Topographical Dictionaries - Longdendale Transcript 1849.

Mottram-in-Longdendale (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester; comprising the townships of Godley, Hattersley, Hollingworth, Matley, Mottram, Newton, Stayley, and Tintwistle; and containing 21,215 inhabitants, of whom 3247 are in Mottram township, 10 miles (E. by S.) from Manchester. This place, which was anciently called the lordship of Tintwistle, was in the reign of Edward II, granted by Thomas de Burgh to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, on whose attainder for high treason, in the 15th of that reign, it became forfeited to the crown. The parish comprises 32,000 acres, of which 970 are in the township of Mottram; the soil in the higher parts is rocky, and in the lower a rich loam alternated with clay and gravel. It is separated from the county of Derby, on the south, by the river Etherow, or Mersey, which has its source near the north-eastern extremity of the parish; and from Lancashire on the north by the river Tame. The township is situated on a steep hill at the western extremity of Longdendale; the surrounding scenery is diversified, combining features of picturesque beauty with objects of romantic grandeur. Among the hills in the township is Cat Tor, a precipitous elevation, more than 100 feet in perpendicular height; the sides and summit are planted with trees, and the faces of the precipices exhibit various strata of rock, coal, slate, and freestone, disposed with great regularity. Above this is Mottram Hill, commanding a delightful and extensive prospect up Longdendale, including the beautiful windings of the Mersey, the banks of which are embellished with trees of stately growth.

Till the commencement of the present century, the parish was wholly agricultural, but since that period it has become one of the most flourishing manufacturing districts in this part of the kingdom. About a mile and a half from the village or town, which consists of one broad and well-paved street, the Mersey expands into a broad stream, on which are extensive cotton-mills, built in the excavation of a rock protruding into the river, over which, at a small distance below, is a stone bridge of one arch. There are several large manufactories of cotton and woollen goods, paper, and machinery; also works for the spinning of cotton and the printing of calico, and a foundry for smelting iron. Collieries are worked in the immediate neighbourhood; and stone abounds in various parts, which is soft in the quarry and very easily cut, but, upon exposure to the air, becomes as hard as flint. Within the parish are three stations on the Manchester and Sheffield railway, viz .: one distant about a mile from Mottram, one at Newton, and the third at Woodhead, where a tunnel commences, which is upwards of three miles long. Over the Etherow is a splendid viaduct on the line, having three arches, the centre of which is of 150 feet span; the first stone was laid by John Chapman, Esq., deputy-chairman of the company: the cost was £25,000. Fairs for cattle take place on the 27th of April and the 31st of October. A court leet is held on Michaelmas-day, at which a constable is appointed for each of the townships in the parish; and a court baron is held under J. Tollemache, Esq., as lord of the manor.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books, as a rectory and vicarage, at £32. 3. 9.; net income, £219; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Chester. The church is in the later English style, with a lofty embattled tower; it contains some ancient and interesting monuments, and sepulchral chapels belonging respectively to the manors of Hollingworth and Stayley. In the churchyard is the tomb of Lawrence Earnshaw, distinguished by bis mechanical genius, and as the inventor of some of the earliest machinery introduced into the cotton factories; he was born at this place, and was buried here in 1767. The vicarage-house, near the church, is surrounded with intrenchments resembling those of a Roman station. At Godley, Newton, Stayley, Tintwistle, and Woodhead are separate incumbencies. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. The free grammar school, founded in 1612 by Robert Garsett and Sir Richard Wilbraham, is endowed with land, the proceeds of which, with other benefactions, amount to £65 per annum. John Chapman, Esq., in 1845, gave a library of 400 volumes for the use of the town. Here are some remains of Bucton Castle, supposed to be of British origin.

Godley, a township, in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, union of Ashton-under- Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 8 miles (E. by S.) from Manchester; containing 1399 inhabitants. Godley is a corruption of Godelegh, the name of the possessors of the place in the reign of John: the manor was afterwards held by the Baguleys, who purchased of the Godleys in 1319, and by the Massey and Newton families successively. The township comprises 604 acres, the soil of which is clay: the manufacture of cotton is carried on, as is also that of hats. This place, and part of Newton, likewise in the parish, were formed into a church district, in 1847, under the provisions of the 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37: the living is in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Chester, alternately.

Hattersley, a township, in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 10 miles (E. by S.) from Manchester; containing 610 inhabitants. The manor belonged, before the reign of Henry III, to a family of the local name, by one of whom it was conveyed to Sir Roger de Stockport. It continued with the Stockports for about a century, when it became the property of the Carringtons, from whom it passed by a female heir to the Booths; and having descended with Dunham-Massey, it now belongs to the Earl of Stamford and Warrington, who is chief owner of the land. The township lies on the road from Stockport to Sheffield, and comprises 1190 acres, of a clayey soil, in some parts stony. The tithes have been commuted for £95, payable to the Bishop of Chester.

Hollingworth, a township, in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 11 miles (E. by S.) from Manchester; containing 2012 Inhabitants. This place, from a period prior to the Conquest, wholly belonged to the family of Hollingworth, until, some centuries since, it was divided into two manors, one of which, with the old Hall or manor-house, continued in the hands of their descendants till within the last few years: it is now possessed by George Woodhead, Esq. The other manor, with the exception of some large farms which have been sold at different periods, is now the property of Captain Robert de Hollingworth, who, on his return from India, purchased the ancient family estate from the Rev. Daniel Whitle, to whom his grandfather had sold it. Both the Halls have been rebuilt in a handsome style; that which is the seat of Captain de Hollingworth stands on the borders of Hollingworth moor, which abounds with game. Little more than 50 years ago, this was an agricultural district with few inhabitants, but there are now extensive manufactories for cotton-goods, for the printing of calico, and for paper; also a brass and iron foundry. The township comprises 2130 acres, of a clayey and stony soil; the village lies on the Stockport and Sheffield road. Hollingworth House, the residence of John Sidebottom, Esq., beautifully situated, and Etherow House, that of William Sidebottom, Esq.; command fine views.

Matley, a township, in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, union of Ashton, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 10 miles (E. by S.) from Manchester; containing 251 inhabitants. The manor passed, with Dunham-Massey, to the earls of Stamford and Warrington; and the township, which comprises 770 acres, is chiefly the property of the present earl. The tithes have been commuted for £55, payable to the Bishop of Chester.

Newton, a township and ecclesiastical district, in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 8 miles (E. by S.) from Manchester; containing 7501 inhabitants, chiefly employed in the cotton manufacture. The manor was acquired in 1302, by Thomas de Newton, in marriage with the daughter and heiress of Thomas de Davenport, It was purchased of the representatives of Alexander Newton, the last heir male of that ancient family, who died about the year 1690, by Sir Charles Dukenfield, Bart., and has since passed with the Dukenfield estates. The township comprises about 800 acres, and stands high; the soil is clay, and coal and stone are wrought. The Manchester and Sheffield railway has a station here. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Mottram; income, £150, with a house. The church, St. Mary's, was built in 1839, at a cost of £2500, and is in the Norman style. The Wesleyan Methodists have a place of worship; and there is a national school.

Stayley, or Staly, a township and ecclesiastical district in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester; containing, with part of the town of Stalybridge (which is described under its own head), 3905 inhabitants. The manor was held under the manor of Longden, and was conveyed to Robert de Staveley or Staveleigh by Robert de Hough in 1318. From the Staveleys it passed by a female heir about 1471 to the Ashtons, whose co-heiress conveyed it to the Booths; and it afterwards passed with Matley and other estates in the parish, to the earls of Stamford. The township comprises 2760 acres, whereof 470 are common land; the surface is hilly and undulating, and the scenery bold, with extensive views; quarries of good stone are wrought. There are several large cotton-mills, and a few woollen-mills. The Huddersfield canal and the Huddersfield railway pass through the township. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Bishop of Chester and three other Trustees; net income £180. The appropriate tithes,payable to the bishop, have been commuted for £150. The church, dedicated to St. Paul, is in the early English style, with a square tower; it is prettily seated on the side of a hill, and cost £4000. Several cottages have been built as an endowment for the organist. There is a good school. Staley Hall, the ancient seat of the family of Staveley, is now occupied by James Adshead and Brothers.

Tintwistle, a township, in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, poor-law union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 13 miles (E. by S.) from Manchester; containing 2290 inhabitants, This township comprises 17,050 acres, and includes the chapelry of Woodhead, which see. The population are mostly employed in the manufacture of cotton and woollen goods, and in quarrying stone in the neighbourhood: Messrs, John and Robert-Hyde Buckley have a cotton-mill for spinning and weaving, employing 300 hands. The village is situated on an acclivity rising from the western bank of the river Etherow. Fairs, for cattle are held on. May 2nd and November 1st. This was anciently a borough, and had a court leet; it is now a member of the lordship of Mottram. Christ Church, in the township, was erected in 1837, at a cost, including a parsonage and school, of £3000; it is in the early English style, with a tower. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Trustees; income, £150. There are places of worship for Independents and Calvinistic Methodists.

Woodhead, a chapelry, and a division of the township of Tintwistle, in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 6 miles (E. N. E.) from the village or town of Mottram. This district lies on the border of Derbyshire, the river Etherow here separating the counties of Derby and Chester. It has a station of the Manchester and Sheffield railway; and not far distant is the commencement of the great tunnel which passes from Cheshire into Yorkshire: this tunnel was about six years in its formation, was opened in Dec. 1845, and is nearly three miles in length. The chapel was founded by Sir Edmund Shaa, lord mayor of London at the time of Richard III's usurpation. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of John Tollemache, Esq., M.P, for South Cheshire, who is owner of the entire division: the incumbent has an endowment of £100 per annum, with a house purchased in 1844 for £400, partly granted from Queen Anne's Bounty, and partly raised by subscription. There is a place of worship for Calvinistic Methodists.

Return to Glossopdale & Longdendale in the 19th Century.

Glossop Parish Analysis; Glossop Parish Transcript 1831; Glossop Parish Transcript 1849.

Longdendale Analysis; Longdendale Transcript 1831.



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Last updated: 30 January 2021