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and in 1768 returned to London, after an absence of thirty-eight years.*. He afterwards became domestic chaplain to a gentleman of Worcestershire, where he died in 1774. Soon after this event, Mr. Pennant published "the description of Patagonia," written by Falkner, whose colloquial and literary narratives were suspected of bordering too much on the marvellous, and were consequently discredited; but subsequent travellers have substantiated many of his most questionable statements.

The environs of Manchester abound with old mansions, respectable villas, and handsome modern seats. In the first class is ANCOATS-HALL, a venerable house, the seat and property of Sir Oswald Mosley, Bart. who is Lord of the Manor of Manchester. The oldest parts of this building consist of timber and plaster; the first, disposed in various figures, form a sort of skeleton; and the latter is employed to fill up the interstices. The two upper stories overhang the ground floor, and the great windows project before the face of the building. Of a similar style and age is

HULME-HALL, or HOLME, a little west of Manchester, a curious specimen of ancient domestic architecture. But its exterior is more romantic and picturesque than fine or beautiful; and its interior could never be well adapted for domestic comfort. It stands on the edge of a shelving bank of the Irwell, and being now let out to different poor tenants, is fast falling to decay. This manor belonged to Adam de Rossindale in the time of Edward the First, as appears by a grant from the said Adam of thirty shillings per annum, to Henry de Trafford, out of his manor of Hulme juxta Manchester for life, dated thirty-first of Edw. fil. Regis Hen. Afterwards, in the time of Henry the Sixth,

*

Pennant, in his "Literary Life," observes, that Falkner returned to Europe with a suit of Patagonian cloth, a cup of horn, a little pot of Chilian copper, the whole fruits of thirty-eight years' labour, which the Spaniards humanely left him.

Sixth, it belonged to the family of Prestwich. November 10, the first of Henry the Seventh, Thomas West, Knight, Lord de la Warr, and Dame Elizabeth his wife, grant to Blyse Prestwich, of Holme, beside Manchester, a liberty of attaching a wear for mills near Holme-bridge, by Alport, the site of the castle. It continued in the name of Prestwich till 1660, when it was purchased by Sir Edward Moseley, whose heiress, in 1684, married Sir John Bland, of Kippax. George Lloyd, Esq. bought it in 1751, and sold it, in 1764, to the late Duke of Bridgewater. The Dowager Lady Prestwich, in the civil war, encouraged her son to continue in the royal cause, saying, she had treasure to supply him with: this was supposed to be hid about Hulme; but on account of her being taken speechless in her illness, was never found. She was grandmother to Lord Dacy Morton.

ALKINGTON, the seat of John Lever, Esq. was the property of his uncle, Sir Ashton Lever, who commenced his grand and interesting museum, of natural and artificial curiosities, at this place. I have been informed, by a gentleman who was intimate with Sir Ashton, that the latter was induced to commence his collection, from having shot a white sparrow. As he succeeded in preserving this, he tried experiments on other birds, &c. and progressively accumulated one of the finest museums in Europe. His zeal for the subject, and the avidity with which he purchased every object of curiosity and rarity, having greatly injured his fortune, he obtained an Act of Parliament for the disposal of his museum by way of lottery *. This was determined in 1785, previous to which it was publicly exhibited in Leicester-House, Leicester-Fields, and afterwards it was removed to Blackfriar'sBridge, where a large building was purposely erected to receive it, and where it was considerably augmented by Mr. Parkinson, the successful holder of the ticket which conveyed the prize, This latter situation being found unfavourable for a public exhibition,

Sir Ashton died in 1788.

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hibition, the whole collection was dispersed by public auction in the year 1806.

About one mile north of Manchester is SMEDLEY-HALL, the seat and property of Major Hilton, who possesses it from the Chetham family. Near this is BROUGHTON-HALL, which was formerly the property of the Stanley family, and was purchased in 1699, by George Chetham, Esq. who built the old Hall here in 1706. His son James succeeded to the estate; but dying without issue, it passed (after the death of his sister, Ann Chetham, spinster,) to his cousin, Edward Chetham, Esq. of Smedley and Castleton, the last male descendant of this ancient family, who died a batchelor intestate in 1768, leaving two sisters; the youngest, Mary, married Samuel Clowes, Esq. of Chadwick, in this county, (great grandfather to the present possessor,) to whom, as co-heiress of her brother, this manor was allotted, with other cousiderable property, in 1769. The new Hall was built by the late Samuel Clowes, Esq.

TRAFFORD-HOUSE, or HALL, the seat of John Trafford, Esq. is seated on the southern bank of the river Irwell, about five miles west of Manchester. The house is a modern brick structure, cased with stucco. The Trafford family appears to have been settled in this county from the time of the conquest; and the name of Sir Ranulphus de Trafford is in the list of distinguished warriors in the time of Canute.

a

HEATON-HOUSE, a seat of the Earl of Wilton, is situated in fine part of the county, at the distance of four miles north-east from Manchester. This estate is part of the township of LittleHeaton, and included in the parish of Prestwich. It came into the Egerton family in the reign of Queen Anne, when Sir John Egerton of Egerton, married Elizabeth, daughter of William,

*

* See Dugdale's Baronetage, Vol. I. p. 271, &c.

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