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Ashworth

ASHWORTH, a parochial chapelry, in the parish of Middleton, union of Bury, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 3½ miles (W.) from Rochdale; containing 325 inhabitants. A family named Ashworth was seated here as early as the 13th century, and appears to have been succeeded by the Holts: Richard Holt, an active supporter of the royal cause in the civil war, had his estate sequestrated in 1643; but it was afterwards restored. The manor came subsequently into the possession of the Wilbraham family. Ashworth comprises by measurement 1025 acres; the soil is fertile, the scenery romantic, and the lower part of the township is thickly studded with large oak-trees. The substratum abounds in coal, of which a mine is in operation; and stone of good quality for building is also obtained in great quantity: a fullingmill affords employment to some hands. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Wilbraham Egerton, Esq.; net income, £119. The rectorial tithes have been commuted for £15, and the glebe consists of 62 acres. The chapel, a plain stone fabric, dedicated to St. James, stands on the summit of a hill to the north of Ashworth Hall; it was for the most part rebuilt in 1789, and in 1837 the chancel, which was part of a former edifice, was taken down, and the east end of the chapel considerably enlarged. The burial-ground commands an extensive view of the adjacent hills and vales. A daily school, founded by Mr. Egerton in 1828, is partly supported by that gentleman, by whom, also, premises for a Sunday school were built in 1838.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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