A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Scaitcliffe M have long held their estates. Allescholes M 

 and Bernshaw Tower in Todmorden 84 may also be 

 mentioned. 



The Chetham family probably held a part of Hun- 

 dersfield at the beginning of the I3th century, for 

 Thomas Earl of Derby, who died in 1521, held lands 

 there as successor of the Pilkingtons, 84 and the Chad- 

 derton family also had some. The Survey of 1626 

 gives a full account of the owners and tenants at that 

 time ; some of them have been noticed in other parts 

 of Rochdale, as John Butterworth of Turnagh. 



The surnames of Howarth, 87 Lord, 88 and others M 

 also occur in deeds and inquisitions. 



There were 748 acres of copyhold land in 1626. 



In 1788 the chief landowners were John Crossley 

 and Hannah Greenwood. 90 



The town of TODMORDEN, which 

 BOROUGH spread into Yorkshire, obtained a local 

 board in i86i, 91 and this, after some 

 changes, became an urban district council in 1894. 

 A borough charter was granted in 1 896 ; the area 

 includes the former township of Todmorden with 

 Walsden. In 1888 the whole was transferred to the 

 West Riding of Yorkshire. A town hall, given by the 

 Messrs. Fielden, was built in 1875. The gasworks 

 belong to the corporation, but water is supplied by 

 Rochdale Corporation from works recently purchased 

 from a private company. Todmorden is forming a 

 new reservoir of its own. The market days are 

 Wednesday and Saturday ; and there are two fairs, 

 on the Thursday before Easter and the last Thursday 

 in September. There is a free library. 



The old parochial chapel of 

 CHURCHES ST. MART stands on a small emi- 

 nence in the centre of Todmorden,but 

 is architecturally uninteresting, having been entirely 

 rebuilt in 1770, with the exception of the lower part 



of the tower, which belongs to the 17th-century struc- 

 ture. 91 It consists of a chancel, nave, west tower,, 

 and south porch, but the chancel and porch are 

 modern additions erected in 1897. The i8th-cen- 

 tury building, which forms the present nave, is a 

 plain oblong structure faced with wrought stone and 

 with a stone-slated roof. On the south side are two 

 square-headed doorways, one now built up and the 

 other hidden by the later porch, between which 

 are two tall semicircular headed windows with impost 

 mouldings and keystones. Over the doors are two- 

 smaller semicircular headed windows, and at either 

 end of the building two windows each of three lights,. 

 one above the other, the centre lights of which have 

 a semicircular head springing from the level of the: 

 cornice of the side lights. 



The tower is 1 5 ft. square on the outside, and has- 

 a pointed window on the west on the ground-floor 

 stage. The upper part was rebuilt and raised in. 

 1860, and terminates in an embattled parapet; it 

 retains, however, its 18th-century cock weather-vane. 

 The interior is quite plain, and the fittings, with the 

 exception of the west gallery, the front of which has 

 some good 18th-century detail, are all modern, the 

 building having been completely restored in 1860-8,. 

 and again in 1 897. The new chancel is Gothic, and 

 has a good east window. There were formerly gal- 

 leries all round, and that on the north side was 

 standing in 1868, when Glynne visited the church, 

 which he describes as 'scarcely worth notice.' 



There is a clock in the tower and one bell, on 

 which is the inscription : ' In dulcedine vocis cantabo 

 tuo (sic) D'ne. In jucunditate soni sonabo tibi D'ne. 

 w ,Q o . LAM . SRE . 1603 ' ; and below, ' Recast, 

 tower raised new clock 1860 Mears, Lond. fecit.' 



The churchyard is on the south and west sides, 

 raised high above the roadway, and contains a few 



82 See Fishwick, op. cit. 475-9. 



Richard son and heir of Richard Cross- 

 ley of Scaitcliffe occurs in 1586; Add. 

 MS. 32104, no. 664. Anthony Crossley 

 made a feoffment of messuages, &c., in 

 Todmorden in 1591 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet 

 of F. bdle. 53, m. 140. 



In 1626 John son of Anthony Crossley 

 held 1 20 acres in Scaitcliffe and Shaw- 

 head ; and Jeremy son of Richard Cross- 

 ley held 60 acres in Scaitcliffe ; Surv. ut. 

 sup. 137. 



88 Fishwick, op. cit. 456. 



84 Ibid. 479 ; relating that until about 

 1870 'at one end of the farmhouse was a 

 small turreted building, and the tradition 

 was that under it lay buried a " chest " of 

 gold, and in digging for this hidden trea- 

 sure the building was undermined and 

 fell down.' 



James Lomax of Pilsworth died in 

 1623 holding lands in Todmorden of the 

 king in socage, and leaving a son and heir 

 Richard, twelve years of age 5 Land. Inq. 

 p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 44 1 ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxvii, no. 31. 

 Richard Lomax, the heir, in 1626 held 

 ' Besingshaw ' with 65 acres, paying rents 

 of 6s. to Savile and 3*. 4^. to Radcliffe ; 

 Surv. ut sup. 139. 



For a Lomax suit of 1690 see Exch. 

 Def>. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 77. 



84 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 68. 

 The Derby rental of 1523 (in the posses- 

 sion of Lord Lathom) records only a rent of 

 6os.zd.ia. Rochdale,purchased fromGilbert 

 Leigh; see p. 129 and V.C.H. Lanes. iv,259. 

 87 John Savile of Eland in 1367 granted 



to Thomas de Haworth all the lands in 

 Todmorden formerly belonging to John 

 son of Richard de Greenhurst, except those 

 called Nollerode and Hingandsagh ; Add. 

 MS. 32104, no. 782 ; Henry de Haworth 

 was a witness. The same John Savile 

 made a release of all actions against 

 Thomas in 1385 ; ibid. no. 638. Gilbert 

 Holden in 1584 acquired two messuages, 

 &C., in Todmorden and Hundersfield from 

 Henry Haworth and Janet his wife ; Pal. 

 of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 46, m. 210. 

 Henry Haworth of Burnley Wood in 1586 

 gave to his son and heir John, on marri- 

 age with Janet daughter of William Bol- 

 ton of Ightenhill, lands, &c., in Todmor- 

 den and Hundersfield ; Add. MS. 32104, 

 no. 664. 



88 Edmund Lord the younger purchased 

 a barn and land in Migehalghden in 

 Hundersfield (see Lanes, and Ches. Rec. 

 [Rec. Soc.], ii, 255) from Charles Holt 

 and Mary his wife in 1577 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 39, m. 109. Edward 

 Lord died at Butterworth in 1605 holding 

 various messuages and lands in the hamlet 

 of Todmorden in Hundersfield of Saville 

 Radcliffe, by a rent of zd. ; he also held 

 lands in Butterworth of John Holt, and 

 in Castleton of James Scholefield. Charles, 

 his son and heir, was fifty-one years of 

 age ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 114. In 1626 Charles son 

 of Henry Lord (who died in 1623), and 

 grandson of Charles, held the estate called 

 Godplay, with 151 acres, by a rent of 

 6s. 8J. to the king and zd. to Saville Rad- 

 cliffe ; Survey, ut sup. 140. 



232 



89 It will have been seen from preced- 

 ing notes that Hundersfield and many of 

 its hamlets gave surnames to families 

 as Wardle, Todmorden, and others, but 

 there is nothing to show the exact charac- 

 ter of their tenure, nor the descent of 

 their estates. 



John de Buersill in 1361 acquired a 

 messuage and lands in Hundersfield from 

 Adam del Clough and Maud his wife ; 

 Final Cone, ii, 1 68. Robert del Lawe 

 and Joan his wife in 1374 made a settle- 

 ment of a small estate ; ibid, ii, 188. 

 William le Genour in 1379 acquired a 

 messuage and lands from Henry de Burton 

 and Alice his wife ; ibid, iii, 7. 



William de Hulton and Alice his wife 

 in 1286 claimed the latter's dower in 

 Todmorden against Richard de Hardehesel 

 and Alexander son of Henry de Whit- 

 worth ; De Banco R. 64, m. 9 d. 



Robert de Bradefield and Joan his wife 

 in 1315 claimed the latter's dower in a 

 messuage, lands, and rent in Wardle- 

 worth, Henry del Stocks being defendant; 

 De Banco R. 212, m. 50 d. 



Robert Stott and Joan his wife had a 

 messuage and land in 1582 ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 44, m. 157. 



90 Land tax returns at Preston. 



91 Lond. Gay,. 3 May 1861 ; reconsti- 

 tuted in 1875 by 38 & 39 Viet. cap. zn. 

 A school board formed in 1874 ; Lond. 

 Ga%. 31 July. 



92 Fishwick, op. cit. 179. A brief to 

 aid the rebuilding was issued in 1767. 

 For a description of the chapel, &c., in 

 1769 see Local Glean. Land, and Cbes. ii, 8. 



