Monkeypedia

This is a comprehensive list of resources for researching Heywood’s history. If you have any suggestions for additions to this list, please email me. (Last updated 14 June 2025)

Heywood and Surrounds History

• John A Green, Bibliography of the Town of Heywood, 1902. This link is for my transcription of this book. 
• John Hannavy, Roger Fenton of Crimble Hall, London, Gordon Fraser, 1975. 
• Hannah Haynes, Heywood, Chalford Publishing, 1997. 
• Heywood Living Memories, Heywood Memories Society, 2001-present.
• John Hudson, Heywood in Old Photographs, Sutton Publishing 1994. 
• Charles S MacDonald, A History of Hopwood Hall, London, Waldergrave, 1963. 
• Mike Sheridan, Heywood Book of Remembrance, Hertford, M-Y Books, 2005. 
• AV Sandiford and TE Ashworth, The Forgotten Valley, Bury: Bury and District Local History Society, 1981. 
• John Slawson, Hopwood, Heywood and Me, 1986.

Online History for Heywood and Surrounds

• Samuel Bamford, Early Days, Manchester, John Heywood, 1859. 
• Samuel Bamford, Walks in South Lancashire and its Borders, Blackley, S. Bamford, 1844. 
• British History Online (Records from William Farrer & J. Brownbill (editors), A History of the County of Lancaster: Volumes 1- 5, 1911): 
• Ashworth
• Birtle-with-Bamford
• Castleton
• Heap
• Hopwood
• Pilsworth
• Cotton Times, 'Life in the Moorland Mills'.
• Bygone Bury, online book
• ‘Early Rochdale’ blog
• Facebook, ‘Remembering Heywood’, 2012-14.
• Andy Marshall, Cheesden Valley Project.
• Heywood Notes and Queries 1905-08 (J.A. Green). 
• Edwin Waugh, Sketches of Lancashire Life and Localities, London, Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1855. 
• Wikipedia
• Cheesden Valley
• 'River Roch'
• Heywood
• 'Municipal Borough of Heywood' 
• Abandoned Communities, 'Rochdale Reservoirs'.

Lancashire History with Reference to Heywood

• Edward Baines, History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster, 5 volumes 1888-93. 
• Alfred Burton, Rush-bearing: an account of the old custom of strewing rushes; carrying rushes to church; the rush-cart; garlands in churches; morris-dancers; the wakes; the rush, Manchester, Brook & Chrystal, 1891. 
• Bob Dobson, Lancashire Nicknames & Sayings, 1973. 
• Eilert Ekwall, The Place-Names of Lancashire, 1922. 
• William Farrer & J. Brownbill (editors), A History of the County of Lancaster: Volumes 1- 5, 1911. 
• Charles Hardwick, Traditions, Superstitions and Folklore, chiefly Lancashire and the north of England: their affinity to others in widely-distributed localities; their eastern origin and mythical significance, 1872. 
• John Harland, Lancashire Folklore: Illustrative of the superstitious beliefs and practices, local customs and usages of the people of the county Palatine, 1867. 
• John Harland & T.T. Wilkinson, Lancashire Legends, traditions, pageants, sports, etc, London, 1873. 
• Nathan Heywood, 'Captain Peter Heywood', Transcations of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, volume 9, 1891, pp. 135-145. 
• Wim N.M. Hüsken, 'Rushbearing: A forgotten British custom', in A. Johnston, W.N.M. Hüsken (eds), English Parish Drama, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1996. 
• 'Final Concords of County of Lancaster'. Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, vol. 39. 
• 'Old Manx Families: The Heywoods of Heywood in Lancashire, and the Nunnery in the Isle of Mann', Manx Note Book, volume 2, 1886, pp. 66-71. 
• Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, vol. 9., 1891. 
• Cyrus Redding, Pictorial History of the County of Lancaster, London, Routledge, 1844. 
• Henry C. Wyld and T. Oakes Hirst, The Place Names of Lancashire: Their origin and history, 1911. 

Archaeology

• Owen Ashmore, The Industrial Archaeology of North-West England, Manchester University Press, 1982. 
• Margaret Davies, 'A note on an early group of cotton mills', Geography, Vol. 29, No. 2, June 1944. 
• W. Baldwin, 'The Pleistocene lakes of Rochdale', Transactions of the Rochdale Literary and Scientific Society, 1911, volume 10, pp. 17-21. 
• B. Pearson, J. Price, V. Tanner and J. Walker, ‘The Rochdale Borough survey’, Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit, volume 1, 1985, p. 103. 
• J. Harland, ‘Roman Coins Find’, Proceedings of the Journal of the Archaeological Association, 1856, vol 12, pp. 236-9. 
• ‘Find of Roman Coins’, Proceedings of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1891, volume 9, p.166. 
• Norman Tyson, Excavation of a Cairn at Wind Hill, Heywood, Lancashire, Bury Archaeological Group, 1972. 
• Walter Baldwin, 'Some Prehistoric finds from Ashworth Moor and neighbourhood', in Transactions of the Manchester Geological & Mining Society, vol. 28, 1903, pp. 108-114. 
• English Heritage, National Monuments Register, 'Monument No. 890857', Pastscape. 
• Gladys Sellers, Walking in the South Pennines, Milnthorpe, Cumbria, Cicerone Press 1991, pp. 14-16. 
• J Walker and A Tindall, Country Houses of Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit, 1985. 

Maps

• National Library of Scotland, Old Maps of Lancashire. 
• Open Domesday
• Matthew Paris' A.D. 1250 map online
• Sebastian Münster's A.D. 1552 map online

Online Archival Records

• 'Roll 404: 30-31 Henry III', Lancashire Assize Rolls: 4 John - 13 Edward I, pp. 6-59. 
• 'Roll 1268: 13 Edward I', Lancashire Assize Rolls: 4 John - 13 Edward I , pp. 195-217. 
• 'Some Court Rolls of the Lordships, Wapentakes, and Demense Manors of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster', 1879 
• Final Concords for Lancashire, Part 4: 1509-1558, pp. 25-52.

Heywood Sports History

• Non-League Matters, ‘Lancashire Combination 1891-1909’. 
• Wikipedia, ‘Heywood FC’. 
• Wikipedia, 'Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy'. 
• Football Club History Database, ‘Heywood FC’. 
• Football Club History Database, ‘Heywood United FC’. 
• Football Club History Database, ‘Heywood Central FC’.

Religion

• Bury Unitarian Church, ‘Unitarianism in Heywood 1856-1956’, Herbert Holt. 
• An Illustrated History of Bamford Chapel (Rev. David Wiseman, 2001) 
• History, Los Angeles County, ‘The David Healey Window’, 2009. 
• A Short History of St James' Church (Ashworth)
• St George's Church, Heap Bridge
• St Luke's Parish Church, Heywood
• St Luke's Church history and tour
• St Mary, Birch-in-Hopwood

Baptism, Burial and Marriage Records

• St Luke's Church
• Church of St James
• St James (Ashworth)
• Heywood Cemetery (interment.net)

Crime

• Full and particular account of the trial, conviction, and execution of John Diggles, for the horrid murder of Benjamin and Alice Cas; together with the speech delivered by the judge; and Diggle's address to the multitude at the place of execution, Lancaster, John Stones, 1826. 
• Martin Baggoley, Strangeways: A Century of Hangings, Barnsley, Wharncliff Books, 2006.

Natural Environment

• Irvine Whittaker, Birds of a Lancashire cotton town: Being notes on the avifauna of Heywood, Robert Howe Ltd, 1935.