Old Andrew's in Turton

The following article appeared in our newsletter number 103, contributed by Stephen Tonge

Finding Old Andrew

When looking at some old maps of Turton, I was intrigued by the property name Old Andrew’s at the top of Egerton.  It is situated opposite Ciao Baby (formerly the King William), and is now called Victoria Grange, having been converted in the 1990s from the derelict Victoria Farm buildings.    So, I wondered, who was Old Andrew?

Houses on Blackburn Road
at what was previously Victoria Farm

On the 1841 census we see that Richard Kay, beer seller, and his wife Charlotte Kay were resident at the “Queen Victoria”.  An inscription with their initials “RKC 1838” can be seen on the outside wall.  The 1833 rating valuation shows that Richard Kay was the occupier then, and that the property was known as “Morris tenement”.  This name seems to refer to the previous tenant Thomas Morris, who is recorded on the rentals around 1806 up to 1832.

For the period between 1751 and 1792, John Haworth and his family were paying the 6 shillings and 8 pence rent.  He was the farmer at Haworth Fold farm.   Old Andrews was located at the north-west corner of the farm’s 22 acres of land.  It was at that time recorded as a cottage with the name ‘Haslams’.

Stepping back further in the rentals, we find Andrew Haslam paying the rent in 1743.  Presumably this is the old Andrew I was looking for.   He was a butcher, and had leased the property in 1731, for the lives of himself and his sons John and William.

It seems that the Haslams had lived in a building on that site for several generations; there are records going back all the way to 1609.  Roger Haslam had been granted a lease on a house and garden, the landlord being Anthony Greene, then the owner of the farm.  Family wills from the time tell us that Roger Haslam was the husband of Clemence, the sister-in-law of Anthony’s father, Ralph Greene.

Section of Turnpike Map c1795
Bolton Archives (Ref. ZAL1342)

Name on Map	Modern name / notes
New Chapel	Walmsley Unitarian
Dimple Engine	Cotton carding
Isherwood’s	Haworth Fold farm
Old Chapel	Walmsley old chapel ruins
New School	Dimple School
Thomassons	Dimple Hall