There does not seem to be a cohesive entity called Chorlton prior to the establishmentof the Chapel.  Even then, the disparate parts, such as Martledge, continued to have an identity until the mass housing boom following the construction of Wilbraham Road and then the railway.  Settlement in river valleys made use of the flooded areas for crop growth - risky, but worth it.  The surrounding forests would have provide adequate game.  The marshiness of the area may well have followed on from the deforestation by farmers.  The dearth of early material does lead to speculative entries such as in this article, but the chapel would have been established in Chorlton to fulfil a need, so some population would have existed in a cohesive manner in the area.  86.12.129.2