William Asheton Tonge was born on 14th July 1860, third son of Richard Tonge. He worked as a merchant in Manchester as head of the firm of Lathbury & Co. He had a particular interest in the connection of his family, based in Worsley, with the ancient family of Tonge of Tonge Hall in the parish of Prestwich, and purchased the Hall when it came on the market. In 1906 he offered the Hall as a gift to the town of Middleton to be used as a museum, but the gift was declined. Following his death Tonge Hall passed to his nephew, D. D. R. Fisher.
Tonge resided at the Old Rectory, Warburton, co Ches. He was a member of the Councils of the Chetham Society (1915-1936), the Lancashire Parish Register Society (1903-1936), and the Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire (1903-1936), and Honorary Treasurer of the Record Society (1927-1935). He died on 29th October 1936. An obituary for Asheton Tonge, written by Ernest Axon, appeared in the Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, volume LI (1936) p 133.
From the guide to the The William Asheton Tonge Collection, 15th century-early 20th century, (Chetham's Library)
