Whitworth Hall

Medieval Spotland had many settlements and halls, for example Naden and Healey, I have not mentioned Whitworth Hall, until now. Below is a transcript of Charter 37 from from Volume III of the Coucher Book of Whalley Abbey, published by the Chetham Society:

The site of the Old Hall was in the area of Hall Fold, see an aerial view here. The area is close to the river Spodden.

The 1851 OS map shows the location of Hall Fold.

1626 Manor Survey

Note the Fold had a “Corne Mill” a relic of the earlier Hall perhaps?

 

Two of Prickshaw’s Medieval Charters

There are many medieval references to places that are in or around the area known today as Prickshaw.

Here are two charter transcripts from the Coucher Book of Whalley Abbey,
originally published by the Chetham Society.

In this charter we can see “Prikkeshaghsiche”
it would now be written Prickshaw Syke.

Note

Lake Kor was probably the area now known as Prickshaw Dams.

Charter LXI

Charter LXI Continued…

Appendix – Bagden, Prickshaw 

Appendix in Coucher Book

Reference

Originally printed for the Chetham Society 1848 by William Adam Hulton.

NOT  IN  COPYRIGHT

Download The Coucher Book of Whalley Abbey Here.

Salford Hundred Heritage Society Press Release 18th December 2012

Barrow

Surprising Archaeological Discoveries North of Manchester

During 2009/2010 major archaeological sites were discovered, including a fortified site and burial sites (see one of the barrows above), as old as four thousand years old. This information is made public today. The two thousand year old fortified site (hill fort), with triple ramparts, was described as “ancient” in a Latin manuscript from 800 years ago.

Hill Fort

A nearby site has a bank (clearly visible) cutting off a peninsula of land. There are also extensive early cultivation sites and field boundaries as well as many ruined farmsteads. One expanse of moorland is punctured by dozens of small pits, of unknown origin, some big enough to fall into, but never recorded on any maps of the area. Many more sites remain undiscovered, even though they are above ground.

Whitworth, to the north of Rochdale, has around one hundred medieval charters referring to smallholders land transfers in the area, which firmly secures it’s place as one of the best documented medieval villages in the country.

However a 2007 archaeological survey just west of Whitworth found no medieval evidence for the area, and ignored the ruins of the nearby medieval manor house.

Why are we releasing this information now? Simply because there are plans to erect a wind farm on this land, and the public need to know the real heritage of this location before it is lost forever. Without the release of this information the wind farm will go ahead unchallenged

See background post here.

What have a world famous poet, a teenage computer pioneer, medieval charters and Whitworth got in common?

No Joke! in 1833 the Coucher Book of Whalley Abbey was of great importance to a teenage computer pioneer, the daughter of the famous poet.

She joined others in a case against the Lord of the Manor of Rochdale, over land rights in Brandwood, West Whitworth.

The former Lord of the Manor was Lord Byron, the poet, his daughter Ada (Countess pf Lovelace) was a brilliant mathematician and programmer of Babbage’s Inference Engine. Ada still had an interest in lands in Brandwood after Dearden had aquired the manor of Rochdale from her father, Lord Byron.

The claim was that land in Brandwood had been enclosed and that this was included in the Manor of Rochdale, The case was judged in favour of the defendants, since they used the Coucher Book of Whalley’s records to show that rights had been granted to their ancestors in medieval times, well before the manor was sold to Lord Byron’s ancestors. So it Brandwood was judged to be outside of the manor of Rochdale’s jurisdiction.

Read more about this fascinating case here from  page 80 onwards. Archive material is also held at Touchstones in Rochdale.

See also

Ada Lovelace (Wikipedia entry)

Reports of cases argued and determined in the Court of King’s Bench, Volume 1

By Sandford Nevile, William Montagu Manning (Sir.), Sir William Montagu Manning, Great Britain. Court of King’s Bench, London 1834.

Under construction!

Bagden – Valley of the Bees

Aerial view of Bagden (note early cultivation)

Bagden was called Bikden in medieval times, and as this extract shows it was called “Bargden” around 1600. Like many names in and around Whitworth it was mentioned in Medieval times. This was because many small pieces of land were traded or granted to Whalley Abbey, one theory is that the Abbey acted as a bank. There were also local contacts with the Abbey monks, some were from Whitworth.

Medieval references to Bagden (Bikden in medieval times)

Bikden – what does it mean? Valley of the Bees.

 

Bagden was called Bargden

Under construction!

The Whalley Coucher Book and the dialectal phonology of Lancashire and Cheshire

The Coucher Book of Whalley Abbey is a treasure chest of medieval historical data for Lancashire. Sadly, despite being transcribed in the 19th C. it has been little studied.  Many archaeological surveys have failed to refer to the Coucher Book’s references to the areas they purport to cover (for example a study of Rooley Moor failed to mention a single medieval charter, yet there were nearly 100 in the nearby village of  Whitworth alone).

King’s thesis, detailed below, is a valuable contribution to the study of the Coucher Book and also has a really useful chronology of land tenure in Lancashire and Cheshire. This work also contributes to place-name research in Lancashire and Cheshire.

King, C. D . – The Whalley Coucher book and the dialectal phonology of Lancashire and Cheshire 1175-1350 . – University of St Andrews PHD Thesis, 1991 (Unpublished).

Download it here

ILS catalogue number: 15280797

EThOS Persistent ID: uk.bl.ethos.493393

David Collins
Repository Administrator
University of St Andrews Library

Great News -Thanks David!

Salford Hundred Heritage Society

A society has been formed to research the archaeology and early history of Salford Hundred, initially with emphasis on the area covered by the NE of Salford Hundred. The society’s website will be located here, it is currently under construction.

Why Salford Hundred?

Salford Hundred was the SE division of the historic division of the historic county of Lancashire. This historic area is now includes parts of the modern counties of Greater Manchester, Lancashire, West Yorkshire.  Studying the history of the area it makes more sense to research the historic region rather than the modern boundaries which cut across historic parishes areas. For example, the historic parish of Rochdale is now included in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire.

What are the aims of the society?

This blog has outlined the rich and little known medieval archives that relate to Salford Hundred and Lancashire. A long-term goal is to transcribe, translate and publish relevant medieval documents.

Projects

As well as history, archaeological survey complements the research into the early origins of the area. The first project will be the survey (including geophysical survey) of a site discovered from aerial photographs.

Latest

Geophysical survey reveals exciting results, and a detailed survey on a site on Rooley Moor Rochdale confirms the the archaeological potential of the site. More details will be available to members of the society.

After advice from English Heritage a project has been started with Groundwork volunteers to survey recent archaeological discoveries, watch this space!

Contacts

Contact details on this new website under construction! Please contact me via a comment to this blog.

Under construction…

Locating Places Mentioned in Medieval Documents

Where to Start

First, what was medieval life like, how did people farm? what were living conditions like? These questions can help in looking for medieval settlements in documents and the landscape. You can find some information about medieval life here.

Landscape and Land Ownership

Was settlement the same in Salford Hundred compared to a Hundred in Worcestershire, for example?  The landscape and the soil are very different and significantly it would appear so was land ownership. Not many villages have nearly 100 medieval charters as at Whitworth near Rochdale has. The number of individuals able to give land to Whalley Abbey contrasts with the usual idea of a single medieval lord and landowner.

Settlement

Predominantly pastoral farming and a larger proportion of individual farmsteads was probably the norm for medieval life in the Pennine foothills of Salford Hundred. Many farmsteads visible today date back to medieval times, even though few obvious signs of medieval settlements remain. The number of places mentioned in Spotland township (Parish of Rochdale) in the Coucher Book of Whalley shows that many settlements date back to medieval times. In fact some place-names like Irreford have been lost.

Lost

Many medieval places are now lost or no longer recorded on current maps.  It may be possible to trace some of them from old maps, such as the 1850’s  Ordnance Survey Maps of Lancashire (more about digital versions below), or manor surveys and court records and later deeds that bridge the gap between medieval times and modern records.

Changed

“Fulebachehope” mentioned in the Coucher Book of  Whalley is now known as Bacup, showing just how much names can change over time.  The earlier a place-name is recorded the more certainty there is in finding the origin and meaning of the word.

Early Maps

Tithe maps and manor maps (such as the 18th Century Middleton map from the E7 Assheton estate collection at the Greater Manchester County Record Office ) can help  in locating places.

19th. Century OS Maps of Lancashire

Digital versions of the Ordnance Survey’s earliest maps of Salford Hundred can be found here and at this excellent site here.

See this excellent site for early Lancashire OS maps from the National Library of Scotland NLS Early Lancashire OS maps.

This interesting site has many old maps of Lancashire here. 

Researching Historic Buildings in the British Isles

This great site has information about maps and other documents as well as buildings, it is here.

Parish Registers

Parish records from Salford Hundred often go back to the 16th Century they can help locate people and places too. They have been extensively researched and published in a variety of formats.

You can read and download information from the Lancashire County Council site here.

Search the  On Line Parish Clerks for the County of Lancashire here, it is a really useful site.

Finding Place-Names and Field names

Places change over time and sometimes are shown on earlier maps but not on later versions of OS Maps.

You can search for place-names or place name elements here and here.

Field Names

Search for field names here.

Many field names may be recorded in manor surveys, though not indexed as such.

Manorial Records

Some manor records for Rochdale have been published (Chetham Society)  or partially transcribed. General information about manor records can be found here at the National Archives site.

Wills

Early wills are a valuable source of information too, read more here at the Medieval Genealogy site. The Wills and related information at Chester include places in Salford Hundred, such as Rochdale and Manchester.

Download

The Chetham Society’s – Wills and Inventories of the Ecclesiastical Court here.

Hearth Tax

Many places and buildings mentioned in the Hearth Tax of 1662-1689 had been in existence since medieval times.

The national archives has information about the Hearth Tax here, and you can search the records in a database here, but it is still being developed.

The Centre for Hearth Tax research is here at Roehampton University London.

Magic

‘Magic’ is a national database of environmental data, it also includes ancient woodland information,  see it here.

Aerial Photography

Aerial photographs are now widely available on-line, sites such as Google Earth and Microsoft’s Bing allow quick terrain assessment.

Download and read about medieval sites and aerial photography here.  English Heritage has information about aerial photography here.

Warning:

It is addictive and you might just find medieval and earlier sites.

Most important of all

Fieldwork! 

Always walk the areas you are researching. Not all features show on aerial photographs and maps, and surface geology and vegetation can be important clues to sites and the names you are researching. This brings us to archaeology, and the recording of information that is absent from medieval records.

In the case of the now lost “Lake Kor” on the border between Healey and Whitworth (mentioned in the Coucher Book of Whalley Abbey)  the topology and old maps may help locate the site.

Comprehensive archaeological survey and fieldwork have yet to be undertaken in Salford Hundred, despite large urban  expanses, rural areas including moorland still survive. What is exciting, is that these areas are some of the least explored in Britain when it comes to medieval records and archaeology, see this blog.

Under construction…

(C) SMM 2009

Medieval Whitworth

There are nearly 100 medieval charters relating to Whitworth in the Coucher Book of Whalley (that’s a lot!). With additional Medieval Whitworth documentation in deeds and court records, this area is of great interest in the study of medieval South East Lancashire.  The large number of charters make it possible to trace medieval boundaries in the fields and moorland around Whitworth. Whalley Abbey had a grange in Whitworth, it was obviously a desirable area, also producing iron.

“Time out of mind”

Whitworth was manor, though it was part of Spotland township in the Parish of Rochdale. Around 1200 it was stated that since  “Time out of mind” the Manor of Whitworth was held jointly between John Elland and Robert Liversedge, both lived in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In the Domesady Book Gamel, an ancestor of John Elland held Rochdale later replaced as overlord by a Norman. However Gamel kept some land and this accounts for John Ellands holding, the other, Robert Liversedge was descended from a vassal of the Norman overlord de Lacy. Just as the overlord granted land to his vassals his vassals did the same, breaking up landholding into smaller parcels. But even in the 12th Century there were many people able  to grant land in Whitworth, Jordan of Comb granted land to Whalley Abbey, for example, but there were many others.

Sokemen and Settlement in Spotland

Sokemen were generally freeholders who could buy and sell land and have land inherited. At least two landholdings were held in “sokeage” in Spotland and were recorded in Wolstenholme and Dunnishbooth, south Whitworth (both in Spotland township, Rochdale Parish) in the 16th and 17th centuries.
This is an indication of a tenure often, but not exclusively,  associated with the Danelaw and can perhaps explain the number of charters in Whitworth recorded in the Coucher Book of Whalley Abbey.

If there were many sokemen in Whitworth, they would have each been able to trade land with Whalley Abbey and inherit land, so this could explain the number of Whitworth transactions that appear in the Coucher Book.

Great Potential

After the medieval period we have detailed 16th Century and 17th. Century records, such as manor surveys and parish records, this is a great area to study the medieval landscape and how it evolved.

Search for Medieval Places

Early Ordnance Survey maps of Whitworth can be found here at British History Online. Early maps are held in library local studies, and also Whitworth Museum. Aerial Photographs can be seen on Google Earth and Lancashire’s own Mario as well as English Heritage’s archive of photographs.

See Raines

The Raines Manuscripts in Chethams Library (Manchester) contain a lot of Whitworth references:

For example E.4.5-E.5.2 bundle no. 1 (13th. to 14th C. deeds).

Overland Court

A later entry in the Coucher book mentions that a yearly court was held for Rochdale  (including Whitworth) tenants of Whalley Abbey at a place called “Overland” location unknown.

Medieval Land Transfer

C. D. King’s 1991 thesis includes a detailed chronology of medieval Whitworth land transfers, details can be phone on another of my posts, here.

Extracts from the Coucher Book of Whalley Abbey

Medieval Whitworth (Whiteword, in these medieval records) : places transcribed from the Coucher book of Whalley Abbey

Whitworth Place-names

Bikeden, for example, is modern day Bagden on the East of what is today known as Rooley Moor.

‘Kor lacus’ translates to lake Kor (Old Welsh perhaps?), which was at Harsenden near Prickshaw. probably on the site of Prickshaw Dams.

Modern Prickshaw was ‘Prikkeschagh’, in the Medieval Latin of the Coucher Book of Whalley.

Note

Yrifford was probably on the Roche near Chadwick and not in Whitworth. Ford means it was a river crossing point.

 Scandinavian place-name elements

Some examples are:

• Booth or both (as in Bothestudyerdh for example) often associated with a farm or vaccary (cattle ranch)
• Rakes or rakis (lane, track)
• Scholes or skole, hut or barn
• Sike or sik (ditch)
• Slack – valley

Whitworth Personal Names

This index covers all four volumes and is taken from the index of Volume IV.

Latin abbreviations – de means of,  fils. means son and frat. means brother or family member.

Contents pages (Volume III) relating to Whitworth

Volume III holds many (but not all) charters relating to Whitworth here are the contents pages, translated into English.

655-679

Note

The “us” in the translation above refers to the Abbey.

Under construction..

(c) SMM 2009

Finding Medieval Documentation for Salford Hundred, Lancashire

Neglected

It’s time to reveal the neglected medieval history of Salford Hundred, the South East division (known as a Hundred or Wapentake) of the historic County of Lancashire.

Background

The Hundred was administered from the royal manor of Salford, which was in the parish of Manchester. A general history of Lancashire can be found here. This is a good place to start for each parish (follow the links for each parish below), with many references to medieval documents. However, research has progressed greatly since 1911, I will also add a list of more specialized publications that refer to the early history and place-names of the region.

Salford Hundred Parishes

Salford Hundred was divided into 11 parishes. they were:

Ashton Bolton Bury Deane Eccles Flixton Manchester

Middleton Prestwich cum Oldham Radcliffe Rochdale.

This densely populated part of the UK is perhaps the least known when it comes to early history and archaeology, see “Blogroll” for more details.

Surprising Omissions

Many of the sources have been omitted from archaeological surveys and histories of the region. Scans of some deeds are also published here for the first time.  Now many sources,  transcribed in the 19th Century, are now freely available on-line too.

The Landscape as a Document

A large number of the places and boundaries mentioned in medieval documents can still be seen today, many places were never documented. Landscape history brings documentation to life, and reveals the fascinating evolution of the region’s landscapes. Aerial photography (such as Google Earth and Lancashire’s excellent Mario) and the many maps of the region are vital tools to discover new sites, as well as see known sites from a new perspective.

The Documentation

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle contains a 10th. Century reference to Manchester. The Domesday Book contains references to places in SE Lancashire, in Salford Hundred Rochdale’s had the only thegn (local aristocrat) named in Salford Hundred (only three other places in Salford Hundred are named: Manchester, Radcliffe and of course  Salford). Radcliffe and Salford were royal manors.

Other medieval Lancashire sources available on-line are listed below.

Try these archive links

These archives are not in any order and the extent of the documentation relating to Salford Hundred is not yet fully catalogued.

A general overview of Religious Houses (including those with connections to Salford Hundred) is available here, medieval Salford Hundred was in the see of Lichfield.

Lancashire Final Concords – these were legal settlements between parties who had been litigating at court.

Lancashire Assize Rolls  – medieval manuscripts are held in the Public Records Office, later Rolls are in the LRO.

The Lancashire Pipe Rolls and Early Lancashire Charters

English Medieval Legal Documents Wiki also has information about the Assize Rolls and other manuscripts.

The Coucher Book of Whalley Abbey details many places mentioned in connection with the Abbey. These Medieval Latin records include hundreds of references to the Parish of Rochdale alone, and are invaluable  for research into Medieval Salford Hundred. The transcripts have been scanned and are listed below.

Keele University Library – The Raymond Richards Collection which includes the Hatton Woods collection, which has over 1500 medieval documents relating to the North West and other parts of England.

Lancashire Record Office (LRO) – This major archive also holds medieval deeds previously held in the collections of Rochdale Library.

Greater Manchester Record Office – Some of the major collections are described here.

Manchester Central Reference Library Archives – includes material collected by W. Farrer and Palmer, new on-line search here

Photograph of Chethams Library by KJP1

Chetham’s Library Medieval Manor House of Manchester, Chained Library, Major North West England Archive, and the oldest free library in the English speaking world.

The collections include  the  extensive Raines manuscripts.

John Rylands Library Major archive and one of the earliest buildings designed for electric lighting. Search on-line here.

Nottinghamshire Archives – Henry De Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, manorial and other records (includes Lancashire lands). Some of the De Lacy records have been transcribed, see the “Two ‘Compoti’ of…” link below.

The College of Arms – holds Kuerden’s manuscripts, a collection of deeds and pedigrees.

Medieval Charters on the Internet

The Bodleian Library has many collections of interest, including The Byron Chartulary ( a collection of charters), also known as the ‘Black Book of Clayton.’ The Bodleian also holds the Chartulary of Cockersand Abbey.

British Library – The British Library holds many deeds and charters for Lancashire, here, for example, are some of the Rochdale documents.

The Cause Papers a searchable catalogue of more than 14,000 cause papers relating to cases heard between 1300 and 1858 in the Church Courts of the diocese of York.

The National Archives include for example the De Banco Rolls from the Court of Common Pleas.

Toronto-  document search for over 9,500 documents – includes medieval Lancashire

The Ranulf Higden Society – researches medieval documents from the North West of England.

Cheshire Archives also hold material relating to Salford Hundred, such as wills.

West Yorkshire Archive Service holds records relating to Salford Hundred and Lancashire.

Yorkshire Archaeological Society hold a large collection of medieval manuscripts, see some on-line too.  The collection includes documents relating to Salford – Yorkshire Archaeological Society Vol. 56 MD 102 (thanks to Janet at the library for this information).

Note

Many medieval deeds are also in private collections and the archives of landowners.

Finding Information about Famous People from Medieval Salford Hundred

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography contains information on over 50,ooo individuals, including The Pilkingtons, from the Bury area. Find out about them and much more here.

Transcribed Medieval Documents

Many regional medieval manuscripts have been transcribed (but not translated) by the Chetham Society.

The Coucher Book or Chartulary of Whalley Abbey

The Coucher Book of Whalley Abbey contains hundreds of references to places in Salford Hundred.

The Abbey, was moved from Stanlaw in Cheshire to Whalley  in Lancashire in 1296, see an aerial view of the ruins here.

The Chetham Society also produced the “Act book of the ecclesiastical court of Whalley”, 1516-1538 edited by Alice Cooke, 1901.

Reference to some Lancashire wills can be found here.

The four volumes were edited W.A. Hulton, and published in 1847-8 by the Chetham Society.

Note large files!

• Volume I
• Volume II
• Volume III
• Volume IV
• Index_to the Coucher_Book_of_Whalley Abbey

Two Compoti

• Two ‘Compoti’ of the Lancashire and Cheshire manors of Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln, P.A.Lyons, Chetham Society,  1884 (translation and transcription)

John Harland – Lancashire Documents of the 14th and 15th Centuries

Download the free ebook here.

Lancashire and Cheshire Wills and Inventories

Download the Google ebook here.

The Chartulary of Cockersand Abbey

Cockersand Abbey (near Lancaster) held land in Salford Hundred, including Crompton (near Oldham) for example. A transcription was published by the Chetham Society in 1900, read it on-line here.

The Bodleian Library holds a former Cockersand Abbey manuscript, described in “On a Thirteenth Century Manuscript in the Bodleian Library (Rawlinson, C 317 ) formerly belonging to Cockersand Abbey, and containing Exempla” Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society ( TLCAS ) Volume 23 1906 p48-6.

See a Map of the Remains of Cockersand Abbey

Find out more…

Mainly Lancashire

• England’s Landscape:  The Northwest – by Angus Winchester, 2006, English Heritage (Collins)
• Dialect and Scribal Usage in Medieval Lancashire:  A New Approach to Local Documents by C. P. Cummings 1981, Transactions of the Philological Society
• The Origins of Lancashire – Denise Kenyon, 1991
• A frontier landscape: the North West in the Middle Ages
  By N. J. Higham 2004.
• Chetham Society Publications
• http://www.local-history.co.uk/
• Some Notes on Medieval English Genealogy
• English medieval boroughs: privileged urban places
• Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs to 1516 – Lancashire

What were Medieval Deeds and Charters?

Websites about  medieval deeds and charters, are listed below.

The Medieval Genealogy website has information about medieval charters here.

Manuscripts and Special Collections – University of Notingham

History in Deed: Medieval Society & The Law in England, 1100-1600 : Harvard University

University of Toronto Deeds Project

Bracton on the Laws and Customs of Englandattributed to Henry of Bratton, c. 1210-126 Harvard University Website

Reading Medieval Deeds and Charters

The study of ancient handwriting is called;  palaeography.  You can learn more about reading old deeds and other documents at these websites:

Beginners Latin Course – National Archives

Interesting interactive on-line course here

Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500 – 1800 – A practical on-line tutorial

Manuscript Studies – University of London

(C) Stuart Mendelsohn 2009-2021