A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



fidelity to Charles I.*" The heiress carried the 

 estate in marriage to Robert Lever of Alkrington."® 



Various districts of Manchester are named in the 

 rentals of 1322 and 1473, some of which are now 

 forgotten, e.g. Ashley, Choo, Clements Croft, Dan- 

 croft, Hobcroft, Kyperfield, and Riding Brook.^" 



Many of the neighbouring gentry held burgages and 

 lands in the township of Manchester,"^ and there were 

 also a number of the townsmen who acquired wealth 

 and distinction. Some of them are noticed in the 

 accounts of estates they acquired elsewhere ; "* of the 

 rest may here be named Barlow,'^" Beck,'" Beswick,''=' 



^^^ Royalist Comp, Papen, iv, 201. 

 Nicholas Mosley and Francis his father, 

 clothiers, had deserted their dwellings and 

 lived for some time in the king's quarters. 

 The son took the National Covenant and 

 Negative Oath in 1646. The statement 

 of his property in Manchester showed it 

 to be worth £^0 a year, and that in Col- 

 lyhurst, ' before the troubles,' ^^24 ; the 

 ,^10 to the poor was charged on it ; the 

 father and son were creditors for ^^1,338 

 and debtors for ^2,490. A fine of ^^200 

 was fixed. 



1-16 Booker, Prestzuicb, 206. Robert 

 Lever was fined 10s. in 1677 for not 

 cleansing his ditch in Collyhurst Lane, by 

 the Long Causeway, and in Wilkin Hills ; 

 Ct. Leet Rec. vi, 42. Some of the family 

 resided at Collyhurst, for John Revel 

 Lever, son of John Lever, esq., was born 

 there about 1707 ; Scott, Admissions to St, 

 JohtCs ColL Camb. iii, 50. 



i''^ Mamecestrey ii, 362 ; iii, 482-4. The 

 position of Ashley is indicated by Ashley 

 Lane, leading north from Long Millgate. 

 Choo is believed to have been in Brough- 

 ton, near the Irwell and on the border of 

 Cheetham ; in Broughton also was Ky- 

 perfield, another detached portion of the 

 manor of Manchester ; Information of 

 Mr. Crofton. 



For Ashley Henry Boterinde and Ro- 

 bert Rudde in 1320 paid a rent of 18^. ; 

 Mamecestre, ii, 279. Alice daughter of 

 Henry Boterinde in 1351 gave her son 

 Robert half a burgage in the Millgate and 

 5 acres in Ashley ; Lanes, and Ches. Hist, 

 and Gen. Notes, i, 54. The land was soon 

 afterwards claimed by Agnes widow of 

 Robert Rudde ; Duchy of Lane. Assize 

 R. 2 (July), m. 8. The Buldre family, 

 whose heirs were the Hulmes of Man- 

 chester and Reddish, next appear in pos- 

 session ; Thomas son of Thomas Buldre 

 occurs in Manchester in 1 3 3 8, and Thomas 

 Buldre in 1361 (Hulme D. no. 4, 5), 

 and in 1381 Agnes widow of Henry Dob- 

 son granted to William Buldre for her life 

 all her lands and tenements in * Asshen- 

 legh ' and Tuefield near Manchester, for- 

 merly her husband's ; ibid. no. 6. In 

 142 1 an agreement was made between 

 Lawrence Hulme and Robert Rudde, who 

 owned * a field lying in the town of Man- 

 chester called Ashley, lying together and 

 in divers parcels,' as to a division of the 

 land and chief rent ; ibid. no. 10. Geof- 

 frey Hulme held Ashley in 1473 ^' lod. 

 (or id.) rent ; Mamecestre, iii, 482, 499. 

 The heir of James Barlow was probably 

 the other tenant (for 'Estley') at a rent of 

 6d. ; ibid. Hi, 483. In 1 6 1 5 Ralph Hulme 

 of Outwood in Pilkington mortgaged the 

 three ' closes called Nearer, Middlemost, 

 and Further Ashley, containing by esti- 

 mation 5 acres of land ; Hulme D. no. 62. 

 In the 17th century it was at least in part 

 owned by the Becks ; Ct,Leet Rec, vi, 65, 

 214. 



^^8 Among the burgage holders in 1473 

 [Mamecestre, iii, 487) are found the names 

 of many of the neighbouring esquires, the 

 list beginning with Sir John Traffbrd, who 

 had land near the Booths, on which a shop 

 had recently been built. 



The earliest acquisition of the Traffords 

 seems to have been a burgage granted 



before 1320 by Olive daughter of Richard 

 de Bolton to Thomas son of Sir Henry de 

 TrafFord ; it lay between the tenement of 

 Manchester Church on the north and a 

 burgage formerly Geoffrey de Manches- 

 ter's on the south 5 on the east side it had 

 the burgage of Matthew the Tailor, and 

 on the west the highway from the church 

 to Hulme. A rent of izd. was payable 

 to the lord at the four terms ; De Trafford 

 D. no. 3. Further property was purchased 

 by Geoffrey son of Sir Henry Trafford in 

 1333 and 1334 ; ibid. no. 9-12. 



Lists of the outburgesses in 1648 and 

 later years are printed in Manch. Constables^ 

 Accts. ii, 198, 218, 244. 



The inquisitions show the following, 

 among others, to have held burgages and 

 lands in Manchester : — 



Thomas Ashton of Ashton-under-Lyne; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 80 ; see 

 also Lanes, Inq, p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 138. 



Edward ButterworthofBelfield ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiii, no. 2, 14 ; Lanes, 

 Inq. p.m, (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 



"i, 379- 



William Holland of Clifton ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, 16 ; v, 49. 



Edward Holland of Denton ; ibid, xiii, 

 no. 20 ; Lanes, Inq. p.m.{^ec. Soc), ii, 141, 



Ralph Assheton of Great Lever ; ibid, 

 ii, 286. 



George Chadderton of Oldham ; ibid, i, 

 63. Christiana de Hoton in 1292 granted 

 to Geoffrey de Chadderton and Joan his 

 wife a burgage in Manchester which she 

 had received from Herbert Grelley, rector 

 of Ch^ldwall ; a rent of 3^. at the four 

 terms was due to the chief lord ; Kuer- 

 den fol. MS. (Chet. Lib.), 189, no. 220. 

 A settlement was made in 1307 ; Final 

 Cone, ii, i. 



Richard Chadwick of Spotland held of 

 the warden and fellows ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc), ii, 273. 



William Dauntesey of Agecroft ; ibid, 

 iii, 349. The Agecroft deeds show that 

 in 1 3 1 8 Robert son of Hugh de Milngate 

 released to his son Richard a half burgage 

 in Manchester (no. 319). Probably it 

 was the same burgage, * with a mese and 

 a wine tavern, a high chamber thereupon, 

 a garden and a barn, lying at the east end 

 of the Kirkyard of Manchester,' which 

 was owned by the Hulme family in 1469 

 (no. 320), and sold to Hugh Burdman, 

 who sold to Robert Langley in 1544 (no, 



328). 



George Hulton of Farnworth (351. 

 rent) ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc), iii, 

 468. In the deeds of Over Hulton is a 

 grant of J acre upon the Millgate crofts 

 by Richard son of Hugh de Milngate in 

 1315 to Adam de Hulton. In 1328 

 Adam acquired part of Dobscroft and of 

 Coldherse (afterwards Coldhouse), and 

 other property. The Hulton of Farn- 

 worth estate seems to have begun with a 

 sale by Adam son of Robert de RadclifFe 

 to John son of Henry de Hulton in 1 3 3 1 , of 

 lands in Millgate crofts acquired in 1320. 



i""' For instance, Byrom of Salford and 

 Kersal, Hulme of Reddish, Percival of 

 Royton, Ravald of Kersal, and others. 

 Particulars of these and many others may 

 be gathered from Ct. Leet Rec. and the 

 accounts of the different townships. 



242 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



ISO Several families of this name lived 

 in Manchester in the i6th century; see 

 Ct. Leet Rec. (e.g. i, 39). Barlow Cross, 

 which stood near the boundary of An- 

 coats, may have been named from them ; 

 Lanes, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xxii, 95. The 

 New cross, at the corner of Oldham Roacf 

 and Great Ancoats, marked on the plan 

 of 1793, seems to have taken its place j 

 See Ct. Leet Rec. i, 11, 43 ; iii, 73 ; iv, 

 330. Three closes called Barlow Crosi 

 Fields are mentioned in 1615 ; ibid, ii, 

 300. The bounds of *Jones6eld de Hul- 

 ton' about 1420 began at Barlow Crosi 

 in the road from Manchester to Stanegge 

 (apparently Newton Lane), and ended at 

 the same cross in the lane from Ancoats 

 to Manchester ; Chan. Inq. p.m. 5 Hen. 

 VI, no. 54. Suicides were buried at 

 Barlow Cross ; Manch. Constables" Accts. 

 iii, 14, 32. 



There was another Barlow or Barley 

 Cross near the north end of Long Mill- 

 gate ; see Procter, Manch. Streets, 3 8. 



^^^ In 1571 it was found that Stephen 

 Becke or Beche — occurring in 1546 ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 12, m. 238 

 — had died, and that his son George — or 

 William — was heir and under age ; Ct. 

 Leet Rec. i, 137, 142. Another Beck 

 family has been noticed under Clayden. 



^^ John de Beswick held the Borid- 

 riding in 1320, paying \%d. rent; but 

 James RadclifFe of RadclifFe held it in 

 1473 ; Mamecestre, ii, 278 ; iii, 482. In a 

 suit of 1347 respecting a messuage and 

 24 acres in Manchester, GeofFrey son of 

 John de Beswick was plaintiff; De Banco 

 R. 352, m'. 3 d. Richard son of GeofFrejr 

 de Beswick was defendant to a charge of 

 assault in July 1354; Duchy of Lane 

 Assize R. 3, m. 3. The same or another 

 Richard de Beswick had been convicted 

 of an assault — having in 1350 attacked 

 Henry the Baxter ' with swords, bows and 

 arrows and mayhemed his left hand' — 

 and the damages were assessed at ^^lo ; 

 Assize R, 431, m. 1 d. 



Richard Beswick or Bexwick, a wealthy 

 merchant, has been mentioned in the ac- 

 count of the parish church, to which he 

 was a liberal benefactor, 



Roger Beswick, another successful tra- 

 der, was brother-in-law of John Bradford, 

 and took a prominent part in the affairs 

 of the town. He died in 1599, making 

 partition of his estate by the will of which 

 an abstract is printed in Ct. Leet Rec. \\ 

 156. His grandson William Malone, 

 born at Manchester, entered the Society 

 of Jesus in 1606, laboured on the mission 

 in Ireland (where he challenged and re- 

 plied to Archbishop Usher), and at the 

 Irish College in Rome. He was expelled 

 from Ireland by Cromwell, and died at 

 Seville in 1656 ; Diet. Nat. Eiog. ; Gillow, 

 Bibl. Diet, of Engl. Cath. v, 399. 



John Beswick of Manchester and John 

 his son were in 1657 bound to Nicholas 

 Mosley of Collyhurst in ^280 ; another 

 bond of 1664 describes the Beswicks as of 

 Drogheda and of LifFord in Donegal re- 

 spectively ; while two years later John 

 Beswick gave to Margaret Bowker a bur- 

 gage, &c., in St. Mary Gate, on condition 

 that Margaret maintained his mother 

 Anne ; Earwaker MSS. 



