock. 4 

 The Boar's Head Inn, on the west side of the 

 Rochdale road, is a picturesque black and white timber 

 building on a stone base, with three gables to the 

 street filled with quatrefoil ornament. The timber 

 framing is plain, consisting of uprights and horizontal 



apprentices' premiums, usually z each. 

 The charity continues to be worked in the 

 same way ; one of the rent-charges has 

 been redeemed, and the net income is now 

 23 121. id. 



Catherine Hopwood in 1758 bequeathed 

 ,400 for the benefit of the poor, those of 

 Hopwood to have a moiety, and 100 for 

 the education of children in Hopwood. 

 To this capital was added 100 accumu- 

 lated from the gifts of various benefactors 

 between 1633 and 1726. The sum was 

 paid to Robert Gregge Hopwood, and in 

 1828 30 interest was received ; of this 

 ,10 each was given to the churchwardens 

 of Hopwood and Middleton and distri- 

 buted in linen cloth, 5 was paid to the 

 schoolmaster at Hopwood, and $ distri- 

 buted in linen cloth to persons in Middle- 

 ton, Thornham, Hopwood, Pilsworth, and 

 Birtle-with-Bamford. The capital has been 

 invested in consols, and now the income, 

 17 os. 8</., is distributed among all the 

 townships of the ancient parish, but Hop- 

 wood receives 8 191. and Middleton 

 6 gt. zd. The school at Hopwood 

 having been closed, the share of interest 

 intended for it is distributed with the 

 general fund for the poor in flannel and 

 blankets. 



~ 8 William Moss in 1772 left ,50 for 

 a distribution of linen cloth to the poor ; 

 and Elizabeth Buckley in 1807 left 50, 

 the interest of which was in 1828 distri- 

 buted among a number of poor persons. 

 Payment of the Moss Charity out of the 

 rates was disallowed in 1848, but on the 

 sale of an old workhouse the township dis- 

 charged its debt by a payment of 4$ it. 6d. 

 to the official trustees ; the income, about 

 1 8*., is distributed by the overseers in 

 gifts of calico. The capital of the Buckley 

 charity has also been paid to the official 

 trustees, and the interest is added to the 



other sums for the poor. The rector of 

 Middleton has always administered this 

 charity. 



A gift by Dame Eleanor Assheton in 

 1791 is understood to have passed into the 

 hands of the Earl of Wilton, who, among 

 other gifts, used to send 10 a year to the 

 rector of Middleton. This system has 

 been continued; in 1898 5 41. was 

 spent on Sunday dinners for poor persons, 

 and ,4 161. on clothing. 



< 9 The origin of this charity is not cer- 

 tainly known, but about a century ago the 

 fund amounted to ,400. From 1855 

 the dividends accumulated till in 1 86 8 

 the official trustees secured the capital 

 and accumulations, now represented by 

 ?33 '7 J - &</. consols, the income being 

 20 31. Sd. This is distributed in gowns 

 for necessitous and deserving widows, and 

 other articles of clothing, &c., the benefits 

 being extended to single women if there is 

 a surplus. 



80 Robert Stott of Thornham in 1869 

 left ,120 for the school attached to 

 Thornham Church ; the income is 3 5*. 

 Jane Bridge of Castleton in 1894 left 

 ,500 for the stipend of the minister offi- 

 ciating at Thornham, the services then 

 being held in the old school. 



81 Samuel Baron in 1773 bequeathed 

 200, half for the benefit of the Noncon- 

 formist chapel at Cockey, and half for 

 the poor, a distribution of woollen or linen 

 cloth being directed at the chapel after 

 service on Christmas Day. At present 

 ,4 51., half the income, derived from a 

 ground rent in Ancoats, is distributed at 

 Christmas among poor members of the 

 congregation. 



83 Three benefactions, amounting to 

 50, for the benefit of the poor of Hop- 

 wood, existed in 1828. The capital was 

 in the hands of Robert Gregge Hopwood, 



161 



and the interest was paid to the poor rate. 

 No payment has been made since Mr. 

 Hopwood's death in 1854. 



Robert Hopwood, M.D., in 1762 be- 

 queathed a rent-charge of 2 1 arising out 

 of Hanging Chadder for the clothing of 

 seven poor men and seven poor women 

 belonging to Hopwood. This charity was 

 in active operation in 1828, but has since 

 been lost. Captain Gregge Hopwood, on 

 being applied to in 1 861, replied that the 

 gift was illegal under the Mortmain Acts ; 

 and this contention appears to be well 

 founded. 



1 The acreage in the Census Report of 

 1901 4,775 acres, including 64 of in- 

 land water is that of the enlarged area 

 of the borough-township. 



Tonge was included with Middleton in 

 the first Improvement Act, 1861. Alk- 

 rington and parts of Hopwood and Thorn- 

 ham were added in 1879. The borough 

 of Middleton was incorporated in i886 t 

 and now includes, in addition to the 

 above, parts of Great and Little Heaton. 

 In 1894 the whole borough was made 

 into a single civil parish, the separate 

 townships thus disappearing ; Loc. Govt. 

 Bd. Order 31625. 



8 This also refers to the enlarged area. 



8 E. Butterworth, Middleton, 6. To 

 this work also are due the notes on the 

 rise of the manufactures. Other details 

 have been derived from Mr. S. Parting- 

 ton's illustrated Handbook for the 1900 

 Jubilee of the Middleton and Tonge In- 

 dustrial Society, an offshoot of the Co- 

 operative movement. This volume con- 

 tains extracts from the overseers' accounts 

 of 1766 and later years (148, &c.) ; 

 also a valuation of 1789 (157). 



4 Information of the late Mr. John 

 Dean, of Middleton, who kindly supplied 

 other details. 



21 



