Irene Preston's Historical Writing
Early Manchester – Part Three
The Radclyffe Family
In 1066 Ivo (John) de Tailbois brother of the Earl of Anjou and Count
Roger de Poitou fought alongside William, Duke of Normandy. All the land
between the River Ribble and the River Mersey was granted to Roger de
Poitou. He styled himself as the Baron de Mersey and built his castle at
Lancaster. The land and uplands north of the River Ribble were granted
to Ivo de Tailbois who also built a castle near Kendal, and he became
known as the Baron de Kendal. To strengthen his position in England he
married Lucia, the daughter of Aelfgar, Earl of Mercia.
Nicholas Fitz-Gilbert de Tailbois, the grandson of Ivo, was one of the
knights who fought with Count Roger Poitou, the Baron de Mersey, to put
down the northern uprising in 1069. Nicholas was granted lands along the
River Irwell, known locally as Redcliff or Radclive due to the red
cliffs along its bank. Like many of the Norman barons Nicholas adopted
the name or his domain and became Sir Nicholas Radclyffe. To strengthen
his position in England and obtain more land he married the daughter and
heiress of a Saxon thane in the Rossendale Valley. Her name was Goditha,
known as the Lady of the Booths as the small villages were called
Booths. Radcliffe Tower was built sometime in the 13th century before
Ordsall Hall. One Sir John Radclyffe was a close friend and companion to
Edward III (1327-1377) and fought by his side in France. He became a
knight of the shire in 1340 and in 1347 fought at the siege of Calais
with his 2 knights, 12 squires and 14 archers. In 1346 King Edward
granted Sir John the right to bear on his armorial shield, CAERNS CRECY
CALAIS for all time. The family shield has 41 quarterings. On his return
from France in 1350 he started to build Ordsall Hall with a tree-lined
lane leading into the village of Salford.
In 1362 Sir John died of the plague and his son Richard inherited the
estate. He had married the daughter of Sir John Legh of the Booths who
was descended from the early Corona family of Adlington. The younger son
John became a knight and took IO year old Margaret D' Anyers as a ward
in 1359. Her father was Sir Thomas who had served with King Edward III
and Prince Edward during the wars with France. He had saved the standard
and took an important prisoner for which he was rewarded with a pension
until land could be found for him. Sir John married Margaret but he died
in 1382 and she married again to John Savage and founded an important
branch of the Savage family. When her second husband died in 1388 she
married for a third time to Sir Piers Legh, the younger son of Robert
Legh of Adlington Hall in the Macclesfield Hundred. Piers and Margaret
were given land on the edge of the Macclesfield Forest, called Lyme
Handley, by Richard II on behalf of her late father thus founding the
Leghs of Lyme.
In 1430 Robert de Radclyffe of Ordsall Hall married Emma the daughter
and heiress of Robert de Meleur (Mellor) a forester to the king. From
1066 Mellor had been a collection of scattered farms with a church and
an inn. It was part of the Royal Forest of the Peak ruled by William
Peveral from his castle now known as Castleton. The town was part of the
parish of Glossop possibly with a stone chapel built around the 13th
century. In 1704 the manor was sold to the Chetham Family and the
Radcliffes became farmers and weavers. In 1760 William Radcliffe opened
a cotton manufacturing business in Stockport developing a new form of
loom weaving and wrote a book called 'The Origin of Power-loom Weaving.'
In 1519 Thomas Radclyffe, the youngest son of Sir Alexander and Lady
Agnes of Ordsall, had a son named Ralph. When Ralph was 14 he realised,
being the youngest of a large family, he would have to make his own
fortune. He left Ordsall Hall and gained admittance into the newly
formed Brasenose College at Oxford. With the help and influence of his
cousin, the Ist Earl of Sussex, he transferred to Cambridge as a King's
Scholar. He received a grant from King Henry VIII of 40 shillings which
is recorded in the King's private papers dated 21st June, 1532.
Four years later he graduated BA and gained his Master's degree in 1539.
He became a tutor in the family of the Marquess of Dorset, the father of
Lady Jane Grey. Ralph was very much in the King's favour due to his
strongly held morals and this helped him to purchase the buildings of a
Carmelite Priory called Hitchin Priory. He established a school, wrote
plays and was well accepted in society. After the death of King Henry
and with a Catholic Queen Mary on the throne he was afraid he may be
accused of heresy and became very ill. He decided to destroy all his
works before he died in 1559. His son Ralph died without issue but his
second son Edward became Sir Edward Radcliffe, Physician to King James
I.
During the Civil War Sir Alexander Radcliffe supported the Royalists and
held meetings at Ordsall Hall with Lord Strange, son of the Earl of
Derby. The Civil War depleted Alexander's wealth and he sold portions of
his estate to his friends, Humphrey Booth and Humphrey and Edward
Cheetham. He was arrested and put in the Tower of London for several
months when he was released he returned home in poor health and died
within the year. The Hall was eventually sold to John Birch a wealthy
Puritan. The Tower had been sold earlier to provide a dowry for a
Radcliffe bride. By 1830 the Tower had been reduced to a hayloft and a
cowshed. In 1688 King James II rewarded Sir Francis Radcliffe for his
services to the Stuart cause by creating him Earl of Derwentwater.
Francis, being very ambitious, married his son Edward to Mary Tudor
(born in 1674) the natural daughter of King Charles II and Moll Davis.
The marriage produced 4 children including James and Charles who later
lived in France with the grandson of James II, Prince Charles Edward
Stuart known as the Young Pretender, Bonnie Prince Charlie. Charles and
James Radcliffe were leaders in the 1714 Jacobite Rebellion and James
was executed by order of George I. Charles was imprisoned in Newgate but
escaped to Paris and later took part in the 1745 Rebellion. He was
recaptured and executed.
The Radcliffe Family of Ordsall Hall had been associated with the Byrom
Family of Salford for many years. John Byrom, 1691-1763, is remembered
for his poetry and other philanthropic ventures. He was also a Jacobite
spy and a prominent member of several secret societies in London and
Paris. He invented a system of phonetic shorthand later improved upon by
Sir Isaac Pitman. Byrom used his shorthand to pass on secret messages to
Jacobite sympathisers. He was a member of the Royal Society with Isaac
Newton as well as the Freemasons and also started a secret society
called the Cabala Club collecting architectural and mystical drawings.
The Radcliffes have contributed much to the history of England. Thomas
Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, was Lord Deputy and Lieutenant-General of
Ireland 1557 to 1564. His second wife was Frances Sydney, aunt of Sir
Philip, a favourite of Elizabeth I. The Countess of Sussex died in 1589
leaving £5000 for erecting a college in Cambridge. The Sidney Sussex
College was established in 1596. In the 18th century Doctor John
Radcliffe was a physician to Queen Anne and had been a college graduate.
He left £40,000 to Oxford University for a distinctive circular building
called the Radcliffe Camera (Italian for room). It was built to house
his collection of medical and scientific books left to the University
which opened in 1749 and is the main reading room in the Bodleian
Library. His statue shows him holding a snake-entwined rod the emblem of
the medical profession and there is also a Radcliffe Observatory. Even
as far away as Boston, Massachusetts there is a Radcliffe Library at
Harvard University.