Lees, Lancashire
Historical Description
Lees, an extensive hamlet, formed into an ecclesiastical parish of the name of Leesfield, in the Knott Lanes division of Ashton-under-Lyne parish, Lancashire, on a branch of the river Medlock, adjacent to the Oldham and Delph railway, 1½ mile E by S of Oldham. It adjoins Springhead, in Saddle-worth parish, W.R. Yorkshire, is a large and prosperous place, enjoys ample supply of water and of gas from the Oldhara works, and is governed by a local board of twelve members. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Oldham, and has a station on the L. & N.W.R. There are several cotton mills, in which most of the inhabitants find employment. A cemetery of 7 acres, consecrated by the Bishop of Manchester in 1879, is under the control of the local board. The People's Hall, erected in 1850, is now known as the Lees Reform Club. There is also a Conservative Club. Th& ecclesiastical parish, formed from Prestwich and Ashton-under-Lyne, was constituted in 1846. Population of the ecclesiastical parish, 6804; of the local board district, 3877. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Manchester; gross value, £396 with residence. Patron, alternately the Crown and the Bishop. The church was built in 1848, is in the Perpendicular style, has an embattled western tower with eight pinnacles, and contains several stained windows and a reredos. In 1885 a S chancel aisle was added. There are three branch churches in the parish-St James' at Parkbridge, St Matthew's at Roundthorne, and St Agnes at Knolls Lane. There are New Connexion and Primitive Methodist chapels, a meeting-place for Christian Brethren, and a Congregational chapel at Springhead. Lees or Hey, a chapelry in Ashton-under-Lyne and Rochdale parishes, Lancashire, contiguous to Yorkshire, and containing the village of Hey, a quarter of a mile N of Lees village, near Lees railway station, and 1½ mile E of Oldham. It was constituted in 1860, and its post town is Lees, under Oldham. Population, 3545, of which 2121 were in Yorkshire. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Manchester; gross value, £160 with residence. Patron, the Rector of Ashton. The church was built in 1742, as a chapel of ease to Ashton, and is a plain edifice. There is a Roman Catholic school chapel, erected in 1872.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Lancashire | |
Civil parish | Ashton | |
Hundred | Salford | |
Poor Law union | Ashton-under-Lyne |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Lancashire Archives, have images of the Parish Registers for Lancashire online.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Lees from the following:
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Lancashire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Lees are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Lancashire newspapers online: