Assheton Collection

The Assheton of Middleton Estate Archive Collection now has a permanent place at Manchester Central Library. This means that many people will be able to see this wonderful collection of local history documents. These documents will help us to learn more about local life in the medieval and early modern periods of history in and around Greater Manchester. This collection contains 1,400 items and documents! One of them was written in 1197 during the reign of King Richard I. He was also known as Richard the Lionheart, and this document pre-dates the Magna Carta. The document details an agreement to divide up land between two barons: Roger de Middleton and William de Ratcliffe, within the Assheton estate in Middleton. It is very fragile and written on parchment paper.

The collection contains other fascinating items, including 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.

 Here is  a short presentation about the Assheton Collection.