| Administrative History | The documents have been divided into a number of groups. There is some overlapping between the groups, but the relationship of the groups to each other is not always clear.
The 2 groups placed first in the list are small and include some of the earliest deeds in the collection. They relate to properties in Hayfield (1631-1633) and in Offerton, Cheshire (1633-1652) and their connection to the rest of the documents is not evident.
The records of the Harrison family of Chunall are chiefly deeds of properties they leased or owned in Chinley together with some family documents such as wills and a family settlement of 1693.
4 deeds relating to Phoside, Maglow, and Malcoff, 1697/8-1770 and with no obvious relationship with other documents form a small group between the Harrison records and those relating to the properties of the Shirt, Lingard and Yates families. The Shirt, Lingard and Yates group is, with the Harrison and the Slack family groups, one of the largest and most important sections of these records. The Shirts had lived at Bowdenhead since at least the latter part of the 17th century, but sold their house with its land to John Lingard of Dakins in 1762. This property, together with property which may once have belonged to the Harrisons (a messuage called the Hull in Chinley) a John Lingard of Astley, Lancashire, mortgaged in 1785. Other Shirt property was also sold, but to William Yates, probably some in 1774 andcertainly some in 1778.
Earlier Slack family documents refer to properties they leased at Harrop, Cheshire in 1716 and Chinley in 1722 and to the purchase by Thomas Slack of Chunall yeoman in 1726 of Slack Hall (at one time a Lingard property) at Bowden Edge, Chapel en le Frith. It was not until 1841, however, that their small estate expanded significantly, with the purchase of the Bowden Head Estate and then the Bowden Hall Estate both in that year. Title deeds to both these estates are included amongst the Slack family's documents. The Bowden Hall Estate was an old one, once the property of Sir Simon Degge of Derby, a well- known 17th century lawyer. It consisted of the Hall and manor and other property, which Sir Simon's descendants sold to Robert Hibber - son of Chapel en le Frith carrier in 1802. The Bowden Head Estate was smaller and much more recent, having been accumulated by William Yates through purchases from John Frith, George Shirt and John Slack between 1788 and 1802. This was bought by James Hibberson of Bowden Hall esq. in 1829, who had also succeeded to the Bowden Hall Estate. He and his mortgagee sold both properties to John Slack in 1841.
Records of the Slack family also include estate papers such as sale catalogues, 19th-20th century and family wills and other papers, 1693-1821. An unusual item is Thomas Slacke's license to practise medicine, 1829.
Notes concerning place - names in these records: The following places are in the parish of Chapel en le Frith: Bagshaw, Bowden Edge, Bowden Hall, Bowden Head or Bowdenhead, Chapel Milton, Laneside, Maglow, Malcoff, Pyegreave, Ridge Hall, Rushup, Slackhall (a hamlet) Slack Hall (a house with land) Stodhart, Waterside, Whiteside (as an alternative to Rushup)
Note concerning place - names in these records: Mainstonefield was an alternative name for Chinley. Chinley was a hamlet and extra-parochial place (that is, a place outside the parish system) but places in Chinley may be described as in Chinley, parish of Glossop. Places referred to in Chinley are Bridgeholm, Bruck Bank, Hull (End), Hollow Shaw. Chunall was in the parish of Glossop but is now in Charlesworth. |
| Custodial History | These documents were donated to the Record Office in November 1997. Added to the catalogue by volunteer Vicky Kerrigan |