DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY r6 kH Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Duke University Libraries https://archive.org/details/historyofmaccles01corr / / / < / / - ISWHIDIBIIID M 1 In the Year 1811 c HUNDREDS. Parish, Township, pr ’ u- Extra-Parochi¬ al Place. HO UN tv. | OCCUPATIONS. 1 PERSONS. i 4 Inhabited. By how many Fa¬ milies Oc¬ cupied. rt | c g. t c families hiefly employ- d in lAgricul- ^ tuic. •a "amilies chiefly F* employed fu jnt Trade, [pi anufactnres > or th Handicraft. c 1 other rmilies >t com¬ ixed in e 2 pre ceding lasses. Males. Females. f Total Persons. MACCLESFIELD.I ALDERLEY. Parish Alderlev Superior. Township TO 75 i 0 66 8 1 204 220 424 Alderlev Inferior. Township 93 95 2 3 57 23 15 277 264 541 arford Great. Township 59 63 0 1 36 20 7 154 174 328 (a) ASTBURY. Parish Somerford-Booths. Township 48 49 0 0 49 0 0 134 133 267 CHEADLE. Parish Cbeadle Bulkelev. Township 458 4S1 6 35 36 393 52 1,225 1.284 2,509 Cheadle-Moselev. Township 255 260 1 6 62 179 19 '578 718 1,296 Handforth with Boxden. Township 24S 259 7 17 49 207 3 628 687 1,315 GAWSWORTH . Parish 118 121 0 0 115 5 1 377 380 757 MOTTRA M-IN-LONG DEN-DA LE Parish God ley.. • • .. Township 72 80 0 5 9 71 0 21G 235 451 Hattersley. Township 8S 91 0 3 11 80 0 229 244 473 Hollingworth . Township 19S 198 1 10 8 186 4 569 520 1,089 Motley . .. Township 50 51 0 3 5 46 0 152 159 311 Mottram-in-Longden-Dale . .. Township 255 272 9 8 2 267 3 710 736 1,446 Newton Moor. Township 245 270 l 12 13 253 4 732 P3 1,445 Stayley. Township 221 229 5 3 11 216 2 592 512 1,104 Tintwistle. Township 212 214 0 4 25 189 0 662 684 1,346 PRESTBURY .. Parish Adlington. Township 171 176 0 3 46 129 1 472 468 910 Birtles.. Township 8 8 0 0 6 1 1 15 17 32 Bollington. Township 285 285 U "5 74 110 71 727 791 1,518 Bosley. Township 95 95 0 0 74 21 0 246 23G 482 Bulley with Newton. Township 123 123 0 67 53 3 308 327 635 Capestbome... Township 10 11 0 0 5 0 6 38 32 70 Chelford. Township 27 27 0 1 17 4 6 97 91 188 Eaton* • • • . Township 37 37 0 o o 31 6 0 117 111 2*8 Fallibram. Township 6 6 0 ] 6 0 0 13 12 2t Henbury w ith Pexall. Township 55 66 0 1 55 10 1 189 196 385 Hurdslield. Township 117 119 0 1 16 100 3 351 383 73t . Kettleshulme. Townshi p 78 80 0 3 73 7 0 188 216 404 Township 43 44 0 3 38 6 0 115 132 247 Macclesfield Forest.... Township 52 52 <,0 4 35 17 0 150 135 285 Township 2,518 2,728 123 49 244 2,458 26 5,629 6,670 12,299 Mar ton. Township 51 53 0 1 44 9 0 162 158 320 Mottram-Andrew. Township 67 70 1 2 29 4 37 168 181 349 Newton. Township 21 21 0 0 1) 10 * 0 57 51 108 Poynton . Township 86 86 2 1 16 60 10 244 253 497 Pott-Shrigley . Township 67 67 0 2 8 20 39 168 162 330 Township 78 81 0 6 29 35 17 203 212 415 Rainow . . Township 281 295 <> 8 107 164 24 753 842 1,595 Township 41 43 0 0 37 6 0 122 118 240 Siddington . Township 79 79 0 0 58 15 6 237 211 448 Sutton-Downs and Wicell.. Township 407 42S 0 3 125 302 1 930 1,166 2,096 Tytherington. Township 59 59 2 ] 19 39 1 172 183 355 Upton . Township 9 9 0 0 7 2 0 28 39 67 Wildboar-Clough. Township 79 79 0 6 48 31 0 197 195 392 Township 74 75 0 .9 40 35 0 198 230 428 Withington Lower. Township 108 108 0 0 81 14 13 297 287 584 Withingtou Old. Township 21 27 0 0 24 3 0 81 97 178 " oodford. Township 65 66 0 1 30 36 0 179 197 376 M orth . Township 46 46 0 0 11 26 9 122 132 254 (6) ROSTHERN. Parish Snelson. Township 22 22 0 1 17 3 2 57 61 118 STOCKPORT. Parish BramhaJl. Township 192 192 0 3 34 152 6 555 579 1,134 Bredbnry. Townshi p 299 316 ] 5 33 283 0 821 885 1,706 Brinnington... Township 234 247 2 3 14 330 3 771 934 1,705 Disley. Township 273 283 3 8 1 440 9 707 708 1,415 Duekinfield. Township 497 502 1 25 16 405 8l 1,476 1,577 3,053 Etchells. Township 228 228 0 4 59 125 44 651 625 1,276 Hyde. Township 290 317 6 3 11 302 4 884 922 1,806 (1 Marple. Township 394 435 7 23 33 396 6 1,062 1,192 2,254 { Norbury. Township 115 123 0 2 40 62 21 233 218 451 Northerden. Township 123 133 1 4 64 60 9 275 333 608 Offerton.... .. Township 77 86 0 5 20 65 1 235 258 493 Romily. Township 181 186 3 8 1 7 168 I 521 494 1,015 Stockport. Township 3,162 3,563 2 162 15 3 3,304 106 7,977 9,568 11,545 Torkington. Township 44 44 0 1 1 5 22 7 113 141 254 Wemith. Township 232 241 2 12 1 9 214 8 649 655 1,304 TAXAL . Parish Taxal. Township 34 39 0 3 3 4 5 0 86 96 iOZ Whaley with Yeardsly. Township 43 50 1 5 1 9 8 23 m 151 287 WILMSLOW. Township Bollen-Fee. Township 327 335 1 17 C 4 265 6 851 904 1.755 Chorley. ! Township 75 80 0 3 c 17 43 0 20f 220 426 Fulshaw. ! Township 44 47 0 2 ] 5 31 1 100 132 232 Pownall-Fee.. i Township 198 217 a O o * 14 126 7 626 671 1,297 15,038 16,143 107 528 2,81 )7 12,515 731 | 39,404 43,518 82,922 Notes, (aj The greatest part of Astbury Parish is in Northwicb Hundred. (6) The greatest part of Rosthern Parish is in Bueklow Hundred. THE HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. CHAPTER I. Introductory observations—Etymology and Orthography of Maccles¬ field—antiquity of the town—Charter granted by Prince Edward in 1261, with notes—confirmation of the Charter by Edward III- Riehard II. Edward IV. and Elizabeth—an account of the Duke of Buckingham’s Castle in Macclesfield, and of the Death of that Nobleman—a Chantry and Free Schoolfounded by Sir John Perci- val in Macclesfield, in the year 1502 —Copy of his Will, with re¬ marks—Sir John Savage, Mayor of Macclesfield, and several of the Burgesses slain at Flodden Field—the tradition respecting the Battle of Bosworth rejuted—Macclesfield Park. When the different tribes of the human race wan¬ dered through the habitable regions of the Globe in quest of a comfortable place of abode, our ancestors' first settled in Britain. This remote part of our histo¬ ry is involved in obscurity ; and no records exist of the time, when adventurers from the continent, first crossed the sea to people this island. The ancient Britons were in a savage state when the ambition of Caesar prompted 2 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. him to sail from the coast of Gaul, and invade Albion ; but the British warriors, though half-naked, and ill¬ armed, bravely met the steel-clad invader; and strug¬ gled for their liberties in many a well-fought and san¬ guinary battle. When eventually subdued, they adopted the more elegant and comfortable dress of the Romans; and whatever arts were then known on the Continent of Europe, were introduced by the con¬ queror. Invasion thus became the handmaid of civi¬ lization ; the rude Briton was instructed by the more intelligent Roman ; and our language was harmonized and enriched by the genius of Csesar : “ Expressive, energetic, and refin’d, “ It sparkles with the gems he left behind.” On the departure of the Romans from Britain, it was left defenceless ; for the youthful Britons were taken away to recruit those warlike legions in which their bra¬ very was so often distinguished. The southern part of this island was then exposed to the ravages of a Nor¬ thern Banditti, known by the name of Scots and Piets; and when these depredators were driven within their own boundaries by the aid of the Saxons, the piratical Danes annoyed the shores of England, and made se¬ veral descents on the coasts. Then Alfred arose, like a superior being, and by his wisdom, patriotism, and equity, promoted the general welfare of England, and under the fostering influence of his excellent laws, the state of society gradually improved, till that me¬ morable but calamitous era in our history, termed the Conquest, HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. William, Duke of Normandy, in the year 1066, conceived the bold project of the conquest of Eng¬ land ; and for that purpose collected many desperate military adventurers under his banners ; landed on the shores of Sussex; defeated the gallant Saxon Barons and their followers, slew the heroic but unfortunate Harold at the battle of Hastings ; subverted the liber¬ ties of the people of England, and sub-divided the he¬ reditary domains of the English nobility among his officers. By the command of William, who now as¬ sumed regal power in England, a general survey was made of the Kingdom, and the particulars recorded in what was presumptuously termed Domseday-Book. To this record, our antiquaries make continual refer¬ ence in all their disquisitions respecting past ages in this country. Indeed the Saxon annals seem entitled to little credit; but what satisfactory local information is derivable even from Domesday-Book ? The sur¬ vey was evidently made for the rapacious purpose of seizing the property of the discomfited Saxon chiefs. As for the common people, they were described by the degrading epithet of villans or vassals, and they were as completely the slaves of the Conqueror, and to whomsoever he bestowed them, as the present inhabit¬ ants of Russia are the vassals of their Autocrat. In such a state of degradation, there could be no improvement; whatever had been devised by the wis¬ dom of Alfred, and his successors, was no longer prac¬ ticable by a conquered people, who were nightly re¬ minded by the curfew, of the oppression of a foreign tyrant. 4 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. William the First, brutal and ignorant himself, did nothing to improve the condition of a nation compelled to receive his laws at the point of the sword. Even the pages of his Domesday Book prove the ignorance and want of literary taste in that barbarous age. In a few short sentences of Monkish Latin, rendered still more unintelligible by numerous contractions, the reader is informed of the extent of a manor, the num¬ ber of its inhabitants, and its annual value. The va¬ lue of the hamlet and forest of Macclesfield, at the time of the survey was certainly not great. Even the city of Lichfield, with its appurtenances, situated in a fertile part of Staffordshire, and then the property of the Bishop of Chester, was worth only fifteen pounds a year. Congleton, or as it was then called, Cogletone, was a small village, containing two vil- Jans, or slaves, and four bordars , or cottagers, and was valued at four shillings a year. The state and va¬ lue of Macclesfield at that period is unknown; and Stockport, now so populous, is not even mentioned in Domesday-Book.^ When the Norman adventurer, at the head of his accomplices, came to deprive Harold of his Crown, and the people of England of their liberties, Maccles¬ field, like Stockport, was an obscure place. No feu¬ dal Chieftain here displayed the banners of an ancient House, or summoned his vassals by sound of trumpet, to murder those of some neighbouring Baron, under pretence of taking vengeance for an insult; but Mac- * Sir Peter Leycester’s Historial Antiquities, folio, page 162, HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 5 clesfield undoubtedly was, with the exception of a few small'Cottages, as solitary as the wild forest that sur¬ rounded it. To such persons as prefer traditionary le¬ gends to plain matter of fact, the following History of Macclesfield will appear dull and uninteresting ; but to the lovers of truth, that truth which ought to be the basis of every historic superstructure, the author is convinced his work will prove agreeable. Unbiassed either by prejudice or partiality, he has collected all the facts respecting the town which he thought essen¬ tial to his work ; cautiously avoiding mere traditionary assertion, as unworthy of the attention of the reader. Macclesfield, now the third Town in Cheshire, for extent and population, is the head of the most extensive Hundred in the County, to which it gives name. The Etymology of the place, has been various¬ ly discussed by ingenious theorists, but they have not been able to ascertain its origin. The common tr adi¬ t ion is. that the ground on which the town stand s, be¬ longed to a man named Max, who consequently called i t Max field. But whatever may have been the deri¬ vation, t he or iginal name was Max field ; as is evident from the Ort hograp hy of several ancient manuscripts, particularly the grant for the foundation and endow¬ ment of a Chantry and Free Grammar-School, by Sir John Percival, Knt. in 1502. Max field had, how¬ ever, been a place of some note in the thirteenth cen- tury. Messrs. Lysons, in their History of Cheshire, as¬ sert that it was made a Borough of one hundred and twenty Burgesses, by Randal, one of the Earls of Chester; but these historians neither give the date of a HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. the Charter, nor quote their authorities; hence their information is vague and unsatisfactory, as well as im¬ probable. In the year 1261, Prince Edward, son to Henry III. who as Earl of Chester and lord of the Palatinate, con¬ ferred many immunities on the people of the County over which he presided, granted a Charter to the inhabitants of Macclesfield. The following translation of this Charter from the original Latin, will doubtless gratify the present natives and inhabitants of Maccles¬ field. It is a very curious document, illustrative of the rude state of Society in England, in the thirteenth century; and the explanatory notes will elucidate many customs mentioned in it, which are now disconti¬ nued. COPY OF THE CHARTER granted by EDWARD EARL OF CHESTER TO THE CORPORATION OF MACCLESFIELD. TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN. Edward the illustrious first-born of the King of Eng¬ land to the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Counts, Barons, Justices, Sheriff’s, Officers, Servants, Bailiffs, and all his faithful Subjects Health ! Know ye, that we have granted and by this our present Char¬ ter have confirmed for ourselves and our heirs, to our Burgesses of Macclesfield, that our Town of Maccles¬ field may and shall be a free Borough ; and that our Burgesses of the said Borough, may have a Merchant & 7 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. Guild (a) in the same Borough, with Liberties and free Customs belonging to the said Guild; and that they shall be free throughout all our County of Chester, as well by water, as by land, of Tolls (6), Passage Mo¬ ney (c), Pontage (cl), Stallage (e), Lastage (/), and all other customs, excepting Salt at the Wyches. And that they may have Common of Pasture, and House¬ bote and Haybote (g) in our Forest, as they used to have; saving to ourselves our Mast, and Mast-money; and that they shall not be impleaded nor judged, in any Plea out of their Borough. And if any of them shall happen to be at our mercy for any forfeiture, he shall pay no more than twelve pence before judgment; and after judgment, a reasonable amercement, ac¬ cording to the nature of the fault, unless the forfeiture belong to our sword. The Burgesses aforesaid, shall grind their corn at our mill to the twentieth grain, as they were used to do; and they may nominate their Officers, by our assent or appointment, or by that of our Bailiffs. They may have and hold their Burgages Notes, (a) “ Merchant’s Guild,” a brotherhood of Merchants, or Tradesmen, empowered to prohibit any person, who is not admitted of their society, from following any trade or traffic with¬ in the precincts granted to them, except at Fairs. (6; “ Toll” a General name for money paid for things bought publicly in a Fair or Market. (c) “ Passage Money” was demanded at some places for leave or protection to pass quietly and safely through certain liberties. Also at some places to pass by water. (c/)“ Pontage. ’ Money demanded for leave to pass over a bridge. (.0 “ Stallage.” Money paid for leave to erect a stall or booth. (/) “ Lastage” was a Toll paid for goods sold by the Last. Or) “ Housebote and Haybote.” Wood for making Houses and Hedges. 8 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. and the lands belonging to them, freely and quietly for twelve pence a year; and may give, sell, or mort¬ gage the same to whomsoever they will, excepting re¬ ligious Houses, as they used to do ; saving to ourselves the liberty of our Oven in the said Town. Wherefore we will and firmly command, for ourselves and our heirs, that our Burgesses aforesaid shall have all the aforesaid privileges, and enjoy all the Liberties ap¬ pointed as is more fully set forth. As Witness, Edward de Yolbery Falconde Orre, our Excheator of Chester; Hugh de Clifford, John de Bretur, Keepers of our Wardrobe; Thomas de Bol¬ ton, and others. Given under our hands, at Guild¬ ford, the 29th. day of May, in the 45th. year of the reign of onr Lord Father the King.^ A. D. 1261. Edward. " By this Charter, Macclesfield was raised from its comparatively obscure state as a Hamlet, to the dig¬ nity of a Corporate Town; and Prince Edward conti¬ nued to favour the inhabitants with many proofs of his munificence during his residence in the County Pala¬ tine of Chester. The civil wars, in which his father, Henry the Third, was for some years engaged with the Barons, required the presence of Prince Edward in the field, and as he was of an adventurous and daring spirit he distinguished himself by many heroic deeds. But the genius of the celebrated Simon de Monfort, Earl of Leicester, who was at the head of the confede- * Henry IJX, HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 9 racy against the King, prevailed over the impetuous inexperience of the Earl of Chester, who was defeated and taken prisoner by the Barons at the battle of He¬ reford. An accommodation soon afterwards took place between the King and the Barons, and Prince Edward was liberated. After his accession to the throne in the year 1272, by the title of Edward I. this sovereign was not un¬ mindful of his Earldom of Chester. He founded the Abbey of Yale Royal in 1273, and on the 2nd. of Au¬ gust 1277, he laid the first stone on the scite of the High Altar in the presence of his Queen Eleanor and an immense concourse of the nobility. In 1278, King Edward a nd his Queen Eleanor, founded the parochi- al C hapel of Macclesfield, dedicate(T~td Michael and now commonly caReSftheold Church. The privileges granted by King Edward to the Bur¬ gesses of Macclesfield were confirmed to their Heirs and Successors for ever, by Edward III. at York, on the 26th. day of February, 1334; by Richard II. at Westminster, on the 14th. day of November, 1390; and by Edward IV. the 30th. day of January, 1465. These Charters were recited and confirmed by Queen Elizabeth at Westminster, the 13th. of May, in the sixth year of her reign, A. D ; 1564, and by another Charter of Elizabeth, the 1st. day of September, in the thirty-seventh year of her reign, A. D. 1595. with ma¬ ny additional privileges. About the middle of the fifteenth century the cele¬ brated Humphrey Du ke of Buckingha m resided in his C astle at Macclesfield. Hjs mansion was situated on 10 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIED. the summit of an eminence to the South of St. Michael’s Church ; and the remains of part of the wall that sur¬ rounded it are yet to be seen in a narrow street, called Back Wallgate. From various records, it does not appear to have been a fortress, but what is usually termed by antiquaries, a castellated mansion. Smith in his description of Cheshire in 1585, describes it as, * ( a huge place all of stone, in manner of a castle , which belonged to the Duke of Buckingham, but now gone to decay.” Swanscow Park, near Macclesfield, is said to have belonged to the Duke of Buckingham, and tradition extols his hospitality, and the magnifi¬ cence of his establishment in this Town. This brave and faithful Nobleman was slain at the battle of Northampton on the 10th. of July, 1459, fighting for King Henry VI. against the adherents of the House of York. The competition for the Crown, which, be¬ gan between the Houses of York and Lancaster in the reign of Henry VI. was continued in the reign of his Successor Edward IV. and the flower of the English nobility perished in the struggle. Yet trade and ma¬ nufactures gradually increased, and Macclesfield par¬ ticipated the general prosperity. At this period, the town of Macclesfield was not re- markable for its manufactures, but of the rapid increase of the population, and the general want of instruction among the inhabitants, we have a document of un¬ doubted authenticity. In the year 1502, Sir John Percival, Knt. Lord Mayor of London, and a native of Macclesfield, found¬ ed and endowed a Chantry and Free Grammar School HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 11 in this town, and ordered in his bequest that lands to the yearly value of ten pounds, should be purchased for that purpose. On the Dissolution of Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII. the Chantry was suppressed, but the Free-School was re-established by King Edward VI. in the year 1552, and endowed with sixteen acres of land near Chester, and several houses in and near that city. Sir John Percival, is entitled to the veneration of the people of Macclesfield for his patriotic and muni¬ ficent legacy ; the instrument in which it was conveyed is a curious specimen of the style and orthography of the age in which it was written ; and the good Lord Mayor of London, piously and learnedly descants on the necessity of instruction, in language scarcely intel¬ ligible. It will, however, afford some gratification to the Antiquarian, and the fastidious Critic may over¬ look its defects. COPY OF THE WILL OF SIR JOHN PERCYVALE, KNIGHT, THE FIRST FOUNDER OF MACCLESFIELD FREE GRAMMAR-SCHOOL. XXVth. Jaury, M. CCCCCII. Co all IPropIr to whom this present writying indented shall come, John Percy vale, Knyght, and late Maire of the citie of London, sendith gretyng, in our Lord God evrelastyng. Whereafore this tyme, I consideryng that in the countrie of Chestre, and spe- 12 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. cially about the to Avne of Maxfild, fast by the which towne I was borne, God of his aboundant Grace hath sent and daily sendeth to the Inhabitants there eopy- ous plentie of children; to whose lernyng, bryngyng forth in conynge and virtue, right few teachers and scolemaisters been in that contre, whereby many chil¬ dren for lak of such techying and draught, in conynge fall to idleness., and consequently live dissolutely all their daies, which with the gracious mocion of the most Revrende Fader in God, and my singular good Lord, Thomas Archbishop of Yorke, hath moche stered me of such little good as God of his Grace hath me sent, to purvay a preest to sing and pray for me and my friends at Maxfild aforesaid, and there to kepe a free Gramar Scole for evermore. Of and in which matres I have dy vers and many tymes had com- munycacion with my said singular good Lord, and to the accomplishment of that my purpose, my said good Lord, as I understand, hath purveyed certain lands, rents, and heredytaments, with th’ appurtenues in the countie aforsaid, and of the same londs & tents, my said Lord being seased, hath made a state vnto cer- tyn persones to the entent afor reherced, which londs and tents. I am enformed been of the yerely value of Xmrc. for the which I have granted to pay to my Lord after the rate of Xvj. yeres purchece, whereof my mv raid Lord hath in his hands xli. vy. yot. ster- J ... ^ • l ling, that is to say, xl li. vij s. y ot. m the rest 01 an obligation of a more sume, wheryn John Savage, Knyght, stode bounde to me and L. li. in the rest ol another obligation of a more sume, wheryn my said HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 13 good Lord and other stonde bounde to me, so that of that purchace of Xmrc. by yere, there is no more be- hynde to pay but xvj li vjs. yot. And moreov. I have intreated & besought my said singular good Lord to ordeyne and purvay, at my costs and charges, after the rate of xvj years purchase, Vmrc. more above the said Xmrc. to the encrease and augmentation of the salary of the forsaid preest and scolemaistre, whereby the same preest and scolemaistre may alway be a man gra¬ duate to the better relievying with spirituall comforte of all the contre there as by plechyng and techyng, and good example givyng. The which londs and tenjs of the yerely value of Vmrc, to the said londs and tents, of the yerely value of Xmrc. my said singular good Lord, of his speciall goodness, hath granted me to purvey and ordeyne in the bestwise he can, and so to make the same londs and tents to amounte to the sume of the yerely value of Xli. Wherefore and whereupon I, the said John Percy vale, by this present writyng endented, make and declare my will as to the disposicion of all the said londs and tents, as well of the said Xmrc by yere, ready purveyed, as of the said other yerely mrc. to be purveyed, that is to wete of the said hole Xli. by yere, in the manner and form hereafter ensuying, that is to say, first and for- most I will, that myn executors, with the advice of good lerned counsell, shall see that the title, right, and interest of all the said londs and tents, of the yerely value of Xli as is aforesaid, shall stond elere, good, and sufficient to the performance of my purpose and entent aloresaid, to be executed after the maner 14 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. and founne hereunder declared, the which title, right, and enterest so found good and sufficient, I woll that myn executors without delay shall make trew payment and contentation unto my said singular good Lord, as well of the said Xvj. li vjs. yot. being behynde unpaied of the purchace of the saidyerely Xmrc. as for the hole purchace of the said yerely Vmrc yf my said good Lord do purvay therefore and purchace it; and that done, I woll that than all the same londs and tents by good and ordynate conveyaunce shall be put in feoffement to these persones folowyng, that is to say, to Edward Tytton, of Goesworth; Rauf Damport, of Damport; William Damport, of Bromall; Thomas Hyde, of Norbury; John Sutton, of Sutton ; the el¬ der of the Rygge, and Roger his eldest son: John Bridges, of Edgley; Reignold Oldfield, and John his eldest son ; John Worth, of Tetrynton, the elder ; and John his eldest son ; Thomas Sherygley, of Berystowe, the elder, and Thomas his eldest son; Roger Rowe and Richard his eldest son. To hold to them and to theyr heires for ever, to the intent that they and their heires of thissues and pfects of all the said lands and tents shall fynde and susteyne a virtues preest conynge in gramer and graduate. The same preest to sing and say his devyne svice daily as his disposicione shall be, in the parishe chirch of Maxfild aforsaid, praiying for my soule and the soule of Dame Thomasyne my wife, the soules also of our faders, moders, benefactors, and the soule of Richard Sutton, gentilman, for the good and holsome counsell which he hath givenme to the pfourmance of this my will, and for all Xan soules. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 15 And I woll that the same preest shall alway keep and contynew in the said town of Maxfild a free gramer Scole, techyng their gentilmen’s sonnes, and other good menn’s children of the towne and countre there¬ abouts, whereby they shall now grow in conyng and virtue to the laude and praise of Almighty God, and to their own comfort and pfite. And I woll that the said preest and his scolers with hym, every evenyng on fesyall or working daies, shall sing afore some image of my lady in the said church, an antempue of our blessed lady, and after antempue doon, to say the psalme of De P fundis, with the collects for my soul and other soules aforsaid. And I wolle that the said preest daily in his mass afore his first lavatory at the south ende of the Awter shall turn him about to the people and there say the psalme of De P fundis with¬ out the collect for my soule and other soules aforesaid. And that the same preest with his scholers, every yere about such time of the yere as it shall hap. me to deceas shall hold and keep in the chircli of Maxfield aforesaid, myn obyte or anniversary by note, that is to say, place- be and dirige ow. night, and masse of requyem on the morrow folowyng, praiying for my soul and other souls afore reherced, Also I woll, that the said preest shall, well, ovsee the said scholers, and cause theym every holyday to be at the said chirch thereat, the time of Mateyns masse and Even Song there helping to syng, and to say their services well and virtuously, without jaulklyng or talkyng, or other idell occupation. And I woll that the said preest shall alway be chosen elect, and admitted to the said s^vice by my ffeoffes of the said 16 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. londs and tents first-named in the deed of feoffment of the same then levyng, and he so chosen" and admitted to contynew in the same svice as long as he shall be of good and virtuous disposicion, and duly keep his svice and gramer-scole as is aforesaid. And yf at any time hereafter it shall hapen, the said preest oceupyng for the time the svice aforesaid, to be of unsad and unver- tuous disposicion and not duelie to keep his said svice and the said gramer scole according to my will afore¬ said ; I will, that than they my first-med ffeoffes of the said londs and tents then lyvyng shall give warning, or cause warning to be given to the preest to avoid the said service at the end of a quarter next, after such warning had, within the which time, I will, that the said my feoffe first named, then lyvying, shall provide for another preest to come and entre the said price at the said quarter’s end, he to syng and say his mass and devyne svice, and to kepe and contynew the said gra¬ mer-scole and all other things, to doo as I have afore willed and assigned. And then, that preest so of new chosen and admitted, to cony new the same svice as long as he shall be sadde and vertuous, and duly kepe the articles of my will as aforsaid. And ells to be warned and ammoved from the said svice, and another there¬ to be admytted in the manner and fourme afore reher- ced without delay, and so as oft as such case shall ha- pin in tyme to come. And also like elleccion to be made and had of a preest to the said svice as often as the sd. Isvice by deth, promocion, livyng, or other¬ wise shall hap to be void in tyme to come; so that the said preest’s service and gramar-scole shall alwaie be HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 17 kept and continevved according to llie trew meanyng of my will above declared. Provided always that my very will is lor the trust and confidens which I have in the sadde disposicion, and conyng of my kylinesman, Maister William Bridgys ; that the same Maister Wil¬ liam shall have, hold, keep, and occupye the said svice and grainer schole abovesaid, as long as hit shall please hym, without any expulsion or ammovyng from the same. And I woll that whensoever it shall hap hereafter the said ffeoffes by deth to mynyshe and come to the nm. bre of iiij only, that than those iiij. shall make a state of the said londs and tents, and other prmysses unto the lieires apparent of those iiij feoffes, that so shall happen to outlive, and to the heirs of all those feoffes that than shall happen to be deceas¬ ed, if they be mete or convenyent, therefore and to other discretiones in a convenyent nombre. To hold to them all, and to their heires, in fee to th’ use of the trewe pfourmance of this my will above declared. And in this mannerwise, the sd. ffeoffment to be renued at ev’ry tyme when the ffeoffes shall hereafter mynyshe and come to the nu bre of iiiij only. To the intent that my said will shall always mowe trueiy be kept, executed, and plormed in the man. and fourme afore reherced. And i will, that the said first named ffeoffes lyvying, and tor the tyme being, shall alway from tyme to tyme, and as they shall think best, make and depute a sadde and discrete psone to ovsce the said londs and tents, and the necessary reparations of the same, and to be rent-gatherer of the issues and profits of the same, and to pay the preest his salary quarterly, and he to be ac- D 18 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. countable in that behalf unto the iiij first named ffeof- fees for the time being, as often as he shall be thereto called, and he to have for his labour and besynesse about the same, yearly, vj.s. vij d. And I will, that all the residue and surplusage of the said yearly Xli. above the repacions of the said lands and tents, and other ordinary and casual charges of the same, and over the said yerely vjs. viij d for the wags of, the rent gatherer shall always go and remain to the said preest for his salary and wage. And I will, if it so happen, that by the advice of such learned counsel as my Execu¬ tors shall call to see the surety of the title of the said lands and tents purchased, and to be purchased, it be thought that the same title be not good and sufficient to maintain and continue my intent and will afore- reherced, that then my Executors, with the good favor of my said Lord, and with the money remaining to that intent in his hands as is aforesaid, and also without mo- ney of mine necessary to the pfourmance of my said will, within two years next after my decease, shall pur- chase and buy other lands and tents to like value with¬ in the said town of Maxfield, and nyghe thereabouts, whereof the title by the said learned counsel shall be thought good and sufficient, and them cause to be put in ffeoffement, as is aforesaid, to the true performance of this my will in that behalf; in which case and in all other things, this mine intent and purpose concerning, I put singular trust and confidence in my said good Lord beseeching him, all things therein to do as shall be thought necessary and needful by the said learned counsel and that it may please him of his charitable HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 19 disposition to be good maytenor and consevator of this my power, will, and intent afore rehersed. And I will, furthermore, that if such londs and tents to the yearly value of Xli. being of clear title as is aforesaid, in or nigh the said town of Maxfield, to the pfourmance of this my will, neither by my said Lord, nor by mine Executors can be purchased and bought within the said two years next, after my decease; that then, all the money appointed as is abovesaid for the said pur¬ chase, as well that which remaineth in my said Lord’s hands, as the reineuut shall be disposed by my execu¬ tors named in my testament of my movable goods in deeds of alms, and works of charity, as they seem best to the pleasure of God for the help and comfort of my soul. In witnesse of which premises to either p.te of this my will indented, I have put my seale, written the XXY. day of January, the year of our Lord God M. ffyve hundred and two, and the xviij yere of the reigne of King Henry the vij^- beyng witnesses at the scalyng of the same John Pecche, knyght; John Hert, gentilman; Robert Fenrother, goldsmyth; Ro¬ bert Gowsell, m.chant haberdasher; Henry Wodecok, Robert Cressy, notarys'; George Harward, taillor, and others. (seal) [annexed] Made y‘* the Cownter parte of this Will, and of the deeds and the evidences belongyng to the said lands, th’ other pte. remaynyth in the abbey of West Chester, and the other pte., with the evydence, re¬ maineth in the Taylour’s Hall, in the City of London. 20 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. This memorial of the piety and beneficence of Sir John Percival, affords a proof of the low state of learning, and the prevalence of superstition in Eng¬ land at the commencement of the sixteenth century. According to his bequest, an edifice was erected near St. Michael’s Church, which served the twofold pur¬ pose of devotional exercises, and grammatical instruc¬ tion ; and this establishment probably gave rise to the tradition, that Thomas Savage, Archbishop of York, who was a native of Macclesfield, founded a college of secular priests or canons in this town. The Arch¬ bishop certainly built a chapel connected with St. Mi¬ chael’s Church, of which it is the south aisle. He died in the year 1508, and his heart was buried in this chapel, which was for several ages afterwards the bu-, rial-place of the Savages, but now belongs to Marquis Cholmondeley. There are but few records of the progressive in¬ crease of the town of Macclesfield and its population at this early period of its history; but that it was dis¬ tinguished for the loyalty and public spirit of the in¬ habitants is evident from the fact recorded in the Cor¬ poration books, that Sir John Savage, the Mayor, and several of the Burgesses were slain at Flodden Field , in the year From this circumstance the tiadi- tion doubtless originated, that the men of Maccles¬ field distinguished themselves with so much ardour at the Battle of Bosworth, in the cause of the Earl of Richmond, that the major part of them fell; insomuch that, the survivors were obliged to petition the victo¬ rious Prince, to grant them the continuance of their HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 21 charter, though they could not muster a sufficient number of Aldermen to constitute a corporation. Dr. Aiken, in his Description of the Country round Man¬ chester, asserts, that a copy of the petition to King Henry VII, is in the town-chest. This assertion is contradicted by Messrs. Lysons, in their History of Cheshire, who insist that no such copy of a petition is now in existence, and no charter of the tenor alluded to ever was granted to the Burgesses. It might here be said in the words of the satirist, “ Who shall decide when Doctors disagree? 1 ' The tradition is evidently the fabrication of some vain advocate for the antiquity and importance of Maccles¬ field, and the loyalty of its inhabitants; yet their loy¬ alty on this occasion had the fact been verified, would have been extremely questionable; since according to the statement, they took up arms against Richard III. who then held the sceptre of England. Farther to disprove this vague, and indeed unimportant tradition, it is remarkable, that Henry VII. after his assumption of Royal Authority, conferred no charter or immunity on the Corporation of Macclesfield. This neglect of adherents who had risked their lives in his cause would have been both ungrateful and impolitic in Henry, who was a prudent and patriotic Prince. But as the tradition represented the warriors of Macclesfield as brave and adventurous, it gratified the egotism of the people ; for as military fame is still considered the highest honour among mankind, even the industrious manufacturers of this flourishing town, are gratified 22 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. with the idea of the heroism of their ancestors. When will the false glory attached to homicide in the field'of battle, be considered in its true light, as the honorary distinction conferred on splendid murder ? When will rational beings, and nominal Christians too, cease to boast of their prowess in the infliction of pain, and the destruction of God’s noblest work in the visible creation ? When do we hear the great or the brave extolled for saving the lives of others, or mitigating human misery? When Avas a man ennobled' by a Ruler for an act of philanthropy, and how many Grand Crosses have there been conferred on mo¬ dern worthies for their pre-eminence in the art of killing men ? Macclesfield-Park, Avhich belonged the Savages in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, extended nearly a mile to the south and south-Avest of the town. On a spot still called the Castle-field, near the highway between Macclesfield and Congleton, some vestures of the ancient castellated mansion of the Sa- o vages may yet be traced. It was the residence of that family for ages, and remarkable for being the birth¬ place of the celebrated Archbishop Savage. The demesne afterwards became the property of Lord Cholmondley, who sold it in small lots for build- ing upon; and the principal part of it is now covered with new streets and well built houses. A farther account will be given of the antiquities of the town in the description of St. Michael’s Church, and the monuments in the tAVO chapels connected with that edifice. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 23 When Prince Edward was taken prisoner by the rebellious Barons at Hereford, he surrendered up his Earldom of Chester to Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, as his ransom.^ How long Simon retained possession of the county of Chester is uncertain; he probably resigned it up to the Crown on the accom¬ modation of the dispute between King Henry III. and the Barons; for in the Parliament summoned by Ed¬ ward I. in the year 1331 his fourth son Edward of Carnarvon, being his eldest son then living, was mentioned by the titles of “ Edward Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester our most dear Son.” * Camden's Britannia. 24 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. CHAPTER II. Charter granted to the Burgesses of Macclesfield by Queen Eliza¬ beth—Charter granted by Charles II. By the Charter of Elizabeth, granted to the Corpo¬ ration of Macclesfield on the 1st of September, in the 37th year of her reign, A. D. 1598 : many valuable immunities were conferred on the Burgesses by her Majesty. The glorious reign of Elizabeth was equal¬ ly memorable for the internal prosperity of the nation; the achievements of British warriors by sea and land in defence of the State, and for the extension and ag¬ grandizement of its power; and the firm re-establish¬ ment of the Protestant Religion upon the imperish¬ able basis of Evangelical Truth. Prudent herself, and aided by a wise Council, this Queen was worthy to reign over a great and free people; an d that l ove of li terature which she had cherished during her retire¬ ment when her sister Mary reigned, enabled her to dictate charters and edicts with a precision and good sense, unattained by her predecessors. Of this fact, the following Charter which she granted to the inha¬ bitants of Macclesfield will afford a complete illustra¬ tion : “ The town of Macclesfield may be, and remain for ever hereafter, a free Borough of itself; and the Bur¬ gesses may and shall be a Body Corporate and Politic, by the name of Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Macclesfield : and by the same name HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 25 have a perpetual succession. The Burgesses shall be capable in law to have lands, tenements, &c. to themselves, and their successors, in fee perpetually; and also to give the lands and tenements by the name aforesaid. They may have a common Seal, to break it at their pleasure. One Mayor and two Aldermen in number only of the Burgesses. The Mayor and Al¬ dermen to continue in their offices until the feast of St. Michael the Arch-Angel; and from the said feast until other Burgesses shall be appointed and sworn. Those Officers, and twenty-four men of the better and more honest Burgesses and Counsellors of the said Borough, to be continued in the said office as long as they behave themselves well. A head steward of the Borough afore¬ said, with power of appointing one or more learned in the law, to be Deputies of the said Steward. The Head Steward to be continued during life. His Deputy to be chosen by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Capital Burgess¬ es for one year. The Mayor, Aldermen, and Capital Burgesses have authority to make such bye laws as may be requisite for the good government of the Borough. The Mayor and Aldermen to be chosen yearly, on the first Friday after the feast of St. Michael, and to be sworn on the Friday following. The Mayor, Aider- men and Capital Burgesses to be chosen by themselves. An officer to be called the Serjeant at Mace for attend¬ ance upon the Mayor, and for executing processes, to be chosen yearly by the Mayor on the Friday after the least of St. Michael. The Serjeant at Mace in the Borough aforesaid, shall carry a Mace of Gold, or Silver, engraved and adorned tvjth the arms of the E HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 26 Kingdom of England, before the Mayor, every where in the Borough aforesaid, and the liberties and pre¬ cincts thereof. The Corporation may yearly keep ano- feast day, or fair, on the last day of June, and the fol¬ lowing day ; with a Court of Pie Pondre, or Dusty Feet. The Mayor, Head Steward, and one Aider- man, shall do justice.” This Charter was dated Sept. 1, in the 37th year pf the Queen’s Reign, A. D. 1598. In 1685, the last year of the reign of King Charles II. his Majesty granted a very comprehensive Charter to the Borough of Macclesfield. As this is their last Charter, and that under which the Officers of the Cor¬ poration act, and as it contains the names of the May¬ or, Aldermen, Capital Burgesses, Recorder, and Co¬ roner, appointed by his Majesty, it must be peculiarly interesting to their descendants. This Charter is genu¬ ine, being carefully translated from the original Latin, and corrected. It will doubtless gratify the curiosity of the inhabitants of Macclesfield in general, as an original and valuable document, which was never be¬ fore made public ; and may hereafter be useful to the freemen of the Borough for occasional reference. A TRANSLATION OF THE CHARTER GRANTED BY KING CHARLES THE SECOND TO THE BURGESSES OF MACCLESFIELD, IN THE YEAR 1685. Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. To whomsoever our present letters shall come, health*. Know ye, that we, graciously affecting. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 27 and willing the bettering of our Borough of Maccles¬ field, in the County of Chester, that hereafter, for ever, there may and shall be one sure and undoubted me¬ thod in that Borough, of and for the keeping of our peace, and the good ruling and government of our Borough aforesaid, and of our people therein inhabit¬ ing, and others resorting thereto, and that the said Borough in all future times, may be and remain a Bo¬ rough of peace and quietness, to the fear and terror of the wicked, and a reward of the good, and that our peace, and other acts of justice and good government may be better kept and done therein, hoping that if the said inhabitants of the Borough aforesaid, might by our grant enjoy more ample liberties, and privileges, then they might think themselves more especially strongly bound to employ and show those services, which they are able, to us, our heirs, and successors: of our special grace, and our certain knowledge, and mere motion, we have ordained, constituted, granted, de¬ clared, and by these presents, for ourselves, our heirs, and successors, we ordain, constitute, grant, and de¬ clare, that the aforesaid borough of Macclesfield, in our County of Chester, may be and remain for ever here¬ after, a free Borough of itself; and that the Burgesses and Inhabitants of the Borough aforesaid, for the time to come for ever, may be and endure by virtue of these presents a body Corporate and Politick, in reality, deed and name, by the name of Mayor, Aldermen, and Bur¬ gesses, of Macclesfield, in the County of Chester. And we lor ourselves, our heirs, and successors, real¬ ly and fully, erect, make, ordain, constitute, and de« 28 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. clare, by these presents, them and their successors, by the name of Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Macclesfield, in the County of Chester, a body Corporate and Politick in reality and name; and that by that name they may have perpetual successions. That they and their successors, by the name of Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses, of the Borough of Maccles¬ field, in the County of Chester, may be and shall be capable in law to have, obtain, receive, and possess Ma¬ nors, Messuages, Lands, Tenements, Liberties, Privi¬ leges, Jurisdictions, Hereditaments whatsoever, to themselves and their successors in fee and perpetuity ; or for the term of life, lives, or years, or otherwise, by any legal method, and also Goods and Chattels, and all other things of whatsoever sort, nature, or kind they may be, and also to give and assign the same Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, Goods and Chattels, or any parcels thereof, to do and execute all other acts and things by the name aforesaid, and that by the same name of Mayor, Alderman, and Burgess¬ es of the Borough of Macclesfield, they shall and may be able to plead and to be impleaded ; to answer and to be answered; to defend and to be defended; in whatsoever Courts, Place, and Places, and before whatsoever Judges, Justices, and other persons, and officers of our heirs and successors, in all and singular places, suits, complaints, causes, matters, and demands whatsoever, of whatsover nature and kind they may be, in the same manner and form as any other our liege subjects of this our kingdom of England, or any other body Corporate and Politick, within our kingdom of HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 29 England, can or may be able to have, obtain, receive, possess, give, grant, &c. and plead and be impleaded, answer and to be answered, defend and be defended. The Mayor, Alderman, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their successors, may break, change, and make new their Seal at their pleasure from time to time, as to them shall seem better to be done. We will also, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, we grant and declare, that for ever hereafter, there may be, and shall be, within the Borough aforesaid, several Members and Officers nominated and ap¬ pointed, in form below in these presents mentioned. One good and discreet man shall and may be chosen and appointed, to be called Mayor of the Borough aforesaid. Twenty-four good and discreet men shall be called Capital Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, of which Capital Burgesses we will the Mayor and two Aldermen of the Borough aforesaid for the time being, to be three. One good and discreet man, skilled in the laws of England, who may and shall be called the Common Clerk, Clerk of the Statutes, and Clerk of the Peace, of the Borough aforesaid. For the better executing of our will in this part, we have assigned, nominated, constituted, and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we assign, nominate, constitute, and make our beloved Samuel Watson, gentleman, to be now and after the first, and new Mayor of the Borough aforesaid, to be continued in the first office from the date of these pre¬ sents until the Friday next after the feast of St. Mi¬ chael the Arch-Angel, now next following, if the said 30 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. Samuel Watson, so long shall live ; and from thence until another shall be chosen, appointed, and sworn to the office of a Mayor of the Borough aforesaid. And we have assigned, nominated, constituted, and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, do assign, nominate, constitute, and make our beloved Henry Barber and Roger Bancroft, to be now and hereafter the first and new Aldermen, of the Borough aforesaid; and we have assigned, nominated, constitut¬ ed, and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, do assign, nominate, constitute, and make the said Samuel Watson, and our beloved Joshua Booth, Anthony Booth, and aforesaid Henry Barber, and Roger Bancroft, and our beloved Samuel Black- Ieah, Henry Davie, William Lunt, Thomas Rode, Urian Dean, Samuel Leak, Thomas Wright, John Blagge, John Hollinshade, George Low, Edward Morecrof, Henry Girton, Thomas Thornley, Edward Stapleton, Edward Cherry, George Burgess, Thomas Oldham, Francis Bostock, and John Houghton, to be now and hereafter, the first and new Capital Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid. Willing that the first Al¬ derman, and Capital Burgesses, shall continue in their said offices respectively during such time, and in such manner as the Alderman and Capital Burgesses for the space of seven years now last past, have continued res¬ pectively ; and we have assigned, named, constituted, and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, do assign, name, constitute, and make our beloved John Moreton, Esquire, to be now and hereaf¬ ter the first and new Recorder of the Borough afore- HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 31 said ; and we have assigned, named, constituted, and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, do assign, name, constitute, and make the said George Burgess, to be now and hereafter the first Coroner, Common Clerk, Clerk of the Statutes, and Clerk of the Peace of the Borough aforesaid. More¬ over, we will, and of our abundant special grace and of our certain knowledge and mere motion, for us, our heirs, and successors, do grant to the Mayor Aider- men, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid and their successors, that the new Mayor of the Borough afore¬ said, named and constituted by these presents, and every Mayor of the said Borough hereafter to be cho¬ sen for the time being, for and during the time of his Mayoralty respectively, and for a whole year after his departing from that office, and the Recorder, and Al¬ dermen of the said Borough, to be named and chosen during the time in which they shall happen to be in their office respectively, and the said Joshua Booth, until Friday next after the feast of St. Michael the Arch-Angel, next following, the said Anthony Booth, during our good pleasure, and our heirs and successors, shall be our Justices, as well to keep the peace in the said Borough and the liberties and precincts thereof, and to do justice to all those by the Bodies, according to the law and customs of our kingdom of England, that shall threaten any of our people of his Body, or burning his houses ; and to compel them to find suffi¬ cient security of the peace for his good behaviour to¬ wards us, and our people. To preserve correct the statutes concerning Artificers and Labourers, Weight 32 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. and Measure, within the Borough aforesaid, and the liberties and precincts thereof, and we will and grant to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the Mayor, Re¬ corder, Aldermen of the Borough aforesaid, and the said Anthony Booth, shall as aforesaid be constituted Justices of the Peace by virtue of these presents, or any three or more of them, of whom the Mayor and Record¬ er of the Borough aforesaid for the time being,' we will to be two, shall and may appoint, keep, and hold, a Sessions of the peace in the same manner and form as any other Justices, to preserve the peace, or to hear and determine misdeeds or transgressions committed, may and can, or shall or may be able to assign and be assigned, in any County of England for the future. And that every such Mayor for and during the time of his Mayoralty respectively, and for one whole year af¬ ter his going out of that office respectively, and all and every such Recorder and Alderman of the Borough aforesaid, and the aforesaid Joshua Booth, and the said Anthony Booth, or any three of them, of whom we will the Mayor and Recorder of the Borough aforesaid for the time being to be two, may execute and do all other things within the Borough aforesaid and the liberty and precincts thereof, as other our Justice of the Peace in any County of our kingdom of England, by the law* and statutes of the said kingdom of England ought or can do. Nevertheless, that they may not in any wise proceed hereafter to determine upon any discovery of murder or felony, or any other matters touching the loss of life or limbs within the Borough aforesaid, or HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 33 the liberties and precincts of the same, without our Special Commands, or our heirs and successors, and ne¬ vertheless we will, and by these presents* for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their suc¬ cessors for ever, that every such Mayor of this Borough during the term of his Mayoralty, and for one whole year after his going out of that office, and every such Recorder and Alderman of the said Borough for the time being, and the said Joshua Booth and Anthony Booth, or any three of them, of whom we will the Maj¬ or and Recorder of the said Borough for the time be¬ ing to be two ; may and shall be able to do, enquire in¬ to, finish and determine all and other singular transgres¬ sions, offences, defects, things, matters, and articles, which belong to a Justice of the Peace, within the Bo¬ rough aforesaid, the liberties and precincts thereof, for ever, as fully, freely and wholly, and in as ample a man¬ ner and form as any other Justices of our peace, and our heirs and successors, in any Comity within our king¬ dom of England, by the laws and statutes of the said kingdom, can or shall be able to enquire into, hear, or determine. And furthermore, of our abundant grace, and our certain knowledge, and mere motion, we have given and granted, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, ive give and grant to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their successors, all, and all manner of fines and amercements whatsoever, in any Sessions of the peace within the Borough aforesaid, from time to time here¬ after, to be assigned, approved, and adjudged for any F 34 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. offences, contempts, transgressions, misprisions, and other effects and articles whatsoever, before the said Justice of the peace within the said Borough, the liber¬ ties and precincts thereof, from time to time; to be en¬ quired into, heard, finished, or determined ; and that it may be and shall well be lawful to the Mayor, Aider- men, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their successors, all, and all singular, such fines and amerce¬ ments as above said, given, and granted by these pre¬ sents, to take, levy and collect by the serjeant at Mace, and the proper servants of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, from time to time, in due manner ; and the same to the need and use of that said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Bo¬ rough aforesaid, and their successors, to have and en¬ joy without any impediment whatsoever, from us, our heirs or successors. We will moreover, and by these presents firmly command, that Samuel Watson named in these presents to be Mayor of the Borough afore¬ said, before he be admitted to execute the several offi¬ ces of Mayor and Capital Burgess of the Borough aforesaid, and trust of a Justice of the peace respec¬ tively within the Borough aforesaid, shall take the corporal oath on God’s Holy Evangelists for the due execution of the office of Mayor, or trust of a Justice of the peace within the Borough aforesaid, and also the oath in that part by the laws and statutes of this king¬ dom, provided to be taken by a Justice of peace, before the said Joshua Booth. To which said Joshua Booth, we give and grant by these presents, full power and authority of giving and administering such sacraments HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 35 and oaths to the aforesaid Samuel Watson, without any other warrant or commission from us on that part to be procured or obtained. We also ordain, and by these presents firmly command, that the Recorder and Al¬ dermen of the Borough aforesaid, and the said Joshua Booth, and Anthony Booth by these presents no¬ minated and constituted, before they, or any of them be admitted to the execution of their offices respective¬ ly, and to the trust of Justice of the peace of the Bo¬ rough aforesaid, they and every of them, shall take the eorporal oath on God’s Holy Evangelists for the due execution of their offices respectively, within the Bo¬ rough aforesaid, required to be taken by Justices of peace; and also the Capital Burgesses, and Common Clerk of the Borough aforesaid, in these presents no¬ minated and constituted, before they, or any of them l>e admitted to the execution of their offices, shall severally take the corporal oath, well and faithfully to execute such things as touch their offices respective¬ ly, before the said Samuel Watson. To which Samuel Watson, we give and grant all power and authority of giving and administering such sacraments and oaths, to the said Justices of the peace, and officers or per¬ sons aforesaid respectively, without any other warrant or commission from us, on that part to be procuredor obtained. Furthermore we will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses ot the Borough aforesaid for the time being, that the Serjeants at Mace within the Borough aloresaid, who are nominated or constituted in these presents, and >vho use to be within the Borough SB 36 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. afore ad, the liberties and precincts thereof, from henceforth for ever, in convenient time after the date of these presents, may and shall be chosen, appointed, and sworn by, and before the Mayor of the Borough aforesaid for the time being, or by such person and in such manner and form as heretofore hath been used by ancient custom in the said Borough, any thing in these presents to the contrary notwithstanding. We further will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, give and grant to the aforesaid Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid and their successors, that whensoever it shall happen that any Mayor, Alderman, or Capital Burgess of the Borough aforesaid for the time being shall die, or be removed, or go out of his or their office, or offices, whom and which we will to be removable, and re¬ moved for a reasonable cause, as heretofore it hath been accustomed in the said Borough ; or in case of any vacancy of the inferior officers of the Borough aforesaid, another fit person from time to time shall be chosen, sworn, and appointed to and in their offices respectively in due manner, by such person and in such place and manner, as hath been used in the said Borough for the space of seven years now last past; and he and they shall execute their office or offices, place or places, to which he or they shall be so chosen and sworn, for such time and times; and he or they shall be removed from thence in such manner as in the like cases hath been accustomed in the Borough aforesaid. We further will, and reserve to us, our heirs, and suc¬ cessors, full power and authority from time to time, HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 37 and at ail times hereafter, of constituting and appoint- ing by our commission, or our heirs and successors, one or more persons to be Justices of our peace, our heirs and successors within the Borough aforesaid, the liberties, limits, and precincts thereof. Provided always and by these presents we reserve to us, our heirs, and successors, full power and authority from time to time, and at all times hereafter, at the will and good plea¬ sure of us, our heirs, and successors, by any order of us, our heirs, and successors made in privy council, and un¬ der the seal of the said privy council signified ; to re¬ move the Mayor, or Recorder, Common Clerk, Coro¬ ner, and any and every of the Aldermen, Justice of the peace, Capital Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, by these presents nominated and constituted, or hereaf¬ ter to be chosen or nominated ; and to declare him or them to be removed, &c. as often as we, our heirs, and successors, by any such order made in privy council, shall declare such Mayor, Recorder, Common Clerk, or any or every of the Aldermen, Justices, or Capital Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid for the time being, him or them so declared or to be declared, to be remov¬ ed as aforesaid : that then, and so often, the Mayor, Recorder, Common Clerk, Coroner, and any and eve¬ ry of the Aldermen, Justices, or Capital Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, for the time being, he or they so declared or to be declared, to be removed, shall be removed from their several and respective offices. Ipso facto , and without any further process, really and to all intents and purposes whatsoever; and this a» the case shall so happen, any thing to the contrary thereof notwithstanding. 88 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. We further will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors grant, to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their suc¬ cessors, that the Mayor and Common Clerk of the Borough aforesaid, for the time being, may and shall have full power and authority of receiving whatsoever recognizance between Merchant and Merchant, and to make execution thereupon according to the form of the statute of Merchants, and the statute of Acton Burnal ordained and provided ; and that the Com¬ mon Clerk of the Borough aforesaid for the time be¬ ing, shall be Clerk of the statutes aforesaid ; and we create and make the said Mayor, and said Common Clerk of the borough aforesaid, for our Mayor and Clerk, and our heirs and successors, and by these pre¬ sents, for us, our heirs and successors, we constitute and appoint them to receive and write the recognizance aforesaid, according to the form of the statutes afore¬ said. Furthermore, we will, and for us, our heirs, and successors do grant to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Bur¬ gesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their successors for the time being, or the major part of them, of Avhom we will the Mayor to be one, that they may and shall have full power and authority of nominating, choosing, and swearing one man of the Borough aforesaid, to the office of Coroner of the Borough aforesaid, to be con¬ tinued in the said office for one whole year next follow¬ ing. Furthermore, we will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors do grant to the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their success- HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 39 ors,may have within the said Borough, a prison for the preserving and keeping all and singular prisoners at¬ tached or to be attached, or to be committed or adjudg¬ ed to prison, in what manner soever within the Borough aforesaid, the liberty and precincts thereof as well at the sentence, command, and suit of us, our heirs and success¬ ors, as others whomsoever abiding there, according to the law and custom of our kingdom of England. We grant also to the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid and their successors, that they and their successors may and shall have within the Borough aforesaid, an house of correction for the punishment and correctiQn of evil-doers, malefactors, and other bad persons ; and we will and grant, that the said prison and house of correction granted by these presents, as also the prison heretofore granted to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid and their suc¬ cessors, for evil causes, may be, and shall be held res¬ pectively in such places within the Borough aforesaid, the liberty and precincts thereof, as the Mayor, with consent of the Aldermen of the Borough aforesaid for the time being shall appoint. We will also, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors do grant to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Bo¬ rough aforesaid and their successors, that as often as it shall happen that the Recorder, Common Clerk, or Coroner of the Borough aforesaid for the time being shall die, or be removed, or go out of his or their office; so often it shall and may be lawful to the Mayor, Al¬ dermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid and their successors, or the major jjart of them, of whom the 40 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. Mayor for the time being shall be one, to nominate, choose, and constitute one or more persons in the offi¬ ces of him, or them, so dead,-removed, or going out as aforesaid. We command also, and grant, that the Re¬ corder, Common Clerk, and Coroner in the Borough aforesaid to be chosen, before they or any of them be admitted to the execution of their offices respectively, they and every of them, shall take the corporal oaths, for the due execution of their offices, and trusts, before the Mayor, Aldermen, and Capital Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, or the major part of them, of whom the Mayor for the time being, we rvill to be one. To which said Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid for the time being, or the major part of them as aforesaid, we give and grant by these presents, full power and authority of giving and administering the oaths as aforesaid, to the officers aforesaid respectively, without any other warrant or commission from us, our heirs or sucessors on that part to be obtained or pro¬ cured. We will furthermore, and command, and grant that the Recorder and Aldermen hereafter to be cho¬ sen, before they or any of them be admitted to the exe¬ cution of their offices respectively, and trust of the Justices of the peace of the Borough aforesaid, they and every of them shall take the corporal oath on God’s Holy Evangelist for the due execution of their offices, and trust of the Justices of the peace within the Borough aforesaid, and also the oath on that part by the laws and statutes of this our kingdom of England provided, and required to be taken by the Justices of peace before the Mayor of the Borough aforesaid for 41 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. the time being to which the said Mayor, we give and grant by these presents, full power and authority ol giving and administering such sacraments, and oaths, to the Officers and Justices aforesaid hereafter to be chosen without any other warrant from us, our heirs, or successors on that part to be procured and obtained. We also will and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, grant to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid and their succes¬ sors, that they and their successors for ever hereafter, may have, hold, keep, and shall and may be able to have, hold, and keep two feast days or fairs for the buying and selling of all, and all manner of goods, cattle, wares, and merchandize. One of them to be held in and upon the 25th day of April, every year; and the other of the feast days or fairs, to be held in and upon the 23d day of Sept, every year, except¬ ing either of those days happen to be upon the Lord’s day; and then to be held, and kept in and upon Mon¬ day next following the said feast day or fair respec¬ tively, at some convenient place within the Borough aforesaid, the liberties, and precincts thereof, as shall seem meet to the Mayor or Aldermen, and Capital Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, or the Major- part of them ; together with the Court of Pie Pondre , or Dusty Feet, in the time of the feast day, or fair aforesaid, respectively to be liolden; with all customs, tolls, stallages, packages, lines and amercements, and all other profits, commodities, advantages, and emoluments whatsoever, to such feast days or fairs aforesaid, and Court of Pic Pondre , belonging, aris- 42 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. ing, happening and contingent, provided that the said feast days or fairs, or either of them, shall not then be to the hurt of neighbouring feast days or fairs. Furthermore, of our abundant special grace, and certain knowledge, and mere motion, we have given and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, do give and grant to the afore¬ said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the said Borough aforesaid and their successors, special liber¬ ty, and free lawful power, faculty, and authority, of possessing to them and their successors for ever. Manors, Messuages, Lands, Tenements, Meadows, Pastures, Wood, Underwood, Rectories, Tithes, Rents, Revenues, and other Hereditaments whatso¬ ever ; as well of us, and our successors, as of any other person or persons whatsoever; so that the said Ma¬ nors, Messuages, Lands, Tenements, and Heredita¬ ments so hereafter to be obtained, do not exceed the clear yearly value of £100. above all charges and repairs of statutes of mortmains, or any other statutes, act, ordinance, or provision heretofore had, made, published, ordained, or provided ; or any other things, cause, or matter to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding. We also give by these presents, and for us, our heirs, and successors, do grant, to all and singular subjects whomsoever, for ourselves, ourheirs^ and successors, special licence, free and lawful power, faculty, and authority, that they or any one or more of them, may or shall be able’to give, grant, sell, be¬ queath, or alienate lawfully and without hurt, Manors, Lands, Tenements, or other Heriditaments whatsb- HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. t43 ever, to the aforesaid Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgess¬ es of the Borough aforesaid, and their successors, so that all the Manors, Messuages, Lands, Tenements, and other Hereditaments, so to the said Mayor, or Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their successors aforesaid to be given, grant¬ ed, alienated, or bequeathed, do not exceed in the whole, the clear yearly rent or value of one hundred pounds, and above all charges and repairs the sta¬ tute of mortmains concerning Lands, Tenements, or any other statutes, act, ordinance, or provision here¬ tofore had, made, published, ordained, or provided, or any other things, causes, or matter whatsoever to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding. Furthermore, of our abundant special grace, and our certain knowledge, and mere motion, we have given and granted, and by these presents for us, our heirs, and successors, we give and grant, to the May¬ or, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough afore* said, and their successors, liberty and free licence, power and authority, of carrying and conveying wa¬ ter, in and through pipes or otherwise, to the Bo¬ rough of Macclesfield aforesaid, from all the springs, or from any one or other of the springs, springing or being in the common waste ground near the Borough aforesaid, where the soil belongs to us; together with the profits, commodities, and advantages from thence growing, arising, or happening. The said profits, commodities, and advantages by the Mayor, Aider- men, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, for the time being, to be disposed of and bestow ed to and 44 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. for the public good, and common utility of the Bo¬ rough and body corporate aforesaid; and for us, our heirs, and successors, we give and grant, by these presents to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their successors, full power and authority of digging the soil and highways of us, our heirs, and successors, and also of laying pipes in the said soil and highways for the conveying of the said water and springs to the Borough aforesaid. We give them also power and authority, of making conduits and cisterns to receive, and return the said water and springs, so that the soil and pavements so digged and to be digged, from time to time, be and shall be repaired, at the proper cost of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, for the time being. Moreover, of our abundant spe¬ cial grace, and our certain knowledge and mere mo¬ tion, we will, and by these presents for us, our heirs, and successors grant, give, confirm, ratify, and ap¬ point, to the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and , their successors, all manner of messuages, manors, mills, lands, mea¬ dows, passages, pasturages, woods, underwoods, rents, w r aters, rights of fishery, and to the like of¬ fices, officers, customs, liberties, franchises, immu¬ nities, exemptions, privileges, power of making and ordaining law, constitutions, acquittances, rights, lands, jurisdictions, wastes, Avaste ground, Avays, commons, markets, feast days, fairs, tolls, tollage, commodities, profits, estates, tenements, and heredi¬ taments whatsoever, as many, as great, such as, and HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 45 which the late Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Bo¬ rough aforesaid, or your predecessors, by whatsoever name, or by whatsoever names, or by whatsoever in¬ corporations, or pretext of whatsoever name, or in¬ corporation they have had, holden, used, or enjoyed, or ought to have had, held, used, or enjoyed by reason or pretext of any Charters or Letters Patent, by any of our progenitors or predecessors, late kings or queens of England, in anywise, heretofore made, granted, or confirmed, or by any other law ful me¬ thod, right, title, custom, use, or prescript, hereto¬ fore lawfully granted, used, had, or accustomed. Yet under the limitations and provisions aforesaid, to be had, held, occupied, possessed, and enjoyed by the said Mjayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Bo¬ rough aforesaid, and their successors for ever* by sucdi like service, and by which in aforesaid times they were held, and to be rendered and paid therefore to us, our heirs, and successors, such fee farm rents, servants, sums, and demands whatsoever, as many, as great, as like, and which have been wont to be rendered or paid to us heretofore, the same; or they ought to pay. Wherefore we will, and by these pre¬ sents, for us, our heirs, and successors, command firm¬ ly to be enjoyed, that the aforesaid Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough aforesaid, and their successors, may have, hold, use, and enjoy, and may and can be able to have, hold, use, and enjoy for ever, all liberties, authorities, customs, jurisdictions, franchises, exemptions, and acquittances aforesaid, according to the tenor and effect of these our Letters 46 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. Patent, without occasion or impediment, of us, our heirs, or successors, justices, sheriffs, excheator, other bailiffs, or servant of us, our heirs, or succes¬ sors whatsoever, not being willing that the said May¬ or, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough afore¬ said, and their successors or any one of them, by rea¬ son of the premises, or any of them, by us, or our heirs, or successors, justices, sheriffs, or other bailiffs, or servants for us, our heirs, or successors whatso¬ ever, should thence be molested, or grieved, or in anywise he or they should be troubled, molested, or vexed. Therefore that express mention shall be made of the true yearly value of the certainty of the pre¬ mises, or any of them, or of other gift, granted by us or any of our progenitors, or predecessors, to the afore¬ said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Macclesfield aforesaid. For testimony whereof we have made these our Letters to become Patent. Witness myself at Westminster, the 19th day of November, in the 36th year of our reign.” According to the Charter granted in 1-598 by Queen Elizabeth to the Borough of Macclesfield, the May¬ or and Capital Burgesses are empowered to make bye laws for the good government of the town. They are, “ to be chosen by themselves Hence they constitute a complete Oligarchy , and the Bur¬ gesses are without influence till admitted into the number of Aldermen. This Charter also appointed a Head Steward who with the Mayor and one Al¬ derman was to “do justice .” For this purpose perio¬ dical Courts were held at the Town Hall, but the HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 47 office of High Steward for the Crown was super¬ seded by the Charter of King Charles the Second, granted to the Corporation in 1685, which not only ratified the privileges granted to the Burgesses of Macclesfield by Prince Edward, and Queen Eliza¬ beth, but also conferred some new and valuable immunities upon this ancient Corporation. It will be seen on a review of this ample Charter, that the Burgesses were empowered to elect a Recorder, who with the Mayor and Aldermen was to “ Hold a Sessions of the peace, to hear and determine misdeeds or transgressions committed within the Borough, and the precincts thereof. Nevertheless they may not de¬ termine upon any discovery of murder or felony, or any other matter touching the loss of life or limbs within the Borough.” This Charter also grants to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses, all manner of fines and amercements at any Sessions of the peace within the Borough, to be levied by the Sergeant at Mace, and the proper servants of the Mayor; the customs, tolls, &c. on market and fair days ; the liberty and authority of conveying water in pipes or otherwise from the springs on the common to the town, “ with the profits from thence arising, by Rie Mayor, Aldermen, and Bur¬ gesses for the time being, to be disposed of and bestowed to and for the public good, and common utility of the Uorough and Body Corporate afore¬ said” The springs thus bestowed by royal munifi¬ cence are excellent, but a most exorbitant price is required by the Corporation from those householders 48 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. whom they supply with water; and hitherto the “Body Corporate and Politic.” has adhered to only one part of the injunction in the Charter, and appro¬ priated the profits to itself, totally overlooking or excluding the majority of the inhabitants of the Bo¬ rough from any share in the annual income thus ob¬ tained. The sum required is proportionate to the rent of the houses, and has within these few years been trebled, so that householders who formerly paid eight shillings yearly for water, now pay twenty-four. It is often asserted that the Corporation of Mac¬ clesfield are rich, and well they may, since they keep all the public emoluments to themselves, and the in¬ habitants of the town are compelled to pay for every improvement. Thus if a new bridge is made, an ad¬ ditional Highway Ley, as it is called in the barbarous jargon of Projectors, is levied; and since an Act of Parliament has been obtained for lighting the town, the people will doubtless have to pay pretty hand¬ somely for their peeping. According to the Charter granted by Charles the Second, the Mayor and Justices of the Borough of Macclesfield, are required by their oath to “preserve correct the statutes concerning weight and measure” but how many of them have of late years paid any at¬ tention to this solemn engagement? One Mayor, indeed, some years ago ordered a board to be fixed up in the public market with a declaration painted on it, that he would put the law in force against regraters and forestallers; this menace for a short time over¬ awed the fraudulent, but as it was not followed up HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 49 with proper vigour by the infliction of pains and pe¬ nalties, the formidable board was soon pointed at as an object of ridicule, and imposition flowed uninter¬ ruptedly in its usual channel. As a preventive of extor¬ tion, the markets should be so regulated that no green¬ grocer, huxter, or retailer, of provisions ought to be permitted to purchase any of the articles brought for sale from the farms, till the inhabitants of the town were supplied ; and in order to render this regulation of any real and permanent utility to the industrious part of the community, the people employed in the silk and cotton manufactories, and all workmen in ge¬ neral in the town and neighbourhood, ought to be paid their wages weekly on Friday evening, that they might be enabled to purchase their necessaries in Sa¬ turday’s market. The retailers of provisions in shops ought also to be interdicted under a severe penalty, from selling any of the goods purchased in the market, on the same day ; and thus, the farmers would be paid a fair price for their produce; the different arti¬ cles of food would be purchaseable at a much cheaper and more regular fate than they are at present; and the extortion of petty shopkeepers would be prevent¬ ed. Similar regulations would also reduce the price of butcher’s meat, ancj, perhaps in no other town are greater abuses practised in the shambles than in this Borough, where fleslimeat unfit for the use of any human being is frequently offered for sale without shame, and with perfect impunity. But it is among “ the rogues in grain” that the greatest abuses have hitherto been practised. To say u so HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. nothing of the inferiority of their meal and flour, it is Well known that systematic extortion has been reduced to a science by those adepts in fraud, and with a dex¬ terity peculiar to themselves they have contrived to extract a good income out of the pockets of thousands who earn weekly wages in this populous town. It is the invariable custom with several mealmen who fre¬ quent Macclesfield market, to take their meal and flour to one or other of four Alehouses , and having unloaded their carts of a principal part of their goods, they repair with a few bags to the market-house under the Town-Hall, where they demand and obtain the highest prices. They afterwards supply the bakers, and dealers in flour and meal, with sufficient quantities from their store-houses, and the public are thus left without redress, at the mercy of a most unprincipled knot of extortioners. An upright and public-spirited Mayor might soon rectify these abuses; but the task is too hard for indo¬ lence, too low for pride, too hazardous for the timid, too troublesome to the gentleman intent on self-grati¬ fication, and too unprofitable to the man of business, absorbed in the pursuit of gain. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. £1 CHAPTER III. Extracts from the Records of Macclesfield, illustrative of memorable events—Remarkable and destructive Tornado in the year 1662 — The Silk Manufacture established in Macclesfield in the seventeenth Century. Much importance has been attached by antiquaries to the records of Cities and Towns, in illustration of the progress of society in those communities, and where such annals have been regularly kept, they un¬ doubtedly afford valuable materials for the historian. But in the dark ages of monastic superstition, the use of the pen was almost exclusively confined to an indo¬ lent and avaricious clergy; the common people, and even the nobility were illiterate; and consequently, little information has been preserved of memorable transactions in the days of yore. Great cities indeed, such as London and Paris, have for many ages been peculiarly interesting as the seat of the gpvernment of the respective countries, and the mo¬ mentous events and transactions which called forth all the energies of the Jiuman mind were perpetuated by monuments, inscriptions, and the recording pen of the annalist; but in smaller communities, few memorable incidents occurred, and one generation followed ano¬ ther successively, in all the quiescence of obscurity. Such was the state of Macclesfield in common with many other towns, for centuries, and it is no disparage- <52 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. ment of the real importance of this flourishing seat of a valuable manufacture to assert the fact, that it is only in the present age that it became remarkable for its increasing prosperity, and the skill and ingenuity of its inhabitants. Macclesfield may, indeed, claim the honour of be¬ ing a Royal Manor since the thirteenth century. In the year 1261, it was the property of Prince Edward, heir apparent to the crown of England ; and in 1210 it was conferred by that prince upon his Consort Ele¬ anor. When lie ascended the throne in 1272, by the title of Edward the First, his Queen still retained the Manor of Macclesfield, and in 1270, she came to this tow n, and founded the parochial Chapel of St. Mi¬ chael, now called the Old Church. We have no ac¬ count of the pompous processions and other solemni¬ ties of that memorable event, when Eleanor, Queen of England, at once honoured the Burgesses with a visit, and a peculiar mark of her royal condescension. From that period till the reign of Edward the Fourth, Macclesfield continued an obscure place, in a remote part of Cheshire, and only remarkable for its extensive forest. In that respect indeed it seems to have had some claim to the attention of the Sovereign, for Edward appointed Thomas Lord Stanley to the offices of Master-forrester of the Forest of Maccles¬ field, and hereditary Steward of the Courts of the Li¬ berty and Hundred. These offices have since conti¬ nued in the family, except during the interregnum, when Oliver Cromwell conferred them on Sir William Brerefon ; but on the restoration in 1680, they re^ •\erfed to the House of Stanley. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD 53 The records of Macclesfield principally consist, of the transactions in the Court Leet and View of Frank Pledge, and the Court of Record, held monthly for the Liberty of the Hundred, and for the Manor and Forest of Macclesfield, by the Deputy Steward of the Earl of Derby. But they are mostly a dry detail of petty transactions, equally uninteresting and unwor¬ thy of notice, with the exception of the following brief but curious memoranda. In the year 1513, Sir Edmund Savage, Mayor of Macclesfield, and several of the Burgesses of that town, fell at the Battle of Flodden Field, fought be- tween the English, commanded by the Earl of Surrey, and the Scotch, led by their King, James the Fourth, in person, in which the latter were discomfited, and their sovereign slain. When the republican cause triumphed, and Charles the 'First was beheaded by the Parliament for his ar¬ bitrary exactions, the different cities and towns of England, yielding to this political revolution, acknow¬ ledged the authority of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Pro¬ tector. During the Protectorate, General Fairfax, who had been distinguished for his courage and skill, came to Macclesfield, where he was received by the Mayor and Burgesses with great respect, and enter¬ tained at the expence of the Corporation. The en¬ tertainment on this occasion cost one shilling and threepence , a proof of the prudence and temperance of the “ Body Corporate and Politick,” and of the cheapness of provisions in this town about the middle of the seventieth century. 5l HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. The ancient re ords of the public courts of Mac¬ clesfield, are stated by Messrs. Lysons to be “in good preservation from the time of Edward the Third,” but this is not true; for Mr. Samuel Rowbotham, and Mr. Browne, on searching them a few years ago, to decide a wager respecting the battles of Bosworth, and Flodden, found many of the leaves so much da¬ maged by moisture, that they mouldered away on be¬ ing touched. In the third year of the reign of Charles the Second, a Tornado rose in the Forest of Macclesfield, and swept all before it for some miles, but did not extend to the town. The account of this phenomenon is ex¬ tracted from a book published in London in 1682, and entitled, “ Admirable Curiosities, Rarities, and Wonders, in England, Scotland, and Ireland.” “July 20th, 1662, was a very stormy and tempes¬ tuous day in many parts of Cheshire, and Lancashire; at Ormskivk there was such a storm of hail, as brake the glass windows, and did much hurt to their corn, Mr. Heywood measured a hailstone, after some of it was wasted, and found it four inches about, others being thought larger; the same day in the afternoon in the Forest of Maxjield, in Cheshire, there arose a great pillar of smoke, in height like a steeple, and judged twenty yards broad, which making a most hideous noise, went along the ground six or seven miles, levelling all in the way ; it threw down fences and stone walls, and carried the stones a great dis¬ tance from their places, but happening upon Moorish ground not inhabited , it did the less hurt. The ter- HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. .55 rible noise it made so frighted the cattle, that they ran away, and were thereby preserved; it passed over a corn field, and laid it as even with the ground as if it had been trodden do u h feet: it went through a wood and turned up above an hundred trees by the roots; coming into a field full of cocks of hay ready to be carried in, it swept an away, so that scarce a hand¬ ful of it could afterward be found, only it left a great free in the middle of the field, which it had brought from some other place. From the Forest of Maxfield it went up by a town called Taxal, and thence to Wai- ly-Bridge, where, and no where else, it overthrew an house or two, yet the people that were in them re¬ ceived not much hurt, but the timber was carried away nobody knew whither. From thence it went up the hills into Derbyshire, and so vanished. This account was given by Mr. Hurst, Minister of Taxal, who had it from an eye witness.” About the middle of the seventecth century, Mac¬ clesfield was celebrated for its manufacture of buttons of silk and mohair, wrought with the needle, and worn on full trimmed suits. This manufacture was the staple of the town for ages; and among other im¬ provements in this branch of trade, small machines were invented here for winding silk, and making twist. Stockport also shared this profitable manufac¬ ture, and it is even doubtful whether the silk trade was introduced first into that town or Macclesfield. Small quantities of Silk were also manufactured at jLeek into ferreting and ribbons about the same period. About a century ago, an act of Parliament was ob- 56 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. tained in favour of the silk-button manufacture of Macclesfield, by which individuals were prohibited by a severe penalty, from wearing buttons made of the same material as the coat. But this act was con¬ sidered by the people as arbitrary, and totally incon¬ sistent with their constitutional liberties ; it therefore soon excited popular odium, and was eventually in¬ jurious to the manufacture it was intended to protect. The improvements soon afterwards made by Mr. Tay¬ lor, of Birmingham, in the manufacture of metal but¬ tons, both plated and gilt, and of the most perfect elegance and beauty, in a great degree set aside the manufacture of Macclesfield buttons. But the time was approaching which was to be a distinct era in the his¬ tory of Macclesfield, by the establishment of the silk manufacture to an extent and perfection formerly un¬ known in England. The immunities conferred on the freemen of this Borough, though of little value, seem to have been highly prized, nor were the Burgesses of Congleton less tenacious of their peculiar privileges. Hence disputes sometimes arose between the two corpora¬ tions, and in the year 1729, the Mayor of Maccles¬ field having compelled some freemen of Congleton to pay pickage and toll, the Corporation of Congleton objected to this infringement of their Charter, and after a correspondence on the subject, the Mayor, Justices, and Aldermen of both towns met in Feb. 1730, and entered into a written agreement, by which the Burgesses of both Corporations were mutually ex¬ empted from the payment of tolls, and other exae- HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 57 tions such as had formerly been extorted in Maccles¬ field and Congleton. About this time too, the Corporation of Maccles¬ field, like that of Congleton, over-valued their fran- chiss, and prevented persons skilful in handicraft arts, from settling among them and pursuing their trades, except they purchased their freedom at the price of ten pounds, an exorbitant sum in those days when the trade and population of this town were both in¬ considerable. The Corporation of Macclesfield, how¬ ever, in imitation of that of Liverpool, wisely relaxed from the severity of this prohibitory system; and in¬ genious strangers were encouraged to come hither, and contribute by their skill to the prosperity of the community, while they at the same time obtained suf¬ ficient emolument. No biographer has perpetuated the name of the in¬ genious artist, who first began the manufacture of silk in Macclesfield. Indeed at the time above-men¬ tioned, or about the middle of the seventeenth centu- ry, the common rudiments of English education were little known in this part of England, though Mac¬ clesfield could boast ot her free Grammar School as early as the commencement of the sixteenth cen- tury, when Sir John Percival so liberally founded and endowed that Institution, which was afterwards completely established by the munificence of the Regency who acted in the name of Edward the Sixth. At a time then, when English literature was little known and less prized by a people, on whom the light of the Reformation had just begun to shine, and i 58 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. who finally broke the trammels of priestcraft and ty- ’ ranny at the glorious Revolution of 1688, no pains were taken to record the actions of patriotic and en¬ lightened men who devised useful arts, improved ma¬ nufactures, and extended the sphere of British com¬ merce to every region of the habitable globe. Hence the individuals who were the ornaments of Maccles¬ field in former ages, are unrecorded, and gone to re¬ ceive the reward of their beneficence and patrotism, in another world. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 59 CHAPTER IV. Macclesfield invaded btj the Scotch Rebels in 1745 —General alarm throughout Cheshire—Curious deed of Assignment . In the foregoing part of this history of a populous trading town, but few facts have been detailed illustra¬ tive oi its progressive improvement, or of remarkable transactions here in the more remote ages, because few documents were obtainable, and mere tradition could not be adopted instead of an authentic record. During the last Scotcli Rebellion, the inhabitants of Macclesfield were alarmed by a visit from the army of Prince Charles Edward Stewart, the Pretender to the Crown of England, who marched into this town at the head of his troops, on Sunday the 1st of Decem¬ ber O. S. 1715, and set up his standard at his head quarters, a house in Jordan-Gate. The Scotch re¬ mained but two days in Macclesfield, and though un¬ disciplined and boisterous, they did not injure the per¬ sons or destroy the property of the inhabitants, except in the article of food, of which they took a supply. Jhey amounted to some thousands of men, chiefly of the Highland Clans, led by their Chieftains. They were mostly armed with the broad sword and targe, a kind ol shield. A small proportion of them were 60 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD, musketeers, and besides their general Prince Edward, they were commanded by several Scotch nobleman of distinction, particularly the Duke of Perth, the Duke of Athol, the Marquis of Dundee, the Marquis of Montrose, the Earl of Cromartie, and eleven other Scottish noblemen, and thirteen Knights, mostly Highland Chiefs who were knighted by the Pretender, particularly Sir James Mackenzie, Sir Hector Mac Lean, Sir William Gordon, Sir David Murray, Sir Hugh Montgomery, Sir George Witherington, Sir William Dunbar, &c. The troops were but indiffer¬ ently clothed, yet they appeared to be in high spirits. They marched under the banners of their respective chiefs to the music of the Highland pipes, and the drum. On the 3d of December at six o’clock in the morning, they marched from Macclesfield on their destined rout to London, arrived in Leek about ten o’clock in the forenoon, and rapidly advanced to¬ wards Derby. But though “ The Stuart leaning on the Scot, Pierc’d to the very centre of the realm, In hopes to seize his abdicated helm his progress was suddenly stopped at Derby by the intelligence that the Duke of Cumberland, with an army of veterans had been recalled from Germany, and was actually advancing against him from New¬ castle in Staffordshire. He instantly retreated with the greatest precipitation, repassed through Leetc on Saturday the 7th of December, and proceeding through Buxton, was obliged to cross the river Mersej HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 61 by a ford in consequence of Stockport bridge being pulled down to retard his retreat. The battle of Cullo- den, fought on the 16th of April, 1746, terminated the rebellion, and all the future hopes of the Pretender, who after many “ hair breadth ’scapes,” was fortunate enough to reach the coast of France in safety. Yet inefficient as the Scotch rebel army really was, to achieve the bold project of a revolution, the people of England were under no small apprehensions res¬ pecting the efforts of the Pretender to recover that Crown of which lie had been deprived by the super¬ stitious bigotry of his ancestor James the Second. During the public alarm, some timid individuals in Cheshire, actually sold their property and removed to what they considered a place of greater security ; and the following curious document, copied from the origi¬ nal deed, will at once elucidate the fact, and shew the low rate at which goods were then valued. “ Know all men by these presents, that I, John Swindells, of Raynor, in the Parrish of Prestbury, and County of Chester, gent, have, in consideration of the sume of sixty-live pounds of lawful money of Great Rrittaine, to me in hand paid at and before the sealing and delivery of these presents, by my Mother- in-law, Sarah Dearneley, now of, or in Raynor, in the parrish and county aforesaid, widow, the receipt whereof I do fully acknowledge, and myself fully therewith satisfied, have bargained, sold, and by these presents doo bargain and sell unto the said Sarah Dearneley, six cowes, four year old calves, two mares, one cart and wheels, one plow, and all other busban- 62 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD.. dry geire implements; and all the goods, household stuff, implements of household, and all other goods whatsoever, mentioned or intended to be mentioned, of what nature, kind, or property the same may be, remaining or being in the custody and possession of me the said John Swindells, or elsewhere can be found within the reahne of Great Brittaine. To hare and to hold, all and singular the said goods and pre¬ mises, and every part and parccll of them, by these presents bargained and sould unto the said Sarah Dearneley, her executors, administrators, and assigns for ever. And I, the said John Swindells, for myselfc, my executors, and administrators, all and singular ihe a id goods, chatties, household stutf'e and implements, unto the said Sarah Dearneley, her executors, admi¬ nistrators, and assignes, against me the said John Swindells, my executors, administrators, and assignes, and against all and every other person and persons whatsoever, shall and will warrant and forever defend by these presents, of which Goods, I, the said John Swindells, have put the said Sarah Dearneley in full possession, by delivering her one pewter dish, in full of all the said premises, at the sealing hereof. In witness whereof, I, the said John Swindells, have hereunto put my hand and scale, this third day ot March, in the twelfth year of the reigne of our So- veraigne King George, in the yeare 1745. JOHN SWINDELLS.” sealed, signed, and delivered^ in the presence of uss, f Joshua Iliirdhnrst, C Josiah JBroadhnrsty j HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 63 CHAPTER V. The first Sillc Mill erected in Macclesfield in 1756 —A List of the first twelve Silk Throwsters who established that business in the town—Rate of Wages paid to the Millmen, Doublers, §c. in 1776 Prices of Provisions in Macclesfield at that period—First Cotton Manfactory erected in this town in 1785 —Rapid increase of popu¬ lation and deterioration of morals—The Rev. David Simpsonsettles in Macclesfield. JL HE town of Macclesfield is situated at the Sou¬ thern verge of Macclesfield-Forest, and on the banks of the small river Bollin, 167 miles North-West of London, and 36 East of Chester. It is distant 12 miles from Stockport, 19 from Manchester, 111 from Knutsford, 8 from Congleton, 131 from Leek, and 10 from Buxton, with all of which towns it has a rea¬ dy communication by excellent turnpike roads. Macclesfield was early favoured by English Sove¬ reigns with peculiar immunities. First, the Charter of Prince Edward, son to King Henry the Third, and afterwards Edward the First is dated in 1261. Ano¬ ther, and a more comprehensive charter was granted to the Burgesses of Macclesfield by Queen Elizabeth in the year 1598, and / a still more munificient exten¬ sion of immunities bestowed on the corporation by King Charles the Second, in the year 1685, the last year of his reign. Y 7 et with all these advantages, Macclesfield from its remote inland situation continu¬ ed in obscurity till about the middle of the eighteenth 61 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. century, when the successful establishment of a lu¬ crative manufacture suddenly raised it to importance. A full century before that time, or about 170 years ago, the manufacture of silk and mohair buttons was carried on in this town. This manufacture became fashionable, and buttons most curiously wrought with the needle in a variety of patterns were worn on full- trimmed suits. But the silk trade of Macclesfield was yet.inconsiderable, and it was reserved for the genius of an enterprizing manufacturer to establish a branch of commerce in this town, which has contri¬ buted to the maintainance of many thousands of in¬ dustrious inhabitants, and the great emolument of several prosperous individuals. About seventy years ago, Mr. Charles Roe, a na¬ tive of Derbyshire, settled in this town. This inge¬ nious man was the son of a clergyman, and had re¬ ceived a good education, which efi'ectually aided the developement of his abilities. He first engaged in the button and twist trade, then the staple manufacture of the place; but the establishment of a Silk Mill in Derby, by an Englishman who brought the model of the machinery from Italy, and the vast profits said to be obtained, by throwing silk for the London manu¬ facturers, induced Mr. Roe to turn his attention tp this new and lucrative branch of the trade. Having obtained a perfect model of the machinery employed in the silk mill at Derby, he engaged a skilful mechanic, who erected a complete machine; and in the year 1756, he commenced the business ol Silk Throwster in a building at the Northern end o [ HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 65 Park Green. This was the first Silk Mill erected in Macclesfield, and from that circumstance the exten¬ sive street which now reaches from Park Green to the Market-place was called Mill-street. Mr. Roe prudently entered into the business of throwing silk in partnership with two active assistants, and their success induced others to embark in the same business. In a short tim? no less than twelve Silk Mills were established in Macclesfield in the following order. ]. Roe, Robinson & Stafford, at the bottom of Mill-st, 2. Greaves and Huxley, Waters, 3. Jonas Hall, Chestergate. 4. Braddock and Hall, Church-side, 5. William Hall, Chestergate. 6. Thomas Hall, Barn-street. 7. John and John Rowbotham, Waters, 8. Philip Clewes, Barn-street. 0. Greaves and Johnson, Newgate. 10. James Rowson, Dog-lane. 11. Joseph Simpson, Waters. 12. James Mayson, Back-street. The Silk Throwsters of Macclesfield were for many years employed by the manufacturers in London, who supplied the Spital-fields weavers with thrown silk ; the manufacture of silfc twist, and buttons was also pursued on a more extensive scale ; and sewing silks to a considerable amount annually made for Mer¬ cers and Woollen Drapers. The principal throwsters, twisters, and button makers, by steady industry acquir¬ ed property ; cash was briskly circulated, and many K 66 HISTOIIY OF MACCLESFIELD. improvements in llie houses and furniture of the opu¬ lent inhabitants afforded a pleasing demonstration of successful trade. The habits of the people employed in the silk mills and twister’s sheds, were then tolera¬ bly decent and regular; their wages moderate, but proportionate to the price of provisions; and general contentment was the consequence. About forty years ago, or in the year 1776, the wages paid to the Millmen and Stewards w?s seven shillings a week; that of the women employed as doublers, three shillings and sixpence. Children employed in the Silk Mills were hired for three years, at the rate of sixpence per week for the first year, ninepence, for the second, and one shilling, for the third. Butter was then fourpence per pound in Macclesfield Market; best cheese twopence halfpenny ; and prime beef two¬ pence. Mutton and veal were then bought by the joint: brown bread was sold for five farthings the pound, and fine flour at one shilling the peck of eight pounds weight. Milk was sold at a penny a quart. But the time was approaching when this moderation was to be subverted by excess. In 1785, some Lanca¬ shire men came to Macclesfield and erected a manufac¬ tory for spinning Cotton on the banks of the Boliin, in that part of the town called the Waters. Here the bu¬ siness was carried on with locked doors, and the work¬ men were sworn to secrecy. No man unconnected with the manufactory was admitted, but women were per¬ mitted to gratify their curiosity with a view of the pro¬ cess of Cotton spinning. As the Cotton manufacture was then in a high state of prosperity, higher wages was given to Cotton spinners than the Silk throwsters HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 67 could afford ; consequently a large proportion of their people left them for the sake of greater emolument. A temporary stagnation of business particularly among the throwsters who had but a small capital, was the con- quence; while the more opulent were compelled to counteract the influence of the cotton manufacturers by advancing the wages of their Mi Ilmen, Doublers, and the children employed in the Silk Mills. In a short time after Cotton spinning was established in Macclesfield, the Millmen employed in the Silk Mills were paid about sixteen shillings a week on an ave¬ rage; the doublers from eight and sixpence to ten shillings; and children two shillings and sixpence, three shillings, four shillings, and five shillings a week, according to their dexterity. Large buildings were erected by Cotton spinners in Macclesfield and its neighbourhood, mostly on the banks of the Bollin, and a consequent influx of stran¬ gers rapidly increased the population of the town. Mr. Roe and other Silk throwsters allured by the prospect of gain, engaged in Cotton spinning; but however beneficial that business might be as far as re- garded profit, it was undoubtedly pernicious both to the health and morals of the people. The close con¬ finement, and constant,application of such numbers of young persons as were employed in the Cotton manu¬ factories were prejudicial to their health, and the evil influence of the bad example of dissolute characters tainted the morals of young persons of both sexes who were exposed to their contagious influence, and but too susceptible of vicious impressions. Nor were the people employed in the Silk Mills free from the pro- 68 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD, fligacy arising from ignorance, and the promiscuous assemblage of multitudes of young persons ; while the constant confinement of the children in many instan¬ ces occasioned deformity of limb, and debility of con¬ stitution, which were irremediable. These evils received a considerable aggravation by the establishment of another branch of trade—the ma¬ nufacture of Silk, which was begun by Leigh and Voce in their shop in Back-street, in the year 1790, Silk weavers from London and Dublin were now invited to Macclesfield, and paid high wages. The success of these manufacturers, induced others to struggle for a share of the gain ; and George and James Pearson, the Sons of the late venerable George Pearson entered with great spirit into this business. Their success was greatly facilitated by the defection of Margaret Mo- born, from her first employers Leigh and Yoce. She was a skilful warper, and communicated the secret to James Pearson, with whom she lived for several years; other manufacturers also employed weavers, and the manufacture of Silk handkerchiefs, shawls, and other kinds of broad silk became the staple trade of Maccles¬ field. This was a new impetus to the population and prosperity of the town : the weavers earned high wa¬ ges which they improvidently wasted; nothing that the market could afford was too good for them; and house-rent and provisions were raised to an extortion¬ ate height. Many of the Aveavers who settled here were profligate characters ; equally destitute of reli¬ gion and morality, and hence, whatever apparent be¬ nefit the town might derive from prosperous trade ; the yetrogradation of morals was frightful and deplorable. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD- 69 But even before this period, and as early as the year 1763, when the Silk manufacture was inconsiderable compared with its subsequent extent, the Rev. James Roe, Prime Curate of the Parochial Chapel of St. Michael, in this town, and brother to Mr. Charles Roe the Silk throwster, complained from the pulpit, of the laxity of public morals. In his sermon on “ The re¬ ciprocal duties of Pastor and People,” he thus so¬ lemnly reprehends his hearers. “ Some,”says he, “are too much taken up with the cares and concerns of this present life, and those choke the word ; some turn a deaf ear, when such duties are enforced as contradict their false hopes or corrupt inclinations; some rage against the preacher, when his doctrine reproves their practice; or rather rage against him, in whose name, and from whose word the doctrines are taught. Others, when the word is preached, are talking, laughing, or perhaps sleeping, instead of shewing a proper attention or readiness to be taught.” If such was the state of the professors of religion, who went to the Church when Mr. Roe preached in 1763, what must have been the grossness of the still more debased and prolligate part of the community who went to no place of public worship ? At that time the population of the town and neighbourhood was about 5000 persons, and there were only two places of public worship ; the Old Church, and a small Methodist Meeting-house. But with the increase of trade and population, the remissness and immorality of the people became still more gross and reprehensible, as has already been stat¬ ed; but they were not suffered to remain Ions: in this 70 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. wretched state ; an antidote was provided by unerring wisdom for this vitiation of morals; and a very extra¬ ordinary and eloquent preacher of the Gospel, and most exemplary philanthropist, came to reform public manners in this town in the year 1778; a year which ought ever to be memorable with the inhabitants of Macclesfield. That man was David Simpson, who during twenty-six years residence in this town, spent the prime of his life in the service of his Creator, and for the benefit of his fellow creatures. A man who fearlessly reproved the vicious, overawed the profane, instructed the ignorant, and enlightened the dark and degenerate mind with the renovating irradiations im¬ parted to him by the Sun of Righteousness. A man who like Goldsmith’s Country Clergyman, “ Allur’d to brighter worlds and led the way and like him imitated his Divine Master by works of beneficence. Like the poet’s moral pastor too, Mr Simpson was beloved by the unsophisticated part of his congregation. “ The service o’er, around the pious man. With ready zeal each honest rustic ran ; Ev’n children followed with endearing wile And caught his gown to share the good man’s smile. His ready smile a parent’s love contest, Their welfare pleas’d him, but their wants distress’d ; To them his heart, Ids hope, his cares were giv’n. But all his serious thoughts had rest in heav’n. As some tall tow’r that lifts its awful form. Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm ; Tho’ round its breast the rolling clouds are spread. Eternal sunshine settles on its head.” HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 71 CHAPTER VI. Increase of the Silk trade in Macclesfield—the manufacture of broad tilk established here in 1790 —f irst Carriage set up m this town in 1770 —diversity of religions sects—pernicious effects of party spirit and bigotry — Macclesfield Volunteers — Anecdote—A townsman in¬ sulted by a mob—political idolatry. The active benevolence of Mr. Simpson soon ef¬ fected a beneficial change of public manners in Mac¬ clesfield; that eloquent advocate for Christian morali¬ ty broke the fetters of Satan, and liberated the young, the giddy, and the thoughtless captives of pleasure from the insnarement of vice. Decency of bekavour soon took place of unseemly vulgarity, silly levity, and brutal sensuality; and every class of society in this town felt the meliorating influence of that virtue which was so earnestly inculcated by a popular preacher, whose faith was constantly illustrated by his works. In the mean while, the staple trade of Macclesfield flourished, new buildings for throwing and twisting silk were erected in every street, and wealth flowed into the coffer of the principal throwsters. Mr. Roe, who had so successfully promoted the prosperity of the town by one branch of commerce, turned his attention to another, and by his skill in mineralogy discovered a copper mine in the Isle of Anglesey, in Wales, during an excursion in that part of the principality. In con¬ junction with several partners,he employed miners;the 72 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. copper ore was conveyed in coasters to Liverpool where part of it was refined, and the remainder sent to Macclesfield, to a smelting-house erected on the com¬ mon Eastward, of the town. Part of the copper was there manufactured into sheets, and part into brass, and brass wire. Soon after the commencement of this business, Mr. Roe conceived the idea of opening a communication between Liverpool and Macclesfield by a canal which should pass through the level ground below Kerridge hills, and thence through Poynton, and to the near¬ est navigable part of the River Mersey. The pro* jector had the concurrence of Sir George Warren, to carry the canal through his estate at Poynton ; a bill was brought into the House of Commons to empower Mr. Roe to realize his plan, and passed there ; but it was thrown out of the House of Lords by the influx enceofthe Duke of Bridgewater, whose navigation had been opened for the conveyance of goods but a short time before. Thus a plan which would have been highly beneficial to Macclesfield, and the inter¬ mediate places between this town and Liverpool, on the line of the projected navigation, was frustrated by the interference of a selfish individual. A communi¬ cation with the grand Trunk Canal, by a branch from this town, would materially facilitate the coveyance of heavy articles, and promote the prosperity and accom¬ modation of a populous community ; while the mutual benefit of the public-spirited proprietors of the danal would also be promoted. The inconvenience, expence and delay of the carriage HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 73 of copper ore from Liverpool to Macclesfield by land, were great obstacles to the success of Roe and Compa¬ ny, engaged in that manufacture. In a few years the business was discontinued, and the smaller buildings of the manufactory inhabited by cottagers. But the cessation of this branch of commerce did not impede the advancing prosperity of Macclesfield, for it is observable that towns as well as individuals and states, have their time of gradual improvement and decay. The manufacture of Cotton goods was won¬ derfully facilitated by the invention of James Har¬ grave, a weaver, born near Blackburn, in Lancashire, who made a machine called a Jenny, by which several threads might be spun at one time, and which was af¬ terwards improved by Richard Arkwright, a barber of Bolton. Enterprizing individuals, eager to obtain part of the gain acquirable by Cotton spinning, erected machines on the banks of rivers and brooks, not only in Lancashire but in Cheshire; and the small but rapid current of the Bollin, with its numerous falls, presented many favourable situations for the erection of machi¬ nery. In 1786, a company of Cotton spinners erect¬ ed a manufactory in the Waters in this town, and in a short time several other factories were established, and the increase of trade and population rapidly pro¬ moted. Another source of wealth to many residents of Macclesfield, was the weaving of broad silk, establish¬ ed here in the year 1790, by Leigh and Voce, as has already been mentioned. Their success soon induced other manufacturers to engage in that lucrative busi¬ ly 74 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. ness. Dye -houses were erected, silk in all its varieties prepared for the weaver and the twister, and manufac¬ tured silk to an immense amount was annually brought into the market by successful adventurers in this trade, who suddenly emerged from obscurity to opulence and respectability. In order to facilitate commercial transactions in this town, a Bank was opened in Jordan-gate, in the year 1787, by Hawkins, Mills, and Co. and when they de¬ clined business another Bank was opened by Daintry and Ryle, which still continues to afford very great accommodation to the people of this town and neigh¬ bourhood. In the year 1802, Thomas Critchley, mer¬ cer, opened a Bank in the Root Market, in a room ad¬ joining the rear of his shop, which was also very con¬ venient to the manufacturers and tradesmen of the town for several years; but the proprietors, Critch¬ ley and Turner, stopped payment in 1816; a com¬ position with their creditors took place, and it was mutually agreed that they should pay fifteen shil¬ lings in the pound. This transaction has been per¬ formed in a manner highly honourable to Critchley and Turner. Since their failure, a Bank has been opened by William, John, and Thomas Brocklehurst and Co.; and whatever objections may be raised by envy or malevolence against Country Banks, they have most undoubtedly been instrumental to the ex¬ tent ion of manufactures, and the accommodation of the public in general, when gold was withdrawn from circulation. The outcry raised against Pro¬ vincial Bankers during the late pressure in conse- HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 75 quence of the stagnation of trade, could only originate in ignorance ; for what Banker became bankrupt till compelled to it by the failure of those Merchants, Tradesmen, or Agriculturists to whom he lent his property? The Silk throwsters and manufacturers, and the Cotton spinners of Macclesfield, carried on a prosper¬ ous trade during twenty-five years, or from the year 1790 to the end of 1814, and the improvement of the town kept pace with their success. New streets were marked out, houses built, and quickly inhabited; the dress and manners of the people in general, were more elegant than heretofore, and the plain, and it might be said ill-mannered and uncouth habits of the preceding age, were superseded by the adoption of more fashionable modes of life. Luxury, the hand¬ maid of wealth, soon insinuated herself among an opu¬ lent people, whose houses, furniture, and festive boards were adorned and supplied by commerce. The first carriage set up by a resident in Maccles¬ field, was a chariot, by Mr. Roe in the year 1770, and among other proofs of the increase of wealth, there are now ten coaches kept by opulent individuals in this town. A Play-house of wood was built in Chestergate, but the pernicious influence of stage entertainments was eloquently satarized by the Rev. David Simpson in a Discourse delivered from the pulpit, and afterwards printed and inscribed to the Mayor and Justices of the Borough of Macclesfield, in the year 1788. Exhibi¬ tions on the Stage in this town have since been rather unpopular. 76 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. With the influx of manufacturers from several parts of Great Britain and Ireland into this town, men of different sects found it expedient to erect places for public worship, in which the professors of Christianity might adore the God of their fathers according to the dictates of revelation, and the views of their own understanding. Among those sects, that of the Me¬ thodists was particularly zealous and active; their Chapel in Sunderland-street, was rebuilt on an en¬ larged scale, and one individual, the late Mr. Ryle, though a churchman, is said to have contributed the sum of one thousand pounds on the occasion. A large new Church called Christ Church, was also built by Mr. Roe, a Chapel was erected by the Unitarians, ano¬ ther by the Independents, a small Chapel by the Me¬ thodists of the new Connection, a Meeting House by the Quakers, a Chapel by the Roman Catholics, and a Chapel on the Common, adjoining Sutton, by a new sect of Dissenters, who have not yet adopted any dis¬ tinct or peculiar denomination. Besides, nine edifices appropriated to the worship of the Deity, the upper room of the Macclesfield Sunday School has been converted into a Chapel, where the Chaplain of the In¬ stitution preaches a sermon, and delivers a lecture eve¬ ry Sunday. Thus there are no less than ten places open for the religious instruction of the 14,000 inhabit¬ ants of Macclesfield, and perhaps in no other town of England, are there a greater number professors, in proportion to the population. Fanatical impostors have from time to time endea¬ voured to mislead the ignorant and unwary in this HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 77 town. About eight years ago, a Mrs. Dunnel, as she called herself, actually mounted the rostrum, and preached to a few credulous persons in Macclesfield, and afterwards at Tunstall in Staffordshire. But the apparent female saint eventually proved a frail and sinful daughter of Eve, and so great was her love for the confraternity, that it was discovered she had three husbands living. Her short career terminated infa¬ mously, and so must that of every worldling or sensu¬ alist, who presumes to make the sacred scriptures in¬ strumental to the acquisition of money, or fame. It must be obvious not only to the man of the world, but the common observer, that party-spirit in politics and bigotry in religion, have a direct tendency to agi¬ tate the violent passions of the human mind, and ex¬ cite anti-social hatred and malevolence. Different sects of Christians are hostile to each other, because they will not come to an amicable explanation respect¬ ing their religious views. One man considers the Church of England “ the fairest among ten thou¬ sand,” merely because he has been educated in the principles of Protestantism; another contends for the superior purity of the Kirk of Scotland ; a third elo¬ quently declaims on the superiority of Methodism as a revival of'evangelical religion; while a fourth is ready to contend to /the death, that the Church of Rome is not only the first, but the only true Holy Mother Church. But the Church of Christ is not bounded by a mere name, or a creed. Its influence, like the omnipotence and philanthropy of its Divine Founder is unlimited ; and professions, however loud 78 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. or authoritative, are no proofs of the orthodoxy of any sect. “ By their fruits shall ye know them,” says Christ, this is the test of true religion, without which, extra¬ neous demonstrations of piety, and sacerdotal foppe¬ ries, are the mere deceptions of hypocritical jugglers. Whoever claims pre-eminence to the exclusion of another, is under the inti uence of a sectarian—a pha- risaical spirit; and must be wrong. Bigotry is the bane of social and individual felicity, equally in oppo¬ sition to the precepts of Jesus Christ, and the dictates of reason and humanity. It is our great duty as tem¬ porary creatures here, to be charitable; we must all be conscious that we have often been wrong in our opi¬ nion respecting common things, let that teach us mo¬ deration in the discussion of topics connected with eternity. The way to cherish universal charity is sim¬ ple and easy. If we think our fellow creatures right, let us approve ; if we think them wrong , let us pity, and endeavour to reclaim them from error. The other great object of human contention, poli¬ tics, that cause of so many tragical events, and anti- christian wars in Christendom, has also been produc¬ tive of much malevolence among the inhabitants of this town during the present age. Before the French Revolution indeed, and when the population was in¬ considerable, the people of Macclesfield kept on “ in the noiseless tenor of their way,” as loyal subjects ; but that tremendous expression of public sentiment in Paris, which operated with the resistless power of a volcano, and shook the moral world like an earth¬ quake, reached even the British isles. London, and HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 79 after it all the Provincial Towns felt the distant and disorganizing shock, and men began to enquire into the cause of this great catastrophe in the centre of Eu¬ rope. It was soon discovered that the arbitrary Kings and avaricious Priests of France, had for ages violated the principles of human liberty, and common equity and the downfall of Tyranny and Priestcraft was hailed as a new and glorious era in the history of man. Poli¬ tics now became the favorite and the constant topic among all ranks of men in this free country, and in proportion as the French Republic gathered strength, the Whigs of England gloried in its progress. Corres¬ ponding societies for the avowed purpose of obtaining a Parliamentary Reform, were organized in the prin¬ cipal Cities and Towns of England and Scotland; Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man, a Tract which con¬ tained main,- bold assertions inimical to monarchy was also widely circulated, and its inflamatory tendency was so great, that it was declared libellous in a Court of Justice, and prohibited. In consequence of the denunciations of the Nation¬ al Convention against crowned heads, the English Go¬ vernment declared war against France in 1793, and the men of Macclesfield who still adhered to their constitutional principles, gave an unequivocal proof ot their loyalty by associating as volunteers. There were indeed a lew individuals in this town who were of a different opinion. Among others, a mercer, who has ever since been a very loyal subject, presumed to ridicule his patriotic townsmen by the indecent name ol “ Billy Pitt's Dancing Dogs but his levity did- 80 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. not go unpunished, for the volunteers expressed their resentment so openly, that the tradesman to appease the wrath of an armed band, many of whom were his customers, went to their place of parade, and publiclt- ly asked pardon for his inconsiderate witticism. The Rev. David Simpson, then a very popular preacher in Christ Church in this town, prevented the influence of political innovation by a statement of the atrocities perpetrated by Marat, Robespierre, and other leaders of factions in France; the eloquence of the encomiast of limited Monarchy prevailed, and loy¬ alty became not only predominant but so vehement in Macclesfield, that no man even suspected of whig- gism could live in it without annoyance from the ca¬ naille, or dregs of the people, who were instigated by opulent royalists. During this furor of party-spirit, British Whigs, were for the first time branded with the opprobrious nickname of Jacobins, which was derived from the Jacobin Club held in Paris, and among the few Whigs who had the courage to avow their senti¬ ments in this town, in opposition to popular clamour, one individual named Bacon, who resided in Chester- gate, had his windows broken and his life menaced by a mob. His son, who was a courageous young man, soon convinced his assailants, that an Englishman’s house is his castle, for he fired at and wounded some of them, and th e rest fled with the utmost terror and pre¬ cipitation. He was, however, so much annoyed by his enemies, that he afterwards emigrated to America. Another householder in this town, was committed to the House of Correction in Middlewich, for a bold and HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 81 explicit declaration of his political principles. Such was the preposterous excess to which party-spirit was excited in this town five and twenty years ago; but the good people of Macclesfield are better informed now, and Whigs and Tories can breathe the same air without molestation. When will mankind learn tq think with common sense, and act accordingly ? We laugh at the absurd idolatry of the Tartars and Chi" pese, and we contemn the fopperies of Popery, yet overlook the debasing idolatry of political partizans. One faction adores the name, or even the statue of the late Charles James Fox, and commemorates the day of his nativity, as if he had saved the state, or been a public benefactor; another faction worships the late William Pitt, and extols him as a demigod. Yet these eloquent Statesmen were both erroneous and perishable men, more intent on the acquisition of fame than the pro¬ motion of the public weal. Indeed among the various modes of idolatry, none can be more debasing than that of human idols! To a reflecting mind, it is pret¬ ty clear, that Christendom has for ages suffered many calamities for a blind adoration of inhuman Molochs; and it is very probable from the nature of eternal an4 retributive justice, that those nations will continue to suffer different inflictions, who pay that adoration to a proud Baal of threespdre years and fen, which is due only to the Lord of the Universe. A war ot several years with France, terminated in the peace of 1801, but it was of short duration, and hosti¬ lities were recommenced with two-fold vigour, in the spring of 1803. The war between England and the M 82 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. French Republic now assumed a vindictive character, which was aggravated in 1804, by the assumption of imperial power by that bold adventurer Bonaparte. From that time to the moment of his abdication, the British Government opposed his gigantic project of universal domination with a constancy and energy which finally prevailed ; and at no former period of our history did the skill, the fortitude, and the heroism of Britons shine forth with such pre-eminent glory. What achievements by sea and land ever equalled the victories of the Nile, Trafalgar, Salamanca, and Wa¬ terloo ? Those cynical philosophers who declaim on the degeneracy of mankind, will be unable to answer the question ; and while the genius and valour of Frenchmen is acknowledged to be great, let it ever be recollected, that they were excelled by our heroic islanders. W r hile some of the most beautiful regions of the Con¬ tinent were devasted by war, England was compara¬ tively prosperous and secure. The superiority of the British Navy, shut up our opponents in their own ports, and we commanded the commerce of the world at the cannon’s mouth. Among other branches of trade, the manufacture of Silk flourished in Macclesfield, and experience has discovered that war is more advantage¬ ous to this town than peace. A steady and prosperous trade of fifty years duration, has raised Macclesfield to its present eminence, as the second town in Cheshire, for commerce, and the third for population; an( l the progressive improvements of the inhabitants in attain¬ ments, manners, and morals have also been highly HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 83 praiseworthy. Some dissolute and worthless charac¬ ters may undoubtedly be found in this town, for what community is without its feculence ? But a regard for “ whatsoever things are of good report,” is a very con¬ spicuous and pleasing characteristic of the majority of the manufacturers and tradesmen of the town. The indefatigable exertions of Mr. Simpson during twenty- six years, undoubtedly effected this reformation of manners; while the Sunday-School of which he was the founder, and similar charitable institutions which have been established since his demise, have greatly contributed to the instruction of youth, and taught them to revere their Creator, and be humane to their fellow-creatures. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 84 J tlTAPTER VIL ^Contested Election of a Recorder in 1S04 —List of the Burgesses at that period — Oath and Certificate of a common Burgess — Ce/ebra - tion&ftOSi Jubilee i)i 1309 —Speech delivered to the Inhabitants of Macctcsdeld on.that occasion-—Prosperity of the Town—The Mac¬ clesfield Courier—Riot in 181i5 —-Controversy between Chut’chmen and Mtthcdisls. publi c events which have from time td time occurred in Macclesfield, the contested Election ! of a Recorder in 1804 was memorable, because it called forth all the energy of the Corporation. The Hon. James Abercrombie,, and J. Roe, Esq. were candi¬ dates for the Office ; and the contest was maintained with great spirit by their partizans, in consequence of Which, several new Common Burgesses were sworn in. The number of Freemen amounted to 271, of whom 112 voted for Mr. Abercrombie; 128 for Mr. Roe, and 31 did not vote. The following Correct List of the Burgesses of Mac¬ clesfield in 1-804, will gratify the curiosity of many in¬ dividuals) from whom it has hitherto been concealed. ffffjf’ The names of the Burgesses who voted for Mr. Koe , are marked by the letter li ; those who voted for Mr. Abercrombie, by the letter A. Alcock Thomas A. Dean’s row, Alcock George A. Ditto, * Allen Thomas, Esq. Alderman* R. Park green. * Those marked with an asterisk are dead. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD 8 S Allen T. Junr. son of Richard Allen Janies, ditto, Allen John, Allen Philip. Clock maker, Ayton William, Alderman, Bancroft Chiney, Barber Thomas, Barber James, Bay ley John, Bay ley James, Bayley William, Bayley Samuel, Bayley Edward, Bayley Matthew, Bayley Abraham, Bayley Edward, Bayley Daniel, Bayley Matthew, Bennett James, Bennett Henry, Beswick Francis, Blagg William, Twister, Booth John, Bosley Rev. George, feradburn Joseph, Bradburn James, Bradburn Anthony, Bradburn David, Bradburn Thomas, Braddock Charles, Bradford John, Bradford George, Bramhall Peter, Breasure Samuel, Broadhead John, Broadhead Wiiliam Br oad head James, R. Sunderland-street, R. Back-street. R. Mr. Hogg's Shop, R. Chestergate, A. Park green, R. A. Mill-street, R, A. Beach lane. W aters. R. Ditto, A. Ditto, R. Church side, A. Rtiinow, R. Sunderland-street, R. Barn-street, R. R. R. Sugar-street, R. Back Wail gate. A. Back-street, R. Barn street, R. R. Chesterfield, A. Broken cross. A. Ditto, A. A. A. A. Mill-street, Chelford, Ditto, R. Broken cross R. Commongate, A. A. A. 86 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. Broadhurst Cyrus, A. Mill-street, Brocklehurst William, R. Church side, Brocklehurst Thos. Alderman, R. Mill-street, Brocklehurst William, Mercer, A. Ditto, Broster Samuel, A. Prestbury, Broster Thomas, A. Broster William, A. Brown Rev. John, A. Adlington, Buckley John, R. Pott brow, Bullock Francis R. Mixton hay Bullock Joseph, R. Rush ton marsh, Bullock Thomas, Sutton, Bullock Ralph, Ditto Bullock Ralph, R. Mixton hay, Bullock Ralph, A. Near Leek, Bullock Thomas, R. Ditto, Bullock Joseph, R. Ditto, Bullock William, A. Bosley, Burgess James, A. Chapman Thomas, R. . Hurdsfield Chapman John, Butcher, R. Chapman Samuel, R. Longnor, Chapman George, R. Chapman Charles, R. Chapman James, R. Chapman J okn, Jun. R. Chapman Joseph, Tailor, A. Dog lane, Chapman Nathaniel, A. Ditto, Cherry John, R. Sutton, Clulow John, Attorney, Park green, Critchley Thomas, Alderman, A. Root-market. Critchley Henry, A. Park green Cruso John, Attorney, R. Leek, Daintry Michael, Esq. R. Byrons, Daintry J. S. Esq. R. Park green, Davenport Davis, Esq. Capesthorne HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD 87 * Davie John, Davis David, D. D. Dawson Thomas, Dyer, Dawson Thomas, Dawson Adam, Day Abraham, Butcher, Day William, Deane Ralph, Alderman, Deane Thomas, Carrier, Dickinson Jonathan, * Dodd Chadwick, * Downes Richard, Downes Jonathan, r Sons of Downes Miles, \ Richard. Downes Edward, Esq. Duncalf Joseph, * Etchells Philip, Feilden Robert, Esq. Foden John, Foden Thomas, Foden Samuel, Foden John, Fowler John, * Fowler Joseph, Serjeant at Mace * Furness Septimus, Gandy Joseph, Gandy Joseph, Gandy Thomas, Galley Edward, Aie seller, Glegg John, Esq. Goodwin Thomas, * Gosling James, * Gosling John, Gosling Joseph, Gosling George, Gosling George, A. Old Church side, R. Back street, R. Gutters, R. Back-street, R. Watercoats, R. Wild boar dough, A. A. Park lane, Butley, A. Barn-street, R. Park green, R. Back Wallgate, A. Ditto, R. Ditto Shrigley Hall R. Park lane, R. Gutters, A. Prestbury, It. Congleton, R. Ditto, A. A. Leek, « It. Macclesfield, A. Derbyshire, A. Barn-street, R. Watercoats, A. Barn-street, A. Commongate, A. Withington, A. Jordan gate. It. Sugar street, A. Cuekstooi-pit brow, London, A. Cuckstooi-pit brow, II. Sutton, 88 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. Greaves William, R. Sutton, Greaves George, Goose lane, Greaves Robert, A. Jordan gate. Greaves Joseph, Butcher R. Park green, Hall Jonathan, A. Common, Hall David, R. Chestergate, Hall Philip, Attorney, R. Ditto, Hall Philip, A. Root-market, Hall Samuel, R. Sugar-street, Hall Samuel, Jun. R. Ditto, Hall David, Alderman, A. Mill-street, Hall William, A. Ditto, Hall Francis, Pot-man, R. Fair steads. Hall William, R. Ditto, Hammond Thomas, Sen. Butcher, R. Gawswortb, Hammond Thomas, Jun. R. Ditto, Hammond John, Ditto, Hammond Joseph, R. Ditto, Hammond Cyrus, R. Ditto, Hammond George, A, Hammond Robert, . Birtles, Hammond Robert, Jun. A. Ditto, Hammond George, A. Ditto, Hammond Cyrus, , A. Ditto, Harrop Thomas, A. Park green, Harrop Henry. A. Ditto, Harrop Joseph, Esq. Upton, Haslehurst Samuel, Church side. Haslehurst John, A. Hanley green, Haslehurst James, A. Ditto, Heapy Rev. Lawrence, R. Old Church, Higginbotham Nathaniel, Alderman, R. Mill-street, Hobson John, Ale-seller, R. Ditto, Hodgkinson John, Angel Inn, Holland Ehilip, R. Jordan gate, Hooley Jasper, Sen. A. Macclesfield Fore HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 89 Hooley Jasper, Jun. A. Macclesfield Forest. Hooley Jonathan, A. Ditto, Hooley Francis, A. Ditto, Hully Jasper, Hully John, "* Hully Jasper, Alderman, A. One-house, Hully Thomas, Common side, Hurst John, Grocer, JR. Mill-street, Jackson Edward, A. Chestergate, Jackson Josephs, A. Jackson Ferdinand, A. Rainow, Jackson Thomas, A. Ditto, * Janney Joshua, A. Waters, Janney Joseph, A. Manchester, Johnson William, Wine Merchant, A. Jordan gate. Johnson William, R. Long Moss, * Johnson Rev. Croxton, A. Wilmslow, Kirk Henry, R. Barn-street, Kirk Thomas, A. Latham John, '* Lawton Thomas, R. Back-street, Leane Robert, Senr. A. Mottram, Leane Robert, Son of Robert, R. Ditto, Lowndes John, A. Congleton, Lowndes Joseph, *\ C A Somerford, Lowndes Richard, f Sons of )a. Ditto, Lowndes Robert, f John, JA. Ditto, Lowndes Samuel, J ( :a. At Robt, Greaves, Mayson John, R. Hurdsfield r Morton John, Sen. A. Back-lane, Morton John, Jun. A. Ditto, Newbold Francis, Alderman, R/ Chestergate, Norbury John, Bell-man R. Barn-street, Oldfield Benjamin, A. Park green, Oldfield Thomas, A. Oldfield George, Serjeant at Mace, R. Old Church side, Oldfield George, A. Dog lane, .n 90 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. Orme William, Orme Henry, Twister, Orme William, Orme Thomas, Orme Samuel, Orme George, Orme William, * Orme John, Alderman, * Orme Benjamin, Orme Peter, Orme James, * Pierpoinl William, * Pierpoint Bancroft, Pickering Robert, Redfern Francis Ridgway George, Ridgway Joseph, Ridgway Jonathan, Roe William, Esq. Roe Joseph, Alderman, Rowson Thomas, Rushton Jonathan, Rushton John, Batcher, Rushton David, * Rushton Thomas, Rushton Francis, Twister, * Ryle John, Alderman, Salt John, Shaw Mather, * Shaw Samuel, * Shaw Matthew, Shaw William, Shaw Edward, Shrigley Thomas, Slater, * Simpson Joseph, Alderman Simister James, Butcher, Smyth Thomas, R. Sugar street, Waters, R. Ditto, R. Ditto, R. Ditto, R. Gutters, R. Ditto, R. G'hestergate, Ditto, R. R. Waters, A. Titherington, A. Waters, A. Ditto, Pv. Gutters, R. Common gate Liverpool, R. New Church ground, R. Congleton, R. Park green R. Chestergate, A. Withington, R. Poorhouse, R. Barn-street, Park green, A. R. Park lane, R. Fallybroom. R. Upton, R. R. Jordan gate. Barn-street, A. Ditto, R. Fence;, HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 91 Smyth Edward, Son of Thomas, R. Smeal Samuel, R. Stanley John Thomas, Esq. A. Alderley, * Stedman Thomas, A. Chester gate. Slone William, Alderman, R. Jordan gate, Stone Rev. Thomas, A. Ditto, Stonely Peter, A. Mill-street, Stubbs Samuel, A. Stubbs Roger, A. Swanwick John, Alderman, A. Swindells William, A. Barn-street, Swindells Mottersbead, A. Ditto, Swindells John, R. Swindells Solomon, A. Ditto, Thompstone Isaac, R. Old Church side. Thornicroft Edward, Esq. Turner John, A. Thornicroft, Turner Thomas, R. Old Church side, Turner William, A. Turner Samuel, A. * Turnock William, R. Upton Thomas, Sunderland-street, Upton John, Bricklayer, A. Upton David, R. Ward Thomas, A. Jordan gate, Warrington William, A. * Watson Rev. John, R. Bannistall, Wbaldon Jonathan, Butcher, R. Sutton, * Whitaker William, Alderman, R. Park lane. Whitaker Charles, R. Barn street, Whitaker John, R. Market-place, Whitaker Samuel, R. Sutton, Whitaker Josiah, R. Sunderland-street, Whitaker George, R. Whitaker Josiah, Wilcock Thomas, Gawswortb, 'Willcockson John, A. Barn-street, HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. Willcockson David, R. Ditto, Willott David, Glazier, R. Mill-street, Willott John, R. Calvinist Chapel, Willott Joseph, R. WaterGoats. Willott William, A. " Wilshaw Joseph* R. Sunderland-street, Wood Charles, R. Manchester, Wood Thomas, Tailor, R, Chestergate, Woodroof John, A. Wright John, Attorney, A. Chestfergate, Wright Peter, Town Clerk, A. Jordangate* THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN Admitted, Members of the Corporation , SINCE THE YEAR 1804. Sir J. F. Leicester, Bart. Tabley, Wilbraham Egerton Esq. TattonPark, Thomas Tarelton, Jun. Esq. William Crowder, Silk Manufacturer, George Pearson Sen. Silk Manufacturer, Samuel Wood, Cotton Spinner, Rowland Gould, Dyer, Thomas Boden, Timber Merchant, Thomas Grimsditch, Attorney, Jonathan Wilson, Printer, JohnWaslehurst, Silk Manufacturer, Samuel Pearson, Silk Manufacturer, George Pearson Jun. ditto, HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 03 George Kent Pearson, ditto, Samuel Higginbotham, Attorney, Joseph Tunnicliffe, Silk Manufacturer, William Dickinson, Surgeon, John Birchinall, Inn-keeper, Thomas Ichenor Watts, Linen Draper, William Bailey, Skinner, Edward Stracey, Esq, John Brocklehurst, Enoch Barrow, Butcher, James Cockson, Surgeon, John Frost, Grocer. THE OATH OF A COMMON BURGESS. u You shall be obedient to the Mayor of this Borough for the time being, and maintain the Liberties, Laws, and Franchises thereof, with your body and goods to your power,—ypu shall not colour any foreign goods within this Borough, but you shall reveal the same to the Mayor or other Officers. You shall keep the King’s Peace in your own person within this Borough: you shall not sue any person that is a Burgess out of the Mayor's Court of this Borough, when you may have right within the same—you shall not conceal any Writings, Charters, Boundaries, Court Rolls, or Re¬ cords, touching the Liberties, Laws, and Customs of this Borough, or know any concealed, but reveal the same to the Mayor,—you shall not embezzle any Re¬ cords, or conceal the same embezzled,—you shall be helping and supporting to the said Mayor and other 91 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. Officers in the executing their office, to the utmost of your power— you shall not reveal the Customs , Laws, and Franchises of this your JBorough, nor the se¬ crets of the Mayor and his Burgesses, but the same keep, and faithful counsel (when you are called) give. You shall attend to the Mayor of this Borough, being lawfully required, finally you shall do in all respects as to a Burgess of this Borough appertaineth. So help you God.” CERTIFICATE. t( Borough of Macelesfield, ) in the County of Chester, j This is to certify all whom it doth or may in any wise concern, that , in the County of Chester, on the day of , in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and , was publickly in the Guildhall of the said Borough admitted a Freeman, and was then sworn a Burgess of the said Borough of Macclesfield, as in and by the Re¬ cords and Rolls of Burgesses there remaining, may ap¬ pear. By virtue of which said admittance, and of seve¬ ral ancient Charters and Grants, heretofore granted to the Burgesses of the said Borough and their successors* the said is freed and acquitted of and from all manner of Toll, Passage, Stallage, Lastage^ Pontage, and other Customs, throughout .all Chester and Cheshire, as well by water as by land, (Salt in the Wyc hes only excepted.) In witness whereof, the Com¬ mon Seal of the said Borough is hereunto affixed, HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD 9,5 the day of , One Thousand Eight Hundred and In October 1809, the Jubilee in honour of the fiftieth year of the present King’s reign, was celebrated in Mac¬ clesfield, by the display of flags from the towers of the two Churches, the ringing of bells, and a public dinner given to upwards of twelve hundred inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood. After dinner, the following gratulatory address was delivered by a loyal gentleman, to the festive party. “ friends and neighbours, I most cordially congra¬ tulate you on the pleasing event which has bro ught you together, and on the benevolence and patriotism of the gentlemen of the town who contrived, and have now so liberally patronized, the design of enabling you to partake with them in the general joy. What country in Europe, besides our own, can boast of such an interesting scene as this, where the people of every rank and degree are celebrating the longevity and virtue of one of the best Kings that ever swayed a sceptre ? A King who is the father of his people and whose highest pleasure and gratification consist in seeing his subjects virtuous and happy ; but whose lot in common with our own it has been to live at a period, and in a day, pregnant with events of uncommon interest and magnitude. Perhaps some of you will understand me better when I say, it has been his for¬ tune and ours to live in very troublesome times, though the evils we have known have been but trifling: and partial, when compared with those of other nations \\ e have heard of the horrors and devastations that war 96 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. has made; we have heard the sound of the trumpet calling our brave sons to the defence of their country; but our eyes have not seen their swords bathed in blood ; we have lived in comparative peace and secu¬ rity. In almost every other country, we have seen Kings hurled from their thrones, and constituted authorities trodden under foot, despised, and oblite¬ rated. And what have been the consequences of all this ? Has a greater share of human happiness fallen to the lot of those countries ? By no means. Misery, distress, anarchy, confusion, and blood, have rapidly followed. And most of us remember the period, when some dreadful evils assailed and threatened us. Thanks to Divine Providence, and the wise counsels of the day, the efforts that were then made by wick¬ ed and designing men, at home and abroad, to intro¬ duce them into England, were happily frustrated and confounded; and your meeting this day, is a lively evidence, that our country is still preserved amid the mighty wreck. May it continue to prosper, the envy and the admiration of surrounding nations to the end of time ! Should any ask what are the advantages of this country above those of others? I answer, they are many and various. To enumerate them all is in¬ compatible with my design, suffice it to say that our Re¬ ligion is Christianity, the last best gift of God to man. We have a National Church, apostolic, orthodox, and and evangelical in her doctrines; mild, pacific, and tolerant towards those who conscientiously dissent from her. We have all the advantages of civil and religious liberty which a good man can possibly wish HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 97 for or desire. And here too, there is more real good¬ ness, more beneficence, more liberality, more philan- tropy and charity, flowing from the benign principles of Christianity, than in any other country upon the face of the globe. Would you shew gratitude to the Almighty by whom Kings reign, for national mercies, and in what high estimation you hold thepre- vileges of Britons ? Evidence it by your love of order and obedience to the laws; by fearing God and ho¬ nouring the King; and in this way testify your affec¬ tion and loyalty to your sovereign and your love and attachment to your native land.” Indeed, though ambition with gigantic stride passed through some of the fairest portions of Continental Europe, and overthrew one ancient dinasty after ano¬ ther, and while the Peninsula of Portugal and Spain was stained with the life-blood of those gallant patriots who stood forth in defence of Lusitanian and Iberian independence, England continued not only tranquil but prosperous, and the Silk trade of Macclesfield might be said to be then at its height. The general appearance of the town and neighbourhood, was greatly im¬ proved, by a number of handsome modern man¬ sions, built and furnished in a very elegant style, by opulent manufacturers. Many of the houses and shops of the tradesmen were also rebuilt, and busi¬ ness was carried on in all its branches with alacrity and emolument. The constant intercourse kept up with London and other great towns, by the Mail Coach and two Stage Coaches, which passed daily through Macclesfield, on their way to the Metropolis o 98 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. and Manchester, gave great celerity and dispatch to commercial transactions here, while the manufactur¬ ed Silks were conveyed by waggons, to their proper destination, and merchandize of every requisite des- cription, brought hither by the same mode of convey¬ ance. With this influx of wealth, the ingenious part of the community acquired the various means of mental im¬ provement, totally unknown by their ancestors. The Free Grammar-School of Macclesfield, contributed much to the refinement of those young gentlemen ■whose parents availed themselves of its instructive influence; the Macclesfield Sunday-School, establish¬ ed by the zealous philanthropy of a Simpson, and his humane coadjutors, for the gratuitous instruction of children; the Pulpit, whence Religion so gra¬ ciously invited the hearer to receive the inestimable blessings of the Gospel with gratitude; and the Press, ever ready to preserve the fleeting ideas of the in¬ ventive mind, were conducive to the improvement of society. In the year 1770, a Library was established in Mac¬ clesfield by a few liberal-minded individuals; the annu¬ al subscription was one guinea; in 1802, the number of subscribers amounted to sixty-six ; they now amount to upwards of one hundred, and their library contains many valuable books. Towards the close of the year 1810, a weekly News¬ paper was projected by two Attornies, a Cotton-spin¬ ner, an Iron-monger, and a Printer, residents of this town. A well-written Prospectus, the production of 99 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. one of (he Attornies, was circulated; a considerable number of subscribers obtained; and the first number of the Macclesfield Courier was published on Saturday, February 2, 1811. This Journal is conducted on those principles of Toryism avowed in the following paragraph. “ Before the close of this Prospectus, it may be necessary that the Editor should state the tenor of his political opi¬ nions. On this topic he will be concise. Independent and unbiassed, but by an ardent love of his country; his maxim is. Measures and not Men. Disdaining alike a servile acquiescence in all the errors of a Minis¬ try, or a profligate coalition with the herd of their li¬ bellers ; constitutional liberty his beacon, he will steer the right onward course of patriotism, sensible of the contempt in which popular opinions are justly held by the great, from the insolence or folly of his contempo¬ raries, his aim shall be to vindicate the claim of English¬ men, in one County at least, to candour and discern¬ ment.” From the ambiguous tenor of this quotation it must be obvious to the impartial mind, that different parties have very different ideas of political freedom. To a Whig, the assertion that the Editor looked to constitutional liberty as his beacon, while he justified the great in their contempt for popular .opinion, would appear paradoxical, yet this seeming incongruity might be intelligible to a zealous Tory. The late Sir William Jones, who was equally estimable as an ingenious au¬ thor and honest man, seems to have held popular opi¬ nion inmuch higher estimation. 100 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. “ What constitutes a State ? N °* high-rais’d battlements or labour’d mound, Thick wall or moated gate, Nor cities proud with spires and turrets crown’d ; Nor bays and broad-arm’d ports, Where laughing at the storm, rich navies ride, Nor starr’d and spangled Courts, W here 10w-brow’d llaseness wafts perfumes to pride. No :-Men, high-minded Men , W ith powr’s as far above dull brutes endued, In forest, brake, or den, As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude; Men who their duties know , And know their rights, and knowing dare maintain, Prevent the long-aim’d blow, And crush the Tyrant, while they rend the chain. These constitute a State, And sovereign Law, that States collected will , O’er thrones and globes elate Sits Empress, crowning good, repressing ill.*” According to the political principles upon which the Macclesfield Courier was established, the Editor has been a pretty close imitator, and often a copyist of his London archetype. But whatever difference of opinion may exist in the minds of the readers of this Journal respecting speculative points of polity, they will doubtless concur in the general utility of the pub¬ lication. It has now existed six years, “ through good report and evil report,” the time of its probation is therefore past, and it is now firmly established. The proprietor has consistently and steadily adhered to the original plan, without deviation from those maxims of * See Sir William Jones’s Ode in imitation of Alcaeus. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 101 state policy which actuate the Tories of the day, now a numerous and opulent party. To their cause the poli¬ tical part of this newspaper has been devoted, and by them it has consequently been approved and patronized. But exclusive of politics, the Macclesfield Courier is en¬ titled to the general attention, not only of the inhabit¬ ants of this town, but those of the County of Chester in general, and of many populous towns in the circumam¬ bient counties, for the variety and importance of infor¬ mation, illustrative of discoveries and improvements in arts and sciences; intelligence of the manufactures and commerce of the civilized world, particularly those of the United Kingdom, and authentic records of re¬ markable public events. Hence, it is equally accepta¬ ble and amusing to the general reader, while its speedy and regular circulation through a populous district, af¬ fords the most prompt and profitable communication by advertisement, for the mutual convenience and ad¬ vantage of the agriculturist, manufacturer, merchant, tradesman, and all persons engaged in public business. The new Macclesfield Theatre in Mill-street, was opened on the 15th of April, 1811, with an appropriate address spoken by the manager’s wife, and received by the audience with applause. In January 1812, the frequency of robberies induced the householders of Macclesfield to form a nightly patrole for the pro¬ tection of their property; it was continued for some months and doubtless prevented many depredations in the town and neighbourhood. During the spring of 1812, provisions were dear, and several outrages were committed by mobs, in some ot 102 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. the populous towns of Lancash ire and Yorkshire. The spirit of misrule at length reached Macclesfield. On Monday April 12, a multitude of riotous men and boys assembled in the Market-place at noon, threw about the provisions offered for sale, insulted the Mayor and other Magistrates, and proceeded to the shops of seve¬ ral cheese-factors and dealers in Hour and corn, where they committed the most wanton and wasteful excesses. They were dispersed by the troop of cavalry belonging to the town, whose engagement sword in hand, with a mob armed with stones and brick-bats was sufficiently ludicrous, and reminded the spectator of Homer’s des¬ cription of the battle of the frogs and mice. A controversy begun by an article published in the Macclesfield Courier of February 27, 1813, excited great emotion in the minds of the inhabitants of this town for some weeks. It was entitled, ac*e& To the Memory of Catherine, daughter of John and Catherine Corry, of Macclesfield.—She was born in London, January 3, 1811, and died in Macclesfield, September 29, 1815. Meek Innocent Adieu! tho’ few the days, That thy sweet smiles repaid thy Parents’ love; They hope to meet—and join thee in the praise, Of the Redeemer, in his Heaven above. J. C. There are several other monumental inscriptions in this Church yard expressive of the virtues of the dead, and the grief and affection of surviving friends. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 135 THE FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. This Institution was originally founded by Sir John Percival, Knight, who endowed it with ten pounds per annum, as appears by his will dated January 25th 1502. It was originally, a chantry as well as Free School, and at the time of the dissolution of Monaste¬ ries, &c. it was suppressed by Henry VIII. In 1552, it was re-endowed by King Edward VI. with sixteen acres of land, and several fields, meadows, and houses, in and near the city of Chester. Hence instead of being named after the original founder, it is called the Free Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth, in the peamble of an Act of Parliament obtained in the year 1774, of which the following is an extract.— “ Whereas liis Majesty King Edward the Sixth, by his Letters Patent, bearing date the twenty-fifth day of April, in the sixth year of his reign, upon the petition as well of the Inhabitants of Macclesfield, in the County of Chester, as of many other of his subjects of the whole neighbouring County, to him presented, for a Grammar School to be erected and established in Macclesfield, within the Parish of Prestbury, in the County aforesaid, for the Institution and Instruction of Children and Youth, did, of his special grace, will, grant, and ordain, for him and his heirs, that thence¬ forth there should be One Grammar School in Macclesfield aforesaid, which should be called the Free Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth, for the Education, Institution, and Instruction of Children and Youth in the Grammar, to continue for all future times to come; and his said Majesty did 136 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. erect, create, ordain, and found the same School, to be continued for ever, under one Master or Tutor, and one Sub-tutor or Usher: and that his intention aforesaid might take better effect, and that the lands, tenements, rents, revenues, and other profits to be granted, assigned, and appointed, for the maintenance of the said School, might be the better governed for the con¬ tinuance of the same, Ills said Majesty did will, grant and ordain, that thenceforth there should be within the Vill of Macclesfield, and Parish of Prestbury aforesaid, fourteen of the more discreet and honest Inhabitants of the same Vill and Parish, which should be for the time being, and should be called Governors of the possessions, revenues, and goods, of the said Schools.” The ancient School-house which was inconveniently situated, and in great decay, was sold by the Governors of the Institution, in the year 1750, and alarge mansion and other buildings situated in Back-street, were pur¬ chased, and by additions and improvements converted into a commodious School-house. In 177-1, when the act was obtained, the rents of the lands and houses belonging to the Institution, amounted to the yearly income of one hundred and seventy pounds and upwards, and upon the expiration of certain leases, would produce an annual income of six hundred pounds. In 1774, the place of Head Master was vacant by the death of the late Master, and Thomas Jennings, Clerk, was Usher. The Governors were Sir William Meredith, Baronet ; Peter Legh, Charles Legh, John Glegg, Henshaw Thunicroft, William Clowes, HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 137 Esquires; the Rev. Henry Olfley Wright, the Rev. Pe¬ ter Mayers, Clerks; Samuel Giover, Henry Lankford, William Norton, Charles Roe, and John Stonehewer, Gentlemen. By the Act obtained in 1774, the Governors were empowered to appoint Masters, and that the Institu¬ tion might be of more general utility, the scholars were to be instructed in many other useful branches of knowledge as well as classical learning. The Act expressly declares “ that it shall and may be lawful to and for the Governors of the said School, for the time being, or the major part of them, to elect, nominate, and appoint such and so many person or persons to be Master or Masters, to teach and instruct the children and youth who shall be educated at the said School, not only in Grammar and Classical Learning, but also in Writing, Arithmetic, Geography, Navigation, Mathematics, the modern Languages, and in such and so many branches of Literature and Education, as shall from time to time, in the judgment of the said. Governors, or the major part of them, be proper and necessary, to render the said foundation of the most ge¬ neral use and benefit, and as the state of the revenues of the said School will admit; so that nevertheless there shall be always one Head Master, and one Usher, at least, for teaching and instructing the children and youth in Grammar and Classical Learning, at the said School.” According to this Act, the salary of the Head Master is not to be less than one hundred pounds per annum, clear of all deductions, besides the use of the T 138 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. School-house ; and the salary of the Usher is not to be less than forty pounds a year. The Governors are empowered to remove or displace the Masters, for immorality, neglect of duty, incapacity, or any other just or reasonable cause. No Master or Masters ap- pointed by virtue of this Act, shall accept or take any stipend or payment, from parents, guardians, or other persons, who have the care of the children or youth, who shall be educated at this School, for teaching and instructing the said children and youth, in the respective branches of literature and education, which shall there be taught, u other than such stipend, or other payment, for, or in respect of the children and youth there taught, as the said Governors, or the major part of them, shall from time to time, by writing under their hands, authorize him or them respectively to receive or take.” The Governors are also authorized, with the advice of the Bishop of Chester, to make statutes and ordi¬ naries relating to the Head Master, Usher, and Scho¬ lars, and the additional Masters to be appointed in pursuance of this Act. They are also empowered to increase the Head Master and Usher’s salaries; and indeed it may be truly asserted, that the regulation of this Institution is completely under their control. That there has been a great deviation from the original plan of the beneficent founders, is certain. When the School was endowed, the English Language was not considered as worthy to constitute any part of aliberalor classical education, for it was then in a state of comparative barbarism. A Grammar School, HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 139 was then and still continues to be considered as a place appropriated to classical education. But ano¬ ther great object of the founders of this and similar establishments, was to impart instruction to u children and youth” gratuitously. The very designation of Ft 'ee Grammar School implies gratuitous instruction. But this is not the case in Macclesfield. The Gover¬ nors it seems, have thought proper to con vert the Free Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth, into a Boarding School, where u children and youth” are un¬ doubtedly well instructed, and fed too, at a regular and stipulated price, according to the following statement of the present Head Master. “ MACCLESFIELD SCHOOL.” “ The first object of Macclesfield School is classical literature, which comprehends the English, Latin, and Greek languages. The higher forms are likewise instructed in the Elements of Algebra, and Euclid; the lower and middle classes, in Writing, Arithmetic, and the use of the Globes, modern and ancient Geography, &c. The French language is introduced to a certain extent, in every department of the School, and is further substituted in the place of Greek, for the benefit of those pupils who are not intended for Col¬ lege or Professions. A suitable collection of English Authors is appropriated to each class, and the greatest attention is paid to correct elocution, and classical composition. “ foundation of the School being of consider¬ able importance, the Head-Master wishes to establish, under the sanction of the Governors , a com prehen * 140 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. sive plan of liberal education, and Lopes the above brief sketch of it will con vey to the parents and guardians of his pupils, a general idea of what is professed to be taught at Macclesfield. D. DAVIES. “ TERMS.” “ Entrance, Five Guineas. Board and Education,— in the lower Forms, Thirty-five Guineas a year ; in the higher Forms, Forty Guineas a year. A single Bed (if required) Four Guineas a year, “ EXTRA CHARGES.’’ Dancing, ~i fa Quarter. Fencing, > One Guinea J a Quarter. Drawing,! {_a Quarter; %* Three Months’ Notice is expected before the removal of any young Gentleman.” From this view of facts, it must be evident, that the Institution denominated the Free Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth, in Macclesfield, has in this age of innovation, been changed into a modern Seminary for the education of a young gentlemen ,” conse¬ quently, the children of indigent people, for whom bbth the first founder Sir John Percival, and the Royal renovator King Edward, intended it, are ex¬ cluded ; while the Head Master receives a liberal salary, sits rent-free, and is paid at least three thou¬ sand pounds annually, by the parents and guardians of his numerous boarders. Dr. Davies is indeed ac¬ knowledged by competent judges to be an excellent classical scholar, and he is no doubt, duly authorized HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 141 to keep his Boarding School, “ by writings under the hands ” of the present Governors, according to the express tenor of the Act of Parliament. 4o them, therefore, is the censure imputable, if they have indeed deviated so far from the philanthropic plan of the pious founder, as to appropriate the funds of this Institution, to the instruction of young gentlemen, whose parents could afford to pay for their education, while many docile and intelligent boys in the humble walks of life, and for whom this establishment was orginally intended, remains untaught, unnoticed, and without that literary aid which might have made them ornaments to Macclesfield, to England, and to human nature. It appears by the following document, that Dr. Davies was required by the Governors of the Free Grammar School of Macclesfield, to describe the real state of that Institution, and suggest improvements. “ In compliance,” says he, “ with the request of the Trustees at their last meeting, I take the liberty of submitting to their consideration, what occurs to me respecting the School. “ In the first place, I am of opinion, that the Act of Parliament appropriates the whole of its revenues to the support of the Grammar School, exclusively of every other, and that every Master receiving a salary from the foundation, is to co-operate with the Head Master, in the instruction of the youth admitted into the School. The principal motive for obtaining the Act, was to render the education in the Grammar School, more complete, nor does it appear, that any 142 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. application was made to Parliament, for the purpose of alienating a single farthing of its revenues. “ The School at present consists of seventy-two boarders, and nineteen day-scholars, who are in¬ structed according to the plan of education, which I have taken the liberty of enclosing. The object of it is to unite the advantages of private and public tuition, by adding to Classical Literature, English, Figures, French, and Writing. In most of the public Schools, these branches of education are optional; in Maccles¬ field, they form a part of the system, according to the letter and spit it of the Act, and are under the super¬ intendence of the Head Master. “ The stipend of the Head Master is £150 per annum, with a house subject to taxes; of the second Master £80; of the French Master <£.50; in all amounts to £250 per annum. “ The Head Master adds to the Second Master’s salary £21 ; to two classical Ushers, independently of board and lodging, sixty guineas a year each ; addi¬ tion to the French Master’s salary £50; Writing Mas¬ ter’s, exclusively of board and lodging, £63; amount¬ ing to £260. “ The day scholars are charged one guinea a year for French, and two guineas and a half for Writing and Accounts. w =& % w % ^ % % “ In the Grammar School at Birmingham there are appointed by the Trustees, one Head Master, one second Master, two classical Ushers, one Writing Master, one Drawing Master, one Librarian,, seven HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 143 exhibitions, and eight inferior Schools in various parts of the town, at <£15. each per annum. “ My opinion is, that the interests of Macclesfield School, and of the Parish of Prestbury, cannot be bet¬ ter promoted, than by adopting the plan pursued at Birmingham ; that the first object is, the improvement of the school buildings, the second, the appointment of classical Ushers, &c. without expence to the Head Master ; the third, the founding of exhibitions; and if any surplus should afterwards remain, that an Act be obtained, to legalize the appropriation of it to inferior Schools. “ With respect to the school buildings, if the Trus¬ tees should w ish to render them commodious, for the reception of a greater number of pupils, the first requisites are, new schools and new lodging rooms, improvement of the play ground, detached rooms for invalids, a room for the young gentlemen to be wash¬ ed and combed in, accommodations for the classical assistants, and the appointment of some person to in¬ spect occasionally the repairs and premises.” Such is the perspicuous view of the state of Mac¬ clesfield School presented by Dr. Davies, who has freely given his opinion, but it can hardly be called unbiassed. It is sufficiently clear to an impartial mind, that the Act of Parliament does not “ appropriate the whole of its revenues to the support of the Grammar School , exclusively of every otherf for the Act ex¬ pressly determines , that children and youth shall be educated at the said School, not only in Grammar and classical learning, but also in Writing, Arithme- 144 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. tic, Geography, Navigation, Mathematics, the Mo¬ dern Languages, and in such and so many branches of literature and education, as shall from time to time, in the judgment of the said Governors, or the major part of them, be thought proper and neces¬ sary, TO RENDER THE SAID FOUNDATION OF THE MOST GENERAL USE AND BENEFIT, AND AS THE REVENUES OF THE SAID SCHOOL WILL ADMIT.” This extract cannot be misunderstood ; and it deci¬ sively empowers the Governors of the School, to ex¬ pend part of the revenues of the Institution, for the intruction of children and youth, in various branches of common and useful knowledge. Nothing, how¬ ever, could be more natural than that the Head Mas¬ ter of Macclesfield Grammar School, should give his opinion in favour of a system which was productive of considerable emolument to himself. According to his own statement of the number of boarders, he re¬ ceives upwards of three thousand guineas a year, for their tuition, food, and lodging ; one third of which, on a very moderate estimate, may be considered clear gain; exclusive of two guineas and a half paid by each of the nineteen day scholars mentioned by him, for in¬ struction in Writing and Accounts! Who then can with propriety, call this Institution a free Grammar School ? A number of inferior Schools, as Dr. Davies calls them, opened under proper regulations, and supported as Free Schools by a part of the revenues of the origi¬ nal Institution, would in some degree restore to the In¬ habitants of Macclesfield, the ad vantages of that gra - HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 145 tuitous instruction for their children, which it un¬ questionably was the benevolent intention of the founder to bestow. Indeed a glance at the list of boarders must convince any impartial man that the current of Royal charity and munificence , has been diverted out of its original channel. Edward, like a beneficent Prince, was desirous to communicate gra¬ tuitous knowledge to such classes of his country¬ men as could not afford to pay for it. He knew that an indigent boy could learn Latin as soon as the son of a nobleman, and was convinced by the perusal of both sacred and profane history, that men in the lowest sta¬ tion had risen to eminence, by their superior attain¬ ments and merit. The names of several gentlemen’s sons who w ere not parishioners of Prestbury, appear in the list of board¬ ers at Macclesfield Free Grammar School. Some of the former Pupils, are now actually Governors of this Institution; perhaps they would consider it a de¬ gradation of Alma Mater to employ her in the instruc¬ tion of indigent “ children and youth,” gratuitously, especially when they recollect that their parents paid very highly for their learning. A few of the Trustees are well known and esteemed as men of philanthropy and beneficence, and we may consequently expect a reform in the management of the revenues of this Free Grammar School. Then shall the vestibule of this temple of elegant science and useful knowledge, be thronged by our warm hearted and ingenious youth, all eager to drink of that fountain which had so long been concealed from their view, and withheld from their thirsty lips. tj 146 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. MACCLESFIELD SUNDAY-SCHOOL. “ In Faith and Hope the best may disagree, But all mankind’s concern is Charity.’* Among the inestimable advantages obtainable from the full enjoyment of religious liberty, the Sunday- School is highly conspicuous, and conducive not only to public decency and morality, but the future worldly welfare, and it is to be hoped, even the eternal happi¬ ness of millions of rational beings, who without its fos¬ tering aid would have lived and died in a state of ig¬ norance. Under the dispensations of that overruling Providence which governs the universe, we are indebt¬ ed for this charitable Institution to the liberality of Protestanism, for in what country where Popery predo¬ minates, do Sunday-Schools flourish, or even exist? It is truly honourable to the beneficence of our con¬ temporaries, that this excellent mode of general edu¬ cation, originated with a humane individual of the pre¬ sent age. Thirty-three years have passed away since Mr. Robert Raikes, of Gloucester, opened the first Sunday-School in that city; and by reclaiming num¬ bers of neglected children from idleness and vice, ex¬ cited the sympathy, and rouzed the emulation of other benevolent persons, who eagerly imitated so praise¬ worthy an example. The originality and novelty, as well as the manifest utility of the plan, soon rendered it popular: a degree of enthusiastic charity for poor HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 147 ^—— ■ neglected children, was speedily communicated from one populous community to another, throughout Great Britain and Ireland; and in the year 1788, four years after the commencement of the Gloucester Sunday- School* it was ascertained by accurate computation, that no less than two hundred and fifty thousand boys and girls, received the benefit of a gratuitous edu¬ cation in the two islands, and were thus happily res¬ cued from the miseries of ignorance, superstition, and barbarism. Macclesfield Sunday-School was opened on the 1st of May, 1796; and the experience of more than twenty years, has fully proved its paramount utility over every other method invented by human ingenuity, for the dissemination of religious and moral princi¬ ples, and the easy and regular acquisition of elementa¬ ry knowledge in the useful arts of Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. To enter into the detail of the pro¬ gress of this Institution, and its general effects on the manners and morals of the industrious inhabitants of Macclesfield, would be to indulge in a strain of enco¬ mium equally fulsome to the manly mind, and con¬ trary to the independent principles of the writer; but historical veracity requires the following brief record of an establishment, which will doubtless be supported with all the energy and ardour which Christian phi¬ lanthropy can alone inspire. For some years before the Sunday-School was opened in this town, the Rev. David Simpson actively pro¬ moted the diffusion of knowledge among young per- 148 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. sons, who were employed in the Silk and Cotton ma¬ nufactories, by opening several Evening Schools for their instruction. These Schools were fixed at con¬ venient distances, in several parts of the town and neighbourhood, where teachers properly qualified at¬ tended, and Avere paid a small weekly sum, Avhich was collected by the voluntary benefactions of opulent and benevolent patrons. Many unforeseen obstacles impeded the complete success of this mode of instruc¬ tion, in consequence of which, the more general expe¬ dient of gratuitous tuition on Sunday, was adopted in¬ stead of the Evening Schools. The personal exertions of Mr, Simpson, most essentially contributed to the success of this establishment. His ready, powerful, and commanding eloquence, was poured forth like a flowing stream, in behalf of the juvenile and susceptible mind; and the rich and the poor were unanimous in their approbation of so cheap and effectual a method of imparting useful knowledge not only without impe¬ diment to the pursuits of the industrious, but actually affording a most pleasing and profitable recreation to the teachers and their pupils. The Institution has been conducted with admirable order, economy, and efficiency; in the course of twenty years, at least ten thousand young persons have been carefully instruct¬ ed in the true principles of the Christian Religion, that Religion which (C maketh wise unto salvation and they have also been taught those elements of human knowledge, most conducible to their own wel¬ fare, and their usefulness in society. Some parents HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 149 who were originally instructed in the Macclesfield Sunday-School, now teach their own children and the children of their neighbours, in that Seminary. The present edifice appropriated to the gratuitous instruction of indigent children and youth, is an orna¬ ment to the town of Macclesfield. It is situated in Roe-street, about two hundred yards from the New Church ; it is four stories high, very lofty, built in a dry airy situation, and was erected in the year 1813, at the expence of £5,639. 13s. Id. As a memorable proof of the generous benevolence of the teachers, and the genuine gratitude of the scholars, it deserves to be re¬ corded, that the sum of <£1,676. 15s. 9Id. was raised by weekly collections made imthe School, in aid of the fund, requisite for the expenditure of erecting this stately edifice. According to the report of the state of Macclesfield Sunday-School, dated May 12, 1797, it appears that 304 boys, and 278 girls, were admitted as pupils. The expences of the Institution for the past year, amounted to £64. 15s. 3d. Ten years afterwards, or May 12, 1807, the number of children amounted to 1,642; of whom 655 were boys, and 987 girls. The expenditure of the establishment during the year was £130. 15s. 7d. The eighteenth report from March 1, 1814, to June l, 1815, stated the number of children instructed in this School at 2,451; of whom 1,127 were boys, and 1,324 girls. The expenditure for books, during fifteen months, was £68. 6s. lid ; for paper, printing, &c. £35. 2s. Od ; and for quills and ink, £5. 13s. Od; thus affording a demonstration, that the Institution steadily 150 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. advanced in the great work of a more general diffusion of knowledge. The whole expences of the school amounted to £350. Os. 4d. The precision with which these particulars are given, may appear tedious to that reader, if such a being can exist, who is uninterested in the education and rational happiness of industrious indigence ; but they will be read with delight by the philanthropist, who justly considers the communica¬ tion of good to others, as a performance of that cha¬ rity, or brotherly love, enjoined by Christ himself. It is not the intention of the writer to endeavour to revive that anti-social, nay, that anti-christian ill-will, which fomented by pride, or some worse agent, agi¬ tated the minds of many estimable men of this town, in the spring of 1813, when the zeal of a few indivi¬ duals for a particular sect, was vainly and unsuccess¬ fully exerted in opposition to popular sentiment. All men, and especially men who are in the habit of boast¬ ing so loudly of their peculiar immunities as English¬ men, have an undoubted right to judge for themselves; but the advocates for the restriction of Sunday scho¬ lars to implicit submission to the established Church, assumed a dogmatism on this occasion, quite uncon¬ genial to the meekness of genuine Charity ; and the consequence was a schism, as far as respected the in¬ ternal government of the Macclesfield Sunday School. Hence the Institution was, according to its proper des¬ tination, freely opened to the children of parents of every Christian sect; while another Sunday School was erected for the exclusive accommodation of the children of churchmen. HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. 151 When the National and Sunday School in Duke- street was opened, a number of children were sent by their parents and friends to that new Institution, which in addition to tuition on the Sabbath Day, also im¬ parted daily and gratuitous instruction to the pupils. The National School is, it appears, very useful in the speedy instruction of children, especially in the sim¬ ple elements of knowledge. As such, it is certainly an important acquisition of moral strength to the com¬ munity of Macclesfield. Long, then, may it flourish! and may no other rivalship henceforth exist between it and the Macclefield Sunday School, but a compe- tion which shall most effectually promote the great work of mental improvement among our young peo¬ ple ! Since the National School opened its doors, there has been a diminution in the number of children taught in the original Sunday School, as appears by the nineteenth Report of the latter Institution, dated June 1, 1816. At that time the number of boys amounted to 976, and of girls to 1,176. Total, 2152, or 299 less than that of the antecedent year. The ex¬ penditure amounted to <£228. 18s. 4d. From the foregoing brief history of Macclesfield Sunday School, it is evident that it now affords gratui¬ tous instruction to upwards of two thousand children, who are educated by two hundred teachers, whose reward is the blissful consciousness of their performing a great civic duty. This excellent Institution is patro¬ nized by two Princes, whose encomium is emphatically recorded in the following extract from the seventeeth 152 HISTORY OF MACCLESFIELD. report. “ Our venerable and beloved Sovereign, is well known to have declared, in language highly beaming a Christian King, and the father of his peo¬ ple, that £ he hoped he should live to see the day when every poor child in his Dominions would he able to read his HibleS Their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Kent and Sussex, have proved themselves the wor¬ thy sons of such a Sire, and of the high distinction of descendants of the illustrious House of Brunswick, by their attachment to the same cause, evinced by their condescending to honour this Institution with their patronage and support.” To render the Macclesfield Sunday-School more complete in the great work of public edification, the large upper room of the edifice is appropriated to pub¬ lic worship. There a Chaplain regularly delivers ser¬ mons and lectures, to a crowded auditory ; his stipend is collected quarterly, without the slightest interfer¬ ence with the funds of the Charity-School itself; and thus, both children and adults may receive the best religious and moral instruction. Who can fairly decry such an Institution. Such an accession of Christian knowledge, which to use the energetic idea of Cowper, “ Softens human rock-work into men.” To this beneficial establishment our best wishes, and when requisite, our prompt pecuniary aid, is due; and to its permanent duration, that, esto perpetua , * ( be thou perpetual,” so frequently misapplied by political priests, is properly applicable. POPULATION OF H(DiBffinwn o 42 15 26 226 227 453 305 312 2 17 14 181 117 650 732 1,382 38 43 0 0 25 14 4 118 120 238 416 442 1 21 54 313 75 983 983 1,966 83 90 1 3 19 67 4 242 246 488 32 32 0 0 28 O o 1 98 109 207 73 74 0 3 42 30 2 161 156 317 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 6 7 13 205 205 1 o 77 61 67 518 461 979 21 35 0 0 18 15 2 85 102 187 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 5 5 10 57 57 ] 1 53 4 0 145 158 303 12 12 0 0 11 1 0 44 40 84 9 10 { 1 8 1 1 28 29 57 22 22 0 0 20 2 0 68 66 134 159 167 0 2 15 144 8 449 439 888 9 9 0 0 8 0 1 33 38 71 21 22 0 0 21 0 1 62 73 135 22 22 0 0 ' 22 0 0 54 64 118 5 5 0 0 4 1 0 26 29 55 S9 S9 0 6 31 21 37 212 237 449 279 285 0 21 20 228 37 551 681 1,232 64 66 0 1 63 3 0 125 130 25 5 3 3 0 1 3 0 0 12 15 27 268 287 2 14 41 106 140 585 616 1,201 15 J 5 0 0 14 1 0 39 47 86 2 ' 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 4 21 21 1 0 9 11 1 74 70 144 11 11 0 1 11 0 0 25 29 54 5 5 0 0 5 0 0 14 14 28 20 20 0 0 17 Q O 0 62 67 129 14 15 0 0 8 3 4 40 42 82 26 26 0 0 21 2 3 73 79 152 42 42 0 1 39 2 i 117 141 258 70 71 • 0 0 8 46 J 7 174 172 346 16 16 0 0 3 11 2 38 43 81 78 81 0 3 12 64 5 188 199 387 47 48 0 0 19 24 5 133 128 261 19 19 0 0 7 12 0 63 63 126 495 521 14 20 117 368 36 1,146 1,165 2,311 21 21 0 0 16 4 1 78 74 152 64 68 0 4 25 42 1 160 169 329 25 25 0 1 25 0 0 89 84 173 35 41 0 0 41 0 0 116 111 227 54 70 1 0 61 9 0 179 198 377 26 32 0 0 19 13 0 83 79 162 29 32 0 0 18 14 0 80 77 157 55 57 2 1 42 12 3 165 180 345 5,160 5,389 33 171 1,885 2,774 730 12,815 13,726 26,54] Note, (a, Pa/t of Sandbach Parish is in Xantwich Hundred. THE HISTORY OF CONGLETON. CHAPTER I. Antiquity of the Toivn—The Manor of Congleton conferred on Ni¬ gel/us by Hugh Lupus—Charter granted to the Burgesses of Con¬ gleton, at the commencement of the fourteenth century—Market granted by Edward the First—Inundation of the Dane in 1451— The Corporation authorized by a grant of Henry the Sixth, to cut a new course for the River, and remove the King's Mills — Man- date of Henry the Eighth in 1524, exempting the Freemen of Con¬ gleton from appearing at other Courts .— Two hundred individuals sworn in Freemen of Congleton in 1584 —Regulations for the pre¬ servation of peace, order, and decency in the Town—Inns and Alehouses in 1584 —Sports and Pastimes of the Inhabitants of Congleton — Camden's Description of the Town in the seventeenth century—Charter granted by James the First, in 1625. A.T the time of the general survey of England, soon after the Conquest, Congleton was but an inconsidera¬ ble Village, for in the record in Domesday Book, we are informed, that “ Hugo de Mara holds Cogletone, Godwin held it; there is one hide of land liable to pay taxes. The whole land is four carucates; of which, two are occupied by two villans, or slaves ; and four kordars, or cottagers. There is a wood one league x 162 HISTORY OF CONGLETON. long and one broad ; and there are two enclosed pas¬ tures. The whole i s now worth fo ur shillings. ” Such was the state of Congleton and its environs, about the year 1066 or 1067. Camden states that William the Conqueror first gave Cheshire to Gerbud, a nobleman of Flanders; and he afterwards conferred it upon Hugh Lupus his nephew, under the greatest and most honourable te¬ nure that ever was granted to a subject. William gave him the whole County, to hold to him and his heirs, as freely per gladium, or by the sword, as the King held the crown of England.” An ancient manu¬ script dated 1400, contains the pedigree and descen¬ dants of Hugh Lupus, with notes and additions, illus¬ trative of the origin of their power to grant Charters, and how their property came first to the Duke of Lan¬ caster, and finally to the Crown. From this record it appears that Hugh Lupus, first Earl of Chester, died in the year 1102. His successors were Richard, the se¬ cond Earl; Randolph, the third; Randolph, the fourth; who died in the year 1154, Hugh Bohun, the fifth ; Randle, the sixth; and John Scotus, the seventh; and last Earl of that Line. On the death of John Scotus, King Henry the Third, said this Earldom should not be divided among distaffs, so he bestowed it upon his son Edward, afterwards Edward the First; but honour¬ ably gave other possessions in lieu of the Palatinate, to the Aunts of the said John Scotus, who were now his heirs. It appears that Hugh Lupus, like his kinsman and sovereign William, was very liberal of the property HISTORY OF CONGLETON. 163 of others; and when the Conqueror deprived the na¬ tive English or Norman proprietors of their possessions in Cheshire, and bestowed them on his warlike cousin and follower, Hugh, in imitation of this princely muni¬ ficence, gave the Barony of Halton in Cheshire, to his kinsman Nigellus, and made him Constable of Chester, and his Marshall by Knight’s service, to head his ar¬ mies, first in marching, last in returning. This Baro¬ ny contained nine Knight’s fees and three fourths, in¬ cluding the Manor of Congleton, and Nigellus accord¬ ing to his tenure, enjoyed many powers and immuni¬ ties. Among others, it w as specified, that if any of the tenants of Nigellus had committed theft, or any other wicked deed, such as manslaughter, the Bailiffs of the said Nigellus should lawfully take and lead such male¬ factor from the fee of his Lordship of Halton, and pre¬ sent him three Court Days at Chester; and at the third Court, if no man spoke against him, they should let him go free. This grant was confirmed in the time of King Edward the First, to Henry Lacy, Earl of Lin¬ coln, then Lord of Halton, Constable of Chester; and the sixth in descent from Nigellus. Henry Lacy, who granted the first Charter to Congleton, was buried in St. Paul’s, London, A. D. 1310. A TRANSLATION OF HENRY LACY’s CHARTER. “ Know all men present and to come, that we, Hen¬ ry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, and Constable of Chester, have given, granted, and by this our present Charter, have confirmed, for us and our heirs, to our free Bur¬ gesses of Congleton, that the said Town may be a free 164 HISTORY OF CONGLETON. Borough, and that the Burgesses of the same Borough may have at their pleasure for ever, a Guild-Merchant with all liberties and free customs to such a Guild ap¬ pertaining. They also may have Household and Hay- bold, and Common of Pasture, for all the Beasts and Cattle every where within our Territory of Congleton, with unlimited fuel, without the deliverance of any one on our part when they shall need; as of Turves and Peats, to be digged, dried, and taken any where in the Turbury of Congleton. And that they shall be quit of Pannage, how many Hogs soever they shall have within the bounds of Congleton. And that by virtue of a Charter of grant and confirmation of the liberties of our Boroughs, which we have from our Sovereign Lord the King, they are acquitted for ever throughout all places in Cheshire, as well by land as by water, under the defence and protection of us and our heirs, with all their Merchandises from Toll, Stallage, Passage, Pavage («), Pontage (b), Lastage oo, and Murrage, (nday the 9th of November, 1584. That if any person keeping Inn or Alehouse, suffer any unlawful games, or secrete any light or suspicious persons in their houses, shall forfeit for every time 6s. 8d. That if any man’s sons, servants, or apprentices, be taken by the officers in the street or town, after APPENDIX. 203 nine of the clock in the night, it shall be lawful for the officers to put such persons in the prison, there to remain during the Mayor’s pleasure. That a quart and half quart dish, shall be had and made for measuring butler, and such like. $3^ Ellen Combe'rbach was fined 2s. 8d. for sell¬ ing leather not sufficiently tanned; and several persons were fined 4d. each, for keeping swine not yoked and ringed. At a Court of Orders, holden on Wednesday the 2d of December, in the 27th of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, A. D. 1585. First. Richard Spencer, Gent. Hugh Oldham, and John Smith, were licenced to keep Inns, giving a bond of 40s. not to suffer unlawful games, not to re¬ ceive stolen goods, nor harbour suspicious persons. Nor sell any ale, or beer, in their house or without, above one penny the cpiart. 2d. Forty two more licenced to keep alehouses or tippling houses, on the same conditions. At the Court holden before John Hobson, Mayor, on Tuesday the 26th of November, 1588, thirty but¬ chers selling meat in Congleton were fined 2d each, for breaking the assize; and ten persons were fined for keeping swine unyoked, 2d for each swine. At the hiRST Court of Orders, holden before Matthew Moreton, Mayor, on Friday the 10th day of October, 1588, the usual officers were appointed for the year iollowing; all the Bye-Laws were reviewed, and most of them ordered and decreed anew; it was also ordered : 204 APPENDIX. That every Freeman who should refuse to pay any of the preceding fines laid upon him, should be dis¬ franchised. That no stranger shall be made free, nor suffered to dwell in the town or lordship, except he bring a certi¬ ficate of his good behaviour; and if he have children, shall give bond to discharge the town of the same. That the Mayor’s Court shall be holden every eight weeks, on the Tuesday, beginning from the 14th day of October. It is decreed, that such of the Counsel as have been Bailiff or Catchpole, shall have a black or sad co¬ loured gown, and all others of the Counsel a gown , or sad coloured cloak. Curious Disbursements during the Mayoralty of Matthew Moreton P in 1590. To John Lowndes and others for boards for the School House. £l To the Writer liis quarter’s wage. 0 Raufe Lowe for 201b. candles, bell ropes, and nails for the school, two stools and a table for the schoolmaster.0 Mr. Tilman, schoolmaster, towards his wage....O More in part of what is owing to him..2 Given to Sir John Hollesworth’s bear war d....O Lord Darcy’s Players, by consent of OverseersO 0 0 10 0 19 4 16 0 15 6 2 0 5 0 £6 7 10 APPENDIX. 205 Amount brought forward...£6 7 10 Furniture Money to Sir William Brereton, Knight, and other Justices.1 18 0 More to them for the Queeru’s Surveyor.0 5 6 The Queen’s Bent due Lady Day, 1590.1 0 0 Jane Smith for Besse Riddleworth’s exhibition her burial, and winding sheet. 10 8 The Minister, Sir Humphrey Phithian’s quar¬ ter’s wage.2 10 0 Mr. Tilman, the schoolmaster, his quarter’s wage, and part of another.5 0 0 There remains now unpaid to him £\. 13. 4. Sir Roger Williams, the curate’s quarter’s wage 1 14 4 Mr. Tilman, the schoolmaster’s ditto. 3 6 8 The Queen’s Rent due at Easter, 1589.1 0 0 £24 3 0 Rene Poynton and Roufe Stubbs, Millreaves. Profits of the Mill ending at Michaelmas last were £72. 1. 6. At the First Court of Orders, holden before Wm. Drakeford, the 10th Day of October, in the 34th of Elizabeth, A. D. 1592. That no person shall put any butter into any cakes or bread between the Feast of St. Michael, and the h east Day of St. Barnabas; nor any sheep’s suet, or such like stuff in any cakes or bread in any time of the year, upon pain of forfeiting every time 3s. 4d, 206 APPENDIX. 1595. Disbursed to Mr. Browster for saying service, and teaching school, a quarter’s wage. £3 6 3 William Hulrn preached five times for.0 5 0 Wine to the Rush-bearers .0 3 8 Given to Verdon for taking Harton, a felon, to Halton Castle.0 6 8 Quarter’s wage to the Town Clerk.0 10 0 Disbursed to Mr. Hangstone’s man, who had bears with him.0 5 0 To the Queen’s Players.1 0 0 Wine, and a gallon of sack bestowed on Ed¬ ward Fitton, Esq.0 4 8 1601. Given to the Rearward at the Great Cockfight, the 5th, 6th, & 7th days of May.O 6 8 Dressing the School at the Cockfight.0 0 4 Spent on Sir John Savage in wine, cakes, and sugar.0 6 8 Sir John Savage and Gentlemen, in wine and sugar, on the first day of the Great Cock¬ fight...0 2 4 £6 17 8 On the 28th day of September, 1618, there were only seventy-eight householder’s names called over in the Town Hall, which reckoning at the rate of five persons to each family, would make the whole popu¬ lation of Congleton at that period amount to only 390 persons. 1621. The predilection of the inhabitants of Con- APPENDIX 207 gleton in the seventeenth century for the elegant di- vertisement of bear-baiting, is proved from their own records. In this respect, however, they were more censurable than the rest of their countrymen, to whom the savage exhibition of dogs tearing a bull to pieces, or one well lacerating another, afforded the highest gratification. Peculiar circumstances, indeed, seem to prove that the Burgesses of Congleton pre¬ ferred Bruin to their Priest, for it is recorded that in 1621 , they sold their bible to buy a bear; which has since been used as a stigma of contempt by the ma¬ lignant, but at which the present inhabitants of Con¬ gleton have the good sense to laugh, and even they themselves facetiously call their Borough, “Bear- town.” There are two accounts given of this curious transac¬ tion, the first of which, and indeed the most probable is, that there being a new bible wanted for the use of the Chapel, and the Corporation was not able to pur¬ chase one, though they had laid up part of the price. Meanwhile, the town-bear died, and the Bearward not having money sufficient to purchase another, he applied to the Corporation for assistance, who after mature deliberation thought it expedient to take the money laid by for the purchase of a bible, and give it to the Beanvard to buy a Bear. The other tradi¬ tion, which bears very hard indeed upon the morality of the good Burgesses of Congleton, roundly asserts, that they actually sold their bible, and gave the price of it to the Bearward to purchase another l T rsa Major / 208 APPENDIX. At the Court liolden the 14th day of April, 1625. Ordered, that if any Alderman, Capital Burgess, or Freeman of this Borough, shall in their public assem¬ bles demean himself uncivilly either in speech or ges¬ ture ; such offender for every such offence shall- for¬ feit for the use of the Corporation ten shillings, to be levied on his goods and chattels, and for default of such payment imprisoned until he submit himself to make payment thereof. Borough of Congleton, County of Chester , 163T. Certain Orders, Laws, and Ordinances set down by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Counsell of the Town aforesaid, for the better Regiment and Govern¬ ment of the Inhabitants of the same, and Preserva¬ tion of Peace and Order there, the 29th day of Sep¬ tember in the 13th year of the reign of King Charles, A. D. 1637. John Bradshaw, Mayor. Edward Drakeford, Justice of Peace. Randull Rode, William Knight, ditto. Alderman. Rauffe Wagg, ditto. / t Roger Hobson, ditto. / 1 \ John Rode, ditto. John Waller, ditto. Roger Buckley, Thomas Spencer, William Mot- tershead, John Bode, tanner, and twelve more. First. That the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Counsell, shall each of them within one month pro¬ vide themselves of a good and sufficient halberd to be kept in their houses, ready upon all occasions for the APPENDIX. 209 use and service of the town ; and that every Freeman and other Inhabitant of the said Town and Liberties thereof, mentioned in a note or catalogue subscribed by the Mayor, Justices, Aldermen,and Common Counsell, shall in like manner provide themselves with halberds for the same service before the Feast of St. Martin, under the penalty of 10s. each, to be immediately levied on their goods. And in case of resistance, the party resisting to be committed to prison, there to re¬ main till the said forfeiture be paid. 2d. The Mayor is entreated to procure the same, and he is to be paid by the parties within one week after they come to their hands. 3d. That all the Aldermen in their gowns, the rest of the Common Counsell, in their cloaks, and the Freemen aforesaid, with their halberds, shall attend on the Mayor, or Duputy Mayor, at the fairs and other convenient times which the Mayor or Deputy Mayor shall appoint, upon pain of forfeiting 5s. to be levied as above. 4th. I hat the Constables shall within three days bring all the halberds belonging to this town, unto the Town Hall, to be in the custody of the Seijeant until the keeping of them be disposed of by the Mayor, Alder¬ men, and Common Counsell. 5th. That lour Constables and five more of the Free¬ men, not being of the Common Counsell, shall attend the Mayor with their halberds to and from the Cha¬ pel every Sunday, and other holiday, at other times and places as they shall be required, under penalty of forfeiting 5s. to be levied as above for the town’s use, D j 210 APPENDIX. 6th. That no person shall suffer his swine to go abroad in the streets, under the penalty of 12 pence, to be levied according to former orders. 7th. Nor suffer his swine to trespass on his neigh¬ bours under the same penalty. 8th. That Mr. Redman, Minister of this town, shall have his former wages allowed, and well and truly paid to him, by contenting himself therewith, and ordering himself otherwise as is fit: and in de- fault thereof, a new Minister to be chosen, approved by the Mayor, with the consent and privity of the Aldermen and Common Counsell. 9th. In regard of the dangers of the times, by rea¬ son of the contagion of the sickness in the neighbour¬ ing countries; it being requisite that some good or¬ ders should be made, for the prevention, as much as may be, of the approaching danger, Avhich by God’s grace and blessing, may be the better prevented by due care taken in that behalf. It is therefore order¬ ed, that no innholder, alehouse-keeper, victualler, or any other person of this town, shall receive into their houses,* any carrier, malster, or other person travelling hither from Derby, or from other place, infected or suspected. Or receive any grain, malt, or other commodity from any common carrier, who shall not bring with him a sufficient certificate, that it came not from any place infected, or generally sus¬ pected ; and make oath of the same if required, upon pain of forfeiting for every such offence 20s. and that every person refusing to take such oath, shall imme¬ diately be committed to prison, or else with his horses APPENDIX. 211 and carriage (if he have any) to be conveyed out of the town, by the Officers, Wardens, and Watchmen. And it is ordered, that due and diligent Watch and Ward shall be continued at the accustomed places, in such manner and form as is appointed by the May¬ or and Justices, or any two of them. And whoever shall refuse to do his duty, shall forfeit 5s. to be le¬ vied as above for the town’s use. 10th. That no innkeeper, alehouse-keeper, or victualler, shall receive into his house, while the in¬ fection is in the neighbouring parts, any person after ten o’clock in the night, unless the said person is well known to them, and such as they will answer for, or be allowed by the Mayor or Justices, or some one of them. 11th. That whatsoever person of this town or lordship, shall presume to bring into this town any corn or fruit, or other commodity, during the time of the infection in the neighbouring countries, from any such infected place, shall immediately upon his return, be shut up in his house, or some other place appointed by the Mayor or Justices, and shall be de¬ tained there for twenty days , or longer, to be main¬ tained out of his own goods, if he have any, and if not, at the town’s charge. And Watch and Ward to be kept about the said house, during the said time of restraint, as the Mayor or Justice shall appoint. 12th. That whatsoever person within this town, shall presume by word or deed in unseemly manner, to affront or abuse the Mayor, Deputy, Justices, Con¬ stables, or other officers of this town, in the execution 212 APPENDIX. of his or their offices or places, shall, besides the le¬ gal penalty appointed in such cases, forfeit for every such offence, the sum of 5s. to be levied as above, if he be of ability ; if not, he shall be imprisoned and further punished, as to the Mayor, Deputy, Justices, or any two them, shall seem fit, and is agreeable to the Laws of this liealm. The said penalties to be levied by the Mayor’s Serjeant assisted by the Con¬ stables, if there be occasion, out of the offender’s goods. The same to be detained in the Serjeant’s hands five days, within which time, if the offender do not redeem them by paying the forfeiture; then the goods to be sold, and the forfeiture deducted, and the ovei plus returned to the party offending, March 4th, 1641. Daily allowance to every per¬ son shut up as sick and infected with the plague, two pence. Five pence a day for two Warders of the Cabins, and one other for the streets, to kill dogs December 18th, 1641. The infection or sickness in Congleton, first appeared in one Laplove’s house, which was warded day and night at Is. each. At an Assembly holden before George Forde, Mayor, the 26th of May, 1642. Ordered, That all such apparel, bedding, and other goods, which were the apparel, bedding, and goods ol Richard Goinber- bache, late of this Borough, deceased; Jane, his wife, and Jane, his daughter, both deceased ; and of John Comberbache, their son, now living; in regard of the danger they were in, and for preventing such further danger which might fortune to ensue thereby, shall be cut in pieces and buried immediately. The which APPENDIX. 213 said apparel, bedding, and goods, are particularly specified in a note bearing date as aforesaid. The Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Counsell, consent¬ ed to this order, except Rauffe Homersley. At an Assembly holden before George Forde, Mayor, June 23d, 1642. That the said Mayor shall provide clean and fresh clothes for all the people now within the Cabins, be¬ ing nine in number, at the common charge of the town’s box. Sept. 24th, 1642. Whereas information hath been given unto the Mayor of the Borough aforesaid, of several disorders committed by Richard Rode, of said Borough, tippler, viz. that he is vehemently suspect¬ ed for keeping and maintaining bawdry, and suffering- divers persons of ill government to continue drinking in his house; and that he is an enemy to the peace and welfare of the said Borough. Therefore the Mayor and Justices have thought it requisite, and do hereby under their hands, suppress the said Richard Rode. At an Assembly holden before Thomas Spencer, Mayor, August 24fh, 1649. Whereas, divers persons, some of them Inhabitants of this Borough, some Out-Burgesses, tho’ they in¬ habit not in the said Borough, yet have rents coming to their purses yearly for lands in the said Borough ; which said Burgesses are behind and unpaid all or most of their several laies and taxations, which have been imposed on them for four years last past, whereby the well affected and willing persons of the ) 214 APPENDIX. Borough have been over pressed and hurt to pay their several laies and assessments oftener than they should have done, and these persons that have been back¬ ward in their payments, have hitherto witheld their several payments, contrary to the several warrants, which have come to the Constables’ hands for the le¬ vying thereof, and contrary to all equity and good conscience. It is therefore ordered by the said Mayor and Common Counsell, that the Constables of this present year, together with all such as have been Con¬ stables for four years last past, shall all of them join together, and compel payment of whatever arrears of laies are behind, for the space and time aforesaid, and by what persons. The same laies and assessments to collect and gather in by distress or otherwise, be¬ twixt this and the fifth day of September next; at which time they are required, to give account of their doing herein to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Counsell of this town. And for their pains herein it is ordered, that they shall have and receive three¬ pence in the pound, for all said moneys they shall so collect. It is also further ordered, that the said Constables shall, for their several years, give in their several ac¬ counts of arrears respectively, to the Mayor within three days after sight of this present order. Then follow two assessments for a whole Mize, i. e. £12, through the whole township ; and one for three quarters of a Mize. February 18th, 1655-6. Thomas Spencer, Mayor. Upon consideration had of the abounding of alehouses APPENDIX. 215 within the Borough, and the inconveniences that hap¬ pen thereby, ordered, that all the persons whose names are underwritten be suppressed from brewing, selling, retailing, or uttering ale or beer within their dwelling-houses untill further orders therein ; and that the laws and statutes in that case made and pro¬ vided, be forthwith put in execution for the punishing of all such as shall offend therein. Eighteen names are underwritten. March 21st, 1656. Twenty-eight alehouse keepers allowed. July 28th, 1656. That all books and writings whatsoever, that concern the town, shall be called into the Town Hall, and shall hereafter be there kept, and not in the hands of any particular person ; and that there shall be a chest made for that end and pur¬ pose, the keys whereof the Overseers for the time being shall keep. May 6th, 1657. Thomas, Earl Rivers, Viscount Colchester, Lord Darcy Baron of Chick, sworn High Steward of Congleton. January 23, 1658. Admitted and sworn Freemen, Hugh Leigh, Esq. High Sheriff. Thos. Stanley, Esq. of Alderley. Thomas Croxton, Esq. of Ravenscroft. Jonathan Bryan, Esq. of Stableford. Henry Berkenhead, Esq. of Backford. Henry Bradshaw, Esq. of Marple. Peter Stanley, Esq. of Alderley. Thomas Brooke, Clerk, And eleven more styled Gentlemen. 216 APPENDIX March 9th, 1659. Mr. John Smith, Gent, of Hay Carr, in the county of Stafford, appointed Schoolmas¬ ter, and to receive ,£16. per annum, quarterly. Oct. 15, 1661. That every one of this Counsell do endeavour to procure a Minister to supply this place for one Sabbath day a-piece, until such time as an able Minister shall be agreed upon by this Counsell, to be hired to be constant Minister within the said Borough; and that in the mean time there be 10s. a Sabbath paid out of the common stock unto such Minister as shall be procured by any one. And that the Mayor do pro¬ vide for the first Sabbath, and so every one else in their several places. May 17th, 1662. At a meeting of the Commis¬ sioners appointed for the well governing and regula¬ ting of Corporations; four Aldermen, and seven Ca¬ pital Burgesses, including Jonathan Walley, the town clerk, were removed and discharged from their place, and others appointed in their stead. Oct. 6th, 1662. Matthew Lowdnes sworn Gaol- keeper, and a list of the mace, bridle for scolding women, bolts, locks, and manacles delivered to him. March 2d, 1668-9. John Walker, Mayor. That Mr. Barber, Minister, should be Schoolmaster too if he pleased. March 17th, 1668-9. “Being that Mr. Barber, Minister, hath neglected and slited the whole town very much; it is this day ordered, that he shall not preach any more in our Chappel.” May 18fh, 1669. That Mr. Armstrong should preach at this town until midsummer next, and after- APPENDIX. 217 wards if he was liked; and should be paid according to the town’s wages, i. e. 9s. 6d. a week. Sept. 14th, 1669. Mrs. Susannah Walker did pay for her freedom in this Borough of Congleton, the sum of £5. and if in case she chance to marry, her husband is to be free of any trade in this Borough, for the foresaid five pounds, already paid in the pre¬ sence of John Walker, Mayor; Richard Cotton, and William Newton, Justices; John Latham, and John Kent, Aldermen, &c. July 29th, 1670. Were admitted, and sworn Free¬ men of this town. Sir Thomas Middleton, Knt. and Bart. Sir Jeffrey Shackerley, Knt. Thomas Cholmondley, Esq. Charles Manwaringe, Esq. Mr. William Venables. Mr. Thomas Leigh. Mr. Peter Wilbraham. .. Mr. Roger Manwaringe. Mr. Pewsley Brookes. Messrs. John and William Grosvenor. Mr. Thomas Salisbury. Mr. Robert Vernon, and six more. May 19th, 1671. Richard Cotton, Mayor. John Turner, ironmonger, was disfranchised from being any longer a freemen, by reason, he seldom or never did give his appearance as other freeman usually doth ; or to serve any office, as other freemen have, and doth do. May 19th, 1674. Robert Hobson, Mayor. That e e 218 APPENDIX. Mr. Harrison be hired to be Minister of the Chapel of this Borough for one half year, provided he be al¬ lowed by the Bishop of this Diocese, to exercise the said function. August 26th, 1674. An usual Mize, i. e. £12. or¬ dered to be levied and collected, to defend the just rights and privileges of this Borough; Lawrence Tur¬ ner, of Drayton, having caused a writ Sufficiee, to be executed therein, granted out of the County Court of Chester, against Thomas Cotton, mercer, one of the Capital Burgesses of this Borough, contrary to our Charter. And that every person forthwith pay their proportions, upon this urgent occasion. Feb. 2d, 1676. Thomas Butcher, Mayor. That John Whittaker, bellman of this town, do pay 40s. yearly for the toll-corn which he receives in the mar¬ ket. That the said John, shall be more careful than heretofore in ringing of the bell at mornings and even¬ ings at due time; and in looking that the clock and chimes be kept in due order; and that he shall attend the Minister, and duly perform all the offices of Clerk and Sexton of the Chapel. Oct. 13th, 1677. John Walker, Mayor. That Charles Gerard, son and heir of Lord Branden, sworn a freeman of this Borough. April 8th, 1681. William Newton, Mayor. That Joseph Gray, an apothecary, be admitted a freeman of this Borough, he paying £10. That three Mizes, (£36 ) be levied and gathered on the lands and goods of the Inhabitants and Out- Burgesses, towards the repairs of the bridges of this Borough, APPENDIX. 219 Nov. 1st. 1681. William Harding, Mayor. That John Lighfoot, and Griffith Floyd, be suppressed from selling ale or beer for the future; and likewise all others of this Borough, that shall henceforth buy malt that is ground at any other mill, than the mill of this Borough. That Richard Brownsword, Capital Burgess, be displaced from his office, by reason of several words by him uttered, and other miscarriages by him com¬ mitted, contrary to his trust. May 4tli, 1684. Peter Lingard, Mayor. That an address to his sacred Majesty, King James the Second, be drawn up and presented, to congratulate his Ma¬ jesty’s peaceable and happy entrance on his reign, and government, whom God send him long to reign amen. Sept. 22d. 1691. John Shaw, Mayor. It is order¬ ed, that no person not being free of the town, shall at any time after the Feast of St. Michael next ensuing, by any means whatsoever, keep any shop or other place, inward or outward, for the shew, sale, or put¬ ting to sale, any wares or merchandize whatsoever, or use any art, trade, mystery, occupation, or handi¬ craft, within the liberties of the said Borough, upon pain to forfeit to the Gaoler of the said town, to the use of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the said Borough, the sum of fifty shillings, for every time such person shall keep any such shop, &c. or use any such art, trade, &c. within the said Borough, or liberties thereof. May 24th, 1698. John Vardon, Mayor. Robert Knight being so low and decayed in his estate, as to 220 APPENDIX. be unqualified to'serve the office of Mayor, &c. he is displaced from his office of Alderman. And Richard Kirks being confined in Chester for debt, and not likely to be liberated; is also displaced from his office of Capital Burgess. Several other instances occured soon after these, of persons being displaced at their own request, for age and infirmities. Sept. 9th, 1704. William Bailey, Alderman, stand¬ ing indicted at Chester, on two indictments as a com¬ mon drunkard, and common swearer; and for other misdemeanours, to the great scandal and disgrace of this Borough, is displaced from being an Alderman. William Femes, Esq. elected in his place, the same day. June 17th, 1709. John Shaw, Mayor. Mr. Mal- bon, the Minister, was elected Head Master, salary ,£1. per quarter, and what he would make by country scholars and perquisites; and Thomas Bourne, elect¬ ed Under-Master, at a salary of £3. per quarter, and to give bond of £100. to resign at half a year’s notice, if required by the major part of the Corporation. January 13th, 1718-9. Joseph Ward, Mayor. That Mr. Thomas Bourne be made a freeman gratis , having been the Under*Schoolmaster for several years last past, and having discharged his trust, to the content of the Corporation like an honest, painful, ingenious, careful gentleman. That Joseph Dean shall pay £4. 10s. for his free¬ dom, or 5s. a quarter for his stallage. March 18th, 1719. Account of the donation of Dr. APPENDIX. 22 Stanley, Dean of St. Asaph, viz. £200. to purchas- the Queen’s bounty for Congleton Chapel. Oct. 12th, 1722. Joseph Malbon, Mayor. Order for building the parlour and cellar to the school-house. Oct. 3d. 172.5. John Barlow, Mayor. That the Mayor in future, shall have the tolls of Shrovetide Fair, as a perquisite towards carrying off the said of¬ fice of Mayor decently. Nov. 7th, 1726. John Bostock, Esq. Mayor. That a new house shall be erected next spring, in the place of the old house, at the head end of the Moody-street, which was given by one James Hall, for the use of the Curates of this Chapel; and that the Corporation shall expend on the building thereof, any sum not ex¬ ceeding £100. which new house shall remain to the use of Mr. Walwood and his successors, Curates of said Chapel. April 3d, 1729. Thomas Kelsall, Mayor. That the Mayor of Macclesfield be written to, to cease tak¬ ing of Pickage and Toll from the Freemen of Con¬ gleton. Feb. 16th, 1730. William Amery, Esq. Mayor, lliat the Mayor, Justices, and Aldermen, (except Thomas Bowyer (who is Recorder of Macclesfield) meet some persons from Macclesfield to settle the above differences. Nov. 30th, 1736. Richard Martin, Mayor. A general older, that none but Freemen shall follow any trade within the town, on penalty of ten shillings a day. Oct. 27th, 1752. Joseph Bramball, Esq. Mayor. 222 APPENDIX. That the middle By-flat, or Poorhouse Garden, be demised to John Clayton, of Stockport, silk throws¬ ter, to erect mills thereon for the doubling of silk; with liberty of ten inches square of water from the Dane, and to alter the wheels and soughs of the pre¬ sent corn mills at his own expence, so that they may be worked as well as usual with less water; for the term of three hundred years, rent one shilling per ann. and to pay down £80. consideration money for the demise. And to give security, that his servants, workmen, and apprentices, from other towns and parishes, shall not gain settlements by his services: and for payment of one fourth part of the charge of repairing the great ware for the said mills May 2d, 1454. John Drake, Esq. Mayor. The Town Corn Mills let to John Clayton for £’160. during the lives of Nathaniel Pattison, Samuel Pattison, and James Clayton, and for 21 years after; and the said John Clayton is allowed to take the said Nathaniel Pattison, partner in the said mills. Feb. 21st, 1755. John Clayton, Mayor. That the statutes at large shall, with all convenient speed, be purchased at the charge and for the use of the Corpo¬ ration. Sept. 11th, 1759. Richard Martin, Mayor. That the Mayor and Justices of Peace shall be defended, supported, and indemnified from any suit prosecuted against them for anything which through ignorance they may have done, and not wilfully or through ma¬ lice, in the execution of their office, committed against the laws and statutes of this realm: and that the ex- APPENDIX. 223 pences of such actions and informations shall be de¬ frayed out of the revenues of the Corporation. July 29tli, 1763. Joseph Hill, Mayor. That there shall not be above thirty-four alehouses licensed in the town. May 2d, 1772. Philip Antrobus, Mayor. Whereas, Richard Sandbach, Curate, claims the freehold of our chapel of Congleton, and insists upon it, that no per¬ son hath any right to bury their dead in our said cha¬ pel, or to erect any monument in said chapel, or chapel yard ; and hath taken of the representatives of the late Richard Webster, Alderman, the sum of 10s. 6d. for his consent to bury the corpse of the said Richard W ebster in the said chapel, contrary to the usage and custom, which we look upon as an encroachment upon our rights and privileges in the said chapel. Ordered, that no person shall bury their dead in our said chapel, &c. without our licence and consent, and that the said Richard Sandbach shall have notice of this our or¬ der, and that a Cpunsell’s opinion shall be had thereon. April 12th, 1776. Thomas Yearsley, Mayor. R. Sandbach, Minister, having refused to visit sick peo¬ ple, and privately to baptize weak sickly infants, the Mayor and Justices for the time being, are appointed a Committee to manage, prosecute, and carry on a pre¬ sentiment against him in the Ecclesiastical Court. March 8th, 1798. John W r hitlield, Mayor. That the sum of £100. be given as a voluntary subscription to his Majesty, under “ An Act for granting a Con¬ tribution to his Majesty for the Prosecution of the War.” 224 APPENDIX. Sept. 6th, 1798. The sum of twelve guineas was ordered for the Congleton Volunteer Association ; and Feb. 3d, 1800, eight guineas more were ordered. Nov. 7th, 1803. Robert Hodgson, Mayor. That all the Charters, Muniments, and ancient Writings belonging to and respecting this Corporation be tran¬ slated, or otherwise fair written ; and that Mr. Mayor and the Town Clerk transmit the same to Mr. Beltz, Clerk to Sir Isaac Heard, of the Herald’s College for the above purpose. March 8th, 1804. This day agreed with James Brown, joiner, that he should build a new Town Hall, Prison, and Collonade, according to a plan produced, for which he should be paid the sum of £360. and have the old materials. Dec. 5th, 1805. The sum of ten pounds ordered to be given to the Patriotic Fund at Lloyd’s Coffee House, in aid of the families of those seamen, soldi¬ ers, and volunteers who fall this war, and of the wounded. Jan. 31st, 1806. Ordered that the public bell at Mrs. Foden’s house be removed to the Town Hall, and properly hung there for the benefit of the town. Nov. 6th, 1806. Ordered that the Address of this Corporation to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales passing through this town in September last, with the Prince’s Answer, be inserted in our Corpora¬ tion Book of Orders and Entries. COPY. “ May it please your Royal Highness, We, his Majesty’s your Royal Father’s loyal sub- HISTORY OF CONGLETON. 225 jects, the Mayor, Aldermen, Burgesses, and High Steward of the Borough of Congleton, humbly ap¬ proach your Royal Highness, with our respectful congratulations on your entrance into our most graci¬ ous Sovereign’s County Palatine of Chester, of which ancient County your Royal Highness is Earl. We devoutly pray, that when it shall please God to finish the glorious course of his most sacred and illustrious Majesty, your Royal Highness may be a blessing to ! and long reign over a free, prosperous, and loyal peo¬ ple. We felicitate ourselves on the fortunate occa¬ sion, which enables us to express those feelings of respect and affection, which we must ever entertain towards your Royal Highness, and every part of your August Family.” THE PRINCE’S ANSWER. “ To the Mayor, Aldermen , Burgesses, and High Steward of the Borough of Congleton. “ The universal sentiments of attachment and re¬ gard which have been manifested towards my person in every part of the country through which I have passed, and so conspicuously in your ancient Borough, have filled me with emotions not to be erased. Your welcome, particularly on my entrance into the County Palatine from which I derive one of my proudest honours, affords me an additional gratification ; and I desire to assure you, that the dearest wish of my heart, must and ever shall be, to promote the welfare and happiness of these kingdoms.” f f 226 HISTORY OF CONGLETON. Nov. 24th, 1806. That the school hours of our Grammar School, with the approbation of the present Schoolmaster, from the first day of November to the first day of March in each year, commence at half past eight in the morning. 1811. Number of Inhabitants in Congleton 4,616. 1814. Congleton wear across the Dane washed away by a Hood, and a new one erected which cost =£ 2000 . POPULATION OF IBW(DIE3i©W ®1 In the Year 1811 , IB HUNDREDS. BLCKLOSV ASHTON-UPOX-MERSEY, Ashton-upon-Mcrsey.. Sale.. ..* " BOWDEN. V.!!.... \ (o) Agden, part of. Altrincham .. Ashley. Bagnley. [ Boilington, pari of.. Bowden.... Carrington. Dnnham-Massev. Bale.... Partington... Timperley. (6) BUDNVORTH GREAT...! Anderton.. Antrobns. Aston.... Barn ton. Bartiugton. Budworlh Great. Cogshall. Comberbaeh.. Crowley... Dutton. D ..... Hu Hand Appleton... Leigh Little.. Marbury..... MarstOD...... Peover Little. Pickmere. Plnmbley........ Seven Oaks. Stretton. Tabley Inferior. Whitley Lower. Whitley Over. Whineham. GRAPPENHALL,. Grappenhall. Latchford. KNUTSFORD. Bexton..... Knutsford Nether. KnuLford Over*..* Ollerton. Toft. LYMM. MOBBERLEY. ROSTHERN. Leigh High. Martall-with-Warford. Mere. Millington. Peover Superior. ... Rosthern. Tabley Superior. Talton . RUNCORN. Acton Grange. Aston Grange. Aslon-Juxta-Sulton.. Clifton, alias Rock Savage. Paresbury.• • • •. Hallon. Norton... Preston-on-the-IIill... Runcorn.• •. Stockhano. Sutton. Tbelwail - • • • .. Walton Inferior -. Walton Superior. Weston * • • -.. wakburton.*.. HO! SKS. OCCUPATIONS. V m I & & 5 f I % '*> persons. Parish, Township, or, Extratp&roch al Place. - By how a c Cl 5. Families Families chiefly All other Families Inhabited. many Fa¬ milies Oc¬ cupied. CR s §L a> chiefly employ¬ ed in Agricul¬ ture. employed in Trade, Manufactures, or Handicraft. not corn- prized in the 2pre ceding classes. Males. Females. Total of Persons Parish Township l 156 166 0 5 95 57 14 467 451 91 S Township 158 166 0 2 92 67 7 445 456 901 Parish 13 Township 13 0 0 10 3 0 52 38 90 Township 406 415 0 6 82 276 57 973 1,095 2,032 Township 4S 5S 0 0 51 7 0 178 172 350 Township T9 79 2 3 51 16 1-2 237 227 464 Township 36 47 0 2 25 18 4 118 115 234 Township 66 72 0 0 4G 18 8 195 208 403 Township 81 84 0 0 27 49 S 239 241 480 Township 115 169 ] 0 126 15 2S 467 469 936 Township 165 166 1 0 97 48 21 467 462 929 Township 74 74 123 0 0 26 44 4 203 209 412 Township 121 0 6 93 30 0 323 301 624 Parish Township 42 46 0 0 9 37 0 97 323 220 Township Township 81 1 1 63 4 14 179 206 385 65 66 0 1 19 4 43 210 192 402 Township 99 106 1 0 27! 62 17 241 239 480 Township 14 14 0 1 13 1 0 39 42 81 Township 102 Hi 0 4 36 59 16 233 271 504 Township 14 14 0 1 11 O O 0 47 . 43 90 Township 35 36 0 O 16 16 4 88 75 163 Township 22 22 0 1 211 1 0 08 71 139 Township 37 54 0 0 47 7 0 165 148 313 Township 251 258 1 5 105 149 4 571 602 1,173 Township 54 72 0 1 48 10 14 158 182 340 Township 8 8 0 1 3 2 3 22 19 41 Township 63 67 0 2 2l 39 7 177 172 319 Township 20 23 0 - 0 0 9 9 £) 50 49 99 Township O I 31 0 27 4 0 85 83 168 Township 56 67 l 4 63 4 0 191 176 367 Township 26 Or? AO 0 1 19 7 0 70 77 147 Township 45 46 4 0 26 16 4 • 123 110 233 Township 17 21 0 1 id 5 0 68 61 129 Township 29 44 0 1 39 5 0 120 113 233 Towfishi p 51 51 0 0 35 14 9 130 136 266 Township Parish 78 80 0 0 50 22 8 229 191 420 Township 69 70 0 1 57 8 5 182 179 361 Township 189 196 3 9 95 94 7 426 518 944 Parish Township 9 9 0 0 8 1 0 . 27 31 58 Township 448 475 ] 5 26 270 1 73 993 1,121 2,114 Township 49 54 0 2 14 37 J l03 140 243 Township 43 46 '0 2 40 2 4 117 112 229 Township 38 38 0 1 27 6 5 102 109 211 Parish 315 348 1 2 123 193 30 923 985 1,908 Parish Parish 236 236 0 5 180 54 o 606 546 '"1,152 Township 159 161 3 0 118 33 10 419 441 860 Township 49 49 0 0 42 7 0 130 140 270 Township 104 104 0 1 61 21 22 288 280 568 Township 44 48 0 O •J 27 20 1 109 176 285 Township 84 87 1 3 68 13 6 241 239 480 Township 67 69 0 1 21 32 16 130 120 250 Township 79 83 5 1 59 10 14 221 188 409 Township 25 25 0 0 15 ~» 0 10 57 73 130 Parish Township 20 20 0 0 15 i 5 0 73 62 135 Township 4 4 0 0 4 ' 0 0 13 16 29 Township 34 35 1 0 3i ; 4 0 82 85 167 Township 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 18 18 38 Tow ns hi p 24 24 0 0 6 16 2 47 67 114 Township 151 177 0 1 65 102 10 463 431 S94 Township 30 30 2 0 21 5 1 1 10 111 221 Townsbi p 64 70 0 2 1 3 J 53 4 196 185 381 Township 350 400 6 8 34 1 339 27 948 1,112 2,0C0 Township 6 6 0 0 6 ( 0 11 5 0 23 15 38 Township 47 63 49 3 2 3 o 12 I r.n I 26 0 1 O l 167 1 34 159 265 326 Township 56 57 0 1 35 I 15 7 11 0 131 151 285 Township Township 37 38 42 38 0 0 1 0 22 1 23 | 9 15 83 90 235 92 99 175 189 Parish 86 87 0 4 52 L_ •JO UJ 235 470 i 1 5,929 6,306 42 105 3,034 i C3 g4' 710 13.930 16,473 32,403 NoTFs (a) Partly in Rosthern Parish ; bnt the whole is entered here, (b) Part of Great Liudworth Palish is in Norlhwich Hundred, part in Eddh-bnry Hundred. THE HISTORY OF KNUTSFORD. CHAPTER I. Antiquity of Knutsford—Population in 1801 and 1811— Manufac- turcs—A description of the Church—Free School—the Jubilee— Custom peculiar to the Inhabitants — Mr. Egerton’s School—A description of Tatton Hall—ffabley House, I^NUTSFORD, the principal town of Bucklow Hundred, in the Count}’ of Chester, is situated in a fine fertile country, eleven miles and a half from Macclesfield, eleven from Warrington, seven from Northwich, 26 from Chester, and 173 N. N. W, from London. This town is undoubtedly a place of great antiquity, and the derivation of its name is traced by antiqua¬ ries to the circumstance of King Canute having cross¬ ed the Birken with his army after a victory : hence it M as called Canute’s-Ford, and afterwards Knutsford.^ * Camden’s Britannia, vol. i. p. 487. 228 HISTORY OF KNUTSFORD. It is now a handsome well built town divided into two parts, Over, and Nether Knutsford, by the brook Birken, which rises about a quarter of a mile from the southern end of King-street, passes under the turn¬ pike road, and falls into Tatton Mere. Knutsford consists of the principal street called King-street, which is of considerable extent, and is the great thoroughfare of the town ; Princess-street, where the Sessions Hall is erected; the Market-place; Minshull-street; Silk Mill-street; and Swinton-square. A weekly market for provisions of all kinds is held on Saturday ; and there are three annual fairs, the first on Whit-Tuesday, the second on the 10th of July, and the third on the 8th of November, chiefly for drapery and cutlery. By a Charter granted by King Edward the First, it appears that William de Tableigh was then Lord of the Manor of Knutsford. In the lapse of ages it came into the possession of different families, and Wil- braham Egerton, Esq. is now Lord of the Manor. He has built a Court-House in the Market-place ; the Court Leet is held in the upper part of the building, and the lower part is open for the accommodation of the country people who come to the market. The Quarter Sessions for the County of Chester is held in the Sessions House in Princess-street, Knuts¬ ford, at Midsummer and Michaelmas; and at Ches¬ ter, on Lady Day and at Christmas, In the year 1801, Knutsford contained 481 houses, and 2,372 inhabitants. In 1811, it contained 497 houses, inhabited by 529 families; 1,096 males, 1,261 229 HISTORY OF KNUTSFORD. females. Total 2,3<57. According to these returns it appears that though the number of houses had in¬ creased, the number of inhabitants had decreased, which certainly affords no proof of the increasing prosperity of the town. But Knutsford is not subject to the fluctuations to which large manufacturing towns are exposed, for its manufactures are inconsiderable. In the year 1770 a large building was erected, in that part of Knutsford called Silk Mill-street, for doubling and twisting silk. After some years this business was discontinued, and the building was afterwards occu¬ pied by Cotton Spinners. This branch of manufac¬ ture has also failed, and the place is now occupied by cottagers. But the manufacture for which Knutsford was prin¬ cipally noted was that of thread. About thirty years ago the flax was brought to Knutsford in its raw state and spun, and the yarn twisted into thread in the town; but during the increase of the cotton manufacture, the flax-spinners became cotton-spinners, and the ma¬ nufacture of linen-thread was neglected. At present there is very little business done in the town either in the thread or cotton manufactures. The principal business of Knutsford is that of the different handicraft trades, and the town obtains much of its support from the public spirit and liberality of the opulent gentry who reside in its neighbourhood. The annual races also contribute both to the amuse¬ ment and emolument of the inhabitants ; and at that time the town is much enlivened by the presence of a great number of persons of rank and opulence. Balls 230 HISTORY OF KNUTSFORD. are occasionally given in an elegant assembly room, and Knutsford has long been considered a genteel place. The town though small is handsome ; the streets are kept clean, and the situation is salubrious. Knutsford Church is a handsome modern structure of brick and stone, similar to Christ’s Church Mac¬ clesfield. It is situated on a pleasant eminence near Ki ng-street, and is adorned with a square tow er which contains a clock and six bells. From the centre of the tower rises a flag-staff, where on all public occa¬ sions the union flag is displayed by the loyal townsmen of Knutsford. On receiving the news of the memo¬ rable and truly important victory achieved by British valour over the pirates of Algiers, the people of Knutsford kept their flag flying for three days. Knutsford Church is a vicarage, the Rev, Henry Grey is the present Vicar, and the Rev.-Bou- vier is Curate. The living, which is Avorth £400. per annum, is in the gift of four patrons alternately^—Sir J. F. Leicester, of Tabley ; Wilbraham Egerton, Esq. of Tatton ; Ralph Leicester, Esq. of Toft; and Wil¬ loughby Leigh, Esq. of Booth’s. There is a free Grammar School in this town for the instruction of forty boys, and the Institution is endow¬ ed with lands to the value of £30. per annum. The Rev. P. Vanett is the present master, and he also keeps a boarding school. The inhabitantsof Knutsford are remarkable for their loyalty and attachment to the House of Brunswick. Hitherto indeed they have had no opportunity of sig- HISTORY OF KNUTSFORD 231 nalizing their zeal in the Held of glory, though they have a line troop of volunteer cavalry; their loyal demonstrations have happily been confined to civic festivities, of which the most memorable instance was that of tiie Jubilee celebrated in honour of his present Majesty’s commencement of the fiftieth year of his reign. The following description of the rejoicings in Knutsford on that occasion is given by an eye witness. “ The flag presented to the townsmen of Knutsford, by their lamented, patriotic, loyal, and charitable townswoman, Lady Jane Stanley, to be used on all occasions of rejoicing, w as hoisted upon the Hag stall' on the top of the steeple, and the streets were cleaned, and sanded with various appropriate mottos, a custom peculiar to Knutsford. The cavalry and in¬ fantry marched to Church, preceded by the Sunday School scholars, where they and the principal nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood heard an excellent sermon preached by their new Vicar, the Rev. Henry Grey, (nephew to the Earl of Stamford and War¬ rington) with the anthem of ‘ God save the King,' sung by Captain Leech. “ After divine service, the volunteers were review¬ ed by their commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Fleming Leicester, Bart, they were then dismissed, and retired to the different inns, where dinners were provided tor them. At the George and Angel Inns, large parties of the officers and gentlemen of the town and neighbourhood dined. At seven o’clock, numer¬ ous parties were much gratified on the heath by a grand display of fireworks, which were let oil by 232 HISTORY OF KNXJTSFORD. Charles Cholmondeley, Esq. ; after which a very large bonfire of wood was lighted on the race-ground. When the Volunteers marched back, they sung e God save the King, 1 at the door of that worthy officer Ma¬ jor W right, with loud cheers. There was an elegant and well attended ball at the George Inn. A liberal subscription was made for the poorer inhabitants. To each man, woman, and child, two pounds of prime beef were given, with a proportion of good ale.” The custom of strewing the streets of Knutsford with brown sand, and making emblematic figures in it in white sand, mentioned in the foregoing description, is certainly peculiar to this town, but except in this in¬ stance of the Royal Jubilee, it has been confined to rejoicings on the marriage of any inhabitant of the town or its neighbourhood, when in addition to the usual mode of expressing their joy by the ringing of bells, the relations and friends of the happy cou¬ ple sweep the street and footway before their doors, adorn them with ingenious devices in sand, and strew them over with fiowers, but too emblamatic of the precarious and transitory felicity of human life. Near the end of King-street, the entrance to Tat- ton Park is a conspicuous ornament to the town. This entrance is by large iron gates with a beautiful plan¬ tation of flourishing trees on each side. A neat man¬ sion on the left, built in the cottage style, thatched, and almost concealed from the passenger by the cir¬ cumambient trees, is consecrated to female industry and virtue. It is a spinning-school founded and amply supported by the benevolence of Mrs. Egerton,. of HISTORY OF KNUTSFORD. 233 Tatton Hall. In this school eighty day scholars re¬ ceive gratuitous instruction in reading, writing, spin¬ ning, and whatever can render them useful to society. Six orphan girls are also clothed, maintained, and edu¬ cated in this School, and when properly qualified to become good servants, their humane patroness places them in comfortable situations. Such beneficence is above eulogium, and will doubtless be recorded in a more durable memorial than the perishable pages of this history. The vicinity of Knutsford is remarkable for the number of gentlemen’s seats with which it is adorned. No less than ten elegant villas are to be seen within a few miles of the town, and as several of the proprietors are residents, they very materially contribute to the prosperity of Knutsford, by the patronage which they afford to the industrious part of the inhabitants. The appearance of these extensive parks, with their ancient groves and coppices of full grown oaks, elms, beeches, and limes; their young and vigorous plan¬ tations, and beautifully diversified pleasure-grounds, smiling in all the forms and hues of vegetative beauty, and still farther embellished by the majestic grandeur of antique or modern architecture ; affords the highest gratification to the admirers of picturesque scenery and rural magnificence. Among those favourite retreats of British independence, Tatton Hall, the country re¬ sidence ol Wilbraham Egerton, Esq. commands the attention of the intelligent observer. Tatton Hall is situated on a gentle eminence in thq middle of the park. The front is of beautiful freestone;, G S 234 HISTORY OF KNUTSFORD. and built in the Corinthian order, from a design by that skilful architect, Wyatt. The structure consists of the main body and two wings; the entrance is by a few steps through a handsome portico of four Corinthian columns, which support an elegant pediment. The wall is adorned with four pilasters in the same order of architecture, and the appearance altogether is sim¬ ple and beautiful. The commodious and comfortable interior, harmonizes with the superb exterior of this mansion, and the whole building is calculated for the accommodation of the proprietor, his family, and nu¬ merous dependants. The lawn in front, by a gentle and almost imperceptible declivity, declines towards Tatton Mere, a large lake abounding with the finny tribes, at the distance of half a mile from the Hall, and extending along the vale till hid by the distant trees. Tatton Park contains hundreds of full grown timber- trees, and is said to be twelve miles in circumference. Tabley House, the residence of the proprietor. Sir J. F. Leicester, Bart, is another noble mansion in the neighbourhood of Knutsford, It is also a modern structure, built in the Doric order, and on a magnifi¬ cent scale. The high and massy Doric columns which adorn the portico, strongly impress the idea of durabi¬ lity. The stables, in which the baronet keeps a fine stud, are perhaps equal in convenience if not magnitL cence, to the stables of the Prince Regent. HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. CHAPTER X. Existence of Stockport in the time of the Saxons and Romans, asserted by one antiquary, and denied by another—its existence as a Barony in the time of William the Conqueror asserted—Stockport Castle inhabited by Geoffrey de Constantine, in I 173 —Charter granted to the Burgesses of Stockport, in 1260 —the Silk manufacture esta¬ blished in that toum, in the eighteenth century—Battle between the Royalists and Republicans, at Stockport, in 1644 —Stockport invad¬ ed by the Scotch Rebels , in 1645. The antiquity of Stockport is indisputable; it has existed for centuries as a fortified post, and is now the first town in the county of Chester with respect to po¬ pulation, manufactures, and commerce. In this brief history of Stockport, it will be requisite to elucidate its antiquities, which will be no easy task, as the most cele¬ brated writers on the subject are of different opinions. Mr. Whitaker, indeed, who is remarkable for the de¬ cisive tone with which he utters his conjectures, seems 236 HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. to view the objects of antiquarian research as greater in proportion to their remoteness; “ As things seem large which we thro’ mists descry, Dulness is ever apt to magnify,” and he consequently speaks with the utmost confidence in his description of the antiquities of Stockport. “ The town of Stockport,” says he, “ appears evi¬ dently the one common centre to three or four very variously directed roads of the Romans. The High- street advances to it from Manchester; and the Pep¬ per-street hastens to it from Handford; and in the parish of Ashton, and near the foot of Stayley-bridge, is a third road, commonly denominated Stayley-street, for a mile together, the main line of which lies point¬ ing clearly from Castle-shaw to Stockport. These are sure signatures of a Roman station ; this must have been fixed upon the scite of the castle, and was the area of the Castle-hill, at Stockport. This is exactly such a scite as the Romans must have instantly selected for such a station ; that is a small area, detached from the level ground of the Market-place, and connected with it only by an isthmus. The area must have been the actual scite of the castle in the earliest period of the Saxon residence among us; as the castle must have originally communicated its name to the town, and as both were denominated Stockport, because the former was a port or castle in a wood. The area is about half a statute acre in extent; the scite is still incomparably strong in itself, and the position is happily fitted for the ford. The station must have had a steep of one hundred or one hundred and twenty yards, upon three HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. 237 sides of it; and must have been guarded by a foss, across the isthmus. The Roman road from East Che¬ shire must have been effectually commanded by it; being obliged, by the circling current of the Mersey, to approach very near to the castle ; and being evinc¬ ed, by the remaining steepness of the neighbouring banks, to have actually ascended the brow in a hol¬ low, immediately below the eastern side of it.” When England was exposed to the predatory incur¬ sions of the Danes, who had obtained a footing on the northern coast of the kingdom, and from time to time received reinforcements from the Continent, Stock- port was undoubtedly a place of importance, from its naturally strong situation on the steep bank of a ra¬ pid river. Indeed there is a traditionary account that the Anglo-Saxons fortified Stockport, and that the Danish assailants were repulsed from this place with great slaughter. This event is mentioned by Nichols in his poem “ De Littcris Invent is ,” in the following lines. Fama refert, Danos ubi nunc Stopporta locator, Affectus olim clade fuisse gravi: Inde urbi nomen, praedonum incursibus obex, Quod datus, hie Anglis sit quoque parta salus.” In corroboration of this tradition, great numbers of human bones have been dug up in Stcckport-park, a field below the scite of the ancient castle. Most antiquaries agree that Stockport was one of the eight baronies of Cheshire, created by Hugh Lu¬ pus in the reign of William the Conqueror, but this is 238 HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. controverted by Sir Peter Leycester, who says, “ as to the baron of Stockport mentioned by Spellman, it is much to be doubted whether he were any of the arn cient Barons of the Earl of Chester; howbeit his arms are put up in the Exchequer at Chester among the Barons : but all those arms were but of late times put up there, and where the Baron of Monte-alto is most unjustly above the Baron of Halton. u It is certain that in Domesday-book we find not any person that held Stockport; whereby it may seem then to be waste and not inhabited. And as concerning Sir Riehard de Stockportand his Family, we find little or no mention before the reign of Henry the Third, in which King’s reign the ancient Earls of Chester were extinct: so that the family of Stockport could be none of the ancient Barons.”* Another ingenious writer,''f however, asserts the high antiquity of the barony of Stockport with great plausibility, and his reasoning is entitled to the atten¬ tion of whoever feels interested in the subject. “ Af¬ ter William the Conqueror,” says he, “ thought him¬ self firmly established on his throne, he bestowed many provinces and counties of this realm on the Barons who assisted him. Those strengthened the counties respectively allotted to them, in the mode that seemed best adapted to secure their possessions from the in¬ cursions of their neighbours. The counties palatine (as they have since been called) were judged to be in greater danger than the others, and greater attention * Historical Antiquities, folio, p. 162. | Tht late Rev. John Watson, of Stockport. HISTORY OF STOCKPORT 239 was therefore paid to their defence. Thus, in the ad¬ joining county palatine of Lancaster, Roger Pictaven- sis, the Earl, caused the whole jurisdiction to be sur¬ rounded with a chain of forts; some of which I shall mention, as their situations are immediately connected with the illustration of my Iftibject. “ One of these forts was at Widnes, where a Baron was stationed to protect that part of Lancashire from the incursion of the Cheshire people; and as their jealousy was mutual, opposite to this on the Cheshire side, was Haulton Castle; and Nigel, or rather Wil¬ liamson of Nigel, was fixed there w ith some title, and stationed in such a manner as to guard the country from any surprize, either from Warrington, another Lancashire barony, or Runcorn Ferry. The next barony on the Lancashire side, above Warrington, was Newton, erected as well to strengthen the former, as to oppose any passage out of Cheshire, over the river Mersey, at Hallingreen Ferry; and lest from this sta¬ tion, and over this ferry, damage should be done to the inhabitants of Cheshire, the Earl of Chester made Ham de Masei another of his Barons, and placed him opposite to the above at Dunham. Another barony of the Lancashire palatinate was Manchester, erected as a guard on one side, against any incursion from Stretford, and on the other against the military station which appears to have been in very early times at Stockport. Now as all the above Lancashire Barons were made in the reign of the Conqueror, by Roger Pictavensis, it seems to follow that the barony of Stock- port is as old as the rest within the county of Cbes- 240 HISTORY OF STOCKPORT ter ; for why should every other Lancashire barony be guarded against, which lay opposite to Chester, and not that at Manchester ? If such an opening in the county was permitted to remain unguarded, the other establishments must have been useless.” This reasoning of Mr. Watson seems conclusive, and indeed from the commanding, elevated, and it might be added inaccessible scite of ancient Stockport, on the steep and high bank of the Mersey, which divides the counties of Chester and Lancaster, there can be no doubt but a fortress was made to protect the neigh¬ bouring country from hostile incursions. But the opi¬ nion of Mr. Whitaker, that Stockport was a Roman station is controvertible, and equally vague and dubi¬ ous ; for if that enterprizing people had established the Head-quarters of any of their Legions here, some re¬ mains of their architecture, arms-, or coin, would long since have been discovered on the spot. The first written document of the existence of Stock- port Castle, is dated in the year 1173, in the nineteenth year of the reign of Henry the Second. It was then held by Geoffrey de Constantine, of Hugh Bohun, the fifth Earl of Chester, in lineal descent from Hugh Lu¬ pus,^ nephew to William the Conqueror. At this early period of its history, the town of Stockport was but an inconsiderable place as to traffic, but of very great importance as a fortified post. When the male line of succession from Hugh Lupus became extinct, in the reign of Henry the Third, he bestowed the Earl¬ dom of Chester on his eldest son Prince Edward, who * From m ancient MS. dated J40Q. HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. 241 was equally remarkable for his munificence, and pub¬ lic spirit in promoting the prosperity of Cheshire. While this Prince exercised his authority as ruler of the palatinate of Chester, he conferred many immu¬ nities upon the inhabitants of different towns within his jurisdiction, particularly those of Chester, Macclesfield, and Stockport. At this time Roger de Stokeporte held the Town and Castle of Stockport under Prince Edward, and was permitted by him to grant a charter in the year 1260, to the inhabitants, by which each of his Burgesses was entitled to a homestead and an acre of land, for the sum of one shilling, to be paid annually. He also granted a market to be held weekly in Stock- port on Fridaj', and a fair to be held yearly on the feast of St. Winifred, and to be continued for seven days. Such privileges in that remote age must have been highly advantageous to the inhabitants of Stockport; while the situation of the town on the verge of two fer¬ tile and extensive counties was conducive to its pros¬ perity, and the gradual increase of its extent arid popu¬ lation. But during the predominance of monkish su¬ perstition for centuries, few and vague are the records of even the most celebrated cities of England. Eccle¬ siastical History, and the legends of sainted indivi¬ duals who were canonized for bestowing their treasures tor the endowment of monasteries, nunneries, priories, and chantries, constituted the bulk of the records of those dark ages, when the Holy Mother Church of Rome interdicted the promulgation of knowledge both divine and human, and confined the opinions 242 HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. and the creed of her votaries within the mysterious circlet of her worse than necromantic, though profes¬ sedly catholic influence. Consequently, whoever had the magnanimity to resist the tyrannic assumptions of the Hierarchy, was described by those priestly historians as a demon; while the devotee who robbed relations, friends, and even children to enrich the Church, was inscribed in the sacerdotal kalendar as little less than a divinity. From this view of facts, it must follow, that few of the early transactions which occurred in Stock- port have reached us, for this great manufacturing and commercial town owes its present importance to the ingenuity, enterprize, and praiseworthy industry of emancipated Englishmen; and it is only since the Reformation, nay, since the middle of the eighteenth century, that the hills oh which the town stands, have been covered with houses, manufactories, and ware¬ houses, and the streets thronged with a busy populace. With respect to its ancient establishments, the old Church dedicated to St. Mary was first built about five centuries ago ; and its Grammar-School was founded in the year 1487. But it was not till the firm estab¬ lishment of civil and religious liberty at the glorious revolution in 1686, that Stockport, in common with many other English towns, rose into consequence. Since that felicitous era the human mind expanding with an enlarged sphere of action, has been incited to exercise those inventive faculties conferred by the be¬ neficent Creator for the good of society; new arts have been devised, and those practised by our ancestors have been improved. All the elements have been HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. 213 made subservient to the progressive enterprize of our manufacturers, and the productions of the cotton- spinner, the weaver, and the printer, have for beauty of texture, elegance of pattern, and brilliancy of co¬ lour, excited the admiration of natives and foreigners, and commanded an extensive market both for home consumption, and among the Continental nations of Europe and America. That the raw material of cot¬ ton should be exported from the Northern and the Southern shores of America, imported into this coun¬ try, and afterwards manufactured, and returned across the vast Atlantic, and sold to the original cultivator at perhaps one hundred times its original value when in an unmanufactured state, affords a demonstration of the superiority of British ingenuity above all eulogium; and for this ascendancy of genius in every branch of handicraft art, as well as in the steady progress which we maintain as a people in the elegant arts and scien¬ ces, we are doubtless indebted to that Freedom which is only bounded by the precepts of the Deity, and the salutary laws of an enlightened community. Wher¬ ever Liberty has existed in ancient or modern nations, knowledge and happiness have prevailed, and the human soul stimulated by the love of excellence, has made such attainments in whatever was useful and beautiful as proved the dignity of her high, her god¬ like destination ; but in those nations debased by sla¬ very, where the fiat of a Despot was the law of the land, and where man ignobly idolized a human being under whatever name, as Pontiff, Emperor, King, or Regents, instead of worshipping the Creator, the 244 HISTORY OF STOCKPORT; mind, though incited by “ immortal longings has sunk beneath the depression of vassalage into imbeci¬ lity and insignificance. It has been asserted by Dr. Aiken, that the first English Mills for winding and throwing silk, were erected in Stockport; and he states that the names of the individuals who began the business in this town, were Thomas Eyre, of Stockport; Talbot Warren, Esq.; Thomas Hadfield, and George Nicholson, of Heaton Norris, Lancashire, chapmen ; and John Gur- nell, of London, merchant. The time when they com¬ menced business as Silk throwsters is not mentioned, but it must have been nearly a century ago, and prior to its introduction into Macelesfield, for in the year 1752, John Clayton, an experienced Silk throwster of Stockport, went to Congleton, and erected a Silk mill on the banks of the Dane. During the civil war between Charles the First and the Parliament, Stockport was the scene of a short but sanguinary engagement. In 1644, the town was occu¬ pied by a division of the Republican army, consisting of 3000 cavalry and infantry, commanded by Colonel Duckenfield. On the 25th of May, they were attacked by the Royal army, led by Prince Rupert, and after a severe conflict, were defeated, and a great number of them killed and wounded. The Prince immediately entered the town with his victorious troops, crossed Stockport bridge, and proceeded rapidly to Man¬ chester. HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. 245 CHAPTER II. Progress of the Cotton manufacture in Stockport—prosperity of the town—increase of its inhabitants—public buildings — St. Mary's Church — St. Peter’s—the Grammar Schools—Stockport Sunday- School — Police — Market-Fairs. In the year 1766, James Hargrave, a weaver, resi¬ dent near Blackburn, invented the machine called a Jenny, by which he spun ten threads of Cotton at once. This machine was soon afterwards improved by Richard Arkwright, a barber, who lived at Bolton, and the manufacture of Cotton was increased in Lanca¬ shire with rapidity and success, unparalleled in the history of commerce. The success of the Cotton spinners of Lancashire, induced some enterprizing individuals in Stockport, to engage in that branch of manufacture in 1775, and from the facility of communication with Manchester, they obtained a ready and profitable market for their reeled weft. In 1780, some active Cotton manufacturers in Stock- port wove checks, and fustians; and as the machine called a Mule was invented about this time, by which Cotton threads were drawn to a sufficient degree of fineness, the manufacture of muslins both plain and figured, was successfully established at Stockport. From that time, the increase in the population and extent of Stockport were almost incredible; instead of 246 HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. the obscure and miserable place which formerly ap¬ peared on the Cheshire side of the river Mersey, a new town was erected as if by inchantment; streets and houses annually increased on the hills and in the val- lies; manufactories were erected, and thousands of busy hands employed in a new and productive staple of national wealth ; artizans attracted by the hope of gain flocked hither, and the scene became equally gra¬ tifying, interesting, and important, to the merchant, the philosopher, and the statesman. A distinct idea of the increase in the population of Stockport, may be formed from the following facts. STOCKPORT BILL OF MORTALITY. Years. Married. Baptized. Buried. 1750 47 107 - 206 1770 93 110 - 209 1780 - 108 173 - 250 1790 - 224 316 - 369 From 1T90 to 1800, the increase was greater than in any other ten years of the eighteenth century; for in 1800 the Baptisms were 564, and the Burials 656* which on the common statistical calculation, would imply a population of at least 16,000 persons^ According to the population returns in 1801, the inhabitants of Stockport were 14,830, of whom 14,380 were reported to be employed in trade, manufactures, and handicraft. In 1811, the number was increased to 17,545, exclusive of the inhabitants of Heaton Nor¬ ris amfPortwood in the vicinity of the town. HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. 247 In the year 1815, Stockport and its vicinity contain- cd f orty large bui ldings occupied b y Cotton spinners; f ifty-five Cotton ma nufact ories in the various branches of checks, fustians, and muslins, and ei ghteen large Hat manufactories. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. st. mary’s church. The most conspicuous and magnificent edifice in Stockport is the Parish Church, dedicated to^St. Mary. It is erected on the scite of the Old Church, on a gen¬ tle elevation near the eastern end of the Market-place, and is built of beautiful yellowish Runcorn stone, in the Gothic style of architecture, and adorned with a lofty square tower. The exterior part of this Church is now complete, and when the interior is finished with proportionate elegance, it will be one of the most spa¬ cious and beautiful places of public worship in the island. This edifice, which for centuries will be a no¬ ble monument of the piety and opulence of the present public-spirited inhabitants of Stockport, will according to the estimate cost about £30,000. which is levied by Church leys on the proprietors of houses and their te¬ nants, in the proportion of three fourths on the former and one fourth on the latter. The first stone of this Church was laid on Monday, July 5, 1813, by Wilbrahaham Egerton, Esq. one of the Representatives in Parliament for the county of Chester, and the edifice was finished in the spring of W7. 248 HISTORY OF STOCKPORT. St. Mary’s is a Rectory, and the living is said to be worth £1200. a year. > _ st. peter’s church. This small Church is situated on a hill on the west¬ ern side of the town. It was built by Peter Wright, Esq. and endowed by him with £200. a year. It con- ’ tains a very fine organ. . There are ten places appropriated to religion in Stockport; namely, the two Churches ; two Meeting hou^ps for the Calvanists; three for the Methodists, including two for the followers of John Wesley, and one for the Kilhamites; one Unitarian Chapel; one Quaker’s Meeting house; and one Chapel for the Roman Catholics, which is situated at Edgley, in the vicinity of the town. : Stockport Grammar School was founded in the year 1487 by the Goldsmith’s Company in London. It was endowed by Edmund Shaw, with £10. per annum, which has since been increased to £36. - Sto.ckport Sunday-School, supported by Christians of all denominations, is situated on an eminence near Edgley, and is a very conspicuous object. This edi¬ fice, 132 feet in length, 57 in width, and four stories high, was erected by voluntary subscription. The first stone was laid on the 14th of June, 1805. There are now upwards of 3000 children instructed in it, by gra¬ tuitous teachers, and since its doors were first opened for the communication of knowledge, 20,000 young per¬ sons have been trained up in the way they should go* . ... POPULATION OK In the Year 1811 . many Fa¬ milies Oc¬ cupied. BHOXTON >li(h Division (•) ALFORD Pariah. Alford. Churton by Alford.... (6) BUNUURY Parish, lliirnunlilov... CODDINGTON PnrUhV Alili'l.lcy. Chowley.' ('•'ddinirton. FA ON DON Parish. Barton. Chur ton by l-aradon.... Clinton. Crrwe.* . 11ANI)LET Parish. ” Hundley. 11 ARTIIII.I. Parish Kingsroarsh F.xlru P. M ALP AS Pariah Agdrn.. Bickrrton... Bicklry. Bradley-.. Broxton. Uulkeloy.. ChiJlou. Cbolroondelt-v .. Cborlton. Cuddingion . Iluskmgion. . Rgerton. Hampton . I nrklon... ... MAcofen..... Malpns.. Neuron. . Oldcastle. Overton. Stockton.. .... Tushington with Grindlcy Wichnlgh. Wigland ... .... 8HOCKLACB Parish C.ildwi'Ot. Shockloch Church. Sbnclilach Ovialt. T1L8TON Parish-. Carden. Omfton. Horton... Strrttou. Tilston. Township Township Township Township Township Tow nslup Township Township Township Township Township Township Township Tow nslup Township Township Township Township Township Tow nship Township Township 1 OM llstlip Township Township Tow nslup Township Township T ow nslup Township Tow nship T own ship Township Township Township Township Township Township Tow nship Township Township Township Families Ksniilhs chlrfly d^As’rlcaV' A 8 23 204 187 391 6 9 100 95 195 0 0 125 125 250 6 t) 74 83 157 0 0 31 37 68 2 7 59 74 133 9 6 89 88 177 7 0 58 70 128 3 0 38 413 81 1 1 IS 20 38 16 41 165 172 337 11 2 106 109 215 7 1 89 131 220 0 0 21 16 40 0 2 CO 40 100 10 u 165 113 308 15 |3 201 215 419 l) 0 31 32 63 9 2 165 166 331 5 1 82 83 165 0 0 5 7 12 3 0 116 135 251 2 0 39 as 94 s 6 107 116 225 0 10 32 72 0 0 119 157 276 5 2 52 59 III 0 0 95 95 190 0 0 33 31 64 1 25 29 54 74 107 478 4t>0 938 1 9 7 10 0 42 52 94 0 1 49 52 101 10 18 3 0 ICO 116 . 216 0 0 16 1 I 30 11 1 73 93 1 (8 0 1 no 26 56 5 2 73 83 156 0 0 70 85 155 5 6 85 08 183 0 0 9 8 17 59 57 116 1 7 44 57 101 7 35 116 148 294 213 293 3,811 4,026 7,837 58 13 307 353 660 0 0 26 30 66 0 0 4 3 7 13 10 288 272 560 1 II II 22 1 0 35 40 75 1 0 24 20 44 1 1 30 39 69 4 2 117 113 229 x U 46 49 95 0 2 26 28 54 IJ 137 129 266 62 58 120 0 7 27 31 58 1 1 49 61 110 1 6 2 93 89 182 0 0 6 15 21 0 0 61 63 124 30 58 • 43 85 128 86 154 123 247 0 33 31 67 n 0 9 9 18 88 125 213 » 53 47 l< 0 1 123 125 248 4 66 66 132 1 21 83 68 111 8 11 130 113 243 3 0 35 40 75 0 33 33 0 0 331 337 668 1 0 74 73 147 7 0 102 110 212 8 1 133 130 263 156 140 2,821 2,993 5,811 BROXTON, lllgf. Do ...on, conllourd. (a) ALDIOltD f’urish Houghton Great .. Bucrtou. Cliftrlon Heath. CllRlSI.ETON Parish C'brislleton . Cotton Abbots . Cotton Edmnnda. Littleton.. Itowtnn. DODDLKSTON Parish .. Kinnerloii Lower. KCCLESTGN Parish Fntoi Ecoleeton . CJl 1LDFN SUTTON, (t) HANDLKY Parish Colburn David .. (c)MARH 8T. Pariah (tf) Gloverstone... Malston with I.eacli ... Most on. Upton. OSWALD ST. Parish Bach. Huntington . Lea New bold. Newton.. •• Snigbton... W PLBMON8T ALL Parish Congball. Hoole .. Pickton. Mickle Tmfford. piiLKOHD Pariah pool ton. Pol ford.. (,) TARVIN Parish poulk Stapleford. .. TATTFNHALL Parish Golborn Bellow. New ton . Tattcnbtttl. WAVKRTON Parish. Hatton. Huxley . Waverton . . Township Tow nship Township Township T ow nslup Township Township Township Township Township Parish Tow nship Township Township I Township : Township j Township Township ! Township Township I Township Township j Township ) Township Township i Township 30 | 18 Township Township l ow nship Township Township low nship Korea (a) Tartly In Broxton Hundred. Lower Du . s j 0D . N 1 be great! s t pnrt of Bonbury P»ruh U in Kddj*. bury Hundred, lat Division. (a) Tartly in Broxton Hundred, High Division. (4) lor the gr< ateat pai t of St. Mary's and bt. Oswald's, see Cheater City, al the end of the County. (0 Now converted Into barracks. ( wl .. BEilBING ION Parish Bvbbington Higher. Ilebbington Lower _.'. Poultou uitb Spittle .... Storoton. Trim more. BIDSTONE Parish Bidstone with Ford. Birkinhend. ('loughIon with Gratnge Morelon. Snnghiill Massey. ... (•) UROMBOKROW i*. Brimstoge. HKSWALL Parish G nylon... Res trail with Oldfield... THUHSTASTON Parish UPTON or OVER- / CHURCH Parish. ] W A LI, \ZEY Parish Poultou with Sencomb.. Wnlliiaev. WpSTklRBY Parish.. Caldoy Great and Little. Fmnkby. Greasby. Hoose. Mevise Great. Meslso Little. Newlou with Larton... • Weotkirby. WOODCHURCH Parish Arrow... Bsrnston Irby 1 jtndieun. Noctorum Oiton.... Pensby .. Prenton... Thtngwell. Woodeburoh No,,,. (») Partly i" Lo ' nr Dlrisionoftbl. Hundred. lb) The irrt’atost part of thr Holy Trinity, Si. Maty’,, and St Oswald'. Parlsl , is Id Ih. City of Cheater. MWSSW »»»»«»»»•**»»*»»***** ««««■%< *- - ? \