COLLECTANEA; OR, WHAT THE RECORDS SAY.

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this head we mean to reproduce, verbatim and in extenso, the text of selected Records and ancient Documents illustrative of local history, and especially of those which most concern the territory embraced by the title of our new magazine. It is known that many such documents and manuscripts exist in various repositories, public and private, but they remain as sealed books to nearly all, save their custodians. Favoured chroniclers have ever drawn historical materials from these sources of information, but the privileged writers seem to have been more anxious to amalgamate selections from such gleanings with others collected elsewhere, than to disclose details which the general writer wisely enough imagined could only interest local readers. Our desire to disseminate the entire contents of such records or documents through the medium of this magazine will, we trust, be duly appreciated by our readers, We do not by any means aim at a cheap method of filling its pages, as wə shall, on the contrary, be obliged to circumscribe the space to be occupied monthly with such matter, and besides, in nine cases out of ten, as is known by the initiated, the expense attendant upon transcripts of such documents is, as a rule, excessive. We are, however, happy to say that our negotiations, with a view to gaining access to, or obtaining copies of miscellaneous historical manuscripts deposited in the various public offices, to be reproduced in these columns have been met in a fair spirit by a high official; and on going to press we are happy to announce the conclusion of most satisfactory arrangements for accomplishing that end. The suggestions of subscribers and contributors with reference to the selection of future transcripts, will at all times meet with our best attention.

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BOUNDARIES.

【NDER this head we shall reproduce the text of ancient descriptions of the meres and bounds" of parishes and townships. In each succeeding issue we shall describe the boundaries of one or other of the parishes or townships which come within the range of the title of our magazine. By way of identification of the local topography of the period to which each such ancient description is assigned, and as a fitting contrast thereto, each reproduction will be followed, where practicable, by authentic details of the boundaries at the present time.

PARISH OF ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE.*-Description of the boundaries of the parish in 1643, noted after a perambulation had taken place :

"Whereas the boundary of the sayde parish of Ashton-under-Lyne begins at the boundary mark at Cross Bank, above Hey, near Austerlands, at the north extremity of the said parish; and so descending to the west by Mylne Bottom, where it meets the little Medlock, and so following that little water down to Leese, dividing it from Ouldham, and turning south-westerly to Holt's, where it leaves the brook, goes west by Turfpits down another rill to Cherry Valley, where it ascends north-west to near a place called Glodwick Clough, where it turns west by Fitton Hill to Copster Hill, by Oak, Lyme, and down by another rill called Medlock, to a place by Cutler Hill, called Cat Alley, where it meets the main Medlock, and so ascending the main brook Medlock in the hamlet of Woodhouses, it goes south by Buckley Hill, to the edge of the Moss, and so on by or betwixt Ashton Moss and Droylsden Moss side, to below Audenshaw. near Corn Hill, abutting on Openshagh, Goreton, Denton, and Haughton, and so on below Hooley Hill, to the river of Tame, and so ascending the river of Tame, by Shepley Demesne, to Willows, Knotts at Brook, and so betweene Ashton Town to Dukinfield, all the way to Mab Holes, and following the divers windings of the said Tame, to the bridge of Staley dividing Lancashire and Cheshire, and ascending from the sayde bridge of Stayley by Stayley in Cheshire on the one hand, and Gleut, Herrod, Sour Acre, Scout Mill, and to Bottoms on the Ashton hand, where the devycons of Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Cheshire meete, in Mossley Hamlett, in Ashton, in Mickelhurst-underTyntwisel, in Cheshire, and in Quick Mere, in the lordship of Saddelword; and so ascending a brook of the said Tame to the north-west, betweene Mossley and Quick Hamletts, below Lyght Birches, and so on to Thornleigh and to Highe Knowls, where it meetes again with the little Medlock, and crossing it by Ashes, by Lees, to the abutment on Hey Chapel, and so ascending the hill to the boundary stone of Cross Bank, the first boundary or meare."

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Until the year 1291 the territory which is now the extensive parish of Ashtonunder-Lyne, was part of the ancient parish of Manchester. The latter was constituted soon after the founding of York Cathedral by Oswald, King of Northumbria.

OUR MONTHLY CONVERSAZIONE.

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NDER this heading we shall register such items of archæological, historical, and genealogical "intelligence," as may come within the lines or scope of our project. The matter will be divided into two sections-"Local,” as applied to places within the territory embraced by our title, and "GENERAL," as referable to places beyond those limits, or to the country at large.

LOCAL.

MANCHESTER.-Mr. F. Madox Brown lately finished the second cartoon of the series of illustrations of the history of Manchester, which he has been commissioned to execute in the Town Hall of that city. The work is named, "The Romans at Mancenion," and depicts the building of a fort or castrum near the present site of Manchester. In the centre of the design stands a Roman military engineer, displaying to the commander of the legion a plan of the fort which is being built. The large scroll is open in the hands of its designer. The officer, wearing a dragon-crested helmet and scarlet mantle, turns a little sideways to the front, thus shewing his face, while he studies the fortifications with the aid of the plan. The robe of the engineer is blown out behind his figure by the breeze which rushes past the heights, the bleakness of which is suggested by the thick clothing of the wife of the commander, who attends him, and wears thick furs and woollens. She holds by the hand her sturdy boy of eight years old, who, with a toy clarion in his hand, and with sportive energy of the Roman sort, kicks out behind at the face of a burly negro, a legionary, who, standing on a lower platform than that occupied by the principal figures, barely escapes a blow, and turns to the brutal boy with a diffident grin. British labourers are occupied on the walls, bringing materials, hewn stones, and mortar, which Roman soldiers, clad in armour because of the cold, are arranging on the rising walls. From this high point we survey the winding course of the river which is now called the Medlock, and to its banks beyond over the fosse of the camp.

MANCHESTER. Several schemes were lately under consideration with respect to the future of the Oldham-street Wesleyan Chapel site and premises in this city. One was that the present chapel, which is far larger than existing needs require, should be taken down, a smaller one built, and suitable connexional premises erected at the rear. Another was that one-half the site which fronts Oldham-street should be sold, and the money thus raised employed in erecting chapel, conference hall, and offices on the other half of the site which faces Spear-street. A third scheme was that which proposes to sell the whole site at Oldham-street, on which chapel, vestries, chapel committeerooms, &c., now stand, and to purchase a site elsewhere, on which a smaller and more suitable chapel should be erected, and also to find convenient premises for the officers of the chapel committee. It was finally resolved by the committee appointed for the purpose by the late Wesleyan Conference

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that Conference be recommended to sell the whole of the site on which the Oldham-street Chapel and premises now stand, and to build a chapel for the Oldham-street circuit at a convenient place. If this resolution be accepted by the Conference, the best known Methodist centre in Manchester, and indeed in the north of England, will be known only to history.

MANCHESTER.-At a meeting of the Council of Owens College, held in the afternoon of Friday, 17th October last, an interesting present was received from the executors of the late Mr. Samuel Faulkner (a former partner of Mr. John Owens) in the shape of a characteristic kit-kat portrait of the founder's father, Mr. Owen Owens. The portrait, without any pretensions to high excellency, is soundly painted, and evidently faithfully presents the ruddy and cheerful features of a small-statured, stout old gentleman of Welsh origin. There is no date to the picture, but as we find that the artist, William Lovatt, flourished in Manchester as a "portrait and miniature painter," first at 5, Faulkner-street, afterwards at 7, Coupland-street, Greenheys, between the years 1832-8, it is natural to assume that the portrait was painted about that period, especially as Mr. Owen Owens resided in Nelson-street, Oxford Road, in close proximity to the artist's abode in Couplandstreet. Mr. Owen Owens was 80 years old when he died, on the 16th January, 1844, so that he would be about 70 years of age when the portrait was taken, which will now adorn the Senate-room of his son's famous college. Touching the painter, there is a smack of romance hitherto unchronicled in the history of Manchester artists. He came here from Ashover, in Derbyshire. His brother Charles was at that time a well-known tobacconist in Market-street. About 1838-9 the artist suddenly disappeared, and his whereabouts was a perfect mystery, even to his brother, who, however, upon his death, in 1850, left him a legacy, to be paid by his successor and executor, Mr. Bevins. But from the day he left Manchester until the present no tidings of him have been received. In connection with the father's portrait, it may be mentioned in passing that there is no portrait in existence of the founder of the College, except a very beautifully executed medallion by Woolner, from a silhouette presented some time ago by Mrs. Faulkner, which has not been hitherto publicly noticed. It hangs in a conspicuous place over the fireplace of the Senate-house.

MANCHESTER.-The Manchester City News continues to maintain its prestige as chief amongst those Lancashire journals whose editors wisely reserve portions of their space weekly for contributed Notes, Answers, Comments, and Queries in the departments of local history, tradition, philology, and antiquity. Nearly a whole page of the paper is now occupied weekly by interesting matter of this class. The quarterly reprints of such contributions in book form, at a mere nominal price, are valuable additions to our county literature. The eighth part of these reprints will be due shortly.

BOLTON.-At the inaugural dinner given on Saturday, 27th September last, in the new warehouse of Messrs. Lever & Co. (erected on the south-west side of the Town Hall Square, Bolton, on a site formerly known as Howell Croft), Mr. Lever, referring to the history of the Manor-street (formerly called Bank

street) establishment, described the latter as "the oldest wholesale grocery house in the town." What says "the oldest inhabitant" to this?

BOLTON.-The "Green" memorial window in St. Matthew's Church, Bolton, was completed early in November last, and inaugurated on the 9th of that month, when the Bishop of the diocese preached in the morning. It is a modest though rich window, exquisitely sweet in harmony, delicate and almost ethereal in colouring, whilst the drapery of the various figures is graceful in the highest degree. The tracery is warm in its tone, various rich tints being beautifully blended. There is a circle imitative of the rose in the upper part, whose centre is filled with the dove as the emblem of the Holy Spirit. Around are the emblems of the four Evangelists. In the feuilles against the grand rose are placed the " Alpha" and "Omega," the beginning and the end of all things, and below four angels in a position of adoration. The five large lights of the window are devoted to a representation of the Ascension of our Lord to heaven. This is arranged in two tableaux, the lower one representing the Apostles steadfastly gazing up into heaven, rapt and wondering, as if they would penetrate the clouds which hide their Master from their sight; the upper one pictorially describes the reception of Christ beyond the skies by the heavenly host. The figure of the Saviour is exceptionally noble, and the attendant angels are grouped around Him, manifestly receiving Him with every mark of honour, their tongues uttering joyful alleluias. Altogether the window is a splendid specimen of artistic work in stained glass, and reflects the greatest credit upon the artist, Monsieur Jean Baptiste Capronnier, of the Rue Rogier, Brussels. On a plate band at the base of the window are inscribed the suggestive words, "To the glory of God and the cherished memory of John Green, a great benefactor to this church and parish, who died March 4th, 1879." The cost was £240.

BOLTON.-During the past forty-six weeks each successive issue of the Bolton Weekly Journal contained a serial instalment of "Half-hours among the Tombs, or Bolton Records of the Past," by an anonymous author, being a reproduction of the tombstone literature of Bolton old parish church and churchyard. Judiciously interspersed among these are highly interesting and carefully written comments upon the positions of the tombstones, and the peculiarities of their inscriptions, with occasional biographical notices of the deceased. Genealogically viewed the work is replete with materials for future biographers of Bolton worthies. Moreover, in this case, the importance of the author's labours becomes enhanced tenfold when it is understood that not a single inscription among the 333 which have been reproduced verbatim in the Journal is now to be seen by visitors to the church or churchyard. At the time of the demolition of Bolton old church, after the pews had been removed, about 133 tombstones were found overlying the vaults below, and overspreading the floors of the chancel, nave, and aisles. These were removed temporarily, and subsequently relaid on the eve of the completion of the new church, in or near their old sites. Other tombstones, numbering about two hundred, which formerly bordered the south, east, and west walls of the old church, were embraced within the extended area of the new church, and became