A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Hanging Chadder * and Stakehill 6 gave names to 

 their possessors in the 1 4th century. 



The Parliamentary Commissioners, in 1650, recom- 

 mended that a church should be erected at the tithe 

 barn in Thornham, 7 but no further steps were taken. 

 In connexion with the Established Church the school 

 chapel of St. James, Gravel Hole, and the old school 

 are used for service. 8 



Near the same place is a chapel of the Wesleyan 

 Methodists. 



The Roman Catholic Church of St. Gabriel and 

 the Angels, Trub Smithy, on the border of Castleton, 

 was built in 1884.' 



BIRTLE-WITH-BAMFORD 



Brithull, 1243; Birkil, 1246; Birkhill, 1334, 

 1573 ; Birtle has become the usual spelling, but Bircle 

 appears in the Manchester Diocesan Directory. 



Baunford, Baumford, 1330. 



The main portion of this scattered township lies 

 about 5 miles north north-west of Middleton Church. 

 It is separated from the central portion of the parish 

 by the township of Heap in Bury, with which it is 

 much intermixed, having no fewer than five detached 

 portions to the south, east, and north. Birtle hamlet, 

 near which is Sillinghilrst, is in the western half of the 

 main part of the township ; much of Bamford lies in 

 Heap. The area is 1,429 acres, 1 of which Birtle has 

 1,200. The surface is hilly ; the highest portion of 

 the main part of the township, over 800 ft. above sea- 

 level, lies on the northern side. The population in 

 1901 was 1,447. 



Two roads cross it from south to north, leading 

 from the road between Bury and Rochdale, which 

 passes through the south-east corner of the main part. 



The soil is loam, with stone below ; the land is 

 chiefly in pasture. Bleaching, dyeing, and paper- 

 making are carried on. In Bamford are large woollen 

 and cotton factories. There are several stone quarries, 

 and coal-mining was formerly carried on. 



In 1882 Cobhouse Farm in Walmersley and Diggles 

 in Heap were added to Birtle-with-Bamford. J A 

 number of changes were made in 1 894 ; the township 

 was greatly extended by the inclusion of a part of Heap 

 and the whole of Ashworth ; parts of it were cut off 

 and included in Heywood, Bury, and Walmersley. 3 



In 1666 there were fifty-six hearths liable to the 

 tax. The only large house was that of Holt of Gristle- 

 hurst, with thirteen hearths. 4 



Castle Hill and Gallows Hill adjoin each other in 

 Birtle proper.* 3 



The township is governed by a parish council. 



There does not seem to have been at 

 MANORS any time a manor of BIRTLE, the land 

 being held in parcels of the lord of 

 Middleton. 6 * The local surname was at one time in 

 use, for in 1246 Roger de Birtle, whose tenement 

 was said to be in Bury, complained that Geoffrey de 

 Middleton had raised a mill-pool to his injury and to 

 the injury of Adam de Bury. Adam's claim was 

 rejected by the jury, but they admitted Roger's, for 

 the course of the water had been altered so that the 

 water laid waste his land. They at first ordered that 

 the old state of things should be restored, but the 

 parties having agreed, they ordered that Geoffrey 

 should pay half a mark yearly to Roger, and leave 

 the mill-pool as it was. 6b 



The Bury family in the 1 6th century held part of 

 Birtle. 73 



The most prominent residents were the Holts of 

 GRISTLE HURST, 8 * who were in possession in the 



& Land in this place belonged to the 

 church of Middleton, as may be seen in 

 the charter quoted in the account of the 

 parish church. 



Adam de Hindley and Joan his wife, in 

 1313, claimed the latter' s dower in Mid- 

 dleton against Robert son of Roger de 

 Middleton, and John de Hanging Chadder ; 

 De Banco R. 201, m. 2. Richard de Hang- 

 ing Chadder contributed to the subsidy, 

 1332 ; Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), 36. 



Messuages and land there, held of the 

 lord of Middleton, belonged in 1612 to the 

 Hopwoods of Hopwood ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 204, 207. 



A family named Jones was long resident 

 at Hanging Chadder. There is an account 

 of the family in Notitia Cestr. ii, iozn. 

 Henry Jones, by will in 1678, was a bene- 

 factor to the poor. Edmund Jones in 1696 

 names his son Richard in his will ; and 

 Richard Jones, whose will was proved in 

 1722, names his son Edmund. There 

 were also Fittons there and at Snipe Lache 

 in Thornton. 



6 In 1330 John de Stakull and Agnes 

 his wife released to Geoffrey son of John 

 de Holt all right in lands in Stakehill in 

 the vill of Middleton for the term of John's 

 life; Agecroft D. 336. See the account 

 of Gooden in Hopwood. 



Henry de Stakehill contributed to the 

 subsidy in 1332 ; Exch. Lay Subs. 36. 



Roger Holt of Bridge Hall in Heap held 

 in 1594 two messuages in Middleton 

 called Starkhull" ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. xvi, 6. 



John son of Henry de Stakehill in 1338 



granted Whitaker in the hamlet of Thorn- 

 ham to his brother Adam, and Adam four 

 years afterwards granted all his lands in 

 Thornham to Sir John de Byron ; Harl. 

 MS. 21 12. 



' Commonw. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), 24. 



8 See Endowed Char. Rep. for Middleton, 

 1901, p. 31. 



9 The mission was founded in 1879 ; 

 Kelly, Engl. Cath. Missions, 119. 



1 The census of 1901 gives 2,410 acres, 

 including 17 of inland water; this is the 

 area after the changes made in 1882 and 

 1894. 



2 Divided Parishes Act. Cobhouse is 

 a detached part of \Valmersley lying with- 

 in the northerly detached part of Birtle. 

 Diggles lies to the east of Dixon Fold, in 

 the detached part of Bamford. 



8 Loc. Govt. Bd. Order 31671. The 

 effect of these changes has been to abolish 

 the old fragmentary condition of the town- 

 ship. 



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



53 The story that the manor court for 

 Tottington fee was formerly held here 

 appears in Aikin, Country round Manch. 

 269. 



6a The fact that Birtle-with-Bamford and 

 Heap have a number of detached portions 

 is probably due to that 'common of pasture," 

 shared by the tenants of Bury and Middle- 

 ton, which is named in the Inq. p.m. of 

 Roger de Middleton in 1324 ; Inq. p.m. 

 1 6 Edw. II, 49. 



Birtle was an original constituent of the 

 manor of Middleton, but the portion of 

 Bamford held by Richard Assheton in 1612 



174 



was found to belong to the lordship of the 

 Earl of Derby ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 105, 107. Some ac- 

 count of Bamford will be found under 

 Heap in Bury. 



In a fine of 1592 respecting a messuage 

 and lands in Cobballs, Elbight (now Elbutt), 

 and Birtle, Richard Holland and Ralph 

 Assheton were plaintiffs and the Earl of 

 Derby and Richard Assheton (lords respec- 

 tively of Bury and Middleton) were defor- 

 ciants ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 54, 

 m. 25. 



6b Assize R 404, m. 7 d. 



Thomas son of Adam de Birkhill did not 

 prosecute a claim made in 1334 against 

 Agnes de Middleton, Maud, her daughter, 

 and others ; Assize R. 1417, m. 7 d. 



' a James Bury held lands in Bury, Mid- 

 dleton, and Tottington ; Ralph, his son 

 and heir, was an idiot. On Ralph's death 

 in 1538 it was found that he held a mes- 

 suage called Birtle (Byrkehill) and two 

 called ' Golden ' of Sir Richard Ashton by 

 fealty and a rent of i\d. yearly ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, 34 ; viii, 24. 



A messuage and lands in Birtle and 

 Middleton were in 1573 purchased by 

 James Lomas from Lawrence Bury, Agnes 

 his wife, and Richard his son and heir ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 35, m. 115. 



81 Gristlehurst was partly in Middleton 

 and partly in Bury. Thus the mediety of 

 Gristlehurst was granted by Adam de Bury 

 to Thomas de Bamford for a rent of lod. ; 

 the bounds included Stockley Clough, Pete- 

 kesdene, Navedene, Kochet, and Taclei- 

 brook ; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xi, 113. 

 In 1336 Helewise de Hull granted to 





