Townships: Butterworth

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

This free content was digitised by double rekeying. All rights reserved.

Citation:

'Townships: Butterworth', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp213-222 [accessed 14 October 2024].

'Townships: Butterworth', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online, accessed October 14, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp213-222.

"Townships: Butterworth". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1911), , British History Online. Web. 14 October 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp213-222.

In this section

BUTTERWORTH

Butterworth, Buttersworth, 1278; Boterwrth, 1292.

Cleg, 1284.

Okeden, 1276; Akeden, 1292.

This township, which contains the chapelry of Milnrow, occupies the south-east part of the parish, and has an area of 7,765½ acres. The surface is comparatively level in the west and south, but on the eastern border rises steeply, a height of nearly 1,500 feet being reached. The following are the former hamlets or subdivisions:—Butterworth Hall, 738½ acres; Belfield, 458; Clegg, 1,677; Low House, 1,278; Wildhouse, 264; Haugh, 599; Bleakedgate with Roughbank, 2,751.

The township has long been divided into two sections, the Freehold side and the Lordship side. (fn. 1) These 'sides' refer to the ancient terms of tenure, some freehold, some of the lord of the manor by various rents and services. The tenements of each class are scattered all over the township, and the existing classification became fixed before 1600, the various holdings being judged to belong to freehold or lordship side in accordance therewith, though all the holdings have long ago been enfranchised. The classification is still maintained by tradition, because each 'side' has been accustomed to have a constable in the Rochdale manor court. (fn. 2)

The principal road is that going south-east and east from Rochdale through Milnrow to Huddersfield. From Milnrow a road goes north to join the Rochdale-Todmorden road. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's railway from Rochdale to Todmorden passes through Belfield, and the canal between the same places goes along by the line; the same company's line from Rochdale to Oldham has stations at Milnrow and New Hey.

A 'disorderly custom' called the Rushbearing used to take place on the Saturday before St. James's Day. (fn. 3) The rushcarts finally disappeared about ten years ago, but the annual fair or holiday is still called the Rushbearing, and is kept at various dates in the autumn at Milnrow and other places in the Rochdale district.

Formerly Chapel Croft used to be mowed after the other fields, the superstition being that if it were mown without rain falling, none of the hay from the meadows would be got in dry. (fn. 4)

Hollinworth Lake is a large artificial reservoir formed to supply the Rochdale Canal; it is a favourite resort of pleasure parties.

The soil is light gravel and clay, with subsoil of rough gravel. The land is chiefly in pasture.

A local board was constituted at Milnrow in 1870; (fn. 5) it became an urban district council in 1894, and the district was formed into an independent township; there are three wards—Belfield, Milnrow, and Haugh, each with six members.

Manor

Butterworth, or the part of it held by Hugh de Eland about 1190, was given by him to Gilbert de Notton, son and heir of Gilbert de Notton, in marriage with his daughter Margery; (fn. 6) they had issue a son Roger, a benefactor of Monk Bretton. Margery afterwards married Sir Baldwin Tyas, or Teutonicus, by whom she had a daughter Joan, married first to Sir Robert de Hoyland of High Hoyland, in Yorkshire, and afterwards to Sir John de Byron. (fn. 7) The estate of the Elands and their heirs, the Saviles, with numerous additions, (fn. 8) was known as the manor of BUTTERWORTH, and descended like Clayton in Droylsden till the beginning of the 17th century, when the whole was sold to a large number of purchasers, mostly the occupying tenants. (fn. 9) Sir John Byron, who died in 1489, was found to have held twelve messuages, 200 acres of land, 10 acres of wood, &c, in Butterworth, of Sir John Savile, by services un known; also parcels in Ogden. (fn. 10) It appears that the Byrons held land also of the Hospitallers, who owned a great part of the township, (fn. 11) for in the rental it is stated that a later Sir John Byron, about 1540, paid 18d. for Butterworth. (fn. 12) The hall, which existed in 1420, (fn. 13) was built upon the Hospitallers' land. (fn. 14)

A number of families used the local surname. (fn. 15) In the central hamlet, known as Butterworth Hall, are situated Milnrow with the chapel, and the residences called Lady House, (fn. 16) Holt, (fn. 17) and Gartside, (fn. 18) all of which tenements possess some historical interest.

BELFIELD, held in part of the Hospitallers, (fn. 19) gave its name to the family owning it; but little is known of them, (fn. 20) a branch of the Butterworths having possession from the 16th century onwards. Robert Butterworth died in December 1557 holding Belfield Hall with various messuages and lands in Butterworth, partly of the Belfields and partly of others; also messuages and lands in Castleton, Hundersfield, and Oldham. (fn. 21) Edward, his next of kin and heir, being a nephew, succeeded, and died in 1570, when Alexander, his son and heir, was about six years of age. (fn. 22) Alexander died in 1623, leaving a son Edward, (fn. 23) who in 1626 held Belfield Hall and 240 acres of land, as well as lands elsewhere. (fn. 24) Edward Butterworth was a Presbyterian, and became a member of the Bury classis on its formation in 1646; (fn. 25) a younger brother, Alexander, joined the king's forces, and compounded for his estate in 1650. (fn. 26) Another brother, Jonathan, left a son Alexander, (fn. 27) who in 1665 succeeded his uncles Edward and Alexander in the estate, and died in 1728, having parted with it to his steward, Richard Townley, a Rochdale mercer. (fn. 28) The new owner, who was high sheriff in 1752, (fn. 29) was followed by his son and grandson; but Belfield was in 1851 sold to Robert Nuttall of Kempsay, whose grandson, Captain Clement R. N. BeswickeRoyds, of Pike House, Littleborough, still owns it.

Butterworth of Belfield. Argent a lion couchant azure between four coronets gules.

BELFIELD HALL is a quadrangular building standing on an elevated site. The principal front, which was rebuilt in brick in 1752, faces south. On the west side the ground falls abruptly towards a small stream called the Stannybrook, and the position of the hall, as seen from the south-west, is very striking. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway passes close to it on the north. The hall is now nearly wholly dismantled, and is fast falling into decay. Two portions of the building—at the north-east corner, and on the west side of the quadrangle—are occupied as cottages, and these are the only parts of the old house at present in a state of repair, the outer walls having been largely rebuilt, and modern windows inserted. The rest of the house, including the 18th-century south wing, is little better than a ruin. The doors are open for anyone to enter, the windows are smashed, the floors broken, and the roofs do not keep out the rain. The whole presents a picture of desolation, all the more to be regretted because a little timely repair would have preserved the building for many years to come. Less than twenty years ago the house presented an ordered appearance, which is now difficult to recall.

The building is of stone and of two stories. The walls are constructed with thin rough coursed stones with long quoins on the angles, and the roofs are 'covered' with grey stone slates. The entrance to the quadrangle is through a gateway 8 ft. wide on the east side. From this, under the archway, doors open to rooms on either side; that on the south is said to have been the Justices' Room, or Court House, and over the door were formerly the arms of Butterworth. To the north was a large room with a fireplace on the west side, opening to the principal room of the north wing. This was lit on the south side by a long stone-mullioned bay window of no less than sixteen lights. The kitchens were probably on the west side. The 18th-century south wing seems to have taken the place of an older wing. A sundial plate formerly at Belfield (fn. 30) bears the date 1619, and it is possible that the Hall as now existing is of much the same period. The west side has been much altered in more recent times, and may even have been entirely rebuilt before the coming of the Townleys in 1728. The quadrangle measures about 46 ft. across from east to west, and 42 ft. from north to south. It is now overgrown with grass, though the cobble pavement was in good condition till a quite recent date (i.e. in 1889). The principal room on the north side of the quadrangle is about 38 ft. in length, and 24 ft. in breadth, and has a flat ceiling. There is a large ingle-nook 10 ft. wide at the west end, now built up. Until recently the room was occupied as cottages, and the wall dividing it into two still remains. The whole of the courtyard side of the room is taken up by the sixteen-light window before mentioned, with a smaller window on each side, one single light in each return. The bay is 23 ft. in length inside, and is carried up with a projection of 2 ft. 6 in. to the first floor, where a similar window lights the room above. On the other side are two smaller bays facing north, one of them awkwardly contrived behind the projection of the ingle-nook. These seem to be later additions or afterthoughts to the original design, and built with more regard to outside than inside appearance. The staircase is said to have been in the north-east angle of the house, though there are now no traces of it. In the west wing, supposed to have contained the kitchen, is a fireplace opening 17 ft. wide, since built up, and two modern grates inserted, the room having previously been divided into two.

Plan of Belfield Hall

The exterior elevations of Belfield Hall are chiefly distinguished by the long low stone windows without transoms, which give the building a rather squat and monotonous appearance. The entrance front to the east has a thirteen-light window of this description to the left of the gateway and two similar windows each of five lights to the right. Above, on the first floor, are five windows of five lights each and one with two. All the windows in the old part of the house, with the exception of those to the great bay on the south side and four in the west wing, have transoms are of the same type, and the lack of variety in detail makes the building just miss that note of distinction which otherwise it might have possessed. There is a continuous moulded stringcourse at the height of the ground-floor windowheads which is continued round the entrance archway on the east side, and the upper windows on the outer elevation have hood-moulds. The two great sixteen-light transomed windows to the courtyard, one over the other, separated by a plain wall-space, together with the gable on the west side, make the inner elevations far more picturesque than those on the outside of the house —a picturesqueness, however, the full effect of which is lost by the otherwise straight and unbroken lines of the eavesand roofs.

The northern elevation now facing the railway is broken up by the two small projecting bays, which go up both stories and finish with stone gables. This front seems to have been much patched and altered. The end gable and wall below to the east, as has before been stated, has been entirely refaced in modern times, and the two doorways which now give entrance to the chief apartments are modern insertions. On the other hand it appears that a projecting bay 11 ft. in width formerly existed in the centre of the wall on this side, as shown by the break in the plinth. The south side of the quadrangle is occupied by the back of the 18th-century building erected by Col. Townley which rises a full story above the lines of the eaves of the old roofs, and consequently overshadows the courtyard on the side where the light could be least spared. No attempt has been made to harmonize the new work with the old except that the wall has on this side been faced with stone—probably the old materials used up—and the south side of the quadrangle is properly a back elevation. In later times an enormous buttress has been introduced to strengthen the wall, further destroying the picturesqueness of the courtyard.

The new south front erected by Col. Townley in 1752 is a classic composition of two stories in brick and stone possessing a certain dignity and stateliness, but rather coarse in detail. It is about 100 ft. in length. The centre portion has Doric pilasters, a heavy cornice and panelled attic of stone, and is flanked by slightly recessed wings with four windows on each floor, the end windows on each side being much too near the angles of the building. The whole of this portion of the house is practically gutted, and is in a dangerous condition.

WILD HOUSE was about 1540 held of the Hospitallers by Nicholas Butterworth, who paid a quitrent of 6d. (fn. 31) It passed by marriage to the Hamers, and after several sales became the property of the Fentons. (fn. 32) Birchinley is another old estate, which has also come into the Fentons' possession. (fn. 33)

LOW HOUSE was also held of the Hospitallers by a rent of 18d.; the tenant about 1540 was Robert Butterworth. (fn. 34) In 1626 it was held by John Butterworth, together with the adjoining Crow Nest estate, paying various rents to the chief lords. (fn. 35) It afterwards descended to the Chadwicks of Roughbank. (fn. 36)

FLASH HOUSE, also part of the Hospitallers' estate, was long held by the Chethams of Nuthurst. (fn. 37) Turnagh, corrupted into Turner, occurs in deeds of the 13th century. (fn. 38) The family appear to have settled at Scholefield, and in 1626 Edward Whitehead held part of it by grant of Gerard Scholefield, paying a rent of 7d. to Sir John Byron; John Butterworth held another part. (fn. 39)

SCHOLEFIELD or Schofield gave its name to a family who held it for many centuries. (fn. 40) A number of the charters have been preserved, (fn. 41) from which it appears that John son of Alan de Hollinworth gave Adam de Turnagh, his lord, an oxgang of land in the Scholefield in Hollinworth, which his father had purchased from Roger de Winterworth; (fn. 42) and that Roger de Butterworth released all his right in the same oxgang. (fn. 43) William son of Adam de Turnagh had a grant of land in Longden Brook, (fn. 44) and perhaps John de Scholefield, the first known to have assumed the name, was another son of Adam, or else a son of William. (fn. 45) John appears to have had several sons— John, William, Adam, and Richard; (fn. 46) and in the time of Richard II John the son, then known as John de Scholefield the elder, made a grant of lands to his son John. (fn. 47) At the same time a Henry de Scholefield appears, (fn. 48) and in the next century a Hugh de Scholefield, probably son of the younger John, was in possession. (fn. 49) He left a son James, (fn. 50) from whom the descent is readily traced. (fn. 51) Cuthbert Scholefield, greatgrandson of James, living in the time of Elizabeth, was party to numerous suits. (fn. 52) His nephew Gerard (fn. 53) succeeded, and died at Holt in Butterworth on 1 October 1638, holding Schole, field Hall, Windy Hills, and the Holt; Windy Hills which had been purchased of Sir John Byron, was held of the king by knight's service, but the tenure of the rest was unknown. (fn. 54) The son and heir James was eighteen years of age; he was living in 1665, when he recorded a pedigree at the Visitation, (fn. 55) and was succeeded by his son Radcliffe, whose son, grandson, and great-grandson were Nonconformist ministers. Scholefield Hall was sold in 1673 to Seth Clayton, and in 1770 to Robert Entwisle of Foxholes.

Scholefield. Gules a fesse between three bulls' heads cabossed argent.

CLEGG (fn. 56) gave a surname to its earlier owners, (fn. 57) who were succeeded by a branch of the Belfields, (fn. 58) from whom it descended in the 16th century to the Ashtons. (fn. 59) It afterwards passed through various hands, becoming at last the property of the Fentons. It was sold by Mr. R. K. Fenton in 1906.

CLEGG HALL stands on the site of an older house on high ground about 2½ miles north-east of Rochdale. It is a strong-looking stone building of three stories and an attic, rectangular in plan, measuring about 68 ft. in length by 50 ft. from front to back, with three gables on each face and a projecting porch on the principal or north front. It was apparently built at the end of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century (the Ashton mullet carved in the spandrels of the entrance doorway fixing the date somewhere between 1571 and 1622), and is a good example of the stone-built house of the period, with mullioned and transomed windows. The lower story forms a basement with a high plinth at the level of the sill of the windows of the principal floor, the ground being raised in front opposite to the entrance, which no doubt was approached by steps. In front the building is therefore apparently of less height than at the sides and back, where the ground retains its natural level.

The plan is interesting, and of quite a different type from the traditional one from which the majority of house plans in the district are derived. It has indeed on the ground floor a large room taking up the north-east angle, which represents the hall, and has at the west doorways opening north and south to the porch and main staircase, recalling in some degree the passage through the screens at the lower end of a hall. But otherwise the disposition of the rooms is entirely dictated by the simple rectangular plan, with the staircase set centrally in the back or south half, and four approximately equal rooms on each floor. The kitchen is in the base, at the south-west angle, and the fireplaces of the various rooms are arranged back to back in a wall running east and west through the middle of the building.

The building as a whole is very plain in detail, the whole of the ornamentation being concentrated in the porch, which is of two stories under the middle gable, with a round-arched doorway under a square head on the ground floor, and a five-light mullioned and transomed window above, with two lights on each return. The doorway is flanked by pairs of classic columns, with entablatures over, and the window above also has a column on each side with a smaller entablature and cornice of less projection. The detail of this Renaissance work is coarse and poor, and the capitals of the columns of a rather nondescript character. The elevations are very symmetrical; on each side of the porch are two windows on each floor, of four or five lights, and the gables have copings and ornamental finials. The principal first-floor room, or hall, is distinguished by having five-light windows. The north and west sides are faced with large coursed stones, but on the east and south the walling is of rubble. All the windows have labels, those of the first floor being continued round the building as a string-course, and nearly all the windows retain their original mullions and transoms. The roofs are covered with stone slates. The original appearance of the interior has been entirely lost by the house having been divided for a long time into separate tenements, a use to which it is still put. (fn. 60)

CLEGGSWOOD (fn. 61) became the seat of the Belfields of Belfield about 1500, (fn. 62) and by the marriage of Anne Belfield to Richard Ingham was about 1640 carried to the latter family, who owned it for the greater part of a century. (fn. 63) Little Clegg was owned by a family named Clegg. (fn. 64) Whitacre or Whittaker was at one time owned by the Scholefields. (fn. 65) HOLLINWORTH, or at least the portion which belonged to the Hospitallers, was long tenanted by a family named Hill. (fn. 66) About 1270 2 oxgangs in Hollinworth were held by William de Sale and Cecily his wife, in the latter's right, it would appear; and in 1278 a messuage and half an oxgang were granted to John de Houghton and Cecily his wife at a rent of 13d. (fn. 67) Afterwards the estate was sold to Sir John de Byron and Joan his wife. (fn. 68)

Of HAUGH or Halgh there is little to be said; (fn. 69) it was acquired by the Byrons.

In Bleakedgate was OGDEN, originally Akeden, formerly held by Monk Bretton Priory. (fn. 70) It also became part of the Byron estate. (fn. 71) ROUGH BANK was in 1626 owned by James Chadwick; the estate descended regularly from father to son, and in 1889 was the residence of Dr. John Chadwick. (fn. 72)

The names of some other of the more ancient owners can be obtained from inquisitions (fn. 73) and from the Survey of 1626. (fn. 74) In this year the common measured 590 acres stinted and 915 acres unstinted, and contained two coal mines, very beneficial to the occupiers. (fn. 75) There was no copyhold land.

The most considerable landowners in 1787 were John Entwisle and the Misses Halliwell, but together they paid less than a fifth of the land tax. (fn. 76)

Church

The chapel of ST. JAMES at MILNROW was built, it is supposed, about 1497. (fn. 77) It was in 1548 seized by the Crown as a chantry chapel, but purchased by the inhabitants for 36s. 8d. (fn. 78) The list of curates is almost complete from 1590, but there was no endowment. (fn. 79) In 1715 the stipend paid was £13, partly out of tithes and partly out of pew rents; (fn. 80) but afterwards some additional endowment was obtained. (fn. 81) The old chapel, having become ruinous, was abandoned in 1798, and a new one built, which had to be rebuilt in 1815. It was taken down when the present church was built in 1869. (fn. 82) The old chapel bell is now at Hollinworth school; (fn. 83) the sundial, dated 1664, is in the vicarage garden. (fn. 84) Entries in the registers begin in 1715. The district was formed in 1858. The vicar of Rochdale presents the incumbents, who are styled vicars. The following is a list of those since 1693:— (fn. 85)

1693 James Lawton
oc. 1696–9 John Halliwell
1699 Thomas Milne, M.A. (Brasenose Coll. Oxf.)
c. 1702 Peter Ashton, B.A. (Peterhouse, Camb.)
1718 Robert Pearson, B.A. (St. John's Coll. Camb.)
1739 Joshua Tillotson, M.A. (Emmanuel Coll. Camb.)
1745 Joseph Sutcliffe, B.A. (St. John's Coll. Camb.)
1759 Joseph Haigh, B.A. (Magdalene Coll. Camb.)
1795 John Hutchinson, B.A. (Corpus Christi Coll. Camb.)
1800 William Hodgson
1832 Francis Robert Raines, M.A. (Lamb.) (fn. 86)
1878 Howard Augustus Crosbie, M.A. (Trinity Coll. Camb.) (fn. 87)
1883 Frank Parkin Wright, M.A. (St. John's Coll. Camb.)

A school was founded in 1726. (fn. 88) From 1739 till his death in 1786 the master was the celebrated John Collier, known as 'Tim Bobbin,' author of A View of the Lancashire Dialect. (fn. 89)

There are several modern churches in the township. In connexion with the Church of England, St. Thomas's, Newhey, was built in 1876; (fn. 90) the Bishop of Manchester is patron. There are Wesleyan, Primitive and Free Methodist chapels at Belfield, Milnrow, and Newhey, and a Baptist chapel at Ogden. There is also a Congregational chapel at Milnrow. (fn. 91)

Footnotes

  • 1. Gastrell, Notitia (Chet. Soc), ii, 141.
  • 2. a Information of Lt.-Col. H. Fishwick.
  • 3. Gastrell, op. cit. ii, 142. The ancient custom was not originally 'disorderly.'
  • 4. Fishwick, Rochdale, 534.
  • 5. Lond. Gaz. 4 Feb. 1870. The district was extended in 1879 by 42 & 43 Viet. cap. 86.
  • 6. For the Eland-Tyas-Byron descent, see Yorks.Arch. Journ. vii, 131, 132.
  • 7. A large number of Butterworth deeds are contained in the Byron Chartulary ('Black Book of Clayton'). From these it appears that Sir Baldwin gave to Robert de Hoyland, who had married Joan his daughter, all his land in Butterworth, Clegg, Gartside, Ogden, the two Hollinworths, &c, with the mill and demesne, also the homages and services, except that of John de Lacy; no. 71/152. There are some other grants by Sir Baldwin, e.g. to Henry the Smith, 6 acres bounded partly by the Beal and Ogden Brook; ibid, no. 29/73; and 2 acres of meadow in the south side of Buckley Carr to Robert de Butterworth, at a rent of 8d.; ibid. no. 69/150. Robert de Hoyland granted to Thomas son of Adam de Birghou an oxgang which John de Haworth had held of Sir Baldwin le Tyas and Margery his wife at a rent of 2s.; ibid. no. 70/151. Joan de Hoyland in her widowhood gave to William de Rushworth parcels called Moterode, Crookedrode, and Horsefalinge, at a rent of 3d.; ibid. no. 72/153. John de Byron and Joan his wife were plaintiffs in 1278, claiming lands against Philip, Abbot of Roche; Assize R. 1238, m. 51; R. 1259, rn. 39. This was probably a dispute as to the boundary between Butterworth and Saddleworth. Hugh de Eland in 1292 released to Sir John de Byron and Joan his wife and the heirs of Sir John, all his right in lands &c, in the vill of Butterworth, excepting the lordship of the vill, 22s. yearly rent, and the homage and service of Richard son of Gilbert de Butterworth for 2 oxgangs of land; Byron Chartul. no. 8/154. John de Eland (as son of Hugh son of John son of Hugh) claimed the manor of Butterworth in 1335 against Richard de Byron; De Banco R. 301, m. 152 d. In 1321 Agnes, widow of John de Byron and then wife of John de Strickland, claimed dower in a messuage, oxgang of land, water-mill, &c; De Banco R. 240, m. 192. A mill then existed on the Beal. Henry son of Richard de Butterworth and Richard his brother, released to Sir Baldwin le Tyas all their right in the mill opposite the house of Andrew Brun; for which Sir Baldwin gave them a hawk; Byron Chartul. no. 82/219. The same Henry afterwards released to Joan de Hoyland and her heirs all his right in the mill and pool; ibid. no. 83/220. The De Lacy Compotus of 1296 (Chet. Soc. 6) shows that John de Byron had formerly held lands rendering 42s. 9½d., and that he still held some directly of the Earl of Lincoln by a rent of 2s. In the Inquest of 1311 (Chet. Soc. 20) the latter tenement is described as 6 acres in Butterworth.
  • 8. The Byron Chartulary shows a number of acquisitions from the smaller holders; some of them are recorded in these notes. Butterworth was included in a Byron settlement in 1432–41; Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 98, 104, 106.
  • 9. A number of the deeds will be found in Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), vi, fol. 1–93.
  • 10. Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 48; the clear annual value was 40 marks. A century earlier the Byrons' estate in Butterworth was stated to be held of the Duke of Lancaster by knight's service; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 65. The heir of Francis Pulteney in 1545–7 claimed lands in Royton, Ogden, Haugh, and Butterworth, against Sir John Byron; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 105. Sir John Byron in 1558 recovered the manor from Michael Pulteney; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 20, m. 7.
  • 11. See Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 375; De Banco R. 279, m. 180 d.
  • 12. Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 84.
  • 13. Licence for oratories at Clayton and Butterworth was granted to Sir John Byron on 4 Feb. 1420–1; Lich. Epis. Reg. ix, fol. 3b.
  • 14. 'Butterworth Hall' has long been the name of one of the hamlets, and the actual site of the ancient hall appears to be unknown, but Col. Fishwick judges that the house owned by the Mayall family and their successors had the best title to the name; Rochdale, 339. Robert Mayall, who died in 1622, held lands in Butterworth and Buersill of William, Earl of Derby. as of his manor of Woolton, a3 parcel of the late Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, in socage by 2¼d. rent. James Mayall, the son and heir, was over eleven years of age; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), iii, 370. For the later history see Fishwick, loc. cit.
  • 15. The Byron Chartulary contains many names of Butterworths; some have been given in preceding notes, and in addition the following may be cited: John son of Andrew de Brune granted Richard son of Robert de Butterworth half an oxgang of land in Butterworth, purchased from Henry his brother, at 6d. rent; ibid. no. 14/77. Ellis son of Andrew de Brune gave Sir John de Byron and Joan his wife half an oxgang; ibid, no 54/224. Maud, daughter of Robert son of Alexander de Butterworth, granted an oxgang and a half of her father's land to Robert son of Thomas the Clerk, at a rent of 18d.; ibid. no. 34/80. Geoffrey son of Award de Butterworth granted to his lord, Sir John de Byron, and Joan his wife, an oxgang held of Sir John, together with all the lands and rents held of him in the vill; ibid. no. 41/85. Richard son of Roger de Butterworth gave the service of Henry son of Robert de Butterworth for an oxgang of land in Butterworth to Sir John de Byron; ibid. no. 70/181. Geoffrey, son of Thomas Bon of Henry de Butterworth, about 1260–70, granted to Sir John de Byron and Joan his wife and their heirs all his inheritance in Butterworth, as well as the lands he had held of Sir John, withhomages, escheats, wards and reliefs, liberties, &c, at a rent of a gingerroot yearly; ibid. no. 55/225. This charter was alleged by the tenants of Butterworth at the survey of 1626; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxi, 54. From Hugh de Eland's charter quoted above, it appears that Richard son of Gilbert de Butterworth held of him 2 oxgangs. This Richard granted to Sir John de Byron all his land between Bradley Brook and the ditch of Geoffrey dc Turnagh, and the Hulls and the field of Ralph del Rode, with a house on the Hulls and all the bylandings on that side; Byron Chartul. no. 40/82. In 3 Edw. (? II) Richard son of Gilbert de Butterworth granted all his lands to his son William, with remainders tc younger sons, Thomas and Adam; Towneley MS. GG. no. 681. The tenants' names and services are given; one of them was Richard's son Henry, who held Belgrene by a rent of 6d.; see also Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 5. The name Belgrene occurs later in the account of Milnrow Chapel. By an early deed John son of Hugh de Eland gave to Reynold son of Henry Brown an oxgang called Belgrene, at the ancient rent of 2s.; and afterwards gave him 2 oxgangs which his uncle William had held; Towneley MS. GG, no. 639, 662.
  • 16. It was formerly the residence of the Milne family; see Fishwick, op. cit. 379. James Milne died in 1623 holding a messuage and lands in Butterworth of the heir of Geoffrey son of Thomas de Butterworth, rendering a root of ginger yearly; he also held land in Buersill of the Earl of Derby as of his manor of Woolton. James, his son and heir, was thirty-six years of age; Towneley MS. C, 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), p. 858.
  • 17. It lies on the east of Milnrow, and is supposed to have given a surname to the Holt family, long the principal residents in the parish. The above-cited deeds about Belgrene may refer to it. Richard Butterworth of the Holt (dead in 1521) was a son of Edward, the benefactor of Milnrow Chapel; Towneley MS. GG, no 645. Robert Butterworth (son of Richard) of the Holt in 1530, agreed that his son Thomas should marry Jane daughter of James Shepard, of Chesham; ibid. no. 717. A Robert Butterworth in 1545 held a close called Gyll Cross in Butterworth in right of his wife Elizabeth; Pal. of Lane. Writs of Assize, bdle. 22 (Aug. 37 Hen. VIII). Thomas Butterworth of the Holt in 1550 gave to Lawrence Hopwood land called Inghram, in exchange; Towneley MS. GG, no. 719. Thomas died in 1559, having made a settlement of the Holt; ibid. no. 696, 718. The inquisition shows that Thomas son of Robert Butterworth, held ten messuages, &c, in Butterworth, Milnrow, Moorhouse, Wardle, and Spotland; his heir being his sister Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Simon, and forty years of age. The premises in Butterworth and Milnrow were held of the heirs of Hugh de Eland by a rentof 2s.; those in Moorhouse of the heir of Henry de Clayton by a rent of 17d.; the rest, of the heir of Thomas Buckley, a rent of 14d. being paid for Wardle; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xi, no. 56. Thomas Simon, of Highton in Essex, and Elizabeth his wife became bound to Ewan Butterworth of Chesham in 1559; Towneley MS. GG, no. 582; and Adam (? Ewan) Butterworth of Chesham became bound to Cuthbert Scholefield to secure the latter's title to Holt; ibid. no. 591. Ewan and Cuthbert were dividing the estate; ibid. no. 724. Jane Butterworth, the widow of Thomas, afterwards married Nicholas Grimshaw, and retained possession of the Holt until 1594, though many disputes had arisen with Cuthbert Scholefield; ibid. no. 733, and Fishwick, op. cit. 377, &c.
  • 18. Gartside appears to have been originally in Crompton and to have become attached to Rochdale by its grant to Stanlaw Abbey by Gilbert de Barton. It lay on the west of Aspiwall syke, and its bounds had been agreed upon by Baldwin le Tyas and the said Gilbert; free approach was allowed between the ditch of Crompton and land held of the Hospitallers by William, then vicar of Rochdale. Adam de Windhill was tenant for a time; Whalley Coucber (Chet. Soc), i, 163–5. The place gave a surname to one or more families, who no doubt sprang from the occupying tenants; thus about 1540 James Gartside was the monks' bailiff for their Rochdale estate; ibid, iv, 1232. There are various scattered notices of the Gartsides; thus William de Milnhouses released to William son of Edusa de Gartside the rent of 2d. and four barbed arrows due to him at Martinmas; ibid, ii, 618. John de Byron granted to Richard son of Robert de Gartside land in Butterworth; Byron Chartul. no. 77/180. The Hospitallers had an estate in Gartside. Alexander son of Robert de Spotland gave to Andrew son of William del Okencliff all his lands, &c, in Gartside on the north of the Outlane, held of the Hospital of Jerusalem; a rent of 12d. was payable and at death ½ mark in lieu of the third part of the tenant's goods; ibid, no. 80/210. Eugenia daughter of Robert de Belfield, and Lugeria widow of Geoffrey de Gartside, gave land and dower right in Gartside to William de Cliff, and in 1284 Thomas le Wyld released to William son of Richard del Cliff—probably the same William—6d. rent due from lands in Gartside, formerly Andrew de Gartside's; ibid. no. 81/211, 86/236, 3/78. To the lastquoted charter Richard and Henry de Gartside were witnesses. Eugenia seems also to be described as widow of Richard son of Edusa de Gartside; ibid. no. 75/212. Adam son of William de Gartside in 1351 released to Robert son of William de Crompton his right to lands inherited from his father, together with an eighth part of the estate of Buersill Moor acquired from John de Balderstone. John Faghell, who occupied a messuage, &c, gave up his tenement; ibid. no. 26/101, 25/100. The Whalley portion was sold by Henry VIII to John Braddyll of Whalley (Pat. 37 Hen. VIII, pt. 4), who conveyed Gartside Hey, alleged to be parcel of the same, to Roger Gartside, on which some hot disputes arose; see Fishwick, Rochdale, 381, quoting Duchy of Lane. Plead. 38 Hen. VIII, xiv, G, 9; 1 Edw. VI, i, G, 1. Jamesson of Hugh Gartside in 1545 sold Gartside Hall to Sir John Byron; ibid.; Pal. of Lane. Feet, of F. bdle. 12, m. 208, 344. This was probably the Hospitallers' portion; it is not named separately in the rental preserved by Kuerden. This estate of 101 acres was in 1626 held by eight freeholders; Survey in Raines MSS. xxi, 51. The hall afterwards became the property of William Greaves, who rebuilt it in 1697; later of the Townleys of Belfield, and then of Mr. E. A. N. Royds; see Fishwick, op. cit. 382.
  • 19. Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 84. 'Robert Butterworth, for Belfield, 6 d.' This is not named in the Inq. p.m.
  • 20. Alexander de Belfield in 1288 sold land in Ogden to Sir John de Byron and Joan his wife; Byron Chartul. no. 7/48. Adam de Belfield was a witness in 1344; ibid.no. 15/187. Henry de Belfield occurs frequently in the Scholefield D. about 1300, together with his brothers Nicholas and Adam. Some other scattered notices will be found in Fishwick, op. cit. 339– 42. In 1310 Henry de Butterworth obtained from Alexander de Belfield two messuages and lands in Butterworth; Final Conc, ii, 3. Ralph de Belfield in 1415 alleged that Sir John de Ashton and others had disseised him of messuages, lands, and rents in Butterworth; Coram Rege R. East. 3 Hen. V, m. 73. This may, however, refer to the Belfields of Clegg.
  • 21. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. x, no. 14. The tenures were various. Part of the estate of Butterworth was held of Sir John Byron in socage by a rent of 2s. 3½d.; another part of Cuthbert Scholefield, by a rent of 14d.; another of the heirs of Ralph Belfield, by a rent of 12d.; another of Thomas Belfield, by a rent of 2s.; others of Sir Henry Savile and Robert Holt of Stubley, by a rent of 7d.; another of the said Robert Holt, by a rent of 14d. A messuage, &c., in Castleton was held of Arthur Ashton and Bertin Scholefield by a rent of 3d. Six messuages, a water-mill, &c., in Hundersfield were held of Sir Henry Savile by a rent of 21d., and of Robert Holt by a rent of 6d. A messuage in Oldham was held jointly of Sir John Byron, Thomas Belfield, and Cuthbert Scholefield. Deceased had made a settlement in 1547, providing for his wife Joan. The heir was Edward Butterworth, forty-four years of age.
  • 22. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xiii, no. 2, 14. Edward's will is recited as well as a recovery of 1568; to Jane his wife and daughter of Richard Holt he left Belfield Hall, but a third part only if she married again. Several changes appear in the tenures: The Little Quicks in Butterworth was held of the queen as of her manor of Rochdale in socage by 2d. rent; other land in Butterworth of Elizabeth Belfield, William Ashton, and Anne his wife, in right of Elizabeth and Anne, daughters and heirs of Ralph Belfield, by a rent of 12d.; the rent payable to Thomas Belfield is given as 6d. only; Robert Savile and Charles Holt of Stubley have taken the place of the lords in 1557; Charles Holt instead of Sir John Byron had the rent of 2s. 3½d. for the Kaleyards (Callyardes); Henry Scholefield is named instead of Bertin; and Robert Barton held the messuage, &c., in Oldham. The lands in Hundersfield were those known as the Starring and the Hades.
  • 23. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), iii, 378. There are several fresh variations in the tenures. A pedigree was recorded in 1613; Visit. (Chet. Soc), 12.
  • 24. Survey in Raines, xxi, 34; he held 'by grant of his great-uncle Robert Butterworth.'
  • 25. Baines, Lancs, (ed. 1868), i, 227.
  • 26. He took part in the defence of Lathom House at its second siege in 1645. His only property was a nag, besides wearing apparel worth £20; Royalist Composition Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 264–6.
  • 27. See the pedigree recorded in 1665; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 65, when Alexander, the heir, was twenty-four years of age. He was sheriff in 1675; P.R.O. List, 73.
  • 28. The later part of the story is taken from Fishwick's Rochdale, 344–7, where a pedigree of the Butterworths will be found.
  • 29. P.R.O. List, 74.
  • 30. a Now in possession of Lt.-Col. Fishwick, The Heights, Rochdale.
  • 31. Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 84. The place may have taken its name from the Wyld family, one or two of whom have been named in preceding notes. Thomas le Wild of Butterworth gave all his title in the vill to Thomas his son; this included an oxgang granted by John de Byron, and land held of Henry de Lacy by a rent of 2s. 6d.; Towneley MS. GG, no. 603. By an inquisition made in 1496 it was found that Henry Butterworth had died seised of four messuages, 60 acres of land, &c., in Butterworth and Hundersfield, held of the king as of his duchy by a rent of 15d., and of the clear value of 26s. 8d. Ralph, his son and heir, was five years old; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 9, 10. From a deed of 1308–9 quoted in the survey of 1626, when Ralph Butterworth was tenant, it appears that a rent of 15d. was then paid to Henry de Lacy. In the survey the 15d, was stated to be paid to the king, while another rent of 15d. was paid to the Saviles for the Hospitallers, though in a deed of 1609 relating to the mansion-house and lands a rent of 18d. is said to be due to St. John's Hospital; Raines MSS. xxi, 41.
  • 32. Fishwick, op. cit. 372.
  • 33. Ibid., 368–70. Robert Butterworth of Birchinley died in 1609 holding messuages and lands in Hundersneld, Butterworth, and Oldham; those in Hundersfield being held of the king as of the dissolved priory of St. John of Jerusalem by a rent of 12d.; and those in Butterworth of Sir John Byron by the 200th part of a knight's fee and 20d. rent. The heirs were his sisters and their sons; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 142–4.
  • 34. Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 84.
  • 35. Survey in Raines MSS. xxi, 43. For Low House, with 55 acres, the St. John's rent was 18d., as in the rental; for Crow Nest, with 92 acres, 6d. was due to the Saviles, 12d. to Robert Holt, and 12d. to St. John's. John Butterworth died 13 March 1626–7, holding Low House, &c., as of the suppressed Hospital; the heir was his grandson John (son of Ralph son of John), aged twenty-seven and more; Towneley MS. C, 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 56.
  • 36. For the later history see Fishwick, Rochdale, 374–5.
  • 37. Thomas de Chetham, who died in 1383, held it; Towneley MS. DD, no. 1463. In 1470 James Chetham leased it to Elinor Wardle for twenty years, at the rent of 27s., with boons of four days' 'shearing' in harvest and four hens at Yule; Clowes D. no. 5. James Chetham about 1540 paid a rent of 18d. for the estate; Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 84. This service is not usually stated in the Chetham inquisitions, though Flash House is mentioned. The 1626 survey describes the estate as 99 acres; Raines MSS. xxi, 43. In 1659 the trustees of Thomas Chetham of Nuthurst sold it to Edward Chetham to raise money for the portions of Thomas's daughters; Clowes D. no. 12. It seems afterwards to have come into the hands of the Holts of Lower Place in Castleton; Fishwick, op. cit. 324. The family also held lands in Castleton; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), ii, 16–18.
  • 38. The Byron Chartulary has several deeds relating to the family; see also the account of Scholefield. Thus Geoffrey de Turnagh granted the whole of Turnagh, which his father Richard had held, to Richard de Turnagh at a rent of 3s. 2d.; Byron Chartul. no. 78/205. Henry de Turnagh granted Over Turnagh to Henry son of Ellen, with common of pasture in Spotland, at 12d. rent; ibid. no. 79/206. Nicholas son of Richard de Turnagh afterwards granted all Turnagh, which he had inherited from his father, to Sir John de Byron and Joan his wife; ibid, no. 49/207. See also Raines MSS. xi, 247, &c William son of Geoffrey de Turnagh received a moiety of the Leys in Hollinworth from William de Rudhurst in 1298; Towneley MS. GG, no. 700. John son of Alan de Hollinworth in 1278–80 claimed an oxgang of land in Butterworth against William son of Adam de Turnagh; De Banco R. 24, m. 65; 36, m. 125 d. John de Hindley in 1296 claimed an oxgang in Butterworth against John son of Adam de 'Turney' and Alice his wife; De Banco R. 113, m. 20d.; 125, m. 157.
  • 39. Survey, ut sup. 41, 43. John was the son of Charles Butterworth, who died in 1622 holding the capital messuage called Turnagh in Butterworth and the Crook in Hundersfield of Sir John Byron, the former by a rent of 4s. 3d., and the latter by one of 3d.; also lands in Bedford and Pennington; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), iii, 338. See Fishwick, Rochdale, 355–7.
  • 40. Scholefield Hall is now regarded as in the hamlet of Low House; but from the charters quoted below it appears to have been originally within Hollinworth in Clegg.
  • 41. InTowneley MS. GG, no. 558–739.
  • 42. GG, no. 604–5.
  • 43. GG, no. 602.
  • 44. GG, no. 607; the grantors were William de Sale and Cecily his wife, who occur again in Hollinworth. Cecily widow of William de Sale in 1294 granted all her lands in 'Witach' to John and Adam sons of Adam de Turnagh; GG, no. 674.
  • 45. William son of Geoffrey de Turnagh in 1301 gave John de le Scholefield part of his land in Butterworth called the Leys, to be held of the nearer chief lord of the fee; ibid. GG, no. 663. Two years later John obtained land called the 'Brerylees' in Hollinworth from the son of Andrew de Rudhurst; GG, no. 664. In 1306 Matthew de Clegg granted to John de Scholefield the homage of Alexander de Belfield, viz. a rent of 12d.; and that of Richard de Hundersfield, viz. 1d., GG, no. 629.
  • 46. John son of John de Scholefield was a witness in 1321; Whalley Coucher, ii, 634. In 1 Edw. (? III) William son of Henry de Ogden gave to John son of John de Scholefield land in Hollinworth of which the bounds touched or included Whitacre Syke, Birchinbrook, and Brierleys; Towneley MS. GG, no. 612. William son of John de Scholefield received land in Hollinworth called Simonrode from Richard son of Andrew de Hollinworth in 1313; ibid. no. 621; see also no. 647 (1321). William de Lightollers in 1325 released to Adam son of John de Scholefield all his claim to land in Hundersfield then occupied by Adam; GG, no. 630. Adam de Scholefield in 1340 released to his brother John all his land in Clegg for life; ibid. no. 727. William de Lightollers, apparently in 1320–1 (14 Edw.—), gave to Richard, son of John de Scholefield a rent of 6d. payable by Richard de Ogden from a tenement in Blatchinworth; ibid. no. 625; John de Scholefield, clerk, was a witness. Ellen de Belfield in 1334 claimed lands in Butterworth against Richard son of John de Scholefield; De Banco R. 298, m. 53; while in the same year Nicholas son of Ellen de Belfield released all his title to lands in Clegg to Richard son of John de Scholefield; Towneley MS. GG, no. 589. Richard son of Roger de Butterworth in 7 Edw. (? 1314) granted to Richard de Scholefield, clerk, the service of 12d. due to him from lands in Scholefield; ibid. no. 627.
  • 47. Ibid. no. 559, 686; the date is 1387–8, and the grant was of the Upper and Nether 'Efield.' In 1368 John de Scholefield the elder had given the Upper 'Heyfield' to his brother Richard for life, with remainder to John's son Adam; ibid. no. 713, 613. From this it seems probable that it is the same John de Scholefield who appears in a number of deeds in the time of Edward III. e.g. ibid. no. 684 (1332), 626 (1347), 586 (1363), 628(1383–4).
  • 48. In 1382 Henry de Scholefield released to John de Scholefield and his heirs all his claim to lands, &c., in Butterworth, Whitacres, Brierleys, and Middlehurst; ibid. no. 634. Henry de Scholefield in 1405 received lands in Spotland and Hundersfield which had belonged to Nicholas Coke of Milnhouse and Alice his wife; John son of Henry was a witness; ibid. no. 643. A charter by Henry is dated at Whitacres, 1421, while a feoffment of lands in Butterworth and Hundersfield was made by his son John in 1424; ibid. no. 633, 632.
  • 49. In 1436 there was a change of the feoffees of the lands of Hugh de Scholefield; ibid. no. 714. An undated petition shows that Hugh de Scholefield was son of John, brother of Henry de Scholefield, who, in or before 1393, was a trustee of Thomas de Chadderton; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 56. It would appear therefore that the John son of Henry had died without issue, or that there were two Henrys. Hugh son of Hugh Scholefield came to a violent end in 1451; ibid, ii, 58. He may have been the elder brother of James, who succeeded.
  • 50. James son of Hugh de Scholefield, and Margaret his wife, appear from about 1450 onwards. In 1453 James received from the feoffees lands in Hundersfield and Spotland which had formerly belonged to William son of John son of Richard de Scholefield; Towneley MS. GG, no. 564; see also Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 29, m. 2 d. (John son of Richard was living in 1410; Towneley MS. GG, no. 618.) Nicholas and Denis, sons of the said William, released their claim a month later; ibid. no. 578, 579. In 1455–6 Thomas Pilkington and Alexander Radcliffe as arbitrators gave their decision in disputes which had been stirred between the brothers Hugh, Nicholas, Ralph, Henry, and John Scholefield, and James son of Hugh, on the one side; and Alexander, son of Alexander Butterworth of Belfield, and his brothers on the other side; Alexander Butterworth was ordered to pay £20 to Hugh Scholefield; ibid. no. 584. James son of Hugh, and Margaret his wife, in 1456–7 received from the trustee (Richard del Forth, rector of Radcliffe) lands called Turnagh Efields and Ley Boughtanrode,with remainders to Nicholas, Ralph, Henry, and John Scholefield, and the right heirs of Hugh; ibid. no. 599. From a claim to lands at Lincoln in 1588 it appears that John Scholefield just named had a son John, whose son William left the land claimed; the heir was Cuthbert Scholefield, son of James son of Hugh son of the above-named James Scholefield; ibid. no. 782.
  • 51. An outline of the pedigree is given in the preceding note. Hugh son and heir of James Scholefield and his feoffees in 1511 granted to Gilbert and Henry sons of Richard Whitley a messuage and lands known as Overhey and Marterlaw in Scholefield, rendering 8s. 10d. to the chief lords; ibid. no. 562. In 1514, after an arbitration, Hugh Scholefield was ordered to pay a rent of 2s. 3d. to Robert Holt, in respect of lands in Spotland; ibid, no. 688. James Scholefield, son of Hugh, was plaintiff in 1537 respecting Whitacre; Fishwick, Rochdale, 359.
  • 52. Ibid. 359; he sought a divorce from his wife, and afterwards lived with one Jane Langley, by whom he had issue. Cuthbert, son and heir of James Scholefield, procured a crest to be added to his ancient coat of arms, which was confirmed, by William Flower, Norroy, in 1583; Towneley MS. GG, no. 558. He purchased the Holt; ibid. no. 591, 724, 733. At one time he was required to make a public apology to Arthur Ashton and Roger Chadwick; ibid. no. 707. In 1565 he settled his estates, with remainders successively to his brothers, Alexander, James, and Richard; to Alexander, bastard son of Arthur Scholefield, and Arthur his son; deed recited in Inq. p.m. of Gerard Scholefield; see also Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 30 (1568), m. 50. The will of Arthur Scholefield, 1557, is printed in Piccope's Wills (Chet. Soc), i, 39.
  • 53. In the Survey of 1626 he is called grand-nephew of Cuthbert. The estate then included 367 acres; a chief rent of 3s. 4d., due to the Saviles, had not been paid for many years; Raines MSS. xxi, 35.
  • 54. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxviii, no. 26.
  • 55. Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 256. For the later descents and tabular pedigree see Fishwick, op. cit. 361–4.
  • 56. In 1261 Alice widow of Geoffrey de Buerdsill sought dower in Clegg against various tenants, whose names and holdings were as follows: Richard son of Ivo, Alexander de Blackstub, Richard de Turnagh, and John de Newbold, each 1 oxgang; William son of Warine, Richard le Reus, Andrew son of Ellen, Richard Byron, and Agnes the widow, each ¼ oxgang; Curia Regis R. 171, m. 46 d.
  • 57. Hugh de Clegg, early in the 13th century, gave to Ivo his brother (see the last note) part of Whitacres, within bounds beginning at 'Sallomo' Bridge on the east, at the cold waters, descending to the brook between Middlehurst and Rudhurst, and to the Brook of Hollinworth, and the balk (liranticulum) between Blatchinworth and Whitacres, and up to 'Solamio' syke; Towneley MS. GG, no. 702. Henry son of Ralph or Randle de Clegg gave to his son John land in Butterworth in 1310–11; the bounds began at Butterworth ford over the Roch; ibid. no. 598. Henry granted all his messuages and lands in Clegg to his brother Thomas in 1316– 17; ibid. no. 566. To another of Henry's charters Roger and Adam de Clegg were witnesses; no. 635. Geoffrey de Clegg attested a deed in 1334; ibid. no. 589. Eugenia widow of Richard Byron in 1284 claimed 7 acres in Butterworth against Ralph and Matthew de Clegg; it was shown that Matthew held of Ralph, who had had a grant from Alice sister of Eugenia; Assize R. 1268, m. 12d.
  • 58. Matthew de Clegg in 1310–11 granted all his lands to Adam de Belfield, and Thomas the son of Adam in 1348 granted land to his brother Adam de Belfield; Fishwick, Rochdale, 350–1, quoting High Legh deeds. Adam son of Geoffrey de Clegg and Alice his wife in 1373 claimed dower in three messuages, &c., in Butterworth against Adam de Belfield; De Banco R. 452, m. 373 d.; 454, m. 337 d.; 456, m. 234d. Short abstracts of the Belfield deeds are printed in Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Notes, i, 41, 50. A claim by Alexander Belfield against Elizabeth and Anne Belfield in 1561 exhibited the following pedigree:—Christopher Belfield—s. Ralph—s. Ralph—s. Adam—sons Arthur (heir), Charles, and Alexander (apparently the claimant); Arthur had sons Ralph (heir) and Charles; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 210, m. 16. Ralph son of Christopher was living in 1445; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 7, m. 15; 12, m. 82; Ralph senior and Ralph his son in 1482; Pal. of Lanc. Writs Proton. 22 Edw. IV. The Inq. p.m. of Adam Belfield has been preserved; it shows that he died in 1543 holding messuages, &c., in Butterworth of Sir John Byron by a rent of 6s. 8d., and in Spotland of Robert Holt by a rent of 6s.; Arthur, his son and heir, was over thirty-six years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vii, no. 34.
  • 59. Ralph Belfield of Clegg died in August 1557, leaving two daughters, Elizabeth and Anne, to share the inheritance; his will is printed in Piccope's Wills (Chet. Soc), iii, 83–6. The two sisters, after child marriages and divorces, married brothers—Edward and William, sons of Arthur Ashton. Richard Legh and Anne his wife, Alexander Barlow and Elizabeth his wife in 1563 obtained the manor of Clegg, &c., from Alexander Belfield; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 25, m. 35. In 1572 Alexander, son and heir of Alexander Barlow and Elizabeth his wife, had a moiety of the manors of Clegg and Dutton; ibid. bdle. 34, m. 98. Arthur Ashton in 1552 purchased a messuage and land in Butterworth from Richard Butterworth and Joan his wife; ibid. bdle. 26, m. 245. His will is in Pal. Note Bk. iv, 118. Edward and Elizabeth Ashton had no issue, so that the whole came to Anne and William Ashton, whose son Theophilus succeeded. A settlement by William Ashton, Anne his wife, and Elizabeth Belfield her sister, was made in 1576; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 38, m. 40. Theophilus sold it in 1618 to his sister Elizabeth and her husband Edmund Howarth, and by descent and purchase it came to the Fentons; see Fishwick, op. cit. 352, 353. Susan, another sister, married John Hyde, and they had a third of the manor in 1599; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 61, m. 143. In 1626 Elizabeth Howarth and Robert her son held Clegg Hall with 179 acres of land, by grant of the trustees of Theophilus Ashton of Clegg; while Grace, widow of Alexander Butterworth, as co-heir of Anne, late wife of William Ashton of Clegg, held 81 acres. In all a rent of 6s. 3d. was paid to the Saviles (or their representatives); Surv. in Raines MSS. xxi, 60.
  • 60. a There is a local proverb, 'As ill as Clegg Hall boggart,' referring to a tradition that the man in possession at one time destroyed the rightful heirs by drowning them in the moat, the house being afterwards haunted; Fishwick.
  • 61. Thomas the Barber of Coventry and Joan his wife, daughter of Edmund son of Jordan, and heir of Alice daughter of William Pearson of Cleggswood, his mother, in 1401 granted lands in Falinge to William the Cook of Rochdale; Towneley MS. GG, no. 569.
  • 62. See Fishwick, op. cit. 348–50. Thomas Belfield died in 1532, holding messuages, manors, and lands in Butterworth, Hundersfield, Spotland, and Castleton of Robert Holt by knight's service and a rent of 5s. 7d.; the annual value was 20 marks. Thomas, the son and heir, was fourteen years of age; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 26. From the account of Belfield it will be seen that that estate was in 1557 held partly of Thomas Belfield by a rent of 2s. Thomas was succeeded by his son John, who in 1601 made a settlement of his lands in Butterworth, Hundersfield, and Spotland, in conjunction with his wife Margaret; the capital messuage or manor of Cleggswood was assigned for life to Deborah, wife of Abraham Belfield, son and heir of John; the lands in Butterworth, &c., were held of John Holt by a rent of 5s. 7½d., but some in Hundersfield were held of the king; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), ii, 22–4. Abraham died in 1614, and was succeeded by his son John, fourteen years of age, who died in 1632, leaving, by Elizabeth his wife, a son and heir Thomas, seven years old. The three widows—Margaret, Deborah, and Elizabeth—were living when the inquisition was made. The estate was held of John Holt; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxvii, no. 3. Thomas succeeded, but his sister Anne ultimately inherited.
  • 63. Fishwick, loc. cit.
  • 64. Ibid. 389. Oliver son of John Holt of Hundersfield, was charged with having maltreated Alice wife of John Clegg in 1445. He replied that he had submitted to an arbitration as to the matter, and should not be troubled further; John Clegg had been ordered to pay him 40s. The said John, however, averred that he had consented to an arbitration only on condition that Henry Marland, vicar of Rochdale, and certain others were among the arbitrators, and that had not been the case; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 10, m. 23. One James Clegg—not, it would seem, of this family—died in 1621 holding lands (formerly the Hospitallers') of the Earl of Derby by a rent of 2¼d. James his son and heir was twenty-eight years old; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc), iii, 370.
  • 65. Some Whitacre, or Whitacres, deeds have been noticed in the account of Scholefield. John de Scholefield in 3 Edw. (? II) gave to John his son all his land at Whitacre, with remainder to Adam, another son; Towneley MS. RR, no. 382. One of the grants by Henry de Scholefield in 1421 was dated at Whitacres; Towneley MS. GG, no. 633. The estate was in dispute in 1537, when James Scholefield of Scholefield claimed by entail against Hugh son of John Scholefield, who was in possession; Fishwick, op. cit. 359, quoting Duchy Plead. Hen. VIII, viii, S, 8; x, S, 9, 9a. Richard Lightollers of Windybank, and Henry Scholefield of Whitacre, had in 1557–8 the guardianship of Robert son and heir of Lawrence Newall, whose mother Agnes afterwards married Robert Butterworth; and Henry afterwards (1564) became sole guardian; Towneley MS. GG, no. 703. Arthur Scholefield in 1569 purchased 60 acres of moor from Sir John Byron; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 31, m. 104. In 1575 Henry Scholefield the younger and Jane his wife seem to have released to Arthur Lord and Margaret his wife a messuage and lands in Butterworth; ibid. bdle. 37, m. 86. A settlement of six messuages and various lands was made in 1584 by Henry Scholefield, Isabel his wife, and Arthur his son; ibid. bdle. 46, m. 174. A further arrangement was made in 1596, Arthur's wife Margaret being concerned; ibid. 59, m. 367. Henry Scholefield died in 1607 holding land in Hollinworth of John Holt by knight's service and 10½d. rent, and in Butterworth of Sir John Byron by knight's service and 4s. rent. The heir was his grandson Abraham (son of Arthur), thirty years of age; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 133. In 1626 Jacob Scholefield held Whitacres, with 138 acres, by grant of Abraham Scholefield, in 1615; Surv. in Raines MSS. xxi, fol. 67. For the later descent, after the estate had been much divided, see Fishwick, op. cit. 366, 367. Brierley, mentioned in preceding notes, was part of Whitacre.
  • 66. The name is often spelt Hollingworth. In the Hospitallers' rental, c. 1540, it is said that Thomas Hill paid 6d. for Hollinworth; Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 84. Thomas, son of Ellis Hill in 1477, was bound to settle the lands he had by his wife Alison upon his son Ellis; Towneley MS. GG, no. 689. In 1514 Thomas son of Ellis Hill received certain lands in Swinestiker and Saltley in Butterworth from the feoffees; GG, no. 610. Thomas Hill (a minor) was in 1577–9 engaged in various suits regarding lands in Hollinworth and Sladen; Ducatus Lanc, ii, 56, 61, 87. In 1626 Thomas Hill, grandson of Thomas Hill and Dorothy his wife, and great-grandson of ArthurWhitehead (1588) held Upper Hollinworth; Surv., ut sup. 67. Part is now the endowment of Hill's Charity for schools at Ogden and Hollinworth.
  • 67. Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 155. The rent was payable to William and Cecily and the heirs of Cecily. From the following note it will be seen that John de (West-) houghton was also called John de Rylands. In the Byron Chartulary is a grant by Thomas de Bamford to Matthew de Hollinworth of a fourth part of Whitacres and Middlehurst, with common of pasture in the vill of Hollinworth at 6d. rent; no. 60/130. It is possible that this Matthew is the Matthew de Bromhale who, in conjunction with Helen his wife, acquired 2 oxgangs in Butterworth in 1235 from Reyner son of Henry; Final Conc, i, 68. Cecily daughter of Matthew de Hollinworth gave a moiety of Whitacres to Adam de Turnagh in exchange for 13½ acres in Hollinworth; Byron Chartul. no. 26/59. This Cecily was the wife of William de Sale; as is shown by pleas of 1293–6, when Cecily widow of William de Sale claimed 6 acres of pasture against John de Thornham, and the same (also described as daughter of Matthew de Hollinworth) claimed a messuage and ½ oxgang against Henry de Ogden; De Banco R. 101, m. 47 d.; 102, m. 6; 108, m. 4.
  • 68. William de Sale and Cecily his wife granted all their land in Hollinworth to Sir John de Byron and Joan his wife; and about the same time John son of John de Rylands and Cecily his wife made a grant of the land they had had from William and Cecily; Byron Chartul. no. 35/58, 36/69. In 1298 Cecily widow of William de Sale, calling herself Cecily de Hollinworth, released to the Byrons the 2 oxgangs in Hollinworth formerly sold to them; no. 21/67. John de Sale in 1363 released to John de Scholefield all his title to lands in Butterworth; GG, no. 586. Some Sale family deeds will be found in Raines MSS. iv, 2–30.
  • 69. Andrew son of Henry son of Wen and Christiana his wife granted to Sir John de Byron all that land in Butterworth called the 'Haly' (? Halgh) which they held of him; Byron Chartul. no. 73/208. In 1262 John de Byron established his title to 60 acres in Butterworth against Andrew de Butterworth and Christiana his wife; Final Conc, i, 135. Christiana daughter of Andrew Cheverell released to Sir John all her land in Butterworth, viz. the 'Halet'; Byron Chartul. no. 74, 209. Henry son of Thomas de Butterworth granted to Sir John de Byron his lord the land called Little Halgh, formerly held by Andrew del Halgh; Byron Chartul. no. 76/213.
  • 70. From the Monk Bretton Chartulary (Lansdowne MS. 405) it appears that Roger de Notton gave to Monk Bretton all his lands in Ogden, viz. half the vill, and that John son of Hugh de Holland confirmed this; fol. 44b. Gilbert de Notton also gave the monks his land in Ogden, viz., half the vill—probably the same half; he also gave William son of Osbert de Marsden land there which had formerly been held by Adam son of Award Birun, at a rent of 4s.; fol. 53b. Richard son of Hugh de Butterworth and Alice his wife afterwards released to R. (? Reginald) the moiety of the vill of Ogden, which Gilbert de Notton had given to William Gald, father of Alice; fol. 44b. Reginald de Ogden released his rights to the monks, to whom also Baldwin Tyas, for the health of Margaret his wife, released his right and the rent of 12d. formerly paid by Reginald; fol. 45.
  • 71. Adam le Rus, Prior of Bretton, granted to Adam le Sladen (Slaveden) at a rent of 3s. the oxgang in Ogden which Gilbert de Notton had given to the priory; ibid. fol. 15b; Byron Chartul. no. 10/56. In 1276 Adam de Sladen claimed a messuage and an oxgang of land in Ogden against Maud daughter of William Gaddon, and William son of Richard de Cliff; De Banco R. 15, m. 89. Adam gave the oxgang, &c., to his son Swain; Byron Chartul. no. 27/62. Swain granted to Sir John de Byron a rent of 12d. a year from the oxgang in Ogden in Butterworth he had had from his father; and Wagner son of Adam de Sladen released his right to the oxgang in Ogden received from his father, and to half of Quickley; ibid. no. 71/183,63/49. William, Prior of Monk Bretton, in 1292 withdrew his claim against John (de) Byron concerning a messuage, oxgang of land, and 12d. rent in Ogden, but John held jointly with his wife, who was not named in the writ; Assize R. 408, m. 60, 71. Adam de Sladen is called 'Knyttepurs.' The other moiety of Ogden seems to have been obtained by the Byrons from Germain de Ogden, who in 1296 granted Sir John de Byron and Joan his wife twothirds of an oxgang there, with the homage of Adam de Prestwich and the service of 2d. due from him; ibid. no. 15/53. In the same chartulary are some other Ogden deeds. By one Geoffrey de Chetham granted to Adam son of Bibby (William) and Cecily his wife land in Ogden purchased by him; and Adam de Ogden, with the consent of Cecily his wife, gave half the land to Richard his son, and another half to Adam his son; no. 28/63, 12/64, 11/61. Among the placenames there occur—Thornyhead, Coldgreave, Cutfordack brook, Marerede yott, Lese clough, and Rosete clough. In 1626 Abraham Turnough had in his possession the above-cited deed by Adam de Slaveden to Swain his son; Surv. ut sup. 55. The Turnoughs were succeeded by Taylors; Fishwick, op. cit. 384.
  • 72. –70 Fishwick, op. cit. 384–5; see also Raines MSS. iii, 93.
  • 73. Roger Holt of Bridge Hall near Bury in 1594 held 2 acres in Whitacre in Clegg; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvi, no. 6. James Buckley, of Whitfield in Crompton, by his will of 1627, left his farm at Ogden to George his younger son; ibid. xxvii, no. 51. Thomas Warburton the elder, Ellen his wife, and Thomas his son, made settlements of an estate in Butterworth in 1558; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 16, m. 35; 19, m. 23. Thomas Warburton, who died in 1634 at Stubbins, held messuages in Little Clegg, Hollinworth, and Butterworth; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxx, no. 93. Ottiwell Greave died in April 1627, holding messuages and lands in Butterworth of the heir of Geoffrey de Butterworth by the rent of a ginger-root; James his son and heir, was thirty-six years of age; Towneley MS. C, 8, 13, p. 460. Ralph Taylor, who died in 1631, held a messuage and land of the Earl of Derby as of his manor of Much Woolton, lately belonging to the dissolved Hospital of St. John; Robert his son and heir was over forty in 1635; ibid. 1182; see also Fishwick, op. cit. 338. A number of fines are extant relating to the holding of the Collinge family; e.g. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 12, m. 78; 53, m. 29; 56, m. 92. In the 17th century a family of this name held a moiety of Birchinley; Fishwick, Rochdale, 369–70.
  • 74. Robert Holt had 109 acres in Clegg by grant of Gerard Scholefield to his father, John Holt of Stubley. Jordan Chadwick produced a charter of 1294 by Richard son of Hugh de Belfield to Henry his brother, as his title to 45 acres. William Butterworth, 'the rich butcher,' held 34 acres formerly the Hospitallers' land; and Robert Taylor had 33 acres, also the Hospitallers'.
  • 75. Surv. ut sup. 58.
  • 76. Land-tax returns at Preston.
  • 77. There is a good account in Fishwick's Rochdale, 202–15, from which the details in the text are in the main taken. In 1497 Edward Butterworth the elder conveyed to his son Robert and others a plot of land called Gooseholme, in Belgrene, close to which plot, or upon it, the chapel was built; Fishwick, quoting the original deed in the church chest. In 1514 a house 'near the chapel of St. James the Apostle' was given to John Clegg, the chaplain, for life that he might say mass for the donor, Edward Butterworth, and his parents; ibid. In 1521 Robert Butterworth of Clegg, son and heir of Richard Butterworth of the Holt and grandson of the said Edward, gave Gooseholme and Halgh Green to feoffees to fulfil his grandfather's will; Towneley MS. GG, no. 645. In some later proceedings it was alleged that the chapel had been built on the waste by the inhabitants generally; Fishwick, op. cit. 204, quoting Duchy Plead. Eliz. xxii, B, 12, 12a.
  • 78. Buckley D. in Add. MS. 32107, no. 408; but 13s. 4d. is the price in Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc), ii, 277; a chalice was taken away by the commissioners; ibid, ii, 269. In 1552 Henry Ferror was the priest; there were only a chalice and vestment in the chapel; Ch. Gds. (Chet. Soc), 49. Henry Ferror occurs in the lists of clergy from 1541 to 1565; in the latter year he was 'decrepit.'
  • 79. The minister in Elizabeth's time was paid chiefly by the contributions of the people, but the Archbishop of Canterbury as rector allowed him 40s. out of the tithes; Fishwick, op. cit. 203–4. About 1610 Milnrow Chapel was supported by the inhabitants; Hist.MSS.Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 12. In 1650 the Parliamentary Commissioners reported that Sir John Byron, as farmer of the tithes, had been accustomed to pay £4 10s. a year to the minister; out of the sequestrated tithes an additional £50 had been allowed; Commonw. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 21; Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 38, 90; ii, 290. It was recommended that a parish be formed for it.
  • 80. Gastrell, Notitia (Chet. Soc), ii, 139; from the tithes £3 6s. 8d., from seats £8 18s. 6d., and from the loft or gallery, £1 8s. 4d. There were no surplice fees, and the contributions were small. There were two chapel wardens and an assistant, chosen by the curate and vestry.
  • 81. Samuel Chetham (of Castleton) in 1717 gave £200; ibid, ii, 142.
  • 82. Fishwick, op. cit. 205–6; a view of the building in 1772 is given; ibid. 202.
  • 83. Ibid. 206; the date is 1654.
  • 84. Ibid. 207.
  • 85. The church papers at Chester Dioc. Reg. begin in 1693. The list is taken in great part from Fishwick, op. cit., where some earlier curates' names will be found; they do not appear to have stayed more than a year or two in most cases. John Pollett, who was there from 1647 to 1657, was in 1650 described as 'godly, orthodox, and well qualified,' but appears to have been a Royalist in sympathies; see W. A. Shaw, Bury Classis (Chet. Soc), 250; Commonw. Ch. Surv. 21. James Hulme was curate in 1671; Visitation list.
  • 86. He was born at Whitby in 1805 and apprenticed to a surgeon, but afterwards went to St. Bees College and was ordained in 1828. He died at Scarborough 17 Oct. 1878. He was one of the founders of the Chetham Society, and contributed to it some of its most important publications, as the editions of Gastrell's Notitia, the Lancs. Chantries and Stanley Papers; he was elected F.S.A. in 1843, and received the degree of M.A. from the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1845, Hon. Canon of Manchester in 1849. He was also zealous as a parochial clergyman. He bequeathed his manuscript collections, forty-four volumes and miscellaneous deeds, to the Chetham Library. There is a monument to him at Milnrow; see Dict. Nat. Biog.; Fishwick, Rochdale, 214; and Sir H. H. Howorth's Introd. to Vicars of Rochdale. (Chet. Soc).
  • 87. Vicar of Trumpington, 1885.
  • 88. End. Char. Rep. 1904, p. 10.
  • 89. He was son of John Collier, curate of Eccles, and was baptized at Flixton; he was in youth apprenticed to a weaver, but afterwards became usher at Milnrow, succeeding to the mastership. He died at Milnrow on 14 July 1786, and was buried at Rochdale; see Dict. Nat. Biog.; Fishwick, Lancs. Lib. 248, &c., and Rochdale, 280.
  • 90. Lond. Gaz. 4 Apr. and 5 May 1876, for district and endowment.
  • 91. A chapel, erected for the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion,was purchased in 1867; Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconf. iii, 253.