Bredbury
Encyclopedia
Bredbury is a suburb
an town within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
, in Greater Manchester
, England
, located 7.9 miles (12.7 km) south east of Manchester
, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) east of Stockport
and 3.2 miles (5.1 km) south west of Hyde
. At the 2001 census it had a population of 15,126.
The village reaches to the lower southern slopes of Werneth Low
, an outlier of the Peak District
between the valleys of the River Tame
and River Goyt, head-waters of the River Mersey
.
settlers in pre-Roman Britain, with its bleak hilltop, the heavy clay soil of the intermediate land probably covered by trees and becoming marshy where the slopes flattened out, and the swampy valley floors. The rivers flowed more fully before their waters were dammed in the 19th century to supply Manchester, Stockport and other towns. However, where the valley of the River Goyt narrows at New Bridge, passage was possible, and here an ancient highway entered the village to proceed along the higher land to the north east.
(Melandra Castle at Gamesley
) over this ancient track and this in turn became an 18th-century turnpike
road and the Liverpool
to Skegness
trunk road
, the A560.
Some years ago a Roman coin was dug up on the edge of the road between Bredbury Station
and St Mark's Church. The coin long antedates any Roman occupation of this part of the country, and may either have been lost when held as a souvenir or have been brought over from the continent in the course of trade.
As with the majority of hills, rivers and other natural features in this area, the names of the River Tame and Werneth Low are of Celt
ic origin. The name Bredbury is Anglo-Saxon and probably dates from the first permanent settlement. Names found in nearby villages suggest that Norse
invaders found their way into the district, probably during the 10th century.
, but the 'lord' of Bredbury was the pre-conquest Anglo-Saxon thane
, Wulfric. It is likely that William the Conqueror's army, on its march from Yorkshire
to subdue the rebellion at Chester
, followed the main highway. Virtually all the townships on the way were systematically looted, part of the Harrying of the North
. Bredbury seems to have been an exception, for reasons which are not clear, but the army apparently crossed the hill into Romiley
, which although not on the direct route, is duly described as 'waste' in the Domesday Book
of 1086. Bredbury itself was mentioned briefly in the Domesday Book as being several hundred acres of land. The only occupants listed were a duck and a sheep. Its value was placed at three pounds.
Bredbury passed from the hands of Sir Richard de Vernon to the Mascis of Dunham
, under whom it was held by the Fitz-Waltheofs of Stockport. A charter
granted by the third Hamon de Masci, lord of Dunham, who died about the end of the reign of King John
, confirms the ownership of lands in Bredbury to the Fitz-Waltheofs, and is of special interest because it affords an insight into the working of the feudal system of the period. A translation of the charter runs as follows:
"And I, Hamo, regrant to Robert, the son of Waltheof, Bredbury and Brinnington
, with their appurtenances, as his inheritance, to him and his heirs, to hold of me and my heirs, by the service of carrying my bed, my arms or my clothing, whenever the Earl of Chester
in his own proper person shall go to Wales. And I, Hamo, will fully furnish Robert, the sone of Waltheof, and his heirs, with a sumpter beast and a man and a sack, and we will find estovers (sufficient food) whilst he is with us in the field, until he shall be returned, to the said Robert or his heirs. And Robert, the son of Waltheof, shall pay to ransom my body from captivity and detention, and to make my eldest son a knight, and to give my eldest daughter a marriage portion, in consideration of which Robert has given me a gold ring."
The conditions laid down in this charter were usual under the feudal system, when military expeditions into Wales were no uncommon tasks for the Earl of Chester and his underlords.
By a general inquisition of tenures, taken 10 May 1288, to determine the services due to Edward I
in the Welsh Wars, it was found that "Richard de Stokeport holds Bredbury of Hamo de Masci" and "makes service to our Lord the King with one uncaparisoned horse".
Some time during the 14th century the manor of Bredbury was sub-divided into two portions, the larger of which was held by the Bredburys, and passed from them, by marriage with an heiress, to the Ardernes. The remaining portion ultimately came into the possession of the Davenports of Henbury
.
It would appear, however, that the manor of Bredbury was still held by the Stokeports, for in the inquisition post mortem of Isabel, daughter and heiress of Sir Richard de Stokeport, taken in 1370, it was found that the manor of Bredbury, with its appurtenances, was held from Roger Lestrange, lord of Dunham Massey, by knight's service, and that it was worth 100 shillings per annum.
In the same year, another inquisition was taken on the death of Hugh de Davenport, which records that he died "seised of two parts of the manor of Bredbury, and of land in Romiley and Werneth" and that Thomas de Davenport was his son and heir, aged 12 years. These lands remained in the possession of the Davenports for several generations The manor house of the Davenports in Bredbury was Goyt Hall on the banks of the River Goyt.
During the Middle Ages the wealth of the Kingdom of England arose largely from the export of wool to the Netherlands, and the district had no share in this prosperity. By Tudor
times, however, conditions had changed. Continental trade had been ruined by the Dutch War of Independence and home production of cloth was encouraged. By this time too, the wolves of Longdendale
had been exterminated. Great flocks of sheep grazed on the moors and hillsides of the district, sheep farmers and weavers
prospered, and established families such as the Ardernes and, at nearby Marple, the Bradshaws became wealthy and influential. The local industries based on thesheep farming, in the absence of ready water power, remained domestic - mainly handloom
weaving and the making of felt hats.
Until the beginning of the 19th century, a Court Baron
was held for the lordship under the title of the Court of the Manor of Bredbury cum Goyt.
The main road continued to be of importance, particularly for the transport of salt
from Cheshire
, throughout medieval times. In the 17th century there were as many as twelve smithies
in Bredbury. Since one blacksmith usually satisfied the needs of any one township, it would appear that so many craftsmen were needed to shoe the packhorses which moved in long processions through the village.
In 1754, the population of Bredbury is recorded as being 597.
The district was until quite late in the 19th century little more than a group of hamlet
s, including Barrack Hill, Harrytown and Hatherlow, but the Industrial Revolution
brought a number of cotton mill
s, some of which depended on the water power provided by the head-streams of the River Mersey, and the Peak Forest Canal
along which more mills were built.
The days of the great local landowners ended in the early 19th century. William Arden, 2nd Lord Alvanley, succeeded to the Arden estates on the death of his uncle, John Arden, in July 1823. He was a bachelor who had spent his life in the circle of the Prince Regent
, building up heavy debts in expectation of his inheritance. Within a month of getting the estates he had sold Underbank Hall in Stockport, and in 1825 most of the Bredbury lands were sold in lots, realising in three days nearly GB£154,000. There was a final sale, including the mansion of Arden Hall in 1833. William Arden was succeeded by his brother Richard Arden, on whose death in 1857 the barony became extinct. The long connection of the Arden family had been broken, and for the next century most of the old manor lands were held by a small number of families, including the Horsfields, Hudsons and Vaudreys, until it became profitable to sell to building developers.
At the sale of the Bredbury estate, an area lying along the River Goyt was purchased by a Mr Marsden, who built a weir at Otterspool and planned to use water power to develop the valley from there to New Bridge as an industrial estate. However, he failed to secure the water rights. and by the time the lengthy legal proceedings were completed water power had been superseded by steam power.
The construction of the Peak Forest Canal
by Samuel Oldknow
, under the direction of Benjamin Outram
, opened in sections in the 1790s and first decade of the 19th century, had a striking effect on the village. On the one hand it provided a water supply and the transport of raw materials, fuel and finished products for the new mill
s. On the other hand it made possible the importing of lime
from Derbyshire
for agricultural improvement. The green fields and rich crops of the local farms were remarked upon by visitors, and with easy transport to the growing markets of Manchester and Stockport local agriculture was prosperous in the period following the Napoleonic Wars
when elsewhere in the country there was rural depression
.
The coming of the railways led to further industrial development, a steady growth of population and the fusing of the separate settlements into the village of Bredbury. The first line was the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
branch from Hyde Junction
, which was opened to Hyde
in 1858 and extended to Marple
on 5 August 1862. The Stockport
and Woodley Junction
line, opened on 12 January 1863, was amalgamated into the Cheshire Lines Committee
on 5 July 1865. The lines from Romiley Junction
to Bredbury Junction and Ashburys
were opened on 1 April 1875 and 2 August 1875, respectively, and on the latter date the branch from Brinnington
to Reddish Junction
was opened. On 1 February 1867, Midland Railway
trains began to run through the village, as part of the Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee
, to Manchester London Road, at first via Hyde
and later via Reddish
. The terminus was transferred to Manchester Central in 1880, trains running via Stockport Tiviot Dale
.
There are now few traces of the coal mining that went back to the 17th century at least and in the 19th century was one of the bases of life in the village. The last colliery closed in 1926 and spoil heaps were levelled at Ashton Road and Stockport Road East in the 1960s to make way for new industrial development. Brick-making too was carried on in the village, with Jacksons Brickworks at Ashton Road surviving into the 1970s, and there were several large hat works, but the last of these closed in 1958.
Exors of James Mills were manufacturers of steel products for over 100 years, the company growing from a small building employing two men to the large Bredbury Steelworks on Lower Bents Lane, which at its height employed over 2,000 people. In the early part of the 20th century, the company began to roll steel and to produce bright steel, at one point becoming the largest producer of bright steel outside the United States. Other products were added from time to time, including cotter
s for locomotives and rolling stock
, engineer's keys, taper pin
s, grooved fastenings for securing all kinds of assemblies, railway permanent way
fastenings, rail lubricators and hot pressings of various types. In 1938 the company introduced lead-bearing steels to the United Kingdom, and in the 1960s developed free machining steel
s containing tellurium and an alloy
replacement steel. The site has since been redeveloped for housing.
The firm of Lightbown Aspinall
started making wallpaper in Pendleton
, and in 1899, became part of the newly formed Wall Paper Manufacturers. In 1929, the plant was transferred to Brookfield Avenue, where the company produced Crown and Scene wallpapers and Crown Vinyl wall covering, employing 450 people. The site has since been redeveloped for housing.
Pear New Mill was owned by Combined English Mills and were spinners of superfine white hosiery
yarn
, employing over 400 people. The building has since been subdivided into industrial units.
William Crosland, an engineer and ironfounder
, started business in 1855 in an upstairs room at Miller Street in Manchester
. He was later joined by his four sons, and the company moved to Stockport Road West in 1894, manufacturing machines and cutting tool
s for the packaging industry and specialised tooling
for the sheet metal
trade. The site has since been redeveloped as an industrial estate.
, the growth rate accelerated with the coming of new industries, including engineering, chemicals
, clothing, and textile
s, whilst the village became an important residential area on the periphery of the Greater Manchester Urban Area
. A large bakery was erected on Ashton Road in 1951.
Comprehensive sewerage and sewage disposal services were completed and put into operation in 1938.
In 1948, the tram
way along the A560 from Stockport to Hyde and beyond was abandoned after less than 50 years use. The section through Bredbury had been opened in August 1901.
After considerable pressure by the Government and the Mersey River Board, the Urban District
Council agreed in 1966 to a joint scheme with the County Borough of Stockport
, abandoning the treatment works
at Welkin Road and the sludge beds at Brinnington, to provide for the rapidly growing population and the additional industry.
Bredbury has since thrown the shackles of the industrial mill
into the River Goyt, and moved into the 21st Century. 12% of the local businesses are now powered by green fuel, a scheme developed by the local council to clean the air of Bredbury.
was created in 1894, and was extended to include the former Compstall Urban District
in 1936. In 1952, Brinnington
township was transferred to the County Borough of Stockport
to enable a large residential overspill estate
to be built.
Until 1953 Bredbury Ward returned twelve councillors to the urban district council, with Romiley Ward returning six and Compstall Ward returning a single member. In that year, Bredbury Ward was divided into Bredbury North and Bredbury South wards, and in 1959, there was a redivision of the urban District into seven wards, with Compstall continuing to return a single councillor, and each of the others electing three. Romiley received three wards and a new Woodley
ward was created out of Bredbury, the first time that the village of Woodley had been officially recognised. The remainder of Bredbury was divided into Bredbury North, Bredbury South and Bredbury West. There were further electoral changes in 1970 when the altered Bredbury North ward was renamed Bredbury Central.
Up to 1958, the Urban District formed one electoral division on Cheshire
County Council, but in that year it was divided into Bredbury Tame and Bredbury Goyt divisions.
The council offices were in Bredbury Old School on School Brow until 1919, when Bank House on George Lane was acquired. The site has since been redeveloped for housing.
The council's first acquisition of houses was a terrace at Vernon View in 1922. Construction of the houses had been delayed by the First World War
. In the same year the first council estate was commenced at George Lane.
The council subsequently owned over 2,000 homes, including several schemes for old people's accommodation incorporating welfare features.
In 1959, the urban district council intervened over an application by Manchester City Council
for a compulsory purchase order
to build an overspill estate on 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) of land at Bredbury Green, offering two other sites instead. The confirmed area was reduced to 24 acres (97,124.6 m²). The City Council subsequently completed several relatively small overspill estates, which resulted in more successful integration than in some nearby areas.
The council was for many years in the forefront of a campaign for the preservation and restoration of the Lower Peak Forest Canal
and the connecting waterways of the Cheshire Ring
. The canal reopened in 1974.
In 1974, the urban district was abolished. Its former area was transferred to Greater Manchester
and combined with neighbouring districts to form the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
. It formed part of two wards, Bredbury and Romiley, each returning three members. The ward boundaries were subsequently adjusted, and in 2005 the wards were renamed Bredbury and Woodley and Bredbury Green and Romiley.
Although the area had traditionally elected Conservative
politicians, with occasional victories for the Labour Party
, by 2006 all elected positions were held by the Liberal Democrats
.
The most famous of the halls of Bredbury, Arden Hall, erected in 1597, is now a ruin standing in a commanding position above the valley of the River Tame. For over two centuries it was owned by the Ardernes, who had other possessions in Cheshire and were a junior branch of the Arden
family of Warwickshire
, of whom William Shakespeare
's mother was a member.
The building was at one time "a tall building, narrow in proportion to its height and length, built of flat stones or parpoints, and having a sturdy watchtower at the back, looking over the valley of the River Tame. It was surrounded by a wide and deep moat. On the front were three gables, two of them projecting from the face of the hall, the third being flush with it. The entrance doorway was in the side of the central gable, and was approached from the courtyard by a flight of steps. Passing through the doorway a heavy oak door on the right side opened at once into the Great Hall, and in the tower exactly opposite was a wide oak staircase, which led to the upper part of the house. The Great Hall occupied the whole of the ground floor of this portion of the building, and was about 33 feet (10.1 m) long by 24 feet (7.3 m) wide. At the end was a raised platform where the high table was situated, lighted by two loft bay windows, one at each end. The year in which some portion of the hall, if indeed not the whole of it, was erected, is fixed from the date 1597 on the spout above the entrance, and the initials and date R A 1597 on the right hand gable."
In the particulars of sale of 1825, it states that "the ancient mansion house of Arden Hall has been in part converted into a commodious farm house, with every requisite convenience", and it had already been let as such.
There is a tradition that Oliver Cromwell
stayed at the hall and that there was a skirmish nearby between Cavalier
s and Roundheads, but there is no firm evidence, although the access to the hall is called Battle Lane. However, Ralph Arderne, like most other local gentry, espoused the Parliamentarian cause, and saw action in several engagements.
In 1638, the hall was occupied by a branch of the Davenports, a connection of the Bredburys. In later times, the venerable building degenerated into an ordinary farmstead.
In the 19th century, it was rebuilt, and converted into a fine family residence in the Georgian
style.
For some years prior to the erection of St Barnabas Church, services were held here. The hall, outbuildings and grounds are now used as a hotel and country club, and the buildings have been much modified to suit that purpose.
The great barn, 42 yards (38.4 m) long of cruck framed construction, is medieval in origin although the original framing timbers have been overlaid by brick.
Now owned by the Flood family, Bredbury Hall is now a recognised Hotel and Country Club with an array of famous faces entering the doors every week from Worldwide darts personalities to the elite from the snooker world.
The great barn is now renovated into a large nightclub which has 6 bars, 2 floors, pool, darts and a large dance floor.
Bredbury Hall is now known as a popular hotel, and many of its stories are now lost or just unknown. It is however said that the ghosts of the old manor that stood here previously still roam the hallways at night, and there have been many sightings and hearings of this.
for World War II, and contains memorial windows designed by a local artist and a Book of Remembrance for the dead in both World Wars. Further substantial extensions and alterations, including the conversion of the War Memorial room into an exhibition and lecture room, were completed in 1970.
In 1950, the Centenary Year of the Public Library Movement, plaques were unveiled at the Library in honour of Sir Ernest Barker, the Woodley-born writer on political and historic subjects, and Thomas Greenwood, the Woodley-born writer and advocate of free public libraries.
The building of larger schools and the passing of the Education Acts rendered the building obsolete, and by an order of the Charity Commissioners in 1889 the trustees were instructed to "apply the trust income either in making payments by way of rewards or prizes to children attending public elementary schools in the townships of Bredbury and Romiley for good conduct, regularity in attendance and proficiency during a period of three years next preceding the award, or in the payment of exhibitions tenable at places of higher education." Later changes to the grant system made the second power ineffectual but awards of cash continue to be made to local schoolchildren a few days before Christmas, together with a traditional form of certificate.
The building has, since its closing as a school, been used for a variety of purposes, including use as offices of Bredbury and Romiley
Urban District Council. By the 1950s, it had fallen into serious disrepair. Its re-roofing with asbestos cement sheets and the rendering of the walls modified the external appearance very seriously, but inside the original floors and timbers were still visible. After the repairs it was leased to Romiley Little Theatre as their club-house, and the surrounding land was let as allotments.
The marriage of the last of the Davenports in 1664 brought the hall into the possession of Sir Fulke Lucy, a kinsman of Sir Thomas Lucy who features in the story of William Shakespeare's youth. This rather tenuous association was marked by the naming of the streets on the nearby Shakespeare Estate, an overspill development built by Manchester City Council.
of Notre Dame d'Évron
, who maintained Harrytown High School, Harrytown Hall dates from 1671, and is well-preserved in spite of being Gothic
ised during the Romantic
Revival. The building was converted into apartments in the early 1980s.
Bredbury is served by Bredbury railway station
on the Hope Valley Line
from Sheffield
to Manchester. Buses link the village with the neighbouring communities of Ashton-under-Lyne
, Brinnington, Compstall
, Denton
, Dukinfield
, Hyde, Marple, Marple Bridge
, Romiley, Stalybridge
, Stockport and Woodley.
and contains a public library and two secondary schools.
)
The parish church of Bredbury is dedicated to St Mark.
Although the village is mentioned in the Domesday Book, Bredbury was without a church until the middle of the 19th century. The first move towards the establishment of a local church and parish, as district from that of St Mary's in Stockport, was made in 1846, when an Order in Council marked out the boundaries of the "District of St Mark, Bredbury".
It was not long before a site for the church was secured through the generosity of John Sidebotham of Kingston in Hyde, and in 1847 the foundation stone of the new church was laid by the donor of the site. The church was consecrated on 17 January 1849, and the church school was opened in 1850.
Built of freestone
in the Early English style, the church consists of a square tower having four pinnacles, a nave and aisles, and a chancel with a vestry on the north side. The tower is 70 feet (21.3 m) high, occupying a commanding position, a contains a clock and a peal of bells. The windows consist of two lights each, the chancel window of three lights being filled with painted glass illustrating the Crucifixion
, erected by William Collier Vaudrey in 1875, to the memory of his wife and her sister.
The Church School (now rebuilt), is on the opposite side of Redhouse Lane.
St Barnabas (Church of England)
In 1942 Bredbury Hall, with its 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) of land, was purchased by the Diocese of Chester
to be used as a mission church and social centre for Lower Bredbury. On 16 May 1943, the Lord Bishop of Chester dedicated an altar in one of the rooms of the hall.
Later the new church was erected nearby and was dedicated to St Barnabas by the Bishop of Chester
on 27 March 1954.
Bredbury Hall was then sold off.
Our Lady and St Christopher (Roman Catholic)
The Roman Catholic faith is ministered to by the Church of Our Lady and St Christopher at Barrack Hill, which was erected in 1932. A presbytery was added in 1952, and the church was subsequently enlarged and a parish hall added. Roman Catholic services were previously held in the chapel at Harrytown Hall.
Hatherlow (United Reformed Church
)
Hatherlow Church traces its history back to 1645, services then being held in Chadkirk Chapel
, and it was the oldest Congregational
body in Cheshire. The first independent minister at Chadkirk was Gamallel Jones, who settled there in 1688 or 1689. In the latter year the "Meeting Place" at Chadkirk was certified as a licensed place for religious worship shortly after the passing of the Toleration Act
. When they were finally ejected in the reign of Queen Anne
, a new building was erected in 1706 on the site now occupied by Hatherlow Sunday School.
It is recorded in a statistical table of the dissenting chapels in Cheshire, begun about 1715, that the congregation at Hatherlow numbered about 300 hearers, including 10 gentlemen, 39 tradesmen, 26 yeomen and 8 labourers. These would be drawn from a very wide area.
The present church was opened as Hatherlow Congregational Church in 1845, although the burial ground surrounding it goes back to 1793. A day school
was established in 1780 at Bredbury Old School on School Brow, and the building known as Top School on Gorsey Brow, now partially demolished, was built in 1830 as an overflow. The day school continued until it was succeeded by the Council school at Barrack Hill in 1909.
Hatherlow Sunday School was established in May 1817, and was held first at School Brow and then at the Top School. The present Sunday School was built in 1911.
The church has always been the centre of cultural activity in the district, and was the home of the former Bredbury Amicable Subscription Library, founded in 1822, and later of Hatherlow Botanical Society.
, the Primitive Methodist Ministers' Training college, from which he embarked on 47 years of active ministry. In 1931 he reached the highest point he could attain in his vocation when he was elected President of the Primitive Methodist Conference.
He published many articles and stories in magazines and wrote a number of books on religious subjects. He continued to preach to an advanced age, and conducted services after his 90th year at both Woodley and Greave.
some years before Robert Raikes
, the usually accredited founder of the system. In recruiting for Stockport Parish Church choir, he found that many of the boys and girls he gathered could not read, and so instructed them on Sunday evenings. When Raikes's system spread to Greater Manchester, Platt became the paid headmaster of one of the Stockport Sunday school
s.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an town within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
, in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located 7.9 miles (12.7 km) south east of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) east of Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
and 3.2 miles (5.1 km) south west of Hyde
Hyde, Greater Manchester
Hyde is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2001 census, the town had a population of 31,253. Historically part of Cheshire, it is northeast of Stockport, west of Glossop and east of Manchester....
. At the 2001 census it had a population of 15,126.
The village reaches to the lower southern slopes of Werneth Low
Werneth Low
Werneth Low is a hill in Greater Manchester, England, and a part of the Pennines. It is located on the borders of Stockport and Tameside and rises to height of...
, an outlier of the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
between the valleys of the River Tame
River Tame, Greater Manchester
The River Tame flows through Greater Manchester, England.-Source:The Tame rises on Denshaw Moor in Greater Manchester, close to the border with West Yorkshire but within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.-Course:...
and River Goyt, head-waters of the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
.
Iron Age
The area must have been unattractive to the BrigantesBrigantes
The Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England, and a significant part of the Midlands. Their kingdom is sometimes called Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire...
settlers in pre-Roman Britain, with its bleak hilltop, the heavy clay soil of the intermediate land probably covered by trees and becoming marshy where the slopes flattened out, and the swampy valley floors. The rivers flowed more fully before their waters were dammed in the 19th century to supply Manchester, Stockport and other towns. However, where the valley of the River Goyt narrows at New Bridge, passage was possible, and here an ancient highway entered the village to proceed along the higher land to the north east.
Roman Occupation
The Romans surveyed and constructed a road between the forts of Mamucium (Manchester) and ArdotaliaArdotalia
Ardotalia is a Roman fort in Gamesley, near Glossop in Derbyshire, England .Ardotalia was constructed by Cohors Primae Frisiavonum—The First Cohort of Frisiavones. Evidence for the existence of this unit exists not only from the building stone found at the site but also from various diplomas and...
(Melandra Castle at Gamesley
Gamesley
Gamesley is a residential area within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England, west of Glossop and north of New Mills. It lies close to the River Etherow which is the boundary with Tameside in Greater Manchester.-Early:...
) over this ancient track and this in turn became an 18th-century turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
road and the Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to Skegness
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
trunk road
Trunk road
A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, and other things.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...
, the A560.
Some years ago a Roman coin was dug up on the edge of the road between Bredbury Station
Bredbury railway station
Bredbury railway station serves Bredbury in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester.It was built by the Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee in 1875 on the line between New Mills and Manchester London Road ....
and St Mark's Church. The coin long antedates any Roman occupation of this part of the country, and may either have been lost when held as a souvenir or have been brought over from the continent in the course of trade.
As with the majority of hills, rivers and other natural features in this area, the names of the River Tame and Werneth Low are of Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic origin. The name Bredbury is Anglo-Saxon and probably dates from the first permanent settlement. Names found in nearby villages suggest that Norse
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
invaders found their way into the district, probably during the 10th century.
Middle Ages
Bredbury comprised farm land bought by Lord Danton in 1014. There is no mention of Lord Danton's manorManorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
, but the 'lord' of Bredbury was the pre-conquest Anglo-Saxon thane
Thegn
The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...
, Wulfric. It is likely that William the Conqueror's army, on its march from Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
to subdue the rebellion at Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, followed the main highway. Virtually all the townships on the way were systematically looted, part of the Harrying of the North
Harrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...
. Bredbury seems to have been an exception, for reasons which are not clear, but the army apparently crossed the hill into Romiley
Romiley
Romiley is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It borders Marple, Bredbury and Woodley. In Roman times there is thought to have been a settlement along Sandy Lane...
, which although not on the direct route, is duly described as 'waste' in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086. Bredbury itself was mentioned briefly in the Domesday Book as being several hundred acres of land. The only occupants listed were a duck and a sheep. Its value was placed at three pounds.
Bredbury passed from the hands of Sir Richard de Vernon to the Mascis of Dunham
Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouse and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Park, formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust...
, under whom it was held by the Fitz-Waltheofs of Stockport. A charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
granted by the third Hamon de Masci, lord of Dunham, who died about the end of the reign of King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
, confirms the ownership of lands in Bredbury to the Fitz-Waltheofs, and is of special interest because it affords an insight into the working of the feudal system of the period. A translation of the charter runs as follows:
"And I, Hamo, regrant to Robert, the son of Waltheof, Bredbury and Brinnington
Brinnington
Brinnington is a north-eastern suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester. It is known locally as "Brinny".It is situated on a bluff above a bend in the Tame Valley and is an area of vast regeneration, including the demolition of the Top Shops in 2007, which were replaced by new shops, 53 shared...
, with their appurtenances, as his inheritance, to him and his heirs, to hold of me and my heirs, by the service of carrying my bed, my arms or my clothing, whenever the Earl of Chester
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
in his own proper person shall go to Wales. And I, Hamo, will fully furnish Robert, the sone of Waltheof, and his heirs, with a sumpter beast and a man and a sack, and we will find estovers (sufficient food) whilst he is with us in the field, until he shall be returned, to the said Robert or his heirs. And Robert, the son of Waltheof, shall pay to ransom my body from captivity and detention, and to make my eldest son a knight, and to give my eldest daughter a marriage portion, in consideration of which Robert has given me a gold ring."
The conditions laid down in this charter were usual under the feudal system, when military expeditions into Wales were no uncommon tasks for the Earl of Chester and his underlords.
By a general inquisition of tenures, taken 10 May 1288, to determine the services due to Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
in the Welsh Wars, it was found that "Richard de Stokeport holds Bredbury of Hamo de Masci" and "makes service to our Lord the King with one uncaparisoned horse".
Some time during the 14th century the manor of Bredbury was sub-divided into two portions, the larger of which was held by the Bredburys, and passed from them, by marriage with an heiress, to the Ardernes. The remaining portion ultimately came into the possession of the Davenports of Henbury
Henbury, Cheshire
Henbury is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census, the entire civil parish had a population of 594....
.
It would appear, however, that the manor of Bredbury was still held by the Stokeports, for in the inquisition post mortem of Isabel, daughter and heiress of Sir Richard de Stokeport, taken in 1370, it was found that the manor of Bredbury, with its appurtenances, was held from Roger Lestrange, lord of Dunham Massey, by knight's service, and that it was worth 100 shillings per annum.
In the same year, another inquisition was taken on the death of Hugh de Davenport, which records that he died "seised of two parts of the manor of Bredbury, and of land in Romiley and Werneth" and that Thomas de Davenport was his son and heir, aged 12 years. These lands remained in the possession of the Davenports for several generations The manor house of the Davenports in Bredbury was Goyt Hall on the banks of the River Goyt.
During the Middle Ages the wealth of the Kingdom of England arose largely from the export of wool to the Netherlands, and the district had no share in this prosperity. By Tudor
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
times, however, conditions had changed. Continental trade had been ruined by the Dutch War of Independence and home production of cloth was encouraged. By this time too, the wolves of Longdendale
Longdendale
Longdendale is a valley in the north of England, north of Glossop and south east of Holmfirth. The name means "long wooded valley".- Geography :...
had been exterminated. Great flocks of sheep grazed on the moors and hillsides of the district, sheep farmers and weavers
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
prospered, and established families such as the Ardernes and, at nearby Marple, the Bradshaws became wealthy and influential. The local industries based on thesheep farming, in the absence of ready water power, remained domestic - mainly handloom
Loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...
weaving and the making of felt hats.
Modern Era
A schedule of owners of lands in the township shows that two lords of the manor in 1661 were Sir Fulke Lucy of Henbury and John Arderne of Bredbury, and that in 1672 Sir John Arderne owned Arden Hall, whilst Sir Fulke Lucy owned Goyt Hall. Shortly after this date the Davenports' portion of the manor of Bredbury appears to have been purchased by Sir John Arderne of Arden Hall, who thus acquired the whole manor.Until the beginning of the 19th century, a Court Baron
Court baron
A Court baron is an English or Scottish manorial court dating from the Middle Ages.It was laid down by Sir Edward Coke that a manor had two courts, "the first by the common law, and is called a court baron," the freeholders being its suitors; the other a customary court for the copyholders...
was held for the lordship under the title of the Court of the Manor of Bredbury cum Goyt.
The main road continued to be of importance, particularly for the transport of salt
Edible salt
Salt, also known as table salt, or rock salt, is a mineral that is composed primarily of sodium chloride , a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of ionic salts. It is essential for animal life in small quantities, but is harmful to animals and plants in excess...
from Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, throughout medieval times. In the 17th century there were as many as twelve smithies
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
in Bredbury. Since one blacksmith usually satisfied the needs of any one township, it would appear that so many craftsmen were needed to shoe the packhorses which moved in long processions through the village.
In 1754, the population of Bredbury is recorded as being 597.
The district was until quite late in the 19th century little more than a group of hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
s, including Barrack Hill, Harrytown and Hatherlow, but the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
brought a number of cotton mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
s, some of which depended on the water power provided by the head-streams of the River Mersey, and the Peak Forest Canal
Peak Forest Canal
The Peak Forest Canal, is a narrow locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network.-General description:...
along which more mills were built.
The days of the great local landowners ended in the early 19th century. William Arden, 2nd Lord Alvanley, succeeded to the Arden estates on the death of his uncle, John Arden, in July 1823. He was a bachelor who had spent his life in the circle of the Prince Regent
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, building up heavy debts in expectation of his inheritance. Within a month of getting the estates he had sold Underbank Hall in Stockport, and in 1825 most of the Bredbury lands were sold in lots, realising in three days nearly GB£154,000. There was a final sale, including the mansion of Arden Hall in 1833. William Arden was succeeded by his brother Richard Arden, on whose death in 1857 the barony became extinct. The long connection of the Arden family had been broken, and for the next century most of the old manor lands were held by a small number of families, including the Horsfields, Hudsons and Vaudreys, until it became profitable to sell to building developers.
At the sale of the Bredbury estate, an area lying along the River Goyt was purchased by a Mr Marsden, who built a weir at Otterspool and planned to use water power to develop the valley from there to New Bridge as an industrial estate. However, he failed to secure the water rights. and by the time the lengthy legal proceedings were completed water power had been superseded by steam power.
Industrial Revolution
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1754 | 597 |
| 1851 | 2,990 |
| 1881 | 3,733 |
| 1911 | 5,876 |
| 1931 | 7,154 |
| 1951 | 12,020 |
| 1961 | 13,921 |
| 1966 | 17,700 |
The construction of the Peak Forest Canal
Peak Forest Canal
The Peak Forest Canal, is a narrow locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network.-General description:...
by Samuel Oldknow
Samuel Oldknow
thumb|Samuel OldknowSamuel Oldknow was an English cotton manufacturer.Samuel Oldknow Jnr, the eldest son of Samuel Oldknow Sr and Margaret Foster, was born 5 October 1756 in Anderton, near Chorley, Lancashire, and died 18 September 1828 at Mellor Lodge, Derbyshire. He had an elder sister named...
, under the direction of Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
, opened in sections in the 1790s and first decade of the 19th century, had a striking effect on the village. On the one hand it provided a water supply and the transport of raw materials, fuel and finished products for the new mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
s. On the other hand it made possible the importing of lime
Agricultural lime
Agricultural lime, also called aglime, agricultural limestone, garden lime or liming, is a soil additive made from pulverized limestone or chalk. The primary active component is calcium carbonate...
from Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
for agricultural improvement. The green fields and rich crops of the local farms were remarked upon by visitors, and with easy transport to the growing markets of Manchester and Stockport local agriculture was prosperous in the period following the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
when elsewhere in the country there was rural depression
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
.
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...
branch from Hyde Junction
Hyde North railway station
Hyde North railway station lies north of Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Hyde North is operated by Northern Rail.Originally "Hyde Junction" when opened in 1862, it was at the junction between the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway extension to New Mills, , and the...
, which was opened to Hyde
Hyde Central railway station
Hyde Central railway station is the main station serving Hyde, Greater Manchester, England.Originally simply Hyde, it was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, opening in 1858 as a branch from its main line through Penistone to Sheffield. From 1862 the branch was extended to...
in 1858 and extended to Marple
Marple railway station
Marple railway station serves Marple, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The other station serving Marple is Rose Hill railway station....
on 5 August 1862. The Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
and Woodley Junction
Woodley railway station
Woodley railway station serves the Woodley area of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England. The station is 15 km east of Manchester Piccadilly on the Hope Valley Line service to Rose Hill Marple...
line, opened on 12 January 1863, was amalgamated into the Cheshire Lines Committee
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
on 5 July 1865. The lines from Romiley Junction
Romiley railway station
Romiley railway station serves Romiley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England.It was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway on its extension to New Mills, opening in 1862 from Manchester....
to Bredbury Junction and Ashburys
Ashburys railway station
This article refers to the ex Great Central Railway station in Manchester; for the similarly named former LSWR station in Devon see Ashbury railway station.Ashburys railway station in Openshaw serves Beswick and West Gorton in Manchester, England...
were opened on 1 April 1875 and 2 August 1875, respectively, and on the latter date the branch from Brinnington
Brinnington railway station
Brinnington railway station serves Brinnington in the eastern part of Stockport, Greater Manchester.It is a relatively new station, opening on 12 December 1977, on the line originally built by the Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee in 1875 between New Mills and Manchester London...
to Reddish Junction
Reddish
Reddish is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of Stockport and southeast of Manchester...
was opened. On 1 February 1867, Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
trains began to run through the village, as part of the Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee
Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee
The Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1869 as a joint venture between the Midland Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.-Origins:...
, to Manchester London Road, at first via Hyde
Hyde North railway station
Hyde North railway station lies north of Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Hyde North is operated by Northern Rail.Originally "Hyde Junction" when opened in 1862, it was at the junction between the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway extension to New Mills, , and the...
and later via Reddish
Reddish North railway station
Reddish North railway station is one of the two stations serving Reddish, in Stockport, England, the other being Reddish South railway station....
. The terminus was transferred to Manchester Central in 1880, trains running via Stockport Tiviot Dale
Stockport Tiviot Dale railway station
Stockport Tiviot Dale was one of two main railway stations serving the town of Stockport, Cheshire, England, the other being Stockport Edgeley .-Location and operating companies:...
.
There are now few traces of the coal mining that went back to the 17th century at least and in the 19th century was one of the bases of life in the village. The last colliery closed in 1926 and spoil heaps were levelled at Ashton Road and Stockport Road East in the 1960s to make way for new industrial development. Brick-making too was carried on in the village, with Jacksons Brickworks at Ashton Road surviving into the 1970s, and there were several large hat works, but the last of these closed in 1958.
Exors of James Mills were manufacturers of steel products for over 100 years, the company growing from a small building employing two men to the large Bredbury Steelworks on Lower Bents Lane, which at its height employed over 2,000 people. In the early part of the 20th century, the company began to roll steel and to produce bright steel, at one point becoming the largest producer of bright steel outside the United States. Other products were added from time to time, including cotter
Cotter pin
A split pin, also known in U.S. usage as a cotter pin or cotter key, is a metal fastener with two tines that are bent during installation, similar to a staple or rivet. Typically made of thick wire with a half-circular cross section, split pins come in multiple sizes and types.The British...
s for locomotives and rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
, engineer's keys, taper pin
Taper pin
A tapered pin is a fastener used in mechanical engineering. They are steel rods with one end having a slightly larger diameter than the other. Standard inch-sized tapered pins have a taper on diameter of 1:48 while metric ones have a taper of 1:50...
s, grooved fastenings for securing all kinds of assemblies, railway permanent way
Permanent way
The permanent way is the elements of railway lines: generally the pairs of rails typically laid on the sleepers embedded in ballast, intended to carry the ordinary trains of a railway...
fastenings, rail lubricators and hot pressings of various types. In 1938 the company introduced lead-bearing steels to the United Kingdom, and in the 1960s developed free machining steel
Free machining steel
Free machining steel is steel that forms small chips when machined. This increases the machinability of the material because smaller chips reduce the length of contact between the workpiece and the cutting tool, thus reducing friction, heat, power required, and wear on the tool. It also reduces the...
s containing tellurium and an alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
replacement steel. The site has since been redeveloped for housing.
The firm of Lightbown Aspinall
Lightbown Aspinall
Lightbown Aspinall is an English wallpaper manufacturing company founded in 1854 at Pendleton in Greater Manchester, by Henry Lightbown , who had worked for Potter and Company. By 1847, he was in business with his brother-in-law William Aspinall and Doctor Graham, a partner in Potter’s, as...
started making wallpaper in Pendleton
Pendleton, Greater Manchester
Pendleton is an inner city area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is about from Manchester city centre. The A6 dual carriageway skirts the east of the district....
, and in 1899, became part of the newly formed Wall Paper Manufacturers. In 1929, the plant was transferred to Brookfield Avenue, where the company produced Crown and Scene wallpapers and Crown Vinyl wall covering, employing 450 people. The site has since been redeveloped for housing.
Pear New Mill was owned by Combined English Mills and were spinners of superfine white hosiery
Hosiery
Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as hose...
yarn
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
, employing over 400 people. The building has since been subdivided into industrial units.
William Crosland, an engineer and ironfounder
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
, started business in 1855 in an upstairs room at Miller Street in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. He was later joined by his four sons, and the company moved to Stockport Road West in 1894, manufacturing machines and cutting tool
Cutting tool
In the context of machining, a cutting tool is any tool that is used to remove material from the workpiece by means of shear deformation. Cutting may be accomplished by single-point or multipoint tools. Single-point tools are used in turning, shaping, plaining and similar operations, and remove...
s for the packaging industry and specialised tooling
Machine tool
A machine tool is a machine, typically powered other than by human muscle , used to make manufactured parts in various ways that include cutting or certain other kinds of deformation...
for the sheet metal
Sheet metal
Sheet metal is simply metal formed into thin and flat pieces. It is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and can be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes. Countless everyday objects are constructed of the material...
trade. The site has since been redeveloped as an industrial estate.
20th Century
In the 1930s, and after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the growth rate accelerated with the coming of new industries, including engineering, chemicals
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
, clothing, and textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
s, whilst the village became an important residential area on the periphery of the Greater Manchester Urban Area
Greater Manchester Urban Area
The Greater Manchester Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the large conurbation that encompasses the city of Manchester and the continuous metropolitan area that spreads outwards from it, forming much of Greater Manchester in North West England...
. A large bakery was erected on Ashton Road in 1951.
Comprehensive sewerage and sewage disposal services were completed and put into operation in 1938.
In 1948, the tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way along the A560 from Stockport to Hyde and beyond was abandoned after less than 50 years use. The section through Bredbury had been opened in August 1901.
After considerable pressure by the Government and the Mersey River Board, the Urban District
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
Council agreed in 1966 to a joint scheme with the County Borough of Stockport
County Borough of Stockport
Stockport was a local government district centred on Stockport in the northwest of England from 1835 to 1974.The district was created by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 when the existing Borough of Stockport was reformed as a municipal borough. Until 1835 the town was governed by a charter...
, abandoning the treatment works
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
at Welkin Road and the sludge beds at Brinnington, to provide for the rapidly growing population and the additional industry.
Bredbury has since thrown the shackles of the industrial mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
into the River Goyt, and moved into the 21st Century. 12% of the local businesses are now powered by green fuel, a scheme developed by the local council to clean the air of Bredbury.
Governance
Bredbury and Romiley Local Board was created in 1865, covering the civil parishes of Bredbury and Romiley, and in 1880 the two parishes were amalgamated. Bredbury and Romiley Urban DistrictBredbury and Romiley
Bredbury and Romiley was an urban district in the administrative county of Cheshire, England from 1894 to 1974, which covered the Civil Parishes of Bredbury, Compstall and Romiley....
was created in 1894, and was extended to include the former Compstall Urban District
Compstall
Compstall is a suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England, between Marple Bridge and Romiley. It was formerly a mill village, built by George Andrew in the 1820s to house his 800 workers...
in 1936. In 1952, Brinnington
Brinnington
Brinnington is a north-eastern suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester. It is known locally as "Brinny".It is situated on a bluff above a bend in the Tame Valley and is an area of vast regeneration, including the demolition of the Top Shops in 2007, which were replaced by new shops, 53 shared...
township was transferred to the County Borough of Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
to enable a large residential overspill estate
Overspill estate
An overspill estate is a housing estate planned and built for the rehousing of people from decaying inner city areas usually as part of the process of slum clearance....
to be built.
Until 1953 Bredbury Ward returned twelve councillors to the urban district council, with Romiley Ward returning six and Compstall Ward returning a single member. In that year, Bredbury Ward was divided into Bredbury North and Bredbury South wards, and in 1959, there was a redivision of the urban District into seven wards, with Compstall continuing to return a single councillor, and each of the others electing three. Romiley received three wards and a new Woodley
Woodley, Greater Manchester
Woodley is a suburban area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, North West England. It lies on the east side of the Peak Forest Canal, next to the areas of Bredbury and Romiley...
ward was created out of Bredbury, the first time that the village of Woodley had been officially recognised. The remainder of Bredbury was divided into Bredbury North, Bredbury South and Bredbury West. There were further electoral changes in 1970 when the altered Bredbury North ward was renamed Bredbury Central.
Up to 1958, the Urban District formed one electoral division on Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
County Council, but in that year it was divided into Bredbury Tame and Bredbury Goyt divisions.
The council offices were in Bredbury Old School on School Brow until 1919, when Bank House on George Lane was acquired. The site has since been redeveloped for housing.
The council's first acquisition of houses was a terrace at Vernon View in 1922. Construction of the houses had been delayed by the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In the same year the first council estate was commenced at George Lane.
The council subsequently owned over 2,000 homes, including several schemes for old people's accommodation incorporating welfare features.
In 1959, the urban district council intervened over an application by Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
for a compulsory purchase order
Compulsory purchase order
A compulsory purchase order is a legal function in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland that allows certain bodies which need to obtain land or property to do so without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for public betterment - for...
to build an overspill estate on 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) of land at Bredbury Green, offering two other sites instead. The confirmed area was reduced to 24 acres (97,124.6 m²). The City Council subsequently completed several relatively small overspill estates, which resulted in more successful integration than in some nearby areas.
The council was for many years in the forefront of a campaign for the preservation and restoration of the Lower Peak Forest Canal
Peak Forest Canal
The Peak Forest Canal, is a narrow locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network.-General description:...
and the connecting waterways of the Cheshire Ring
Cheshire Ring
The Cheshire Ring is a popular canal cruising circuit, or canal ring which includes six of the canals in and around Cheshire, England.Because it takes approximately a week to complete, it is suited to narrowboat holidays which start and return to the same location. The route has 92 locks and is long...
. The canal reopened in 1974.
In 1974, the urban district was abolished. Its former area was transferred to Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
and combined with neighbouring districts to form the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
. It formed part of two wards, Bredbury and Romiley, each returning three members. The ward boundaries were subsequently adjusted, and in 2005 the wards were renamed Bredbury and Woodley and Bredbury Green and Romiley.
Although the area had traditionally elected Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politicians, with occasional victories for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, by 2006 all elected positions were held by the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
.
Landmarks
The village has extensive areas of attractive countryside, both in the river valleys and on the slopes of Werneth Low.Arden Hall
Mary Arden
Mary Shakespeare, née Mary Arden, was the mother of William Shakespeare. She was the daughter of Robert Arden and his first wife Mary Arden née Mary Webb . The Arden family had been prominent in Warwickshire since before the Norman Conquest...
family of Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, of whom William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's mother was a member.
The building was at one time "a tall building, narrow in proportion to its height and length, built of flat stones or parpoints, and having a sturdy watchtower at the back, looking over the valley of the River Tame. It was surrounded by a wide and deep moat. On the front were three gables, two of them projecting from the face of the hall, the third being flush with it. The entrance doorway was in the side of the central gable, and was approached from the courtyard by a flight of steps. Passing through the doorway a heavy oak door on the right side opened at once into the Great Hall, and in the tower exactly opposite was a wide oak staircase, which led to the upper part of the house. The Great Hall occupied the whole of the ground floor of this portion of the building, and was about 33 feet (10.1 m) long by 24 feet (7.3 m) wide. At the end was a raised platform where the high table was situated, lighted by two loft bay windows, one at each end. The year in which some portion of the hall, if indeed not the whole of it, was erected, is fixed from the date 1597 on the spout above the entrance, and the initials and date R A 1597 on the right hand gable."
In the particulars of sale of 1825, it states that "the ancient mansion house of Arden Hall has been in part converted into a commodious farm house, with every requisite convenience", and it had already been let as such.
There is a tradition that Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
stayed at the hall and that there was a skirmish nearby between Cavalier
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
s and Roundheads, but there is no firm evidence, although the access to the hall is called Battle Lane. However, Ralph Arderne, like most other local gentry, espoused the Parliamentarian cause, and saw action in several engagements.
Bredbury Hall
Bredbury Hall, approached from Dark Lane, has been so altered as to have lost every vestige of its former appearance. it was probably built upon the site of a former homestead, as some branch of the Bredburys is supposed to have settled here in early times.In 1638, the hall was occupied by a branch of the Davenports, a connection of the Bredburys. In later times, the venerable building degenerated into an ordinary farmstead.
In the 19th century, it was rebuilt, and converted into a fine family residence in the Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
style.
For some years prior to the erection of St Barnabas Church, services were held here. The hall, outbuildings and grounds are now used as a hotel and country club, and the buildings have been much modified to suit that purpose.
The great barn, 42 yards (38.4 m) long of cruck framed construction, is medieval in origin although the original framing timbers have been overlaid by brick.
Now owned by the Flood family, Bredbury Hall is now a recognised Hotel and Country Club with an array of famous faces entering the doors every week from Worldwide darts personalities to the elite from the snooker world.
The great barn is now renovated into a large nightclub which has 6 bars, 2 floors, pool, darts and a large dance floor.
Bredbury Hall is now known as a popular hotel, and many of its stories are now lost or just unknown. It is however said that the ghosts of the old manor that stood here previously still roam the hallways at night, and there have been many sightings and hearings of this.
Bredbury Library
The original library on George Lane opened in 1937, and the capacity was doubled by extensions in 1962, comprising a children's room and reference room. The latter, now used as a community meeting room, is a dodecahedral annexe, erected mainly out of funds collected locally, as a War MemorialWar memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
for World War II, and contains memorial windows designed by a local artist and a Book of Remembrance for the dead in both World Wars. Further substantial extensions and alterations, including the conversion of the War Memorial room into an exhibition and lecture room, were completed in 1970.
In 1950, the Centenary Year of the Public Library Movement, plaques were unveiled at the Library in honour of Sir Ernest Barker, the Woodley-born writer on political and historic subjects, and Thomas Greenwood, the Woodley-born writer and advocate of free public libraries.
Bredbury Old School
Erected at School Brow in 1780 by John Arden, Lord of the Manor, and the freeholders of the township of Bredbury, on land enclosed from the Common of Barrack Hill, Bredbury Old School was vested in trustees who were to "appoint a proper and sufficient person to be Schoolmaster". The appointee was to enter into a bond with the trustees "in the penal sum of £200 at the least conditioned for the due observance of the several rules and conditions" set out in the trust deed, including that he "shall duly and properly teach and instruct children to read, write and cast accompts and that his wife or some sufficient person to be by him provided shall teach girls to knit and sew".The building of larger schools and the passing of the Education Acts rendered the building obsolete, and by an order of the Charity Commissioners in 1889 the trustees were instructed to "apply the trust income either in making payments by way of rewards or prizes to children attending public elementary schools in the townships of Bredbury and Romiley for good conduct, regularity in attendance and proficiency during a period of three years next preceding the award, or in the payment of exhibitions tenable at places of higher education." Later changes to the grant system made the second power ineffectual but awards of cash continue to be made to local schoolchildren a few days before Christmas, together with a traditional form of certificate.
The building has, since its closing as a school, been used for a variety of purposes, including use as offices of Bredbury and Romiley
Bredbury and Romiley
Bredbury and Romiley was an urban district in the administrative county of Cheshire, England from 1894 to 1974, which covered the Civil Parishes of Bredbury, Compstall and Romiley....
Urban District Council. By the 1950s, it had fallen into serious disrepair. Its re-roofing with asbestos cement sheets and the rendering of the walls modified the external appearance very seriously, but inside the original floors and timbers were still visible. After the repairs it was leased to Romiley Little Theatre as their club-house, and the surrounding land was let as allotments.
Goyt Hall
Goyt Hall, which stands in the valley of the River Goyt, midway between Otterspool Bridge and New Bridge, is a half-timbered building erected by Randal Davenport about the year 1570, although William Davenport of Goyt Hall, who appears as witnessing a mortgage, died in 1542.The marriage of the last of the Davenports in 1664 brought the hall into the possession of Sir Fulke Lucy, a kinsman of Sir Thomas Lucy who features in the story of William Shakespeare's youth. This rather tenuous association was marked by the naming of the streets on the nearby Shakespeare Estate, an overspill development built by Manchester City Council.
Harrytown Hall
Formerly occupied by the Convent of the Nativity of the Sisters of CharitySisters of Charity
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity as part of their name. The rule of Saint Vincent for the Daughters of Charity has been adopted and adapted by at least sixty founders of religious orders around the world in the subsequent centuries....
of Notre Dame d'Évron
Évron
Évron is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. Evron is noted for its chapel of Notre-Dame-de-l'Epine , with 13th C wall paintings and Aubusson tapestries. The nave and tower of the church of Notre-Dame date from the 11th C, the rest of the structure from the 18th....
, who maintained Harrytown High School, Harrytown Hall dates from 1671, and is well-preserved in spite of being Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
ised during the Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
Revival. The building was converted into apartments in the early 1980s.
Transport
Bredbury railway station
Bredbury railway station serves Bredbury in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester.It was built by the Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee in 1875 on the line between New Mills and Manchester London Road ....
on the Hope Valley Line
Hope Valley Line
The Hope Valley Line is a railway line in England linking Sheffield with Manchester. It was completed in 1894.From Sheffield, trains head down the Midland Main Line to Dore, where the Hope Valley Line branches off to run through the Totley Tunnel .It emerges in the stunning scenery of the Hope...
from Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
to Manchester. Buses link the village with the neighbouring communities of Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
, Brinnington, Compstall
Compstall
Compstall is a suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England, between Marple Bridge and Romiley. It was formerly a mill village, built by George Andrew in the 1820s to house his 800 workers...
, Denton
Denton, Greater Manchester
Denton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is five miles to the east of Manchester city centre, and has a population of 26,866....
, Dukinfield
Dukinfield
Dukinfield is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in central Tameside on the south bank of the River Tame, opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, and is east of the city of Manchester...
, Hyde, Marple, Marple Bridge
Marple Bridge
Marple Bridge is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Goyt, which runs through the centre of the village, and is close to the town of Marple....
, Romiley, Stalybridge
Stalybridge
Stalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of...
, Stockport and Woodley.
Education
Bredbury is home to the National Library for the BlindNational Library for the Blind
The National Library for the Blind was a public library in the United Kingdom, founded 1882, which aimed to ensure that people with sight problems have the same access to library services as sighted people. NLB was taken over by RNIB on 1 January 2007.-Origins:The Lending Library for the Blind...
and contains a public library and two secondary schools.
Religious sites
St Mark (Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
)
The parish church of Bredbury is dedicated to St Mark.
Although the village is mentioned in the Domesday Book, Bredbury was without a church until the middle of the 19th century. The first move towards the establishment of a local church and parish, as district from that of St Mary's in Stockport, was made in 1846, when an Order in Council marked out the boundaries of the "District of St Mark, Bredbury".
It was not long before a site for the church was secured through the generosity of John Sidebotham of Kingston in Hyde, and in 1847 the foundation stone of the new church was laid by the donor of the site. The church was consecrated on 17 January 1849, and the church school was opened in 1850.
Built of freestone
Freestone
A freestone is a stone used in masonry for molding, tracery and other replication work required to be worked with the chisel. The freestone must be fine-grained, uniform and soft enough to be cut easily without shattering or splitting. Some sources say that the stone has no grain, but this is...
in the Early English style, the church consists of a square tower having four pinnacles, a nave and aisles, and a chancel with a vestry on the north side. The tower is 70 feet (21.3 m) high, occupying a commanding position, a contains a clock and a peal of bells. The windows consist of two lights each, the chancel window of three lights being filled with painted glass illustrating the Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
, erected by William Collier Vaudrey in 1875, to the memory of his wife and her sister.
The Church School (now rebuilt), is on the opposite side of Redhouse Lane.
St Barnabas (Church of England)
In 1942 Bredbury Hall, with its 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) of land, was purchased by the Diocese of Chester
Diocese of Chester
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
to be used as a mission church and social centre for Lower Bredbury. On 16 May 1943, the Lord Bishop of Chester dedicated an altar in one of the rooms of the hall.
Later the new church was erected nearby and was dedicated to St Barnabas by the Bishop of Chester
Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.The diocese expands across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the City of Chester where the seat is located at the Cathedral...
on 27 March 1954.
Bredbury Hall was then sold off.
Our Lady and St Christopher (Roman Catholic)
The Roman Catholic faith is ministered to by the Church of Our Lady and St Christopher at Barrack Hill, which was erected in 1932. A presbytery was added in 1952, and the church was subsequently enlarged and a parish hall added. Roman Catholic services were previously held in the chapel at Harrytown Hall.
Hatherlow (United Reformed Church
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
)
Hatherlow Church traces its history back to 1645, services then being held in Chadkirk Chapel
Chadkirk Chapel
Chadkirk Chapel is a redundant chapel near Romiley in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.-History:...
, and it was the oldest Congregational
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
body in Cheshire. The first independent minister at Chadkirk was Gamallel Jones, who settled there in 1688 or 1689. In the latter year the "Meeting Place" at Chadkirk was certified as a licensed place for religious worship shortly after the passing of the Toleration Act
Act of Toleration 1689
The Act of Toleration was an act of the English Parliament , the long title of which is "An Act for Exempting their Majestyes Protestant Subjects dissenting from the Church of England from the Penalties of certaine Lawes".The Act allowed freedom of worship to Nonconformists who had pledged to the...
. When they were finally ejected in the reign of Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
, a new building was erected in 1706 on the site now occupied by Hatherlow Sunday School.
It is recorded in a statistical table of the dissenting chapels in Cheshire, begun about 1715, that the congregation at Hatherlow numbered about 300 hearers, including 10 gentlemen, 39 tradesmen, 26 yeomen and 8 labourers. These would be drawn from a very wide area.
The present church was opened as Hatherlow Congregational Church in 1845, although the burial ground surrounding it goes back to 1793. A day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
was established in 1780 at Bredbury Old School on School Brow, and the building known as Top School on Gorsey Brow, now partially demolished, was built in 1830 as an overflow. The day school continued until it was succeeded by the Council school at Barrack Hill in 1909.
Hatherlow Sunday School was established in May 1817, and was held first at School Brow and then at the Top School. The present Sunday School was built in 1911.
The church has always been the centre of cultural activity in the district, and was the home of the former Bredbury Amicable Subscription Library, founded in 1822, and later of Hatherlow Botanical Society.
Notable people
- Will MellorWill MellorWilliam "Will" Mellor is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Jambo Bolton in Hollyoaks, Gaz Wilkinson in comedy, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps...
(1976–), actor and amateur pop star - Lord Danton (1232–), peer of the United KingdomPeerage of the United KingdomThe Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
- Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron AlvanleyRichard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron AlvanleyRichard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley PC, KC was a British barrister and politician.He was born on 20 May 1744 in Bredbury, the son of John Arden , and Mary Pepper, and baptised on 20 June 1744 in Stockport. Educated at The Manchester Grammar School, he matriculated at Trinity College,...
(1744–1804), Solicitor GeneralSolicitor General for England and WalesHer Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
, Attorney GeneralAttorney General for England and WalesHer Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
and politician - Robert RobinsonRobert Robinson (hymnist)Robert Robinson was a determined English Dissenter, an influential Baptist and scholar who made a life-long study of the antiquity and history of Christian Baptism. He was also author of the hymns "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and "Mighty God, while angels bless Thee," the former of which...
(1726–1791), clergyman - Peter Charles Snape (1942–), politician
- Mike YarwoodMike YarwoodMike Yarwood, OBE is an English impressionist and comedian. He was one of Britain's top-rated entertainers, regularly appearing on television from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. He left Bredbury Secondary Modern School in 1956 and worked as a messenger and then salesman at a garment warehouse...
(1941–), impressionist
John Agecroft
John Agecroft (1716–1804) lived in a cottage at Barrack Hill where, until the end of the 19th century, a crude bust stood in a niche on the outer wall. A canvass weaver, bookbinder and well known local eccentric, he is said to have conceived the idea of the bust from that of William Shakespeare at Stratford upon Avon, and to have made the matrix by pushing his face into the hardening mud of a ditch. The bust, or part of it, in the form of a death mask, was on display in the Council Chamber when Agecroft Road was named.Edward McLellan
Born in Redhouse Lane, the son of the village clogger, Edward McLellan (1870–1967) attended St Mark's School. It speaks much for the quality of education there, under the headmaster Silas Whipp, that without further formal education he was able to enter Hartley CollegeHartley College
Hartley College is a boys private school in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1838 by British Methodist missionaries. The school is named after Wesleyan priest and missionary Rev. Hartley.-History:...
, the Primitive Methodist Ministers' Training college, from which he embarked on 47 years of active ministry. In 1931 he reached the highest point he could attain in his vocation when he was elected President of the Primitive Methodist Conference.
He published many articles and stories in magazines and wrote a number of books on religious subjects. He continued to preach to an advanced age, and conducted services after his 90th year at both Woodley and Greave.
Thomas Platt
Thomas Platt (1745–1824) of Dark Lane House was claimed to have established a Sunday schoolSunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
some years before Robert Raikes
Robert Raikes
Robert Raikes was an English philanthropist and Anglican layman, noted for his promotion of Sunday schools...
, the usually accredited founder of the system. In recruiting for Stockport Parish Church choir, he found that many of the boys and girls he gathered could not read, and so instructed them on Sunday evenings. When Raikes's system spread to Greater Manchester, Platt became the paid headmaster of one of the Stockport Sunday school
Stockport Sunday School
The Stockport Sunday school was founded in 1784, and became the largest Sunday school in the world. It was situated on London Square, Wellington Street behind the town hall...
s.
Further reading
- Aiken, John (1795). A Description of the County from 30 – 40 Miles Round Manchester
- Cocks, James (1895). Memorials of Hatherlow
- Cocks, James (1924). Annals of Bredbury Part 1
- Earwaker, J P (1880). East Cheshire
- Bredbury and Romiley Urban District : The Official Guide (1970)
- Biographical Notes on Sir Ernest Barker and Thomas Greenwood (1950)
- St Mark's Centenary Booklet (1949)