Handford is also sometimes known by the names of Hanford, Honford, Handforth, Handford-cum-Bosden, and Handforth-cum-Bosden (Handford being a joint township with the township of Bosden). Some centuries ago the manor and estate of Handford belonged to the ancient family of Handford of Handford; then, by marriage, to that of Brereton, in the reign of Elizabeth; {268d} they afterwards passed, under a deed of settlement, to that of Booth, Sir William Brereton having, in the reign of Charles II., settled them, in default of male issue of his son, on Nathaniel Booth, Esq., of Mottram St. Andrew, in tail male; but the estate did not remain any considerable time with the Booths, and it soon became subdivided amongst various proprietors. The manorial rights, however, remained a much longer period with the Booths; the manor having been sold and conveyed, in 1766, by Nathaniel, Baron Delamer, formerly Nathaniel Booth, Esq., and others, to Edward Wrench, Esq., of Chester; in 1805, it was again sold, to Mr. Joseph Cooper, of Handford; and, in 1808, it was once more sold, by the devisees in trust under his will, to Mr. William Pass, of Altrincham. The family of Brereton, and also those of Grosvenor and Davenport, are mentioned by Ormerod, in his _History of Cheshire_, as families which can be proved, by ancient deeds, to have existed at or near the time of the Conquest. I do not pretend to give a full historical account of the old family of Brereton, especially as some very interesting particulars respecting it, have been recently given by Sir Fortunatus Dwarris, in a paper, read before the Society of Antiquaries. {269a} Sir Randle Brereton, of Shocklach and Malpas Hall, in Cheshire, grandson of the founder of that branch, was Chamberlain of Chester, in the 19th and 20th years of the reign of Henry VII., and one of the Knights of the body to that King. He is mentioned generally as Chamberlain to Henry VII., in the 21st year of that monarch’s reign, and that he held that office twenty-six years, to the 23rd of Henry VIII., by whom he was made a Knight Banneret, as a reward for his conduct at Terouenne and Tournay. He built the Brereton Chapel {269b} in the Church of Malpas, in 1522, where he was buried, leaving issue nine sons and three daughters. {269c}