The de Assheton family helped create the town of Ashton-under-Lyne. This new book starts with a broad historical overview, then offers biographies for each of the major members of the family from their obscure beginnings in about 1100 until the line ended in 1550.

Principal members include Sir Robert de Assheton (1303-1387), who was an admiral, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lord Treasurer, and Sir Ralph de Assheton (1420s-1487), known to later generations as 'the Black Knight of Ashton' , and under Richard

III was vice-constable of England, lieutenant of the Tower of London, and henchman, but was later airbrushed from history by Henry Tudor.

The book is sumptuously produced with 55 colour illustrations, 130 pages, and a substantial bibliography.