The Roles of William and John Henry Royle in the Development of ...

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The Roles of William and John Henry Royle in the
Development of Pool Plat, Flixton. Part Three.
The will of John Royle, Limehurst, Flixton, 11 th June 1894; Thomas
Henry Fielden and family; The will of William Royle, ‘The Knolls,’
Davyhulme, 16 th February 1939.
In ‘Part One’ and ‘Part Two,’ of this article the census returns of 1841 to 1911, for
Flixton, were scrutinised and analysed, in relation to the Royles. Baptism, marriage and
death records, together with relevant memorial inscriptions, place influential family
members in their respective village positions. The purpose of ‘Part Three’ is to analyse
the wills of John Royle Junior (1894) and his son, William Royle (1939) The reason for
this is that John Royle Junior’s influence, at the head of the family, can be identified as
the starting point of the Royle’s steep rise in importance as property developers. Before
this they had combined the dual skills of farming and trade, renting their farmland
through landowners. However, their success in trade during the 19 th century led to the
purchase of land, beginning with Pool Plat and leading to its eventual development in
the early 20 th century. By 1939 the legacy of John Royle Junior had been completed,
with contractual payments to his grandchildren, which effectively allowed them to
dispose of the estate as they saw fit, on the death of their father, William, in 1939. John
Royle Junior died at Limehurst, Irlam Road, Flixton, on the 29 th April 1894, with
administration of his estate passing to his sons, William Royle, who was of Church
Road, Flixton and described as a baker, his shop premises and abode being in the
Village, Flixton; and John Henry Royle, who was of Irlam Road, Flixton and described
as a baker, his shop premises and abode being located at Rocksavage. They were both
named as executors of their father’s will. The third named executor, Thomas Henry
Fielden, “…having renounced probate and Execution thereof ,” which was granted on
the 11 th June 1894, with the gross value of John Royle Junior’s personal estate totalling
£2718. 2. 2, with a net value of £2669. 6. 0 ½. These details had been “extracted by
Edward Brookes, Solicitor. Manchester” (York Probate Registry)
The details of John Royle Junior’s last will and testament begin by describing him
as a grocer and so we can already see another example of the dual skills which the
Royles had acquired in the execution of their business. Thomas Henry Fielden is
described as of Sale, in the County of Chester, Gentleman and together with John
Royle Junior’s two sons, is named as a trustee and executor of his will. The following
extract, detailed below, clearly emphasises the land, property and business interests
which the Royles had acquired throughout the 19 th century. These had been used in
order to maximise profits from rental returns on property and land, tenanted by the
farming community. Farm land had also been used as a way of extracting raw materials