SALFORD HUNDRED 



BOLTON-LE-MOORS 



In Bolton, as elsewhere, the original Nonconformist 

 chapel is now in the hands of Unitarians. Richard 

 Goodwin, the vicar ejected in 1662, licensed a house 

 in Deansgate in 1672, during the temporary ' indul- 

 gence,' and ministered there till his death in i685. 97 

 He was succeeded by John Lever and Robert Seddon, 

 also ejected ministers ; the latter acquired a house in 



1 Windy Bank, now Bank Street, and the new chapel 

 was opened in 1696, just after its founder's death. 

 Unitarian doctrine began to prevail about 1750; a 

 number of the members seceded, joining the Duke's 

 Alley congregation. 98 A second Unitarian chapel, for 

 secessionists, existed from 1821 to about 1840 ; and 

 in 1868 Commission Street Chapel was opened, 99 re- 

 placed later by one in Deane Road. 



There are some unsectarian religious agencies, as 

 the Queen Street Mission and Gospel Union Mission. 

 The Salvation Army has a citadel. There is also a 

 Spiritual Church. 



As might have been expected in so Puritan a town 

 Roman Catholicism disappeared, and 'a hundred years 

 ago a man dared scarcely proclaim himself a Roman 

 Catholic in Bolton, so bitter was the popular senti- 

 ment against the principles of his church.' 10 Mass 

 was once again said in the town about 1 800 in an 

 obscure room in the Old Acres, near the site of 

 St. Patrick's, and after some years the church of 

 St. Peter and St. Paul was built on Bolton Moor, and 

 opened in 1803 ; it was rebuilt in 1897. Two 

 other churches were opened in 1861 St. Edmund's 

 and St. Patrick's. 191 



The original school, near the parish church, was 

 founded in I524. 101 It was united about 1656 with 

 the foundation of Robert Lever in 1 64 1 , the present 

 grammar school being the representative of both. 103 

 Dr. Lempriere, author of the Classical Dictionary, was 

 one of the masters. 104 



LITTLE BOLTON 



The principal part of this township, containing the 

 northern half of Bolton-le-Moors, is bounded on the 

 south by the Croal, on the east by Tonge Brook, and 

 on the north by Astley Brook. The township pro- 

 jects north of the last-named brook, including part of 

 Astley Bridge. It has also three detached portions 

 intermingled with Sharpies ; one of them adjoins 

 Smithills Park and contains the Thorns, another 

 stretching across from Halliwell on the west to Tur- 

 ton on the east includes the hamlets of Eagley and 

 Horrocks Fold ; the third, to the north of this, has a 

 small hamlet called Hampsons. The area of the whole 

 is 1,779 acres. By various modern changes of boun- 

 daries this has been reduced to 728 acres, 1 of which the 

 population in 1901 was 45,333. 



The town is of comparatively recent growth, the oldest 

 portion being that opposite the parish church on the 

 north bank of the Croal, and to the east of Bank Street 

 and its continuation, formerly called Manor Street, and 

 now Kay Street. This street turns west to join the 

 road to Blackburn, a northward continuation of Bridge 

 Street in Great Bolton, now one of the principal 

 thoroughfares of Little Bolton. From Bank Street, 

 another street Barn Street and Folds Road goes 

 north-east to Turner Bridge, where it crosses the Tonge. 

 From this point Waterloo Street proceeds north-west to 

 cross Blackburn Road, and is continued as Halliwell 

 Road. From Bridge Street, St. George's Road leads 

 west to Chorley Old Road, from which Chorley New 

 Road branches off. Marsden Street leads south from 

 St. George's Road into Great Bolton. These are the 

 main thoroughfares on which the northern half of the 

 town has been formed. 



Gilnow lies on the south-west border. 2 Some dis- 

 tricts are called from the rising ground on which they 

 are built, as Mill Hill in the east and School Hill 

 near the centre. 



In this township are a small part of Bolton or Queen's 

 Park, Thomasson Park, with its museum, and a recrea- 

 tion ground beside the Tonge. The corporation has 

 gas-works near Folds Road. 



The Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's line from 

 Bolton to Blackburn passes through the south-east 

 corner, and has a branch to Astley Bridge, with goods 

 stations. The electric tramways serve for passengers. 



Although in 1666 there were seventy-one hearths 

 liable to the tax, only one house had as many as four 

 hearths. 3 



What has been said regarding the industries of Great 

 Bolton applies generally to this township. There are 

 large cotton mills, bleach works, engineering and 

 machine works, where all kinds of cotton-spinning 

 machinery are made. 



Like Great Bolton this township was governed by 

 the officers appointed annually at the court leet ; the 

 principal was called the borough reeve, in imitation of 

 the other township, for Little Bolton was never a 

 borough. On the incorporation of Bolton in 1838 

 the greater part of Little Bolton was included, and 

 the remainder has now come within the borough. 

 Under the first Improvement Act of 1792 a town hall 

 was built in Little Bolton in 1826 ; it is now used as 

 a branch of the free library. Another Improvement 

 Act was obtained in 1830. For Astley Bridge, includ- 

 ing parts of Little Bolton and Sharpies, a local board 

 was formed in 1864.* 



Like Great Bolton LITTLE BOLTON 



M4NOR was part of the Marsey fee, being in 1212 



held of Randle de Marsey by Roger de 



Bolton as one plough-land, by the service of the 



twelfth part of a knight's fee. 4 The Bolton family 



97 Afterwards the Woolpack Inn ; see 

 Lanes, and Ches. Hist, and Gen. Notes, ii, 

 159. 



S3 Nightingale, op. cit. iii, 3-15 ; Scholes 

 and Pimblett, op. cit. 345-53. Reference 

 is made to Baker's Rise and Progress of 

 Nonconformity in Bolton. 



99 Ibid. 353. 100 Ibid. 378. 



I 01 Ibid. 379. 102 Ibid< 393> 



103 End. Char. Rep. for Bolton County 

 Borough, 1904 ; Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 13. 

 For the school library see Christie's Old 

 Lanes, Libraries (Chet. Soc.), III. 



io- Pal. Nte Bk. ii, 58. 



1 Including 22 acres of inland water; 

 Census Rep. of 1901. As an independent 

 township it ceased to exist in 1895, being 

 merged in the new township of Bolton ; 

 Loc. Govt. Bd. Order 33407. 



2 In 1773 tne tenement called 'Gil- 

 nough ' in Little Bolton was assigned by 

 James Livesey of Great Bolton, innkeeper, 

 to James Marsland at 25 rent ; it had 

 been lately occupied in succession by 

 Richard Livesey and John his son. It had 

 been leased to the Liveseys in 1 7 1 7 by John 

 Moss of Manchester ; Free Lib. D. Man- 

 chester, no. 117. 



251 



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



4 Land. Gaz. 28 Jan. 1864. 



8 Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 71. Roger de Bolton, 

 perhaps a son, occurs in 1254 ; ibid. 193; 

 while in 1302 the heirs of Robert of 

 Little Bolton held the twelfth part of a 

 fee; ibid. 314. The Plea Rolls give 

 little assistance. In 1253 Roger of Little 

 Bolton was one of several defendants in a 

 claim for money owing ; Curia Regis R. 

 148, m. 42 d. ; 154, m. 9 d. ; while in 

 1292 John and Alexander, sons of Roger, 

 were non-suited in a claim to prove their 



