and consecrated for the sphere of monastic usefulness, is not so evident. It will be the object, therefore, of an ensuing attempt at explanation to point out, that as the river Irwell was liable to great and sudden inundations, the care of its difficult and hazardous fords might have been undertaken, as an office of pious mercy, by holy men selected from the Cluniac priory of Lenton, under the encouragement of their great patron, William Peverel, lord of the town and wapentake of Salford.

§3. WODEN'S CAve, at ordeshal, supposed to

HAVE BEEN CONVERTED INTO A CHRISTIAN
ORATORY BY CERTAIN CLUNIAC MONKS OF
LENTON.

The Saxon etymology of Ordeshal may not, perhaps, be difficult. ORD, in composition, means "primeval," or "very old ;" and HAL, "a hole," or "deu."-[Bosworth's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary.] The term Ordeshal may, therefore, be rendered "the very old den, or hole."

Of this cave, the following account has been given by the late Mr. Thomas Barrett, who, about sixty years ago, took a drawing of it when it was in a state of tolerable integrity. "In the lane leading to Ordsall Hall, once a seat of the Radcliffs, and in the lane leading to that ancient mansion on the right hand, almost facing Hulme Hall, are the mouldering remains of a rocky cell, which may, perhaps, be worth the notice of a curious age, and more so if we could trace out the perfect knowledge of its use. In an old writing in the possession of [Dauntesey Hulme, Esq.,] which describes the boundary of a certain portion of land thereabouts, it says, by Worden's ford and Worden's den.'

"Worden's or Woden's ford is a paved causeway across the river Irwell from Hulme-field, where Medlock loses itself in the aforesaid river, to the opposite bank, but now lost to every observer since Irwell was made navigable.

"Worden's den is the spot I wish to throw light upon, although obscured by the darkness, perhaps, of many ages. Tradition supposes it to have been the den or woody habitation of the priest or priests of Woden, the much esteemed war deity of the idol Saxons."

"What might be the extent, or bounds, of this supposed idol temple, or place of sacrifices, we know not; but certainly it was once of a much larger extent. What remains of its height is now about six feet, and the length of the whole, as it now appears, [is] about twenty-two yards.

"At the south, and near the great tree, as may be seen by referring to the drawing, is a hole about three feet wide, much resembling an oven, and

near the middle is another excavation, not so deep in the rock as the former, at the northern extremity.

"The margin of the rock, just above the surface of the earth, is ornamented with a sort of irregular gothic tracery, and gently curves into a cavity of above double the size of the [aforesaid]

recesses.

"The range of rock is all along shaded with overhanging bushes, which much obscure the same from the notice of passengers.

"Admitting the above to have been a devoted place for pagan superstition in the Saxon times, it again presents itself under the character of a place dedicated to the retirement and devotion of a professor of Christianity. On one part of the rock much labour hath been bestowed in ornamenting it with rude characters, which have been called Runic, but which plainly appear, upon close examination, to have the letters J. H. S., the latin initials of Jesus the Saviour of men, in rude church text. The above letters shew themselves in three or four places, and, in one part, the letters appear about three feet long a-piece.

"Some few shields ornamented with crosses may be seen in different places wrought upon the rock. Near the south end are the faint remains of a shield, with the like of a sword handle near it.

"At what period of time a change of worship happened here I cannot say, but many places devoted to heathen worship were afterwards dedicated to Christianity." *

"There is a portion of ground lying near Worden's den called Oldfield, but in old writings of several centuries back, which I have seen, it is there called Houldfield, which plainly imports a place of strength."

*

This extract, from the late Mr. Barrett's manuscripts, includes the whole of the actual description of the site, but omits some of the speculations which are interspersed in the account.,

About forty years ago, before the cave had been destroyed by a former tenant (with the view of saving a contemptible slip of ground from antiquarian trespasses), I was enabled to confirm the accuracy of Mr. Barrett's account, with the exception of the letters J. H. S. It was from these fanciful characters that the writer assigned to the cave a later date, by three or four centuries, than that which is now supposed. But even granting that the letters J. H. S. did actually exist (which, I am convinced, did not), no Christian temple, however old it might have been, was exempt from innovations of a much later date than that of its origin.

On the supposition, then, that the conversion

of Woden's den into a Christian temple bears a reference to the first settlement of a few Cluniac monks in the immediate vicinity of Salford and Manchester, most probably invited over by William Peverel, the next question relates to the particular motive which could have arisen for selecting this site as one that recommended itself for the purpose of an oratory, attached to a Christian cell, or hermitage.

This question cannot be answered without reverting to a period even anterior to Christianity. It will be necessary to inquire,-why the pagan Saxons themselves thought fit to propitiate their deity by the excavation of a den, which invited offerings or sacrifices preparatory to crossing the ford of the river Irwell?

Now it must be kept in view, that the Irwell is subject to floods, which, often with an almost incredible activity, have been known to rise in a single night to the height of sixteen feet above the average level of the waters, and, occasionally, to attain no less than twenty-four feet. Whenever this rise has occurred, a large compass of low ground has been overflowed to an extent varying, in each direction, from five to ten miles within a space north-west of which the Irwell makes a great bend, and of which the site of Stretford is vaguely the centre. This tract may be generally described as extending from the higher grounds of Manchester, Gorton, and Denton, on the north-east, to the stream of the Mersey on the south, as it flows from Northenden, in a westerly direction, to the point, near Cadishead, where it receives the tributary waters of the Irwell. Through this intervening space numerous small streams, such, for instance, as the Gorebrook, slowly meander, rendering it, even in summer, a tract of swampy meadow or mossy soil, such as is still shewn at Trafford Moss and Hoozend, the geological character of which has been nowhere so well described as by a humble and anonymous minstrel of the reign of James the First:

From Winchester he's gone with speed,
Well mounted on his stately steed,

Until at length to the HOOZEND he came.

*

*

Then did he ride through a cloudy desert wild,
Frequented by no man or child,

Where stately trees have lain since Noah's flood,
Firwood and oak there to be found,
All in that deluge, there renown'd,

Deep buried there within that trembling mud.

FROM THE ANCIENT Ballad of Tarquin.

But it is not to be supposed that this dreary waste was entirely devoid of fertility. Verdant spots of pasture land occasionally appeared, which were more or less surrounded by sluggish streams,

or waters, whence they acquired the name of Holmes, or Hulmes,-a term expressive among the Saxons and Danes of sea, or river islands, or of green insulated plots of ground just rising above the waters. Among these was THE HULME, partly formed by the Medlock, the name of which is imparted to a populous suburb of Manchester. There was also Rushulme, Kirkmanshulme, Levenshulme, or Davyhulme, with many others. The tract thus diversified by green patches of drier land, must, in a flooded state, have often bid defiance to the Roman or Saxon engineer in the construction of river paths, or causeways. Of the fords near Manchester, used in the earlier times, was Stratford, or "the Street Ford," across the Irwell, the pass of which was deemed so important as to give rise to a station, named, in the Roman itineraries, "Fines Maximæ et Flaviæ." Another ford was the "Woden's Ford," of Ordeshal; while a third was "Salford," or the safe ford.

By thus keeping in view the ancient inundated state of the tract described, and the hazardous character of the fords over the Irwell and Mersey, during even a moderate rise of the rivers, it is easy to suppose that in the time of Odinism, the cave at Ördshal would invite sacrifices to the Saxon god previous to attempting the swollen ford of the Irwell, named Woden's ford, which, on such occasions, must have been breadthened out to an extraordinary extent.

At a later period, although paganism gave way to the exhortations of the holy Paulinus, it is well known that many superstitions continued unconquerable, among which was the influence ascribed to Odin, in shielding the wayfaring traveller while encountering the perilous "accidents of flood and field." The eradication of such a faith became the office of pious and active monks, as, for instance, those whom William Peverel, lord of Nottingham, the great benefactor of the Cluniac rule, is supposed to have selected and brought over with him from the abbey of Lenton to the vicinity of Salford. Holy men of this order would convert the den of Woden into an oratory, in order that tokens or professions, made to the god of the Anglo-Saxons, might be exchanged for prayers and oblations to Christian saints. They would, also, undertake the charge of furnishing escorts; or would even themselves act as guides across the deceitful marshes formed of "trembling mud," which, not earlier than three centuries ago, suggested to the imagination of the minstrel "a cloudy desert wild," through which the Lancelot du Lac of Manchester legends, is made to wander in quest of the giant Tarquin.

§ 4. THE WHOLE OR PART OF THE BARONY OF

MANCHESTER GIFTED TO ALBERT GRESLET.

Having described various events which are supposed to have taken place at unknown dates, soon after the latest defection of De Poictou, it may be lastly observed, that a large tract of country was conceded to Albert Greslet, forming the whole or part of the barony of Manchester. Genealogists are at variance regarding the pedigree of Greslet, Grelle, Grelley, or Gresley, &c.

By some writers the race is derived from Nigel, the younger of the two sons of Roger de Toeny, standard bearer of Normandy, who was descended from Malahulcius, uncle to Rollo, Duke of Normandy. Nigel is acknowledged to have been the direct ancestor of the family of Gresley, in Derbyshire.[See the authorities quoted in Mr. Whatton's Memoir on the family of Grelley, published in the Philosophical Transactions of Manchester.]

Others connect the family with the Greillys of the county of Gex, near Geneva, from whom was descended Gaston de Foix, created Earl of Longueville by Henry the Fifth, and John de Foix, who, in a succeeding reign, was Earl of Kendal and lord of Greilly, &c.-[Peerage of England, A.D. 1711, vol ii, part ii, p. 168.]

The question of origin still remains in the most unsatisfactory state.

Albert Greslet, supposed by Kuerden to have been the first baron, or lord of Manchester, was a favourite of Roger de Poictou, who, when the Dom-Boc was in the process of being compiled, received grants from him in the counties of Norfolk, Lincoln, and Nottingham. About the year 1086, he held, conjointly with Roger de Busli, lands in the hundred of Blackburn, between the Ribble and Mersey, though for a limited term only, namely, for three years. These lands were exempt from all rent.

It is highly probable that, if Albert Greslet cannot be proved to have ever had anything more than a transitory interest in the Blackburn district, he held for a permanent grant a contiguous lordship on the Amounderness side of that part of the Ribble which bounded the north of the Hundred, namely, Brockholes; this grant having ever been deemed of so remote a date in the Norman era, as to precede any written record.

Upon the defection of Roger de Poictou, the Hundred of Blackburn became consigned to Ilbert de Lacy, lord of the Honour of Pontefract. At the same time, Busli and Greslet had confirmed upon them new and important fiefs. While Busli became the baron of Penwortham, Albert Greslet's possessions must be looked for in the Hundreds of Leyland and Salford conjointly.

But here let us pause.-The extent of Albert Greslet's original territorial acquisitions between the Ribble and the Mersey is most imperfectly handed down to us. It is probable, and nothing more, that, in an early part of the reign of Henry the First, he possessed, in addition to Brockholes in Amounderness, certain lands in Leyland, and in a wide circle of territory within Salford Hundred, of which Horwich Moor was the centre. During a later period of baronial history, these allotments of territory constituted what was named "the Upper Bailiwick" of the lordship of Manchester. Whether Albert Greslet's possessions extended to the manor itself, or lower bailiwick of Manchester, has been affirmed by some writers, and denied by others. For this reason, the details of the baronial territory, under the sway of the Greslets, may be more safely transferred to the less dubious period of Albert's heir and successor.

§ 5. THE PARISH WITHIN WHICH MANCHESTER

WAS SITUATED.

At this particular period we are as little acquainted with the state and extent of the parochial, as of the manorial lands encompassing the town of Manchester. Ecclesiastical boundaries were undefined for this reason, that the proselyting system, whereby the lands between the Ribble and the Mersey were in the course of being parochialised, wanted much of its completion. The only mode of propagating Christian truths was by a system of missions concerted within the precincts of an episcopal see, in which even the bishops themselves took an active share, by the annual ambulatory visits which they paid to every group of householders.

The first indication of a change of system arose from the inability of bishops to attend to all the ministrations of religion, and hence, as Bede has remarked of Northumbria, the appointment of assistant presbyters and teachers, and the encouragement given to building churches at a distance from the site of the cathedral. Churches then became adapted not for ambulatory, but for resident priests. Yet still, as authors have remarked, these were so few in number as to give their names to the localities where they were to be found. Thus, in the circuit round Manchester, there arose Eccles, from "ecclesia," the church, to which tradition has assigned a date previous to the Conquest; and Prestwich, the priest's "wic," or

town.

After rural churches had thus sprung up, the subdivisions of territory, to which we give the name of parishes, began to be formed. But

nothing can be more vague and uncertain than the multifarious causes which originally determined parochial limits. In the case of Manchester, the original parish, as Whittaker supposed, had most probably been commensurate with the extent of the theguland. In other instances, the compass of the parish was determined by the district throughout which the priest received the confession of his flock, whence the Anglo term scrift-scir, or the share [district] of the confessor, and preost-scyre, or the priest's share. In a more general sense, the term parish (little used before the end of the twelfth century,) implied the territory which was subject to any ecclesiastical superintendence whatever, and in this meaning it was even synonymous with a diocese. The distinction was only made when a division of parishes had actually taken place. Episcopal visitations were then parochially under

taken.

§ 6. THE DIOCESE WITHIN WHICH MANCHESTER

WAS CONTAINED.

At the end of the eleventh century, an order had been promulgated in England for all bishops to remove to the greatest cities in their respective dioceses; and as Lichfield, the original seat of the Bishop of Mercia, was a place of little or no civic importance, one of the bishops, as I have shewn, had removed his see to Chester, (the ancient castrum of the Twentieth Roman Legion,) and was then styled Bishop of Chester. But the site of this ancient city not having been sufficiently centrical for the functions of episcopacy, the see had been subsequently transferred to Coventry.

In the time of Henry the First, however, the see was brought back to Lichfield, which became the capital of three sees, namely, Lichfield, Coventry, and Chester, but, in reality, of one bishopric only, to wit, of Lichfield and Coventry, within which Manchester was comprehended.

CHAPTER II.

EVENTS DURING THE BARONIAL SWAY OF ROBERT GRESLET, THE SECOND LORD OF THAT NAME. TEMP. HENR. I., ENDING A.D. 1135. The date is perfectly unknown when Albert Greslet died, and, consequently, when Robert, his son and heir, succeeded, as second baron, to the honours and estates of his father.

In the same degree of uncertainty is involved the period during which the lordship of Manchester was held immediately from the crown. In the reign of Henry the First, the Honour of Lancaster, formerly enjoyed by Roger de Poictou,

to whom the barones comitatûs owed fealty, no longer appears in the family of the Earl of Chester, but is said to have been gifted to Stephen de Blois, Earl of Mortaigne and Bolloigne [Comes Boloniæ et Moritone], before he became king.

§ 1. EXTENT OF ROBERT GRESLET'S BARONY.

However uncertain might have been the proof that the possessions of Albert Greslet extended from Leyland Hundred to the district of Manchester, the doubt does not apply to Robert Greslet, the son. He is recorded, from ancient documents cited by Keurden, to have given to Matthew Stauersides a knight's fee within his manor of Manchester.

The limits of Robert Greslet's lordship may now be stated.

It has been explained that Albert Greslet, the father, had a temporary tenure of lands from Roger de Poictou, which he afterwards surrendered for durable infeftments in Leyland Hundred, and elsewhere. But it would appear that Robert Greslet, the son, possessed for a permanent grant Brockholes in Amounderness, situated on the banks of the Ribble, opposite to Blackburnshire.

In the north of Leyland Hundred the Greslets enjoyed a detached fief, Burnhill, or Brindhill, so named, most probably, from having been the site of an ancient beacon station. In the south of Leylandshire, the acquisitions of the family may be enumerated as follows: Walsewythull, Duxbury, Charnock-Gogard, Worthington, Coppull, Adelventon (or Adlington), Shevington, and a knight's fee in Dalton, Wrightington, and Parbold. [From Kenion's MSS].

In the next place, either Robert Greslet, or his father, added to his lands, in Leyland, an extensive hunting ground in the adjoining hundred of Salford, which stretched in a southerly direction from the high grounds in the neighbourhood of Anglezack and Sharples, where they border upon Blackburn Hundred, to the vicinity of West Houghton, Kersley, Middle Wood in Hulton, and Farnworth, a distance of ten miles; while the breadth of this ground, of which Horwich Moor was the centre, varied from six to eight miles.

The tract of land thus acquired by the Greslets, forming the north-westerly district of the hundred of Salford, included, as we trace the territory from north to south, Anglezark, Sharples, Longwith, Rivington, Turton, Smithel, Halliwell, Harwood, Little Lever, Bradshaw, Horwich, Heton, Lostock, Rumworth, Pilkington, Dean, Aspull, West Houghton, Hulton, and Farnworth.