Grant for holding the Court Leet at Ashton-under-Lyne made in the name of the Bishop of Durham and others to Sir John de Assheton; after reciting that he held it of Sir Richard de Kirkby by the rent of 1d, and that Sir Richard held it of Thomas La Warre, lord of Manchester, by the rent of 22s and a hawk or 40s, which services Sir John de Ashton had to render on behalf of Sir Richard, the feoffees of Thomas La Warre granted that Sir John, Sir Richard, and their heirs should be free from the said service after the death of Thomas, the grant states (in Latin) that: “We now give to the aforesaid John de Assheton his heirs and assigns without breach of treaty ++ View of Frankpledge and all that to Frankpledge belongs from all tenants and residents within the aforesaid manor of Ashheton subtus Limam and town of Assheton subtus Limam, and we grant that the aforesaid John de Assheton his heirs and assigns after the death of the aforesaid Thomas la Warre shall take with the said manor of Assheton subtus Limam and town of Assheton subtus Limam of all tenants and resients within the aforesaid manor and town View of Frankpledge and whatever to View of Frankpledge belongs tolls piccage and stallage freely and entirely as it as given to the ancestors of Thomas Lord la Warre ++ in the aforesaid manor of Manchester and (as we now have in the manor of Manchester) and we grant our heirs that the aforesaid Richard de Kyrkeby and John de Assheton and their heirs after the death of the aforesaid Thomas Lord la Warre may be quite and exonerated of twenty one shillings and elevenpence of the aforesaid rent of twenty two shillings and of the rent of one auterous or forty shillings thus at least the aforesaid Richard de Kyrkby and his heirs may hold the manor of Assheton of us our heirs and assigns by fealty and the rent of one penny (and putary of the foresters) payable yearly by the aforesaid John de Assheton at the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist etc., to one [copy] of this writing John de Assheton sets his seal and to anther our seal. To this witnesseth Rado de Staveley, chevalier, John de Pylkyngton, chevalier, John de Hilton, Richard de Radclif, Adam de Lever and many others. Given at Swyneseved on the Feast of St Matthew the Apostle in the year of the reign of King the fifth after the Conquest the first”; with five vellum seal-tabs, lacking the two left-hand seals, the remainder (including two double seals) intact, in red wax, one impressed with a donor kneeling before St Catherine, anther showing a pelican feeding its young, others bearing letters, geometric and heraldic devices, on one skin of vellum, usual slight dust-staining etc., in a glazed fitted wooden case (unexamined out of case), c.220 x 410mm., Swineshead [Lincolnshire], 24 February 1414
Footnotes
'IN THE YEAR OF THE REIGN OF KING THE FIFTH AFTER THE CONQUEST THE FIRST': Sir Richard de Assheton, or Ashton (d. 1427), beneficiary of this grant giving him powers of civil jurisdiction over Ashton-under-Lyne, was son of another Sir John Ashton, who had served as a soldier under John of Gaunt. The younger John followed his father into Lancastrian service during the 1380s and was dubbed knight by King Henry IV on the eve of his coronation. He was appointed Commissioner of Array, Justice of the Peace for Lancashire and from 1411 to 1413 represented the county in Parliament. The year after the present grant, he served under the young Henry V at Agincourt. Among his many children, two were to become especially notable, the alchemist Sir Thomas Ashton, and the alchemist's half-brother Sir Ralph Ashton, a violent and cruel man who has passed into the folklore of the north-west; one legend having it that he was shot by a woman he had raped and carried off by the devil. He is remembered in the rhyme: 'Sweet Jesu, for thy mercy sake/ And for thy bitter passion/ Save us from the axe of the Tower/ And from Sir Ralph of Ashton', and is the 'Black Knight' in the pageant of that name held at Ashton-under-Lyne.
John Heneage and Nicholas Motte who are, with the Bishop of Durham, named in this deed, were trustees of the Lord la Warre, Lord of Manchester, from whom they held the advowson of the Rectory of Swineshead, in Lincolnshire.
Included in the lot is a court book for the Manor of Staley (later known as Stalybridge), 1683-89; an "Ashton under Lyne Call Book" running from 1678; a Suit Roll for Ashton-under-Lyne "Begun 1713"; a manorial rental for Ashton-under-Lyne beginning in 1708; another running from 9 May to 24 October 1753; another running from 1755 to 1758; an "Ashton Call Book" for 1735 to 1735; a register for the same manor running from 3 October 1771 (vellum and paper, heavy dust-staining and some wear).