Cheadle, Greater Manchester

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Coordinates: 53°23′36″N 2°12′41″W / 53.3933°N 2.2113°W / 53.3933; -2.2113

Cheadle
St Mary's Church, built in the 16th century, is situated in the centre of Cheadle.
Cheadle  Cheadle shown within Greater Manchester
Population	14,261
OS grid reference	SJ859885
Metropolitan     borough	Stockport
Metropolitan     county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHEADLE
Postcode district	SK8
Dialling code	0161
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Cheadle
List of places: UK • England • Greater Manchester

Cheadle is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England. It borders the districts of Cheadle Hulme, Gatley, Heald Green and Cheadle Heath in Stockport, and the Parrs Wood area of Manchester. As of 2001 it had a population of 14,261.

History

Early history

There has been human occupation in Cheadle since prehistoric times. The earliest evidence of civilisation is of burial mounds dating from the iron age, belonging to Celts who occupied Britain. Later, the area was occupied by Brigantes, whose activity was discovered in the form of axe fragments.

In the first millennium, Romans occupied the area, and their coins have been discovered. During the seventh century St. Chad preached in the area,^[1] and a stone cross dedicated to him was found close to the confluence of the River Mersey and Micker Brook in 1873.^[2] This area became known as Chedle, a corruption of Chad' Hill.

The village is first recorded in the Domesday Book under the name "Cedde",^[3] which comes from the Celtic word for "wood".^[4] It was held by Gamel, a free Saxon under Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester; it was about three miles long and half as wide, containing both wooded and open land, with areas enclosed for hunting purposes.^[3] This early manor occupied the approximate areas of both modern day Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme.

By June 1294, Geoffrey de Chedle was lord of the manor, and it was valued at about £20 per annum. Geoffrey's descendant Robert (or Roger) died in the early 1320s, leaving the estate to his wife Matilda who held it until her death in 1326.^[2] As there were no male heirs the manor, which was now worth £30 per annum,^[5] was divided between her daughters, Clemence and Agnes. Agnes inherited the northern half (which would later become the modern-day Cheadle), and Clemence inherited the southern half (latterly Cheadle Hulme). The two areas became known as "Chedle Bulkeley" and "Chedle Holme" respectively.

William de Bulkeley succeeded his mother, and was a participant in several wars in France for Edward, the Black Prince. His son, Richard, was sent to live at the court Richard II, and later to a baron whose daughter Margery married Richard. Richard died at the age of 21, but Margery lived until she was about 90 year old. She was succeeded by her grandson and great-grandson, both named William. Shortly after the Battle of Bosworth, the latter William was succeeded by his brother Richard.^[6]

During the reign of Henry VIII, the current St Mary's Church on High Street was built.^[7] There has been a church on the site since the 12th century, the original being constructed of wood,^[3] but it was rebuilt in stone between 1520 and 1550.^[8] The church contains an effigy of John Stanley who, along with many other men from the area, fought in the Battle of Flodden Field.^[7] Later he claimed the manor for himself, but was imprisoned by Thomas Wolsey who ensured the land went to its rightful owner.^[9]

The Bulkeleys continued to hold the lands as lords of the manor until the 18th century, when the manor was purchased by Thomas Egerton.

Moseley Old Hall, an early Stuart mansion dating from 1666 is still standing and is owned privately. It is situated at the end of a blocked-off public road, making hard to find and therefore quite unheard of.

Abney Hall is a late Victorian hall from 1847 and is the old Cheadle town hall, though is now used for offices. It is surrounded by parkland which is open to the public all year round and features some of the only wetlands left in Stockport.

Modern history

Cheadle grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution when it was used as a stopping point for travellers and merchants on their way to Central Manchester.

Governance

Lying within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, Cheadle was historically a ecclesiastical parish known as "Cheadle Bulkeley" in the Hundred of Stockport. Following the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, part of Cheadle Bulkeley was amalgamated into the Municipal Borough of Stockport. In 1879, the remaining part was merged with neighbouring Cheadle Moseley to form the township of Cheadle.^[10]

Established in 1886, Cheadle's first local authority was the Cheadle and Gatley local board of health, a regulatory body responsible for standards of hygiene and sanitation for the area of Stockport Etchells township and the part of Cheadle township outside the Municipal Borough of Stockport. The board of health was also part of Stockport poor law union. In 1888 the board was divided into four wards: Adswood, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme and Gatley.^[11] Under the Local Government Act 1894 the area of the local board became Cheadle and Gatley Urban District. There were exchanges of land with the neighbouring urban districts of Wilmslow and Handforth in 1901, and the wards were restructured again, splitting Cheadle Hulme into north and south, and merging in Adswood.^[11] Due to the fast-paced growth of the district, the wards were again restructured in 1930, with the addition of Heald Green. In 1940 the current wards of Adswood, Cheadle East, Cheadle West, Cheadle Hulme North, Cheadle Hulme South, Gatley and Heald Green were established.^[12] Under the Local Government Act 1972 the Cheadle and Gately Urban District was abolished, and Cheadle has, since 1 April 1974, formed an unparished area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester.^[10]

Since 1950 Cheadle has been part of the Cheadle parliamentary constituency,^[13] and has been represented by Liberal Democrat member Mark Hunter since 2005.^[14] Three councillors serve on the borough council.^[15]

Education

Moseley Hall Grammar School was located in Cheadle and was the first state grammar school in Cheshire founded under the Education Act 1944. The original site of the school was opposite the foot of School's Hill and bordered a small river, Micker Brook, (also known as Ladybrook, a tributary of the River Mersey when flowing through nearby Bramhall). The school 3.3 mile cross-country run included a fording of the river near the Seven Arches viaduct landmark close to Cheadle Hulme. The school's Christmas service was always held in St. Mary's church in the village. The school was co-educational until 1956 when the girls moved to the newly built Cheadle County Grammar school for Girls. The girls situated in the 6th form remained on the Moseley Hall site so as to not interrupt their final year's education.

In the early 1970s the school moved to a newly constructed building in Cheadle Hulme adjacent to the Cheadle County Grammar School for Girls. In the grounds of the school was a narrow gauge railway track and a diesel engine from a disused quarry, renovated by the boys and masters of the school. It was thought to be the only school with its own railway track in the UK. Later the school was renamed The Manor School, this joined with the Cheadle County Grammar School for Girls to become Margaret Danyers college. The building that was formerly the Moseley Hall Grammar School became the Moseley Building, and the Cheadle County Grammar School for Girls became the Bulkley Building. In 1995 this became a sixth form college and combined with the Marple Ridge college to become Ridge Danyers college. Overseen by the then president of the college Ian Wheeler (student side). The site of the original school in Cheadle became the "Village" hotel and leisure complex during the 1990s. Part of the Moseley building was declared unsafe in the early 1990s due to the decay of the reinforced concrete with which it was constructed and it was eventually demolished in August 2001. In October 2004 the college changed its name to CAMSFC (Cheadle And Marple Sixth Form College).

Cheadle Blitz

Cheadle suffered at the hands of the German Luftwaffe with civilian casualties. The first raid take took place on the night of 24 December 1940. The planes are believed to have been twin-engined Heinkel bombers coming under local fire from mobile anti-aircraft battery at the junction of Kingsway and Broadway. A 1000 pound landmine was released on a target thought to be a factory manufacturing aircraft wings. However the bomb missed the factory altogether landing directly on a house in Bulkeley Road Cheadle. The second air raid took place on the night of 4 February 1941 where a lone bomber dropped its bomb with a direct hit on a house in Stockport Road. Both occupants, mother and daughter were killed outright as was local fire watcher, Robert Campbell. The last victim, also a fire watcher received wounds which took his life the next day. Those who lost their lives: Ronald Frederick Harrison Miss Nora Jackson John Thomas Lydiatt Agnes Mary Roughton Bennison Kathleen Mary Bennison Robert Campbell The above named are buried in Cheadle & Gatley Cemetery. Maria Brookes is buried in Hayhead and Fred Miller buried in Denton

All eight casualties are named on the war memorial located in Cheadle Village. Unusually, “Cheadle is one of the few villages which named its air raid victims on the War Memorial located in Cheadle Village."^[16]

Transport

Cheadle's public transport is now confined to buses operated by several firms. However from 1866 until 1964 the locality was served by a Cheshire Lines Committee railway station (initially called Cheadle, from 1950 Cheadle North) situated 600 yards (550 m) north of the village on the west side of Manchester Road and from 1866 until 1917 by a London & North Western Railway station located next to the railway overbridge near the centre of the village. Both stations were on lines leading from Altrincham to Stockport.

Present day

Cheadle has continued to thrive primarily due to its location near the southern tip of Greater Manchester. The neighbouring district of Cheadle Hulme borders onto Cheshire. Cheadle is accessed by the M60 Manchester orbital motorway. It is situated approximately 8 miles from Manchester City Centre, approximately 3 miles from Stockport Town Centre, and approximately 4 miles from Manchester Airport.

A number of houses in Cheadle that were built in the 1800s still stand today. The houses in the conservation area in the centre of the village, near the railway bridge by the Ashlea pub, and both Frances Street and Brook Street have an abundance of old world character and charm rarely seen in South Manchester urban sprawl.

There is also a Manchester overspill council estate that was constructed shortly after the Second World War. Since April 2008, these homes were transferred to Mossbank Homes.

Cheadle is home to the HQ of sportswear giants Umbro.

See also

• Cheadle - The Cheadle constituency.
• Cheadle Town Football Club
• Cheadle, Alberta, Canada - A Canadian town, also called Cheadle

Notes

References

• Bowden, Tom (3 January 1974). Community and Change: A History of Local Government in Cheadle and Gatley. Cheadle and Gatley Urban District Council. 
• Clarke, Heather (1972). Cheadle Through The Ages. E.J. Morten. ISBN 0901598445. 
• Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972. Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4. 
• Squire, Carol (January 1976). Cheadle Hulme: A Brief History. Recreation and Culture Division, Metropolitan Borough of Stockport. 

External links

• Cheadle Online - Cheadle Community Website
• [1] - Moseley Hall Grammar School Web Site