County Borough of Stockport
Encyclopedia
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 dating from circa 1220 granted by Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester
. The municipal borough consisted of parts of Cheshire
, namely the township of Stockport and the neighbouring areas of Edgeley and Portwood and part of Heaton Norris in Lancashire
.
Under the terms of the Local Government Act 1888
Stockport was constituted a county borough
in 1889, independent of the county councils of Cheshire and Lancashire. The county borough continued to be divided between the two counties for judicial and lieutenancy
purposes until 1894, when it was placed entirely in Cheshire.
Under the Stockport Borough Extension Act 1901 the borough was enlarged, absorbing the urban district
of Reddish
in Lancashire as well a number of parts of Cheshire parishes. The Stockport (Extension) Order 1913 saw a further enlargement with the absorption of Heaton Norris
Urban District from Lancashire
The county borough was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972
with its territory forming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
district of Greater Manchester
.
, six aldermen
and 18 councillors. The borough was divided into six wards: Edgeley, Heaton Norris, Middle, Portwood, St Mary's and St Thomas's, each returning one alderman and three councillors.
In 1894 the number of wards was increased to fourteen: Cale Green, Edgeley, Heaton Lane, Heaviley, Hempshaw Lane, Holywood, Lancashire Hill, Old Road, Portwood, St Mary's, St Thomas's, Shaw Heath, Spring Bank and Vernon. The corporation was accordingly enlarged to 14 aldermen and 42 councillors. Additional wards were added when the borough was extended: Reddish North and Reddish South in 1901 and Heaton Norris North and South in 1913. The corporation subsequently had 18 aldermen and 54 councillors. The ward boundaries were subsequently redrawn in 1935, although they remained 18 in number: Spring Bank ward was abolished and a new ward of Davenport created. In 1971 the wards were completely redrawn and bore the following names: Adswood, Brinnington, Cale Green, Cheadle Heath, Davenport, Edgeley, Heaton Chapel, Heaton Moor, Heaton Norris, Heaviley, Lancashire Hill, Little Moor, Longford, Manor, Offerton, Reddish Green and Vernon.
administration was in control. In 1904 the Liberals lost their overall majority after "twenty years". In the following year Conservatives
gained control. 1905 also saw the first election of Labour
councillors. Conservatives held power until 1929, when they lost their majority, but remaining the largest party on the council. From 1934 to 1945 Conservatives once again controlled the borough. The council was under no overall control from 1945 to 1947, when the Conservatives regained control, holding the council for seven years. In 1954 Labour took power for the first time, and held the borough until 1968. In 1968 Conservatives regained control, with Labour returning to power in the final borough election prior to abolition in 1972.
In 1836 the new borough corporation adopted a common seal, incorporating an unofficial coat of arms. The shield was blue with three gold lozenges
between nine cross-crosslets. This was said to the arms of the Stopford or Stockport family, Barons of Stockport. On either side of the shield was a lion and the figure of Britannia
. Above the shield was a mural crown and a banner inscribed "Municipal Reform January 1836"
On 5 December 1932, the county borough obtained a grant of arms
and crest from the College of Arms
. This consisted of the unofficial arms within a gold bordure
or border. On the bordure were placed three garbs or wheatsheaves and three double-headed eagles. The garbs represented the county of Cheshire, while the eagles were taken from the arms of the de Eton family. The crest was a representation of the town's medieval castle.
On 1 December 1959 an additional grant of supporters
was made. These were two white lions each with a gold and red collar in a "vair
y" pattern. The lions were from the arms of the de Warren family who held the manor
of Stockport until 1826. The vair pattern was from the arms of the Ferrers family, Earls of Derby
. A disc hung from the collar of each lion: one bearing the red Lancashire rose
, the other a Cheshire garb.
The full blazon
of the arms was as follows:
Azure semée of cross crosslets three lozenges Or; a bordure of the last charged with three garbs and as many double headed eagles displayed alternately of the first. And for a Crest: issuant from a mural crown Or a mount vert, thereon a castle with two towers proper. Mantled azure, doubled Or. Supporters: On either side a lion argent that to the dexter gorged with a collar vairy Or and gules pendent therefrom by a chain gold a plate charged with a rose gules barbed and seeded proper; that to the sinister likewise collared and pendent from the collar by a like chain a hurt charged with a garb also gold.
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The borough council initially had no single administrative headquarters with offices based in various parts of the town. A former warehouse in Warren Street was used to house council meetings as well as the magistrates court, police station and cells. The foundation stone of the town hall was laid in October 1904, with the top stone of the clock tower being laid by the Mayor of Stockport in January 1907. The "wedding cake" town hall was designed by Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas
, who was also responsible for Belfast City Hall
.
and Gatley
. The trams were replaced with motorbuses in 1949–1951. Trams and buses operated in a red and ivory livery. The operation passed to SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive in 1969.
, in the Derbyshire
Peak District
. The waterworks opened in 1912, and the Kinder Reservoir had a capacity of 515 million impgals (2,341,236.4 m³) and covered 44 acres (178,061.8 m²). At the time of its construction it was stated to have the largest earth dam in the world. In the 1930s the corporation acquired land in the Goyt Valley, building two more reservoirs: Fernilee
opened in 1938 and Errwood
in 1967. The Stockport and District Water Board was formed, with its membership made up of members of Stockport Borough Council, the urban district councils of Alderley Edge
, Bredbury and Romiley
, Cheadle and Gatley
, Hazel Grove and Bramhall
, Marple
, New Mills
, Whaley Bridge
and Wilmslow
and Disley Rural District Council. The Water Board's assets passed to the North West Water Authority
under the Water Act 1973
.
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...
in the northwest of 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...
from 1835 to 1974.
The district was created by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...
when the existing Borough of Stockport was reformed as a municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
. Until 1835 the town was governed by a charter dating from circa 1220 granted by Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester
Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester
Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester and 1st Earl of Lincoln , known in some references as the 4th Earl of Chester , was one of the "old school" of Anglo-Norman barons whose loyalty to the Angevin dynasty was consistent but contingent on the receipt of lucrative favours...
. The municipal borough consisted of parts of 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...
, namely the township of Stockport and the neighbouring areas of Edgeley and Portwood and part of Heaton Norris in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
.
Under the terms of the Local Government Act 1888
Local Government Act 1888
The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...
Stockport was constituted a county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
in 1889, independent of the county councils of Cheshire and Lancashire. The county borough continued to be divided between the two counties for judicial and lieutenancy
Lord Lieutenant
The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...
purposes until 1894, when it was placed entirely in Cheshire.
Under the Stockport Borough Extension Act 1901 the borough was enlarged, absorbing 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....
of Reddish
Reddish
Reddish is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of Stockport and southeast of Manchester...
in Lancashire as well a number of parts of Cheshire parishes. The Stockport (Extension) Order 1913 saw a further enlargement with the absorption of Heaton Norris
Heaton Norris
Heaton Norris is now a mainly residential area of Stockport, England bordering on Heaton Chapel, Heaton Mersey and Heaton Moor. Formerly it was the name of the parish, that included Heaton Chapel, Heaton Mersey and Heaton Moor and was in Lancashire....
Urban District from Lancashire
The county borough was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
with its territory forming part of 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...
district of 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...
.
Corporation
The 1835 Act designated all qualified residents of the town as "burgesses" and formed them into a body corporate by the name of the "Mayor, aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Stockport". The burgesses elected a town council, which initially consisted of a mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, six aldermen
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
and 18 councillors. The borough was divided into six wards: Edgeley, Heaton Norris, Middle, Portwood, St Mary's and St Thomas's, each returning one alderman and three councillors.
In 1894 the number of wards was increased to fourteen: Cale Green, Edgeley, Heaton Lane, Heaviley, Hempshaw Lane, Holywood, Lancashire Hill, Old Road, Portwood, St Mary's, St Thomas's, Shaw Heath, Spring Bank and Vernon. The corporation was accordingly enlarged to 14 aldermen and 42 councillors. Additional wards were added when the borough was extended: Reddish North and Reddish South in 1901 and Heaton Norris North and South in 1913. The corporation subsequently had 18 aldermen and 54 councillors. The ward boundaries were subsequently redrawn in 1935, although they remained 18 in number: Spring Bank ward was abolished and a new ward of Davenport created. In 1971 the wards were completely redrawn and bore the following names: Adswood, Brinnington, Cale Green, Cheadle Heath, Davenport, Edgeley, Heaton Chapel, Heaton Moor, Heaton Norris, Heaviley, Lancashire Hill, Little Moor, Longford, Manor, Offerton, Reddish Green and Vernon.
Political control
In the early years of the council, political labels were not used. By the 1880s, however, a LiberalLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
administration was in control. In 1904 the Liberals lost their overall majority after "twenty years". In the following year Conservatives
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...
gained control. 1905 also saw the first election of Labour
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...
councillors. Conservatives held power until 1929, when they lost their majority, but remaining the largest party on the council. From 1934 to 1945 Conservatives once again controlled the borough. The council was under no overall control from 1945 to 1947, when the Conservatives regained control, holding the council for seven years. In 1954 Labour took power for the first time, and held the borough until 1968. In 1968 Conservatives regained control, with Labour returning to power in the final borough election prior to abolition in 1972.
Coat of arms
Lozenge (heraldry)
The lozenge in heraldry is a diamond-shaped charge , usually somewhat narrower than it is tall. It is to be distinguished in modern heraldry from the fusil, which is like the lozenge but narrower, though the distinction has not always been as fine and is not always observed even today...
between nine cross-crosslets. This was said to the arms of the Stopford or Stockport family, Barons of Stockport. On either side of the shield was a lion and the figure of Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
. Above the shield was a mural crown and a banner inscribed "Municipal Reform January 1836"
On 5 December 1932, the county borough obtained a grant of arms
Grant of Arms
A grant of arms is an action by a lawful authority, such as an officer of arms, conferring on a person and his or her descendants the right to bear a particular coat of arms or armorial bearings...
and crest from the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. This consisted of the unofficial arms within a gold bordure
Bordure
In heraldry, a bordure is a band of contrasting tincture forming a border around the edge of a shield, traditionally one-sixth as wide as the shield itself...
or border. On the bordure were placed three garbs or wheatsheaves and three double-headed eagles. The garbs represented the county of Cheshire, while the eagles were taken from the arms of the de Eton family. The crest was a representation of the town's medieval castle.
On 1 December 1959 an additional grant of supporters
Supporters
In heraldry, supporters are figures usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. These figures may be real or imaginary animals, human figures, and in rare cases plants or inanimate objects...
was made. These were two white lions each with a gold and red collar in a "vair
Vair
Vair is the heraldic representation of patches of squirrel fur in an alternating pattern of blue and white. As a tincture, vair is considered a fur and is therefore exempted from the Rule of tincture . Variations of vair are laid out in different patterns, each with their own name...
y" pattern. The lions were from the arms of the de Warren family who held the manor
Manorialism
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...
of Stockport until 1826. The vair pattern was from the arms of the Ferrers family, Earls of Derby
Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279...
. A disc hung from the collar of each lion: one bearing the red Lancashire rose
Red Rose of Lancaster
The Red Rose of Lancaster is the county flower of Lancashire.The exact species or cultivar which the red rose relates to is uncertain, but it is thought to be Rosa gallica officinalis....
, the other a Cheshire garb.
The full blazon
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
of the arms was as follows:
Azure semée of cross crosslets three lozenges Or; a bordure of the last charged with three garbs and as many double headed eagles displayed alternately of the first. And for a Crest: issuant from a mural crown Or a mount vert, thereon a castle with two towers proper. Mantled azure, doubled Or. Supporters: On either side a lion argent that to the dexter gorged with a collar vairy Or and gules pendent therefrom by a chain gold a plate charged with a rose gules barbed and seeded proper; that to the sinister likewise collared and pendent from the collar by a like chain a hurt charged with a garb also gold.
Town hall
Alfred Brumwell Thomas
Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas was an architect born in Virginia Water, Surrey who trained at Westminster School of Art and became an exponent of the Baroque Revival, a style of architecture prevalent for public buildings in the early years of the 20th century.In 1906, he was made a fellow of the...
, who was also responsible for Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall is the civic building of the Belfast City Council. Located in Donegall Square, Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, it faces north and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city centre.-History:...
.
Stockport Corporation Transport
The borough council took over the privately operated horse tram networks in the town in 1901 and replaced them with electric trams. At its peak the tramways department had 85 trams and had joint running agreements with the neighbouring municipalities of Manchester and Hyde, and the network extended outside the borough boundaries to Hazel GroveHazel Grove
-Education:Hazel Grove has a number of primary schools and Hazel Grove High School, the local high school. Some do decide to go to other local high schools, such as local Marple Hall, in neighbouring village Marple. The main primary schools in the area are, Hazel Grove Primary School, Torkington...
and Gatley
Gatley
Gatley is a suburban area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England.-Toponymy:In 1290, Gatley was known as Gateclyve, which in Old English means "a place where goats are kept".-Early history:...
. The trams were replaced with motorbuses in 1949–1951. Trams and buses operated in a red and ivory livery. The operation passed to SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive in 1969.
Water supply
Under the terms of the Stockport Corporation Act 1901, the corporation supplied water to an area of eighty square miles including and surrounding the borough. A reservoir was constructed at KinderKinder Scout
Kinder Scout is a moorland plateau in the Dark Peak of the Derbyshire Peak District in England. Part of the moor, at 636 m above sea level, is the highest point in the Peak District, the highest point in Derbyshire, and the highest point in the East Midlands. It is accessible from the villages of...
, in the 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...
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....
. The waterworks opened in 1912, and the Kinder Reservoir had a capacity of 515 million impgals (2,341,236.4 m³) and covered 44 acres (178,061.8 m²). At the time of its construction it was stated to have the largest earth dam in the world. In the 1930s the corporation acquired land in the Goyt Valley, building two more reservoirs: Fernilee
Fernilee Reservoir
Fernilee Reservoir is located in the Peak District National Park, within the county of Derbyshire and very close to the boundary with Cheshire. The reservoir was the first of two reservoirs built in the Goyt Valley; the other one being Errwood Reservoir. It was constructed by the Stockport Water...
opened in 1938 and Errwood
Errwood Reservoir
Errwood Reservoir is located in the Peak District National Park, within the county of Derbyshire and very close to the boundary with Cheshire. The reservoir was the second of two reservoirs built in the Goyt Valley, the other one being Fernilee Reservoir...
in 1967. The Stockport and District Water Board was formed, with its membership made up of members of Stockport Borough Council, the urban district councils of Alderley Edge
Alderley Edge
Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,409....
, 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....
, Cheadle and Gatley
Cheadle and Gatley
Cheadle and Gatley was, from 1894 to 1974, an urban district of Cheshire, England.It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Cheadle and Gatley urban sanitary district...
, Hazel Grove and Bramhall
Hazel Grove and Bramhall
Hazel Grove and Bramhall was a civil parish and urban district in north east Cheshire, England from 1900 to 1974.It was created in 1900 covering, from Stockport Rural District, the former area of the civil parishes of:*Bosden*Bramhall*Norbury*Offerton...
, Marple
Marple, Greater Manchester
Marple is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Goyt southeast of Stockport.Historically part of Cheshire, Marple has a population of 23,480 .-Toponymy:...
, New Mills
New Mills
New Mills is a town in Derbyshire, England approximately south-east of Stockport and from Manchester. It is sited at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Sett, on the border of Cheshire. The town stands above the Torrs, a deep gorge, cut through Woodhead Hill Sandstone of the Carboniferous period...
, Whaley Bridge
Whaley Bridge
Whaley Bridge is a small town and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England, situated on the River Goyt. Whaley Bridge is approximately south of Manchester, north of Buxton , east of Macclesfield and west of Sheffield, and had a population of 6,226 at the 2001 census. This...
and Wilmslow
Wilmslow
-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...
and Disley Rural District Council. The Water Board's assets passed to the North West Water Authority
North West Water
North West Water was a water supply company serving north west England. It was originally the North West Water Authority, one of ten regional authorities created by the Water Act 1973. In 1989 it became North West Water plc, and was privatised...
under the Water Act 1973
Water Act 1973
The Water Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reorganised the water, sewage and river management industry in England and Wales...
.