SALFORD HUNDRED 



MIDDLETON 



wood. 18 Siddal 19 and Gooden are other parts of 

 Hopwood ; the latter gave a surname to the posses- 

 sors. 20 



In or near Hopwood was a wood called Hawk- 

 shaw ; 21 the name appears to be lost. 



At Stanicliffe there was an ancient chapel.* 1 In 

 connexion with the Church of England, St. Mary's, 

 Birch, was erected in 1828 ; the rector of Middleton 

 is the patron. 23 The mission church of St. John lies 

 within the borough of He/wood. 



There are also chapels for the Wesleyan, Primitive, 

 and United Free Methodists. 



THORNHAM 



Thorenham, 1243 ; Tornetun, c. 1230, 1335. 



Thornham appears to have been called Thornton 

 also. It measures about ii| miles from north to 

 south, by about 2 miles across. The area is 1,936 

 acres. Tandle Hill, the highest point of the hilly 

 surface, nearly 700 ft., is central ; there are good views 

 from the summit ; the surface descends from it all 

 round, but more particularly towards the south-west, 

 where the level is under 400 ft. The population in 

 1901 was not returned separately. 



The road from Middleton to Rochdale, along which 



runs a light railway, passes along the western border, 

 having the hamlets of Slattocks and Trub Smithy, for- 

 merly Smithy Ford, upon it. Near the eastern bor- 

 der the road from Oldham to Rochdale passes through, 

 having the hamlets of Thornham Hill, Gravel Hole, 

 and Buersill Head upon or near it. There are three 

 cross roads connecting the former roads. Thornham 

 Fold is a hamlet near the centre of the township, 

 and Stake Hill lies to the south-east of Slattocks. The 

 railway and canal from Manchester to Rochdale both 

 cross the extreme south-west corner. 



The soil is sandy with a subsoil of clay ; the chief 

 crops are wheat and pasture. There is abundance of 

 good coal, and a colliery at Hanging Chadder. Fustian 

 cutting is carried on. At Stake Hill there are bleach 

 works. 



In 1666 there were fifty-four hearths assessed to 

 the hearth tax ; James Hilton's house had six. 1 



Thornham has ceased to exist as a township since 

 1 894, when it was divided between Middleton, Roy- 

 ton, and Rochdale.* 



As in the case of Pilsworth, there does 

 MANOR not seem to have been a manor of 

 THORNHAM, the hamlet being held 

 as part of the manor of Middleton. 3 Joseph Milne, 

 in 1862, purchased from Peto and Betts the estate 

 formerly belonging to Lord Suffield, as heir of the 

 Assheton family, comprising nearly the whole of the 

 land. 4 



Sir Richard de Stanicliffe (Staniclive), in 

 her widowhood gave to Alan de Middle- 

 ton all her land in Stanicliffe and any that 

 might revert to her there, for a rent of 

 two white gloves ; Sir Robert de Middle- 

 ton was a witness ; Hopwood D. To the 

 same Alan grants in the vill of Thornton 

 made by his father Roger and brother 

 Robert were confirmed by the superior 

 lord, Roger de Montbegon ; ibid. Adam 

 son of Walter, and Godith daughter of 

 Richard de Stanicliffe, granted to Richard 

 de Hulton the third part of Stanicliffe ' to 

 hold in frankalmoign of God and the 

 house of St. John's Hospital of Jerusalem, 

 rendering yearly to the said Hospital i6J. 

 of silver at the Nativity of St. Mary ; ' 

 Brother Alexander of the hospital was a 

 witness ; ibid. Roger de Stanicliffe and 

 Syherit de Stanicliffe sold to Roger the 

 Carpenter the chief messuage, two parts 

 of a croft belonging to it, and the twelfth 

 part of all Stanicliffe, to hold as above, 

 rendering $.d. a year to the hospital ; 

 Roger de Middleton and W. the Clerk his 

 son were witnesses ; ibid. 



18 In the inquisition already cited it it 

 stated that he he!' messuages and lands in 

 Stanicliffe 'of the King as of the late 

 priory of St. John of Jerusalem in Eng- 

 land ' in socage, by 41. yearly rent this 

 .agreeing with the rents of i6d. for a third 

 and 4<f. for a twelfth part of the charter 

 given in the preceding note. 



Sarah Hopwood, one of the daughters 

 of Edmund Hopwood, lived at Stanicliffe ; 

 her will, made in 1642 and proved in 1664, 

 abounds in family names. She was buried 

 at Middleton 18 Jan. 1644. 



19 Lands in Sydal or Siddal and Middleton 

 were included in the Kersal cell estate pur- 

 chased in 1548 by Ralph Kenyon ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 13, m. 152. The 

 place is also named among the lands of 

 Richard Assheton of Middleton in 1619 ; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), ii, 105, 107. 



80 In 1292, and again in 1302, Thomas 

 de Hopwood released to his brother Alan 

 all claim on lands in Gooden (Guldene) ; 

 Hopwood D. 



In the latter year William son of Hugh 

 de Gooden (Guledene) made a claim for 

 common of pasture in Middleton, but did 

 not proceed ; the defendants were Peter 

 de Hey wood and his sons, and in the 

 second case Thomas son of William de 

 Hopwood ; Assize R. 408, m. 5 ; 418, 

 m. 4. Eight years later, Alice widow of 

 William de Gooden claimed dower in a 

 messuage, 12 acres of land, 6 acres of 

 meadow, and 12 acres of wood in Middle- 

 ton ; Thomas de Hopwood, the defendant, 

 replied that her husband was not seised of 

 the tenement as of fee on the day he 

 married her or afterwards ; De Banco R. 

 183, m. 132. 



Adam de Hopwood in 1333 granted to 

 Agnes daughter of Alan de Hopwood and 

 her heirs all her father's lands in Gooden 

 in the town of Middleton, with com- 

 mon rights in Thornham, Pilsworth, and 

 Hawkshaw, for the rent of a rose yearly ; 

 Hopwood D. Agnes, as widow of Wil- 

 liam son of Henry de Heywood, in 1 347 

 granted all her lands in Gooden to Geof- 

 frey son of Thomas de Hopwood ; ibid. 



Ten years later John de Stackhill and 

 Agnes his wife granted to Geoffrey son of 

 John del Holt all their lands in Gooden 

 in Middleton for his life ; Agecroft D. 

 338. 



At the end of the 1 7th century Gooden 

 (Goulden) was owned by James Holt of 

 Stubley ; Manch. Free Library D. no. 

 106, no, 112, 116. His predecessor, 

 Robert Holt of Stubley, died in 1561, 

 holding messuages, &c., in Middleton of 

 Richard Assheton of Middleton in socage ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xi, 15. Earlier 

 still, in 1388, Robert son of Geoffrey del 

 Holt held lands in Middleton; Final Cone. 

 iii, 31. 



Two messuages ' called Golden ' were 



173 



in 1538 held by Ralph Bury of Sir Richard 

 Ashton of Middleton ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p.m. viii, no. 24. Richard Bury of 

 Gooden was a freeholder in 1600 ; Misc. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 248. 

 Richard Bury died in 1614 ; in his will 

 are named his children Joseph, Deborah, 

 and Richard. The will of John Bury, 

 made about the same time, speaks of 

 Richard Bury ' heir of Gooden.' 



The Goulden or Gooden family occur 

 in other townships ; they had land in Barn- 

 ford in 1282 ; Final Cone, i, 157. 



21 It is mentioned in a Hopwood Charter 

 cited above. In 1292 David de Hulton 

 was nonsuited in his claim against Roger 

 de Middleton and Thomas de Heaton for 

 partition of a wood in ' Haukeshogh ; ' 

 Assize R. 408, m. 36 d. 



22 E. Butterworth in 1839 wrote: 

 ' According to tradition there was once a 

 chapel here, but this is unlikely ; yet it 

 might be a small oratory for the tenantry 

 of Hopwood ; ' Middleton, 5 1. Canon 

 Raines a little later says : ' Stanicliffe is 

 a timber and plaster house, having a pri- 

 vate chapel ;' Notitia Cestr. ii, 101. 



28 E. Butterworth, ut supra. The chap- 

 elry was constituted in 1 842 ; Land. Cast, 

 27 Sept. 



1 Subs. R. bdle. 250, no. 9, Lanes. 



8 Loc. Govt. Bd. Orders 31625, 32287. 

 Trub Smithy and Buersill Head are now 

 in Castleton ; Slattocks, Thornham Fold, 

 and Stake Hill, in Middleton ; Gravel 

 Hole, Hanging Chadder, and Thorncliffe, 

 in Royton. 



8 It is so named, e.g. in 1619 in the 

 inquisition after the death of Richard 

 Assheton of Middleton ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 105. 



Sir H. Harbord paid four-fifths of the 

 land tax in 1787 ; Returns at Preston. 



* Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1868), i, 481 ; the 

 area was 1,794^ acres. Mr. Milne died 

 in 1898, and his trustees are the present 

 lords. 



