Deane, Greater Manchester

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Deane
Deane, Greater Manchester (Greater Manchester)
Deane, Greater Manchester

Deane shown within Greater Manchester
OS grid reference SD689084
 - London 173 miles (280 km) SE
Metropolitan borough Bolton
Metropolitan county Greater Manchester
Region North West
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BOLTON
Postcode district BL3
Dialling code 01204
Police Greater Manchester
Fire Greater Manchester
Ambulance North West
European Parliament North West England
UK Parliament Bolton West
List of places: UKEnglandGreater Manchester

Coordinates: 53°34′16″N 2°28′05″W / 53.571, -2.468

Deane is a locality in the southwest of Bolton town, within Greater Manchester, England.[1] It is around eleven miles (17.5 km) to the northwest of the City of Manchester.

Historically part of Lancashire, the Parish of Deane was once a parish within the hundred of Salford and covered roughly half of the present Metropolitan Borough of Bolton.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Etymology

Deane's name comes from the Old English word "denu" - meaning valley.[2] In earlier times Deane was written without the final "e".[2]

[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 Heatons were an important family in the Deane area. They date back to the 12th Century and originated 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.

[edit] Parish

The Parish of Deane was in the Hundred of Salford of Lancashire and was extremely large; subdivided into townships for ease of administration in 1660. The ten townships of the Parish of Deane were Horwich, Halliwell, Heaton, Rumworth (where Deane Parish Church is situated), Westhoughton, Over Hulton, Middle Hulton, Little Hulton, Farnworth and Kearsley.

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.[2] 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.[2]

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 the County Borough of Bolton.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Anon. A select gazetteer of local government areas, Greater Manchester County. Greater Manchester County Records Office. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
  2. ^ 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).

[edit] External links