tenure of William Kersley in the same vill, and all my rent from the heirs of John Sale for his tenement now in the tenure of James Cleworth in the same vill. To have and to hold to the said Thomas for the term of his life, of the chief lords of the fee by the services. therefore due and of right accustomed, with remainder after the decease of the said Thomas to the said Gilbert and his heirs for ever, the which messuages &c. I lately had of the gift and feoffment of the said Gilbert. [With clause of warranty.] These being witnesses Thomas Gerard, Knight, John Longton parson of the church of Wygan, John Longley, Robert Chernok Esquires, Hugh Hyndeley and others. Given at Hyndeley on Monday next after the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul [June 29th] 3 Richard III. [1485]. The seal is gone. It is, therefore, to be hoped that no more will be heard of this imaginary Warden, Edmund Longley. The early Wrightington and Whittle deeds begin c. 1270, and it is noteworthy that in the earliest of them the boundaries of a certain piece of land are described as the Cold Hill (frigidum collem) and the Black (nigrum) Hate Broke. The Chisenhall deeds are few in number, and relate chiefly to lands in Gorthwaite and Ulverston, sold to a number of persons in the year 1606. A deed (No. 366) dated 1391 is curiously enough the grant of some lands in Bedfordshire, from John de Arderne to William de Wetherby, vicar of the church of Blakeborne, and Roger de Longelegh. Another document (No. 369) is the declaration of allegiance to King Charles II. by a Yorkshire gentleman, and how it has found its way into this collection it is difficult to say. It reads as follows:— "In Pursuance of the gracious declaration of his most Excellent Majesty Lord Charles II., given under his Majesty's sign manual and privy signet at his Court at Har. Grimston (Signed) Will. White. Speaker of the Howse of Comons." Such is a short account of the Agecroft charters and deeds; and it will, I trust, serve to show what a varied collection of documents is often to be found in old deed boxes and muniment rooms. This collection is, I think, one of much interest, and it is the more valuable because, as far as I can ascertain, it has never been previously examined by any antiquary, and the nature and contents of the various deeds have hitherto been quite unknown. Whilst much fresh light is thrown on the history of the parish of Prestwich and on the township of Pendlebury and Agecroft Hall, these deeds are found to contain many references to the adjacent parishes and places, which will be found very useful to the local historian. In some of them there is mention of the clergy of Eccles, Radcliffe, and other churches, whose names are not to be found in the local and county histories, whilst others supply useful particulars for the pedigrees of many Lancashire families of note. With the assistance of documents to be found in the Record Office, London, the British Museum, the Probate and Ecclesiastical Registries at Chester, &c., &c., these deeds will enable full and accurate pedigrees of the families of Prestwich, Langley, Dauntesey, &c., to be drawn up, as well as making many additions to those of Holland, Radcliffe, Hulme, &c. As already noted, one of the Langleys held the important office of Warden of Manchester in the fifteenth century, and they took high rank among the families of South Lancashire. I am glad to be able to announce that Mr. Dauntesey has desired me to make translations and abstracts of all these Agecroft deeds and charters, and has decided to have them printed under my editorship, so as to place them on permanent record. In the introduction to this volume, at full account of Agecroft Hall and of its owners, the Prestwiches, the Langleys, and the Daunteseys will be given, and it will be illustrated by facsimiles of some of the most important of the deeds, views of the hall, sketches of the various details, old portraits, shields of arms, &c., &c. The pedigrees of the Prestwiches, the Langleys, and the Daunteseys will be very carefully worked out; and although the volume will be practically a privately printed one, there will be a few copies for sale, and copies will also be placed in the Manchester and other public libraries. This book will, I hope, be ready by the end of next year (1887), and I trust it may be the precursor of many similar volumes, as there can be no doubt there are many Lancashire and Cheshire families, who are the fortunate possessors of collections of old deeds and papers, fully as interesting, and as important for family and local history, as the one here described. When these are calendared and printed, a mass of information, now entirely unknown, will be made available for historical purposes, and who can venture to say what interesting facts may not be thus brought to light? PROCEEDINGS. Friday, January 8th, 1886. ANNUAL MEETING. HE third Annual Meeting of the Society was held in the presidency of Mr. William E. A. Axon. Mr. George C. Yates, Honorary Secretary, read the Annual Report of the Council and the Treasurer's Statement of Accounts. On the motion of Mr. Edward Kirk, seconded by Mr. Herbert Sherriff, the Report and Financial Statement were adopted. The Chairman said the next matter was the appointment of officers of the Society for the coming year. The only gentleman nominated for the post of president was the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, who was therefore elected. He congratulated the members upon their new President. He was a gentleman who united great archæological and scientific knowledge, and belonged to a race in which talent had been hereditary for many generations. One of the most charming genealogical books in the English language was written by the present earl's father, he meant The Lives of the Lindsays. The family to which their new President belonged had given warriors to the field, statesmen to the council, and in these later days men of the highest distinction in science and literature. A ballot for the new council of fifteen ordinary members was taken, and the list of Council was finally made up as follows: President: The Right Hon. the EARL OF CRAWFORD AND BALCARRES, F.R.S., F.S.A. Vice-Presidents: The Right Hon. the LORD EGERTON OF TATTON, F.S.A. Professor W. BOYD DAWKINS, F.R.S., F.S.A. GEORGE C. YATES, F.S.A., Swinton, Manchester. The Chairman offered to the members his sincere and hearty congratulations on the progress which the Society had made since its establishment. He thought those of them who had had experience of the history of societies would agree that the progress, both in the increasing number of members and in the extent and quality of the work done by this Society, had been of an exceedingly gratifying kind, and one that had not been surpassed in the history of similar associations. That was very gratifying, because it might have been thought that Manchester was not the most suitable or congenial atmosphere for an association of archæologists. We must not forget that this was a county association; indeed the title showed that they were a Society of two |