as of the mountain scenery of Greenfield and Stanedge. In the twenty-fifth of Henry the Eighth, 1534, Clarkstield and adjacent possessions were the property of George Bothe (Booth), Esq., lord of the manor of Ashton-under-Lyne. At this period, and probably for a long time previous, the family of Lees were the farmers of the estate. From them the village of Lees derived its name, and for upwards of two centuries they were amongst the principal tenantry of the Asshetons, of Ashton-under-Lyne. Branches of the original stock have ultimately attained to material local distinction, as they have become some of the principal families in Oldham and its vicinity. Thomlyn, of the Leghes, is recorded in the roll of the tenants of Sir John de Assheton, in 1422, as holding six tenements. Sir George Booth, Bart., of Dunham Massey, grandson of George Booth, Esq. (who was living in 1534), sold the estate in 1625 to John Leeze, his tenant, who enjoyed it for a considerable period, and died in 1684. He was succeeded by his grandson, John Lees, gentleman, who died in 1724. His son, John Lees, gentleman, devised the property in 1750, to his son, John Lees, gentleman, who was the father of the late John Lees, Esq., of Ashton, who was of Clarksfield, in 1766. This gentleman was in extensive business, and appears to have added largely to the wealth of the family. At his death, in 1815, the property descended to John Lees, Esq., banker, of Fairfield, who, in 1824, at his own individual cost, erected the Moravian Chapel and Schools at Salem, adjacent to Lower Clarksfield. Mr. Lees, of Fairfield, died about 1830, and the estate passed to the heirs of himself and Joseph Lees, Esq. (who died 1826), Joseph and James Lees, Esqrs., master cotton spinners and manufacturers, of Clarksfield mill, and their relatives. James Lees, Esq., was returning officer of the borough, in 1834-5, and was resident at Lower Clarksfield, in 1841. The place was subseqently purchased by Joseph and James Lees, Esqrs., sons of the late James Lees, Esq., of Higher

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