Topographical Dictionaries - Longdendale Transcript 1831.

Mottram-in-Longdendale, a parish in the hundred of Macclesfield, county palatine of Chester, comprising the townships of Godley, Hattersley, Hollingworth, Matley, Mottram in Longden-Dale, Newton, Stayley-Bridge, and Tintwisle, and containing 10,086 inhabitants, of which number, 1944 are in the township of Mottram in Longden-Dale, 7 miles (E.N.E.) from Stockport. The living comprises a rectory and a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester, rated in the king's books at £32. 3. 9., the former an impropriation belonging to the Bishop of Chester, the latter endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is in the later style of English architecture, with a handsome tower : it stands upon an eminence called War-hill; the vicarage-house, near it, is surrounded by intrenchments similar to those of a Roman station. In the churchyard lie the remains of Lawrence Earnshaw, an eminent self-taught genius in mechanics and the fine arts; he died in 1767. There is a place of worship for Independents, and another, with a school attached, belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists. A free grammar school was founded, in 1612, by Robert Garside, and is endowed with about £53 per annum. There are also a parochial school, in which about four hundred children are taught, and a small subscription library. The river Mersey, rising at the north-eastern extremity of the parish, separates it from Derbyshire on the south; and the Tame, from Lancashire on the north. At the village of Mottram, which consists of one long and spacious street, the Mersey expands into a broad stream, upon which are the extensive mills of Messrs. Marshland, occupying a large space excavated in the rock, and reaching to the middle of the river, which, lower down, is crossed by a stone bridge of one immense arch. Here are extensive manufactories for cotton and woollen goods, paper, and machinery; works for printing calico, and an establishment for smelting iron-ore, which abounds in the south-west part of the parish, and has the advantage of large collieries in the neighbourhood. A court leet is held annually on Michaelmas-day, at which a constable is elected. There are fairs for cattle on April 27th and October 31 st. The Car Tor, rising above the village, is a precipitous elevation, eighty feet in perpendicular height, its face exhibiting various strata of rock, coal, slate, and freestone, disposed with great regularity; and the sides being partly clothed with foliage, it has a picturesque effect. Mottram hill rises above this to the height of four hundred and fifty feet, and even this, with the village, lies far beneath the adjacent immense heights of Charlesworth Neck, Werneth-Low, &c the summits of which command most extensive prospects of the surrounding country. In this parish are the remains of Bucton castle, supposed to be of British origin.

Godley, a township in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, hundred of Macclesfield, county palatine of Chester, 6 miles (N.E. by E.) from Stockport, containing 514 inhabitants. Godley is a corruption of Godleigh, the name of its possessors in the reign of John. The manufacture of cotton here is principally carried on by hand-loom weaving, and there is some business in the making of hats.

Hattersley, a township in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, hundred of Macclesfield, county palatine of Chester, 6¼ miles (E.N.E.) from Stockport, containing 563 inhabitants.

Hollingworth, a township in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, hundred of Macclesfield, county palatine of Chester, 8 miles (E. N. E.) from Stockport, containing 1393 inhabitants. About thirty years ago Hollingworth was but an agricultural district with few inhabitants: there are now extensive manufactories for cotton goods, paper, and machinery, also for the printing of calico, and a foundry for smelting metals.

Matley, a township in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, hundred of Macclesfield, county palatine of Chester, 8 miles (N. E. by E.) from Stockport, containing 324 inhabitants.

Newton, a township in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, hundred of Macclesfield, county palatine of Chester, 6¼ miles (N. B. by E.) from Stockport, containing 2159 inhabitants, about two-thirds of whom are employed in the manufacture of cotton and hats, and in the printing of calico. The Peak Forest, canal passes through the township, -which abounds with stone of a good quality. There are also salt, coal, and iron works; and for smelting the ore of the latter, a large furnace has lately been erected.

Stayley, a township in the parish of Mottram in Longdendale, hundred of Macclesfield, county palatine of Chester, 1 mile (N, E.) from Ashton under Line, containing, with a part of the town of Stalybridge, (which is described under its own head), 1609 inhabitants. The Huddersfield canal passes through the township.

Tintwisle, a township in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, hundred of Macclesfield, county palatine of Chester, 9½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Stockport, containing 1580 inhabitants, who are mostly employed in the manufacture of cotton and woollen goods, and at the quarries of stone in the neighbourhood. There is a place of worship for Calvinistic Methodists, attached to which is a school attended by about four hundred children. Fairs for cattle are held, on May 2nd and November 1st, at the village, which is situated on an acclivity rising from the western bank of the river Etherow. This was anciently a borough, and had a court leet of its own; it is now only a member of the lordship of Mottram in Longden-Dale, and is within the jurisdiction of a court of requests held there, for the recovery of debts under 40s.

Return to Glossopdale & Longdendale in the 19th Century.

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

Longdendale Analysis; Longdendale Transcript 1849.



Return to GJH.me Home Page, Return to Glossop Area Local Histories index.


Last updated: 30 January 2021