Deane, Greater Manchester
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Deane is an area to the south-west of Bolton town centre, in Greater Manchester, England.
Historically part of Lancashire, the Parish of Deane was once a parish in the Hundred of Salford and covered roughly half of the present Metropolitan Borough of Bolton.
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[edit] History
[edit] Etymology
Deane's name comes from the Old English word "denu" - meaning valley.[1] In earlier times Deane was written without the final "e".[1]
[edit] Early history
Since Anglo-Saxon times there's been a chapel in Deane, and the earliest record of a Chapel of ease in Deane was in the year 1100. This Chapel of Ease was dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin and because it was within Deane the name of St. Mariden (i.e. St. Mary's, Deane) was once given to it.
Deane was once a chapelry in the great ancient Parish of Eccles, but eventually Deane became a Parish in its own right. The present Parish Church was built in 1452 on the site of the original chapel. The stream running in the valley to the west of the present church took its Saxon name of Kirkbroke - meaning Church Brook.
The Parish of Deane was extremely large and was subdivided into townships for ease of administration in 1660. The ten townships were Horwich, Halliwell, Heaton, Rumworth (where Deane Parish Church is situated), Westhoughton, Over Hulton, Middle Hulton, Little Hulton, Farnworth and Kearsley.
The Heatons were an important family in the Deane area. They date back to the 12th Century and orginated from around Ulverston in north Lancashire. From the 14th century some of the Heaton family held land in Heaton-under-the forest (or Heaton-under-Horwich) in the parish of Deane. This family lived in Heaton Old Hall and built Heaton New Hall. From this family they gave their surname to Deane's township of Heaton.
Protestant martyr George Marsh, a farmer's son, was born in Deane in 1515. When Edward VI became King in 1547, Marsh's study of the New Testament led to his appointment as a preaching minister. When Edward VI died in 1553, his half-sister Mary I became Queen. She sought to re-establish Roman Catholicism, Marsh became victim to her persecution of the reformers. He appeared before Justice Barton at Smithills Hall accused of preaching false doctrines. However he made a stand for his beliefs, he was tried and convicted. He was imprisoned at Chester and finally burnt at the stake April 24th 1555.
In 1837 the whole of the Parish of Deane came under the Bolton Poor Law Union. In the 19th century many of Deane's townships broke away and became independent civil parishes or were merged into Bolton Borough.
Contrary to some statements the Parish of Deane was never a township or a village.[1] Deane was a Parish containing many hamlets, villages and townships. Today it would seem odd if people living in Horwich, Farnworth, Westhoughton or Halliwell were to be described as "of Deane", but until the 19th century it would have been quite correct.[1]
In 1872 part of Rumworth township became part of Bolton Borough, the remainder of Rumworth (which included Deane Parish Church) was renamed in 1894 as Deane township and in 1898 it too was merged as a part of Bolton County Borough.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Billington, W.D. (1982). From Affetside to Yarrow : Bolton place names and their history, Ross Anderson Publications (ISBN 0-86360-003-4).
