David Govier, Archivist, writes: Greater Manchester’s oldest surviving archive collection, the Assheton of Middleton estate archive, has been saved for posterity. The archive, which has been purchased by Manchester City Council, will now have a permanent home in the Greater Manchester County Record Office at Manchester Central Library, ensuring that people in Greater Manchester and beyond will continue to have access to this outstanding local history resource. The purchase of the 1,400 items was made possible by generous support from the Friends of the National Libraries, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the ACE/V&A Purchase Fund and Manchester Central Library Development Trust. The National Lottery Heritage Fund grant will also allow Archives+ (an exciting purpose-built showcase and repository for the region’s archives and family history at Manchester Central Library) to invest in the collection, developing a programme of education and outreach activities aimed at schools and local communities in Middleton, Rochdale, and Manchester.
The archive sheds light on local life in the medieval and early modern era, between Greater Manchester’s better-known Roman and industrial revolution stories. It is an outstanding example of a medieval family archive with nationally important items relating to the English Civil War, the Middleton Bowmen, the Black Knight, and the royal court of the Plantagenets, as well as unique local history sources recording the local Middleton population.
The collection contains some fascinating items including the earliest surviving written document, the 1197 Articles of Agreement which divided lands within the Assheton estate between Roger de Middleton and William de Radcliffe. It was witnessed by ‘Adam, parson of Middleton’ so it is also the earliest evidence of a church in Middleton.
Sir Ralph Assheton (1421-1486) fought in the capture of Berwick-upon-Tweed and held several offices under Edward IV, including High Sheriff of Yorkshire. Under Richard III, Ralph was rewarded for his loyalty to the Yorkist cause with the offices of Vice-Constable of England and Lieutenant of the Tower of London. Ralph's death at Ashton-under-Lyne is commemorated by the Black Knight Pageant in the town.
Ralph's grandson Sir Richard Assheton (1483–1549)was an English soldier who fought at the battle of Flodden in 1513. Richard raised a company of archers from Middleton; these longbowmen (renowned nationally as the Middleton Bowmen) were crucial in the victory against the Scots. One of the stand-out documents in the collection is the contract of 1474 for Robert Legg to serve Sir Ralph Assheton in the king’s wars under the Duke of Gloucester, the future Richard III. Richard Assheton commissioned the ‘Flodden Windows’ at St Leonard’s Church in Middleton depicting himself, his wife and seventeen captains of the archers, commemorating them each by name in stained glass; the windows are one of the oldest war memorials in England. To find out more about the Assheton collection (GB124.E7: 1197-1837) and to make an appointment to view items from it, please visit: gmlives.org.uk.
