BURY, a parish, county palatine of LANCASTER, comprising
the market-town of Bury, the chapelries of Heap, Higher
Tottington, and Lower Tottington, and the townships of
Elton and Walmersley, in the hundred of SALFORD, and the townships
of Coupe-Lench with Newhallhey and Hall-Carr, Henheads,
and Musbury, in the higher division of the hundred
of BLACKBURN, county palatine of LANCASTER, and
containing 34,581 inhabitants, of which number, 10,583
are in the town of Bury, 48 miles (S.E. by S.) from Lancaster,
9 (N.N.W.) from Manchester, and 1965 (N.N.W.)
from London. Some antiquaries suppose this to have
been a Roman station; it was certainly a Saxon town,
as its name obviously implies, thte Saxon word Byri
signifying a fortified place. Leland notices the remains
of a castle near the church, the site of which, still called
Castle Croft, was near the ancient bed of the river.
Irwell. This castle, one of the twelve baronial castles
in the county, was entirely demolished about the year
1644, by the parliamentary troops, who, after having
laid siege to the town, and thrown up an intrenchment
at a place called Castle Steads, in the adjoining township
of Walmersley, battered down the small remains
that were then existing; fragments of the building are
still occasionally discovered in digging the ground,
near its site. In 1787, nearly three hundred persons
having assembled in a barn, to witness the performance
of some itinerant players, the gable end gave way,
and the whole building fell, and buried the audience in,
its ruins.
The town is situated on a gentle acclivity rising from
the eastern bank of the river Irwell, over, which.is a
stone bridge, and is skirted on the east by the river
Roche, which falls into the Irwell about two miles and
a half to the south. It is indifferently paved, well lighted
with gas, and amply supplied with water by pumps: the
houses, generally old and dilapidated, are rapidly giving
place to modern structures; and among the more recent
improvements may be noticed a spacious square of wellbuilt
houses at the northern extremity of the town.
There are a public subscription library, a news-room, a
botanical institution, and a mechanics' library; and a
medical library, together with a splendid billiard-room,
has been recently established by John Woodcock, Esq.
The woollen trade was introduced in the reign of
Edward III., and increased so as to constitute the staple
trade of the town in the reign of Elizabeth, who
stationed one of her aulnagers here, to stamp the cloth:'
it is still carried on to a considerable extent, and furnishes
employment to nearly four thousand persons; the principal
articles manufactured" are baize, flannel, coating,
blankets, &c. The cotton manufacture, improved by the
various ingenious inventions of Mr. John Kay and his
sons, is also carried on; and printing establishments on
an extensive scale owe their introduction to the late
Sir Robert Peel, Bart., whose works, together with the
houses of the workmen, extend for a considerable distance
along the banks of the river: there are also largebleaching-
grounds in the neighbourhood. Coal abounds1
within the parish. A branch of the Manchester and'
Bolton canal, constructed under an act of parliament in
1791, affords a facility of communication with every
part of the kingdom. The market is on Saturday: fairs
are held on March 8th, May 3rd, and September 18th.
Bury.is within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates,
who hold a meeting every Saturday. Petty sessions
for the division are held here every alternate Saturday.
Courts leet are held in April and October, and
at'Whitsuntide,"at which last three constables are appointed
for the town, subordinate to whom' is a deputy
constable, who holds his office for life; the jurisdiction
extends over the whole parish. A court baron is also
held every third week, for the recovery of debts under
40s. At a place called Castle Hill, not far hence, the"
court for the royal manor of Tottington was anciently
held; it exercised jurisdiction in capital crimes, a
neighbouring eminence, called Gallows Hill, having been
the place of execution.
The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese
of Chester, rated in the king's books at £29.11.5.,
and in the patronage of the Earl of Derby. The church,
dedicated to St. Mary, was taken down, with the "exception
of the tower, which is surmounted by a low spire;
and rebuilt in 1776. St. John's chapel, a neat edifice,
was erected in 1770: the living is a perpetual curacy,
endowed with- £600 private benefaction, £400 royal
bounty, and £1500 parliamentary, grant, and in the
patronage of the Rector, who also presents to the otherchapels
in-the parish. There are two meeting-houses
for Independents, and one each for Primitive, Wesleyan,
and New Connexion of Methodists, Presbyterians,
Unitarians, and Roman Catholics. The free grammar
school was founded, in 1726, by the Rev. Roger
Kay, prebendary in Salisbury Cathedral^ who endowed
it with estates-now producing yearly about £440, of
which the master receives £200, and the usher £100,
per annum: it has two exhibitions, of £25 per annum
each, to be continued for six years during residence at
either of the Universities. The same foundation in-'
eludes also the instruction ef ten girls, for teaching
whom a mistress is allowed £7 per annum: a premium
is also given with such of the scholars as are apprenticed
to a trade. The management is vested in thirteentrustees,
seven of whom, including the rector of Bury,
the warden of Manchester, and the rector of Prestwich,'
must be beneficed clergymen residing within ten milesof
the town, and the other six, laymen of the" churchof
England, and possessing property within the parish.:
The premises, comprising two school-rooms and dwellings
for the masters, are handsomely built. A charity
school, for the instruction of eighty boys and thirty1
girls, was founded and endowed, in 1748, by the Hon.
and Rev. John Stanley, formerly rector: in 1815, the
income having been much augmented by annual subscription,
it was enlarged into a National school, and a
spacious building erected, at an expense of £1000,
raised by subscription; the lower apartment is for the
instruction of boys, and the upper for that of girls:
about sixty of the boys and forty of the girls, on an
average, are clothed, in pursuance of the will of the
founder. A savings bank was established in 1822, and'
a dispensary in 1829; there is also a lying-in charity.
The Right Hon. Sir Robert Peel, Bart., late Secretary
of State for the Home Department, was born at Chamber
Hall, a mansion in this parish, the present residence
of the family of Hardman.