SALFORD HUNDRED 



ROCHDALE 



mentioned later, but about 1300 their estate was 

 sold to Adam de Lever. 33 Lands in Burnden were 

 afterwards held by a branch of the Lever family . S3a 

 Priestcroft also gave a surname to the family who 

 held it of the local lords. 34 



The Hultons of Farnworth had a small estate in 

 Great Lever, 35 which in 1 6 1 1 was stated to be held 

 of Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton, by the hun- 

 dredth part of a knight's fee. 36 Richard Chisnall held 

 land here in 1587 ; 37 and Andrew Lever was a free- 

 holder in i6oo. 38 



In 1787 the Duke of Bridgewater paid half the 



land tax ; Ellis Crompton and Thomas Boardman 

 were the other contributors. 39 



As already stated, Bishop Bridgeman provided a 

 domestic chapel at the hall, which for a time appears 

 to have been used by the residents, who were almost 

 all his tenants. 40 Apart from this there seems to have 

 been no church or chapel in the township till recent 

 times. For the Church of England St. Michael's was 

 consecrated in 1851 ; the Earl of Bradford is the 

 patron of the rectory. 41 St. Simon and St. Jude's, 

 built in igoc, is in the gift of trustees. 



There is a Primitive Methodist chapel. 



ROCHDALE 



CASTLETON 



SPOTLAND 



BUTTERWORTH 



HUNDERSFIELD : 

 WUERDLE AND WARDLE 

 WARDLEWORTH 



BLATCHINWORTH AND CAL- 



DERBROOK 

 TODMORDEN AND WALSDEN 



Recedham, Dom. Bk. ; Rachedale, 1242. 



Excluding the large chapelry of Saddleworth, which 

 lies entirely in Yorkshire, the parish of Rochdale 

 has an area of 41,828^ acres, lying in a compact 

 area, measuring io miles from north to south, and 

 9 miles from east to west. 1 The high moorlands 

 in the north and east are cloven by many streams, 

 descending mainly to the south and west, among 



them being the Roch, 8 from which the parish 

 takes its name. This stream rises near the Yorkshire 

 border, and flows south-west to join the Irwell at 

 Radcliffe. It is joined near the town of Rochdale by 

 the Beal from the east and the Spodden Brook from 

 the north. 



The ancient divisions or townships of the parish 

 were Castleton (in which also stood the parish 



88 William the Taylor of Lever granted 

 land to Jordan de Burnden, with common 

 of pasture, &c., of the vill of Lever ; the 

 land of Gervase is mentioned ; ibid. no. 2. 

 Flode and Agnes, daughters of Siward de 

 Burnden, granted to Jordan their uncle all 

 their land and right in Great Lever ; ibid, 

 no. 3. To this deed John and William of 

 Great Lever were witnesses. 



John son of Jordan de Burnden in 1291 

 gold to Adam son of John de Lever that 

 part of his land which was held of the 

 Prior of Birkenhead ; ibid. no. 49. 



Margery widow of John de Burnden 

 released (? to Adam de Lever) her right in 

 lands formerly held by her husband of 

 Adam de Lever and the Prior of Birken- 

 head ; ibid. no. 4. Thomas son of John 

 de Burnden sold all his land in the vill of 

 Lever to Adam de Lever; and in 1310 

 Robert son of John de Burnden released 

 his right to the lands sold by his brother 

 Thomas ; ibid. no. 5, 78. 



883 In 1411-12 Hugh Lethor gave to 

 feoffees his lands in Great Lever and the 

 reversion of the dower of Avice widow of 

 John Burnden ; and the feoffees transferred 

 the same to Roger son of Adam Lever 

 possibly the lord of the manor at the time. 

 Roger Lever also acquired lands in Halgh 

 and Tonge, Bolton, &c., between 1415 

 and 1432. In 1435-6 Christopher South- 

 worth released his right to the third part 

 of the lands given by Roger Lever the 

 elder to John Coventry, vicar of Bolton, 

 and Roger Ward, for the fulfilment of his 

 will ; which will ordained ' that the said 

 lands should be to the said Roger the 

 elder and Margaret his wife for life, and 

 after to Roger son of the said Margaret 

 and his heirs male ' 5 and in default suc- 

 cessively to Hector, Janet, Margaret, 

 Elizabeth, and Margery, brother and sisters 

 of Roger the younger. There is a note 



in the margin : ' This Roger the younger 

 was a bastard.' Later, Margaret daughter 

 of Roger Lever the elder gave to Adam 

 son of Roger Lever the younger all the 

 lands she had from her father in Great 

 Lever and Bolton. The same Adam son 

 of Roger in 1485-6 received further lands 

 in Bolton. (The above deeds were in the 

 possession of Adam Lever of Great Lever 

 in 1603 ; ibid. fol. 52.) 



Giles son and heir of Adam Lever occurs 

 in 1506 and 1509 ; ibid. no. 208-10. 

 Adam the son and heir of Giles had a 

 dispute with Ralph Ashton respecting a 

 rent of 91. due for his lands in Great Lever 

 and the bounds ; he was a minor in 1524, 

 and had a brother William ; ibid. no. 

 211-15. The boundaries of the estate in 

 Burnden, consisting of two portions of 

 land, are given in no. 213 ; they began at 

 a within tree beside the Kirklands. Ralph 

 Ashton and his heirs were to have the 

 portion lying to the north of the meres 

 and bounds fixed by the arbitrators, while 

 Adam Lever and his heirs took that to the 

 south. 



In 1593 Andrew Lever and Adam his 

 son sold all his lands in Great Lever and 

 Bolton to Ralph Assheton, but in 1599 

 the latter sold them lands in Bolton ; ibid, 

 no. 216, 218 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdle. 55, m. 183. Andrew Lever had sold 

 lands in 1583 ; ibid. bdle. 45, m. 68. 



84 William son of Henry de Lever 

 granted to William son of Robert the 

 land called Priestcroft, the bounds in- 

 cluding the road to Manchester, the Mill- 

 shaw Brook, and Osbornesclough, at a 

 rent of izd. ; Lever Chartul. no. 7. Henry 

 de Lever, lord of Lever, the son of Wil- 

 liam, made two fresh grants to William son 

 of Robert, or William de Priestcroft ; ibid, 

 no. 6, 8. William de Priestcroft granted 

 his land there to Alan his son ; ibid. no. 9. 



John son of Adam de Lever in 1302 

 warranted to Alan son of William de 

 Priestcroft all the liberties in Great Lever 

 enjoyed by his predecessors ; ibid. no. 75. 

 Adam de Lever, apparently the father of 

 John, in 1302 and 1305 made further 

 grants to Alan de Priestcroft and Ellen 

 his wife ; ibid. no. 76, 77. 



85 It is named in the inquisition (1508) 

 after the death of John Hulton in 1487, 

 and stated to be held of Peter Shakerley by 

 services unknown ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. iii, no. 26. 



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

 and Ches.), iii, 468, 470. 



87 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 39 ; 

 it is stated to have been held of the lord 

 of Manchester. 



88 Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 250. He was no doubt the Andrew 

 Lever mentioned in the note on Burnden. 



89 Returns at Preston. 



40 Wigan Ch. iii, 394, 395. In 1636 

 the chapel of the Holy Trinity was con- 

 secrated. It had 'a square table at the 

 upper end," and was provided with Bible, 

 Communion books, psalters, &c. At one 

 time it was used as a warehouse. About 

 1850 it was restored, and used as a school 

 from 1852 to 1862. It was also used for 

 a time for public worship in 1880. 



41 It was declared a rectory in 1867; 

 Land. Ga%. 25 Jan. 



1 A description of the parish boundary 

 made in 1609 is printed in Baines, Lanes. 

 (ed. 1868), i, 489. See also the survey 

 of the manor, 1610, as below, now in the 

 Free Library. 



An elaborate Hist, of the Parish of 

 Rochdale, by Lieut.-Colonel Henry Fish- 

 wick, F.S.A., appeared in 1889; much 

 use has been made of it in the present 

 account. 



2 The old spelling was Rach or Rached. 



I8 7 



