History & Heritage
in and around Greater Manchester

Alphabetical Order - continued:

Bostocks who lived in Cheshire had their ancestry in one Osmer, the Saxon Lord or Thane of the Manor of Bostock. Strict puritans by the time of the Reformation and dissatisfied by the Church's tolerance of Catholics, Arthur Bostock emigrated to America around 1640 and established a large Connecticut-New Hampshire Bostock ancestry. The Bostocks held extensive lands throughout Cheshire and parts of Lancashire including at Great Budworth, Warmingham, Church Coppenhall and in Church Minshull. Broadbottom Hall was built by them in 1680 and up to the 19th century, Broadbottom Hall and much of the surrounding land was owned by the Bostock family. The name is sometimes written as Bostwick or Bostick in America, but has the same root.

Sir William Bradshaw was first user of the surname, having changed it from the earlier form of Bradshaigh (Brafishaigh or Bradshagh). The family had owned the districts of Haigh and Blackrod, but these had been paid to the crown in exchange for his knighthood. William is best known for his visit to the Crusades of 1314, when, failing to return in 10 years, his wife Mabel supposing him dead, remarried to Sir Osmond Nevile. When William did actually return and following a prolonged chase after his usurper, killed the unfortunate Nevile. The event is commemorated by a stone monument at Mabel's or Mab's Cross in Standishgate, Wigan.
The family resided at the 250 acre Haigh Hall estate and had done since the time of Edward II. The Hall became the seat of the Earl of Balcarres upon his marriage into the Bradshaigh family.

The Brereton family tree begins in 1175 with William de Brereton. His family had arrived from France with William the Conqueror, and that William was named after him as a tribute - it was to become a recurring name within the family. Later, another unfortunate William Brereton, along with four companions, was arrested and sent to the Tower of London charged with high treason as lovers of Anne Boleyn . Despite protestations of innocence, they were sentenced to death and beheaded on Tower Hill in 1536. The Brereton family exerted power and influence over Cheshire with holdings in Handforth, Malpas, Cheadle and at their country seat at Brereton Hall. It was a Sir William Brereton who also headed parliamentarian forces at the Battle of Middlewich and the siege of Nantwich in the English Civil Wars. The Brereton's established Handforth Hall when they became lords of the manor of the Bosden area in the early 1500s. One Sir Richard Brereton was the last owner of Tatton Park before the Egerton family took it over.

The Bulkeleys were an important landowning family of south Manchester. As early as 1326 part of the Manor of Cheadle (then worth £30 per annum) was acquired through marriage by one Richard de Bulkelegh, who inherited the northern part which became known as Cheadle Bulkeley, and remained so until it was merged with neighbouring Cheadle Mosley in the late 19th century to become the present district of Cheadle, (now in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport). The estate passed on thereafter to several succeeding generations of Bulkeleys until, through wastefulness, they were forced in 1756 to sell off the estate to the Reverend Thomas Egerton.
In another celebrated branch of the family - Sir Richard Bulkeley of Beaumaris (c.1500-1547), was Chamberlain of North Wales - his great-grandfather was Sir William Troutbeck, a descendant of King Edward I. His descendants were made Viscounts Beaumaris. In the 17th century, Humphrey Bulkeley served in the Parliamentarian army during the English Civil Wars, and succeeded for a while to the Cheadle estates and died unmarried aged 60. He is buried, along with several other members of the Bulkeley family, in St Mary's Parish churchyard in Cheadle.
St Mary's still displays the Bulkeley Coat of Arms, as well as stained glass commemorating the marriage of the third Sir Richard Bulkeley of Beaumaris and Cheadle in 1577. The National Archives hold papers at the University of Wales in the Bangor Department of Manuscripts & Archives, relating to the Bulkeley family, dating back to the 14th century. The Bulkeleys are still recorded in street names in the township and in the local school which bears the family name. The Bulkeleys of Beaumaris are today one of the leading families in North Wales and the family still lives in Anglesey.

The estate of Byrom has existed since the thirteenth century. Byrom Hall, the ancestral home of the celebrated poet John Byrom and was constructed in the 18th century. A timber-framed 16th century monastic building in Kersal, known as "the Kersal Cell" had badly fallen into disrepair so that it had to be demolished, and was purchased by the Byrom family in the 1660s. Tradition has it that John Byrom wrote the hymn "Christians, Awake" at Kersal Cell in 1749. The family had long been prosperous and influential in Manchester from dealing in linen drapery.

The 1950 Arms of Droylsden incorporate the Arms of the Byron family, to which the famous romantic poet Lord Byron belonged, who were Lords of the Manor of Droylsden. The 12th century Clayton Hall, (now part of Manchester), was an early home of the Byrons and its moat still exists along side St Cross Church. By 1585 Sir John Byron was living at Royton Hall; it was here that, during the reign of Charles I, Sir Clifford Byron had a hand cut off by an intruder that he had disturbed - only a severed hand remains as (anecdotal) evidence of the event. In fact much of the district of Royton was held by John de Byron during the 13th century and remained in the Byron family until the early 17th century.

The Chadderton family take their name after the district of that name, which is now in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham. In medieval times, Chaddertons fought for the king and were knighted at the Battle of Agincourt. Later family members were High Sheriffs of Lancashire, and others governed the Isle of Man for the Earl of Derby. They came into ownership of the lands of Chadderton under a medieval system of land tenure, whereby the district of Chadderton was sublet to the powerful de Trafford Family and in about 1235 Richard de Trafford gave the lands to his son Geoffrey, who adopted the name of the estate and thereby became the founder of the Chadderton family. Geoffrey de Chadderton had Chadderton Hall built and became first Lord of the Manor of Chadderton.
At the beginning of the 14th century other lands were added to the Chadderton holdings, including lands at Crompton.
By 1367, the Manor had passed into the possession of the Radcliffe family, who were one of the most illustrious families in England. It was John de Radcliffe, Lord of Chadderton, fought at Agincourt in 1415, and was knighted by King Henry V.
The present day Oldham Metropolitan Borough Coat of Arms still bears the griffin - a device taken from that of the Chadderton family. Chadderton Hall, the old family seat, was demolished in 1939.

The Charnock Family took their name from the township of Charnock Richard near Chorley, where they had their original home - an area now famed as the home of the Camelot Theme Park. It was Robert Charnock who rebuilt Astley Hall. Robert married five times, firstly to Isobel Norris of Speke Hall near Liverpool, and promoted the building of the first school in Chorley in 1611.
The family had a somewhat chequered history, with Robert's younger brother, John, being executed for high treason in 1586 following an abortive attempt to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots - the so called 'Babington Plot'. Robert Charnock himself died in 1616.
In 1624 Thomas Charnock became MP for Newton-in-Makerfield. Catholics and Royalists to a man, like many other Lancashire families who followed the old religion, at the end of the Civil Wars the family was fined heavily by Parliament for their support of King Charles. Robert Charnock, the last of the family male line, died in 1653. Robert's daughter and sole heir, Margaret, married Richard Brooke from Mere in Cheshire and thereafter Astley Hall passed into the ownership, through this marriage, to the Brooke family and thence to the Parkers and in the early 20th century to the Tattons.

The Cheethams were an important textile family, major employers and benefactors in the township of Stalybridge. He built the Castle Street Mills and the Bankwood Mill in the town. The Cheetham Park & Eastwood Nature Reserve is one of the nation's oldest RSPB areas and was presented to Stalybridge by the Cheetham family. John Cheetham (1802-86) was one-time MP for Salford. A local philanthropist, he helped establish local libraries and art galleries.

The Chorlton Family name is evident in areas of Manchester like Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Chorlton on Medlock and traces its history back to 1546, during the reign of Henry VIII when George Chorlton is reputed to have been awarded the family Coat of Arms.
By the late 18th century Dinah Chorlton lived at Withington Old Hall, whose farmlands extended well over a 1,000 acres. It was allegedly the only Manor House in Manchester with a moat round it at that time. In total, the Chorltons held 19 farms - Dog House Farm, Chorltons Farm, and Catch Croft Farm among them - there may have been many others.
In more recent times, Squire Robert Chorlton had been a technical author for the A V Roe Company in Manchester, and was a founder member of The Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society.

We are indebted to Sheila D. Turton for providing us with this short history of the Chorlton family name.

The Clayton family dates from the time when Robert de Clayton came to England with William the Conqueror and was granted lands known as Clayton-le-Moors for his important military services during the invasion of 1066. Clayton Hall dates back to the 12th century and the present-day park is situated on what remains of the vast estate of the De Clayton family. It is reputed that the Royalist army were stationed at Clayton Hall before its attack on Manchester and Oliver Cromwell is said to have stayed there. Clayton Hall is said to boast three ghosts. The Claytons continued to own Clayton Hall until one Adam de Grimshaw married Cicely Clayton and made Clayton his home. It is thought that he took on the surname of Clayton, while the remainder of the Grimshaw family remained in their native Crowtree near Blackburn.
Through marriage the Grimshaws acquired the lordship of Clayton, which eventually became the residence of the Byron family. Later, during Tudor times, the family had rebuilt Clayton Hall as a moated manor house, which remained in the Byron family until it was sold to Sir Humphrey Chetham in 1620 - he died there in 1653.
The Manor of Adlington in Lancashire was purchased by Thomas Clayton sometime around 1688. In addition to the Manor of Adlington, Thomas Clayton bought the adjoining manor of Worthington from Edward Worthington. Thereafter the properties of Adlington and Worthington were passed by descent to members of the Clayton family, most notable among whom were Richard Clayton who became Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland from 1765 until his death in 1770, and another Richard Clayton who studied law and served as Recorder of Wigan from 1815 to 1828 and was Constable of Lancaster Castle and British Consul at Nantes. The latter Richard was created a Baronet in 1774 and died at Nantes in 1828. Robert Clayton, brother to Baron Richard Clayton, succeeded to the Baronetcy and estates.
In the 19th century, upon the death of Richard Clayton Browne-Clayton in 1886, the Adlington Hall Estate was sold. The estates and lands comprising 129 acres was eventually bought by Wigan Corporation in 1921 for the princely sum of £4000.

The Clowes family emerged as major landholders and in Broughton, Salford in the early 18th century. First significant mention occurs in 1721, when John and Helen Radcliffe sold Booths Hall to Samuel Clowes, described as "a Manchester merchant", who seems to have systematically bought much land and property in the area, including the Tyldesley Manor. In 1731 he bought Chaddock Hall. Samuel Clowes died on 5th August 1773, bequeathing Booths and Chaddock to his grandson, also Samuel. Samuel seems to have been a regular inherited name in the Clowes family, as some time after 1722, another Samuel Clowes had purchased certain rents which were part of the lordship of Tyldesley. On 25th December 1782, he had also leased two of his farm holdings, (Grundy's Farm of 15 acres and Urmston's Farm of 8 acres) for an annual rent of £14 14s (£14.73) for 99 years to Warrington School. Samuel also made a great deal of money out of the building of canals in the region. Records show a bill and receipt to the value of £257.12s.1d (£257.60 in modern coinage) for purchase of land in Boothstown, taken for the Leigh Canal, "…paid to Sam Clowes, Esq., by His Grace the Duke of Bridgewater". Another sum of £97.5s.10d was paid by one John Coupe, for use of the land in Boothstown in Worsley, for rights to build a canal.
Around 1840 the 'township' of Broughton, consisted of 1,004 acres, of which some 870 were owned by the Reverend John Clowes, a notable gardener and botanist, who thereafter records show as owning most of what became Broughton Park. Thus the family acquired land by marriage and by wise purchases. They took the decision to develop Broughton Park for housing in the early 19th century, specifying that all the dwellings should be of substantial rateable value. Many of the splendid villas they built still stand in Broughton Park and Higher Broughton. Through various land deals, the family clearly grew rich as evidenced in 1836-38 by the building of St John's Parish Church on Wellington Street, (the first to be built in Broughton), which was and paid for by the Clowes family. The Rev John Clowes, who died in 1831, is buried there, having completed the extroadinary term of 62 years as rector of St. John's Church. Later, when a turnpike road was proposed to run from Manchester through Strangeways, Broughton and on to Bury; bitter negotiations took place with the Clowes family who owned of most of the land. Their insistence on Toll Bars was very controversial at the time, but the eventual completion of Bury New Road, as it became known, added even more money into the Clowes family coffers.
Great Clowes Street which joins the Higher and Lower Broughton districts of Salford was named after the family.

The Davenport family's original seat was in Astbury, near Congleton in Cheshire, and family origins can be traced back to one Ormus de Davenport at the time of the Norman Conquest. He was given the Manor of Davenport from the Venables of Kinderton, the original Norman feudal Lords. In 1166 Ormus' son Richard became the chief forester of Leek and Macclesfield. Later the family acquired the hereditary status of Magistrate Sergeants of the Forest of Macclesfield.
The Davenport family developed branches at Davenport, Calveley, Wheltrough, Woodford, Capesthorne and Bramhall.
Sir Humphrey Davenport, who was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, was a younger son of the Davenport family of Bramhall and married Mary Sutton of Sutton Hall (c1590).
Bramhall Hall in Stockport was the grand home for the Davenport family of Stockport, who resided there for 500 years - today it belongs to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and is open to the public. Bramhall park used to be the parkland and woodland estate attached to Bramall Hall. The Hall is one of Cheshire's grandest black and white timber framed buildings and dates back to the 14th century. Subsequent owners carried out substantial refurbishment in the 19th century.
Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire is stilled owned, and lived in, by the Bromley Davenport branch of the family, who have resided there since the 11th century.

In 1204, King John had granted to John de la Warre the Lordship of Bristol and in 1206 he was Lord of the Manor of Wickwar in Gloucestershire. On the death of Thomas Greddle, or Grelly, the eighth Baron of Manchester, (See Grelley Family) in 1347, the vast estates of the family passed, through the marriage of his sister Johanna with John de la Warre, into the hands of the de la Warre family. They held the Manor of Manchester for over a century.
In the early 14th century during the reign of King Edward II, John de la Warre was called to be a member of parliament. He had distinguished himself in the battle of Cressy, during the Wars of the Roses.
In 1422, Thomas de la Warre, Lord of the Manor, (1359-1426) founded a college, granted by royal licence (now "Chets" music school and Chethams Library) and a collegiate church (now Manchester Cathedral). Thomas was a priest in the parish of Ashton-under-Lyne from around 1371-72, and afterwards became rector at Manchester, though he did not inherit the title of Baron until the death of his elder brother John, who died childless in 1398. De la Warre maintained his interest and patronage in the collegiate church until his death in 1426. He is buried in the Abbey Church at Swinehead, which had been founded by Robert Grelley in 1134. There is a statue of Thomas La Warre on the facade of Manchester Town Hall. After his death the line ended and the Barony passed to the West family through his half sister Joanna.
Later, a celebrated family member, Thomas West, Baron de la Warre, is recorded as having married Cecilia, daughter of Sir Thomas Shirley in Virginia in 1596. He was the proprietor of the Virginia Company and Virginia's first governor, and he became immortalised in giving his surname to Delaware Bay, river and state in the USA.
The village of Wickwar, 20 miles south-west of Gloucester, is an ancient market-town which derives its name from Wick, (meaning "a turn in a stream"), and War, from the manor having belonged to the de la Warre family.

The Downes family of Shrigley Hall, Macclesfield, held the estate for over 500 years until the early 19th century. The ancient estates of Shrigley and Worth were in the ancient parish of Prestbury, in the Diocese of Chester and the Downes of Shrigley and Worth was a branch of Downes of Sutton-Downes and Overton-in-Taxall.
The Shrigley estate dates back to the de Shrigley and de Macclesfield families of around 1313, and was originally home to the Downes, who held the estate from the early 14th century, when documents exist showing William, son of Robert de Downes, in occupation.
Other branches of the family existed at Butley and Tytherington in Cheshire, and at Wardley and Chorley in Lancashire. Worth Hall, near Macclesfield, originally the home of the Downes family of Worth, is now Davenport Golf Club. There is also documentary evidence of a branch of the Downes Family at Nantwich from 1596 to the early 19th century.
Though the family is now extinct, and the last of the male line of succession, Edward Downes having died on the 30th December 1819, before his death he had sold the family estates; that of Worth-in-Poynton was sold to Sir George Warren of Poynton, and that of Shrigley to Mr William Turner of Mill Hill, Blackburn in Lancashire. Turner had built St John's & Gregory's Church in Bollington in 1834, and the church still contains murals of the Downes family.
Edward Downes was survived by two sisters, Bridget Downes (spinster), and Sarah, wife of John Leach Panter of North End Lodge, Fulham in Middlesex.
Shrigley Hall reopened as a hotel in 1989 and was carefully restored to retain its original character.

The Duckenfield family were lords of Dukinfield from the 13th century until the mid-18th century. The most celebrated of the Duckenfields was Robert Duckenfield of Dukinfield Hall was a man of great Puritan faith. He distinguished himself in battle for Cromwell's parliamentarian cause when in 1651 he commanded the forces which secured the Isle of Man and in 1653 was appointed to Cromwell's Little Parliament. He is buried at the Church of St. Lawrence in Denton. The family amassed a great deal of land and property throughout Cheshire and by the mid-17th century they owned the whole of Dukinfield, now part of the Tameside Metropolitan Borough - the district is named after the family.

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