TURTON
Turton, 1212, and commonly; Thurton, 1277;
Terton alias Torton, 1282.
This township, with an area of 4,614 acres,
extends in a north and north-west direction for
nearly 5 miles. A large part of the centre is occupied by
lofty moorlands, known as Turton Heights and Turton Moor, rising to 1,100 and 1,280 ft. respectively. Along the northern and eastern boundaries
flows the Cadshaw or Bradshaw Brook, on the upper
part of which have been formed two large reservoirs
for the Bolton Waterworks. The village of Turton,
called Chapeltown, lies near this brook about the
centre of the valley, close to the junction of the
boundaries of Turton, Edgeworth, Quarlton, and
Bradshaw. Billy Brook bounds Chapeltown on the
west and south; to the south of it the ground rises
again, forming a spur of the greater hills mentioned,
and here stands Turton Tower at a height of 600 ft.
above the sea. Still farther to the south, on the
slope of the main elevation, is the hamlet of Bromley
Cross. (fn. 1) Farther south again, on the tongue of land
between Bradshaw and Eagley Brooks, lie the hamlets
of Birtenshaw and Oaks. Eagley Brook forms the
south-west boundary of the township. Proceeding
north-west from Birtenshaw are in succession the
villages and hamlets of Toppings, Dunscar, Coxgreen,
Egerton or Walmsley, and Dimple.
In 1901 the census was taken in two portions;
the population of the eastern half, together with
Harwood and Bradshaw, was 1,611; and that of the
western part, including Longworth, was 7,389.
The principal road, that from Bolton to Darwen,
divides at the southern end of the township so as to
pass round each side of the central hill; the eastern
branch goes through Turton village to Edgeworth,
and the western through Egerton, over Charters Moss,
916 ft. high, to Blackburn. The Lancashire and
Yorkshire Company's Bolton and Blackburn railway
passes through the eastern side of the township, and
has three stations—the Oaks, Bromley Cross, and
Turton and Edgeworth.
To the north of Toppings stands the Blair Hospital, built in 1886 from a bequest of Stephen Blair,
formerly M.P. for Bolton. (fn. 2)
On the summit of the hill to the north-east of
Walmsley is or was a Druidical circle. (fn. 3) The Hanging stone is near the extreme north-west boundary.
The copper head of an old British standard has been
found. Some notes of Turton Tower, Egerton
Hall, and skulls found, are given in Harland and
Wilkinson's Legends.
The 'old Turton acre' had 6½ yards to the
perch. (fn. 4)
A token was issued at Walmsley Chapel in 1652. (fn. 5)
There were 138 hearths liable to the tax in 1666.
The largest houses were those of James Chetham,
with fourteen hearths, and Mrs. Walmsley six. (fn. 6)
The cross and stocks were formerly near the school
at Turton.
A local board was formed in 1873; (fn. 7) this was replaced by an urban district council in I 894. Four
years later the district was extended so as to include
the adjacent townships of Harwood, Bradshaw,
Quarlton, Edgeworth, Entwisle, Longworth, and the
northern part of Sharples. (fn. 8) The council has twentyone members, elected by seven wards—Chapeltown,
Bromley Cross, Eagley, Egerton, Bradshaw, Edgeworth, and Belmont. By the same Act the township
or civil parish of Turton was extended to include
Harwood and Bradshaw.
There are numerous cotton mills, print works,
bleach works, dye works, and quarries. The land
is chiefly in pasture. The Egerton spinning mills
were formerly worked by a powerful water wheel.
There is a disused paper mill at Chapeltown.
The cattle fair, formerly held on 4 and 5 September, now takes place on the first Monday in
September. A poetical lament over the immorality
which used to characterize the occasion was printed
by William Sheldrake in 1789. (fn. 9)
Manor
The manor of TURTON, assessed as
one plough-land, was from the earliest
record of it a member of the barony of Manchester. In 1212 it formed part
—later called a fourth or an
eighth part — of the composite
knight's fee held chiefly by
Richard de Lathom, (fn. 10) and appears to have been granted to
one of the junior members of
the Lathom family, who also
received the manor of Tarbock in Huyton. (fn. 11) There was,
however, a family using Turton as a surname. (fn. 12) The
manor descended with Tarbock until the beginning
of the 15 th century. (fn. 13) John de Torbock, who died
in 1420, left a daughter and heir Elizabeth, who
married William Orrell of Orrell, near Wigan, and a
partition of the estates was made, Tarbock being
secured by the heir male, while Turton became the
seat of the Orrells. (fn. 14) Each line from time to time laid
claim to the whole of the estates, but without success. (fn. 15)
Lathom. Or on a chief indented azure three plates.
Apart from these lawsuits but little record of the
family has survived. (fn. 16) Ralph Orrell died at Turton
on 24 July 1533, holding the manor of Turton of
Sir Thomas West, Lord La Warre, as of his manor of
Manchester, the mesne lordship of Lathom having
probably long been forgotten;
the service was unknown to
the jury, but a rent of 18d.
was payable. Ralph Orrell
also held lands in Dalton and
Wigan, and left as heir his son
John, then twenty-five years
of age. (fn. 17) John Orrell died
in 1581, (fn. 18) and his son William made a feoffment of the
manor of Turton in that year. (fn. 19)
William, who built Turton
Tower in 1 596, (fn. 20) was followed
by his son and heir John, (fn. 21) and the latter by his brother and heir William Orrell, (fn. 22) who in 1628 sold the
manor to Humphrey Chetham, the founder of Chetham's Hospital and Library. (fn. 23)
Orrell. Argent three torteaux in bend between two bendlets gules, a chief sable.
On Humphrey's death in 1653 he was succeeded
at Turton by his nephew George, son of James
Chetham. (fn. 24) George Chetham
was alderman and sheriff of
London in 1656, (fn. 25) and high
sheriff of Lancashire in 1659—
60; (fn. 26) he died at Turton in
1664, and was succeeded by
his son James, who held the
manor till his death in 1697.
His eldest son Samuel followed, and then in 1745 the
third son Humphrey, who died
unmarried in 1749. (fn. 27) Turton
then by his will went to a
cousin, Edward Chetham of
Nuthurst, after whose death in
1769 a partition of the estates was made. Alice,
his elder sister, who had married Adam Bland, received Turton. (fn. 28) She left an only daughter Mary,
wife of Mordecai Greene, a Spanish merchant, (fn. 29) and
their son James was in 1782 placed in possession of
the manor of Turton, with Turton Tower, the water
corn-mill, and other properties. (fn. 30)
Chetham. Argent a griffon segreant gules within a bordure sable bezanty.
James Greene died in 1814, leaving five daughters
as co-heirs, (fn. 31) and the estates were divided among them
in 1833, Turton Tower and the reputed manor being
assigned to the eldest, Mary Anne wife of Edward
Frere of Clydach; they sold it in 1835 to James
Kay. (fn. 32) The new lord was born at Edgefold in Entwisle, and was a successful cotton spinner at Preston
and Pendleton. He resided at the Tower till his
death in 1857. Robert, the eldest surviving son, was
incapable of managing the estate, and his younger
brother James was the acting owner. He died in
1876, and his son James succeeded, becoming lord of Turton on his uncle Robert's death
in 1878. The trustees of
James Kay, under his will of
1882, sold to Mrs. Appleton,
from whose representatives the
Tower and the lordship of the
manor were in 1903 acquired
by Sir Lees Knowles, bart., who
resides at Westwood in Pendlebury, (fn. 33) and belongs to a family
connected with the Turton district for several centuries. (fn. 33a)
Knowles, baronet. Gules on a cheveron cotised between two crescents in chief and a crosslet in base argent three roses of the field.
TURTON TOWER stands
on high ground in a situation described by Camden as 'amongst precipices
and wastes,' about 4 miles north of Bolton. It is an
exceedingly interesting building, the oldest part of
which consists of a stone tower built square with the
compass, measuring externally 45 ft. in length from
north to south, and 28 ft. in width, with walls 4 ft.
thick. There is no architectural feature remaining
to determine the precise date of the original walls,
which are of a somewhat rough order with large
quoin stones; whether any part of the building is
earlier than the first part of the 15 th century is very
doubtful. The tower was altered and raised in the
16th century, when additions in stone and timber
were made on its eastern and northern sides, and a
range of buildings erected at right angles to it on the
north-east. The plan thus formed, which is still that
of the house, follows the lines of two sides of a court
inclosed by buildings on the north and west. These
later buildings were much altered in the first half of
the 19th century, when they assumed their present
appearance. The house therefore belongs to three
main periods: the tower proper to the Middle Ages,
the original north wing and additions to the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, the alteration and refacing of the
latter to the early years of Queen Victoria. The
whole forms a very picturesque group of buildings, the
stonework of the older part offering a strong but
agreeable contrast to the irregular wood and plaster
work set against it.
There is no trace of the building ever having been
of larger extent than at present, and the original
structure no doubt consisted simply of a single peel
tower with wooden buildings adjoining. The masonry
of the tower is in a very good state of preservation,
and at the north-east corner are the remains of a projecting vice perfect still at the top, but cut away in
recent times in the lower story. In the north-west
corner is still the shaft of a garderobe projecting from
the main structure, and there is a garderobe cut in the
thickness of the wall, probably at a later date. The
original tower would be about 35 ft. high, and consisted of three low stories, evidences of which still
remain in the old blocked window-openings which
can be seen from the outside—two on the ground
floor, one on the upper floor, and five on the original
top floor. These windows were of two lights on the
two lower stories, and of one light above. There are also
the remains of a window almost entirely destroyed on
the north side, near what is now the pantry door,
and further remains of another window above it, now
internal, proving that at this time there were no
buildings adjoining the tower proper on the north
side.
These buildings were added in the 16th century,
but whether they predated the rebuilding which
Camden states took place in 1596 is not certain.
Some of the older parts are stated to have been at
that date of lath and plaster, showing that some
additions must have been made to the stone tower
probably at the beginning of the 16th century, and it
is possible that the whole north wing may have been
erected at that time. What the lath and plaster
portions of the building prior to 1596 were like is
not known, but they probably indicate some kind of
addicion to the original structure before the more
extensive additions which more than doubled the area
of the plan. The north or kitchen wing is set at an
irregular angle with the tower, being swung slightly
to the south; it consisted originally of a two-storied
stone building with heavily timbered pitched roof,
with three detached chimneys in the centre and two
corbelled from the north wall, and so continued till
the alteration in the beginning of the last century.
The room immediately north of the tower proper,
which forms the junction between the original structure and the later wing, was no doubt built at the
same time, though it may have been of larger extent,
the north wall having been rebuilt in later times.
Whether there were any buildings in the position of
the present entrance and staircase on the east side of
the tower before 1596, or, if so, what was the nature
of them, cannot be stated, though it is probable
that some kind of more convenient entrance would
by this time have been found necessary. The
present entrance and entrance-hall would seem to
belong, however, to the rebuilding of 1596, though
externally altered since. In that year vast changes
were made in the building with a view of bringing its
comfort up to the more luxurious standard of the
times, and the tower proper then assumed practically
its present appearance. The old floors were taken
out, the stories raised so that two occupied nearly the
whole space of the former three, and a new story was
added, raising the height to 45 ft. to the top of the
battlements. The old narrow windows were done
away with or blocked up, and the present large three,
four, and five-light mullioned and transomed windows
with labels took their place, entirely altering the appearance of the old part of the building. The later
story is of ashlar masonry, and is separated from the
old rubble walling below by a moulded string-course,
and the battlements have a continuous moulding
round merlons and embrasures, with ornamental
finials at the angles.
The building, as it was left by the Orrells in 1628,
was substantially that which remained till the great
changes which took place under James Kay after 1835,
though it is probable that some alterations would be
made by Humphrey Chetham when he purchased the
property at the former date. (fn. 34) The present oak
staircase, with flat pierced balusters, and square newels
with balls, is most likely his work or that of his successor, replacing or modifying one erected not very
long before, but there is no record of the Chethams
having undertaken any building or alteration.
Some restoration, however, appears to have been
done in the interior in the 18th century, but not such
as materially affected the structure, and the arrangement of the top floor of the tower may belong
to this period, together with the roof, which does not
appear to be the original 16th-century one, the stone
corbels which carried the beams being now in most
instances unoccupied. From about 1809 to 1835
the building was occupied as a farm-house, as well as
being used as a corn-mill for a considerable time, (fn. 35)
and during this period it suffered a good deal (the
lower part of the stone staircase no doubt being
then cut away). It was in this condition when
James Kay purchased the property and determined to
restore it.
Illustrations of Turton Tower in the early years of
the 19th century, (fn. 36) before the alterations took place,
show three half-timbered gables on
the east side of the tower, the middle one over the entrance and
those on the south side of it being
pretty much as now, but the staircase gable is very much narrower
and of three stories, and there is
an open space between it and the
north wing, the low roof of the
morning-room thus showing from
the forecourt. Between 1835 and
1844 the staircase took its present
form, being widened northward
and recased in deal, and elaborate carving was introduced into
the barge-boards rather out of
keeping with the original more
solid and monumental work. The
whole of the north wing was at the
same time reconstructed, and the
west portion of it over the kitchen and offices raised a third
story, assuming its present aspect,
with a half-timbered gable at right
angles to the staircase gable, into
which it cuts rather awkwardly
in the north-west corner of the
forecourt. (fn. 37) The east end of the
wing containing the servants' hall
was refronted in stone, and two
large carved Jacobean gables introduced on the south and east sides,
with three large mullioned and
transomed windows in the principal front. In all this modern
work little regard was paid to the
preservation of the original appearance of the building, the old chimneys of the north wing were lost,
and the aspect of the house to the
forecourt entirely changed. With
the exception of a small portion
of timber in the gable over the
entrance, all the black and white
work is therefore modern. All
the barge-boards, which are elaborately carved and have finials and
pendants, are new, and the work,
if picturesque when seen at some
little distance, is rather poor in
quality, and presents few of
the characteristics of the original
structure. In this restoration also
the sills of the two large mullioned windows of the dining and
drawing rooms on the ground and
first floor of the tower were lowered,
and the ancient proportions of the
windows destroyed. In more recent years a
low one-story
building, now
a laundry, has
been erected on
the west side
of the tower.
Turton Tower: Plans of Three Floors
The plan, as will be gathered from the foregoing
description, follows no precedent; the original peel
tower, having been retained and altered to suit later
requirements, now contains the principal rooms of the
house, the dining-room occupying the ground floor,
and the drawing-room the floor above. The floor of
the dining-room is about 2 ft. below the present level
of the ground outside, and the room is entered from
a lobby on the south side of the hall by a descent of
three steps. It is 25 ft. long by 19 ft. in width, and
11 ft. 6 in. in height, and is lighted by a large fivelight window at the south end containing some good
Swiss 16th-century painted glass in its upper lights. The
walls are panelled their full height with 18th-century
panelling brought here from Middleton Hall, near
Manchester, on its demolition in 1845. The mantelpiece and ceiling are modern. Behind the panelling at
the south end of the room are two small original twolight windows facing east and west, probably blocked
up when the panelling was inserted, but retaining
their glass and showing from the outside. (fn. 38) There is
a blocked-up opening on the west wall. The diningroom does not extend the whole length of the tower,
a flagged passage 8 ft. wide being taken across the
north end at the level of the entrance hall, and
separated from the room by a thin modern wall.
From this passage steps go down to the cellar, and two
doors on the north side open respectively into what
was originally the bottom of the garderobe at the
north-west corner, and through the thickness of the
wall into a small room now called a pantry in the
space between the outside of the tower north wall
and the later morning-room, occasioned by the projection of the vice. The drawing-room occupies the
whole of the first floor, being 36 ft. in length, and in
addition to a five-light window on the south side has
three windows of two, three, and four lights respectively on the west side, all of 16th-century date.
The walls are panelled in oak to within 4 ft. of the
ceiling, which is an elaborate restored Elizabethan
one of plaster with panels and pendants. The oak
wainscot is old, but adapted to the room, and some
respect has been had for the old 15th-century window on the east side, which with its ancient shutters
can be examined by withdrawing one of the panels.
The fireplace and small vestibule in the north-east
corner are modern. The second floor of the tower is
divided into two rooms, one of which is used as a
billiard-room, and a passage; but the original arrangement is not clear, the division walls being modern,
and a fireplace in the present passage showing that
alterations have taken place. The upper part of the
single-light window of the original third story can
still be seen at the floor level behind modern shutters.
Access is now gained to the roof by means of a ladder
and trap-door in the upper part of the garderobe turret.
The roof is hipped from the angles, and covered, like
all the roofs to the house, with stone slates. The top
part of the vice is covered by a trap-door in the floor
of the upper story, ten steps being quite perfect.
The upper walls, which probably formed a turret, were
destroyed in the raising of the tower and not rebuilt,
the later battlements stopping short on each side, and
the roof of the tower being continued over.
On the ground floor a passage runs north from the
entrance-hall to the morning-room and kitchen wing.
On the right is the staircase 10 ft. square, built within
walls with an open well, and a door opposite opening
into the bottom of the vice. Beyond the stairs is a
modern pantry filling up the irregular space between
the old narrow staircase gable and the north wing.
The morning-room is panelled all round with wainscot, for the most part old, but made up with grained
and varnished deal, and adapted to the walls. The
mantelpiece is entirely so made up, and the shields
have no antiquity. The room is lit on the north side
by a new three-light window, and there is a small
original window on the west side to the north of the
fireplace. On the other side, in the thickness of the
chimney, is a deep recess. Great changes seem to
have taken place in this room, the north wall apparently being later than the rest, and perhaps not in
its original position, while on the floor above it is
entirely modern. The room over, known as the
Tapestry Room, or sometimes Humphrey Chetham's
room, is of the same dimensions, the walls being
covered with original tapestry. This portion of the
house being only of two stories, with the higher threestory buildings on two sides of it, is very much dwarfed
in elevation, and this has necessitated the carrying
up of the chimney-shaft to a great height (30 ft.)
above the eaves of the gabled roof. The north wing
contains the kitchen in the centre, with scullery and
larder opening from it to the west, and the servants'
hall at the east end, approached by a corridor along
the south side, and from the outside by a one-story
stone porch, apparently of 16th-century date, at the
end. Old drawings, however, show the porch to have
been two-storied at the beginning of the 19th century,
and it is probable that in the rebuilding of 1835–44
it was pulled down and the present one erected from
the old materials. The lower portion of the north
elevation of the kitchen wing is little altered, preserving its original low mullioned windows, though the
grotesque label terminations are modern. The new
upper story, however, is of half-timber work like that
in the front, and the gables facing west are slate
hung. On the first floor of this wing great changes
have taken place, the relative level of the rooms and
passages has been falsified, and blind windows introduced, glazed on the outside. The house still contains
some of the original 17th-century furniture, but the
greater part was sold in 1890, and a bed belonging to
Humphrey Chetham is now in the South Kensington
Museum. A bell which used to hang on the exterior
of the north-west corner of the tower was taken
down in 1879, and is now at Westwood, Pendlebury.
It bears the arms of Orrell with the initials W O N, R O,
and the date 1587. The initials are clearly those of
members of the Orrell family: William Orrell and
his wife, and perhaps Richard Orrell.
At a short distance from the house to the east, on a
prominence called Dove Hill, is a 17th-century watch
tower or summer house of good design, 13 ft. by
13 ft. 8 in. square outside, with four stone gables with
ornamental ball finials and central weather-vane, and
to the south-east is a fine 17th-century barn with
stone-slated roof.
Birtenshaw at one time gave a name to the family which occupied it, (fn. 39) but Walmsley and Eger
ton (fn. 40) probably received theirs from their former
owners. The Wood family was long resident in the
township; pedigrees were recorded in 1613 and
1665. (fn. 41) Another family, named Green, also appear
among the freeholders in the 16th century. (fn. 42) Several
of the landowners of the district had small estates in
Turton. (fn. 43) Birchwood gave a name to its ancient
owners. (fn. 44) The names of John Horrocks (fn. 45) and John
Yate (fn. 46) occur in the inquisitions. (fn. 47)
The freeholders in 1600 were William Orrell,
Ralph Green, Richard Wood, and — Walmsley. (fn. 48)
The returns of 1788 show that the lands of Mordecai
Greene paid more than half the tax; the other estates
were small, those of John Orrell and the Rev. Thomas
Rothwell being the most considerable. (fn. 49)
The court leet records begin in 1737; the last
court is said to have been held in 1850. (fn. 50)
Church
There are two ancient chapels in the
township, one at Turton itself, close to
the eastern boundary, and the other at
Walmsley, on the western border, to the north of
the modern hamlet of Egerton. The free chapel of
Turton was in 1523–4 in the gift of Ralph Orrell,
and James Anderton was then incumbent. (fn. 51) The
ornaments remaining in 1552 were claimed by John
Orrell as heirlooms. (fn. 52) Arthur Pilkington was the
priest in charge in 1542, 1548, and 1554; he was
also there in 1563 and 1565, but was then 'decrepit'
or 'sick,' (fn. 53) so that it is uncertain to what extent the
chapel remained in use for a time; about 1610, however, it was ' well supplied with the ministry.' (fn. 54)
Humphrey Chetham, on acquiring the manor, rebuilt
the chapel in 1630, and bequeathed money for a
small library; the books, chained to the shelves, are
still there. (fn. 55) There was no endowment in 1650
beyond the interest on 20s. (fn. 56) Bishop Gastrell found
an endowment of £4 14s. in existence, and a grant
from Queen Anne's Bounty was secured in 1717.
Mr. Chetham and his tenants gave about £30 a year.
There was a chapel warden. The townships of Turton,
Longworth, Edgeworth, Entwisle, and Quarlton were
included in the chapelry. (fn. 57) Humphrey Chetham in
1746 left £1,000 for the chapel and school. (fn. 58) In
consideration of their various benefactions the Chetham family obtained the patronage, and it has
descended to Mr. Henry Seymour Hoare, as heir of
Angelina Frances, one of the daughters and co-heirs
of James Greene. (fn. 59) The net annual value of the
benefice is £260. The church was rebuilt in 1779,
and again in 1841. (fn. 60) The ecclesiastical parish was
formed in 1837.
The following have been curates or vicars:— (fn. 61)
|
| oc. 1596 | Gilbert Astley (fn. 62) |
| 1628 | Richard Denton, B.A. |
| oc. 1647 | James Rigby (fn. 64) |
| 1648 | Michael Briscoe (fn. 65) |
| 1650 | James Livesey (fn. 66) |
| 1652 | [Timothy] Smith (fn. 67) |
| oc. 1671 | Richard Atherton (fn. 68) |
| oc. 1677 | William Richardson (fn. 69) |
| — | James Chetham |
| 1705 | John Boardman (Brasenose Coll. Oxf.) (fn. 70) |
| oc. 1716 | Henry Lawson, B.A. (fn. 71) (St. John's Coll. Camb.) |
| 1732 | Samuel Stead, B.A. (Brasenose Coll. Oxf.) |
| 1734 | Robert Hargreaves, B.A. |
| 1742 | William Sunderland (fn. 72) |
| 1761 | Amos Ogden, (fn. 73) LL.B. (Catherine Hall, Camb.) |
| 1815 | James Spencer (fn. 74) |
| 1859 | James Ogden King Spencer (fn. 75) |
| 1879 | John William Spencer, (fn. 76) M.A. (St. John's Coll. Camb.) |
| 1900 | James Odell Coleman (fn. 77) |
| 1904 | James Platt, M.A. (Dur.) |
Walmsley Chapel existed in 1532; (fn. 78) it had a bell
and a few 'ornaments' in 1552. (fn. 79) Its fate for a
century after the Reformation is unknown, (fn. 80) but in
the time of the Commonwealth it was in use, being
apparently worked with Turton, but having some
separate endowments. (fn. 81) In 1717 there were no services held beyond prayers and two sermons on one
Sunday each month. (fn. 82) The church was rebuilt nearly
a mile to the south of the old site in 1839; it is
called Christ Church. The ecclesiastical parish was
formed in 1844. (fn. 83) The vicar of Bolton presents the
incumbent. The benefice is worth £350 a year.
The following have been curates or vicars:—
|
| 1738 | Thomas Whitehead, M.A. (fn. 84) |
| 1748 | John Chisnall, M.A. (fn. 85) (St. John's Coll. Camb.) |
| 1756 | James Folds (fn. 86) |
| 1820 | Lowther Grisdale (fn. 87) |
| 1848 | John Richardson |
| 1860 | Ralph Calvert Williams Croft, (fn. 88) B.A. (T.C.D.) |
| 1877 | John Stott |
| 1894 | Walter Chetwynd Atkinson, M.A. (Keble Coll. Oxf.) |
There is a mission church at Toppings, opened in
1897, and services are also held in the school at
Eagley Bridge.
Schools at Turton and Walmsley existed in 1718. (fn. 89)
The Wesleyan Methodists have chapels at Turton,
Egerton, and Toppings or Birtenshaw. (fn. 90) There are
Congregational chapels also at Turton and Egerton. (fn. 91)
At the latter village the old Nonconformist chapel,
dating from 1713, is in the possession of the Unitarians. (fn. 92)
The Roman Catholic Church of St. Aldhelm at
Turton was opened in 1903.