CHAPTER III . to1Bnat3ip J Igtorp+- poffAna + HE ancient divisions of this township were :-Spotland proper, or as it was called in the Manor Survey of 1626, "Spotland towne," Chadwick, Falinge, Wolstenholme and Whitworth. It is now further subdivided r [see p. .2j . As in Castleton, a very large portion of Spotland at a very early date passed into the possession of the abbots of Stanlawe . The following grants of lands in Spotland were all made to the monks of Stanlawe, and where the date is not specified they were executed in the early part of the thirteenth century. Adam de Spotland, near the end of the twelfth century, endowed the Rochdale church with lands in Spotland [see Chap . VI .], which in the charter are called " Watlondewod." Andrew, the son of Alan de Merland, gave all the lands in the "will " of Spotland which he had inherited from his brother Adam, and directed that his body should be buried at Stanlawe .2 Alexander de Brodehalgh gave all his lands of Brodehalgh which he got from William the Sergeant3 and Alexander, the son of Robert de Spotland, in exchange for an "assart" called " Parysrod," and also his lands called " Longerung ;" for this was to be paid to the chief lord annually, two iron spurs at the feast of St . Martin in the Winter, the donor only to receive the benefit of the prayers of the monks.4 Michael, the son of Robert de Spotland, conveyed a bovate of land (except one acre) for the consideration of a silver mark, also his right to certain wastes between Grymmesleysik and the forest of Rossendale, and between Naundenbrok and Heleyden . Another bovate was conceded by Hugo de Thellewall for eight silver marks and a rental of one shilling and sevenpence farthing,5 this was witnessed by William, ' For rating purposes it is Spotland and Brandwood, Spotland Nearer Side, and Spotland Further Side . Coucher Book of Whalley, p . 790. 3 An officer connected with the manor . 4 Do. „ „ P. 758- 4 Do. „ „ PP- 743, 750. 76 HISTORY OF THE PARISH OF ROCHDALE. the vicar of Rochdale. By charter witnessed by Geoffrey de Buckley, Michael Lightowlers and others, Henry, the son of Geoffrey the dean of Whalley [see Chap . VI .], for a certain sum paid to him by the abbots, granted four bovates in Spotland, which are described as constituting a fourth part of the " vil." Adam, the son of Suaniside, with the approbation of his wife, sold four acres of land in Donyngbothes [Donnisbooth] for three silver marks and an annual rent of one silver penny ; this was executed about 1238, as it was attested by William the vicar and others . About the same time Henry, the son of Martin de Spotland, and Margaret his wife conveyed all their waste land in Spotland lying between Blakeclogh and Dreuetclogh, near Naueden [Naden], which he had from Alan de Mer- land, and which was part of a bovate exchanged for lands called Broderod [Brotherod] ; this was also witnessed by William the vicar . , Diana, Matilda and Cristiana, the daughters of Michael, the son of Robert of Spotland, conveyed all the rights which they had in a bovate of land which their father had sold to the monastery, and also in certain parcels of land between Spotland and the Redbroke ; the consideration was two shillings. At the assizes at Lancaster in June, 1292, John de Lacy of Crom- welbotham sued Robert de Whitworth for fifteen acres of pasture and five acres of wood in Spotland, of which Robert unjustly disseised John de Lacy, father of the plaintiff ; the defence was that Robert de Whitworth held in common with the abbot of Stanlawe and Robert, the son of Henry ; as this could not be refuted the plaintiff was fined for making a false claim. At the same assizes John de Lacy sued Robert de Whitworth, Robert, the son of Henry, and the abbot, on the same premises, and after an adjournment was again defeated . John de Lacy, not yet satisfied, sued the abbot at the same assizes for thirty acres of pasture and half an acre of wood, the abbot pleading that these were part of the wastes of Spotland which he held in common with Robert de Whitworth, Robert, the son of Henry, and Richard, the son of Ivone ; the plaintiff was again fined .2 As will presently be seen there were several landowners in Spotland in the thirteenth century. The subsidy roll of 1332 gives the names of nine. [See page 32.] To the poll tax of 1380, thirty-nine inhabitants of the township paid their quota . [See page 34.] From the Inquis. Post Mort. of Thomas Holt of Stubley, taken at Ormskirk on the Thursday after Palm Sunday, 15 Henry VII. [A.D. 1500], -Couches Book of Whalley, pp. 744, 730. 752. z Ass . Rolls, M . 3, 2, 3, M. 47, M . 34 dorso, AI . 65 (See Whitaker's Whalley, 4th Edit ., p . 453). TOwNsh1IP HISTORY . 77 it appears that he died seised of five messuages, four acres of meadow, and one hundred and sixty acres of pasture in Spotland, which he held of the King by knight's service and which were worth ten marks a year de Belfeld held of him by fealty and forty shillings a year a messuage and twenty acres of land, also in Spotland. [See Stubley.] Whalley Abbey shared the fate of other religious houses and its last abbot, John Paslew, was executed for treason, loth March, 1536-7, when the monastic possessions in Spotland passed to the crown, and Henry VIII ., by letters patent dated 19th March, 1541, sold the same to Thomas Holt, "by our own special grace, as also for the sum of ,641 16s. 8d. paid into the hands of our chief treasurer for our use by our chosen subject, Thomas Holt of Grizslehurst, have granted to the said Thomas Holt our manor of Spotland, with all the messuages, land, &c.," with the lands in Whitworth, Tongend, Rawcliffe and Brandwood, which "said manor came to our hands by reason of the attainture of John Paslew." The manor was to be held to Thomas Holt and his heirs for ever by knight's fee, i.e., the quarter part of a knight's fee and a yearly payment of ,63 1 1s. 4d. at the feast of St . Michael the archangel. I Two years after this grant Sir John Byron and Thomas Holt were at variance as to their respective rights, the former accusing the latter of holding an illegal court leet and taking stray sheep to the injury of the King's court of Rochdale . In 156o Thomas Holt, then become Sir Thomas Holt, and a "man of great might in those parts" was charged by Sir John Byron with retaining an annual rental of twelve shillings and eightpence for some twenty years which ought to have been paid to him in right of his bailiwick and sergeancy of Rochdale and as collector of the Queen's rents therein . He further states that he was unable to distrain upon the lands "without great trouble and unlawful assemblies as they were kept in a forceable manner ;" he also denies that the manor was conveyed to Thomas Holt or that the ground called Whitworth was ever part of such manor.2 These arrears were unpaid in 6 Elizabeth [1563-4], when Francis Holt, son of Thomas Holt, was sued for them .3 Thomas Holt and Francis his son were several times plaintiff and defendant ' Copy of this is in Raines' MSS ., xiii., 360 . 2 Duchy Pleadings, Vol . IV., 3 Eliz ., B. 2. 3 Duchy Pleadings, 18, 6 Eli.., B . 28 . 78 HISTORY OF THE PARISH OF ROCHDALE . in the Duchy Court respecting their rights to various parts of Spotland . The general bearing of the evidence is against the right set up by the Holts to hold a court for Spotland . That they did for a time hold courts is certain . One such court was held at "Nattworthe" on 3oth May, 15 Elizabeth, 1573, and was styled "the court baron of Francis Holt, gentleman, for the manor of Spotland, with members ." The jury consisted of Joseph Ashworth de Greues [in Brandwood], Adam Holden, Robert Ashworth, Jamas Walsden, Andrew Shepherd, Lawrence Shawe, Edward Hallowes, James Hallowes, James Smith, John Lord, John Casson, James Brerelegh, John Clough and Richard Ainsworth . The special business transacted was to decide a dispute between John Holt and James Holt and William Ashworth. The court decided that "for the adjusting of all old malice, rancorre, hateryd and evyll wyll," all the "ways and gates" which John Holt had heretofore used from the walls "beneath the kilne " up to the fold, and from thence to the barn should no longer be used, but that he (John Holt) should "carry, fetch, and drive" to and from his dwelling-house upon and down the " hollowe " to and from "moss markets" at his pleasure, and he was also to retain a "garden-stydde" at the west end of James Holt's barn and a parcell of land called "Cattlebanke" in occupation of William Ashworth . If either of the parties failed to carry out this arrangement he was to pay the "lord of this manor," £iii . vis. viiid.I From the names of this jury and other details it appears probable that the "kilne" referred to would be one of those furnaces used by the Ashworths for their cutlery business . In 1543 it was clearly an acknowledged fact that Spotland formed part of the manor of Rochdale and in a case of dispute between Thomas Holt and one of his tenants, Sir John Byron was appealed to as the high steward .