PRESTWICH WITH OLDHAM (fn. 1)
I. Prestwich; Great Heaton; Little Heaton; Alkrington; Tonge; Pilkington; II. Oldham; Crompton; Royton; Chadderton
This large parish, stretching for 13 miles from east
to west, was probably in earlier times still larger, as
the receipt of tithes from part of Tottington in Bury
and the claim to church land in Radcliffe suggest that
Bury and Radcliffe, and therefore Middleton also,
were at one period under the care of the priest or
colony of priests who gave a name to Prestwich.
Not only did the three parishes just named become
independent, but Oldham also, though remaining
nominally a chapelry to the present day, early secured
a practical independence for the eastern part of
the parish. (fn. 2) Oldham Church is 7 miles from the
parish church. The area of the whole is 22,022½
acres, including Prestwich 9,983 acres, and Oldham
12,039½. The geology of the entire parish is represented by the Coal Measures, and on the eastward
side of a line drawn from High Crompton to Greenacres, of the Lower Coal Measures or Gannister
Beds.
The Roman road from Manchester to Ribchester
passed through Prestwich and Pilkington; that from
Manchester to York passed through the southern part
of Oldham, where Roman coins have been found. (fn. 3)
The parish has no united history. In the western
portion the Pilkingtons ranked among the great
families of the county, until their adherence to
Richard III and the Yorkist side brought about their
overthrow. The other manorial families were either
non-resident or of only local importance.
Though the Elizabethan reformation found the
rector of Prestwich at first reluctantly compliant and
then an avowed opponent, there is little evidence of
opposition to the change of religion; recusants were
few, and the district soon became strongly Puritan.
Nevertheless, it is one of the few parishes in which
any resistance was made, with a show of popular
support, to the abolition of the Prayer Book and
Episcopacy; but even this resistance seems to have
been due less to principle than to a strong antipathy
to the domination of the Manchester Classis. In
1662 the rector complied, but the curate of Oldham
was expelled. The chapels at Stand and Greenacres
bear testimony to the existence of convinced Nonconformists, as does also the Quaker meeting-house at
Royton. (fn. 4)
The Young Pretender's march through the district
has left a trace in the story of the arrest of two of
his officers in Prestwich. (fn. 5) Volunteers were raised in
1779 and 1803, and again in 1859. (fn. 6)
Under the Redistribution Act of 1885 Prestwich
gives a name to one of the Parliamentary divisions of
south-east Lancashire, returning one member.
The Prestwich part of the parish remained comparatively rural till recently; but some sections have
now become manufacturing, and others have practically merged in Manchester. The Oldham part, on
the other hand, early felt the manufacturing impulse,
and has steadily gone on increasing its mines and
mills, till it has become the predominant partner.
The following is the present apportionment of agricultural land in the whole parish: Arable land, 3,683
acres; permanent grass, 11,395; woods and plantations, 367. The details are thus given (fn. 7) :—
|
| Arable Acres. | Grass Acres. | Woods, &c. Acres. |
| Prestwich | 506 | 1,697 | 125 |
| Alkrington | 113 | 556 | 10 |
| Tonge | 10 | 139 | — |
| Outwood | 580 | 886 | 213 |
| Unsworth | 679 | 708 | 16 |
| Unsworth | 1,207 | 294 | 2 |
| Whitefield | 431 | 622 | 1 |
| Oldham | 3 | 1,562 | — |
| Crompton | 3 | 2,002 | — |
| Royton | 52 | 574 | — |
| Royton | 11 | 748 | — |
| Chadderton | 88 | 1,607 | — |
For the County Lay of 1624 Prestwich proper
was divided into two parts, each paying equally, so
that Prestwich and Pilkington each paid £2 12s. 1½d.
when the hundred paid £100. Oldham township
paid £1 18s. 8d., Royton 19s. 4d., Chadderton and
Crompton £1 9s. each, or a fourth part of the contribution from Oldham, which for this purpose was
considered a parish. (fn. 8) To the more ancient fifteenth,
out of £41 14s. 4d. for the hundred, Prestwich contributed 18s., Pilkington 23s., Oldham 17s., Royton
11s. 4d., Crompton 13s., and Chadderton 21s. 8d. (fn. 9)
Church
The church of ST. MARY (fn. 10) is situated
on the south-west side of the town on
an eminence overlooking the valley of
the Irwell, set in very picturesque surroundings. It
consists of a chancel with organ chamber and quire
vestry on the north, and a chapel on the south side,
nave with north and south aisles, each with a chapel
at its east end, north and south porches, and west
tower. The main body of the church belongs to the
16th century, and the tower to the 15th, while the
whole of the east end, including the chapels at the
end of the aisles, is modern.
The tower presumably belongs to a 15th-century
building whose east wall was about where the chancel
arch now is, and whose width was the same as at
present. This 15th-century church had a chancel
about 34 ft. long occupying the space of the two
eastern bays of the present nave, and a nave of three
bays, the lines of the arcade of which are still retained. The aisles were probably of the present
width, but whether the chapels at their east ends
belonged to this building in the first instance it is
impossible to say. The aisles probably overlapped
the chancel for about 15 ft., and may have been
extended and carried further eastward when the
chantries were founded. At some time in the first
half of the 16th century the chancel, both arcades of
the nave, and the north and south aisles were rebuilt,
destroying all traces of the former work. The 16thcentury church also had a south porch and a low
vestry east of the chancel. There is no record as to
when this rebuilding took place, and the work itself
is of a very plain description, and does not help much
in fixing a date. At first sight the clearstory seems
to be of later date than the arcade, but the evidence
of the building appears to indicate that they were
built at the same period. The rebuilding left the
church pretty much as it was till the restorations and
additions of the 19th century, with chapels the full
length of the chancel on each side, and 6 ft. wider than
the north and south aisles. The chancel had a traceried
window of seven lights under a pointed head, possibly
belonging to the 15th-century church. The east
vestry was a low building whose roof was below the
sill of the chancel window and was entered from the
church, as at Sefton, by a door on the south side of
the altar. The south porch was rebuilt in 1756, and
at the same time, according to an inscription upon
the porch, the church 'was raised.' This probably
refers to the raising of the aisle walls in order to
obtain light for the galleries, though there is only
record of one gallery being erected at that time, and
that probably in the north chapel. (fn. 11) The line of the
original aisle roofs may still be seen outside at the
west end. In 1782 there were some repairs done to
the tower, which was reported to be decaying fast.
In 1803 the east vestry was rebuilt, but it seems to
have been destroyed about 1860 in order to effect a
lengthening of the chancel on its site, having a vestry
on the north side. In the same year the body of the
church was repewed, and in 1872 a new chapel (the
Birch chapel) was built south of the extended chancel
and at the east end of the south (Lever) chapel, which
was rebuilt two years later. In 1882–3 the tower
was underpinned and repaired, the roof of the nave
restored, and new roofs put on the north and south
aisles, and in 1888–9 the Wilton (north) chapel was
rebuilt, and a chancel with organ chamber and vestry
on the north side erected, eastward of the line of the
original church. (fn. 12)
The building is constructed of red sandstone, which
has been considerably renewed from time to time, and
the roofs are covered with stone slates. Those of the
original structure, including the aisles, have overhanging eaves, but the north and south chapels had
straight parapets, and these have been retained in the
rebuilding, and are also used in the new chancel and
buildings north of it. The chancel has a clearstory,
and the roof is slightly higher than that of the nave.
The organ-chamber on the north is of the full height
of the chancel, forming a kind of transept, and the
vestry in the angle thus formed north of the chancel
is a lower building of two stories.
Plan of Prestwich Church
The chancel, which measures 40 ft. by 22 ft. 6 in.,
together with the whole of the eastern part of the
building, has no archaeological interest. The east
window is one of seven lights under a segmental
head and with straight uncusped bar tracery above.
A modern pointed arch of two moulded orders
without capitals now divides the chancel from the
nave, and the west half of the chancel has an arch
on each side, that on the north opening to the
organ-chamber, and that on the south to the Birch
chapel.
The nave now consists of five bays with an arcade
of pointed arches on each side, of two chamfered
orders, on octagonal piers with chamfered bases but
without capitals, the inner order dying into the pier
at a height of 15 ft. from the floor. The two eastern
bays of the nave occupy the position of the old
chancel, and the third pier from the west on the
north side is wider than the other two, marking the
position of an ancient pier containing the staircase to
the rood-loft. It has been entirely rebuilt, and has a
capital on the south side of which is carved a shield held
by two angels. The original staircase pier was 3 ft. 7 in.
square, and the present pier retains this dimension
from east to west, but is only 2 ft. deep, the width of
the other piers of the nave. (fn. 13) In the 16th-century
rebuilding this pier seems to have been left standing
and the new arcade set out westward between it and
the tower. There being no corresponding wide pier
on the south side of the chancel it resulted that in the
setting out of the south arcade the spacing of the
arches was slightly different, and that the piers did
not come opposite to those on the north side. The
nave, which is about 80 ft. long and 20 ft. 6 in.
wide, (fn. 14) has a continuous range of two-light squareheaded clearstory windows, and a flat panelled roof
much restored but retaining a good deal of its original
16th-century timber. The Wilton chapel occupies
the two eastern bays of the aisle on the north side,
and being entirely rebuilt in 1888 is of no particular
interest. Its walls are considerably higher than those
of the aisle, and its windows loftier, and it has a
separate open timbered gable roof. The chapel is lit
by three windows of three lights, with plain tracery,
and has a door at its north-west corner. The easternmost arch of the nave is new, and springs from
corbelled shafts on each side. The first pier from the
east seems to be the west portion of a former length
of straight wall to the original chancel, and measures
3 ft. 10 in. on the face, its east half being new. The
west half and the arch on that side are old, and the
pier has on its north face a recess with a pointed head
sunk in the stone above, which was perhaps a cupboard
in the original chapel at the end of the north aisle.
On the south side of the nave a similar pier also marks
the end of the outer wall of the old chancel. The
arch to the east of it is much lower than the other
arches of the nave, and springs from moulded half
capitals on each side, that on the east forming a respond,
and that on the west being set in the eastern part of
the pier. Both capitals are new, but appear to have
been suggested by a mutilated fragment at the back of
the first pier, which may be seen from the gallery in
the Lever chapel. The arch, though apparently of
16th-century date, must have been a later insertion
when the chapel was extended eastward, a blocked
window still visible in the wall above proving it to
have been at one time an outside wall.
The Lever chapel, the floor of which is a foot
above that of the nave, occupies a position on the
south side similar to that of the Wilton chapel on
the north, but has a lean-to roof, plastered between the
spars. It retains its gallery, which has a front of
poor early 19th-century gothic panelling, and is lit
by two four-light windows on the south side. There
is a door with a semi-octagonal porch and gallery staircase in the south-west corner, an addition to the plan
of the chapel in its rebuilding of 1874. The nave
aisles proper are 12 ft. wide, and have each two
pointed windows opposite the second and third bays
respectively of three cinquefoiled lights with hollow
chamfered mullions running up to the heads. The
north aisle has a doorway opposite the first bay from
the west, with a modern north porch, and at the
west end is lit by a two-light pointed window with
trefoiled lights and quatrefoil over in the style of
the 14th century, with external chamfered jambs and
head and without a label, said to be a copy of an old
window formerly in the same position. The south
aisle has a doorway with a four-centred arch, under an
open porch, opposite the first bay, and a three-light
window at the west end. The porch which, as
already stated, was rebuilt in 1756, has a semicircular
arch on imposts, and a stone gable with date and inscription. There is a stone bench on each side, and
the door is an old one studded with nails. There are
iron gates to the outer doorway. Each aisle has a
second set of three square-headed windows of three
lights each, placed high up in the wall to light the
galleries. The galleries themselves are good specimens
of 18th-century woodwork, with panelled fronts above
a classic cornice. The aisle roofs are modern with
exposed rafters and purlins and curved wind braces.
A stone half-arch is carried across each aisle at the
east end between the chapels and the aisle proper, and
opposite the piers from which the old chancel arch
would spring.
The tower, which is of three stages, is 19 ft.
square outside, and rises 42 ft. above the ridge of the
roof, its total height being 86 ft. It has buttresses of
seven stages with moulded set-offs set square at the
angles, the top and bottom stages having panelled
fronts, and the buttresses finish in gablets under an
embattled parapet. There is an external vice in the
north-east corner to the height of the ringers' story,
finished with an embattled top lighted by quatrefoil
openings. It is entered from the outside, but is a
modern addition, the original staircase having been in
the south-west angle. The tower arch is now opened
out to the nave and the west window exposed. The
arch has two chamfered orders of original masonry,
but the jambs, which have moulded bases and capitals,
are new. (fn. 15) The west door is a restoration with continuous mouldings to jambs and head, and a stringcourse over. Above there is a new window in the
style of the 15th century, of three lights with traceried
head. Above this again in the ringing chamber is a
modern square-headed window of two trefoiled lights,
replacing a smaller single-light window which formerly
lit the chamber already mentioned in the note. The
ringers' room also has a single-light window on the
south side, and above this, facing north, south, and
east, is a clock, placed here in 1811. The north and
south sides of the tower are plain and unrelieved up
to this height, but above the clock is a moulded stringcourse on each face. The belfry stage above has a
three-light louvred window on each side with traceried
head and hood-mould, and the tower is crowned by
an embattled and panelled parapet, originally with
angle and intermediate pinnacles, above a moulded
string-course with gargoyles at the angles. (fn. 16) The
tower has a pyramidal roof covered with grey stone
slates, and a good 18th-century weather vane. (fn. 17)
The fittings, including the font and pulpit, are all
modern, but there is an oak chest of 16th-century
date in the vestry with three locks and strong iron
bands, and a good 18th-century brass chandelier in
the nave. The gallery fronts have already been mentioned. Booker mentions a penance form in 1743. (fn. 18)
The chancel has a carved oak screen and canopied
stalls of good modern workmanship. The organ was
not introduced till 1825. (fn. 19)
The church contains but few monuments, and these
for the most part of little interest. The Wilton
chapel was the burial place of the family of the Earl
of Wilton, but the vault was finally closed in 1885.
There was formerly a conspicuous monument to the
first Earl of Wilton (died 1814) and members of his
family in the chapel, but during the rebuilding and
restoration it was removed, and has not been reerected. (fn. 20) The chapel contains memorials to other members of the Egerton family, but all are of modern date. (fn. 21)
In the vestry safe are kept fourteen old deeds relating to the church, eleven on parchment and three,
in the nature of memoranda, on paper. They mostly
refer to relations between the churches of Prestwich
and Oldham, and one is a very interesting contract
for the building of the nave of Oldham Church.
These were recovered by the Rev. J. Booker when
writing his 'Memorials of Prestwich Church,' they
having been parted with by a former recotor and their existence forgotten.
There is a ring of six bells. Originally there were
four, but in 1721 they were recast into five by
Abraham Rudhall and a sixth by the same founder
added. Of these, two still bear the date 1721, and
four have since been recast, three in the years 1742,
1761, and 1788 respectively, and one, the second bell,
again recast in 1884. by Taylor of Loughborough.
The plate, which is all modern and silver gilt,
consists of a chalice of 1883, another of 1887, and a
third of 1897; three patens of 1885, and a flagon of
1880.
The registers begin in 1603, and are complete to
the present time, with the exception of the registers
of marriages, the entries of which cease in October
1658 and are not resumed till January 1661. The
churchwardens' and overseers' accounts begin in
1647 and are continued to the present time. (fn. 22)
The churchyard, which is almost encircled by a
number of fine beech trees, lies principally on the
south and west, and was extended in 1824 and again
in 1886. In it is buried Charles Swain, the poet
(died 1874); also Henry Wyatt, an artist, who died
in 1840. The oldest gravestone is 1641.
The tithe map is kept at the office of Messrs.
Marchant, Bury.
The old rectory house, called The Deyne, or
Deyne Hall, which stood a little to the north of the
present rectory, was a timber and plaster building,
said to have been originally quadrangular in plan, but
at the time of its demolition in 1837 it consisted of a
centre and two wings, on the H-type of plan. In
1644, when rector Allen was ejected, a portion of the
house was pulled down, (fn. 23) and it was never restored to
its original dimensions. The present rectory took its
place in 1840. (fn. 23a)
Advowson
The rectory is mentioned early
in the 13th century, and in 1291
its annual value was given as
£18 13s. 4d. (fn. 24) Fifty years later the ninth of the
sheaves, wool, &c., was only ten marks. (fn. 25) At this
time the tithes of half of Tottington in the parish
of Bury were paid to the rector of Prestwich. This
may have been the result of some grant by the lord
of Tottington, or may indicate that originally the
parish also included Bury, Middleton, and Radcliffe. (fn. 26)
The income of the benefice in the time of Henry VIII
was estimated at £46 4s. 4d. (fn. 27) This was probably
much below the real value, for in 1650 the glebe and
tithes of Prestwich were £120 a year, and the tithes
of the chapelry of Oldham, which had then been
made an independent parish, £140. (fn. 28) By 1720 the
income had risen to £400, (fn. 29) by 1792 to £700, (fn. 30)
and by 1834 to £1,230. (fn. 31) It is now returned as
£2,000. (fn. 32)
The patronage was vested in the lords of Prestwich
until the death of Sir Robert Langley in 1561, when
on the division of his estates it was given to one of
the co-heirs, Dorothy, wife of James Ashton of
Chadderton. (fn. 33) In 1710 William Ashton, rector of
the parish and heir male, sold it to Thomas Watson
Wentworth of Wentworth Woodhouse, (fn. 34) whose son
Thomas, Earl of Malton, in 1744 sold it to Dr. John
Griffith, rector from 1752 to 1763. In 1755 it was
sold to James Collins of Knaresborough, and by him
in 1758 to Levett Harris, rector from 1763 to
1783. Two years before his death this rector sold
the advowson to Matthew Lyon of Warrington, whose
son James became rector in 1783. In 1815 the
Marquis of Westminster purchased it and gave it to
his son Thomas, Earl of Wilton. (fn. 35) It was again sold,
by the present earl, Sir Frederick J. W. Johnstone,
bart., being the patron. (fn. 36)
The following is a list of the rectors:—
|
| Institution | Rector | Patron | Cause of Vacancy |
|---|
| c. 1200 | Thomas (fn. 37) | — | — |
| c. 1230 | Robert (fn. 38) | — | — |
| oc. 1301 | Mr. Matthew de Sholverx (fn. 39) | — | — |
| 4 May 1301 | Mr. William de Marklan (fn. 40) | Adam de Prestwich | — |
| 23 Oct. 1302 |
| 7 Aug. 1316 | John called Travers (fn. 41) | " | d. W. de Marklan |
| 11 Dec. 1320 | Richard de Parr (fn. 42) | Sir Ric. de Holland | res. John Travers |
| 15 Oct. 1332 | Nicholas de Trafford (fn. 43) | Thos. son of Adam de Prestwich | d. R. de Parr |
| 26 July 1334. | Richard de Warton (fn. 44) | Thos. son of Adam de Prestwich | res. N. de Trafford |
| 15 April 1347 | Robert de Donington (fn. 45) | Ric. de Radcliffe | d. R. de Warton |
| 29 June 1357 | John de Radcliffe (fn. 46) | " | d. R. de Donington |
| 1362–5 | Richard de Pilkington (fn. 47) | Ric. de Radcliffe, sen. | — |
| 13 Sept. 1400 | Geoffrey del Fere (fn. 48) | Rob. de Langley | d. R. de Pilkington |
| — | Thurstan de Atherton (fn. 49) | " | — |
| 18 Mar. 1401–2 | Nicholas de Tyldesley (fn. 50) | The King | — |
| 28 April 1417 | Philip Morgan, J.U.D. (fn. 51) | " | — |
| 12 Dec. 1417 | Thurstan Langley (fn. 52) | Robert Langley | — |
| 16 Feb. 1435–6 | Peter Langley (fn. 53) | " | d. T. Langley |
| 20 Aug. 1445 | Ralph Langley (fn. 54) | " | d. P. Langley |
| 1 May 1493 | Ralph Langley, B.Decr. (fn. 55) | " | d. R. Langley |
| 4 Sept. 1498 | Thomas Langley (fn. 56) | " | d. R. Langley |
| 5 April 1525 | William Langley, M.A. (fn. 57) | Rob. Langley | d. T. Langley |
| 28 May 1552 | William Langley (fn. 58) | W. Davenport | d. W. Langley |
| 19 July 1569 | William Langley, M.A. (fn. 59) | James and Dorothy Ashton | depr. W. Langley |
| 10 May 1611 | John Langley, M.A. (fn. 60) | James Ashton | res. W. Langley |
| 26 Sept. 1632 | Isaac Allen, M.A. (fn. 61) | Edm. Ashton | d. J. Langley |
| 30 Oct. 1660 | Edward Kenyon, B.D. (fn. 62) | " | d. I. Allen |
| — 1668 | John Lake, D.D. (fn. 63) | — | d. E. Kenyon |
| 19 Nov. 1685 | William Ashton, B.D. (fn. 64) | Edward Ashton | res. Bp. Lake |
| 6 April 1732 | Richard Goodwin, D.D. (fn. 65) | Lord Malton | d. W. Ashton |
| 28 Oct. 1752 | John Griffith, D.D. (fn. 66) | John Simpson | d. R. Goodwin |
| 9 Dec. 1763 | Levett Harris, M.A. (fn. 67) | Abraham Balme | d. J. Griffith |
| 22 Mar. 1783 | James Lyon, M.A. (fn. 68) | James Lyon | d. L. Harris |
| 1 Feb. 1837 | Thomas Blackburne, M.A. (fn. 69) | Earl Grosvenor | d. J. Lyon |
| — 1847 | John Rushton, D.D. (fn. 70) | Earl of Wilton | d. T. Blackburne |
| — 1852 | Henry Mildred Birch, M.A. (fn. 71) | " | res. J. Rushton |
| — 1884 | William Thomas Jones, M.A. (fn. 72) | " | res. H. M. Birch |
| 29 Jan. 1900 | Frederic Wilson Cooper, M.A. (fn. 73) | Sir F. Johnstone | res. W. T. Jones |
As in the case of most 'family livings,' the incumbents of Prestwich call for little notice. Before the
Reformation the most distinguished seems to have
been the Ralph Langley who was also Warden of
Manchester; and of the later ones, Dr. Lake, one of
the Seven Bishops of 1688. Others, no doubt, like
Isaac Allen and James Lyon, were useful in their time
and place.
The Clergy List of 1541–2 shows that, in addition
to the rector and one or two chantry priests, there
were five other priests in the parish of Prestwich with
Oldham, two paid by the rector and the others by
private persons. (fn. 74) The Visitation List of 1548 shows
the rector, his curate, and four other priests at Prestwich, one of them—a chantry priest—dying about
that time; and the curate and three priests at Oldham. There was, therefore, a full staff of ten. In
1554 the same nine priests were in the list, but all
do not seem to have attended the visitation. In 1563
the rector and his curate appeared at Prestwich, and
two other priests lived there, but were 'decrepit,' and
are not named again; and there was a curate at
Oldham. The same three names recur in 1565. (fn. 75)
Prestwich at that time is of interest because its rector,
appointed in 1552, continued under the restoration of the old religion in the following reign, and
then again conformed to the changes made by
Elizabeth. (fn. 76) However, he did so 'against his conscience very sore,' and 'grievously repenting' was
summoned before the Bishop of Chester's commissioners in 1569, and refusing to tamper further
with his convictions, was deprived. (fn. 77) His successor
was a zealous Protestant. In 1591 he was convicted of uttering 'unadvised, untrue, and undutiful
speeches' regarding the queen's ecclesiastical authority,
but protested that he had not intended to suggest
that 'the sincere professors of religion' were persecuted by her. (fn. 78) In the following year he was
under censure for not catechizing and for neglecting
the perambulations. (fn. 79) He was, however, held in high
respect by the Puritans. (fn. 80)
During the Commonwealth period the parish was
prominent in its opposition to the newly-established
Presbyterian system. The rector was forbidden to
minister and his benefice was sequestrated, but the
ministers who were placed in charge were changed
rapidly; and the schoolmaster was said to baptize
children according to the old form. (fn. 81) Rector Allen
regained his place before 1660, and his successor
appears to have become a zealous adherent of the episcopal discipline then restored. (fn. 82)
For the next century there is little to record.
Many of the rectors appear to have been non-resident,
a curate having charge. A view of the condition of
the parish in 1778 states that the rector had for
twenty years constantly resided and had kept a curate,
also in constant residence. Seven chapels of ease were
regularly served, each having its minister. At the
parish church there was divine service twice each
Sunday, with sermon each time, and 'on stated
holidays.' Catechizing took place for eight Sundays
in the summer. 'The Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper was duly administered every first Sunday of
the month, besides the great festivals and Good
Friday.' There were chapels for the Presbyterians
and the Methodists, and a few Quakers were known;
but these Nonconformists were mostly of the lower
ranks. 'Popery' was represented by eight or ten persons, 'all of lower rank'; there was no resident
priest, meeting-place, or school. (fn. 83) Since then the
conditions have greatly changed, owing especially to
the growth of Oldham, Middleton, and Radcliffe;
but it is of interest to have this statement of what an
18th-century rector thought was an orderly and wellequipped parish.
Among the curates of Prestwich should be named
the Rev. John Booker, whose histories of this and
other churches are of great value. (fn. 84)
There were formerly two endowed chantries in the
church. At the altar of St. Margaret, on the south
side of the chancel, was the Langley chantry, founded
by Agnes daughter of John Langley of Agecroft,
and wife of Sir Thomas Holt and then of Thomas
Manne. (fn. 85) The other chantry was founded by Ellis
Hulton. (fn. 86) At the confiscation the priests were celebrating according to their several foundations.
Schools were founded at Oldham in 1606; at
Ringley in 1626; and at Stand in Pilkington in
1696; the last-named belonged to the Protestant
Nonconformists in 1718. (fn. 87)
Charities
Various charitable endowments existed at the date just named. (fn. 88) For
the Prestwich half of the parish £10
for the poor represents a gift by Sir Thomas Egerton in
1756. (fn. 89) For the township of Prestwich the principal
endowments are those of the Earl of Wilton in 1814
and Lewis Novelli in 1844, producing nearly £60;
there are also a poor's stock and some special funds. (fn. 90)
The stock for Great and Little Heaton has been
lost. (fn. 91) Pilkington has a share in the benefaction
of William Baguley, 1728; its poor's fund has been
lost, but for the hamlet of Unsworth Miss Jane
Margaret Birkett, daughter of a former incumbent of
the church there, in 1872 left £500 for the sick
poor. The other endowments of this township are
for churches and schools. (fn. 92)