SALFORD HUNDRED 



MIDDLETON 



near the western end. There is an extensive view 

 from the hill on which the church stands. The 

 population in 1901 was included with that of Birtle. 



The principal road is that from Heywood to Eden- 

 field, passing diagonally through the township. 



The soil is of loam and clay, with subsoil of clay ; 

 the land is mostly in pasture. Stone quarries are 

 worked. 



There were only thirty- two hearths Richard 

 Holt's dwelling having twelve of them liable to the 

 hearth tax in I666. 1 



The whole of Ashworth was in 1894 added to 

 Birtle-cum-Bamford. 2 



Like the other hamlets or vills of the 

 M4NOR parish, 4SH WORTH was held of the lord 

 of Middleton, 3 but part of it was the free 

 alms of Middleton Church. 4 The earliest deed concern- 

 ing it is a grant made about 1 180-90 by Roger son of 

 Alexander de Middleton to Geoffrey son of Robert 

 the Dean of Whalley of the whole of Ashworth, for 

 the service of 40^. yearly for sake fee. Jordan de 

 Ashworth, a witness, was probably the immediate 

 tenant. 5 In 1236 Robert de Middleton gave the 

 homage of Henry de Whalley for Ashworth to Geof- 

 frey de Chetham. 6 About the same time Orm son of 

 William de Wardle released to Robert son of Bernard 

 de Ashworth his claim to 4 oxgangs in Ashworth, 

 which he had demanded in the king's court. 7 Richard 

 son of Adam de Birtle, who held an acre in Birkrod 



of Stephen de Ashworth, granted it to Robert son of 

 Robert de Ashworth ; a rent of \d. was payable to 

 the chief lord, Henry son of Randle de Ashworth. 8 

 From these and other deeds it is clear that the land 

 was much divided, and that the local surname was 

 used by any or all of the tenants. 



Stephen de Ashworth, just mentioned, gave an 

 acre of his church land to John Spode. 9 He was 

 succeeded by daughters Maud, Margery, and Edusa. 

 Two of them are named in a grant of all his lands 

 by Ralph de Ashworth to Robert de Ashworth son of 

 Alexander de Bamford. 10 A Robert son of Robert 

 de Ashworth married Tiffany daughter of Margery, 

 and to him her sisters appear to have made over all 

 their rights about the year 1290." 



It does not seem possible to make a clear account 

 of the descent of the manor 

 out of these materials. In 

 1294, however, Richard de 

 Ashworth, whose father's name 

 is not given, is called the 

 chief lord. 11 Richard had a 

 son Robert, whose daughter 

 and heir Maud in or about 

 1 349 married Hugh son of 

 John del Holt, member of 

 a Rochdale family. 13 The 

 Holts retained the manor for 

 350 years. 14 Robert Holt, 



HOLT. Argent on a 

 bend engrailed sable three 

 feurs de Us of the f eld. 



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



2 Loc. Govt. Bd. Order 31671. 



8 It is usually named among the ap- 

 purtenances of the lordship ; see also the 

 inquisitions, &c., cited in later notes. 



4 This appears from charters cited below. 



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

 Ches.), iii, 448, from an imperfect copy. 

 The phrase 'et Francis et Anglicis' 

 occurs in the introductory clause. An old 

 copy, transcribed by Canon Raines, intro- 

 duces the words in the grant : 'salvo jure 

 Ricardi de Blonda.' 



8 Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 74. Henry de Whalley was 

 present when the concord was made, and 

 did homage to Geoffrey. 



" Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xi, 252. 

 Robert de Middleton and Alan his brother 

 were witnesses. This charter and others 

 were copied by Canon Raines in 1845 

 from the originals, then in the possession 

 of James Dearden, lord of the manor of 

 Rochdale ; other Ashworth charters he 

 copied from old copies in the same collec- 

 tion. 



8 Ibid. 253. Robert de Middleton was 

 a witness. 



9 Ibid. 252. The seal bore an eight- 

 petalled flower with the legend + s' 

 STEPHAN DE ASEWRT. William de Middle- 

 ton was a witness. 



10 Ibid. 253. The grant included the 

 homage of Alexander son of Robert de 

 Ash worth (Jd.), and John son of Alexan- 

 der (i \d.} \ also Molle and Margery (2^.). 

 The same Ralph, perhaps at an earlier 

 time, granted land to Robert son of Robert 

 de Ashworth ; the bounds in one place 

 followed the plough of the church, and 

 they touched Penkesdene. Robert de Ash- 

 worth was a witness ; ibid. 



Margery daughter of Richard de Ash- 

 worth son of Walter, in her virginity 

 granted to the same Robert son of Alex- 

 ander de Bamford her right in half an ox- 

 gang of land in Ashworth ; and Robert her 

 brother made a similar grant ; ibid. 258. 



11 In 1287 Eduys daughter of Stephen 

 de Ashworth in her widowhood granted 

 land to Robert son of Robert de Ash- 

 worth and Tiffany daughter of Margery 

 her sister (the bounds included Bentley 

 Ford) ; and Maud, another daughter of 

 Stephen, did the same ; ibid. 259. Mar- 

 gery daughter of Stephen also granted, but 

 perhaps at an earlier time, certain lands 

 to Robert son of Robert ; the bounds be- 

 gan at the dwelling of Sweyn, followed 

 the metes between the church land and 

 the lay fee to Ashworth, and by the syke 

 to Pedkesdene ; Kulnecloh is also named. 

 Robert de Ashworth was a witness ; ibid. 



It is difficult to decide on the identity 

 of this Robert son of Robert, but perhaps 

 his father was the son of Alexander de 

 Bamford. There was, however, an earlier 

 Robert, for Geoffrey son of John de 

 Buckley granted to Robert son of Jordan 

 de Ashworth all his lands in Ashworth ; 

 the bounds included Blachlache, Penkes- 

 den, Stanelciste, Warmedene, Wudul- 

 schae, and Russilache. One witness was 

 Roger de Middleton, and if this be the 

 earlier Roger (of 1212) the grantee would 

 no doubt be son of the Jordan de Ash- 

 worth who attested the charter of the 

 time of Henry II, already quoted ; ibid. 

 258. Robert de Ashworth, son of Alex- 

 ander de Bamford, granted 'as to his 

 partner ' to Robert son of Robert de Ash- 

 worth all the waste pertaining to the third 

 part of an oxgang of land in Ashworth ; 

 ibid. 



12 Margery daughter of Stephen de 

 Ashworth in that year released to Richard 

 de Ashworth, her chief lord, all her lands ; 

 ibid. 254. Maud de Ashworth released 

 to Richard de Ashworth, probably about 

 the same time, land and house and all her 

 part of the barn, held of the church of 

 Middleton ; ibid. 



The grant to Geoffrey son of Robert 

 the dean seems to have descended to 

 Henry de Whalley in 1236. Afterward*, 

 as noted above, Henry son of Handle is 



177 



called chief lord ; and then in 1294 Richard 

 de Ashworth is so entitled. The grant to 

 the Chethams was perhaps redeemed, for 

 the 3*. 4</. was afterwards payable to the 

 lords of Middleton directly. In 1298 

 Geoffrey de Chadderton confirmed to his 

 son Adam all his land in Ashworth ; 

 Clowes D. See also the case referred to 

 below. 



As to the parentage of Richard de Ash- 

 worth, a Robert son of Richard son of 

 Walter has occurred above, but appears to 

 be too early for the Robert son of Richard 

 whose daughter was living in 1405. 



18 Holt near Milnrow is thought to be 

 the place from which this wide-spreading 

 family took a surname. 



In Nov. 1349 Henry son of Henry de 

 Greenhalgh gave to Hugh son of John del 

 Holt and Maud daughter of Robert de 

 Ashworth all Maud's lands ; Raines, op. 

 cit. 257. In Lent 1357 John de Chet- 

 ham claimed the 31. \d. rent from Hugh 

 del Holt and Maud de Ashworth, &c. 

 Hugh thereupon twice challenged the 

 array of the assize ; first, because Ellen 

 wife of Richard de Cudworth, the bailiff, 

 was of kin to the plaintiff, and second be- 

 cause William de Radcliffe, the sheriff, was 

 also akin ; Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 6, 

 m. 3. In the following year John de 

 Chetham did not prosecute his claim ; 

 Assize R. 438, m. 9. Hugh del Holt was 

 living in 1370, when he granted all his 

 lands in Bury and Middleton to his son 

 Robert, with remainders to younger sons, 

 Hugh and John ; Raines, op. cit. 265. 

 It may have been the younger Hugh who 

 was outlawed in 1393, when the escheator 

 sold his forfeited goods ; ibid. 257. Hugh 

 de Holt in 1375 claimed the moiety of 

 a messuage and lands in Middleton against 

 Richard de Urmston and Margaret his 

 wife ; De Banco R. 456, m. 10. 



14 Robert de Holt the son of Hugh, al- 

 ready mentioned, in 1395 granted to John 

 de Holt, chaplain, as trustee, the lands 

 which had belonged to Richard ' the Abbot ' 



23 



