RUSHOLME
Russum, 1235; Russhum, 1420; Rysshulme, 1551;
Risholme, 1568.
This township has an area of 974 acres. It is
crossed by the Gore, or Rushbrook, the portion to
the north of which has now become urban in character, being a residential suburb of Manchester; part
of it, known as Victoria Park, was laid out by a company formed in 1837. On the brook, in the centre
of the township, is the district called Birch; to the
west lies Platt, and to the east Slade. The Heald in
the north-west is part of a district of the name
stretching west into Moss Side. In 1901 the population was counted with Ardwick.
The principal road is that from Manchester through
Withington into Cheshire, on the western side of the
township. On the eastern border is the ancient road
from Manchester to Stockport. There are numerous
streets and cross-roads. The Great Central Company's railway crosses the southern end of the township.
A hoard of Roman coins, A.D. 253–73, was found
at Birch. (fn. 1)
The Green was near the centre of the township,
touching Dickenson Road. (fn. 2)
A Local Board was formed for Rusholme in 1851; (fn. 3)
the boundaries were afterwards altered, (fn. 4) and the district was taken into the city of Manchester in 1885.
The township ceased to have a separate existence in
1896, becoming part of the new township of South
Manchester.
A Public Hall and Library was built in 1860;
after the transfer to Manchester Corporation it was
opened as a free library in 1892. There is a park at
Birch Fields, and another called Platt Fields. Whitworth Park, (fn. 5) in the north-west corner, lies partly in
Chorlton-upon-Medlock.
MANOR
While there was never any manor of
RUSHOLME, which was only a district
in Withington, it gave a surname to a
local family, (fn. 6) and there were several estates within it
that demand notice—Platt, Birch, Slade, and Holt.
Formerly the name of the township covered, at least
in popular language, a much wider area, extending
over the western portion of Gorton; (fn. 7) while on the
other hand the custom of using the name Withington to include Rusholme and other districts makes
it difficult in many cases to be sure of the exact
locality of the lands in the charters and pleas
quoted.
In the time of Henry II or Richard I Matthew
son of William granted to the Hospitallers the land
of PLATT, with its appurtenances in Withington,
in pure alms. (fn. 8) In 1190 Garnier de Nablous, the
prior in England, granted this, together with other
lands of his order, to Richard de la More at a total
rent of 4s., payable at the Hospitallers' residence in
London. (fn. 9) William son of Richard de More gave
a moiety of Platt, in marriage with his daughter
Cecily, to Henry son of Gilbert at a rent of 6d. (fn. 10)
The other moiety seems about 1260 to have reverted
to the Hospitallers, who granted it to Richard son of
Adam de Farnworth, at a rent of 4s. (fn. 11) While the
former moiety became divided among a number of
tenants, (fn. 12) the latter remained undivided in the possession of the
descendants of the grantee, who assumed the
name of Platt (fn. 13) and retained
it, paying the rent of 4s. until
1625. It was then sold to
Ralph Worsley, (fn. 14) whose descendants and their legatees long
retained the estate. (fn. 15)
Worsley of Platt. Argent on a chief gules a mural crown or.
The most prominent member of the family was Major
General Charles Worsley, a
sincere Puritan, who took an
active part in affairs on the Parliamentary side, (fn. 16) and
had the doubtful honour of dispersing the remnant
of the Long Parliament by force in 1653 and taking
charge of the 'bauble' which Cromwell ordered to
be removed. (fn. 17) He was also engaged in the government of Lancashire, (fn. 18) confiscating the property of
Royalists, filling the gaols with 'Papists,' (fn. 19) suppressing horse-races, and otherwise promoting the public
good according to his light. Worn out with his
labours, he died in June 1656, at the early age of
thirty-five. (fn. 20) The estate was until recently owned
by Mr. Nicholas Tindal-Carill-Worsley, who married
Elizabeth the daughter and heir of Charles Carill-Worsley, and assumed her surname. (fn. 21) Platt Hall and
estate is now the property of the Manchester Corporation.
The Hall is a large plain brick house built about
the year 1764 (fn. 22) by John Carill Worsley, in place
of the old timber and plaster building which stood
not very far away on a site comprised within the
area of the present garden. In an inventory of the
contents of the old house taken in 1669, the following rooms and places are mentioned: 'The hall, the
great parlor, the buttery, the milk-house, the woman's
parlor, the little parlor, the brewhouse, the kitchen
with Bessy parlor, the drink-house, the cheese
chamber, the cake chamber, the board loft, the little
chamber, the general's chamber, the great chamber,
the middle chamber, the high chamber, the little
chamber and closet, the yarne chamber.'
Platt Hall, Rusholme
The BIRCH estate (fn. 23) descended from about 1260
to 1743 in a family taking a surname from it.
Matthew son of Matthew de Haversage granted to
Matthew son of Matthew de Birches the whole land
of Hindley Birches, at a rent of 3s.; the bounds
show that it lay between Gore Brook on the north
and the Great Ditch on the south. (fn. 24) Several of the
family are said to have distinguished themselves in
the French wars of the 15th century, (fn. 25) but its most
noteworthy member was Colonel Thomas Birch, (fn. 26)
a Puritan and Parliamentarian
of a somewhat brutal type, (fn. 27)
who took an active part in the
Civil War in Lancashire. He
was made Governor of Liverpool on the recapture of the
town in 1644, and represented
it in Parliament from 1649 to
1658. (fn. 28) On the Restoration
he retired into private life, (fn. 29)
and was in 1678 succeeded by
his son Thomas Birch the antiquary. (fn. 30) Thomas's son died
without issue, and his brother,
Dr. Peter Birch, a prebendary of Westminster, came
into possession. (fn. 31) He died in 1710, and his son
Humphrey, who took the surname of Wyrley, sold
Birch in 1743 to George Croxton of Manchester;
by him it was transferred two years later to John
Dickenson, another Manchester merchant, who gained
some wider notoriety for becoming the host of Prince
Charles Edward during his stay in the town. (fn. 32) His
great-granddaughter Louisa Frances Mary Dickenson,
who died in 1837, carried the Birch estate to her
husband General Sir William Anson, bart.; it has
remained in the possession of their descendants.
Birch of Birch. Azure three fleurs de lis argent.
Birch Hall stands in a pleasant situation to the
east of the church, well protected on three sides by
trees, and overlooking Birch Fields on the north.
The original site would seem to have been determined by a small brook, which still forms the boundary of the grounds of the hall on the south side. (fn. 33)
The house was originally a timber and plaster
building of considerable extent, to judge from the
list of rooms mentioned in an inventory taken
in 1678, (fn. 34) but the only portion now remaining
has been so much modernized and added to that
it presents little or nothing of its former appearance. It consists of two wings at right angles
facing north and west, the latter of which appears to
be part of a 17th-century building. A good deal of
the timber construction of the outer walls, and the
old roof, still remains, though the walls have been
much restored and filled in with brickwork at a later
time and new windows inserted. The west elevation
and the end gable facing north, however, retain something of their old black and white appearance, though
the gable has been mutilated by later work, and portion of the 'half-timber' framing is only plaster and
paint. The north wing is of brick with stone quoins,
and is probably a rebuilding of a former timber structure. In front of this, at a later time, most likely at
the beginning of the 19th century, a new brick front,
consisting of two rooms and entrance, has been added,
projecting considerably in front of the north wing,
and altogether altering the appearance of the house.
The building is of two stories with grey stone slated
roofs, and all the brickwork is painted yellow. In
the west wing are three upper rooms with good 17thcentury oak wainscot, but the panelling is not all in
its original position, and in one room is painted over.
There is a small oak stair to an attic, and one or two
old windows remain with diamond quarries. There
are portions of 17th-century woodwork in different
parts of the house, the fittings of the old building
no doubt being treated with little respect in the later
alterations. These have been so effective that nothing
very definite can be stated as to the original plan or
arrangement of the house. There are brick outbuildings on the south side at the end of the west
wing.
SLADE
SLADE, anciently Milkwall Slade, was a composite
estate, partly in Rusholme and partly in Gorton, (fn. 35)
but the mansion-house was in the former district.
From about the middle of the 13th century until the
reign of Elizabeth it was the property of a branch of
the family of Manchester, who adopted the local surname. (fn. 36) It was then sold to the Siddalls, (fn. 37) Manchester
people, whose descendants retain it to the present
time. Edward Siddall, who died in 1588, held the
capital messuage called Milkwall Slade, with 24 acres
in Rusholme and Withington and 20 acres in
Gorton, also a burgage in Manchester and a third
part of the manor of Kersal in Broughton. The
Rusholme part of Slade was held of Nicholas Longford by a rent of 2s. 6d. and the Gorton part of John
Lacy then lord of Manchester. (fn. 38)
Slade Hall is a timber house on a low stone base
built at the end of the 16th century, and still preserving its ancient front. It is of two stories, the
upper one projecting on a plaster cove, and has two
gables on the principal elevation facing east. The
front has been extended northward by an addition,
built about 1681, the end of which faces the road,
and is now painted to imitate half-timber work. The
north end of the house was formerly continued eastward as a projecting wing, but the buildings, which
were of brick, and two stories in height, have been
pulled down in recent times. The present front of
the 17th-century addition was rebuilt after the demolition of these buildings in a style harmonizing with
the original timber elevation. The length of the
principal front is now about 70 ft., but the original
building consists only of the middle portion under
the two gables and the wing to the south. These
stand on three different planes, the main gable being
18 ft. in front of the southern end of the house, and
the porch and staircase bay occupying the angle between them. The timber front is composed principally of straight diagonal pieces between the constructional timbers, but has quatrefoil panels in the
smaller gable.
Slade Hall: East Front
On a beam over the porch is cut, or stamped, the
date 1585 and the initials E. S. for Edward Siddall the
builder of the house. Underneath are the initials
G. S. (George Siddall, his son). The date 1585 is
also on another beam in the front. The two dates
and the initials E. S. are inclosed in ornamental borders. The west and south sides have been faced in
brick, and a block added at the north-west, which is
a rather good specimen of the dignified brick architecture of the early part of the 19th century. The
roofs are covered with modern blue slates, and the
chimneys are of brick.
The dining-room, on the right of the entrance,
retains its old oak ceiling crossed by massive beams,
and the upper room over the drawing-room in the
south wing has an elaborate plaster frieze on its north
and south walls. In this room the original timber
construction of the house can be seen all round.
though faced with brick on two sides. The frieze on
the south wall has three shields, the centre one bearing the royal arms of Queen Elizabeth encircled by a
garter and supported by a lion and a dragon. Above
are the queen's initials E. R. On the right is a shield
of eleven quarters of Stanley with supporters, encircled
by a garter and with the initials E. D., and on the left
is another quartered shield with coronet and supporters,
having above it the initials E. S. Between are two
female figures, said to represent Queens Mary and
Elizabeth. The frieze on the opposite wall has a
representation of a stag hunt with a tree in the centre
bearing the Stanley crest of the eagle and child.
There was formerly a moulded plaster ceiling in this
room, but it has been removed.
HOLT
HOLT, described sometimes as in Withington and
sometimes as in Rusholme, seems to have been on the
north-east side of the township, and may perhaps be
the detached portion of Moss Side. (fn. 39) Henry de
Rusholme, about 1260, made a grant to Hugh de
Haslum, including half an oxgang of land in Rusholme
and the Holt, at a rent of 6d. (fn. 40) In the 15th century
the Holt was in the hands of the Bamfords of Bamford, (fn. 41) and descended to John Bamford, who died in
1557 holding the capital messuage called Holt Hall
in Rusholme of Nicholas Longford in socage by a
rent of 12d. (fn. 42) The change of tenure may imply an
escheat and re-grant. Anne Bamford, the daughter
and heiress, married George Birch of Birch, (fn. 43) and
Holt has since descended with Birch in the manner
above described.
The family of Edge of Birch Hall-houses appears in
the 17th century. (fn. 44) Captain Oliver Edge, an officer in
the Parliamentary army, comes into notice as the
captor of the Earl of Derby in his flight after the
battle of Worcester. The place of capture was a little
south of Nantwich. The earl writes: 'Lord Lauderdale and I, having escaped, hired horses and falling
into the enemy's hands were not thought worth killing,
but have quarters given us by Captain Edge, a Lancashire man, and one that was so civil to me that I
and all that love me are beholden to him.' (fn. 45)
The Traffords had land in Rusholme from an early
date. (fn. 46)
The land tax returns of 1787 show that the land
was much divided; the principal owners then were
John Dickenson and John Carill Worsley, who between them owned about half; William Egerton and
John Gartside had smaller estates. (fn. 47) The landowners
in 1844 numbered a hundred and twenty, of whom
Sir J. W. H. Anson, T. Carill Worsley, and John
Siddall represented the ancient owners of Birch,
Platt, and Slade; Richard Cobden owned 21 acres. (fn. 48)
CHURCH
The chapel of Birch, known as St.
James's, is supposed to have been built
about 1580 by the Birch family. (fn. 49)
The minister was paid by the scanty and precarious offerings of the people, until in 1640 an
attempt was made to establish an endowment fund. (fn. 50)
Land was purchased, which Colonel Thomas Birch in
1658 settled upon his son Thomas as sole trustee, to
the use of 'an orthodox preaching minister of the
Gospel, to be constantly resident,' and to perform
divine service in the chapel. The neighbours objecting to having a single trustee, a new trust was created
in 1672, the income of the land being placed at the
disposal of a majority of the trustees. This was
probably done with the design of preparing the way
for a Presbyterian minister as soon as the persecution
of Nonconformists should come to an end. (fn. 51) The
chapel in fact remained in the hands of the Presbyterians until 1697, when, on the death of Colonel
Birch's widow, George Birch seems to have allowed
the claims of the Bishop of Chester and other ecclesiastical authorities, and the Presbyterian minister,
Henry Finch, was ejected. (fn. 52) After two years a
Conformist curate was nominated by George Birch, in
whose family the patronage seems always to have
vested, and the succession remains unbroken to the
present. In 1708 the endowment was still only
£3 10s. a year, and the contributions of the congregation were about £16; (fn. 53) but the Dickenson family
and others have provided more adequate endowments. (fn. 54) The chapel was rebuilt in 1845–6, (fn. 55) and a
district was assigned to it in 1839. (fn. 56) The present
patron is Sir W. R. Anson.
The following have been curates and rectors:— (fn. 57)
|
|
|
|
1699 |
Samuel Taylor, M.A. (fn. 58) (Emmanuel College, Camb.) |
|
1707 |
No curate |
|
1717 |
Joseph Dale (fn. 59)
|
|
1720 |
Thomas Wright, B.A. (fn. 60) (Brasenose College, Oxf.) |
|
1721 |
John Tetlow, B.A. (fn. 61)
|
|
1742 |
John Leech, B.A. (St. Catharine's Hall, Camb.) |
| oc. |
1746 |
Robert Twyford, B.A. (fn. 62) (Brasenose College, Oxf.) |
|
1746 |
William Twyford, B.A. (fn. 63) (St. John's College, Camb.) |
|
1752 |
Thomas Ainscough, M.A. (fn. 64) (St. John's College, Camb.) |
|
1762 |
Miles Lonsdale, M.A. (fn. 65) (Brasenose College, Oxf.) |
|
1769 |
Henry Ainsworth |
|
1795 |
Rowland Blayney, B.A. (St. Alban Hall, Oxf.) |
|
1838 |
Francis Philips Hulme, B.A. (St. Alban Hall, Oxf.) |
|
1839 |
George Gardner Harter, M.A. (fn. 66) (Trinity College, Oxf.) |
|
1840 |
Oliver Ormerod, M.A. (fn. 67) (Brasenose College, Oxf.) |
|
1841 |
George Dugard, M.A. (fn. 68) (St. John's College, Camb.) |
|
1846 |
George Henry Greville Anson, M.A. (fn. 69) (Exeter College, Oxf.) |
|
1898 |
Frederick George Buller, M.A. (fn. 70) (Trinity College, Oxf.) |
Holy Trinity Church was consecrated in 1846;
the patron is Mrs. N. Tindal-Carill-Worsley. (fn. 71) St.
John's, Longsight, was consecrated in the same year;
the patronage is vested in trustees. (fn. 72) St. Chrysostom's,
Victoria Park, was first consecrated in 1877, (fn. 73) and St.
Agnes's in 1885; the Bishop of Manchester is patron
of both. There is a chapel at St. Mary's Home.
An 'English School,' not free, existed at Birch
about 1720. (fn. 74)
The Wesleyan Methodists, Primitive Methodists,
and United Free Methodists have churches, and the
last-named denomination has a theological college in
Victoria Park. The Congregationalists began services
in 1839, and a small chapel built by Baptists was
acquired in 1853. After many vicissitudes the present
church was built in 1864. (fn. 75) The Baptists have a
college for students for the ministry, (fn. 76) with a chapel
attached; they have another church at Longsight.
On the ejection of Henry Finch from Birch Chapel
he continued to minister in the neighbourhood, and
in 1700 Platt Chapel was opened for the use of the
Nonconformists—the Worsleys, donors of the site,
Edges, and Siddalls being the principal members of
the congregation. (fn. 77) The teaching became Unitarian
in the course of the 18th century, and Platt Chapel
is now used by the Unitarians of the neighbourhood.
Their Home Missionary College, founded in Manchester, is now in Victoria Park.
The Roman Catholic Church of St. Edward was
built in 1861. There are two industrial schools,
called St. Joseph's, for boys and girls.