SALFORD HUNDRED 



MANCHESTER 



In 1282 BRADFORD and Brunhill 

 MANOR formed part of the demesne of the manor 

 of Manchester, and were worth 4.0/. 

 yearly.' A century earlier the Norreys family claimed 

 two oxgangs of land in Bradford, but nothing further 

 is known of their title.' The lords of Manchester 

 had in 1322 a wood in Bradford a league in circuit ; 

 also meadow and pasture land and heath ; a grange 

 and shippon had been built there.' Ten years later, 

 at the request of his wife Joan, John La Warre 

 granted his estate in Bradford to John de Salford of 

 Wakerley and Alice his wife for life, ^^20 being paid 

 down and a rent of ^^lo being due.'" In 1357 

 Roger La Warre granted the manor of Bradford to 

 Thomas de Booth of Barton in Eccles," who at once 

 bought out the Wakerley family," and Bradford 

 descended like Barton until the latter part of the 

 1 6th century, when it became the portion of Dorothy, 

 youngest daughter and co-heir of John Booth of 

 Barton." By her first husband, John Molyneux of 

 Sefton, she had a daughter Bridget," who married 

 Thomas Charnock of Astley in Chorley." The 

 manor was still in Bridget Charnock's possession in 

 1654,'' and descended to the Brookes of Astley, a 

 branch of the Mere family." On the death of Peter 

 Brooke in 1787 the estates went to his sister Susannah, 

 who married Thomas Townley Parker of Cuerden." 



Her son, R. Townley Parker, died in 1879, leaving 

 this estate to his second son, Robert (d. 1894.), whose 

 granddaughter, a minor, is the present owner. 



George Chorlton of Bradford had land in Man- 

 chester in 161 3, and John Fletcher of Bradford in 

 1619."' 



A constable of Bradford is mentioned in 161 6.™ 



Christ Church was built in 1862 for the Established 

 worship." The rector is collated by the Bishop of 

 Manchester. St. Aidan's, at the southern end of the 

 township, begun as a mission church, was consecrated 

 in 1899 ; the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester 

 present alternately. The same patronage is exercised 

 in the case of St. Paul's district, recently formed. 



The Wesleyan Methodists, Independent Metho- 

 dists, and United Methodist Free church have each a 

 place of worship. The Unitarians have a chapel, built 

 in 1900. The congregation was formed in 1894. 



St. Bridget's Roman Catholic church was opened 

 in 1879. 



GORTON 



Gorton, 1282 (copy), and usually; Goreton, c. 

 1450.' 



This township' lies to the north and south of 

 Gore or Rush Brook, which flows west to the Mersey. 



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

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 244. 



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

 Ches.), i, 6 ; the date is 1196. The land 

 no doubt reverted to the chief lord, for 

 Bradford is not named in the survey of 

 X2I2, though Heaton Norris is. 



^ Mamecestre (Chet. Soc), ii, 368, 363. 

 The wood, with pannage, honey, and bees 

 was worth 6j., the * vesture ' of the wood, 

 jf 10 ; the 2 acres of meadow, 21., the 

 54 acres of pasture, 27^., and another 

 12 acres, which could not be ploughed 

 because within the wood, 41. ; the 70 

 acres of heath, 3 3 j. 



1° Manch. Corp. D. ; the grant was 

 made at Wakerley. See also Dods. MSS. 

 cxlix, fol. 157. 



^ The charter is recited in the Inq. 

 p.m. of Sir John Booth of Barton in 15 14; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, 15. The 

 grant included the manor of Barton, the 

 manor of Bradford, the hamlets of Open- 

 shaw and Ardwick, a plot of land in Man- 

 chester called Flowerlache, and another 

 plot called Marshal Field ; a rent of 

 j^io 145. ^d, was to be paid during 

 Thomas's life, and id. afterwards. The 

 manor of Barton was Thomas's patri- 

 mony ; the remainder was a fresh grant. 



Thomas de Booth in 1363 granted 

 Bradford, with its lands and water-mill, 

 to his son John for life ; Dods. MSS. 

 cxlix, foL 160. 



1^ A fine between Roger de Wakerley 

 and Margery his wife, plaintiffs, and John 

 de Wakerley and Alice his wife, defor- 

 ciants, was made in 1355 respecting a 

 messuage, i6o acres of land, and 10 acres 

 of wood 'in Manchester' ; Final Cone. 

 ii, 146. In 1358 Roger and Margery 

 sold the same lands, described as * in 

 Bradford and Manchester,' to Thomas de 

 Booth ; ibid, ii, 158. Sarah de Wakerley 

 also released her right ; ibid, ii, 162; 

 see also Duchy of Lane. Assize R. 6, 

 m. 2 d. 



John de Wakerley was the John de 

 Salford of 1332, and Roger was his son, 

 as appears from Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 



160. Sarah sister of John Clerk of 

 Wakerley, and Amita daughter of Roger 

 de Wakerley, released their rights in the 

 lands of John and Roger by charter ; ibid. 

 Roger La Warre also concurred in the 

 transfer ; ibid. 



" Bradford is mentioned in the Booth 

 inquisitions. John Booth of Barton died 

 in 1576, leaving four daughters as co- 

 heirs ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xii, 8 ; 

 Manch. Ct. Leet Rec. i, 180. 



^* John Molyneux died at Dalton in 

 Furness in Nov. 1596, his daughter 

 Bridget being nine years old. Dorothy, 

 the widow, soon afterwards married 

 Edward Dukinfield at Bradford ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. xvii, 24. The Booth 

 estates had not then been divided. 



Settlements respecting coal mines in 

 Bradford, also the manors of Bradford, 

 Over Ardwick and Lower Ardwick, with 

 houses, lands, water-mill, dovecotes, and 

 rents in the same places and in Manches- 

 ter, were made in 1607 and 1608 by 

 Edward Dukinfield and Dorothy his wife ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 72, no. 10, 

 73. It thus appears that a division had 

 taken place, and that these manors, &c., 

 had been assigned to Dorothy ; lands in 

 Barton were added later. A further set- 

 tlement was made in 1617 ; ibid. bdle. 

 92, no. 5, 



1' A settlement of the manors of Brad- 

 ford, Over and Lower Ardwick, and West- 

 leigh, with lands, &c., in these townships 

 and in Manchester, Br.rton, and Penning- 

 ton, was made in 1626 by Thomas Char- 

 nock, Bridget his wife, and Robert the 

 son and heir of Thomas ; ibid. bdle. 108, 

 no, 14, In 1632 Bradford was joined in 

 a settlement with Astley, Heath Char- 

 nock, and Charnock Richard, the defor- 

 ciants in the fine being Thomas Charnock, 

 Bridget his wife, Robert Charnock, Anne 

 his wife, and Roger and John Charnock ; 

 ibid. bdle. 121, no. 46, For a note of 

 the Chamocks see Manch, Ct. Leet Rec. 

 ii, 180. 



16 She and Charles Walmesley with 

 Mary his wife were deforciants in a fine 



27s 



respecting the manor of Bradford, with 

 messuages, &c., and land in Bradford and 

 Manchester, and coal-mines in the former 

 township ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle, 

 156, m. 139. Mary Walmesley was a 

 daughter of Thomas Charnock ; there 

 was no issue of the marriage j Burke, 

 Commoners, iii, 231. 



1' Richard, second son of Sir Peter 

 Brooke of Mere near Altrincham, married 

 in 1666 Margaret daughter and heir of 

 Robert Charnock ; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. 

 Helsby), i, 464. A settlement of the 

 manor of Bradford, with lands, &c., there 

 and in Manchester was in 1678 made by 

 Richard Brooke and Margaret his wife j 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 200, m. 31. 

 There was a recovery of the manor of 

 Bradford and a moiety of the manor of 

 Charnock Richard in 171 6, the vouchees 

 being Margaret Brooke, widow, Peter 

 Brooke, and Bernard Francks ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Plea R. 502, m. 4. Peter Brooke 

 was the sole landowner in 1786, accord- 

 ing to the land tax return. 



1' Burke, Commoners, i, 1 1 7, and Landed 

 Gentry (Townley Parker). 



" Manch. Ct. Leet Rec. ii, 285 ; iii, 18. 



"'■" Manch. Sessions (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), 8. This seems to be the first 

 indication that Bradford was considered a 

 township i see also Manch. Constables' 

 Accts. i, 20, 91, 93, &c. 



^^ A district was assigned to it in 1862; 

 Lond. Gaz. 5 Sept. 



1 Out of Gore-ton and Red-ditch, with 

 the help of the intervening Nico Ditch, 

 popular fancy has made the story of a 

 great battle in the neighbourhood ; Har- 

 land and Wilkinson, Traditions of Lanes. 

 26. 



^ In 1852 John Higson published the 

 Gorton Hist. Recorder, containing a full 

 account of the state of the township, with 

 numerous memoranda of the events and 

 families connected with it. The author 

 (1825 to 1871) was born at Yew Tree 

 Farm in the north of the township ; an 

 account of him and his family is given in 

 Crofton, Newton Cbaf, (Chet. Soc), i, 4, 



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