Townships: Tottington

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1911.

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'Townships: Tottington', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5, (London, 1911) pp. 143-150. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp143-150 [accessed 17 March 2024]

In this section

TOTTINGTON LOWER END

Totinton, 1212; Totington, 1233.

Tottington originally comprised all the northern part of the parish of Bury. Shuttleworth, as above, became incorporated with Walmersley through being given to the lord of Bury; Musbury and Cowpe Lench were placed in the hundred of Blackburn, and in the 17th or 18th century what remained of Tottington was divided into two parts—the Lower End and the Higher End, south and north respectively.

The Lower End contains the village of Tottington, with the hamlets of Woolfold, Bolholt, and Walshaw in the south; Affetside and Hawkshaw in the west; Green Mount, Holcombe Brook, Redisher, Hazelhurst, and Holcombe in the centre, and Brooksbottom, Nuttall, Nuttall Lane, and Ramsbottom (with Tanners and Carr to its west) in the north-east, along the Irwell, which there in general forms the boundary. The north is occupied by the flat-topped Harkles Hill; which rises steeply on three sides, the summit being 1,216 ft. high. To the north-west is Scholes Height, 1,350 ft. Magnificent views maybe obtained in clear weather over the surrounding country; Snowdon may sometimes be seen. On the south side of Holcombe Brook the surface again rises to the south-west, a height of 890 ft. being attained at Affetside on the border. The township has an area of 5,270½ acres. (fn. 1) The population of the present township of Tottington was 6,118 in 1901.

The principal road is that from Bury to Blackburn, passing through the village of Tottington. Along the south-west border runs another road, called Watling Street, (fn. 2) which meets the former within the township of Bradshaw, at a point from which a third road runs eastward through Hawkshaw to Holcombe Brook and then north-east and north to Ramsbottom and Haslingden. At Holcombe Brook it is joined by roads from the south. There are several bridges over the Irwell for roads into Walmersley and Shuttleworth. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's railway from Bury to Accrington runs along the eastern side of the township, crossing the Irwell several times, and having a station at Ramsbottom. A branch from Bury has stations at Woolfold, Tottington, Green Mount, and Holcombe Brook, which is the terminus.

At Holcombe are the remains of a bloomery, probably of the Tudor period. (fn. 3)

There is a local tradition that men slain in battle were buried at Holcombe, and weapons have been found there. (fn. 4)

On the hill above Holcombe is a lofty tower, erected in 1852 as a monument to Sir Robert Peel.

In 1666 there were as many as 178 hearths liable to the tax; the dwellings were small, (fn. 5) Thomas Nuttail's, with five hearths, being the largest.

James Wood, master of St. John's College, Cambridge, 1805 to 1839, and Dean of Ely, was born at Birchhey, Tottington. (fn. 6)

In 1831 an annual fair was said to be held on 12 October. (fn. 7)

Within the last century a manufacturing town has grown up at RAMSBOTTOM, (fn. 8) between the road from Bury to Haslingden, there called Bolton Street, and the River Irwell, with suburbs stretching south to Hazelhurst and north to Stubbins. The principal cross street is Bridge Street, leading from the bridge across the Irwell past the railway station to Bolton Street, and then to Carr and Tanners. The brothers William and Daniel Grant, whose story is told by Dr. Smiles in Self Help, were intimately associated with the rise of the town. (fn. 9) They were the originals of the Cheeryble Brothers. (fn. 10) There are here iron and brass foundries, machine-making works, and great cotton manufacturing and printing works. A local board of twelve members was established in 1864; (fn. 11) the area was enlarged in 1883, and now includes parts of Tottington Higher and Lower, Elton, Shuttleworth, and Walmersley. (fn. 12) The old township boundaries were finally obliterated in 1894, when the local board became an urban district council. The area is divided into four wards—Central, North, East, and West—each returning three members to the council. Water is supplied from the Bury Waterworks, and gas by a company. The Aitken Cottage Hospital, presented by Mrs. Aitken of Holcombe, was opened in 1900. The cemetery at Hazelhurst is under the management of a burial board. The Ramsbottom Observer is published every Friday. The population numbered 15,920 in 1901.

Parts of Tottington Lower End having been taken into Ramsbottom and Bury, the remainder has been constituted a township or civil parish, called Tottington simply. (fn. 13)

The fair at Tottington is held on the third Friday in August; those at Ramsbottom on 27 April and the Monday after 27 August. The wakes at the latter place begin on the second Saturday in August.

TOTTINGTON HIGHER END

The northern part of the old township stretches along the border of the hundred for over 4 miles. It is divided by the Irwell. On the west side of the river the ground rises quickly to Bull Hill on the west, 1,372 ft., from which fine views may be obtained; the valley on the northern slope of this hill was called Alden. Alden Brook is the boundary of the township and hundred. The hamlets of Stubbins and Lumb lie near the Irwell, with Red Lees and Buckden to the west. On the east side the ground also rises, though not so rapidly, the northern border of the township and hundred being formed by the crest of a hill, which on the boundary of Rochdale attains a height of 1,550 ft., being there known as Hailstorm Hill. The high lands are occupied by Dearden and Tottington Moors. On the western slope of this eminence is the village of Edenfield, with Newhall to the east, Chatterton to the west, Hardsough and Crow Woods to the north-west, and Balladen and Horncliffe to the north. The area of this part of the township is 3,545 acres.

The principal roads are those leading from Bury to Haslingden, on the west of the Irwell, and to Rawtenstall on the east side. The latter is joined at Edenfield by roads from Ramsbottom and from Rochdale. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's railway from Bury to Accrington runs north through the township, and has a station at Stubbins; here the Bacup branch separates, and it has a station called Ewood Bridge and Edenfield, at Ashen Bottom, on the northern boundary.

On Holcombe Moor, beside a footpath running south along the hillside, stood the base of Whowell Cross, or the Pilgrim's Cross, until 1901, when it was wilfully destroyed. A memorial stone has been placed on the spot. (fn. 14) 'Robin Hood's Well' is a mile to the north. (fn. 15) On Bull Hill are remains of an early neolithic floor. (fn. 16)

The hearths liable to the tax in 1666 numbered seventy-four; the only large house was Robert Holt's, New Hall, with ten hearths. (fn. 17)

Tottington Higher End has now ceased to exist as a township, having been divided between Ramsbottom, Rawtenstall, and Haslingden. (fn. 18)

Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Duke of Buccleuch. Or on a bend azure a mullet of six points between two crescents of the field.

Manor

The manor or fee of TOTTINGTON was held by the Montbegon and Lacy families, and passed to the Crown in the manner described in the account of the Clitheroe barony. (fn. 19) The Duke of Buccleuch is the present lord of the manor. The service due from the whole fee seems to have been performed by the dependent manors of Bury, Middleton, and Chadderton, so that Tottington proper, including perhaps Shuttleworth, was free. In 1324, however, it was stated that the lords had been accustomed to pay 18d. to a service called Grayngall, (fn. 20) and in 1348 a payment of 16d. was made. (fn. 21) The service due from Tottington was about the same time called the fifth part of a knight's fee. (fn. 22)

Monk Bretton Priory. Sable in chief two covered cups, in base a cross for my argent.

It appears to have been regarded as a free chase. (fn. 23) A grant of gallows was obtained by Henry de Lacy from Henry III. (fn. 24) Four oxgangs were granted by Adam de Montbegon to Ailward de Bury in free marriage with Alice daughter of the grantor. (fn. 25) A moiety of Shuttleworth was given to the Bury family, and some other grants were made; Cowpe, Lench, and Musbury were placed within the forest of Rossendale, and Holcombe was given to the monks of Monk Bretton, near Pontefract. (fn. 26) In the time of Richard III Holcombe had been annexed to the duchy of Lancaster, but the monks' claim seems to have been admitted, and they received the advowson of Darton as compensation. (fn. 27) The monks' lands were granted out at a rent of 13s. 4d. a year, (fn. 28) and after the Dissolution were in 1546 granted to John Braddyll of Whalley. (fn. 29)

The Compoti of 1296 and 1305 (fn. 30) and the inquisition of 1311 (fn. 31) give particulars of the receipts. There was a capital messuage; 100 acres of land were demised to tenants at will, as also were the eight oxgangs; the courts, water-mill, pasture, and Musbury Park also produced an income. (fn. 32) The free tenants seem to have been Henry de Bury for half the manor of Shuttleworth, (fn. 33) Richard de Radcliffe, (fn. 34) Robert de Bradshaw, (fn. 35) and Roger de Chadderton for Shillingbottom. (fn. 36) The court rolls of 1323 and 1324 contain many interesting particulars. (fn. 37)

The principal local families were the Nuttalls, (fn. 38) Rawstornes, (fn. 39) Ramsbottoms, (fn. 40) and Booths (fn. 41); but of these and others (fn. 42) only meagre accounts can be given. The Greenhalghs of Brandlesholme were hereditary bailiffs of the manor, (fn. 43) and one branch of them settled here. (fn. 44)

Nuttall. Argent a shack-bolt sable.

Rawstorne. Per pale azure and gules a castle triple-towered or.

Numerous disputes are on record concerning the wastes and commons. (fn. 45) In 1618 the tenants agreed to pay a composition of £1,420, and arrearages of £264 for a confirmation of their title as copyholders, but this was not fully carried out until 1669. (fn. 46)

The land tax returns show that the principal proprietors in Tottington Higher End in 1796 were the Rev. Mr. Formby and Lawrence Rawstorne; and in Lower End in 1797 William Lomax and Thomas Barcroft. (fn. 47)

Churches

Ancient chapels exist at Holcombe (fn. 48) and Edenfield. At HOLCOMBE there remained in 1552 two sets of vestments, some bells, and other 'ornaments.' (fn. 49) After this time Holcombe Chapel probably continued to be 'maintained by the inhabitants,' (fn. 50) there being no endowment, and in 1634 it had a curate of its own. (fn. 51) The steward of the king's courts for Tottington held the courts in this chapel in 1633; on finding the building locked against him he fined the wardens £40. The commissioners of 1650 found it vacant 'for want of maintenance,' and recommended that it be made a parish church. (fn. 52) From the Restoration to the beginning of last century this chapel and Edenfield appear to have been served by the same curate. (fn. 53) It was enlarged in 1714 and again in 1774, and rebuilt in 1853; it is now called Emmanuel Church. (fn. 54) A separate district was assigned to it in 1863. (fn. 55) The rector of Bury is patron.

The following have been curates and rectors:— (fn. 56)

oc. 1609 Thomas Scholefield (fn. 57)
oc. 1615 William Rathbone
oc. 1620, 1624 John Blagge (or Bragge) (fn. 58)
oc. 1634–41 Edmond Brooks (fn. 59)
oc. 1645 John Pollitt (fn. 60)
oc. 1645 Nicholas Cudworth (fn. 61)
oc. 1647–48 Robert Gilbody (fn. 62)
1652 Henry Pendlebury, M.A. (fn. 63) (Christ's Coll. Camb.)
oc. 1667–91 John Warburton, M.A. (fn. 64)
oc. 1696 William Richardson
oc. 1705 James Murray
oc. 1712 Richard Slater
oc. 1717 C. Barrett (fn. 65)
1722 Thomas Ryder (fn. 66)
1725 John Boardman
1738 John Lowe, B.A.
1757 William Harrison
1760 Richard Thickstone
1764 John Smith (fn. 67)
1810 William Holt, (fn. 68) M.A. (Brasenose Coll. Oxf.)
1849 George Nightingale, (fn. 69) M.A. (St. Cath. Coll. Camb.)
1875 Henry Dowsett (fn. 70)
1905 George Lawson Merchant, M.A. (Worcester Coll. Oxf.)

There was a chapel at EDENFIELD (fn. 71) as early as 1541; (fn. 72) this was perhaps the building described in 1546 as built by the tenants upon a piece of the king's waste, in which their chaplain celebrated daily for the souls of all the faithful departed. (fn. 73) An inquiry was made about it in 1552, (fn. 74) and it appears to have been sold to William Kenyon, who next year was in possession. (fn. 75) Possibly it was recovered or a new one was built, for the tradition in Bishop Gastrell's time was that the then-existing chapel had been consecrated in the time of Elizabeth. (fn. 76) In the next century it, like Holcombe, was kept up by the inhabitants, without endowment. (fn. 77) In 1634 it had a separate curate, (fn. 78) but was vacant in 1650, (fn. 79) and was usually served by the curate of Holcombe (fn. 80) down to the beginning of last century; down to 1733 service was held there once a month only, but afterwards on alternate Sundays. (fn. 81) It was rebuilt in 1778. No dedication is known. A separate district was assigned to it in 1865. (fn. 82) The rector of Bury is patron.

The curates and vicars since Edenfield became separate from Holcombe have been:—

1842 Matthew Wilson (fn. 83)
1870 James Pearse Yeo (fn. 84)
1902 Alfred Dinley Studdy Studdy, B.A. (Lond.)

In recent times the following have been erected for the worship of the Established Church:—St. Anne's, Tottington, in 1799—patron, the rector of Bury; (fn. 85) St. Paul's, Ramsbottom, 1850, rebuilt 1864 (fn. 86) —patron, the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester, alternately; and St. Andrew's, in the same town, 1875—patron, Sir John Grant Lawson; (fn. 87) St. Mary's, Hawkshaw Lane, 1892—patron, the Bishop of Manchester.

St. John's Free Church of England, Tottington, was built in 1867–8.

The Wesleyans have a church at Tottington built in 1820 and rebuilt in 1904; others at Walshaw, at Hawkshaw Lane, at Ramsbottom, built in 1873, and at Edenfield, built in 1832 and rebuilt in 1879. The Primitive Methodists have churches at Ramsbottom and Edenfield, built in 1889 and 1881 respectively. The United Methodist Church is represented at Ramsbottom, Holcombe Brook, and Hawkshaw Lane.

The Baptists have a church at Ramsbottom, built in 1851; the Particular Baptists also have one there.

Protestant Nonconformity since 1662 is represented by the chapel at Dundee. Henry Pendlebury, on being expelled from Holcombe, continued to minister in the district, principally at Bast House, on the other side of the Irwell. His successor, Edward Rothwell of Tunley, moved to Holcombe, and in 1712 there built a chapel within a stone's throw of the old chapel. Another chapel, still in use, was built nearer Ramsbottom. The English Presbyterians and Independents continued to occupy it until 1813, when it was acquired by the Scottish Presbyterians, who still retain it. (fn. 88) In 1832 a new church, St. Andrew's, now belonging to the English Establishment, was built for the congregation, but closed to them in 1869; they returned to the old chapel for a time, but in 1873 the new church of St. Andrew was built for them; it is connected with the Presbyterian Church of England. (fn. 89)

The Congregationalists, who thus lost Dundee Chapel, have a new church there and one at Stubbins, built in 1866–7; also one at Green Mount, with a lofty tower and spire, built in 1866. The lastnamed has a mission chapel at Affetside. (fn. 90)

The Swedenborgians erected a church at Ramsbottom in 1831; this was replaced by another in 1876.

The Roman Catholic Church of St. Joseph, Ramsbottom, was built in 1879, replacing one opened in 1862; the chapel of the Home for Orphans at Tottington is also available for the public.

Footnotes

  • 1. According to the Census Rep. 1901, the present townships of Tottington and Ramsbottom contain respectively 2,543 and 6,424 acres, with 26 and 76 acres of inland water.
  • 2. An 'agger' is visible.
  • 3. Trans. Hist. Soc. xxiv, 60; the place is called Cinder Hill.
  • 4. Rev. H. Dowsett, Notes on Holcombe, 55.
  • 5. Subsidy R. bdle. 250, no. 9. Lancs.
  • 6. He was born in 1760, his father being a weaver, who also had a small school. James was educated by him and then at Bury school; afterwards he went up to St. John's College, Cambridge, as a Kay exhibitioner and sizar. He was the typical 'poor scholar,' came out senior wrangler, was elected fellow, and ultimately master of the college. He became Dean of Ely in 1820, and rector of Freshwater in 1823, holding these preferments with the mastership. He wrote a treatise on Algebra and many other mathematical works. He was a great benefactor to the college, both in money and books, and it may be mentioned that he augmented the Kay exhibitions; Baker, Hist. of St. John's College (ed. Mayor), ii, 1094–1104; Dict. Nat. Biog. There is a memorial tablet in Holcombe Church.
  • 7. Lewis's Gazetteer.
  • 8. Rommesbothum, 1292. The story of the town is told in Barton, Bury, 208–21. The writer states that the Radical and Chartist movement took strong hold of Ramsbottom. In 1826, a time of bad trade, an attempt was made to destroy the power looms at Chatterton; and 'plug drawing' took place at a later time.
  • 9. The Grants, father and mother, with four sons and two daughters— William, John, Daniel, Charles, Elizabeth, and Isabella—settled in Bury, where they worked in the mills, travelled as chapmen, opened a shop, &c. They prospered, and according to the Dir. of 1825 William Grant & Brothers then had factories at Nuttall and Ramsbottom, and John Grant was living at Nuttall Hall. William Grant, the chief partner, born in 1769, died at Springside, near Bury, in 1842. Daniel and John Grant died in 1855. William Grant, the last of the male line, nephew of the preceding William, died 30 May 1873 at Grange. The estates have come to Sir John Grant Lawson, a grandson, by his mother Isabella, of John Grant of Nuttall; Burke, Landed Gentry, Lawson of Aldborough.
  • 10. a See W. Hume Elliot, Country and Church of the Cheeryble Brothers, and Story of the Cheeryble Grants.
  • 11. Lond. Gaz. 18 Mar. 1864.
  • 12. 46 & 47 Vict. cap. 225.
  • 13. This change took place in 1894, when the township was also extended to include a part of Elton; Local Govt. Bd. Orders 31671 and 32291.
  • 14. For a full account, with illustration, see Rev. H. Dowsett, Notes on Holcombe, 21–35,119–32, 139–42; and the same writer's Holcombe Long Ago, 109, &c. See ibid. 68, for an account of the pile of stones known as 'Ellen Strange.' See also Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xxii, 151.
  • 15. Dowsett, op. cit. 75.
  • 16. Lancs, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. iv, 304; also Notes on Holcombe, 17.
  • 17. Subs. R. bdle. 250, no. 9, Lancs.
  • 18. The final change took place in 1894 by Local Govt. Bd. Orders 31671 and 32291.
  • 19. V.C.H. Lancs. i, 312, 319. Dower in Tottington was claimed in 1233 by Olive, widow of Roger de Montbegon; Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 145. In 1235 the lordship was sold to John de Lacy by Henry de Monewdon; Duchy of Lanc. Great Coucher, i, 63. Tottington occurs in the extent of the lands of John de Lacy in 1241–2; it was worth £7 1s. 5d.; Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 157. The manor had been granted to William de la Mare, who in 1274 exchanged it with Henry de Lacy for Longton in Leyland; Final Conc. i, 152.
  • 20. Dods. MSS. cxxxi, fol. 37.
  • 21. Sheriff's Compotus, 22 Edw. III.
  • 22. Feud. Aids, iii, 87. A similar statement was made in 1431; ibid, iii, 96.
  • 23. Whitaker, Whalley (ed. Nicholls), i, 323. In 1313 it was described as one of the free chases of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster; Cal. Pat. 1313–17, p. 65. In 1327 Tottington was granted to Queen Isabel, and a number of trespasses on the chase were reported; ibid. 1327–30, pp. 69, 284; 1343–5, P. 417, &c.
  • 24. Whitaker, Whalley, i, 326, quoting 'Towneley MSS.'
  • 25. Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 61. William de Peniston held the land in 1212 with Cecily daughter of Alice. In 1278 Helewise widow of Adam de Peniston was nonsuited in her claim against Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, and Gilbert de Clifton respecting a tenement in Tottington; Assize R. 1268, m. 13. Afterwards, in 1292, William Helewise, son of Adam de Peniston, sought to recover the 4 oxgangs which Henry de Lacy had taken into his hands, but failed, the jury saying that he was born out of wedlock; ibid. 408, m. 56. A grant by Henry de Montbegon to Robert son of Uriel de Tottington is in Towneley MS. DD, no. 852.
  • 26. Roger de Montbegon, who died in 1226, granted to Monk Bretton all his forest called Holcombe. The bounds mention Longshaw Head, Alden Head, Harcles How, Pilgrim's Cross Shaw, Tittleshaw (Titeles How), the Robbers' Path, Salter Bridge, and the road by Oskeley. He reserved hunting and falcons. Pasture was allowed within bounds from Caldwell Head and Syke to the Irwell, by this river to Tittleshaw Brook, and up this brook to the road. Three acres of meadow under Harcles How were also granted. The whole was given in free alms for the souls of the donor and his wife, parents, brother John Malherbe, and others; Whitaker, Whalley, i, 324. This charter is perhaps an extension or correction of two others (ibid, i, 325), which profess to give the whole of Holcombe and pasture rights; but the boundaries do not agree. See also Dugdale, Mon. v, 138. The monks appear to have lost their land soon afterwards, but in 1304–5 occurs a loss of rent of 5s. 9½d. from land which had been restored to them; De Lacy Compoti (Chet. Soc.), 114. In 1346 the Prior of Monk Bretton claimed against Queen Isabel 1,500 acres of pasture and 1,500 acres of wood in Tottington, of which Henry de Lacy had disseised his predecessor, William de Rihale, prior in the time of Edward I; De Banco R. 348, m. 218.
  • 27. Whitaker, Whalley, i, 325; the date is 8 Feb. 1483–4. Also Cal. Pat. 1476–85, p. 388.
  • 28. Dugdale, Mon. v, 141.
  • 29. Pat. 38 Hen. VIII, pt. ix.
  • 30. Chet. Soc. Publ. cxii.
  • 31. Ibid. lxxiv. In 1295–6 the rent of Tottington was £13 12s. 6½d.; the rents of free tenants came to 4s. 11½d.; fines of lands, court fees, &c., brought in £4 14s.; the mill, 26s.; and stallage, herbage, pannage, &c., £7 19s. 1d. The total given—£27 17s. 8d. —is a little in excess of the details; Compoti, 5. In 1304–5, excluding the £4 10s. scutage for the army of Scotland, the profits amounted to £38 1s. 6½d.; most of the items showed an increase, allowance being made for the park newly formed at Musbury. A new approvement of 60¾ acres of land yielded 20s. 3d. for the first year; ibid. 100–1.
  • 32. De Lacy Inq. 19; Whitaker, Wballey, i, 326, 327. The total estimated net value was only £6 6s. 3½d., against gross receipts of £38 in 1304–5. In 1399–1400 the bailiwick of Tottington produced 47s. 7d. and the manor £33 19s. 9d.; Farrer, Clitberoe Ct. R. 489. In 1505 the mills were leased to Sir John Booth for twenty-one years; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Books, xxi, A/59 d.
  • 33. See the account of Shuttleworth.
  • 34. The Radcliffes of Radcliffe continued to hold this land till the beginning of the 16th century. Richard son of Robert de Radcliffe in 1292 claimed 80 acres of pasture in Tottington against Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, but withdrew; Assize R. 408, m. 57. In 1295 Richard de Radcliffe held 20 acres by the earl's charter at a rent of 3s., and he paid 10d. for 2½ acres, inclosed with the preceding land, but held at will; Compoti, 5. The court roll of September 1513 shows that John Radcliffe had recently died, holding Holehouse and lands in Tottington; his nephew John was his heir. The roll of September 1517 states that John Radcliffe had held Holehouse, and 25 acres, with common rights in Alden; he left a widow Mary, and his heirs were his four sisters.
  • 35. In 1311 Robert de Bradshagh held a pasture freely by the service of 12d. a year; De Lacy Inq. 19. The court rolls for 1508, 1543, and 1551 show that this estate was an acre at Affetside.
  • 36. Geoffrey de Chadderton for Shillingbottom in 1295–6 gave 1½d. in lieu of a pound of cummin, and the same in 1304–5; Compoti, 5, 177. In 1311 Roger de Chadderton held 12 acres on the same terms; De Lacy Inq. 19. Roger de Chadderton in 1325 had licence to enfeoff Roger son of Roger de Chadderton of a messuage, &c., in Tottington; Cal. Pat. 1324–7, p. 182. From the court roll of 1528 it appears that William Chadderton had held the Peel in Tottington; Edmund was his son and heir. In 1550 Edmund was dead, and George his son and heir succeeded to the Peel and lands in Tottington and Edenfield; while in June 1551 George Chadderton of Nuthurst sold Shillingbottom to Thurstan Hamer. Thurstan Hamer had land in Buckden in 1547. The estate was in 1849 the property of Robert Nuttall of Kempsey; Raines MSS. xxxi, fol. 333, &c.
  • 37. Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches. xli, 6–15. Fines were paid, for instance, for licence to brew, for selling bad ale, for multure carried away, for a sparrow-hawk taken in the forest, and for 'Haymald ' of a colt. There are numerous later court rolls from 1507 onwards, some preserved at Clitheroe Castle and some at the Public Record Office. The courts were held at Holcombe twice or thrice a year, usually in June and October, both for the manor and fee of Tottington. The judges, who were the lords of the manors, were required to attend from Bury, Middleton, Alkrington, and Chadderton; also two constables from each of these townships. The officers of the manor or 'greaveship' of Tottington were the greave, appraisers, supervisors of bread and ale, byrlaw men, affeerers of the court, and sometimes fence-lookers, and moor and moss-lookers, appointed annually. The usual business of such courts was done. The common pastures of Duerdcn, Affetside, Wykeside, and Hawkshaw were regulated, highways kept in order, and complaints heard about mills, folds, &c. In 1516 it was stated that the court had not been held from three weeks to three weeks because there was no court-house. There was then no pinfold. The tenants had been summoned to the wapentake court at Salford, to which they did not owe suit. The miller of Coldwall mill in 1560 had not kept the 'mill fleam' 1½ ft. deep and 3 ft. wide. Stocks for the punishment of malefactors were asked for in 1525. One woman and her daughter were reported in 1530 for absenting themselves from divine service on feast days and other days all the year round. Forbidden games received notice; Edmund Lomax of Crossclough and another were in 1522 common players at cards, &c., in time of divine service, at mass on feast days; and in 1545 bowling alleys were suppressed at Holcombe and Edenfield. Common regrators and forestallers were punished. Edmund Greenhalgh was in 1520 fined for levying a toll on people going through to the markets in a place called Shuttleworth in Tottington. Several were fined for obtaining turf, stone, and slate stones without licence, or for obtaining them and selling to persons outside the manor. Ministers' accounts for Clitheroe in 1341–2 give particulars of Tottington, with its two mills and chase, and mention the keeper of Musbury; Mins. Accts. bdle. 1091, no. 6.
  • 38. The family took its name from Nuttall, originally Nuthough or Nuthaw, on the bank of the Irwell. Roger de Noteho was a defendant in a Bury mill case in 1256; Final Conc. i, 120; and Richard son of Thomas de Notehoh had a grant of land; Towneley MS. DD, no. 864. Richard de Notehogh in 1332 contributed to the subsidy in Bury; Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 33. James Bury in 1479 complained that some of his cattle at Gooden and Woodroad had been taken by Henry and Geoffrey Nuttall of Bury, Charles Nuttall of Tottington, and others; Pal. of Lanc. Writs Proton. file 19 Edw. IV, b. There were two branches of the family established in Tottington—Nuttall of Nuttall, and Nuttall of Tottington Hall. Of the former family was Richard de Nuttall, who in 1408 leased to his son William all that land called Nuttall (Nothogh) in Tottington, with the buildings thereon, lately leased to Henry de Nuttall; Ormerod, Parentalia, 40. Henry son of a later Richard Nuttall of Nuttall in 1491 acquired Gollinrod in Walmersley; ibid. 41. From the court rolls it appears that Richard Nuttall died in 1510 holding four messuages, 120 acres of land, &c., Charles being his son and heir. In October 1537 Charles Nuttall made a settlement of his lands in Little Holcombe; and in 1549 he made a further settlement, Richard his son and heir, being a party. In 1561 Richard Nuttall, whose heir was his son Charles, made a lease of certain land. Charles Nuttall, gentleman, was buried 8 Mar. 1604–5; Charles Nuttall of Holcombe, 1 Aug. 1613; and Richard Nuttall of Nuttall, 20 Jan. 1616–17; Bury Reg. Charles Nuttall of Nuttall was a freeholder in 1600, and another Charles contributed to the subsidy in 1622; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 248, 162. He was living in 1624, and Blome names the family in his list of Lancashire gentry in 1673; Ormerod, op. cit. 41. 'The estate passed from this family, probably by marriage, to Miles Lonsdale, of Field House, Esq., about the year 1698, and was conveyed by his descendant and representative, Ann, only child of Henry Lonsdale, Esq., about 1790, in marriage to the Rev. Richard Formby of Formby, LL.B., by whom it was sold to Mr. Grant'; Raines, in Notitia Cestr. ii, 30, 32. Of the Tottington Hall family was Ralph Nuttall, who according to the court rolls died in 1530 holding two messuages, 6 oxgangs of land, and a third part of 64 acres called Roodland in Tottington, with common of pasture in Alden; also a messuage, &c., in Deardenfield. Thomas Nuttall, his son and heir, was admitted on a fine of 20s. Emmot, widow of Giles Nuttall, perhaps of another family, occurs in the roll of 1541. Thomas Nuttall of Tottington was a freeholder in 1600, while Ralph Nuttall contributed to the subsidy of 1622; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 248, 162. From the Bury Registers it appears that Thomas Nuttall, gentleman, was buried 19 June 1609; and Thomas Nuttall of Tottington 12 Oct. 1614. These are probably the father and son who head the Nuttall pedigree recorded in 1664–5; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 222. A further account of this family will be found under Oldham; they are now represented by the Radclyffes of Foxdenton. Some documents concerning them are in Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxiv, fol. 245– 57. Thomas Nuttall, who died about 1727, built a schoolhouse at Tottington and left £3 a year towards the endowment; End. Cbar. Rep. Bury, 1901, p. 6. Mr. Grimshaw was owner of Tottington Hall in 1828; ibid. 8.
  • 39. The name was originally Routhesthorn, and has taken a great variety of forms; including Rostron. Adam de Rawsthorne was defendant to a plea by Roger son of Geoffrey son of Joan de Bury in 1304; Coram Rege R. 176, m. 48. Adam the elder and Adam the younger contributed to the subsidy of 1332; Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 36, 37. Lumb Hall in Edenfield is said to have been the seat of Adam Rawsthorne in 1482; Raines, in Notitia Cestr. ii, 30. From the court rolls it appears that Adam Rawsthorne died in 1508 holding five messuages and 153 acres of roodland, he left a widow Ellen, and a son and heir Henry. In 1528 Henry Rawsthorne died, his son and heir Adam succeeding. Adam Rawsthorne of the Lumb and Richard his son were concerned in a covenant of marriage with Richard Ormerod of Wolfenden in 1551. Adam died in 1562, and Richard, as son and heir, succeeded. The will of Richard Rawsthorne (1580) is printed in Piccope, Wills (Chet. Soc.), ii, 168; it mentions his wife Agnes, his sons Richard, the heir, Adam, parson of Bircham Newton (Norfolk), and Lawrence, 'scholar,' and his daughter Ellen, wife of Thomas Fish. The will of his widow Agnes (1594) is also printed; ibid, iii, 146. Richard, the son and heir, was buried in 1593; Bury Reg. His will (1593) is printed; Piccope, op. cit. iii, 38; his son Edward was the heir, but legacies were given to younger children and others. Certain furniture, including seven silver spoons, were to remain as heirlooms at the capital house of the Lumb. The will of his widow Eleanor (1599) is in Wills (Chet. Soc. new ser.), i, 226. Edward Rawsthorne of Lumb was a freeholder in 1600, and contributed to the subsidy in 1622; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 247, 162. He died 20 Dec 1634, holding lands in Ditton of the king as of his manor of West Derby; the Tottington estate is not mentioned. The heir was his grandson Edward (son of Edward), two years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxviii, no. 23. Edward Rawsthorne of the Lumb, no doubt the father of the heir, was buried 16 Mar. 1631–2; and Edward son of Edward Rawsthorne of the Lumb was baptized 23 May 1632; Bury Reg. It is said to have been the second Edward's daughter and heir Elizabeth who conveyed the estate in marriage about 1660 to Thomas Bradshaw of Bradshaw; Raines, in Notitia Cestr. ii, 30. Oliver Heywood tells the following story, which illustrates a popular superstition: 'Mr. Rawsthorne of Lumb and Mr. Thomas Bradshaw walked out and after they had drunk a cup of ale returned home. Going in the night by a pit side Mr. Rawsthorne (being troubled with the falling sickness) fell in; Mr. Bradshaw leapt after him to take him out, because he could swim, but they were both drowned. Mr. R. swam at top, but Mr. B. could not be found. A woman bade them cast a white loaf in, and they doing so it would not be removed from over the place where he was; so they took him up, and they were buried together. A sad family it was, my brother being eye-witness thereof; Diaries, iii, 89. The date seems to be Dec. 1664. There is a pedigree in Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), i, 162, in which it is stated that Elizabeth's son Thomas had a son and heir Rawsthorne Bradshaw, born in 1689, who, finding the estate much encumbered with debts, sold it in 1725 to Miles Lonsdale. New Hall in Edenfield is stated to have been purchased in 1538 by Lawrence Rawstorne of Windsor; Raines, loc. cit. In 1556–7 Lawrence Rawstorne of New Hall made a settlement of his lands; he mentions William and Edward his sons and Jane his daughter; the trustees were William son and heir of John Orrell of Turton; Thomas son and heir of Ralph Nuttall of Bury; and Peter son and heir of James Heywood of Bury; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xiv, fol. 89. He is mentioned in the court rolls in 1538 and 1541. Edward Rawstorne of New Hall was a freeholder in 1600, and one of the same name contributed to the subsidy in 1622; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 246, 162. Edward Rawstorne was sheriff in 1628–9; P.R.O. List, 73. During the Civil War Captain Edward Rawstorne, probably a son of the last-named, took an active part on the king's side, being engaged in the defence of Lathom House, and being appointed colonel and governor of it by Prince Rupert; he was compelled to surrender it by famine and mutiny; Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc), 169–84, 201, 212. His estates were sequestered by the Parliament; he died without male issue in or before 1650, when his brother and heir Lawrence, 'having faithfully served Parliament,' claimed the restoration of the estate under a settlement made about 1620 by his grandfather, with remainders to Edward, claimant's father, to Edward his eldest son, the 'delinquent,' and heirs male; Cal. of Com. for Comp. iv, 2653. The estates were restored to Lawrence. A pedigree was recorded in 1664; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 248. Of this family Lawrence Rawstorne was sheriff of the county in 1680–1, William his son in 1712, Lawrence, grandson of the latter, in 1776; P.R.O. List, 73, 74. Lawrence son of Lawrence purchased Penwortham, and is represented by Mr. Lawrence Rawstorne of Penwortham, recently the owner of New Hall; see Burke, Landed Gentry. There is a pedigree in Piccope MSS. (Chet Lib.), i, fol. 159. The Bury Water Board has obtained an Act for the purchase of the estate.
  • 40. From the Tottington Court Rolls it appears that Geoffrey Ramsbottom died in or before 1532, holding Ramsbottom, Digfield, and Carr House; he left a widow Alice, and his next of kin was one Richard Ramsbottom. In 1540 Richard son and heir of Edmund Ramsbottom and Joan his wife sold or mortgaged Ramsbottom and the other lands to Thomas Warburton of Little Clegg. In 1562 Richard Ramsbottom of Ramsbottom was found to be kinsman and heir of Elizabeth, widow of Lawrence Rawstorne. Francis Gartside in 1573 had the water corn-mill of Caldwell under Geoffrey Ramsbottom; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii, 6, 43. Richard Ramsbottom contributed to the subsidy in 1622; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 162.
  • 41. In the court rolls it is stated that Richard son and heir of John Booth asked admission to messuages and land, with common of pasture, &c., in Alden. He appeared again in 1509; the property was a messuage and 42 acres in the Booth, a messuage and oxgang in the Old Earth, and a messuage, &c., in the Hollins in Edenfield. Richard Booth, perhaps the same, died in 1564, holding various land and the fourth part of an oxgang; two sons are mentioned—Christopher, the heir, and Richard; Richard the son of Christopher had a wife, Alice. Richard Booth in 1573 claimed a capital messuage in Tottington against Thomas Holden; Ducatus Lanc. iii, 3. Another of this name contributed to the subsidy in 1622; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 162. A pedigree was recorded in 1665 showing that John Booth, who died about 1615, had a son Richard living in 1665, with a son George, aged thirty-four, and a grandson William, aged five; Dugdale, Visit. 44. In 1682 William son and heir of George Booth and grandson of Richard Booth by Margaret his wife was admitted at Tottington Court to a messuage in Booth Lane; but ten years earlier James Lomax of Unsworth appears to have purchased Booth Hall. His daughter and heir Elizabeth married John Halliwell of Pike House, and their son John died intestate in 1771; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxxi, fol. 345–6. It descended to John Beswicke, and after his death was in 1796 sold to Robert Nuttall of Bury, whose grandson, Robert Nuttall of Kempsey, was the owner in 1849; Raines, in Notitia Cestr. ii, 31.
  • 42. Henry de Lacy in 1302 granted that Geoffrey de Elton should in future hold freely that tenement he had held at will, paying 13s. 4d. a year; Add. MS. 32104, no. 966. In 1511 Robert Elton was admitted to a messuage and 20 acres in Edenfield. He died in 1548 or 1549, and his son Roger succeeded him; Ct. R. Lands were held in Horncliffe about 1355 by Hugh son of Robert de Horncliffe; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 344. The Warburton family occur early. Thomas de Warburton paid to the subsidy in Bury in 1332; Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 33. Two years earlier he had acquired a messuage in Tottington, in the possession of John del Heywood and Margery his wife, the widow of Roger de Red Lees; Final Conc. ii, 75, 76. In 1539 Thomas Warburton seems to have been the owner and George Warburton the tenant of Red Lees; Ct. R. A Thomas Warburton contributed to the subsidy in 1622; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 162. Of this family perhaps was John Warburton, F.R.S., F.S.A., Somerset Herald, son of Benjamin Warburton of Bury by his wife Mary, daughter and heir of Michael Buxton of Buxton. He was born in 1681 and died in 1759. A full account of him is given in Baines, Lancs. (ed. 1836), ii, 678; also Dict. Nat. Biog. John Nabbs of Tottington was a freeholder in 1600; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 247. The surname occurs in the court rolls. Edward Rothwell died in 1530, leaving Peter his son as heir. Margaret widow of Edmund is named in 1547. Adam Rothwell died in 1561, leaving John his idiot brother as heir; another Adam died about the same time, the heir being his son Thomas; Ct. R. There appear to have been several Holt families in Tottington. Robert del Holt of Tottington in 1429 complained that Richard son of Richard de Radcliffe of Radcliffe and others had broken into his close at Tottington and taken his cows; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 2, m. 13b. Christopher Holt in 1512 or 1513 made a settlement of his estate. He died in 1517, holding Hollingrave, Birch Hey, and Wood Hey; Geoffrey was his son and heir. Geoffrey died in 1541, leaving the estate to his son Christopher. George Holt died in 1523, his heir being his son William; Ct. R. John Holt in 1622 contributed to the subsidy for his lands; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 162. Roger Holt married Jane cousin and heir of Oliver Law, and they had disputes, about 1540, with Edmund Law concerning lands in Alden; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), i, 163, 208; ii, 73. From the Court Rolls of 1544 it appears that Jane was the daughter and heir of John son and heir of Oliver Law. There was a dispute as to the measure of the land, whether it was by 8 or 7 cloth yards to the rod. Oliver son of Edmund Law held the Law in Tottington in 1551. Robert Holt left several daughters as heirs to lands in Alden, Holcombe, and Blacklow; Alice, one of the daughters, was in 1595 the wife of John Greenhalgh, and Margaret, another, the wife of John Belfield; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii, 336, 353. Croichley seems to have been in the possession of the Ley and Leyland families. Robert Leyland in 1539 made a feoffment of 'Crichlow'; the rent to the king as chief lord was 3s. 8d.; Ct. R. Other families named in the Court Rolls are Ashworth, Bamford, Barton, Brook, Bury, Chadwick, Elcock, Haslam (Walshaw), Holden, Lomax, Robert, Scholefield (of Carr), and Wood. Tottington occurs as a surname in 1292, when Henry son of Hugh de Tottington and Mabel his wife claimed a tenement held by Alexander son of Adam de Tottington, but were non-suited; Assize R. 408, m. 32 d. A full list of the tenants and freeholders in 1443 is given in W. Farrer's Clitheroe Ct. R. i, 501, 507. Giles Morris and Agnes his wife laid claim to a messuage and lands in Tottington about 1553; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), i, 300; ii, 157. In 1560 Agnes Morris, widow, made a settlement of her lands, with remainders to her sons Richard and William; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 22, m. 16. Soon afterwards Agnes married George Birch, and disputes began with John Ainsworth, who claimed under the will of a grandfather; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 259, 273, 384; iii, 24. A settlement appears to have been made in 1582 by John Ainsworth and Jane his wife, and Richard Morris and Dorothy his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 44, m. 153. Richard Towneley, who died in 1636, had lands in Edenfield and Tottington; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 165.
  • 43. Whitaker, Whalley, i, 327; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), ii, 108.
  • 44. Geoffrey Greenhalgh died in 1552, holding a messuage and land in Tottington; Thomas was his son and heir; Ct. R. John Greenhalgh had a capital messuage called Fearnes and land which he in 1592 settled upon his son Thomas and his issue by Christabel his wife. Thomas succeeded his father, and died in 1608 without issue, Richard Greenhalgh, his brother and heir, being over forty years of age. The lands were held of John Holt in socage, by a rent of 6d.; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 129.
  • 45. In 1540 Robert Holt and other tenants of Tottington made complaint against John Bradshaw and others respecting the common in Affetside; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 62, 72. In 1554 the tenants complained that Roger Gartside had trespassed on the waste; ibid, i, 282.
  • 46. The documents are printed in Mr. Dowsett's Holcombe Long Ago, 25–36; see also Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Lancs. and Ches. Rec. Soc.), ii, 276, 277. The tenants alleged 'with regard to their ancient copyhold lands and the commons, &c. (which they owned were the king's and had never been demised by copy of Court Roll), that they had usually and respectively every one in his own copyhold land been accustomed, time immemorial, at their free will and pleasure upon any occasion to dig, take, and get coals, slate stones and other stones, marl, clay, sods, turves, and peat,' and had common of pasture and turbary on the commons, moors, and waste grounds, and liberty to get coal, slate stones, &c., for use upon their lands in Tottington. They had resisted 'the arbitrary, excessive, and unaccustomed fines which had of late been taxed and claimed,' but made a composition as stated in the text. An Act of Parliament was to have been passed for confirming the title, but nothing was done till 1641. This Bill did not receive the royal assent, and an Act in 1650 being judged insecure, another Act was passed in 1662; 23 & 24 Chas. II, cap. 21 (private). A grant of two mills in Tottington was made in 1609; Pat. 7 Jas. I, pt. vii.
  • 47. Land tax returns at Preston.
  • 48. This chapel is probably of remote origin. It is mentioned incidentally in the Tottington Court Roll of 1509, Richard Kay of Sheep Hey having made an assault on Hugh Hartside in the chapel of Holcombe. The spelling Holecumbe occurs in 1265 in a plea in Curia Regis R. 179, m. 5 d.
  • 49. Ck. Goods (Chet. Soc.), 46. The goods of the chapel were sold for £3 6s. 8d.; Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc), ii, 271, 273. Warden Wroe reported that it was consecrated in the time of Elizabeth; Notitia Cestr. ii, 33. Perhaps the old building had become ruinous, for in 1717 it was the tradition that the existing chapel had been built for a prison. It was 49 ft. long by 23 ft. 9 in. wide, and 10 ft. 9 in. high. The pulpit, screen, and some of the oak benches were set up in 1696. In 1714 it was repewed, a reading desk and warden's pew being erected out of old benches; ibid, ii, 36 n.
  • 50. So about 1610; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 12.
  • 51. This seems to have been a temporary arrangement, enforced by Bishop Bridgeman, who 'compelled each chapelry [i.e. Holcombe and Edenfield] to allow £10 per annum apiece to the minister whom they should choose, or he should send, to officiate once a month in each chapel; but now [1706] there are only contributions of about £8 per annum to both;' Notitia, loc. cit. The number of services required should be noticed; it was no doubt an improvement on what had been. The monthly service continued down to 1733, when the curate began a fortnightly service, going to Edenfield the alternate Sundays; Holcombe Long Ago, 85.
  • 52. Commonwealth Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 44. Holcombe was made a separate parish in 1659, but this decree was treated as null on the Restoration; Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 274. The Lower End of Tottington was assigned to it; a list of the tenants is given.
  • 53. So Bishop Gastrell, loc. sup. cit.; 'nothing certain' then belonged to the chapel.
  • 54. Holcombe became a perpetual curacy in 1725. In addition to the fortnightly Sunday service, with two sermons, the sacrament was administered four times a year. On Easter Day, Whit Sunday, and Christmas Day, the incumbent attended at the mother church of Bury; Holcombe Long Ago, 85. The old chapel was taken down in 1851; an account of it and the building of the present church is given in the work cited, 87–98. There is a view in Notes on Holcombe, 69.
  • 55. Lond. Gaz. 20 Nov. 1863. It was declared a rectory in 1866; ibid. 3 Apr.
  • 56. This list is mainly taken from Mr. Dowsett's Notes on Holcombe, 82–5, and Holcombe Long Ago, 138.
  • 57. Visit. List at Chest. Dioc. Reg.
  • 58. Note by Mr. Earwaker from Chest. Registry.
  • 59. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 95. His name occurs at the end of the Protestation of 1641.
  • 60. Afterwards at Milnrow.
  • 61. Afterwards at Manchester, &c. Noah son of Nicholas Cudworth, minister at Holcombe, was baptized at Bury, 22 Mar. 1645–6.
  • 62. Bury Classis (Chet. Soc), 28, &c. He was very soon in trouble, being accused of frequenting the ale-house on Sabbath days and fast-days, playing at bowls, breaking forth 'into much rage and unseemly expressions,' &c.; ibid. 77, 82–5, 87. He signed the 'Harmonious Consent' as minister of Holcombe in 1648, but seems to have left soon after, and became minister of Haslingden; ibid. 227, 228.
  • 63. Ibid. 128. He became one of the foremost Nonconformists of the time. He was born at Jowkin in Bamford (Bury) in 1626, educated at Christ's College, Cambridge; became a minister in 1650 at Horwich, removing to Holcombe in 1652; was ejected in 1662, but continued to minister in the neighbourhood until his death in 1695. He was interred in Bury churchyard on 20 June 1695, a multitude of people attending and making 'great lamentation over him'; Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconformity, iii, 154; Manch. Guardian N. and Q. no. 570, 602, 728; W. Hewitson in Heywood N. and Q. notes 318, 320, containing much new matter. He wrote a number of sermons and tracts, the principal of which is a Plain Representation of Transubstantiation, 1687.
  • 64. He was there from about 1667 till 1691 (or later), as appears from Stratford's Visitation List. In 1671 he wrote that he had been promised 30s. a year by Edward Kenyon, rector of Prestwich (died 1668), as stipend for his service at the chapels of Edenfield and Holcombe; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 87. He is perhaps the John Warburton son of Francis Warburton of Stubbins who entered St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1639, and took the M.A. degree in 1664; Admissions to St. John's Col. i, 44.
  • 65. Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 36.
  • 66. The Church Papers at Chester begin here.
  • 67. There is a memorial tablet in the church. A number of his memoranda are printed in Holcombe Long Ago. A list of his goods, including his gown, cassock, and bands, and 71 books, is given on p. 14. He valued his sermons at, £20. One of these, on the Arians, appears to have been printed.
  • 68. There is a memorial brass in the church.
  • 69. There is a memorial brass to him.
  • 70. Mr. Dowsett resigned in 1905; he is the author of Notes on Holcombe (1901) and Holcombe Long Ago (1902), which have been freely quoted in this account of the chapel and township.
  • 71. The older spellings were Aytonfield or Etonfield.
  • 72. In the Tottington Court Roll of 1542 it is recorded that Elizabeth Crabtree made an assault on Margaret Henryson and John Hey within Edenfield Chapel on 8 Sept. 1541. Again in 1543 John Shipplebottom was fined for having at the time of vespers at Edenfield Chapel beaten Thurstan Booth, to the disturbance of divine service in the chapel, and to the danger of Thurstan's life had not the people present given him assistance.
  • 73. Ct. R. of 22 May, 38 Hen. VIII; the land measured a rood and a half.
  • 74. Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 119. There was only one set of vestments remaining at that time; Ch. Gds. 46. The 'stock' was sold for 40s.; Raines, Chant. ii, 273. Hugh Birtwisle was curate of Edenfield in 1554 and 1563; he did not appear in 1565; Visitation lists.
  • 75. Ct. R. of Thursday before Pentecost, 7 Edw. VI; the land is called half an acre.
  • 76. Notitia, ut sup. 'Consecrated' may mean no more than 'licensed for service.'
  • 77. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 12. William Kay of Edenfield was presented (about 1590) for having an ale and minstrels who played upon the Sabbath day; ibid. 582.
  • 78. See the note on Holcombe above.
  • 79. Commonwealth Ch. Surv. 44. Robert Hill had been minister in 1647, but was removed for misbehaviour; then one William Langley followed for a time (1648), but though a Puritan he set the Classis at defiance, and had to leave; see the notice of them in Shaw's Bury Classis, 233, 239–41. A Mr. Bridge was reproved for ministering without ordination in 1649–50; ibid. 216. Edenfield was a separate parish for a brief period (1659–60); Plund. Mins. Accts. ii, 279. The Upper End of Tottington, with Shuttleworth, Cowpe, Lench, and Musbury were assigned to it.
  • 80. Notitia, ii, 33.
  • 81. Holcombe Long Ago, 85; two sermons were about 1767 preached on Sundays, and the Sacrament was administered four times a year, Good Friday being one. In the same volume (p. 38) is a record of an ancient bequest of books to the chapel.
  • 82. Lond. Gaz. 8 Aug. 1865.
  • 83. Died 13 Feb. 1870.
  • 84. Died 29 Oct. 1901.
  • 85. A district was assigned to it in 1844; Lond. Gaz. 23 Feb.
  • 86. The district was formed in 1844; Lond. Gaz. 3 June.
  • 87. The church was built in 1832 by William Grant as a Presbyterian church, and after being used for Anglican services for some time, was formally transferred to the Established Church in 1875. For the district assigned to it, see Lond. Gaz. 15 Feb. 1876.
  • 88. Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconf. iii, 154–67. Bank Street Chapel, Bury, now Unitarian, and Park Chapel, Walmersley, are old offshoots of Holcombe.
  • 89. The story is also told in Barton, Bury, 213–20. It appears that Peter Ramsay, the minister in 1813, offended the Grant family by his personalities and was forcibly ejected. After various changes Dr. Andrew MacLean came as pastor in 1829, and was so popular that St. Andrew's was built for him by the Grants, who also maintained it. In 1869, Dr. MacLean being infirm and incapable, the representative of the family, a member of the Established Church, gave him notice to go and offered a retiring pension, being assured that the building was legally his own property.
  • 90. The church at Stubbins was an offshoot from Park in 1861; that at Dundee is the result of a dispute among the teachers and scholars at the old Dundee School; it was built in 1885; Nightinggale, op. cit. iii, 238. The church at Green Mount owes its beginnings to the arbitrary dismissal of the Sunday-school superintendent at St. Anne's Church, Tottington. A school-chapel was built in 1848, and a church formed about nine years later; ibid, iii, 211–15, 239,