Townships: Todmorden and Walsden

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

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'Townships: Todmorden and Walsden', 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/pp229-234 [accessed 14 October 2024].

'Townships: Todmorden and Walsden', 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/pp229-234.

"Townships: Todmorden and Walsden". 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/pp229-234.

In this section

TODMORDEN AND WALSDEN

INCHFIELD in Walsden was formerly reckoned a manor, having probably been the site of the manorhouse of the Savile family, who, as above stated, once held a moiety of the manor of Rochdale as heirs of the Hugh de Eland of 1212. (fn. 1) In 1626 it was held by George son of George Travis of the king by a rent of 40s. 5d.; the acreage was only 387 arable,with pasture lands of nearly 800 acres, and there were also of common land 300 acres. (fn. 2) The Walsden people had 788 acres of common in Inchfield. (fn. 3)

TODMORDEN was held by divers tenants, some of whose lands passed in 1364 to William de Radcliffe of Langfield in Yorkshire, the ancestor, or at least the predecessor in title, of the Radcliffes of Todmorden and Great Mearley. (fn. 4) Richard Radcliffe of Todmorden, who died in 1502, held six messuages, 60 acres of land, &c, in Swineshead and Genredewood of the king as of his manor of Rochdale; a messuage called Henshaw in Hundersfield of John Hamerton; also the manor or capital messuage of Todmorden of Sir John Savile, all in socage. Charles Radcliffe, his son and heir, was thirty-five years of age. (fn. 5) Charles Radcliffe died on 15 August 1536, holding certain messuages and lands in Todmorden of Sir Henry Savile in socage by a rent of 33s. 4d., and others in Walsden of the king by knight's service and a rent of 8s. 10½d. (fn. 6) Edward his son and heir was forty-six years of age, and died at Mearley in 1557, leaving the estates to his son Charles, forty-five years old. (fn. 7) Charles, at his death in 1590, held Todmorden of Sir John Byron and Walsden of the queen; the service for the latter was 8s. rent. (fn. 8) Henry the son and heir, then fifty-seven years old, died ten years later, his heir being his grandson Saville Radcliffe, aged sixteen. (fn. 9) Saville's grandson Joshua died in 1676, leaving as heir his daughter Elizabeth; she married Roger Mainwaring of Kermincham in Cheshire, and in 1717 the estate was sold. The purchaser was John Fielden, a Quaker. In 1796 it was sold to Anthony Crossley, from whom it descended to James Taylor of Calverlands, Berkshire. (fn. 10)

Todmorden Hall is a two-story stone-built house with gables and mullioned windows, originally in a pleasant situation on the north-west bank of the Calder, to which its gardens sloped; but it is now, however, almost completely shut in by other buildings, and its surroundings entirely altered. It takes the place of an older building on the same site of which it is probably a rebuilding or an enlargement. There is, however, nothing in the existing structure which appears to be older than the year 1603, at which date the rebuilding was carried out by Saville Radcliffe, though it is possible that a portion of the west wing may belong to the older building. The type and plan is that of a centre block with projecting end wings, the principal front, facing south, having stone gables and straight parapets with ball ornaments and large mullioned and transomed windows with hood-moulds. The centre and eastern wings are much loftier than the western, and suggest that the 1603 rebuilding may have comprised this portion of the house alone, the lower wing containing the kitchen being a part of the older house. The porch is an addition to the original west wing, as shown by a stiaight joint, but its detail suggests its having been erected at the same time as the rest of the house. The centre wing has two large four-light windows on each floor, those on the ground floor having double transoms, but the original windows of the east wing were cut away in the 18th century and larger square sash windows inserted on both floors, entirely spoiling the picturesque appearance of the house and altering the proportions of the front. These windows remained till 1908, when they were removed in their turn, and new mullioned windows put in their place. In 1626 Todmorden Hall is described in the Manor Survey (fn. 11) as 'a capital messuage fairly built of stone,' and in the will of John Fielden, who died there in 1734, the house is mentioned 'with its gatehouses and cottages.' From that date the hall seems to have been divided into two houses, when Abraham Fielden inherited it, except' the new parlour, the dyning room, the mealhouse, the new chamber with part of the cellar,' which were reserved for the use of his mother. (fn. 12) This probably refers to the west wing, to which an addition was built including a new kitchen, the original kitchen being turned into the dining-room. The Hall still consists of two houses, but the plan was apparently so much modified in the 18th century that the original arrangements are not clear. This work appears to have been done by the Fieldens somewhere about the year 1743 (that date being on a stone in the cellar), and includes the present large stone staircase in the eastern part. (fn. 13)

Radcliffe of Todmorden. Argent a bend engrailed sable in the sinister chief a fleur de lis gules.

The roofs are now covered with modern blue slates, and the main roof is carried down at the back between the gables, finishing with overhanging eaves, the north front of the house being straight and unbroken, and producing something of the nature of an H plan in the upper story. The north elevation has end gables of unequal height similar to those in the principal front, but the pitch of the western gable has been altered on one side by the later kitchen addition. The exterior of the house bears no date, but a stone bearing a shield with the arms of Radcliffe quartering Greenacres, found in one of the attics during the restoration of 1908, was placed over the porch in the same year. The spout heads, however, have a bull's head, the Radcliffe crest, within a circle. The interior has been considerably modernized, but the principal front room at the east end is panelled in oak to a height of 10 ft., and has a finely-carved oak mantelpiece, on which, in the centre, are the arms of Radcliffe quartering Greenacres, impaling Hyde of Norbury, with the crests of Radcliffe and Hyde, and the mottoes, 'Natale Solo Duce.' 'Ama Virtutem.' On the cornice is the date 1603, and above three black shields, the centre (larger) one being inclosed within a garter and surmounted with an earl's coronet. (fn. 14) Below are four shields: (1) a lion rampant, (2) Radcliffe, (3) Hyde, and (4) a cross flory and the Radcliffe crest in a circle, between which are the initials S. R. K. R. (Saville Radcliffe and Katherine Hyde his wife). In one of the upper rooms is a portion of a good plaster ornamental frieze, now on two sides of the room only, but formerly continued all round. There is a space 5 ft. high between the ceiling of the corridor of the eastern house and the floor of the landing above, entered by a trap-door, and giving rise to the usual story of a priest's hole. The upper part of the porch in the western house has an open arch and wooden balustrade, forming a kind of small gallery to the hall, and is approached from the bedroom, an arrangement which gives rise to the story of a minstrels' gallery. (fn. 15) The hall is said to have had coloured glass in several of its windows until recent years, (fn. 16) but all of this has now disappeared.

The Fieldens of Bottomley (fn. 17) and the Crossleys of Scaitcliffe (fn. 18) have long held their estates. Allescholes (fn. 19) and Bernshaw Tower in Todmorden (fn. 20) may also be mentioned.

The Chetham family probably held a part of Hundersfield at the beginning of the 13th century, for Thomas Earl of Derby, who died in 1521, held lands there as successor of the Pilkingtons, (fn. 21) and the Chadderton family also had some. The Survey of 1626 gives a full account of the owners and tenants at that time; some of them have been noticed in other parts of Rochdale, as John Butterworth of Turnagh.

The surnames of Howarth, (fn. 22) Lord, (fn. 23) and others (fn. 24) also occur in deeds and inquisitions.

There were 748 acres of copyhold land in 1626.

In 1788 the chief landowners were John Crossley and Hannah Greenwood. (fn. 25)

Borough

The town of TODMORDEN, which spread into Yorkshire, obtained a local board in 1861, (fn. 26) and this, after some changes, became an urban district council in 1894. A borough charter was granted in 1896; the area includes the former township of Todmorden with Walsden. In 1888 the whole was transferred to the West Riding of Yorkshire. A town hall, given by the Messrs. Fielden, was built in 1875. The gasworks belong to the corporation, but water is supplied by Rochdale Corporation from works recently purchased from a private company. Todmorden is forming a new reservoir of its own. The market days are Wednesday and Saturday; and there are two fairs, on the Thursday before Easter and the last Thursday in September. There is a free library.

Churches

The old parochial chapel of ST. MARY stands on a small eminence in the centre of Todmorden,but is architecturally uninteresting, having been entirely rebuilt in 1770, with the exception of the lower part of the tower, which belongs to the 17th-century structure. (fn. 27) It consists of a chancel, nave, west tower, and south porch, but the chancel and porch are modern additions erected in 1897. The 18th-century building, which forms the present nave, is a plain oblong structure faced with wrought stone and with a stone-slated roof. On the south side are twosquare-headed doorways, one now built up and the other hidden by the later porch, between which are two tall semicircular headed windows with impost mouldings and keystones. Over the doors are twosmaller semicircular headed windows, and at either end of the building two windows each of three lights,. one above the other, the centre lights of which have a semicircular head springing from the level of the cornice of the side lights.

The tower is 15 ft. square on the outside, and hasa pointed window on the west on the ground-floor stage. The upper part was rebuilt and raised in 1860, and terminates in an embattled parapet; it retains, however, its 18th-century cock weather-vaneThe interior is quite plain, and the fittings, with the exception of the west gallery, the front of which hassome good 18th-century detail, are all modern, the building having been completely restored in 1860–8, and again in 1897. The new chancel is Gothic, and has a good east window. There were formerly galleries all round, and that on the north side was standing in 1868, when Glynne visited the church, which he describes as 'scarcely worth notice.'

There is a clock in the tower and one bell, on which is the inscription: 'In dulcedine vocis cantabo tuo (sic) D'ne. In jucunditate soni sonabo tibi D'ne. W [..] O. LAM . SRE . 1603'; and below, ' Recast, tower raised new clock 1860 Mears, Lond. fecit.'

The churchyard is on the south and west sides, raised high above the roadway, and contains a few stones with good 17th-century lettering. It was closed for burials in 1858.

CHRIST CHURCH (the parish church) stands on high ground on the west side of the town in a position commanding a fine view down the valley westward towards Burnley. (fn. 28) It was built between 1830 and 1832, and consists of chancel, nave, with north and south aisles, and west tower. The chancel, however, is new, having been added in 1886, the original building, which is in the Gothic style, having been designed, according to the custom of the day, with a small square east end. The interior is very lofty and has galleries over both aisles and at the west end. Considering the time when the church was erected, its architecture, though poor, is rather better than the usual Gothic of the period.

There are twelve bells, one by Thomas Mears, 1836, and the rest by Taylor of Loughborough, 1897 (eight ringing bells and three chimes). The old bell is fixed stationary.

The church plate, which is common to Christ Church and St. Mary's, consists of two chalices, a paten and flagon of 1832, two chalices and three patens of later date with the Birmingham marks.

The registers begin in 1666, but the first entries are fragmentary on loose sheets pasted in. There are some quaint entries by the Rev. Henry Crabtree (1662–85), who frequently added astrological comments. (fn. 29) The registers are in a very dilapidated condition. The first volume begins with burials and baptisms for 1678, and the years 1666 and 1667 follow, the volume containing entries up to 1758. The second volume comprises the years 1675 to 1709, and the third 1729 to 1812. Many of the entries are on loose sheets, now very much decayed and mildewed. The registers require a thorough overhauling.

The churchwardens' accounts begin 1720.

Advowson

A chapel probably existed at Todmorden by 1500 ; (fn. 30) though it was but scantily furnished in 1552, that may have been due to its confiscation by the Crown as a chantry. (fn. 31) It was repurchased by the inhabitants for 6s. 8d. (fn. 32) Soon afterwards the chapelyard was used for burial. (fn. 33) As there was no endowment it was probably difficult to find a curate, (fn. 34) and only fragmentary notices occur before 1640. (fn. 35) The Commonwealth Commissioners in 1650 recommended that the chapel should be made a parish church. (fn. 36) After the Restoration the people seem to have been largely Nonconformists, the Quakers being very numerous. About 1706 the curate had an income of £16, of which £14. was from the people's contributions ; the clerk begged wool through the chapelry for his maintenance. (fn. 37) Canon Raines states that John Welsh, curate from 1713 to 1726, was 'very successful in reclaiming Dissenters.' (fn. 38) The benefice became a vicarage under the Rochdale Vicarage Act of 1866 ; the Bishop of Manchester presents the incumbents, of whom the following is a list since the Restoration:— (fn. 39)

1662 Henry Crabtree
? Thomas Ingham
Thomas Grimshaw
oc. 1695 Daniel Pighells (Pickles)
1699 Robert Whitehead, B.A. (Brasenose Coll., Oxf.) (fn. 40)
1704. Robert Butterworth (Jesus Coll., Camb.)
1713 John Welsh
1726 Joseph Sutcliff
1731 William Grimshaw (fn. 41)
1742 Robert Hargraves, B.A.
1770 John Crosse, B.A. (St. Edmund Hall, Oxf.)
1775 Joseph Atkinson
1819 Robert Seatle
1821 Joseph Co well
1846 John Edwards, M.A. (Lincoln Coll., Oxf.)
1864 Anthony John Plow
1868 Rennell Francis Wynn Molesworth, (fn. 42) M.A. (Brasenose Coll., Oxf.)
1875 William Augustus Conway (fn. 43)
1883 Edward James Russell, (fn. 44) M.A. (St. Mary Hall, Oxf.)
1910 Charles Paul Keeling, M.A. (St. John's Coll. Camb.)

More recently, in connexion with the Church of England, St. Peter's, Walsden, has been erected ; it was consecrated in 1848 ; the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester present alternately. (fn. 45)

A school was founded at Walsden in 1713. (fn. 46)

There are several Methodist churches at Todmorden and Walsden, the Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and United Free Methodists all being represented.

The Congregationalists have a church at Todmorden. (fn. 47)

The Baptists have long held an influential position in the Todmorden district; they have several churches. A meeting house was erected at Shore in 1777 for the General or Arminian Baptists. (fn. 48)

The Society of Friends also has long been established here, the history going back to the 17th century.

There is a Unitarian Church, built by Samuel, John, and Joshua Fielden.

The small Roman Catholic church of St. Joseph was opened in 1868.

In 1471 the Abbot of Whalley allowed the inhabitants of Butterworth and Hundersfield the use of the chapel which they had lately built at LITTLEBOROUGH, provided no injury was done to the mother church of Rochdale. (fn. 49) The inventory of 1552 shows that the chapel was but poorly furnished. (fn. 50) It was repurchased by the inhabitants for 40s. (fn. 51) A plan of the seating in 1556 has been preserved. (fn. 52) In this place also there was no maintenance for the curate beyond the contributions of the people, but the list of curates is fairly continuous from 1580. (fn. 53) The Commonwealth Commissioners in 1650 recommended that it should be made a parish church. (fn. 54) In 1717 the inhabitants contributed £10 a year for the curate's stipend; (fn. 55) and in 1747 a subscription was made to meet a grant from Queen Anne's Bounty which enabled a tenement in Shaw to be purchased. (fn. 56) The old building, having long been dangerous, was at last pulled down, the present church of the Holy Trinity being erected in 1820 on an adjacent site. (fn. 57) It has since been enlarged by the addition of a chancel in 1889. The vicar of Rochdale presents the incumbents, who have been styled vicars since the Vicarage Act of 1866. The following is an imperfect list of them since 1582:— (fn. 58)

oc. 1582–93 William Greaves
oc. 1602 Richard Knowles
oc. 1604 Joseph Marcroft (fn. 59)
oc. 1622 — Poston (fn. 60)
oc. 1627 William Walker
oc. 1641 Robert Dunster
oc. 1647 Isaac Allen (fn. 61)
oc. 1649 Thomas Bradshaw, M.A. (Caius Coll., Camb.) (fn. 62)
oc. 1669 Thomas Parry
oc. 1671 Thomas Guy
oc. 1694–6 Edmund Thornley, B.A. (Jesus Coll., Camb.)
1727 John Kippax
oc. 1730 Joseph Sutcliff
1745 John Keighley (fn. 63)
1769 Barton Shuttleworth, B.A.
1794 John Rutter
1816 Thomas Steele, B.A. (St. John's Coll., Camb.) (fn. 64)
1845 Thomas Sturgess Mills
1864 Thomas Carter, M.A. (Queen's Coll., Oxf.)
1872 Alfred Salts, LL.D. (St. John's Coll, Camb.)

The following additional churches have been erected during the last century: St. John's, Smallbridge, 1834; (fn. 65) St. James' the Apostle, Wardle, 1858; (fn. 66) St. James's, Calderbrook, 1870; St. Andrew's, Dearnley, 1895; St. Barnabas', Shore, 1901. The vicar of Smallbridge presents to Wardle, but the patronage of the others is vested in the Bishop of Manchester, except that the present vicar of Littleborough presents to Calderbrook during his incumbency.

A school was built in 1700 near Pike House. (fn. 67)

The Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, New Connexion, and Free Methodists have churches at Littleborough; and the last-named have a church also at Smithy Bridge.

The Congregationalists have churches at Littleborough, Smallbridge, and Calderbrook. (fn. 68)

The Baptists have a church at Littleborough.

At the same place is the Roman Catholic church of St. Mary of the Annunciation, founded in 1879. (fn. 69)

Footnotes

  • 1. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 40. Hugh de Eland had in 1202 granted 2 oxgangs in Hundersfield to Thomas son of Jordan at a rent of 2s. 8d.; Uhtred and Michael were the previous holders; Final Concords, i, 17. John de Eland in 1311 held of Henry de Lacy one plough-land in Hundersfield, by the annual service of 60s.; De Lacy Inq. (Chet. Soc), 20. John de Balshagh, perhaps as bailiff of Rochdale, in 1324–5 claimed tenements in Hundersfield against John de Eland and others, but did not proceed; Assize R. 426, m. 9. Little is known of the lordship of the other moiety of Hundersfield. Robert de Flamborough (Flayneburgh) and Alice his wife in 1235 granted half an oxgang in Hundersfield to three brothers named Andrew, Peter, and Alexander, at a rent of 8d.; the land was Alice's; Final Concords, i, 69. In 1246 Alice widow of Robert de Flamborough (Flaynburg) had a suit with Patrick son of Michael de Hundersfield; Assize R. 1045, m. 53. In the same year Alice daughter and heir of Robert de Liversedge successfully claimed common of pasture in Hundersfield against Richard son of Andrew son of Matthew de Hundersfield; also against Patrick son of Michael, Richard son of Andrew, William son of Beatrice, Henry son of Ivo, Roger son of Adam, and Michael de Lightollers; Assize R. 404, m. 7d, 8. The plaintiff in these cases may have been the same Alice. Thomas de Langfield in 1306 made a claim for meadow in Todmorden and Hundersfield against Henry son of Richard de Hipperholm and John de Lacy; the lastnamed said he had nothing except in common with his wife Margaret, who was not named in the writ; Assize R. 419, m. 6. In 1296 the land of Henry son of Patrick (perhaps the above-named Patrick) was in the lord's hands, in consequence of the felony of Randle brother and heir of Henry; De Lacy Compoti (Chet. Soc), 6. The issues were 2s. The descent of the Eland and Savile manor has been recited under Rochdale; Inchfield is styled a manor in 1551.
  • 2. Surv. ut sup. 123. Sir John Byron had sold it to George Travis the father. It descended in the Travis family until 1739, when Sarah daughter and co-heir of John Travis of Oldham married Lawrence Nuttall of Lower Town House; see Fishwick, Rochdale, 460; Raines MSS. v, 314–16.
  • 3. Surv. ut sup. The common of Walsden occupied 2,015 acres. An ancient grant by John de Eland excepted the pasture between Todmorden and Ramsden from the easements of the vill of Hundersfield, and the people of Inchfield claimed it as their right. Other estates in this part of the district were Henshaw, held in 1626 by Saville Radcliffe (see below), and Lightbank and Hollinworth, formerly the lands of John Bradshaw, who in 1489–90 demised them to Richard Radcliffe of Todmorden; in 1626 they were held by John (grandson of Richard) Butterworth. For the estates of Warland and Stonehouse see Fishwick, op. cit. 454, 455.
  • 4. For the charters of this family see Add. MS. 32104, no. 604, &c. The following show the composite character of the Radcliffes' estate: In 1299 Henry son of Richard de Hipperholm granted a fourth part of the vill of Todmorden to John de Lacy and Margaret his wife, to be held of the nearest chief lord; three years later he gave certain rents in Wardle; no. 548, 725, 728. Margaret de Lacy gave her lands to her son Thomas; no. 730. John de Eland gave Todmorden Hey, by the Little Blackcarr, to Richard Harder of Todmorden, at a rent of 2s.; no. 625. Matthew son of Robert de le Wood in 1306 gave all his land in Awardbottom to Henry son of Thomas de Burdell; no. 1202. Roger de Todmorden gave to Robert son of Henry in 1317 land between Hennynshok and Penhilshawsyke, and between lands of Ellis de Greenhurst and Thomas del Dene; no. 726. Thomas son of Richard del Dene in 1322 gave all his lands, &c, in Todmorden to his son Thomas and Cecily daughter of Henry de Wardle; no. 644. William son of Thomas del Dene in 1324 gave all his lands, &c, in Todmorden to Agnes daughter of John de Stodelay, whom he was marrying; no. 784, 754. Agnes, as widow of William, in 1342 gave most of her lands in Todmorden, with two houses built upon them, to John son of Thomas Harder, a rent of 2s. being payable to the chief lords; no. 772. The rent is the same as that for Todmorden Hey above. Robert son of Henry de Swineshead in 1350 gave to William de Harwood all his lands, &c, in Hundersfield; no. 735. The Dene family occur in 1314 in a suit by Agnes widow of Michael de le Dene to recover dower in a messuage, &c, in Hundersfield against John de le Dene and Geoffrey son of Richard de le Dene; De Banco R. 206, m. 25d. In 1364 William son of Henry the Ward of Stones, gave lands within the hedge of the Ringge of Todmorden to William son of William de Radcliffe; Add. MS. 32104, no. 753. Three years later Adam Rogger gave the Little Rode to the same William de Radcliffe; no. 781 In 1373 the lands in the former grant were given by William de Radcliffe to John de Notehogh(Nuttall); no. 624. John son of William de Radcliffe had in the same year obtained the reversion of lands at Swineshead from John son of Robert del Law, which the said Robert had from Robert son of William de Swineshead; no. 634, 770. Richard II, at the request of Sir Robert de Urswick, in 1392 pardoned William de Radcliffe for the death of Robert de Lydesay; no. 750. In 1388 William son of William de Radcliffe had made a feoffment of his lands, services, &c, in Hundersfield and elsewhere in Lancashire; and these were in 1402 transferred to new feoffees, of whom John de Radcliffe was one; no. 746, 747. Henry IV in 1400 granted Will am de Radcliffe of Todmorden an annuity of £10 out of the profits of the manor of Rochdale; Duchy of Lane. Misc. Bits, xv, fol. 20 d. Richard son of William de Radcliffe married Margaret daughter and heir of Henry de Dyneley of Downham, and in 1401 her share of the inheritance was delivered to her; Add. MS. 32104, no. 667; see Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 41, 42; Pal. of Lane. Chan. Misc. 1/8, m. 23/4. In 1418 William de Radcliffe of Todmorden became bound to Thomas Savile of Thornhill to submit to an arbitration; Geoffrey the son of William is named; Add. MS. 32104, no. 670. In 1419 Henry de Dearden proceeded against William son of William de Radcliffe the younger and others for breach of the peace at Spotland; Add. MS. 32108, no. 1672. The trustees of William son of William Radcliffe in 1423–4 gave Stubbs in Todmorden and other lands to Christiana daughter of Robert Pilkington, to hold for her life, with remainder to Richard son of William son of William Radcliffe, &c.; Kuerden, fol. MS. 261, no. 661. Henry Marland, vicar of Rochdale, and other trustees in 1443 gave to William son of William Radcliffe all lands, &c, in Hundersfield and Langfield; Add. MS. 32104, no. 780. William de Radcliffe made another feoffment in 1451; no. 722. Richard Radcliffe occurs in 1490, when he acquired Hollinworth in Hundersfield from John son and heir of Thomas Bradshaw (no. 786) and also purchased the estate of Robert son and heir of Richard Henshaw in Walsden; no. 748. This last in the following year he granted to Peter Henshaw (no. 630), and in 1492 he assigned the same for life to his bastard son William Radcliffe and Elizabeth daughter of Thomas Towneley; no. 621. For a charge of harbouring felons against Richard Radcliffe see Fishwick, Rochdale, 468 (quoting Duchy of Lane. Plead. Hen. VII, ii, G 4).
  • 5. Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 94.
  • 6. Ibid, viii, no. 35. In 1512 Charles Radcliffe and Edward his son made a lease of lands called Pighills and Dryelhurst in Hundersfield; Add. MS. 32104, no. 755.
  • 7. Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. x, no. 24. Edward Radcliffe in 1537 demised for a term to Richard Shepherd lands, &c, called Dobroyd, Stone Meadow, Norse Hoyle, and Carr in Todmorden; Add. MS. 32104, no. 646. In 1541 he agreed with Charles Stansfield as to the possession of a piece of land on the south side of the Calder and the east side of the water of Walsden; no. 662.
  • 8. Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xv, no. 24. The following relate to purchases and settlements by Charles Radcliffe, Henry his son being joined in the later ones; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 12, m. 205; 26, m. 104; 27, m. 249; 34, m. 7; 40, m. 30.
  • 9. Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xvii, no. 45. For the descent see Dugdale, Visit. 1664, p. 240. A settlement of the manor of Todmorden was made by Henry Radcliffe in 1595; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 57, m. 43.
  • 10. For the later descent see Fishwick, Rochdale, 469–72. In 1626, when Saville Radcliffe held the manor of Todmorden, with 398 acres of land, and 175 acres in Gauxholme, a number of the above-cited deeds were produced, as also a grant of 1537 by Edward Radcliffe to Charles his son and heir apparent, who had married Margaret, the manor of Todmorden, Hermithome, and other lands being included; Surv. ut sup. 134–6. Saville Radclifte, in 1631, paid £25 on refusing knighthood; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 216. A settlement of the manor of Todmorden was made in 1695 by Roger Mainwaring and Elizabeth his wife, Saville Radcliffe and Mary his wife, and Radcliffe Scholefield and Mary his wife; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 234, m. 92. Roger Mainwaring the younger and Elizabeth his wife were in possession in 1701; ibid. bdle. 246, ra. 107. The same and James Mainwaring held it in 1717; ibid. bdle. 277, m. 107. This fine was probably levied in connexion with the sale.
  • 11. Quoted by Fishwick, Rochdale, 471.
  • 12. Fishwick, op. cit. 472.
  • 13. The oak balusters of a former 17thcentury staircase are still preserved in a lumber room in the house.
  • 14. It is said to have had the arms of Radcliffe Earl of Sussex.
  • 15. It is possible that the entrance hall of the present west house may mark the 'screens' of a former building, the great hall of which would be the central portion of the east house now occupied by the two front rooms and the passage behind. The plan of the building suggests its having been rebuilt on an older foundation. But the porch is certainly of later date than the original hall, the minstrels' gallery of which, if there ever was one, would probably have been over the screens.
  • 16. Fishwick, op. cit. 472.
  • 17. For an account of this family see Fishwick, op. cit. 457–64, with pedigree. The surname appears to have been Fieldend originally. William Fielden in 1581 made a feoffment of messuages, &c, in Hundersfield; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 43, m. 164. About the same time Nicholas (bastard son of Bartholomew) Fielden and Christabel his wife purchased a messuage in Hundersfield from John Stansfield and Agnes his wife; ibid. m. 167. In the following year he acquired another messuage from Edward Milne, Agnes his wife, and Charles his son; ibid. bdle. 44, m. 87.
  • 18. See Fishwick, op. cit. 475–9. Richard son and heir of Richard Crossley of Scaitcliffe occurs in 1586; Add. MS. 32104, no. 664. Anthony Crossley made a feoffment of messuages, &c, in Todmorden in 1591; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 53, m. 140. In 1626 John son of Anthony Crossley held 120 acres in Scaitcliffe and Shawhead; and Jeremy son of Richard Crossley held 60 acres in Scaitcliffe; Surv. ut. sup. 137.
  • 19. Fishwick, op. cit. 456.
  • 20. Ibid. 479; relating that until about 1870 'at one end of the farmhouse was a small turreted building, and the tradition was that under it lay buried a "chest" of gold, and in digging for this hidden treasure the building was undermined and fell down.' James Lomax of Pilsworth died in 1623 holding lands in Todmorden of the king in socage, and leaving a son and heir Richard, twelve years of age; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), iii, 441; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxvii, no. 31. Richard Lomax, the heir, in 1626 held 'Besingshaw' with 65 acres, paying rents of 6s. to Savile and 3s. 4d. to Radcliffe; Surv. ut sup. 139. For a Lomax suit of 1690 see Exch. Dep. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 77.
  • 21. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. v, no. 68. The Derby rental of 1523 (in the possession of Lord Lathom) records only a rent of 60s.2d.in Rochdale,purchased from Gilbert Leigh; see p. 129 and V.C.H. Lancs. iv, 259.
  • 22. John Savile of Eland in 1367 granted to Thomas de Haworth all the lands in Todmorden formerly belonging to John son of Richard de Greenhurst, except those called Nollerode and Hingandsagh; Add. MS. 32104, no, 782; Henry de Haworth was a witness. The same John Savile made a release of all actions against Thomas in 1385; ibid. no. 638. Gilbert Holden in 1584 acquired two messuages, &c, in Todmorden and Hundersfield from Henry Haworth and Janet his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 46, m. 210. Henry Haworth of Burnley Wood in 1586 gave to his son and heir John, on marriage with Janet daughter of William Bolton of Ightenhill, lands, &c., in Todmorden and HundersfieW; Add. MS. 32104, no. 664.
  • 23. Edmund Lord the younger purchased a barn and land in Migehalghden in Hundersfield (see Lancs, and Ches. Rec. [Rec. Soc], ii, 255) from Charles Holt and Mary his wife in 1577; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 39, m. 109. Edward Lord died at Butterworth in 1605 holding various messuages and lands in the hamlet of Todmorden in Hundersfield of Saville Radcliffe, by a rent of 2d.; he also held lands in Butterworth of John Holt, and in Castleton of James Scholefield. Charles, his son and heir, was fifty-one years of age; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 114. In 1626 Charles son of Henry Lord (who died in 1623), and grandson of Charles, held the estate called God play, with 151 acres, by a rent of 6s. 8d. to the king and 2d. to Saville Radcliffe j Survey, ut sup. 140.
  • 24. It will have been seea from preceding notes that Hundersfield and many of its hamlets gave surnames to families— as Wardle, Todmorden, and others, but there is nothing to show the exact character of their tenure, nor the descent of their estates. John de Buersill in 1361 acquired a messuage and lands in Hundersfield from Adam del Clough and Maud his wife; Final Conc, ii, 168. Robert del Lawe and Joan his wife in 1374 made a settlement of a small estate; ibid, ii, 188. William le Genour in 1379 acquired a messuage and lands from Henry de Burton and Alice his wife; ibid, iii, 7. William de Hulton and Alice his wife in 1286 claimed the latter's dower in Todmorden against Richard de Hardehesel and Alexander son of Henry de Whitworth; De Banco R. 64, m. 9 d. Robert de Bradefield and Joan his wife in 1315 claimed the latter's dower in a messuage, lands, and rent in Wardleworth, Henry del Stocks being defendant; De Banco R. 212, m. 50 d. Robert Stott and Joan his wife had a messuage and land in 1582; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 44, m. 157.
  • 25. Land tax returns at Preston.
  • 26. Lond. Gaz. 3 May 1861; reconstituted in 1875 by 38 & 39 Vict. cap. 211. A school board formed in 1874; Lond. Gaz. 31 July.
  • 27. Fishwick, op. cit. 179. A brief to aid the rebuilding was issued in 1767. For a description of the chapel, &c, in 1769 see Local Glean. Lancs, and Ches, ii, 8.
  • 28. It was illegally used as the parish church for twenty years, and an Act of Parliament had to be obtained to legalize the marriages celebrated therein; Fishwick, loc. cit.
  • 29. As for instance: '1685, November 1st, James son of James Taylor of Todmorden. He was born 2nd October, near sun setting, and also near a full moon, which is sure sign of a short life'; see Lancs, and Cbes. Antiq. Soc. v, 350.
  • 30. Fishwick, op. cit. 177.
  • 31. Ch. Goods. (Chet. Soc), 49 ; Robert Tumagb. was the priest there. He appeared at the Visitations of 1548 and 1554, but not in 1562 or later.
  • 32. Raines, Chant. (Chet. Soc), ii, 277.
  • 33. Fishwick, loc. sup. cit.
  • 34. The curate in 1590 was a preacher, but 'insufficient' ; S.P. Dom. Eliz. xxxi, 47. Todmorden is named in 1610 among the Rochdale chapels of ease maintained by the inhabitants; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 12.
  • 35. Gilbert Ashley occurs in 1590; Fishwick, op. cit. 181.
  • 36. Commonwealth Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 19 ; the fixed stipend was 6s. 8d. only. The ministers of this period were:— Robert Towne, described as ' antinomian,' banished by the Classis in 1648; W. A. Shaw, Bury Classis (Chet. Soc), 53. John Hill, 1647, to whom, as 'a godly and orthodox divine,' a payment of £40 a year was ordered out of the sequestered tithes of Lord Byron; Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 60. Francis Core, 1650; 'scandalous in life and conversation ;' Ch. Surv. William Norcott, 1654; Fishwick, loc. cit. Thomas Somerton, 1658; 'he had been a blacksmith or farrier and preached strange doctrines'; Raines in Not. Cestr. (Chet. Soc), ii. 148, 149.
  • 37. Ibid, ii, 147–51 ; of a hundred families in the chapelry there were fifty Quakers, twenty Presbyterians, and thirty Anabaptists. These figures may refer to persons only.
  • 38. Ibid, ii, 150, 151, where an account is given of the attempt to recover a levy for the curate's stipend in 1719.
  • 39. This list is taken mainly from Fishwick, op. cit. 182–8, where full accounts of the incumbents will be found.
  • 40. Tne church papers at Chester begin at this point.
  • 41. He was of Christ's College, Cambridge, and became incumbent of Haworth in Yorkshire. He was one of the leading preachers of the Methodist revival of the time. He died in 1763. There is a notice of him in Dict. Nat. Biog.
  • 42. Afterwards rector of Washington, Durham.
  • 43. Previously incumbent of Heap, Bury.
  • 44. Previously a vicar of St. James, Heap ; Hon. Canon of Manchester.
  • 45. For district see Lond. Gaz. 4 July 1845.
  • 46. Notitia Cestr. ii, 153.
  • 47. The history begins in 1835; Patmos Chapel, built for the Methodist New Connexion in 1816, was purchased in 1841. See B. Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconformity, iii, 279–81.
  • 48. A. Taylor, Engl, Gen. Baptists, 179, 272, 389.
  • 49. Raines in Notitia Cestr. ii, 132, 133; see the Pike House evidences In Raines MSS. iv, 61, where a view of the chapel in 1815 is given. An earlier sketch (1770) may be seen in Fishwick, Rochdale, 189.
  • 50. Ch. Goods, 49; Robert Turnagh served this chapel as well as Todmorden. Bernard Hamer was priest there in 1547 and 1550, but was dead in 1554; ibid. 52. Roger Lynney is said to have been the curate in 1517; Fishwick, op. cit. 195.
  • 51. The price named in Raines' Chantries (277) is 13s. 4d. The deed of sale is in the Raines MSS. i, 203.
  • 52. Printed by Fishwick, op. cit. 190, 191. An encroachment by James Halliwell of Pike House, who brought in a new sear, was defeated in 1628; Notitia Cestr. ii, 133, 134.
  • 53. John Chetham was curate in 1563, but the name is erased in the 1565 list; Visitation Lists at Chester. Edmund Hopwood, literate, was licensed as 'reader' in 1576, so that there was probably no ordained curate at that time; Pennant's Account-book. In 1610 the chapel was among those ' maintained by the inhabitants;' Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 12.
  • 54. Commonw. Cb. Surv. p. 20. An increase of £40 was given to the minister in 1650 out of Lord Byron's sequestered tithes; Plund. Mins.Accts. i, 85.
  • 55. Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 135; it is stated to have been fixed when the seats were arranged in 1556, and to have been still paid in 1849. In 1717 the chapel was used for baptism, but the names were entered in the parish church books, and all surplice fees went to the vicar. The registers of Littleborough begin in 1758.
  • 56. See the subscribers' names, ibid. 135 note.
  • 57. Fishwick, op. cit. 193, 194.
  • 58. The list is taken mostly from Fishwick, op. cit., 196–201, where biographical notices may be seen.
  • 59. Cited in 1611 for not wearing a surplice, and in 1620 for not observing a fast day; Fishwick, op. cit. The will of James Stott of Littleborough, was proved before him in 1617; J. P. Earwaker's note.
  • 60. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 67.
  • 61. Shaw, Bury Classis, 32, 209 5 he was a preacher then, but 'unsettled.'
  • 62. Ibid. 215.
  • 63. The church papers at Chester Dioc. Reg. begin with him.
  • 64. He compiled a hymn book in 1816, which was extensively used in the district.
  • 65. Lond. Gaz. 30 Nov. 1844, for district.
  • 66. Lond. Gaz. 11 March 1859.
  • 67. Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 137.
  • 68. The history of that at Calderbrook begins in 1823; a chapel, known as Summit, was built in 1833. A church was formed at Smallbridge in 1828; the present building was opened in 1866. At Littleborough a room was hired in 1869, and a chapel was built in 1876; Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconformity, iii, 249.
  • 69. Kelly, Engl. Cath. Miss. 252.