Tottington, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Chapelry History
TOTTINGTON LOWER-END, a township, in the parish and union of Bury, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 3 miles (N. W. by W.) from Bury; containing 9929 inhabitants, of whom 5445 are in the Upper division. The royal manor of Tottington was the successive possession of the houses of Lincoln and Lancaster. It was given to General Monk, Duke of Albemarle, for his services in restoring the Stuarts to the throne; and afterwards passed to the family of the Duke of Buccleuch, in which the Albemarle estates vested. The lords of the manor had anciently the power of imprisoning and executing criminals; and near the court-house is an eminence still called Gallows-hill. The township comprises 5038 acres, whereof 749 are moorland; and extends seven miles from north to south: the surface in the higher parts is mountainous and wild; the soil in the valleys is good, and the air pure and salubrious. Several small mines of coal suitable for steamengines are in operation, and some stone-quarries are also wrought. There are several extensive establishments connected with the cotton manufacture: among them are, the Calico Print Works, built in 1812, on the site of an ancient royal corn-mill, employing 400 hands, the property of Joshua Knowles, Esq., of Stormer-Hill House, a magistrate of the county; the Kirk-Lees printworks, belonging to Messrs. Hall and Gorton; the printworks of Mr. William Sudron; and the Leemans-Hill works. A fair is held on October 12th, for hornedcattle, horses, and pigs. The East-Lancashire railway runs on the east side of the township, passing through a large tunnel to Nuttall Mill, belonging to Messrs. Grant. The Roman Watling-street forms the boundary on the west side. A part of the township has been formed into an ecclesiastical district, of which the boundary on the north is Holcombe Brook, on the south the township of Elton, and on the west Bradshaw and Quarlton: the population included within it is about 4000. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Rector of Bury; net income, £150, with a house. The church, dedicated to St. Ann, was built in 1799, and is a neat stone structure, with a bell-tower, and having a gallery and organ. The tithes of the township have been commuted for £62. 5., divided between the rectors of Bury and Prestwich. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. Thomas Nuttall in 1715 built a school and endowed it with £3 per annum, which endowment was increased with £9 per annum by Peter Barron in 1773. The Rev. Dr. Wood, Dean of Ely, and principal of St. John's College, Cambridge, a distinguished mathematician, was a native of Lower Tottington.—See Holcombe and Ramsbottom.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 380-386. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51351 Date accessed: 31 July 2010.

Civil Registration
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Church records
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Census records
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Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Lancashire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
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Web sites
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