Manningham, Heaton, and Allerton (townships of Bradford) : treated historically and topographically

Preface

. The present volume is the third of a series intended as a contribution to a Complete History of the Borough of Bradford. The town itself alone remains for treatment, but whether the present Author will be given length of days, or be courageous enough, to undertake the task, remains to be seen. In any case the work thus far continued should be carried on to completion, in order that the History of Bradford, so ably commenced by the late John James, may be brought up to date. It will be obvious that the ample material brought together in the township histories already published by the Author, namely, those referring to Horton, Bolton, Bowling, Manningham, Heaton, and Allerton, bears no comparison with the scanty notices of those townships in James's History, and affords sufficient evidence of the necessity of the present effort.

The unearthing and arrangement of such a mass of material has involved much patient labour and no inconsiderable amount of time, but these the Author has willingly expended in the endeavour to furnish an original contribution to the history of his native town. All such efforts are necessarily attended by the liability to error, either in collecting the material or in presenting it in a readable form, and the reader needs only to be reminded of this to ensure sympathy and indulgence where mistakes are discovered. In any case the Author holds himself responsible for any inaccuracies. For assistance rendered him in obtaining information, the loan of documents, &c, the Author hereby tenders his

PREFACE.

. grateful thanks to Mr. H. F. Killick, Mr. John Hindle, Mr. William Ferrand, of St. Ives, and his estate agent, Mr. Walter Middleton ; the Rev. James Browne, B.A., the Rev. George Pedley ; Mr. Joseph Smith (Smith & Margerison), Mr. Wheater Smith (Smith & Gotthardt), Mr. James Watson, C.E., Corporation Waterworks Engineer ; Mr. Abraham Clark, Mr. Harry Speight, and others. It is worthy of mention that the whole of the artistic work, as well as the printing, has been executed in Bradford. Under the first heading, the Author is especially indebted to Mr. Oliver Nicholson for the admirable results obtained by him in photographing the full-page views throughout the work. The engraving of the plates has been executed with equal success by Messrs. William Byles and Sons, who are also responsible for the letterpress.

The portraits have been satisfactorily reproduced in the collotype process by Messrs. Appleton & Co., photographers. The frontispiece was specially designed for the work by Miss Nannie Preston, of Littlebeck Hall, Gilstead, and it is an admirable conception. The smaller sketches are by Mr. W. F. Wray ; and other artistic assistance has been rendered by Mr. Alfred Drake, Mr. Henry Muff, Mr. Frank Nicholson, and Mr. C. H. Shaw. The laborious task of indexing was undertaken by the Author's son, Ernest. The Author cannot conclude this introduction to what may be his last literary effort without a sincere expression of thankfulness to the Committee of Gentlemen uho have interested themselves in obtaining subscribers to the work. Without such practical assistance its publication would have been impossible. W. Cudworth. Bradford, March, iSq6. AGE 59 CONTENTS. HISTORY OF MANNINGHAM.

Chapter I

F Surveys of 1811 and 1839— Daisy Hill— Towler Lane— The Trees— Low Lane — Coggill Lane — Jumbles— Hesp Lane— Lawcroft Lane— Xew Road to Keighley —Township Boundaries 1 — 7

Chapter II

Feudal Lordship in Manningham — Ancient Land Tenure — John of Gaunt — Northrop, the Hornblower (see Frontispiece )— The. Hornman Lands — Feudal Customs— Manningham in 1480 -Land Survey of 1638— Common Field System of Cultivation — Old Place Names — Old Manningham Freeholders — Enclosure of Manningham Common 8—20

Chapter III

Overseers' Accounts for 1692 — Bolton Lane — Town's Affairs in 1800 — Opposition to Bradford Improvement Act of 1829 — Charter of Incorporation, 1847 — First Representatives for Manningham— Statistics of Population, &c. — Manningham Constables from iio-j 21—32

Chapter IV

Back Lane School— St. Jude's Church— St. Paul's Church ( illustrated j — The Ten-Church Movement — White Abbey Chapel (illustrated) — Manningham Wesleyan Chapel — St. John's Chapel {illustrated J — Girlington Wesleyan Chapel — Farfield Jubilee Hall — Lady Royd School — Girlington Baptist Chapel — Salem Congregational Chapel ( illustrated ) — Greenfield Chapel — Primitive Methodism — Roman Catholicism — Manningham Board Schools 33— 54

Chapter V

Field House, Daisy Hill — Dr. Scoresby, Vicar of Bradford— His Scientific Attainments — The Smith Family -Isaac Smith — Ackroyd Farm— Old Manningham — Manningham Poor Land— Moorfield — Edward Priestman CONTENTS. X

Chapter VI. Page

Pearson Lane— Throstle Nest— Yew Tree Farm -Hedge Side Farm— Crow Trees— Tlie Temple Farm— Mrs. Ann Boiling— Lawyer Gregson— Tlie Illingworth Family— Daniel rilingworth— Alfred Illingworth (portrait) —The late Henry Illingworth 60-71

Chapter VII

Origin of Brownroyd— Waterside Farm— Ben Preston— Thiefscore Bridge- Craven Heifer Inn — Bradford Soke Mills— Smyth Family— New Miller Dam— Lease to Ellis & Priestman— Soke Rights Contested— List of Manningham Families within the Soke— James Ellis— Rev. Joseph Ellis 72—82

Chapter VIII

Girlington As It Was and Is — Bradford Freehold Land Society — The Girlington Estate — The Hornblow Lands — The Northrop Family- Common Fields of Manningham — Disposal of the Northrop Lands- Map of Girlington— Coal Mining 83 — 91

Chapter IX

Toller Lane — Woodlands— Angus Holden, M. P. — Pierremont — Alderman F. Priestman — Manningham Thorp — John Rand — Drummond Family — Manningham Lodge — Matthew Thompson — Sir M. W. Thompson (portrait)— Charles Semon 92 — 98

Chapter X

The Whetleys — Hollings Fami'y— Joseph Hollings— John Hollings — Sally Kitching — Hunting Tom Horsfall — The "Lemon and White Pack" — John Priestman— The Hodgson Family— Dicky Hodgson — Manningham Coal Mining — Lower Globe Inn — Wi liam Kilchirg— Upper Globe Inn — Wood Family — Black Abbey Dole— Globe Mill 99—112

Chapter XI

Lilycroft Farm — Tradesmen's Home— Origin of Manningham Mills — Ellis Cunliffe Lister — Lord Masham — James and Thomas Ambler — The Silk Manufacture — Great Fire at Manningham Mills — Trees Farm — The Cowgill Family 113 — 120

Chapter XII

Helliwell's Farm — Skinner Lane — Mount Pleasant — Hornblow House — The Bradford Horn — Frankland Family — Salt Street and Freehold Land Society — Carlisle Road — Manningham Old Hall (illustrated) — Tonge Lands — Boilings — Margerisons 121 — CONTENTS. XI

Chapter XIII

i AGE Lister Family of Manningham — William Lister, Civil War Captain — His Death at Tadcaster — Colonel Thomas Lister — Ellis Cunliffe Lister — Active Magistrate and Member for Bradford — His Family — Samuel Cunliffe Lister (Lord Masham) (portrait) — His Inventive Enterprise — Triumph of the Woolcombing Machine — Equal Success in the Manipulation of Silk Waste — Manningham Hall — Manningham Park (illustrated) ... 133 — 14:

Chapter XIV

Clockhouse — Origin of Name — Early Possessors— Later Descent— The Jowetts of Clockhouse — Miss Sarah Jowett — George Baron — His Singular Will — The Famous "Clockhouse Case'' — Clockhouse as a Residence — Spotted House Inn (illustrated) 143 — 149

Chapter IV. Page

The Field Family — John Field— Joshua, or "Squire Field" — John Wilmer Field — His Daughters, Mary and Delia — Lord Oxmantown — Earl of Rosse — Countess of Rosse — Present Earl of Rosse — Coming-of-age Festivities at Heaton — Presentation at Heaton— The Heaton Estate 199 — 208

Chapter V

Heaton Hall (illustrated) — Henry Harris, the Banker— Bradford Old Bank — W. H. Townend— Garth House (illustrated)— Did Hostelries — Shoulder of Mutton Inn — Brown Cow Inn— Hare and Hounds Inn — Heaton Syke — Mann's Gardens — Woolsorters' Gardens — Heaton Mount — Ambler Family— Heaton Royds — The Dixons— Sandy Lane 209 — 224

Chapter VI

Chellow an Ancient Manor — Lease from the Abbot of Selby — Subsequent Lords of the Manor — Chellow Grange— Bradford Waterworks — Heaton Reservoir — The Nidd Scheme 225—233

Chapter VII

Heaton Baptists — Church of St. Barnabas — Wesleyanism at Heaton — Educational Institutions— Sandy Lane Chapels (illustrated) 234 — 244

CHAPTER VIIL

Origin of the United College— Heckmondwike Academy— Rotherham College — Aireda'e College, Undercliffe (illustrated) — Mrs. Bacon — Rev. William Vint— Rev. Walter Scott -Rev. Daniel Fraser, D.D. — United College, Heaton (illustrated) — Dr. Fairbairn— Closing of Rotherham College — Rev. Dr. Falding — Dr. Simon 245 — 251

Chapter IX

Old Fulks' Gathering at Heaton, with List of those Present— John Butterfield, the centenarian — Timothy Stocks — Henry Harris — The Clarke Family— The Crabtree Family— John Crabtree— Greenwoods— Broadleys — Murgatroyds — Cravens 2-2 2"6 HISTORY OF FRIZINGHALL. The Name of Frizinghall — Growth of Frizinghall — Lister Family of Frizinghall — The Craven Family — Frizinghall Mill — The Hargreaves Family— Black Swan Inn— (Quaker Wilson— Religious Organisations at Frizinghall (illustrated) 262—273 CONTENTS. XIII HISTORY OF ALLERTON.

Chapter I. Page

Origin of Name— Approaches to the Village— Ancient Packhorse Road- Thornton New Road— Probable Roman Road— Material Resources- Description of the Village — Building Operations — Characteristics of .^llertonians — Population and Assessable Value 277-283

Chapter II

Ancient Ownership - Poll-tax of Richard II.— Richard Tempest and Queen Elizabeth— Decree of 1580 -Freeholders of the Period — Sale of the Manor— Curious Handbill of 1788— The Ferrands as Lords of the Manor— The Courts Baron— Perambulation of the Boundaries— Enclosure of Allerton Common 284 29 s

Chapter III

Hearth-tax Returns for 1666— Allerton Freeholders in 1734— Formation of the Local Board— Annexation to Bradford 296—299

Chapter IV

Commercial Affairs in Allerton — The Old Hand-loom Weavers -^ Mill Erections in Allerton— Allerton Nonconformity— Congregationalism in Allerton (illustration) -Wesleyanism in Alerton (illustration) — The Baptists — St. Peter's Church — Allerton British School — The Sagar Charity 300 —3 1 2

Chapter V

Shuttleworth Hall (illustrated) — The Sunderland Family — Peter and Samuel Sunderland— John and Joseph Pollard — The Manor of Crosley — The Knights Hospitallers — Crosley Hall 313 — 322

Chapter VI

Chellow Dean (illustrated ',— Oaks Lane — Ellercroft — Alderman Jonas Whitley (portrait) — The Grange — Fairbank Family — Allerton Hall — The Old Workhouse (illustrated) — Old Houses in Allerton Lanes and Bailey Fold (illustrated)— Joseph Lister — Accepted Lister 323— 334 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS .. 337—345 INDEX 347—356 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Horn-blowing at Bradford (Frontispiece) St. Paul's Church, Manningham 39 White Abbey Chapel 43 St. John's Wesleyan Chapel ... 45 Salem Chapel ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

S1 Dr. Scoresby face 55 Alfred Illingworth face 69 Sir M. W. Thompson, Bart. face 97 Helliwell's Farm, Manningham ... ... ... ... face 121 Manningham Stocks ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 122 Manningham Old Hall face 129 Side View, Manningham Old Hall 130 Manningham Hall ... ... ... ... ... ... face 133 Lord Masham ... ... ... ... ... ... ... face 137 Lake in Lister Park ... ... ... ... ... ... face 142 Clockhouse, Manningham ... ... ... ... ... face 147 Spotted House Inn ... ... ... ... ... ... face 149 Heaton Hall and Park face 173 Heaton Hall ... ... ... ... ... ... ... face 209 Mantel-piece, Heaton Hall 210 Garth House, Heaton... ... ... ... ... ... face 215 Porch of Garth House ... ... ... ... ... ... 216 Old Hall, Heaton Royds face 223 Heaton Baptist Chapel ... ... ... ... ... ... 233 St. Barnabas' Church, Heaton ... ... ... ... ... 239 Old Airedale College ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 247 United College, Heaton ... .. ... ... ... ... 249 Congregational Chapel, Frizinghall ... ... ... ... ... 272 Ancient Relic, Allerton ... ... ... ... ... ... 278 Manor Court-house, Bradford ... ... ... ... ... 291 Allerton Congregational Chapel ... ... ... ... ... 305 Allerton Wesleyan Chapel ... ... ... ... ... ... -^oj Shuttleworth Hall, Allerton ... ... ... ... ... face -^j Double Cross, Shuttleworth Hall ... ... ... ... ... -576 Stone Lantern, Cottingley ... ... ... ... ... .. -..-, Chellow Dean Reservoir ... ... ... ... ... face -,2-, Alderman Jonas Whitley ... ... ... ... ... facc ?26 Old Workhouse, Allerton ... ... ... ... ... -,2q Old Doorway. Allerton Lanes ... ... ... ... 3,2 Bailey Fold, Allerton ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Chapter I. General Survey

Surveys of 1811 and 1839— Daisy Hill — Towler Lane — The Trees— Low Lane — Coggill Lane — Jumbles — Hesp Lane — Lawcroft Lane — New Road to Keighley — Township Boundaries. In making a survey of the township of Manningham we are prompted to remark, that in no other portion of the Borough of Bradford has such a material change been wrought as there. A glance at any old plan of the town ship will furnish sufficient evidence of this fact. In the year 1811 a survey and map of Manningham were made by Mr. George Leather,* when the ratable value only amounted to In 1839 another survey was made by Mr. Thomas Dixon, in which the ratable value was assessed at £9503 14s. yd. The Corporation Year Book for 1895 shows that the present assessable value of property in Manningham is about ,£205,000, as against .£61,000 in 1868, or an increase of nearly fourfold.

The above figures constitute only one form of com parison as to the growth of Manningham, and that not the one most apparent to the public mind unaccustomed to statistics. For this, by far the larger section of the community, a sort of " reading-made-easy " form may be suggested, namely, the survey recently published by the Government Ordnance Department, which shows every •NOTE. — The plan and survey published by Mr. Leather are of much interest and historic value. To Bradfordians that interest will be intensified by the fact that Mr. Leather was a native of Bradford, and the progenitor of a family several of whose members worthily sustained the reputation he had already established. block of buildings in the township, and almost every pro jecting doorstep. Any one making a comparison between this survey and either of the two named, could not fail to be surprised at the transformation which has been effected in the interval.

The appearance of Manningham township during the first quarter of the century bore but the most distant resemblance to that which it now presents. At that period the residences of influential inhabitants numbered well within the dozen. There was, in the far west, Field House, or " Fool's Penny Hall," as it was called, built by Mrs. Ward, afterwards occupied by Dr. Scoresby, vicar of Bradford. Coming nearer to Bradford, there was West House, where resided Mr. Thomas Hollings, the site of which is now occupied by Woodlands, the residence of Mr. Angus Holden, M.P. Lower down Towler (or Toller) Lane was Manningham Lodge, owned and occupied by Mr. Matthew Thompson, father of the late Sir M. W. Thompson, Bart. At Wheatley resided Mr. Joseph Hollings ; on the opposite side of the same road being another house called " Whetley," owned and occupied by Mr. Thomas Hill Horsfall, and afterwards by the late Mr. John Priestman.

A third house, called " Whetleys," and situated in Whetley Lane, was occupied by Mr. John Hill, then by Mr. John Aked, and afterwards by Mr. Martin Schlesinger. This was the former abode of " Dicky Hodgson," to whose property Miss Jowett, of Clock House, succeeded. Manningham Hall, now enclosed within its own park, was the residence of Mr. Ellis Cunliffe Lister. The park, however, was then divided by hawthorn hedges into fields. Clock House, the residence of Miss Jowett, occupied practically its present position, and its most substantial companion was Bolton Royd, built and occupied by Mr. John Garnett Horsfall. The adjoining house, where Mr. Richard Margerison lived, was built to supersede Manningham Old Hall, a former abode of the Boiling family. With the exception of the house called Trees, the former residence of the Cowgills, of Manningham, and afterwards of Mr. James Ambler ; and Spring Lodge, in Manningham Lane, which had just then been erected by the late Mr. Alfred Harris, banker, there were no other gentlemen's houses of note in this portion of the township.

Indeed, the Spotted House Inn, and old Walter Clark's, at Halliwell Ash, were the only dwellings along the whole of Manningham Lane in addition to the three just named. What is now called Church Street constituted Man ningham proper. Where St. Paul's Church and St. Paul's Road now stand there was an open space, called Stocks Green, adjoining Helliwell's Farm. Little colonies of dwellings existed at the Bradford end of White Abbey, at Upper and Lower Globe, and also at Brick Lane End and Four Lane Ends. The oldest inhabited parts of Manningham were Skinner Lane, Church Street, and East Squire Lane, which immediately adjoined Manningham Old Hall. Dels Lane and Strait Lane (now Oakroyd) were formerly narrow occupation roads branching towards the Holmes, the low land lying close to the Bradford Beck.

From Manningham Lane the centre of the township was reached by way of Cowgill (or " Coggill ") Lane, a narrow road lined with trees. This terminated in Back Lane, which led in a roundabout way to the top of Church Street. In Oak Lane and North Park Road we have the amplified lines of Duce (or Dewhirst) Lane and Hesp Lane, the former leading to Skinner Lane and Trees, and the latter to Broad Lane, as Victor Road was then called. From Broad Lane the old Jumbles Lane went down to Clock House. The Jumbles is now absorbed in Lister Park, although a right of way is still preserved to the Clock House proprietors. A narrow way known as Dark Lane once existed from Hesp Lane to Trees. Law Croft Lane was the name once given to what is now called Lilycroft Road, and it was connected with Towler Lane by a very narrow passage.

Towler Lane declined in importance as a high road to the north when Manningham Lane was opened out, but a tollbar still stood at the end of Law Croft Lane, just opposite the present entrance to Woodlands. At the junction of Toller Lane with Smith Lane there was also a chain-bar. The upper part of Carlisle Road is upon the line of an ancient footpath from Whetley Lane to Back Lane. It is worthy of note that the ancient Brick Lane included not only the present City Road, but that portion of Thornton Road which lies between City Road and Four Lane Ends. " Brick Lane " is derived from " Brecks," meaning land that had been broken up in getting stone. Thornton Road was opened in 1S26, and a bar was placed at the bottom of Whetley Lane for the purpose of collecting tolls. Snakehill Lane, leading from Thornton Road to Allerton Road, is denominated Snag Hill in the early surveys.

The road leading from Four Lane Ends to Great Horton was formerly called " Thiefscore Lane," and before the bridge was made the crossing of the Thornton Beck was called " Thievesford." The lane now bears the gruesome title of Cemetery Road. A pleasant footpath once passed along the beck side from Thiefscore Bridge to New Miller Dam, where stood a small corn mill. Brownroyd, now a dense mass of working-class dwellings, takes its name from a farmstead of that name, which adjoined Water-side Farm. Of course the thriving colony at Girlington was non existent at the period under consideration. An occupation road passed over the site for a short distance, from the direction of Thornton Road towards Duckworth Lane. The name is not modern, there being at one time a homestead called Girlington standing about the centre of Kensington Street, and the name appears in old records.

Lady Royd is also the designation given to an ancient settlement at the bottom of Squire Lane ; and Crow Trees is also a name of remote origin. The road from Lady Royd towards Throstle Nest and Allerton was formerly called Topham Lane, from the name of a farmer residing in the locality. There appears to have been a little colony at Daisy Hill from early times. At the Bradford end of the township much expansion and many changes have taken place during the present century. At the top of Darley Street, leading into Man ningham Lane, there was formerly a large rookery, and a fine avenue of elms and sycamores extending from Darley Street to Piper Grave, the site of which is now occupied by the handsome building erected by the Yorkshire Penny Bank. This was, however, not the regular approach to Manningham Lane, but only one on sufferance by the Lord of the Manor.

The high road to Frizinghall and the lower part of Manningham was by way of Fair Gap, i.e., the narrow thoroughfare leading from Westgate, skirting the Pack Horse Inn. A pleasant diversion was secured by taking the footpath leading from Piper Grave, past the Bradford Grammar School, and along Busy Brig Fields to Frizinghall. Westgate and White Abbey are both old thorough fares. The first named was one of the three " gates " of Bradford, and the principal outlet westward. At the bottom of Westgate the market was held, extending up to Silsbridge Lane. From that point two roads diverged, one passing along Silsbridge Lane, through what is now called Lister Hills, up Legrams to Great Horton, and for ward to Halifax. The other road left Westgate on the right, by way of Fair Gap into Manningham Lane.

The continuation of Westgate, however, was the principal high road northward, namely, by way of Toller Lane, over Cottingley Moor to Cottingley Bridge, and forward through Bingley. A divergence from this road took place near the Upper Globe Inn on Whetley Hill, where the road to Heaton commenced. This road is said to have been in a wretched condition, and a "slough of despond " in winter time- In 1755 an Act was obtained for opening up the road from the west end of Toller Lane over Chellow Height and Cullingworth to Colne in Lancashire. The Act was chiefly promoted by Bradford, Heaton, and Shipley men, the list including the names of Bartlett, Balme, Bentley, Cockroft, Field, Hodgson, Hollings, Horsfall, Lister, Sawrey, Stansfield, Sagar, Wainman, and others. It is generally known as Haworth Road. . 6 The new highway to Keighley, superseding the old coach road over Cottingley Moor, was completed about seventy years ago from the Spotted House Inn forward.

Previously the road from Bradford passed close to Clock House and through Frizinghall, and was known as Man ningham Low Lane. At best it was but a country lane, with hedge-rows on either side, and the narrowest of causeways on the western side. The Act for "amending the road from Bradford to Keighley, and for making and maintaining a branch therefrom," obtained the Royal assent in May, 1815, and the present road was several years in course of construction. The toll-house near Carr Syke, Frizinghall, was finished in October, 18 16, and cost the trustees of the road £182. Mr. George Leather, jun., was the surveyor of the road appointed by the trustees. The prices paid to the adjoining landowners for land required for making the road varied from 9d. to is. 6d. per yard. A stone post was placed in Manningham Lane to mark the boundary line between Bradford and Man ningham townships, and was long afterwards known as " Manningham Stoop."

In 1836 an exchange of land was made between Mr. E. C. Lister and Miss Jowett, of Clock House, of a piece of ground called Northrop Ing, situate at Carr Syke, consisting partly of the old highway leading from Bradford to Shipley and partly of land severed by a branch of the Bradford and Keighley highway from another field belonging to Mr. Lister, called Emm Lane Close. The above-named constituted the principal ancient thoroughfares within the district under consideration. It goes without saying that such ample approaches as Carlisle Road, Oak Lane, and North Park Road are of modern creation, while the older thoroughfares have in nearly every instance been materially improved. Excepting the Primitive Methodist Chapel at Daisy Hill and White Abbey Wesleyan Chapel, no regular place of worship existed in Manningham half a century ago.

Manningham Mill was the only manufactory in the township, and it was not a very large affair. Notwithstanding the scores of factories, dyeworks, &c, which have since sprung up, the township of Manningham still contains much open ground, and is largely residential. The township of Manningham includes the suburbs on the north-western side of Bradford, and comprises a large proportion of the best residential property in the borough. The township covers an area of 1318 acres, and contains within it the districts known as Girlington, Four Lane Ends, Whetley Hill, Lilycroft, and Daisy Hill. Its boundaries may be thus briefly described : — On the west the township is bounded by Dean Beck, dividing it from the township of Allerton ; on the north by the township of Heaton ; on the east by the Bradford Beck, excepting a few roods of ground which belong to Bolton ; and on the south by the Thornton Beck, which separates the township from that of Horton.

As indicating the importance of Manningham as a railway centre, it may be stated that it is one of the most important, provincially, upon the whole of the Midland Railway Company's system, and its growth has been almost phenomenal. In 1875 the staff of men employed by the company at Manningham was 149. In 1895 the number had risen to 334. The number of engines have increased from twenty-five to eighty-five. The train mileage increased during the eighteen years from 870,324 to 1,529,042, or 75 per cent, and the engine mileage from 1,040,392 to 1,927,708, or 85 per cent. These discursory remarks, however, are by way of introduction to a more detailed reference to the topo graphical features of Manningham township generally.

Chapter II. Manningham In Early Times

Feudal Lordship in Manningham— Ancient Land Tenure— John of Gaunt — Northrop, the Hornblower (see Frontispiece) — The Hornman Lands — Feudal Customs— Manningham in 1480 — Land Survey of 1638 — Common Field System of Cultivation — Old Place Names — Old Manningham Freeholders— Enclosure of Manningham Common. The early history of Manningham is obscure. When the town of Bradford consisted of a few dwellings nestling at the foot of Church Bank, the land upon which Manningham stands lay open and unenclosed, with patches of ground cleared for cultivation. In the earliest survey extant, viz., that of 131 1, Manningham is described as a berewick or village attached to the manor of Bradford. It never there fore boasted the possession of a separate lord, but the inhabitants living at the time were subject to the lords of the manor of Bradford.

They nearly all belonged to the class of bondmen common in feudal times, and did service by virtue of their holdings to the Lord of the Manor. Among other services they were called upon to render was that of repairing the lord's mill dam in Bradford. From a document relating to Henry VII.'s time, we learn that for 300 years the nativi or bondmen of Manningham had been under this particular obligation. There is evidence of the existence in Bradford from early times of a corn mill, at which the inhabitants were required to grind their corn, paying certain dues to the lord for the privilege. At that period, when the only other medium of grinding or crushing grain was the domestic quern or handmill, the advantage of a water-driven corn mill must have been considerable. Hence originated soke rights, which in later times were regarded as an impost, and led to much litigation in Bradford.

Until quite recently, when these customs were practically abolished, a portion of Manningham was included within the area covered by the rights of soke. Shortly after the Conquest the manor of Bradford came into the possession of Ilbert de Lacy, an adventurer who "came over" with the Conqueror, and it was retained by his descendants for a considerable period, passing ultimately by marriage to the Earls of Lancaster. The Lacies, however, were possessed of the barony of Clitheroe, as well as the valuable fee of Pontefract, the whole including some 150 manors; and some idea of the extent of their territory may be gathered from the fact that a distance of upwards of ninety miles was traversed during the periodical visitations described above. At the period first referred to there were only ten oxgangs of freehold land in the township of Manningham.

An " oxgang " was as much land as a team or "gang" of oxen could plough in a year, and it was generally computed at from thirteen to twenty acres. All the remaining land under cultivation was held under servile tenure. Of the ancient freehold land, four oxgangs were held by a family whose name of Manningham was either derived from or was that given to the township. James, the historian, was of opinion that their land surrounded an ancient homestead which stood on the site of the present Manningham Hall, and he traced the descent of it to the early Listers of Manningham. The point is of some interest, as there is little doubt that what was formerly called Hill Top, the site of Manningham Hall, and the neighbourhood of Skinner Lane, close by, were the oldest inhabited parts of the township. The Manningham family was undoubtedly of some importance in the place, dating back to about 1300.

It appears from the Manorial Survey of 1342 that one Roger de Manningham held a messuage and two bovates or oxgangs of land by the service of going with De Lacy, his lord and master, into Blackburnshire, there to hunt wild boars with a lance and dog for forty days, receiving threehalfpence per day as wages. He was also " to be ready to appear at the Court at Bradford every three weeks to do suit of service, and give to his lord three pence at the time of the invention of the Holy Cross, in lieu of the work of one plough ; and at seed time, annually, is. 4d. for his freedom." HORN-BLOWING IN BRADFORD. The other six oxgangs of freehold land belonged to John de Northrop, and especial interest attaches to this holding from the fact that it was held under similar con ditions to that of Roger de Manningham, to which was subsequently added by John of Gaunt, " time-honoured Lancaster," the blowing of a horn on St. Martin's Day in winter while the semi-regal procession was being marshalled at the Market Cross, then probably fixed near to the Parish Church.