| 1 |
The bridge at Stockport is ancient,
and is mentioned in 1292; Assize R. 408,
m. 39 d; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), iii,
797. See 'Wobry the Bridge' in a later
note. In 1745 it was broken down by
the Liverpool Blues to prevent the Young
Pretender crossing. In 1826 a new turnpike road was opened, it goes from Manchester to Buxton and is carried on eleven
arches over the town of Stockport;
Booker, Didsbury (Chet. Soc.), 185. |
| 2 |
There is a great viaduct over the
Mersey, on twenty-two arches. |
| 3 |
a See p. 203, above. |
| 4 |
Certified in 1871; Lond. Gaz. 16 June. |
| 5 |
a The name is supposed to be a corruption of Marled Earth. It was built by
Joseph Chessborough Dyer, inventor and
financier (Dict. Nat. Biog.), and was afterwards owned by Edward Wright. It was
purchased in 1854 as a residence for the
then Bishop of Manchester; Booker, op.
cit. 183–4. |
| 6 |
a Subs. R. bdle. 250, no. 9. |
| 7 |
a Lancs, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. iii, 192;
xvii, 224–9. It is not certain that there
was any dwelling there. |
| 8 |
Lond. Gaz. 23 Apr. 1872. |
| 9 |
Dict. Nat. Biog. |
| 10 |
Ibid. |
| 11 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), i, 57. |
| 12 |
Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and
Ches.), i, 6. Jordan granted to Richard
that the pigs belonging to his demesne in
Chorlton (upon Medlock) should run in
Heaton Wood, quit of pannage for ever.
Jordan and William le Norreys appear as
witnesses to local charters; Crofton, Newton (Chet. Soc.), ii, 119, 300. |
| 13 |
All the lands in the fine referred to
reverted to the lords of Manchester. A
few further particulars of the family may
be seen in the accounts of Denton and
Chorlton-upon-Medlock.
From a pleading of 1281 it appears that
three years earlier William le Norreys had
enfeoffed John de Byron of two-thirds of
the manor of Heaton, and that John was
put in seisin, but was ousted by Robert
Grelley after three days; then John went
to Robert's bailiff, claiming nothing except
for a term of six years, and on the bailiff's
refusal of entry, he went to Manchester
to talk with Robert Grelley. He offered
to surrender all his claim for 17 marks,
and brought William le Norreys, who
made a complete surrender of the manor
to Robert Grelley, as to the chief lord of
the fee. In 1281–2 an agreement was
made between Grelley and Byron, the
latter surrendered all his claim to twothirds of the manor, and acknowledged
that he owed Robert £200 of silver;
Assize R. 1244, m. 40. The other third
was the dower of Cecily de Shoresworth
(see Denton), and in 1283 Robert de
Shoresworth and Cecily his wife appeared
against Amadeus de Savoy and other
guardians of the lands and heir of Robert
Grelley, respecting her dower in 3½ oxgangs of land, water-mill, &c., in Heaton
Norris; De Banco R. 51, m. 74.
Hawise, widow of Robert Grelley,
claimed dower in this part of the manor;
De Banco R. 46, m. 77; 112, m. 64
(where it is called Heaton next Wobrythe
Bridge). |
| 14 |
Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 246–9.
There were 40 acres in demesne, with a
chief messuage and garden worth 20s. a
year; a plat called the Mill Ridding and
the Sporth was also worth 20s.; twothirds of the mill rendered 13s. 4d.; free
tenants paid 3s. 10½d. The 8 oxgangs
of land in bondage paid 20s.; the bondmen also gave twenty-four hens at Christmas worth 2s., and eight score eggs at
Easter, worth 6d. The pannage of the
wood was valued at 6s. 8d.
A claim concerning the 'manor of
Heaton' made in 1305 by Richard son of
David de Hulton, the elder, against Thomas
Grelley and Thomas de Hulme may refer
to Heaton Norris; De Banco R. 153,
m. 79. The Hultons and Hulmes had
an interest in the adjoining manor of
Reddish.
The surveys of 1320–2 give some
further particulars. The bounds of Heaton
at that time were the Mersey, Mereclough,
Cringle Brook, and Saltergate, on the
Cheshire, Reddish, Levenshulme, and
Withington sides respectively, and 'that
road called the Saltergate,' it is stated, 'is
moved from its old place and is now
used upon land of Sir John La Warre in
Heaton'; Mamecestre (Chet. Soc.), ii,
275. There were six messuages and 6½
oxgangs of land with appurtenances worth
32s. 7d. a year; also seventeen messuages
and 225 acres of arable land, worth
£7 11s. 3¼d. The meadow and pastureland could not be separated from the
arable. There were also 70 acres of
common pasture in the lord's wood for the
tenants of Heaton Norris and of Withington for six weeks from Michaelmas.
Heaton Wood and Heaton Moss were
being rapidly consumed, so that they
were not valued; ibid. ii, 283, 284.
The free tenants were: Sir Richard de
Byron for a messuage and Ashcroft; rent
8d. Geoffrey son of Hugh de Holt, a
messuage and 5 acres in the Shaw Head;
rent 8d. Ellis de Lever (and) Sir Geoffrey
del Rakes, a messuage and 30 acres in the
Rakes; rent, a pair of gloves worth 1d.
Hugh del Holt, a messuage and 18 acres;
rent, a pair of gloves; also ¼ oxgang of land
formerly Richard del Yate's; rent 4d. Adam
Page, a messuage and 10 acres; rent 12d.
Robert le Norreys, a messuage and 1 oxgang of land; rent 16d.; also 2½ acres by
Rys'm Bridge (? Rusholme); rent 6d.
John son of Henry de Byron, a messuage
and ¾ oxgang of land formerly Richard
del Yate's; rent 12d.; also a messuage and
4 acres in the Shaw; rent, a pair of gloves
worth 1d. Adam son of Swain, a messuage and ½ oxgang of land; rent 8d.; ibid.
ii, 285, 286. At this time, therefore, 2½
oxgangs of land were held by free tenants.
The annual value of the halmote was
reckoned as 3s. 4d., arising from the fines
paid by tenants at entry, &c.; ibid. ii,
286. The total value of the manor was
computed at £10 10s. 6¼d. Another account, ibid. ii, 364, &c., may be compared.
The mill of Heaton Norris is mentioned
again in 1360; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii,
App. 342. |
| 15 |
In 1427 it was found that Thomas
La Warre had held of the king (as duke)
28 messuages, 1,500 acres of land, 80 acres
of meadow, 200 acres of pasture, 100 acres
of wood, 100 acres of moor, and 12s. 6½d.
rent in Heaton Norris, with remainder to
James Strangeways, James Holt, John
Walsh, William Strangeways, William
Garnet, and Peter Massey (deceased);
the clear annual value was 10 marks;
Chan. Inq. p.m. 5 Hen. VI, no. 54; see
Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxiii, App. 28. |
| 16 |
He was a royal official and a judge;
Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 47;
Foss, Judges, and pedigree in Foster,
Yorks. Visit. 71, and Ord, Cleveland, 447.
He was of Harlsey in Allertondale. His
son Sir James Strangeways, Speaker of the
House of Commons, is noticed in Dict.
Nat. Biog. |
| 17 |
There was a recovery of the manor
of Heaton Norris, with sixty messuages,
&c., in 1517, Sir James Strangeways being
in possession: Pal. of Lanc. Plea R.
124, m. 2.
Sir James Strangeways the younger died
26 April 1540. He was the son and heir
of Sir Thomas Strangeways, and in 1530
had made a settlement of his tenements in
Heaton Norris with remainders to Leonard,
George and Edward, sons of William, Lord
Dacre. His heirs were Joan wife of Sir
William Mauleverer, daughter of Sir James
Strangeways and Alice his wife, grandparents of the deceased; and Robert Roos
son of Mary, another daughter; both were
twenty-six years of age and more. The
said Alice was daughter and heir of Thomas,
Lord Scrope, son and heir of John, Lord
Scrope, brother and heir of Henry, Lord
Scrope, son and heir of Stephen son of
Henry son of Geoffrey, Lord Scrope. Sir
James Strangeways, grandfather of the
deceased, was son and heir of Sir Richard son and heir of Elizabeth daughter
and heir of Philip, Lord Darcy, of Snaith,
son and heir of Philip son and heir of John,
Lord Darcy, and Elizabeth his wife; Chan.
Inq. p.m. 34 Hen. VIII, ii, 67–81. |
| 18 |
Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 31, m.
197. The estate was described as 'the
manor of Heaton, otherwise Heaton Norris, otherwise Heaton Strangeways, with
the appurtenances,' and comprised also
forty messuages, a water-mill, a dovecote,
gardens, orchards, lands, &c., and 40s.
rent.
The title of the Dacres, founded upon
the grant by Sir James Strangeways already recorded, does not seem to have
been satisfactory. In 1568 Robert Roos
of Ingmanthorpe claimed the manor and
lands as next of kin and heir—viz. son of
Mary, sister of Thomas, father of Sir
James Strangeways—against Leonard
Dacre. The defendant pleaded the grant
by Sir James, who, he stated, had delivered all his evidences into the hands of
William, Lord Dacre; Duchy of Lanc.
Pleadings, Eliz. lxxvii, R 2.
Robert Roos's plea must have been
successful, for in 1570 he sold the manor,
&c., to Gilbert Gerard, attorney-general;
Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 32, m.
16. |
| 19 |
Sir Thomas Gerard sold or mortgaged the manor in 1598 to George Coppin; ibid. bdle. 60, m. 72; the latter, in
1601, in conjunction with Anne his wife,
resold to Sir Thomas (ibid. bdle. 63, no.
294), who in the following year transferred it to Sir Arthur Savage; ibid. bdle.
64, no. 145. This was probably another
mortgage, for in 1614 the deforciants in
a fine were Sir Thomas Lord Gerard of
Gerard's Bromley, Sir Arthur Savage and
Joan his wife; ibid. bdle. 85, m. 1.
The manor had already been sold to Sir
Nicholas Mosley, who says in his will
(1612): 'I do hereby give … unto my
eldest son Rowland Mosley and to the heirs
male of his body, &c., the manor or lordship of Heaton Norris … which I lately
purchased of the Lord Gerard that now
is'; Booker, Didsbury, 135. The manor
is not named in Sir Nicholas' inquisition,
but his son Rowland died in possession of
it in 1617; it was said to be held of the
king as of his duchy of Lancaster by the
twentieth part of a knight's fee; Lancs.
Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii,
66, 69. |
| 20 |
Pal of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 151,
m. 152; 204, m. 66. There was a recovery of the manors of Hulme and Heaton
Norris in 1746, Sir John Bland being a
vouchee; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 562,
m. 3. |
| 21 |
Mosley Fam. Mem. 29. Wilbraham
Egerton was vouchee in a recovery of the
manor in 1806; Pal. of Lanc. Aug. Assizes, 46 Geo. III, R. 8. |
| 22 |
See Ducatus Lanc. iii, 306, 465, 508,
for suits in which the family were engaged;
also Booker's Didsbury (Chet. Soc.), 6.
The estate, described as twelve messuages,
100 acres of land, &c., in Heaton Norris,
Streethouse Lane, and High Street was
purchased by Sir Nicholas Mosley, who
died in 1612; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 4, 66. |
| 23 |
See the list of free tenants already
given.
The Byrons' holding has been mentioned above. In 1277 and 1278 William
de Heaton (probably Norreys), Robert de
Shoresworth and Cecily his wife complained of a ditch made by John de Byron
in Heaton; Assize R. 1235, m. 13;
1238, m. 34d; 1239, m. 40. Again in
1292 Mabel daughter of Gilbert de Barton
complained that she had been disseised of
five messuages and 60 acres of land in
Heaton by Stockport, by John de Byron
and Robert de Shoresworth. John said
that he had nothing, and Robert said that
he and Cecily his wife held a third part
of the tenement as Cecily's dower, and
that Thomas son of Robert Grelley held
the other two-thirds. The plaintiff's
claim against Thomas Grelley was barred
because he was a minor in ward to the
king, whom she might sue if she would;
Assize R. 408, m. 8 d. 39 d. Mabel de
Barton's claim was again put forward in
1302; De Banco R. 143, m. 115; 147,
m. 93 d.
William le Norreys, who surrendered
the manor to his lord, had a son and heir
Robert (see Denton), no doubt the Robert
who held an oxgang of land in 1320, and
appears in the Subsidy Roll of 1332;
Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and
Ches.), 40.
The Norrises of Speke in the 16th
century acquired an interest in the township, including a free fishery; Roger
Downes appears to have sold to Edward
Norris in 1551, and William Norris sold
to Henry Partington in 1596; Pal. of
Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 14, m. 151; 21,
m. 114; 53, m. 48; 59, m. 122. |
| 24 |
The holding can be traced back to
that of Ellis de Lever in 1320, and Adam
de Lever in 1282, above recorded. Agnes
widow of Robert de Worsley claimed dower
in Heaton as well as in Worsley in 1350,
so that the estate must have been in the
hands of the Worsleys before that time;
De Banco R. 363, m. 78 d. Robert de
Worsley of the Booths died in 1403 holding lands called the Rakes in Heaton
Norris, worth 40s. yearly, of Thomas La
Warre, by a service unknown. There
were forty saplings, worth 2s. each, on
the Rakes; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. i,
24a. In the case of Robert Worsley, who
died in 1497, he was said to hold of the
king as Duke of Lancaster; ibid. iii, 50;
but Robert Worsley of Booths died in
1533 holding lands in Heaton Norris of
Lord La Warre in socage, by a rent of 9d.
yearly; ibid. vii, 5.
There was a recovery of three messuages, lands, &c., by Sir Robert Worsley
in 1558; the descent from Arthur Worsley is set out; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 203,
m. 7. The Worsley estate was alienated
in the second half of the 16th century.
Parts were sold to William Nicholson by
Sir Robert Worsley in 1549, and by Robert Worsley in 1554; Pal. of Lanc. Feet
of F. bdle. 13, m. 114; 15, m. 107.
Ralph Nicholson had lands in Heaton in
1587; ibid. bdle. 49, m. 61. |
| 25 |
John del Holt claimed two messuages
and lands in Heaton against Margaret
widow of Robert de Hulme in 1364;
there was a remainder to Geoffrey son of
Cecily de Birches; De Banco R. 418, m.
342; 422, m. 286. Later he continued
his claim against William son of Robert
de Hulme; ibid. R. 425, m. 504 d. The
Holts occur among the free tenants of
1320. The above John is perhaps the
John son of Hugh del Holt of Stockport,
who in 1364 complained that Roger son
of Roger de Barlow had seized his goods
at Heaton Norris; Coram Reg. R. East.
38 Edw. III, m. 59.
Robert Hulme of Reddish died in 1600
seised of four messuages, 20 acres of land,
&c., in Heaton, held of Sir Thomas Gerard in socage by a rent of 20d.; William
Hulme held the same in 1637 of Edward
Mosley by the same rent; Duchy of
Lanc. Inq. p.m. xviii, no. 10; xxix, no. 70.
Two of the older free tenants' estates
seem to have been acquired by this family.
The Hulme Trustees are the present
owners. |
| 26 |
The Reddishes of Reddish held lands
in Heaton Norris, but they are not particularly described in the inquisitions.
Otes Reddish, who died in 1521, held of
Sir James Strangeways in socage; John
Reddish, who died in 1558, held of
Leonard Dacres in socage by a rent of
8d. for all services; and his son John in
1569 held of Gilbert Gerard in the same
manner; ibid. v, 48; xi, 60; xiii, 32.
A messuage, &c., formerly belonging to
George Newton of Stockport, was the
subject of a suit in 1664 and later;
Exch. Dep. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.),
38, &c. |
| 27 |
None is named in the Subsidy Rolls
of 1541 and 1622; Misc. (Rec. Soc.
Lancs. and Ches.), i, 140, 152. |
| 28 |
Returns at Preston. |
| 29 |
Booker, Didsbury, 182. |
| 30 |
Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs.
and Ches.), ii, 274. |
| 31 |
Booker, Didsbury, 189–91; a list of
incumbents is given. A district was
assigned to it in 1839; Lond. Gaz. 29
Mar. 1839; 16 June 1854. |
| 32 |
Booker, op. cit. 192. A district was
first assigned for it in 1838; Lond. Gaz.
16 June 1854. |
| 33 |
Booker, op. cit. 193. For the district assigned to it see Lond. Gaz. 27 Feb.
1852. |
| 34 |
Lond. Gaz. 30 June 1865. |
| 35 |
For district, ibid. 7 May and 9 Aug.
1878. |
| 36 |
Teviot Dale Chapel was built in
1824; Booker, op. cit. 194. |
| 37 |
Hanover Chapel was built in 1821;
Wycliffe Chapel in 1850; ibid. 194. |
| 38 |
Ibid. loc. cit. |