In 1803 Sir Thomas Hesketh put parts of the Manor of Great Harwood and some estates in Tottleworth up for auction. It is not clear how much of the land was actually sold at the auction - the Manor and much of the land was eventually sold to Richard Grimshaw Lomax in 1819.

The particulars of the sale have survived and many of the field names listed for Birches farm appear in the document. However, they do not show as a single unit but are leased as follows:

Thomas Hindle:
· Hilly Dole
· Reed
· Park Meadows
· Bent
· Bent Meadow
· Flatts

Christopher Hindle:
· Holme
· Horsemans Dole

'Nook' and 'Acre' appear as leased to Thomas Smith, James Baron and William Peacop, but as the other fields in their holding seem to be in the Bowley area these may not be the Birches field.

It might be that the several entries for Thomas Hindle relate to one man or several.

Together with the evidence from maps, this shows that Birches farm came into existence some time after 1803.