Longworth was a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of the

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

and

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Bolton le Moors in the

Salford hundred The Salford Hundred (also known as Salfordshire) was one of the subdivisions (a hundred) of the historic county of Lancashire in Northern England. Its name alludes to its judicial centre being the township of Salford (the suffix ''-shire'' mea ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. In 1891 it had a population of 102.

History

The township was recorded as Longeworthe in 1254, Lunggewrthe in 1278 and Longeworth in 1290. The

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

suffix ''worth'' denotes an enclosure or enclosed settlement. The manor was held of the lords of Manchester as two

oxgang An oxgang or bovate (; ; ; ) is an old land measurement formerly used in Scotland and England as early as the 16th century sometimes referred to as an oxgait. It averaged around 20 English acres, but was based on land fertility and cultivation, a ...

s of land by families which assumed the local surname. Longworths lived there from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

until the mid 17th century. Matthew, son of Siward de Longworth, made a grant of land to Cockersand Abbey about the beginning of the 13th century. John de Longworth in 1288 successfully asserted his right to 100 acres of moor in Longworth. Pedigrees were entered at the

heraldic visitation Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as the kings' deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulat ...

s in 1567 and 1613. Christopher Longworth died in 1608, holding land and a water mill. Thomas Longworth and Dorothy his wife made a settlement of the manor of Longworth in 1632. After that the manor was sold, probably to the Lacys who recorded a pedigrees in 1664. No house in the township had more than two hearths in 1666, except Thomas Lacy's, which had seven out of a total of twenty-one. In 1738 Longworth is named in a settlement of the estates of William Hulton of

Over Hulton Over Hulton is a suburb of Westhoughton within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies south west of Bolton. History The ancient district of Hulton, contained three townsh ...

. In 1907 the township was purchased by the Bolton Corporation to build the Delph reservoir. There was a quarry and a cotton mill which was demolished by Bolton Corporation when they bought the land.

Governance

Historically, Longworth formed part of the

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, a judicial division of southwest

. It was one of the townships that made up the ancient

of Bolton le Moors. Under provisions of the

Poor Relief Act 1662 The Poor Relief Act 1662 ( 14 Cha. 2. c. 12) was an act of the Cavalier Parliament of England. It was ''an Act for the Better Relief of the Poor of this Kingdom'' and is also known as the Settlement Act or the Settlement and Removal Act. The ...

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

replaced parishes as the main units of local administration in Lancashire. Longworth became one of the eighteen autonomous townships of the parish of Bolton le Moors. In 1837, Longworth became one of the townships of the Bolton

Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

, which took over the responsibility for the administration and funding of the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

in that area. As with other townships in Lancashire in 1866, Longworth became a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

. For a short while, Longworth became part of the Bolton Rural District in 1894, however, that short lived rural district was dissolved in 1898. On 30 September 1898 the civil parish of Longworth was abolished and merged with Turton and became part of

Turton Urban District Turton Urban District was, from 1873 to 1974, a local government district centred on the historical area of Turton in the administrative county of Lancashire, England. History Background Turton was a township and chapelry of the civil and e ...

Geography

Longworth was on the south west slope of Turton Moor and the lower land to the south east between the Longworth and Delph Brooks. The area of the township was . There was a hall but there was no village or hamlet within the township boundary and the land was chiefly pasture. A road from Egerton passed near the south west border and the ancient road from Blackburn to Bolton through

Tockholes Tockholes is a village and civil parish which forms part of the Blackburn with Darwen unitary authority in the English county of Lancashire, England. Tockholes consists of the village of Tockholes itself and the hamlet of Ryal Fold, and has a po ...

crossed the township.

Demography

References

External links

Boundary Map of Longworth CP/Tn
(Vision of Britain) {{DEFAULTSORT:Longworth, Lancashire Former civil parishes in Lancashire Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester History of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton Geography of Blackburn with Darwen West Pennine Moors