Townships: Stretford

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1911.

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'Townships: Stretford', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp329-335 [accessed 12 October 2024].

'Townships: Stretford', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online, accessed October 12, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp329-335.

"Townships: Stretford". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1911), , British History Online. Web. 12 October 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp329-335.

In this section

STRETFORD

Stretford, 1212. Trafford, 1212.

This large township, (fn. 1) lying between the Irwell and Cornbrook on the north and the Mersey on the south, occupies the south-west corner of the parish and contains 3,255 acres. (fn. 2) The surface is comparatively level, though it slopes to the Mersey. Stretford proper lies in the south, taking its name from an ancient ford over the Mersey, also called Crosford. The north-eastern portion is called Trafford or Old Trafford; a ford over the Irwell is said to have been near it. Longford lies on the eastern border. The population in 1901 was 30,436.

The principal road is that on the line of the old Roman road from Chester to Manchester, and crosses the Mersey by a bridge at the point where the ford was. (fn. 3) From Stretford village roads go east and west to Fallowfield and to Urmston. Old Trafford has to some extent become urban, and there are many streets of houses on the border of Hulme. In this part of the township are the Botanical Gardens, opened in 1831, and the Lancashire cricket ground, with several other cricket and football grounds. Pomona Gardens formerly occupied land at the junction of the Cornbrook and the Irwell.

Henshaw's Blind Asylum at Old Trafford was established in 1837. A deaf and dumb school, which originated in 1823, found a home adjacent to it in 1837.

The Cheshire Lines Committee's Manchester and Liverpool line crosses the northern portion of the township, (fn. 4) with a station called Trafford Park, and has an older line south to Stockport; (fn. 5) there is a large goods yard near the northern boundary, close to which, on the Irwell, are docks and jetties of the Ship Canal; also a corn elevator and various large warehouses and works. The London and NorthWestern Company's Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (fn. 6) passes through the centre with stations at Old Trafford, the cricket ground, and Stretford. The Bridgewater Canal also passes through the centre and north of the township, after crossing the Mersey from Cheshire by Barfoot Bridge.

In 1666 there were in Stretford 117 hearths to be taxed; the principal house was that of Sir Cecil Trafford with twenty-four. (fn. 7) A century ago it was famous as a fat pig market, some six hundred animals being killed weekly for Manchester. (fn. 8) There was a paper-mill at Old Trafford in 1765. Weaving was formerly one of the chief industries.

The wakes were held at the beginning of October.

A stone celt, Roman remains, and a hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins have been found. (fn. 9) The cross (fn. 10) was taken down about 1840; the stocks, which were near the cross, had been removed about 1825. The Great Stone—now inclosed by a railing—lies in Old Trafford beside the Chester road; it has two cavities. (fn. 11)

A local board was formed in 1868, (fn. 12) and its offices were built in 1888; it has become an urban district council of eighteen members, elected from six wards— Stretford, Longford, Trafford, Talbot, Cornbrook, and Clifford. There are a public hall, free libraries, and other institutions. There is a recreation-ground at Old Trafford. At Stretford are a cemetery, opened in 1885, and a sewage-farm. Gas-works were erected in 1852.

Stretford gives its name to one of the parliamentary divisions of the county.

John Holker, who established factories in France, was born at Stretford in 1719. (fn. 13) Edward Painter, pugilist, was also a native; 1784–1852. (fn. 14) A distinguished resident was John Eglington Bailey, the antiquary, author of a life of Thomas Fuller; he died there in 1888. (fn. 15)

An exhibition of art treasures held at Old Trafford in 1857 was opened by Queen Victoria. The Royal Jubilee Exhibition of 1887 was held there.

MANORS

In this township there were anciently two manors, both held in thegnage of the king in chief as of his manor of Salford. The principal was in 1212 STRETFORD, rated as one plough-land and held by Hamon de Mascy by the service of a judge; (fn. 16) the other was TRAFFORD, held by Henry de Trafford by a rent of 5s. yearly. (fn. 17) Under Mascy a moiety of the former was held by Hugh de Stretford, who performed the service of the judge; and a fourth part was held by the abovenamed Henry de Trafford, who paid 4s. a year. (fn. 18) About 1250 another Hamon de Mascy gave the whole of Stretford to his daughter Margery, (fn. 19) who afterwards granted Stretford to Richard de Trafford. (fn. 20) The moiety of the manor held by Hugh de Stretford in 1212 does not occur subsequently in the records. (fn. 21) The Trafford family thus acquired the whole of Stretford and Trafford, and the two manors have descended together. The principal residence remained at the latter place until about 1720, when Trafford Park in Whittleswick was chosen. (fn. 22) Manor courts continued to be held until 1872. (fn. 23)

Mascy. Quarterly gules and argent in the second quarter a mullet sable.

The pedigree of the lords can be traced at least to the early part of the 12th century. (fn. 24) Hamon de Mascy before 1190 gave Wolfetnote and his heirs to Ralph son of Randulf and to Robert his son for 4 marks. (fn. 25) This was afterwards confirmed to Robert son of Ralph. (fn. 26) A further grant was made to Henry son of Robert of an oxgang of Hamon de Mascy's demesne m Ashley, previously held by Uctred, it being a fourth part of the whole vill. (fn. 27) Henry, surnamed 'de Stratford,' agreed in 1205 to pay 40s. as relief for the half plough-land he held in Trafford. (fn. 28) In 1212, as above shown, he held Trafford of the king and a fourth of Stretford of Hamon de Mascy. He died in 1221, when his son and heir Richard paid 20s. for relief of the land held of the king. (fn. 29)

Apart from his acquisition of Stretford little is known of Richard de Trafford, (fn. 30) whose son Henry in 1278 agreed to a partition of the family estates, taking as his share eight oxgangs of land, &c., in Stretford, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, and Withington. (fn. 31) Six years later Henry obtained a charter of free warren for his manors of Trafford and Stretford. (fn. 32) He was succeeded by his son Henry before 1292, in which year the younger Henry had a dispute with his brother Richard. (fn. 33) Henry de Trafford in 1302 contributed to the aid as holding part of a knight's fee in Harwood near Bolton, (fn. 34) and five years afterwards he made a settlement of the manor of Clifton. (fn. 35) In the Parliament of 1312 he was a knight of the shire. (fn. 36) In 1324 Henry de Trafford had the king's leave to settle his manors of Trafford and Stretford upon Henry son of John son of Henry and his heirs; (fn. 37) and in the following year accordingly this was done. (fn. 38) In 1334 Sir Henry de Trafford acquired John Grelley's lands in Chorlton-upon-Medlock. (fn. 39)

Soon after this probably he was succeeded by his grandson Henry, also a knight, (fn. 40) who died between 1373 (fn. 41) and 1376, leaving a son Henry under age. (fn. 42) The younger Henry died in 1395, holding the manor of Trafford and vill of Stretford, together with two-thirds of a third part of the manor of Edgeworth, and leaving a son and heir Henry, six years of age. (fn. 43) This son died in 1408, the manors going to his brother Edmund, (fn. 44) known as the Alchemist, from his having procured a licence from the king in 1446 authorizing him to transmute metals. (fn. 45) Sir Edmund, at Eccles in 1411, married Alice daughter and co-heir of Sir William Venables of Bollin, and thus acquired a considerable estate in Cheshire, which descended in the Trafford family for many generations. (fn. 46)

Trafford of Trafford. Argent a griffin segreant gules.

Sir Edmund died in 1458 (fn. 47) leaving a son Sir John, (fn. 48) who was regularly succeeded by five generations of Edmunds. (fn. 49) In the latter half of the 16th century the fortunes of the family began to decline; several estates were sold, (fn. 50) and Sir Edmund the fourth, having conformed to the Established religion, appears to have attempted, and with some success, to acquire fresh wealth by an active prosecution of the recusants. (fn. 51) As sheriff he was specially zealous against them. He also arranged the marriage of his son Edmund with Margaret daughter and co-heir of John Booth of Barton, (fn. 52) and though the son afterwards disinherited the children of this marriage, the Trafford share of the Barton estates has descended like Trafford to the issue of a second marriage—with Mildred daughter of Thomas Cecil, first Earl of Exeter. (fn. 53)

Cecil Trafford, the eldest son of this union, was made a knight at Hoghton Tower in 1617. (fn. 54) He was at first, like his grandfather, a Protestant and a persecutor, but afterwards, about 1632, embraced the faith he had attempted to destroy. (fn. 55) In 1638, accordingly, the king seized a third of his estates and granted them on lease to farmers. (fn. 56) Siding with the king on the outbreak of the Civil War, he was seized and imprisoned by the other party and his estates were sequestered. (fn. 57) His sons appear to have gone abroad, as they are mentioned as present at Rome and Douay. (fn. 58) In 1653 Sir Cecil begged leave to contract under the Recusants Act for the sequestered two-thirds of his estates. (fn. 59)

Sir Cecil died in 1672, (fn. 60) his eldest son Edmund (fn. 61) died twenty years later, and was followed by a brother Humphrey, who was accused of participation in the fictitious plot of 1694, (fn. 62) and sympathized with the rising of 1715. (fn. 63) He was succeeded by his son (fn. 64) and grandson, each named Humphrey. The last of these died in 1779 and left Trafford to his relative John Trafford of Croston, (fn. 65) who died in 1815. During this time, owing to the laws concerning religion all public employments had been closed against the Traffords, who had therefore to dwell quietly on their estates. John Trafford, indeed, raised a troop of volunteers in 1804; (fn. 66) and his son Thomas Joseph, high sheriff in 1834, was created a baronet in 1841, at which time he altered the surname to De Trafford. Dying in 1852 he was succeeded by his son, Sir Humphrey de Trafford, who in turn was in 1886 succeeded by his son Sir Humphrey Francis de Trafford, the present lord of Trafford and Stretford, twenty-fourth in descent from the Ranulf or Randle who heads the pedigree.

The Turf Moss estate and Longford House belonged to the Mosleys. (fn. 67) The latter was acquired by the Walkers, (fn. 68) and in 1855 was purchased by John Rylands, who rebuilt the house. He is commemo rated by the John Rylands Library in Manchester, founded by his widow. (fn. 69)

From a survey of the tithes made in 1649 it appears that there were in Stretford Manor twenty-four whole seats, or holdings. The tithe corn in 1643 had filled three bays and the greater part of a fourth; it was mostly oats and barley. (fn. 70)

The land tax returns of 1796 show that John Trafford was then the principal landowner, he paying more than one-third of the tax; the remainder of the land seems to have been much divided. (fn. 71)

CHURCH

The earliest record of the chapel of Stretford is in a lease of 1413, in which land is described as lying next to the chapel. (fn. 72) Rather more than a century later a chantry was founded in it by Sir Edmund Trafford, for the souls of his ancestors. (fn. 73) At the confiscation in 1547–8 the rental of the chantry was only 44s.; the chapel had a chalice and two vestments. (fn. 74) Service appears to have been maintained in this chapel even after the Elizabethan changes, for in 1563 William Hodgkinson was 'curate of Stretford,' (fn. 75) and seems to have remained there until 1586; he was in 1581 censured for keeping an alehouse. (fn. 76) The names of many curates are on record, (fn. 77) but except during the Commonwealth period there was no adequate provision for them, there being neither residence nor endowment. (fn. 78) At the beginning of the 18th century the 'settled maintenance' was only 11s. 2d., (fn. 79) but some further endowments and contributions were secured, the chapel was rebuilt in 1718, (fn. 80) and from about that time the succession of curates and rectors appears to be unbroken. In 1842 the present church of St. Matthew was consecrated; (fn. 81) it was enlarged in 1861. A district had been assigned in 1839. (fn. 82) The Dean and Canons of Manchester present to the benefice.

The following is a list of the recent curates and incumbents (fn. 83) :—

1716 Samuel Bolton, M.A. (Brasenose College, Oxf.)
1717 Roger Masterson
1718 Robert Armitstead, B.A. (Magdalen Hall, Oxf.)
1721 John Jackson, M.A.
1741 John Baldwin, M.A.
1747 John Baxter, (fn. 84) B.A.
1766 William Stopford, (fn. 85) B.A. (Brasenose College, Oxf.)
1778 Thomas Seddon (fn. 86)
1796 Thomas Gaskell
1818 Robinson Elsdale, (fn. 87) D.D. (Corpus Christi College, Oxf.)
1850 Joseph Clarke, (fn. 88) M.A. (St. John's College, Camb.)
1860 William Edward Brendon
1864 Thomas Daniel Cox Morse (fn. 89)
1868 Dudley Hart, M.A. (T.C.D.)
1903 James Peter Rountree, M.A. (T.C.D.)

St. Bride's, Old Trafford, consecrated in 1878, is in the patronage of trustees; (fn. 90) All Saints, 1885, is in the Bishop of Manchester's gift. At Old Trafford there are also St. Thomas's, the chapel of the Blind Asylum, (fn. 91) and St. Hilda's, consecrated in 1904, with the districts of St. Cuthbert and St. John, not yet having permanent churches; the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester present alternately to these benefices; and also to the new district of St. Peter, Stretford.

There was in 1718 only a private school, without endowment. Soon afterwards the township shared in the benefaction of Ann Hinde. (fn. 92)

The Wesleyan Methodists and the Primitive Methodists each have churches at Stretford and Old Trafford; and the Independent Methodists have one at the former place. (fn. 93) The Baptists also have a church at Stretford. The Congregationalists have churches at Stretford and Old Trafford (fn. 94); in the latter part of the township there is also a Welsh Congregational chapel.

The Unitarian Free church, begun in Moss Side in 1887, has from 1901 had its place of worship within Stretford township.

Although from the time of Sir Cecil Trafford, the chief resident family, as well as some minor ones, professed the ancient faith, (fn. 95) no chapel was erected in the township (fn. 96) until 1859, when a temporary one was opened. This was followed by St. Anne's in 1863; it was consecrated in 1867. (fn. 97) St. Alphonsus's, Brooks' Bar, was opened in 1904. (fn. 98)

Footnotes

  • 1. A full account of the township and chapelry by Mr. H. T. Crofton has been printed by the Chetham Society (new ser. xlii, xlv, li); numerous maps, plans, and views are given. Its stores have been drawn upon for the present work.
  • 2. 3,240 acres, including 75 of inland water; Census Rep. 1901.
  • 3. Leland about 1535 crossed the Mersey 'by a great bridge of timber called Crossford Bridge.' Edmund Prestwich of Hulme in 1577 left £30 for this bridge; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xii, no. 4. Though broken down in 1745 the Young Pretender's army repaired it sufficiently to use it; Crofton, Stretford, i, 12. Close by the ford was the mill, which has long since disappeared. John the Miller contributed to the subsidy in 1332; Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 30.
  • 4. Opened in 1873.
  • 5. Ibid. 1862.
  • 6. Opened in 1849. The Great Central Company is a part-owner of the line.
  • 7. Subs. R. bdle. 250, no. 9; John Falkner's house had eleven hearths, Edmund Trafford's and Robert Owen's six each.
  • 8. Baines, Lancs. Dir. 1825, ii, 680.
  • 9. Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. iii, 269; x, 251.
  • 10. The pedestal is now in the churchyard.
  • 11. Crofton, op. cit. iii, 44–9, with photographs. See also Harland and Wilkinson, Traditions of Lancs. 53.
  • 12. Lond. Gaz. 7 Apr. 1868.
  • 13. Crofton, op. cit. iii, 158–63. Holker was a Jacobite and became lieutenant in the unfortunate Manchester Regiment of 1745. He escaped from prison, and found a refuge in France, where, with the encouragement of the government, he introduced various manufactures. He was ennobled in 1775, and died in 1786. There are biographies of him in Dict. Nat. Biog.; Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. ix, 147; Pal. Note Bk. iv, 47, &c.
  • 14. Dict. Nat. Biog.
  • 15. Crofton, op. cit. iii, 153, 154; there is a portrait at the beginning of vol. i. A list of his writings, compiled by Mr.E. Axon, is in Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. vi, 129.
  • 16. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i. 72. Land in Lancashire which had been Hamon de Mascy's was in the king's hands in 1187; Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 64.
  • 17. Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 70. The payment of 5s. for his land in Trafford is recorded in a roll of 1226 as due from Robert son of Ralph de Trafford (ibid. 138), but the entry must have been copied from an old roll, as it will be seen that Robert was dead in 1205.
  • 18. Ibid. i, 72. A large collection of Trafford charters will be found in the Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxv; some of them are printed by Crofton, op. cit. iii, 234, &c. Among others are two which show how the Traffords became possessed of the two oxgangs held in 1212. Hamon de Mascy granted to Robert son of Ralph an oxgang of land in Stretford, viz. an eighth part of the land of the vill, at a rent of 2s.; Hugh and Henry de Stretford were witnesses; op. cit. iii, 234. The same or a later Hamon granted to Henry son of Robert de Trafford an oxgang of his demesne in Stretford, formerly held by William son of Robert, at a rent of 2s.; ibid. This charter mentions that the service of a judge due from the vill was discharged by another. The deeds quoted below as 'De Trafford deeds' have been taken from the originals.
  • 19. Final Conc. (Rec.Soc.Lancs. and Ches.), i, 154, quoting Trafford muniments.
  • 20. Margery daughter of Hamon de Mascy about 1260 granted to Richard de Trafford the whole vill of Stretford with all its appurtenances in freemen and villeinages, at a rent of 1d.; Crofton, op. cit. iii, 237. The seal is described. Then Hamon de Mascy released to Richard all his claim in the whole vill of Stretford, which was thenceforward to be held by the new lord of William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, by the services due from the vill; ibid. 236. E. de Mascy, widow, released to Richard her claim for dower in Stretford; ibid. 241. A little later Margaret de Mascy, as widow of Roger Payn of Ashbourne, released all her right in the whole vill to Henry de Trafford; ibid. 238.
  • 21. Stretford was used as a surname, but the bearers do not seem to have had the moiety of the manor held by Hugh in 1212.
  • 22. See the account of Barton on Irwell.
  • 23. Numerous extracts from the Court Rolls from 1700 will be found in Mr. Crofton's work, ii, 46–183. Plans of the Trafford tenancies in 1782, with names of fields and tenants, are printed.
  • 24. For a discussion by Messrs. Bird and Round of the earlier generations of the family see the Ancestor, ix, 65; x, 73; xii, 42, 53. Mr. Bird thinks there may have been two Henrys (c. 1200) between Robert and Richard, while Mr. Round points out that Ranulf or Randulf, the name of the earliest of the Traffords on record, is distinctly post-Conquest and foreign.
  • 25. De Trafford D. no. 140. It is suggested that this Ralph may be the Ralph de Dunham mentioned in the Pipe R. of 1187–93; Lancs. Pipe R. v, 69, 73, 76.
  • 26. De Trafford D. no. 141. In a preceding note it is shown that Robert son of Ralph also obtained an oxgang of land in Stretford.
  • 27. De Trafford D. no. 142.
  • 28. Lancs. Pipe R. 203, 215. The relief paid was comparatively high. Henry son of Robert son of Ralph de Trafford received lands in Chorltonupon-Medlock and in Withington; De Trafford D. no. 122, 310. He had a dispute with Hamon de Mascy regarding Adam son of William de Stretford, and Hamon agreed that Adam was a free man; Crofton, op. cit. iii, 235. Henry de Stretford or de Trafford was perhaps a younger son of Robert de Trafford. William son of Robert has already been named and a Richard de Trafford was witness to a charter which must be dated between 1200 and 1204; Hulton Ped. 3. There is frequent confusion between Stretford, Stratford, Stafford, and Trafford.
  • 29. Fine R. Excerpts (Rec. Com.), i, 75. Avice widow of Henry de 'Stretford' was of the king's gift in 1222–6. She paid 20d. yearly—the amount is a third of the 5s. due from Trafford—and her land was worth 3s. clear; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 129.
  • 30. About 1250 he attested a charter respecting Audenshaw; Lancs. Pipe R. 333. In 1255–6 he gave the king 1 mark for a writ; Orig. 40 Hen. III, m. 8. He obtained a grant of lands in Withington; De Trafford D. no. 129. To Richard son of Robert de Stretford he granted an eighth part of the vill of Stretford, that part namely, which Robert the father had held, at a rent of 6s. The second best pig was to be rendered for pannage, and corn was to be ground at Trafford Mill to the twentieth measure; Crofton, op. cit. iii, 237.
  • 31. Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 154. This portion had been the dower of Christiana then wife of William de Hacking, but was 'of the inheritance' of Henry de Trafford. It is presumed that Christiana was the widow of Richard de Trafford. The other lands, &c., went to the Chadderton family.
  • 32. Chart. R. 12 Edw. I (no. 77), m. 4, no. 24. From Richard son of Jordan de Stretford a surrender of his claim to lands held of Henry de Trafford was obtained by the latter; Crofton, op. cit. iii, 238. Avice widow of Nicholas de Stretford and daughter of Jordan de Stretford in 1292 released her claim on the same to Henry son of Henry de Trafford; ibid. iii, 241.
  • 33. The dispute concerned lands, &c., in Clifton, Crompton, and Edgeworth; Assize R. 408, m. 3 d.; Final Conc. i, 170. Lora widow of Henry de Trafford had called Henry son of Henry to warrant her. Lora appears as plaintiff in 1305; Assize R. 1306, m. 20 d. In 1292 Henry had also to defend his title to the manor of Stretford against Hamon de Mascy, Loreta, his father's widow, then holding a third part and himself the remainder. The plaintiff was non-suited; Assize R. 408, m. 36. Henry also defeated a claim to a tenement in Stretford put forward by two sisters— Alice wife of Thomas son of Richard (or Roger) de Manchester, and Avice wife of Henry de Openshaw; ibid. m. 32, 36 d. As grandson of Richard de Trafford he claimed the manor of Chadderton; ibid. m. 40 d, 47 d.
  • 34. Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 312.
  • 35. Final Conc. i, 210; the remainders were to his sons Henry (a minor), Richard, Robert, Ralph, and Thomas. These would be the younger sons. The manor of Clifton does not appear again among the Trafford estates.
  • 36. Pink and Beaven, Parl. Rep. of Lancs. 15.
  • 37. Inq. a.q.d. 17 Edw. II, no. 92. The jurors found that the manors named were held of the king by the service of 5s. yearly, and suit at the county court from three weeks to three weeks, and were worth 20 marks clear. Henry de Trafford also held twelve messuages, 260 acres of land, and 30 acres of meadow in Withington of Nicholas de Longford by the service of 1d. yearly, and worth 60s. clear; the land and meadow were of no value, because in waste among the heath; another 40 acres were held by a rent of 12d. In 1324 Henry de Trafford held half a plough-land in Trafford by the service of 5s. yearly; Dods. MSS. cxxxi, fol. 38.
  • 38. Final Conc. ii, 60. Henry de Trafford and Margaret his wife were plaintiffs; the remainders, after Henry the grandson, were to the elder Henry's sons—Richard, Robert, Thomas, Nicholas, Geoffrey, and Henry. See also the remainders in a fine respecting lands in Withington in 1323; ibid. ii, 54. These younger sons appear to be the Traffords of Prestwich of 1350; ibid. ii, 128. There are a number of deeds relating to them among the De Trafford muniments; in some the father is called Sir Henry, e.g. in one of 1343 by which John son of John the Marshal gave his lands in Manchester to Geoffrey son of Sir Henry de Trafford; no. 9. A number of Traffords were killed at Liverpool in 1345 together with Adam de Lever, viz. Geoffrey son of Sir Henry de Trafford; Richard de Trafford, son of Sir John the elder, and John and Robert his brothers; also Richard brother of Henry de Trafford; Coram Reg. R. 348, m. 22.
  • 39. De Trafford D. no. 124.
  • 40. In 1353 Sir Henry de Trafford came into court and proffered letters patent dated 12 June 1343, by which the king ordered that he should not be put on assizes, juries, &c. all his life; Assize R. 435, m. 17. The same protection, which had been granted at the request of the famous soldier Walter de Mauney, had in 1346 excused him from the obligation of receiving knighthood; Q.R. Mem. R. 122, m. 142 d. He had therefore served in the French wars. Henry de Trafford and John de Ashton in 1343 pleaded guilty to retaining people with them who went against the king's peace; Assize R. 430, m. 29. They and others had in 1341 assembled at Leigh and prevented John de Tyldesley, &c. from entering the church until they agreed to a dies amoris with a view to settlement of disputes; ibid. m. 17. In 1346 Henry de Trafford was found to hold the manor of Trafford in socage by a rent of 5s., paying double as relief, and performing suit of county and wapentake; Add. MS. 32103, fol. 146. Stretford is not separately named. In 1359 and again in 1369 Sir Henry de Trafford purchased lands in Manchester from John Grelley; De Trafford D. no. 15, 18, 19. In the former year he made a feoffment of lands in Crompton, Ancoats, Beswick, and Chorlton to Thomas de Trafford and William Saunpete, chaplain, until his return from the king's service beyond the sea. The remainders were to John de Trafford, Henry son of Robert de Trafford, and John son of Thomas de Trafford; Court of Wards and Liveries, box 13A/FD12. Licence for his oratory at Trafford was in 1368 granted to Sir Henry; Lich. Epis. Reg. Stretton, v, fol. 20.
  • 41. In Dec. 1373 Sir Henry released to John son of Nicholas de Trafford his right to lands in Ancoats; De Trafford D. no. 84.
  • 42. At Easter 1376 Henry de Torbock claimed the custody of lands in Turton until the coming of age of Henry son and heir of Sir Henry de Trafford; De Banco R. 462, m. 89; 463, m. 67. Henry de Trafford had a licence for an oratory at Trafford for two years from 1387; Lich. Epis. Reg. vi, fol. 123. He came of age in or before 1389; De Trafford D. no. 125, 285.
  • 43. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 63. For the dower of Elizabeth widow of Henry de Trafford and afterwards wife of Ralph de Staveley, see Pal. of Lanc. Chan. Misc. 1/8, m. 21, 22.
  • 44. Lancs. Rec. Inq. p.m. no. 21, taken in 1414. By this it was found that Henry son of Henry son of Sir Henry de Trafford died on 20 Feb. 1407–8, seised of the manor of Trafford and two-thirds of the vill, held of the king as of his duchy of Lancaster in socage by the service of 5s. yearly, and worth £20 per annum clear; also of two-thirds of three parts of the hamlet of Chorlton-upon-Medlock ('Chollerton'), held of Thomas La Warre; lands in Hulme in Barton, Blackrod, and Edgeworth. Edmund the heir was of full age in 1414. His custody during minority had been granted to Sir Ralph de Staveley. See also Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxiii, App. 11. Further inquisitions were made in 1417, after the death of Margery, grandmother of Edmund; ibid. 13; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 127; and in 1421 after the death of Agnes widow of the last Henry; Towneley MS. DD, no. 1505.
  • 45. The licence was granted on 7 April 1446, to Sir Edmund Trafford and Sir Thomas Ashton; Rymer, Foedera, Syllabus, ii, 676; Crofton, Stretford, iii, 112. Sir Edmund was knighted in 1426 for his conduct at the battle of Verneuil; Metcalfe, Bk. of Knights, 1. In 1431 he was one of the jurors for Salfordshire; Feud. Aids, iii, 95. In a plea of 1445 he was described as the son and heir of Henry, brother of Joan, mother of Thomas Booth, father of Alice wife of Thomas Duncalf; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 8, m. 23.
  • 46. See Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), iii, 589, &c. The Cheshire inquisitions there printed give the descent as follows: Sir Edmund died 24 Jan. 1457–8, leaving a son John, aged 25; Sir John died 11 Jan. 1488–9, leaving a son Edmund, aged 34; Sir Edmund died in 1513, leaving a son Edmund aged 28; Sir Edmund died in 1533, leaving a son also named Edmund, aged 26. These may be compared with the Lancashire inquisitions.
  • 47. Writs of Diem clausit extr. were issued in 1460 and 1462; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvii, App. 177, 176.
  • 48. Sir John Trafford and Edmund his son, in conjunction with Hugh Scholes, the priest, in 1468 made a lease for ninety-six years of certain chantry lands in Manchester for 15s. 6d. net; De Trafford D. no. 51. Sir John died 20 Jan. 1488–9 holding the manor of Trafford, the vill of Stretford, and two parts of the third part of the manor of Edgeworth; the service for Trafford was unknown; Sir Edmund, the son and heir, was thirty-six years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, 85. A pedigree drawn up in 1461 illustrates the claim to the manor of Quick in Saddleworth, purchased by Robert son of the first Sir Henry de Trafford. For default of heirs it came to the second Sir Henry, who granted it to his younger sons Piers and John, with remainder to another son, Thomas [of Garrett in Ancoats]; from the last-named it descended to his grandson Henry; Court of Wards and Liv. box 13A/FD10.
  • 49. (i) Sir Edmund Trafford was made a knight at the creation of Prince Henry as Duke of York in 1494; Metcalfe, op. cit. 25. He died in Aug. 1513 holding the manor of Trafford of the king by the rent of 5s.; its clear value was 40 marks. He also held twenty messuages, &c. in Stretford of the heirs of … Mascy, in socage, by the service of a pair of gloves; the clear annual value was £40. The other estates included a third part of Edgeworth, lands, &c. in Whitfield, Withington (Yeldhouses, Rusholme, Fallowfield, and Moss Side), Chorlton-with-Hardy, Chorltonupon-Medlock, Ancoats, Manchester, Salford, and Turton. His father Sir John had granted lands in Harwood to Margaret on her marriage with Edmund; Margaret still survived. Sir Edmund had settled lands in Chorlton-with-Hardy, Rusholme, Moss Side, Fallowfield, and Beswick to the use of his son Edmund and Elizabeth his wife. This Edmund, the heir, was twenty-four years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iv, 51. (ii) Edmund Trafford recorded a pedigree at the Visit. in 1533 (Chet. Soc. 66). He died 28 June in the same year; the inquisition after his death shows an increase in his possessions, but Trafford and Stretford were held as before. Edmund Trafford, his son and heir, was twenty-six years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, 20. (iii) Sir Edmund Trafford was made a knight in the Scottish Expedition of 1544; Metcalfe, op. cit. 77. He was sheriff in 1532–3 and 1556–7; P.R.O. List, 73. He died on 10 Dec. 1563 holding Trafford of the queen as of the manor of Salford by 5s. rent, and Stretford of Geoffrey Mascy in socage by the rent of a pair of gauntlets, and other manors and lands. Edmund, his son and heir, was thirty-four years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xi, 11. 'Geoffrey Mascy' must be a mistake. (iv) Sir Edmund Trafford recorded a pedigree in 1567; Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 2, 3. He was made a knight in 1578; Metcalfe, op. cit. 132. He was high sheriff of the county in 1564–5, 1570–1, 1579– 80, and 1583–4; P.R.O. List, 73. He was knight of the shire in 1580; Pink and Beaven, op. cit. 66. In 1575 he procured a grant from Warden Herle of the stewardship of all the manors, lands, &c. of the Collegiate church; De Trafford D. no. 75. For his dispute with various persons of Stretford regarding Wallroods see Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii, 193. The inventory of his goods is printed in Piccope's Wills (Chet. Soc.), ii, 72; among others the 'chapel chamber' and the 'schoolmaster's chamber' are named. The inquisition taken after his death (14 Apr. 1590) shows a considerable diminution in the Lancashire estates, and recites the provision made in 1538 by his father Sir Edmund for younger sons—Richard, Alexander, Anthony, and John. Edmund, the son and heir, was twenty-eight years of age in 1590; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xv, 46. (v) Sir Edmund was knighted at York by James I on his journey to London in 1603; Metcalfe, op. cit. 139. He had represented Newton in the Parliament of 1588; Pink and Beaven, op. cit. 277; and was sheriff in 1601–2, 1608–9, and 1616–7; P.R.O. List, 73. A pedigree was recorded in 1613; Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 10. He died at Trafford 7 May 1620 holding the manors of Trafford, Stretford, and Barton, with lands, &c., and in 1611 had settled all upon his son Cecil. The tenures of Trafford and Stretford were unaltered. Edmund, the son and heir, was thirty-six years of age; Sir Cecil Trafford was living at Trafford; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 326–9; Fun. Certs. (Chet. Soc.). Settlements of the manors of Trafford and Stretford were made in 1598 and 1599; to these Barton was added in 1611; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdles. 60, m. 470; 61, m. 324; 80, m. 4.
  • 50. All the Lancashire estates except Trafford and Stretford seem to have gone, but the Barton marriage brought in some new ones. Among the sales and mortgages the following are recorded: 1569, a messuage, 40 acres, &c. in Stretford, with remainder to Thomas Brownsword; 1573, two messuages, 80 acres, &c. in the same, Richard Worsley and George Dykyns, plaintiffs; 1590, forty messuages, &c. in Stretford, &c. sold to Gregory Lovell; 1596, 20 acres, &c. in Trafford to Nicholas Fenne; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 31, m. 204; 35, m. 94; 52, m. 4; 59, m. 119. Sir Robert Lovell in 1597 appears to have sold or mortgaged his father's purchase to William Johnson; ibid. bdle. 58, m. 74. For the Lovells see the account of Withington and its dependencies.
  • 51. In 1580 Sir Edmund wrote from Trafford to the Earl of Leicester, stating that masses were said in several places, and desiring the offenders to be dealt with rigorously; Cal. S.P. Dom. 1547–80, p. 656. The rhetorical account of his persecution of the Allens in 1584 in Bridgewater's Concertatio reads thus: 'The furious hate of this inhuman wretch was all the more fiercely stirred by the fact that he saw offered to him such a prospect of increasing his slender means out of the property of Catholics and of adorning his house with various articles of furniture filched from their houses. For though as far as his own fortune went he could scarcely be called a gentleman, still with other people's gold, no matter how wrongfully come by, he might rightly be called and accounted a knight'; Gillow, Haydock Papers, 31. This may be balanced by the equally rhetorical eulogium of his chaplain, William Massie, who in 1586 addressed him as 'a principal protector of God's truth and a great countenance and credit to the preachers thereof in those quarters,' who had 'hunted out and unkenneled those sly and subtle foxes the Jesuits and Seminary priests out of their cells and caves to the uttermost of his power, with the great illwill of many both open and private enemies to the prince and the church.' He also says that Sir Edmund had 'maintained still his house with great hospitality, in no point diminishing the glory of his worthy predecessors, but rather adding to it'; quoted by Crofton, op. cit. iii, 123. His portrait is given ibid. 129.
  • 52. Ibid. iii, 131–3, 265–72; the marriage led to many disputes and appears to have been unhappy. The parties separated before 1592.
  • 53. This apparently unjust disinheriting of the elder children was naturally resented, and in 1620 the Earl of Exeter wrote to the Council stating that he feared the machinations of the elder brothers against Sir Cecil, and begging that they might be ordered to abstain from violence, and that a competent guard might be placed in the chief manor-house; Cal. S.P. Dom. 1619–23, p. 146. A settlement of the manors was made in 1622 by Sir Cecil Trafford, acting with Edmund, John, and Richard Trafford; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 100, no. 22.
  • 54. Metcalfe, op. cit. 171.
  • 55. Crofton, op. cit. iii, 136–7. Hollinworth states that in 1632 Daniel Baker, rector of Ashton on Mersey and fellow of the College, having on Good Friday administered the Lord's Supper and being (as it was feared) somewhat overcharged with drink in Salford, was found dead in the morning in the water under Salford Bridge, no one knowing how he came there; Dr. Butts, Vice-chancellor of Cambridge, hanged himself on Easter Day afterwards; and some other ministers and eminent professors came that year to an untimely end; and that these facts, together with a dispute between two of the fellows of the College as to the nature of sin, 'seemed to the papists, especially to those that were then newly revolted to them, as Sir Cecil Trafford of Trafford, knight, and Francis Downes of Wardley, esq. and others, signal evidences of God's anger and wrath and presages of the ruin of the Reformed religion'; Mancuniensis, 115–6.
  • 56. Crofton, op. cit. iii, 276; the lessees paid £200 fine and £80 rent. There is a reference to the matter in Cal. S.P. Dom. 1648–9, p. 407.
  • 57. Crofton, op. cit. iii, 138–9; Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc.), 39, 62, 65 (where he is styled 'that Arch-papist').
  • 58. Foley, Rec. S. J. vi, 626; Douay Diaries, 81–2.
  • 59. Cal. of Com. for Compounding, iv, 2865. A settlement or mortgage of the manors was made in 1654 by Sir Cecil Trafford, acting with Edmund, his son and heir apparent; Richard Haworth was plaintiff; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 156, m. 194. A pedigree was recorded in 1665; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 315–8.
  • 60. The remainder of this account of the family is taken from Mr. Crofton's work, iii, 141–51, where details and portraits will be found. There is a full pedigree in Piccope's MS. Pedigrees (Chet. Lib.), i, 303. The arms, crest, and motto of the family are discussed by Crofton, iii, 90–4.
  • 61. Edmund Trafford and Frances his wife were convicted recusants in 1678; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 110.
  • 62. About this time Sir John Bland complained that the Commissioners for assessments were not acting rightly, because they did not assess the tenants of 'Papists' double; 'and for Mr. Trafford's estate it is all assessed single, they pretending the estate is not in him, because of the statute of Bankruptcy'; ibid. 289.
  • 63. He was buried at Manchester on 15 Nov. 1716, being about eighty-eight years old.
  • 64. A settlement or mortgage of the manors of Trafford, Stretford, Barton, and Whittleswick, with messuages, lands, &c. was in 1718 made by Humphrey Trafford and Anne his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 282, m. 99. John Mead was the plaintiff. Humphrey Trafford in 1779 paid the ancient rent of 5s. for 'Stretford,' due to the lord of Salford; Duchy of Lanc. Rentals, 14/25.
  • 65. Crofton, op. cit. iii, 147. John Trafford was son of Humphrey son of John son of John son of Sir Cecil Trafford. In 1793 a private Act was obtained enabling John Trafford and others to grant leases of the estates devised by the will of Humphrey Trafford for building, also to grant leases of certain waste moss lands; 33 Geo. III, cap. 58.
  • 66. Crofton, op. cit. iii, 215. Thirteen Stretford men were among the Manchester Yeomanry who charged the crowd at 'Peterloo' in 1819.
  • 67. Roland Mosley of Hough End died in 1617 holding a capital messuage called Turf Moss, with lands belonging to the same in Stretford and Chorlton with Hardy; 'the heirs of Hamon de Mascy' were the chief lords; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 66, 69. This had probably been purchased from the Lovells, who had bought from the Traffords. Detailed accounts of the estates will be found in Mr. Crofton's work, iii, 70, 79.
  • 68. Ibid. 84. Thomas Walker of Manchester, a noted Reformer, who had lived at Barlow Hall, purchased Longford, and died in 1817. One of his sons, also Thomas, born at Barlow in 1784, was known in Stretford and in London as a philanthropist; he published a weekly series of essays called The Original. He died in 1836, and there is an account of of him in Dict. Nat. Biog. Charles James Stanley Walker, another son of the elder Thomas, sold Longford in 1855.
  • 69. Crofton, op. cit. 164–6; a portrait is given. John Rylands was born at St. Helens in 1801, began business in Manchester in 1823, and died in 1888. He was a Congregationalist in religion. There is a notice of him in Dict. Nat. Biog.
  • 70. Crofton, op. cit. 193–6.
  • 71. Land tax returns at Preston.
  • 72. Quoted in Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc.), i, 55.
  • 73. The only endowment was a tenement at Whitehall in Budworth, Cheshire, and the chantry priest in 1547 could produce no deeds. There were long suits concerning the lands from 1554 onwards; Duchy of Lane. Misc. Bks. xxiii, 72 d, and Crofton, Stretford, i, 51–5. From the depositions it appears that the land had been purchased from Thomas Hardware by Edmund Trafford, father of the Sir Edmund Trafford living in 1560, i.e. by the Sir Edmund who held the Trafford estates from 1513 to 1533. This chantry was probably founded soon after 1530, for a witness stated that her husband, who had been tenant, had 'twenty years past' (i.e. in 1540) been told that the chantry priest had become his landlord. This chantry is not named in the Valor Eccl. of 1535. Two cantarists are known: c. 1540, Christopher Rainshaw; Crofton, op. cit.; Clergy List (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 11, 'paid by Edmund Trafford and others at Stretford.' c. 1547, Charles Gee, whose name also appears in the Visitation lists of 1548 and 1554.
  • 74. Raines, Chantries, i, 55, 56. The 'ornaments' were sold for 10d.; ibid. ii, 277.
  • 75. Visit. List at Chest.
  • 76. Crofton, op. cit. i, 60; he is described as 'aged 40'—i.e. forty or more—in 1586, so that he must have been quite young in 1563. A William Hodgkinson obtained a schoolmaster's licence for Middlewich or elsewhere in the diocese in 1576; and later in the year the same or another of the name was executor of Roger Hodgkinson, clerk, deceased; Pennant's Acct. Bk. Chest.
  • 77. In 1619 William Cheeseman was named as 'preacher' at the chapel; he did not wear the surplice nor make the sign of the cross in baptism. George Nicholson, 'late curate,' was named; Visit. P. at Chest. Mr. Crofton gives, with biographical notes, the following names:-Before 1604, William James, 'suspected of fornication' (Visit. List); 1618, Richard Wylde; 1619, W. Cheeseman; 1622, — Knott (Misc. Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches. i, 66); c. 1625, Humphrey Tylecote, a 'known opposer of Prelacy' (d. 1626); 1638, Robert Williams; 1642, Edmund Hopwood; 1647, Hugh Newton (? ordained); 1649, John Odcroft (unordained); 1651, Arthur Francis; 1653, — Nuttall; 1655, Jeremy Scholes, M.A. (Emmanuel College, Camb.); 1658, Edward Richardson, silenced in 1662. Notices of several of these may be seen in W. A. Shaw's Manch. Classis (Chet. Soc.). The registers begin in 1599. Copious extracts may be seen in Mr. Crofton's work (i, 120, &c.), where also are given particulars of the bells, plate, monumental inscriptions, extracts from account books, and lists of officers. The inscriptions are copied in the Owen MSS.
  • 78. About 1610 Stretford was included in the list of chapels, the curates and preachers whereof were maintained by the inhabitants; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 11. In 1650 Mr. John Odcroft, preacher of God's word, was 'paid by the inhabitants … without any allowance from the rectory or parish church of Manchester or otherwise, to the insupportable burden and charge of the said inhabitants'; Commonwealth Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 5. A recommendation was added that Stretford should be made a parish. An allowance of £10 was made to Odcroft about 1649, but it was not till 1654 that a share of the tithes, £35 10s., was appropriated to Stretford; Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 260; ii, 55, 77.
  • 79. Gastrell, Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 95; the surplice fees amounted to 10s. and the voluntary contributions to £10. There were two wardens in 1673. There were four Presbyterian families known. The following curates occur after the Restoration:—c. 1665, Francis Mosley; 1671, James Lees (also at Chorlton), 'went away'; 1679,—Stockton; 1689, Peter Shaw; 1696, — Diggles (Visit. List); 1706, John Collier; Crofton, op. cit. i, 68–71. Some of them served other churches in addition to Stretford.
  • 80. Crofton, op. cit. i, 71, 82; a view is given. There was a sundial on the wall above the south door.
  • 81. Ibid. i, 83, 84, with views.
  • 82. Lond. Gaz. 29 Mar. 1839, 16 June 1854.
  • 83. This list is taken from Crofton's Stretford, i, 71–86, where short notices will be found.
  • 84. A John Baxter was admitted to St. John's College, Camb., in 1724, and graduated as B.A. in 1727; R. F. Scott, Admissions, iii, 39.
  • 85. Rector of Wyham, Lincs.; Foster, Alumni.
  • 86. Crofton, op. cit. i, 75–8 and Dict. Nat. Biog. He was under suspension for debt during most of his tenure.
  • 87. High Master of Manchester Grammar School, 1837–40.
  • 88. He procured the building of the present church and also stopped the pandemonium of Wakes Sunday. The chancel, with a stained glass window, was erected as a memorial of him. He projected a history of the township. He is noticed in Dict. Nat. Biog.
  • 89. Vicar of Christ Church, Newgate Street, London, 1882.
  • 90. For district see Lond. Gaz. 17 May 1879. It was an offshoot of St. Margaret's, Whalley Range, a school church having been built in 1863; Crofton, op. cit. iii, 49.
  • 91. For district see Lond. Gaz. 13 Aug. 1858; and Crofton, op. cit. iii, 62. The gift of the chapel to the Bishop of Manchester was decided to be a breach of the trusts, but the order creating a district does not appear to have been rescinded.
  • 92. Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 96; above p. 201.
  • 93. The Wesleyans held services in Stretford as early as 1814, and then or soon afterwards used a tent set up once a week. In spite of the opposition of Sir Thomas de Trafford, who refused to sell any land, a site was secured and a chapel built in 1844. The present church was built in 1862.
  • 94. The first Congregational chapel, built in 1840, was the outcome of openair preaching, begun as early as 1825. The present church was built in 1861. Chorlton Road Church, opened in the same year, has replaced the old Cannon Street Chapel in Manchester; it is famed as the scene of Dr. J. A. Macfadyen's labours; he died in 1889; Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconf. v, 127–32.
  • 95. The above-named John Holker was one of them. A local story in Crofton's Stretford (iii, 213) illustrates the hardships of a 'Papist's' life during the centuries of proscription; there was 'no law' for them, and they might be ill-treated at pleasure. For their insignificant numbers sec ibid. iii, 52.
  • 96. The mission was served from Trafford Hall in the adjacent township.
  • 97. Ibid. iii, 53.
  • 98. Brooks' Bar, so called from Samuel Brooks the banker, who owned the Whalley Range estate, was formerly a toll bar; Crofton, Old Moss Side, 30.