THE Lordship of Sharples is heading home to Bolton thanks to the generosity of a man who grew up in the area.

The ancient title and nine historic documents were bought for £15,000 by Malcolm Howe.

He lives in Chelsea in London, but spent a "blissful boyhood" in Sharples and wants the title to return to Bolton.

In spite of much of his childhood being during World War Two, with hardships and rationing, Mr Howe never forgot this happy time, or the view looking north from his bedroom in Hill Cot Road "over the fields towards Sharples Hall and the magnificent moorland beyond".

Even though that view is now more built up than the 68-year-old might remember, he still returns to the town regularly, although all his family connections are now gone.

Mr Howe went to Bank Top Primary School now Sharples County and his parents, Albert Howe and Dora, nee Breaks, came from nearby Astley Bridge.

Every week he used to visit his paternal grandparents, who lived in Everitt Street, and his maternal grandparents in Windermere Street.

His love for the beautiful wild moors above Bolton led to frequent hikes on the hills of Sharples, and was coupled with an enthusiasm for local history and heraldry which has stayed with him all his life.

He is also grateful for his "good fortune in receiving a free education at Bolton School and Cambridge University, paid for by the borough".

He became a teacher in North Wales but changed careers to go into personnel and, since his retirement 20 years ago, he has been involved in employment tribunals.

Mr Howe's generous interest in maintaining Bolton's history has already led him to helping to pay for the restoration of heraldic panels at Smithills Hall, and he is an author and acknowledged expert in many areas of local history.

So, when a friend sent him the Bolton Evening News' article about the Lordship of Sharples coming up for sale on the Noble Titles' website, Mr Howe decided to buy it "to give it to the people of Bolton rather than it should be seized by anyone from Yorkshire".

The title dates back to Anglo-Saxon times and is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book. Already the documents with the manor, originally part of the barony of Manchester, have yielded information to add to Mr Howe's local knowledge.

He said that the last of the Sharples family of Sharples Hall was Dr John Sharples Lawson, who died in 1816.

The pub at the junction of Belmont Road and Blackburn Road, formerly the Lawson's Arms, was named after his family. The family's coat of arms featured three heraldic swallows but, unfortunately, local people took them to be pigeons and so the pub is now known as The Three Pigeons.

The Lordship of Sharples today has no rights over the land or people who live there, but it is a good way to impress your friends. The hall has been converted into apartments.

No decision has yet been made about how the title and documents will be displayed in Bolton, but the Mayor , Cllr Walter Hall, welcomed Mr Howe's gift.

"It's wonderful that this will be back in Bolton and very generous of him to offer it to the town," Cllr Hall said.