| 1 |
Edited by B.T. Barton, 1881 and 1882.
The census for Breightmet in 1801 is
printed at ii, 118–21; Extracts from the
township minute book at i, 58–60. |
| 2 |
Diet. Nat. Biog. |
| 3 |
Subs. R. Lanes, bdle. 250, no. 9. |
| 4 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc.
Lancs, and Ches.), i, 71. |
| 5 |
Augustin de Breightmet about 1180
gave to his brother Patrick de Mobberley
a moiety of Mobberley with reversion of
the rest after his own death; Lord Edmund Talbot's MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com.
Various Coll. ii, 290). |
| 6 |
See the account of Barton-on-Irwell;
also Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), i, 422. |
| 7 |
Inq. and Extents, loc. cit.; he paid a
rent of 8s. Later, Breightmet was described as the eighth part of a knight's fee. |
| 8 |
In 1257 Avina de Samlesbury acknowledged the right of Robert de Hampton
and Margery his wife to a mill and eight
oxgangs of land (less 12 acres) in Breightmet, for which they were to pay her ½ mark
a year for life; after her death Robert and
Margery were to have one-third, and Cecily
and Elizabeth, the younger sisters of Margery, were to have the other two-thirds;
Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.),
i, 131, and note on p. 130.
In a charter without date John de
Altaripa granted to Cecily daughter of
William de Samlesbury and her heirs six
oxgangs of land in the territory of Bolton
and a culture called 'Hallerode wra.'
One of the oxgangs was held in demesne,
and the rest by Edmund Brun (2), Mabel
(2), and Hervey (1); Kuerden MSS. v,
fol. 117 (2). |
| 9 |
In 1292 John D'Ewias and Cecily his
wife complained that Robert de Holland
and Elizabeth his wife would not agree to
make a division of two parts of the manor
of Breightmet, the inheritance of Avina
de Samlesbury, mother of Cecily and
Elizabeth; 40s. damages was awarded;
Assize R. 408, m. 3 d.; De Banco R. 92,
m. 11.
Robert de Holland and John D'Ewias
in 1302 jointly contributed to the aid, in
respect of the eighth part of a knight's
fee held by them in Breightmet of the
Earl of Lancaster; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 314.
Nicholas D'Ewias held the moiety of
the hamlet of Breightmet in 1324 by the
service of the sixteenth part of a knight's
fee, 4s. for castle ward, and 1s. 3d. for sake
fee; and Robert de Holland held the other
moiety by the like service; Dods. MSS.
cxxxi, fol. 37b. It is noticeable that
Breightmet is called a 'moiety of the vill
of Bolton,' showing that the former Marsey
holding in Bolton parish was regarded as
a unit.
Again in 1346 Maud de Holland and
Gilbert de Southworth held a plough-land
by the eighth part of a knight's fee,
rendering 8s. and puture, as well as
2s. 6d. sake-fee; Add. MS. 32103, fol.
146.
John de Holland and Richard de Southworth held the manor in 1445–6 for the
eighth part of a fee; the relief due was
12s. 6d., payable by each equally; Duchy
of Lanc. Knights' Fees, 2/20.
In a later Feodary (1483) it is stated
that Christopher Southworth held one
moiety of the manor, and that the Duke
of Exeter lately held the other; Duchy of
Lanc. Misc. Bks. cxxx. |
| 10 |
See the preceding note. Richard
Southworth, who died in 1472, and his
son Christopher, who died in 1487, held
messuages and land in Breightmet of the
king as of his Duchy of Lancaster by the
eighth part of a knight's fee, a rent of 8s.
and 2s. for sake-fee; the clear annual
value was 100s.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq.
p.m. iii, no. 103, 41. John Southworth,
the son and heir of Christopher, a few
years after coming of age, sold or mortgaged the manors of Breightmet and
Harwood in 1506 to Sir John Cutt,
Miles Gerard, James Molyneux, Peter
Gerard, and William Standish; Final
Conc. iii, 161; see also a writ of
1511; Pal. of Lanc. Writs Proton. file
2 Hen. VIII. They are not found later
among the Southworth manors. |
| 11 |
Miles Gerard, Elizabeth his wife,
and Peter Gerard, clerk, were deforciants
in a fine of the manors of Breightmet
and Harwood; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F.
bdle. 11, m. 247. The manors were
probably sold, as they do not appear later
among the Gerard estates. From the
Hulton inquisition quoted below it seems
that in 1557 Sir Edmund Trafford and
Giles Ainsworth were lords of the manor,
or of this portion of it. |
| 12 |
Joan widow of Thomas Ainsworth
of Breightmet is named in 1 542; Duchy
Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii,
177. Thomas Ainsworth of Ainsworth
held fourteen messuages, a water-mill,
&c., in Breightmet and Harwood of the
queen as of her manor of East Greenwich in socage; he died in 1594 leaving
his brother Peter's son Robert his heir;
Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvi, no. 8.
The estate is not called a manor.
Giles Ainsworth is found in 1576
claiming lands in Breightmet and Harwood against Thomas Ainsworth and
others; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii,
38. By a fine of 1588 Ralph Booth
appears to have acquired the estate of
Thomas Ainsworth; Pal. of Lanc. Feet
of F. bdle. 50, m. 29. In 1597 the Earl
of Derby sold to Ralph Booth of Ainsworth and William Bromeley the elder of
Breightmet, in consideration of £20 paid
by Giles Ainsworth of Ainsworth, a
tenement in Breightmet formerly occupied by Abraham and Margaret Crompton
and then by the said Margaret Crompton
and Giles Ainsworth; Hulme D. no.
107.
The Ainsworth estate was in 1609
'put into the Crown to prevent a remainder, and granted out again to Thomas
Twisden and others'; Pat. 7 Jas. I, pt.
xxvi.
A decree was made in 1563 in a suit
between Ainsworth and Isherwood respecting lands in Breightmet and Harwood;
Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs.
and Ches.), ii, 252.
From the later history it may be
inferred that Giles Ainsworth left two
daughters as co-heirs—Katherine, who
married Richard Banastre, and Jane, who
married Richard Meadowcroft. |
| 13 |
In 1623 there was a fine of the
manors of Breightmet and Harwood, the
deforciants being Richard Banastre and
Katherine his wife, Richard Meadowcroft
and Joan his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet
of F. bdle. 100, no. 10. From the
Visitation of 1664–5 it appears that
Richard Banastre of Bolton was a younger
son of William Banastre of Bank, Christopher being another son; the name of
Richard's wife is not given, but he had
three sons—Henry, William, and Alexander; Dugdale's Visit. (Chet. Soc), 23.
Richard Meadowcroft, who died about
1660, married Jane, a daughter and coheir of Giles Ainsworth; ibid. 196.
From this the parentage of Richard
Banastre's wife may be inferred. In
1632 the whole estate appears to have
come into the possession of Richard and
Katherine Banastre; Pal. of Lanc. Feet
of F. bdle. 119, no. 37. By a further
fine three years later Christopher Banastre
acquired, perhaps as trustee, a moiety of
the manors of Breightmet and Harwood
from Richard and Henry Banastre; ibid,
bdle. 125, no. 24.
William Hulme, father of the benefactor, married Christine daughter of
Richard Banastre of Oakenbottom; Earwaker in Manch. Ct. Leet Rec. iii, 265. |
| 14 |
Bolton Hist. Gleanings, ii, 325. In his
will, William Hulme the son mentioned
Richard Baguley his brother, Christopher
and Alexander Baguley his uncles, and
William Baguley his cousin; Notitia Cestr.
(Chet. Soc), ii, 72.
Alexander Baguley and Katherine his
wife are mentioned in 1655; she may
have been the widow of Richard Banastre;
Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 157,
m. 50. William Baguley of Kearsley
in 1698 leased an acre in Breightmet to
William Hilton of the latter township;
Hulme D. no. 115.
William Baguley by his will dated
1725 left £200 towards founding and
endowing a charity school in Breightmet,
which was afterwards built on the site of
an ancient messuage at Roscow Fold,
granted by William Hulton; End. Char.
Rep. for Bolton Boro. 1904, p. 23. |
| 15 |
P.R.O. List, 74. There are pedigrees
of the Parker of Astle family in Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), iii, 714, and
Earwaker, East Ches. ii, 363. From
these it appears that John Parker married
Alice daughter of Thomas Smith of
Breightmet, and died in 1778; his son,
the Rev. John Parker, died in 1795,
leaving a son and heir Thomas, who died
in 1840 without issue, his heirs being his
five sisters or their representatives. See
also Bolton Hist. Gleanings, i, 176, 274;
Local Gleanings Lancs. and Ches. i, 251. |
| 16 |
John Parker in 1779 paid a duchy
rent of 2s. 7d.; Duchy of Lanc. Rentals,
14/25 m. The land of the Rev. John
Parker contributed nearly a third of the
land tax of 1789 (returns at Preston), the
rest of the township being apparently
much divided. |
| 17 |
See preceding notes. |
| 18 |
A moiety of the manor of Breightmet was included in 1322 in a settlement
of various manors of Robert de Holland
and Maud his wife entailed on the heirs
male; Final Conc. ii, 193. It was alsoamong the possessions of Maud widow of
Sir Robert de Holland in 1349, and of
her son Sir Robert de Holland, Lord
Holland, who died in 1373, being at the
latter date held of the Duke of Lancaster
by a rent of 2s. only; Inq. p.m. 23 Edw.
Ill (1st nos.), no. 58; 47 Edw. Ill (1st
nos.), no. 19. A similar return was
made in 1451 after the death of Sir John
Holland, except that the service was
stated as 5s.; Lancs. Rec. Inq. p.m. no.
45, 46. |
| 19 |
See Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc),
ii, 3. |
| 20 |
Cal. Pat. 1476–85, p. 476. See
also Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 330. |
| 21 |
Lands in Breightmet were held by
Thomas, Earl of Derby, at his death in
1521, but no particular record of them
is given in the inquisition; Duchy of
Lanes. Inq. p.m. v, no. 68. The account
of Alexander Lever, the bailiff for Breightmet, Harwood, and Darwen in 1523–4,
shows that John Hulton of Farnworth, a
free tenant, paid 1s. rent for his holding
in Breightmet; the tenants at will paid
£4 10s. 5d. in all. No courts were held
in the year; roll in possession of Lord
Lathom.
The manor is mentioned again in
1597 as in the possession of the Earl of
Derby; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle.
58, m. 291. For a subsequent dispute
on the matter see Duchy of Lanc. Plead.
Eliz. ccii, D. 10.
It formed part of the dower of Charlotte, Countess of Derby, for which she
compounded with the Parliamentary Commissioners in 1653; the 'old rents' were
£6 7s. 8d.; Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec.
Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 185. |
| 21 |
a Bolton Journ. and Guard. Oct. 2,
1908. The house is said to have been
raided 'during the last few months,' when
apparently the dated panel was destroyed
or stolen. |
| 22 |
Roger son of Adam de Sharples in
1292 claimed a messuage and lands in
Breightmet against Adam de Pilkington,
but the jury decided that the tenements
were in Bolton; Assize R. 408, m. 1.
This was probably merely a technical
defence. |
| 23 |
John Hulton in 1487 held a messuage, 60 acres of land, 4 acres of meadow,
20 acres of wood, and 100 acres of pasture
and turbary in Breightmet of Thomas
Stanley and John Southworth, by the
yearly rent of 2s.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq.
p.m. iii, no. 26. In 1557 it was stated
that William Hulton had held of Sir
Edmund Trafford and Giles Ainsworth;
ibid. x, no. 32. Two fines are on record
—in 1574 and 1591; from the latter it
seems that the Hultons' estate was then
sold to Katherine and Jane Ainsworth;
Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 36, m. 115;
53, m. 217. |
| 24 |
There was in 1549 a dispute concerning them between Alice Roscoe and
Ralph Roscoe and his wife Ellen; Ducatus
Lanc. (Rec. Com.), i, 244. They are not
mentioned in Raines, Lancs. Chant. |
| 25 |
The district is officially known as
Tonge-cum-Breightmet. |
| 26 |
O. Heywood, Diaries, i, 224, 241,
&c. There are many references to people
of the township in these diaries. |