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By indenture, dated 28th April, 1836, endorsed upon the last mentioned indenture Matthew Dawes, " bargained, sold, assigned and set over," &c., unto James Fletcher, John Moore, Jacob Fletcher Ramsden, Thomas Mulliner, and Joseph Ramsden, their executors, administrators, and assigns, the premises assigned by "the within written indenture." To HOLD, &c. (usual words).

James Fletcher died 19th September, 1836. On the 23rd of September, 1837, letters of administration, with the will annexed, to the estate of Ellis Fletcher, unadministered by his widow and James Fletcher, were granted to Messrs. Moore, Mulliner, and Ramsden, the after appointed trustees.

*

John Smith, "common carrier," died intestate and unmarried on the 14th day of February, 1839, aged 52 years, and was buried on the 17th in Bolton parish churchyard. Being at the time of his death seized in fee of the premises in Bradshawgate, the same descended to and became vested in fee in William Smith, his half-brother and heir at law, of Rumworth, yeoman. He also left another half-brother, Whittaker Smith,† of Haulgh Hall, common carrier, and two half-sisters, Jane Smithtt and Hannah Smith,‡ him surviving. William being desirous that the whole of the debts owing by John (except such part as the deceased's personal estate would enable his personal representatives to discharge) should be paid off out of the proceeds of the Bradshawgate premises, and being also desirous that his half-brother and half-sisters should each have an equal share along with himself therein, he agreed to convey and assure the same unto Whittaker Smith and Peter Smith ¶ (bookkeeper), their heirs and assigns, to such uses, upon such trusts, and for such ends, intents, and purposes as were declared by the next mentioned deed.

Accordingly by indentures of lease and release, dated 15th and 16th March, 1839, William Smith, for the nominal consideration of 10s., and also in consideration of the share thereinafter limited to him, and in further consideration of the natural love and affection which he had towards his brother and sisters, granted, &c., unto Whittaker and Peter Smith and their heirs, "FIRSTLY, ALL THAT Messuage or Dwelling-house, shop or shops, carrier's warehouse, and the land upon which the same were erected and built, situate in Bradshawgate and Folds'street, within Bolton-le-Moors, in the said county, and also the vacant plot of land lying between the said messuage and dwelling-house, shop or shops, and the said carrier's warehouse," and all other the hereditaments and premises

William Smith, son of Thomas and Alice Smith, born 28th February, and christened 27th March, 1792, by Rev. John Holland, minister of Bank-street Unitarian Chapel, Bolton.

+ Whittaker Smith was born 27th March, christened 1st May, 1808, at Bank-street Unitarian Chapel, Bolton, by Rev. John Holland, pastor.

++ Jane Smith died 27th January, 1842, aged 48, and was buried in Bolton church. yard.

In a declaration, dated 22nd February, 1850, Hannah Smith described herself as "Hannah Smith, of Haulgh Hall, in the township of Tonge-with-Haulgh, in the county of Lancaster, widow,” and therein declares that "I am the daughter of Thomas Smith, late of Haulgh Hall aforesaid, common carrier, and Alice, his wife. My mother was the second wife of the said Thomas Smith."

Born 1794.

conveyed and assured by the Deed of Feoffment of 1806, &c., and then in the several occupations of Whittaker Smith (as administrator of John Smith, deceased) and James Darbyshire and

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under tenants thereof. AND, SECONDLY, certain other property situate in Preston (not the subject of this documentary history), &c., TO HOLD, &c., for ever UPON TRUST as therein mentioned, to demise, sell, or mortgage the same, and out of the proceeds pay off such part of the debts of John Smith, deceased, as were due and owing, and which his personal estate was insufficient to discharge, and to divide the remainder equally between them. The deed is signed by William Smith, Whittaker Smith, and Peter Smith, and witnessed by "Richard Smith, farmer, Rumworth."

Whittaker Smith died 4th May, 1842, aged 34, and was buried on the 11th of the same month in Bolton parish church yard.

Peter Smith made a will dated 7th October, 1846, which contained the following devise:-"I devise all real estates (if any) vested in me as trustee or

mortgagee to my said wife Hannah, my said cousin Peter Smith, and my said

friend John Harwood, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns for ever, subject to the equities affecting the same respectively." Testator appointed his wife, cousin, and friend so named, executrix and executors, and died on the 2nd December of the same year at Haulgh Hall, Tonge-withHaulgh, aged 51. His will was proved on the 27th January of the following year at Chester, by his widow and the two executors.

It should be here stated, in view of the conveyance of the entire premises by the devisees of Peter Smith and others, that on the 20th of September, 1843, Her Majesty's Royal Licence and authority were granted to Jacob Fletcher Ramsden, one of the trust mortgagees, to drop the surname of Ramsden and to take and use the surname and arms of Fletcher only, whereby his name became Jacob Fletcher Fletcher.

Joseph Ramsden died 25th July, 1848, leaving John Moore, Jacob Fletcher Fletcher, and Thomas Mulliner his co-trustees and co-mortgagees surviving him.

By Indenture dated 12th November, 1849, made between John Moore of Bolton, Esq., Jacob Fletcher Fletcher of Peel Hall, Esq., and Thomas Mulliner of Bolton, accountant, of the first part, Hannah Smith of Haulgh, widow, Peter Smith of Manchester, agent, and John Harwood of Bolton, corn dealer, of the second part, and Thomas Walmsley, of Bolton, ironmonger, of the other part, IT WAS WITNESSED that in consideration of £1,000 to Messrs. Moore, Fletcher, and Mulliner, at the request and by the direction of Hannah Smith, Peter Smith, and John Harwood, in full satisfaction of all money owing on the Indenture of Mortgage of 9th August, 1830, and also in consideration of £200 to Hannah Smith, Peter Smith, and John Harwood, making together the agreed purchase money of the premises paid by Thomas Walmsley, they, the said Messrs. Moore, Fletcher, and Mulliner thereby assigned, surrendered, and yielded up, and Hannah Smith, Peter Smith, and John Harwood granted, bargained, sold, aliened, and conveyed unto Thomas Walmsley "ALL THAT messuage or dwelling-house, shop, and carrier's

warehouse, situate in Bradshawgate and Folds'-street, within Bolton-le-Moores aforesaid, AND ALSO the vacant plot of land lying between the said messuage or dwelling-house and the said carrier's warehouse, the site of all which premises contains in the whole 287 superficial square yards of land, or thereabouts, be the same more or less, as the same premises were formerly in the possession of the said John Smith and of James Darbyshire, and are now in the occupation of. [blank in original deed] as tenant thereof. And all outhouses, dwellings, &c., &c., TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, &c., for ever." The deed is signed by "John Moore," "J. Fletcher Fletcher," "Thomas Mulliner," "Hannah Smith," "Peter Smith," and "John Harwood," and attested as to the signatures of Hannah Smith and John Harwood, by "Christopher Briggs, solicitor, Bolton;" as to that of Peter Smith, by "W. R. Jackson, solicitor, Bolton;" as to the signatures of John Moore and Thomas Mulliner, by "John Sudren, clerk to Messrs. Briggs & Jackson, solicitors, Bolton;" and as to the signature of Jacob Fletcher Fletcher, by "Joseph Gerrard, clerk with Mr. Dawes, solicitor, Bolton." A receipt for £200, the portion of the purchase money payable to Hannah Smith, Peter Smith, and John Harwood, is duly signed by them.

The course of leasing, re-leasing, inheriting, selling, mortgaging, and again selling, having gone on somewhat tamely through the hands of successive conveyancing lawyers, during the 170 years embraced by the foregoing portion of the title deeds, it could scarcely be expected that the venerable old wood and plaster building could much longer escape the attention of the chancery practitioners. Eventually the opportunity offered, and the little suit of "Alice Fletcher, an infant, and Ann Fletcher, an infant, by Peter Higson, their next friend, PLAINTIFFS; John Moore, Thomas Mulliner, and Jacob Fletcher Fletcher, and Ellis Fletcher, DEFENDANTS," was commenced by petition on the 13th of December, 1849. So far as the venerable premises and Mr. Thomas Walmsley, the purchaser, were thereby affected, the suit was a mere brush, inasmuch as, in simple obedience to an order of the vice-chancellor, he paid the involved portion of his purchase money-£1,000 and interest-to, and obtained a receipt from, the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, and left the litigious infants to attain their majority and the lodgment as best they might, and at same time relieved Madame Wood and Plaster and the adjoining premises of the incubus of a very sticky mortgage.

During the succeeding quarter of a century the property remained solely in the hands of Mr. Walmsley, the purchaser, who, meanwhile, built a large warehouse, over the site of the partly demolished carriers' warehouse, and partly on a portion of the vacant ground westwards of the rear of the old relic. Thə latter continued as before to be tenanted, sometimes as one shop, and at other times as two, according to the commercial calibres of those who ventured upon its tenancy during that period.

On the 5th April, 1873, Mr. Walmsley granted a lease of the old messauge and premises to Mr. Johnson Mills, of Bolton, auctioneer, for 999 years, from 12th May, 1873, at the annual rent of £45. 10s. The description of the premises in that document are:-" ALL THAT plot of land situate within the

Borough of Bolton aforesaid, as the same is delineated and described with respect to the bounuaries and admeasurement thereof, in the plan drawn in the margin of these presents and comprised with the space edged with pink in the same plan, and containing in area 124 superficial square yards or thereabouts, be the same more or less; and bounded on the north side thereof by Folds-street, and containing on that side 43 feet 3 inches; on the east side thereof by Bradshawgate, and containing on that side 25 feet 11 inches; on part of the south side thereof by premises belonging to the trustees and executors of Thomas Chantler, deceased; and on the remaining part by the wall hereinafter mentioned (the same wall being coloured blue on the said plan), and containing on the part of that side adjoining the said premises of the said trustees and executors 33 feet 9 inches, and on the remaining part thereof 6 feet 10 inches; and on the west side thereof by other premises of the said Thomas Walmsley, and containing on part of that side 12 feet 5 inches, and then (after running 10 inches in a westerly direction) on the remaining part of that side 14 feet 4 inches, be the said several dimensions more or less. AND ALSO ALL THAT messuage or dwelling-house, and the shops now in the respective occupation of Moses Barron, as tenant thereof; AND all other the erections and buildings erected and now standing thereon. AND ALSO all the estate and interest, if any, of the said Thomas Walmsley (but according to such estate, and not by way of warranty), of and in all that the said wall delineated and described on the aforesaid plan, and thereon coloured blue, the site whereof contains in area one-half of a square yard or thereabouts, together with the appurtenances thereunto belonging."

By Indenture of Assignment, dated 23rd July, 1879, Mr. Johnson Mills assigned to councillor Thomas Bromley, of Folds'-street, Bolton, the premises so derived by him under the Indenture of 5th April, 1873, for the remainder of the said term of 999 years. In this deed the tenants of the old building are described as "Mr. Duckworth and another." The premises have been for some time vacant, preparatory to demolition. The businesses carried on by the last two occupiers were those of a tobacconist on a small scale, and a tripe dealer. Sic transit gloria mundi! On the site, when cleared, Mr. Bromley will, early in the next spring, erect a magnificent Fine Art Gallery and Artists' Repository, ⚫ to which he means to remove the business presently carried on by him at the opposite corner of Folds-street and Bradshawgate.

Unwilling that this vestige of old Bolton should be quite lost to his townsmen by its complete demolition, Mr. Bromley, in August last, resolved to make a presentation of the materials to the town, provided some local gentlemen would come forward and make arrangements for the removal and reconstruction of the fabric in some convenient position in the borough park, or other suitable place in or in the neighbourhood of Bolton, as a memento of bygone street architecture. A direct offer having been made to the Bolton Corporation by Mr. Bromley to place the materials at their disposal, the Park and Burial Board Committee, at their meeting on Thursday, 4th September last, duly considered the matter, but declined to accept the "white elephant." The resolution arrived at was, "That the thanks of the Committee be tendered to

Mr. Councillor Bromley for the offer made by him of the building at the corner of Folds-street and Bradshawgate, and they regret that they are unablə to accept such offer." Early in the spring its demolition will be proceeded with. Through the courtesy of Mr. Bromley, we shall be permitted to arrange for a close antiquarian vigil over the site during the progress of the work, and should any "finds" reward us for our pains, they will be duly chronicled and illustrated in a future number of this magazine. At all events, we shall have something more to say concerning the "fossils" to be turned Some rare relic of the siege of Bolton may perchance be unearthed!

over.

(Short architectural description, and brief chronological review of successive tenants, in our next issue.)

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