Lyon portion passed into the possession of Mr. James Bowden in 1752; and in 1765, the hall was the property and residence of John Winterbottom, gentleman, who died July 12, 1794. The place was sold to John Lees, Esq., of Werneth, and is now in the possession of the executors of the late James Whitehead, Esq., solicitor. A large portion of the Lingard moiety is said to have been sold to the ancestors of the Cleggs, of Bent, probably to John Clegg, of Werneth, gentleman, who died 1725; but in 1747, one-third of the Lees Hall estate was possessed by Thomas Percival, Esq., of Royton ; and in 1752, a still further division had occurred, for Ralph Taylor, of Bent, gentleman, was then a joint owner. A considerable portion of the ancient estate is now the property of Assheton Clegg, Esq., and brothers, sons of William Clegg, Esq., of Westwood. In the time of N. J. Lyon, Esq., the hall was an elegant mansion, surrounded by well wooded grounds, decorated by a large pond. 1824-8, it was the residence of Mr. John Radcliffe, manufacturer, a son of Mr.William Radcliffe, of Stockport, the celebrated improver of the dressing machine. The present occupant of the mansion is John Birch, Esq., master cotton spinner, of Lees Hall Mill, a relative of Lea Birch, Esq., merchant, of Manchester.

Bent Hall, situated in Bent, or West-street, now concealed by more modern buildings, is a venerable edifice, apparently erected in the early part of the seventeenth century. Whether this was ever the residence of a family of the name of Bent, is not with certainty known, but some relatives of the Bents, of Bent-lane, in Eccles parish, once held property in Oldham. There is reason to believe that the Sandifords, of Hathershaw, or, as sometimes expressed, Sanderson and Sandford, were connected with this estate. A younger line of the Radcliffes, of Radcliffe Tower, the posterity of John Radclyffe, Rector of Bury, living in 1343, possessed lands in Oldham; but there is no

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