| 1 |
This name is found in 1594; Ducatus
Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii, 299. It was usual
down to the first part of last century.
The name may be connected with the
Roocroft mentioned in a deed cited below.
Row is popularly supposed to have reference to a former avenue of trees from
London Road up to Chorlton Hall, but
the name is much older than any such
row of trees. The epithet was due to a
desire to distinguish the township from
the other Chorlton, now called Chorlton
with Hardy. |
| 2 |
647 acres; Census Rep. 1901. |
| 3 |
The Female Penitentiary, founded in
1836, was formerly on this site. |
| 4 |
Subs. R. bdle. 250, no. 9. |
| 5 |
a 3 Geo. IV, cap. 14. |
| 6 |
2 & 3 Will. IV, cap. 90. |
| 7 |
Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. v, 328. |
| 8 |
In Autobiographic Sketches and Confessions of an Opium Eater. |
| 9 |
Dict. Nat. Biog. |
| 10 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), i, 69. This place
occurs earlier in the Pipe Rolls, for in
1177–8 account was rendered of the
½ mark of aid due from it; Farrer, Lancs.
Pipe R. 36.
There is much danger of confusion between Chorlton in Manchester and Chorlton (Chollerton) in Withington, as is
shown by Booker's Chorlton Chapel, &c. |
| 11 |
Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and
Ches.), i, 14; Ellen, the widow, received
for life one oxgang of land out of two
which Austin de Chorlton held; also four
selions—two by Jordan's ditch and two
by Jordan's selion—in return for the
moiety of the capital messuage belonging
to her oxgang.
Gospatrick de Chorlton occurs about
the same time in the Pipe Rolls; Lancs.
Pipe R. 152, 205. |
| 12 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 69, 128. |
| 13 |
Fine R. Excerpts (Rec. Com.), i, 103. |
| 14 |
In 1324 John la Warre held it;
Dods. MSS. cxxxi, fol. 38b. |
| 15 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 69. These
oxgangs were by Matthew granted to the
father of Richard and Jordan le Norreys
of Heaton Norris, and became Jordan's by
agreement in 1196; Final Conc. i, 5.
Jordan's ditch and selion have been mentioned in a foregoing note. |
| 16 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 70; a service of 3s. 4d. was due. Gospatrick's
charter is in Harl. MS. 2112, fol. 165;
and Stretford (Chet. Soc.), iii, 232. It
referred to 'an eighth part of Chorlton.' |
| 17 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 69; a rent
of 6s. 3d., the due proportion for five oxgangs of land, was to be rendered. As to
four of the oxgangs Gospatrick's grant to
Henry son of Robert son of Ralph de
Trafford is extant; it comprised the
whole fourth part of Chorlton, viz., four
oxgangs, two formerly held by Randle, one
by Steinulf, and one by Robert son of
Edwin—at a rent of 5s. yearly; De Trafford D. no. 122. The seal shows a conventional ornament with part of the
legend:—SIGIL . . . PATI . . E CHARLTVN.
In the division of the Trafford estates
in 1278 Chorlton was given to Henry de
Trafford; Final Conc. i, 154. |
| 18 |
The grantee was perhaps the John
Grelley who in 1275 appeared with Henry
de Chetham against Jordan de Trafford
and Thomas Ball, alleging an assault at
Chorlton; Coram Rege R. 18, m. 8.
Three years later Robert Grelley was
in possession, Peter Grelley demanding
against him three plough-lands in Chorlton
and Cuerdley; De Banco R. 24, m. 3;
31, m. 55. In 1306 Thomas Grelley
demanded a messuage and six oxgangs of
land in Chorlton by Manchester against
Robert son of John Grelley, and a messuage and three oxgangs against Joan widow
of John Grelley; De Banco R. 161, m.
481; see also R. 179, m. 181d.; 183,
m. 398. This statement shows that the
junior Grelleys held nine oxgangs—the remainder of the two plough-lands, after
allowing for the holdings of the Trafford
(5) and Chorlton (2) families.
Somewhat earlier (in 1302 and 1303)
Henry de Trafford, Thomas son of Jordan
de Chorlton, and Amabel de Chorlton
claimed 5 acres in Chorlton against John
Grelley, but did not prosecute; Assize R.
418, m. 15d.; 419, m. 7. This John
Grelley was probably the successor of the
Robert of 1278 and father of the Robert
of 1306. The suit then shows the three
possessors of the manor contending among
themselves. A later one shows them
uniting against the superior lord; for in
1319 Henry de Trafford, Robert de Stanistreet, Robert son of John Grelley, and
Thomas son of Jordan de Chorlton, appeared against John La Warre, Joan his
wife, John de Strickland, Alice his wife,
John de Hulton, and Jordan son of Henry
de Oldham, respecting a tenement in
Chorlton; Assize R. 424, m. 9. This
or a similar suit was in 1324 continued
by Robert son of John Grelley, Henry de
Trafford, Robert the son and Agnes the
widow of Thomas de Chorlton; Assize
R. 426, m. 9.
The only tenants of the La Warres
named in 1320 were Henry de Trafford,
five oxgangs, 6s. 3d. (part of 7s.); and
Thomas de Chorlton, two oxgangs, 3s. 4d.;
both were bound to grind at the Manchester mills; Mamecestre, ii, 278, 279.
John La Warre in 1325 claimed 145½
acres of land in Manchester and Chorlton,
in right of his wife Joan, against John de
Strickland and Alice his wife; De Banco
R. 258, m. 310d.
The Grelleys of Chorlton held the
manor of Allerton in Childwall parish. |
| 19 |
De Trafford D. no. 124, bearing John
Grelley's seal. The bounds of his lands
in the vill of Chorlton began in the centre
of Shootersbrook (aqua de Schiter), followed the highway from Manchester to
Stockport as far as the Medlock, thence
by the said highway to Whitacre Ford and
between Greenlow (Grindlow) Marsh and
Chorlton Heath to Greenlow Cross, and
as far as Greenlow Lache; along the
lache between Chorlton Heath and Withington to Gooselache and by this lache
down to Withinshaw, and so to 'Le
Heghcres'; thence by the ditch between
Hulme and Chorlton to the Medlock, and
up stream to the starting point. It will
be noticed that the whole of the later
township is included, together with the
Garrett estate in Ancoats.
John Grelley retained an interest in
the lands for his life, and in 1363 complained of waste of houses, &c., in Chorlton by Robert son of Sir Henry de Trafford; De Banco R. 416, m. 257.
Henry de Trafford in 1389 granted to
Sir Ralph de Radcliffe and Margery his
wife (widow of Henry's father), for her
life, 'two parts of his manor of Chorlton,
which lately remained to the said Henry
as his right after the death of John
Grelley,' at a rent of 4 marks; De Trafford D. no. 125.
The tenure of this portion of Chorlton
seems to be defined in an inquisition of
1410, where Thomas de Trafford's six
messuages, 100 acres of land, 20 acres of
meadow, and water-mill are stated to be
held of the lord of Manchester by rendering a clove gillyflower; Lancs. Inq. p.m.
(Chet. Soc.), i, 96. For other Trafford
inquisitions, in which the statements vary,
see ibid. i, 128; ii, 16. Ellen widow of
Thomas de Trafford, in 1448, claimed
dower against Henry de Trafford (a minor)
in Chorlton and Manchester; Pal. of
Lanc. Plea R. 11, m. 14b.
According to the Manchester Rental
of 1473 Henry Trafford held Chorlton by
a rent of 6s.; Mamecestre, iii, 483.
Sir Edmund Trafford, being seised of the
manor of Chorlton, with meadow, pasture,
and arable land appurtenant, leased the
same in 1507 for thirty years to Richard
Beswick and Margaret his wife. When left
a widow, Margaret was expelled by Edmund Trafford and others in 1523; Duchy
of Lanc. Plead. Hen. VIII, xvii, B. 5.
Edmund Trafford died in 1563 holding
lands in Chorlton of the lord of Manchester by a rent of 12d. only, so that some,
probably, had been sold; Duchy of Lanc.
Inq. p.m. xi, 11. |
| 20 |
See the account of Garrett in Manchester. |
| 21 |
The statement of the descent of the
manor is taken from Canon Raines in
Notitia Cestr. ii, 83, 84, except where
further references are given. It will be
seen that it requires some correction.
Sir Edmund Trafford was in 1578
seised of the vill of Chorlton, parcel of
the manor of Manchester; Duchy of
Lanc. Plead. cviii, W. 1. He died in
1590, and his son Edmund, who appears
to have sold various parts of his inheritance, in Sept. 1590, demised or mortgaged
Chorlton Hall and its lands to Ralph
Sorocold, and followed this with further
leases, including one of the tithes of
Stretford (on lease from the warden and
fellows of Manchester). He took possession again in 1598 after Ralph's death,
alleging payment of his debt; for the
widow Katherine, who had married
Thomas Goodyear, made complaint;
Duchy of Lanc. Plead. Eliz. clxxxvi, T. 14.
Four years later Edmund Trafford, then
high sheriff, complained that Adam Holland of Newton, after agreeing to purchase Chorlton Hall, paying £550 and a
ground rent of 20s., had refused to pay,
'to the great inconvenience of the plaintiff, who was in need of the money';
ibid. ccvii, T. 4. |
| 22 |
Some part at least of the Hey lands
in Withington and Chorlton was sold to
the Mosleys before 1614; it was held of
the king by the hundredth part of a
knight's fee; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 4, 66, 69.
Ellis Hey is described as 'of Chorlton
Hall' in 1665, when he recorded a pedigree; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 133. |
| 23 |
Ibid. 199. The family were near akin
to Elizabeth Minshull, Milton's third wife;
Earwaker, East. Ches. i, 391. Thomas Minshull is frequently named in the Mancb.
Ct. Leet Rec. but is not styled 'of Chorlton.'
He was the son of Richard Minshull of
Wistaston; he married Anne daughter
of James Lightbowne, by whom he had
several children, and died in 1698.
Thomas, the eldest son, aged twenty-five
in 1664, succeeded to Chorlton and died
in 1702, the heir being his brother Richard, who died in or about 1722. His son
Thomas died in 1749, leaving a son
Thomas Samuel Minshull, who died
without issue in 1755; his daughters and
his brother George's daughter also died
without issue, and by bequest the estates
passed to Barbara Nabb, the widow of
Thomas, who married Roger Aytoun in
1769, and died in 1783. This statement
is from Piccope's MS. Pedigrees (Chet.
Lib.), ii, 296.
The bequest mentioned is recited in a
lengthy abstract of the title of William
Cooper, Samuel Marsland, Peter Marsland, and George Duckworth to a capital
messuage called Chorlton Hall, with the
lands, &c., belonging thereto, in Chorlton
Row. By his will Richard Minshull of
the Inner Temple (1722) devised all his
lands to his wife for life, and then to his
sons Thomas and George in tail male,
and to his right heirs. Thomas the son
in 1742–3 suffered a recovery to bar the
entail, and by his will of 1744 left his
estates to his son Thomas (Samuel), subject to the dower of his wife Barbara, and
£1,500, the portion of his daughter Elizabeth, who afterwards married James
Rivington, bookseller, of London.
The son by his will of 1754 left Chorlton Hall to his mother for life, charged
with an annuity to his grandmother
Dorothy Nabb, then to trustees for his
sister, his uncle George and daughter,
and their issue, with final remainder to
his mother (Barbara). In 1769, by the
failure of all the heirs named, Barbara
became possessed of the Minshull estates,
and in 1770 there was a fine concerning
Chorlton Hall, Garrett Hall, and other
lands, Roger Aytoun and Barbara his wife
being deforciants (Pal. of Lanc. Feet of
F. bdle. 384, m. 8), quickly followed by
various mortgages.
Chorlton Hall was advertised for sale
25 Oct. 1774, and again in 1775 (Adams,
Courant, 3 Jan.), being described as 'delightfully situated' and commanding an
extensive prospect in the counties of
York, Derby, and Chester, being about
a mile from Manchester, and at 'an
agreeable distance' from the great road
from Manchester to London. A considerable part of the land lay up to the
end of the town of Manchester, and
was 'very proper for building upon.' The
hall contained five rooms on a floor, including the entrance or hall part, which
was large and elegant; there was a very
large kitchen with brewhouse, laundry,
servants' hall, pantries, etc., all with
good chambers over; the outbuildings
included stabling for sixteen horses, &c.
Hough Hall and Garrett Hall were advertised at the same time. In the same
year Joshua Marriott secured from Roger
Aytoun and Barbara his wife Chorlton
Hall, Garrett Hall, and various lands;
Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 394,
m. 16.
The abstract quoted shows that Roger
Aytoun's interest in the hall and various
parcels of the land did not cease with this
sale, as he went on mortgaging them.
In 1779 he was residing in Scotland, and
made a further release to Joshua Marriott
and others. His wife died in 1783.
William Nabb, probably a relative, died
between 1787 and 1789; and Roger
Aytoun's interest in the estate seems to
have finally ceased in 1792, the sum then
paid being £42,914 for the portion to
which the abstract refers. His debts in
1787 amounted to £16,900, the principal creditor being Radcliffe Sidebottom,
£11,000. It does not appear for whom
William Cooper and the others were
acting. |
| 24 |
The regiment was raised chiefly by
the efforts and money of Roger Aytoun;
it took part in the defence of Gibraltar in
1781–2. |
| 25 |
33 Geo. III, cap. 50: 'An Act to
impower William Churchill Dickinson,
esquire, to grant building leases, renewable leases, and make conveyances in fee,
of and upon all or any part of the estates
at Chorlton Row, devised by the will of
John Dickinson esquire deceased, situate
near the town of Manchester in the
County Palatine of Lancaster.' |
| 26 |
A few particulars of this family will
be found in preceding notes. |
| 27 |
The eighth part of the manor of
Chorlton was in 1420 settled upon John
Entwisle and his wife Margaret, with
remainder to the latter's heirs; Final
Conc. iii, 76.
Ellis Entwisle in 1473 held a messuage
and lands in Chorlton of the lord of
Manchester by the (ancient) rent of
3s. 4d.; Mamecestre, iii, 482. A similar
statement is made in the inquisition after
the death of Edmund Entwisle in 1544;
Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vii, 30. |
| 28 |
Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 14, m.
247. See also the account of Entwisle. |
| 29 |
Edward Tyldesley of Morleys bequeathed ten messuages in Chorlton, Rusholme, and Manchester to William his
third son for life, with remainder to
Edward son and heir of testator's son
Thomas; they were held of John Lacy
as of his manor of Manchester in socage
by a rent of 18d.; Duchy of Lancs.
Inq. p.m. xiv, 10. The reduction in
the free rent indicates that much had
been sold. |
| 30 |
Humphrey Booth of Salford in 1635
held lands in Chorlton of the lord of
Manchester; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m.
xxvii, 44. The lands were probably part
of the Garrett estate purchased rom
Thomas Leigh of High Legh (East Hall)
in 1619; Manch. Ct. Leet Rec. iii, 17.
Edmund Prestwich of Hulme held lands
in Chorlton at his death in 1629, and
devised them for life to his younger sons;
the tenure is not stated; Duchy of Lanc.
Inq. p.m. xxvii, 74; Manch. Ct. Leet Rec.
iii, 152.
Adam Jepson, of Chorlton Row and
Moston, left his estates to his daughter
Jane, who married the James Lightbowne
whose sister Anne married Thomas Minshull; Booker, Blackley, 191, 172; Manch.
Ct. Leet Rec. iv, 168.
George Worsley of Blakestake in Chorlton is mentioned in 1677; ibid. vi, 36.
The estate of Thomas Stockton was in
dispute in 1701; Exch. Dep. (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), 99, 101. |
| 31 |
Land tax returns at Preston. |
| 32 |
Manch. Constables' Accts. i, 42; also
i, 20, 28, 29; see also Misc. (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), i, 151; the contributor
to the subsidy in 1622 was Ralph Hudson,
'in goods.' He died in 1630, leaving
lands in Chorlton to his son Ralph; Manch.
Ct. Leet Rec. iii, 169. |
| 33 |
See a deed quoted under Gorton.
The name is often corrupted to Grindlow.
In 1326 the king confirmed a grant of
lands in Greenlow Heath made by John
La Warre to Robert (son of John) Grelley
and Ellen his wife; Cal. Pat. 1324–7, p.
304. |
| 34 |
Mamecestre (Chet. Soc.), ii, 364. The
land measured 139 acres and was valued
at 8d. an acre rent. It is perhaps the
same as the 'Grenlaw more' of the inquisition of 1282; Lancs. Inq. and Extents,
i, 244. |
| 35 |
Chan. Inq. p.m. 5 Hen. VI, no. 54.
The description reads: 'Three messuages, 140 acres of land, 10 acres of
meadow, and 20 acres of pasture in Greenlow heath, beginning at the Roocroft, and
so following between the Roocroft and
the hedge of Whitaker up to the mete of
Chorlton Edge, thence between Chorlton
Edge and Greenlow heath up to Balshagh field, and so following between the
mete of Rusholme and Greenlow heath
up to the mete of Holt, and so following
between the mete of Holt and Greenlow
heath up to the highway leading from
Stockport to Manchester, and so following
the highway up to Roocroft.' |
| 36 |
The district was formed in 1859;
Lond. Gaz. 2 Dec. The church adjoins
the old Chorlton Hall, the remaining
part of which is the rectory house. The
inscriptions are in the Owen MSS. |
| 37 |
It has had a district chapelry from
1839, reconstituted in 1859; Lond. Gaz.
29 Mar. 1839; 2 Dec. 1859. |
| 38 |
For the district, first formed in 1837,
see ibid. 1 July 1856. |
| 39 |
The district was formed in 1856;
ibid. 1 July. |
| 40 |
The district was assigned in 1862;
ibid. 22 July. |
| 41 |
This church succeeded St. Clement's
in Manchester, now demolished. |
| 42 |
From Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconf.
(vi, 166–74), it appears that Rusholme
Road Chapel was opened in 1826. Another in Tipping Street, begun about
1835, was given up in 1881, the congregation joining Stockport Road Church,
which had been formed in 1868; the
first building of the latter was opened in
1871, the present Octagon Church succeeding it in 1893. Greenheys Church
is an offshoot from that in Chorlton Road,
and was formed in 1870–71; ibid. vi,
178.
Cavendish Street represents a removal
from Mosley Street, Manchester, a chapel
dating from 1788. The removal took
place in 1848, during the pastorate of
Dr. Halley, who in 1858 was succeeded
by the late Dr. Joseph Parker of the City
Temple, London; ibid. vi, 142–7. |
| 43 |
Ibid. vi, 206. The work began in
1842 in Hulme, and removed to Chorlton
in 1859; the present church was opened
in 1863. |
| 44 |
That in Brunswick Street, built in
1857, represents the church founded in
1798 in Lloyd Street, Manchester; that
in Grosvenor Square, built in 1850, was
founded in 1830. |
| 45 |
St. Andrew's was closed in 1902,
and is now a furniture shop. |
| 46 |
Services began a year or two earlier
in Portsmouth Street. |