Poynton
Encyclopedia
Poynton is a town within the civil parish of Poynton-with-Worth, and the unitary authority area of Cheshire East
, England
. For ceremonial purposes
it is part of the county of Cheshire
. Poynton is located at the eastern most fringe of the Cheshire Plain
, 7 miles (11 km) north of Macclesfield
, 5 miles (8 km) south of Stockport
and 11 miles (18 km) south-southeast of Manchester
. At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001
, Poynton-with-Worth had a population of 14,433.
The name of Poynton is of Old English
derivation, indicating ancient settlement by the Anglo-Saxons
. From the late middle ages
coal
has been mined
in Poynton. The collieries, under the ownership of the Lords Vernon
, from 1832 until their closure in 1935 they were the largest in Cheshire. Consequent urbanisation and socioeconomic development necessitated better transport links
; these came with the completion of the Macclesfield Canal
through Poynton in 1831 and the arrival of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway
in 1845 and the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway
in 1869. By the late-20th century, Poynton had emerged as a commuter town
, partly because of the transport links and proximity to the Manchester conurbation.
derivation. Having been omitted by the Domesday Book
of 1086, the first mention of the manor of Poynton is in 1289 when it was part of the barony of Stockport. Past spellings include Ponynton and Poynington The Warren family held the manor from before 1386 when Edward de Warren married Cicely de Eton of Poynton and Stockport until 1801 when Sir George Warren
, the last surviving male, died. He was succeeded by his daughter, Lady Warren Bulkeley. She died childless in 1826 when she left the estate to Frances Maria Warren
, Lady Vernon. The Lords Vernon
held the estate until the final sale in 1920.
Coal
is found outcropping to the east of Towers Road, which corresponds to the line of the Red Rock Fault; that is at the surface. It has been worked from early times. The earliest record to be found is a lease dated 28 February 1589, which talks of the "Coal pit at Wourthe lately occupied by George Finche". This could be worked on the surface then by bell pit
s, and then by deeper shafts with waterwheels or steam engine
s operating pumps and winding gear. Around 1700, the Warrens of Poynton co-operated with the Leghs of Lyme
to work the Cannel and Sheepwash seams at Norbury Hollow. Initially, the mines were pumped using waterwheels driven by the Norbury Brook; atmospheric steam engines were then used and then condensing engine
s thus allowing deeper pits to be sunk. Output in 1789 was over 23,586.80 metric tons (26,000 tons) rising to a peak production of 221,056.42 metric tons (243,673 tons) in 1859. The Poynton Colleries were substantial, and the coal rights were held by the Warren family who leased them the Wrights and the Claytons. The canal and new roads and railway lines were used to remove the coal, In 1826 the estate passed to George John Venables Vernon, 4th Lord Vernon
who decided in 1832 to manage the mines himeself. In 1856 it was estimated that there was a reserve of 15,163,027 tons which would supply 245,000 tons for 61 years. This was to be supplied by the Park Round Pit, and the Park Oval Pit both working the Four Foot and Five Foot Seam and the Anson Pit and the Nelson Pit which were working the Accommodation Seam. The pits had good transport links to their principal markets, Cotton Mills of the Manchester conurbation. With the Lancashire Cotton Famine, 1861 and the subsequent recession, the price of coal collapsed, the vend dropped 112,840 tons. Men were laid off. A new shaft, the Lawrance Pit was sunk at Park, in 1885 raising the vend to vend of 216,362 tons and paying for itself within a year. However the costs were rising and the closure of the Norbury Pits resulted in a constant ingress of water. In 1926 production was down to 80,146 tons. in the year of the general strike. The 1926 General strike
lasted for 17 weeks in Poynton and the men went back to work as the collieries would have closed due to the cost of pumping. The collieries closed on 30 August 1935; 250 men were made redundant. 80 men were offered jobs in Kent
, and some secured employment with AVRO
at Woodford, Greater Manchester
. The Anson Colliery is now the site of the Anson Engine Museum
, all other shafts have been capped and Park Pit has been levelled.
The Macclesfield Canal
was originally proposed in 1765, but construction was not commenced until 1826 due to opposition from outside parties. Thomas Telford
was the designer and the canal was completed in 1831. The original coal wharf at Higher Poynton is now in use for boatfitting.
Sir George Warren was a promoter of the extension of the turnpike road
from Manchester
by way of Hazel Grove
to Sandon in Staffordshire
where it joined what is now the A51 road
. The Manchester and Birmingham Railway
Railway opened line through Poynton in 1845 which today forms part of the London–Manchester main line
. The station
on this line, offers local services to Manchester and Macclesfield. The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple railway
was opened in 1869, with stations at Higher Poynton and Middlewood, and was closed in 1970. The line is now footpath called the Middlewood Way.
During the late 18th century, the Pickford family developed their family business of waggoners on the London
-to-Manchester
route with The Birches Farm at Poynton as its headquarters. The business thrived and they relocated to London in 1823. Pickfords
is today one of the best known removal
firms in the United Kingdom.
From the 1870s private house-building gathered pace and gradually Poynton became a commuter town
for those working in the Manchester conurbation. Since the Second World War several housing estates have been built by both the local authorities and private developers.
The population has risen from 5000 to over 15,000 since 1945.
, Poynton was administered by a three-tiers of local governance: the parish council of Poynton-with-Worth, Macclesfield Borough Council
, and Cheshire County Council
. Poynton-with-Worth (a civil parish) was made up of three electoral wards, was created in 1880 by uniting the hitherto two separate civil parishes of Poynton and Worth. Cheshire East Council took over the responsibilities of borough council and the county council on 1 April 2009, and the parish council has been renamed as Poynton Town Council. The Poynton electoral ward is represented on Cheshire East Council by three councillors, all members of the Conservative Party
. Cheshire East Council has 81 councillors in 27 wards, of whom 59 are Conservative, 12 are Liberal Democrats
, 6 are Labour
and four others. The boundaries are being reviewed, and the 2011 election will be for a 82 member council. Poynton and Adlington will be represented by two, two-member wards called Poynton West and Poynton East and Adlington. For the United Kingdom Parliament it is in the Macclesfield Constituency
which in 2009 was represented by Sir Nicholas Winterton
, a Conservative. In 2010, David Rutley, a Conservative was elected after Sir Nicholas Winterton
retired.
Poynton is twinned with Érd
in Hungary
.
, 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Manchester Airport, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from junction 5 of the M56 motorway
and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from junction 3 of the M60 motorway
. The west of the parish is predominantly residential, with diverse amenities, buffered from Hazel Grove
and Bramhall
by the planning restrictions of the North Cheshire Green Belt
. To the south of the town are two business parks but here and to the east it is rural in nature, bounding on the former deer park
of Lyme Hall
. This is green belt. The A6
trunk road passes to the north of the parish, and the Macclesfield Canal
runs north/south along the 155m contour to the east of the parish.
The town straddles the Red Rock Fault. Its 200 metres (656.2 ft) downthrow to the west brings the Permo-Triassic sandstones and mudstones of the Cheshire Plain up against the Millstone Grit and shales of the Peak District. To the immediate east of the fault are the coal measures
of the Carboniferous
period which, unlike those in the Lancashire Coalfield
, are missing the top layers. Here we find outcrops of the Middle Coal Measures
. Coal
from these strata, particularly the Four Foot Mine (or seam), the Five Foot Mine and the Accommodation Mine was extract
ed in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The lower ground, including most of Poynton, is covered by glacial till left by the retreating ice sheet at the close of the last ice age
.
Woodford Aerodrome, to the west of the parish is now owned by BAE Systems
—a major employer in the area—and has a Met Office
weather station used for regional weather forecasting
. Woodford's weather station recorded a temperature of -17.6 C on 8 January 2010, during the Winter of 2009-2010 in the United Kingdom.
, a canal with only one flight of locks, was originally proposed in 1765. However it was not commenced until 1826. Completed in 1831, it joins the Peak Forest Canal
in Marple
with the Trent and Mersey Canal
near Kidsgrove
and forms a part of the Cheshire Ring
. The route was chosen so it could pass close to the Poynton Colleries, in order to transport coal to Macclesfield
for the steam engines and 5000 houses. It shortened the canal journey from Manchester to London by 25 miles and allowed easy carriage of coal to the cotton mills at Dukinfield
.
Poynton lies to the south of the A6. This was the favoured London
to Manchester
route in the late middle ages
as it avoided the wetter land of the Cheshire Plain. This is shown in John Ogilby
's road atlas of 1675. It was improved by the formation of a turnpike trust
in 1724. In 1760, Sir George Warren, the Leghs of Adlington and James Pickford
promoted a new turnpike road through Poynton with Worth from Hazel Grove
to Sandon in Staffordshire
on the A51 road
. This provided a link to Macclesfield. It is now known as the A523
, or locally as the London Road. Later the Chester Road, the A5149 provided a link to Wilmslow
.
The Manchester and Birmingham Railway
opened a line through Poynton in 1845 which today forms part of the London–Manchester main line
. The station
on this line, offers local services to Manchester and Macclesfield. The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway
was opened in 1869, with stations at Higher Poynton and Middlewood
. Since its closure in 1970, the line has been converted into a footpath and bridleway called the Middlewood Way.
Cheshire East Council is responsible for co-ordinating public transport. They run an Integrated Transport Service with Cheshire West and Chester Council
, but at the Environment and Prosperity Scrutiny Committee of 25/11/2009 - they agreed to investigate separating the services; this would commence in November 2010. Poynton with Worth parish council was one of the Cheshire parishes that were part of Selnec PTE
created by Transport Act 1968
but was not included in Greater Manchester
when it was formed on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972
. As a result special ticketing arrangements are in place within the parish.
Poynton railway station
on the West Coast Main Line is served by an hourly off-peak rail service to Stoke-On-Trent
and Manchester Picadilly
Monday-Saturday, with extra trains at peak times (Mon-Fri). Sunday services consist of 3 trains in each direction.
Poynton with Worth is served by 5 bus services:
The local aerodrome Woodford Aerodrome lies partially with in the parish, but for passenger flights Manchester International Airport
is used.
was founded in 1862, staying independent until February 1992. There were many Friendly Societies
, Burial Clubs, Workmen's Club
and the Miners' Union. The Methodist Chapel was established in 1847 followed by the Baptists and Primitive Methodists
chapels; together with St George's Church they were the social centres of the village. Lord Vernon opened the first school in 1838 which was extended as the number of children attending it grew, and this building is used today as the Poynton Youth and Community Centre.
The Poynton Show, is held every August bank holiday
weekend. It started in 1885, as an agricultural show, and has grown in size, 35,000 people visited the show in 1970. It offers a full range of events in the main arena such as stunt riding and aerobatics, a fairground, exhibitions and competitive events.
The St George's Singers, is large choral society founded in 1956. Its current president is Dame Joan Bakewell. The choir has strong links with the Royal Northern College of Music
and Chetham's School of Music
. It has sung in Helsinki
, Tallinn
, Krakov, Budapest
and Érd
; more locally the choir's Singing Day attracts over 200 singers to learn and perform choral music.
Poynton is also home to one of the North-West's premiere brass bands. The Vernon Building Society (Poynton) Brass Band
as it is now known, first started within the Poynton coal mining community and was supported by the mine owners, the Vernon family. It is not known for certain when the band began, but records from 1832 stating that new uniforms had been purchased by Lady Vernon suggest that it has existed for well over 160 years. Delighting audiences throughout the year with original and entertaining concert programmes, the band is also a regular prize-winner at contests throughout the country.
There are two Anglican churches in Poynton, St. Martin's, High Poynton, and St. George's, which occupies a prominent position in the town centre. St. George's church dates from 1859 and is in the Victorian Gothic style; the steeple was added in 1884. These have active congregations: running services, youth groups and a children's group.
Poynton Coppice is a designated Local Nature Reserve
Primary schools
Vernon Infant School and Vernon Junior School were joined to form Vernon Primary School. Schools in Poynton include:
Secondary school
Cheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...
, 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...
. For ceremonial purposes
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
it is part of the county 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...
. Poynton is located at the eastern most fringe of the Cheshire Plain
Cheshire Plain
The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland situated almost entirely within the county of Cheshire in northwest England. It is bounded by the hills of North Wales to the west, and the Peak District of Derbyshire and North Staffordshire to the east and southeast...
, 7 miles (11 km) north of Macclesfield
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
, 5 miles (8 km) south 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 11 miles (18 km) south-southeast 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...
. At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, Poynton-with-Worth had a population of 14,433.
The name of Poynton is of Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
derivation, indicating ancient settlement by the Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
. From the late middle ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
has been mined
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
in Poynton. The collieries, under the ownership of the Lords Vernon
Baron Vernon
Lord Vernon, Baron of Kinderton in the County of Chester, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1762 for the former Member of Parliament George Venables-Vernon. He had previously represented Lichfield and Derby in the House of Commons...
, from 1832 until their closure in 1935 they were the largest in Cheshire. Consequent urbanisation and socioeconomic development necessitated better transport links
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
; these came with the completion of the Macclesfield Canal
Macclesfield Canal
The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England, one of the six that make up the Cheshire Ring.-Route:The canal runs from Marple Junction at Marple, where it joins the Upper Peak Forest Canal, , southwards , before arriving at Bosley.Having descended the 12 Bosley Locks over the course...
through Poynton in 1831 and the arrival of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway
Manchester and Birmingham Railway
The Manchester and Birmingham Railway was built between Manchester and Crewe and opened in stages from 1840. Between Crewe and Birmingham, trains were worked by the Grand Junction Railway...
in 1845 and the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway
Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway
The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway was a railway line, 16 km long, linking Macclesfield with Marple in east Cheshire, England, opened in 1869 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and the North Staffordshire Railway , as a part of an alternative link between...
in 1869. By the late-20th century, Poynton had emerged as a commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
, partly because of the transport links and proximity to the Manchester conurbation.
History
The name of Poynton is of Old EnglishOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
derivation. Having been omitted by 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, the first mention of the manor of Poynton is in 1289 when it was part of the barony of Stockport. Past spellings include Ponynton and Poynington The Warren family held the manor from before 1386 when Edward de Warren married Cicely de Eton of Poynton and Stockport until 1801 when Sir George Warren
George Warren (MP)
Sir George Warren KB , of Poynton Lodge in Cheshire, was a British Member of Parliament.Warren set out initially on an army career, being promoted to Captain in 1756...
, the last surviving male, died. He was succeeded by his daughter, Lady Warren Bulkeley. She died childless in 1826 when she left the estate to Frances Maria Warren
John Borlase Warren
Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet , was an English admiral, politician and diplomat. Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren of Stapleford and Little Marlow...
, Lady Vernon. The Lords Vernon
Baron Vernon
Lord Vernon, Baron of Kinderton in the County of Chester, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1762 for the former Member of Parliament George Venables-Vernon. He had previously represented Lichfield and Derby in the House of Commons...
held the estate until the final sale in 1920.
Coal
Coal Measures
The Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...
is found outcropping to the east of Towers Road, which corresponds to the line of the Red Rock Fault; that is at the surface. It has been worked from early times. The earliest record to be found is a lease dated 28 February 1589, which talks of the "Coal pit at Wourthe lately occupied by George Finche". This could be worked on the surface then by bell pit
Bell pit
A bell pit is a primitive method of mining coal, iron ore or other minerals where the coal or ore lies near the surface.. A shaft is sunk to reach the mineral which is excavated by miners transported to the surface by a winch and removed by means of a bucket, much like a well. It gets its name...
s, and then by deeper shafts with waterwheels or steam engine
Stationary steam engine
Stationary steam engines are fixed steam engines used for pumping or driving mills and factories, and for power generation. They are distinct from locomotive engines used on railways, traction engines for heavy steam haulage on roads, steam cars , agricultural engines used for ploughing or...
s operating pumps and winding gear. Around 1700, the Warrens of Poynton co-operated with the Leghs of Lyme
Leghs of Lyme
The Leghs of Lyme are a family who owned Lyme Park in Cheshire, England, from 1398 to 1946, when the house and estate were given to the National Trust. In the early days of the family there were variations of both the surname, and the usually-given forename. Variations of the surname include de...
to work the Cannel and Sheepwash seams at Norbury Hollow. Initially, the mines were pumped using waterwheels driven by the Norbury Brook; atmospheric steam engines were then used and then condensing engine
Watt steam engine
The Watt steam engine was the first type of steam engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above atmospheric to drive the piston helped by a partial vacuum...
s thus allowing deeper pits to be sunk. Output in 1789 was over 23,586.80 metric tons (26,000 tons) rising to a peak production of 221,056.42 metric tons (243,673 tons) in 1859. The Poynton Colleries were substantial, and the coal rights were held by the Warren family who leased them the Wrights and the Claytons. The canal and new roads and railway lines were used to remove the coal, In 1826 the estate passed to George John Venables Vernon, 4th Lord Vernon
George Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon
George John Warren Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon was the only son of George Charles Venables-Vernon, 4th Baron Vernon of Sudbury, Derbyshire, and Frances Maria, only daughter of Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren. He was one of the last Members of Pariament for Derbyshire and the first for South Derbyshire...
who decided in 1832 to manage the mines himeself. In 1856 it was estimated that there was a reserve of 15,163,027 tons which would supply 245,000 tons for 61 years. This was to be supplied by the Park Round Pit, and the Park Oval Pit both working the Four Foot and Five Foot Seam and the Anson Pit and the Nelson Pit which were working the Accommodation Seam. The pits had good transport links to their principal markets, Cotton Mills of the Manchester conurbation. With the Lancashire Cotton Famine, 1861 and the subsequent recession, the price of coal collapsed, the vend dropped 112,840 tons. Men were laid off. A new shaft, the Lawrance Pit was sunk at Park, in 1885 raising the vend to vend of 216,362 tons and paying for itself within a year. However the costs were rising and the closure of the Norbury Pits resulted in a constant ingress of water. In 1926 production was down to 80,146 tons. in the year of the general strike. The 1926 General strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
lasted for 17 weeks in Poynton and the men went back to work as the collieries would have closed due to the cost of pumping. The collieries closed on 30 August 1935; 250 men were made redundant. 80 men were offered jobs in Kent
Kent coalfield
The Kent Coalfield was a coalfield located in the eastern part of the English county of Kent.Coal was discovered in the area in 1890 while borings for an early Channel Tunnel project were taking place and the resultant Shakespeare colliery lasted until 1915...
, and some secured employment with AVRO
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
at Woodford, Greater Manchester
Woodford, Greater Manchester
Woodford is a suburban village at the southern extent of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Stockport, north-northwest of Macclesfield, and south-southeast of Manchester...
. The Anson Colliery is now the site of the Anson Engine Museum
Anson Engine Museum
The Anson Engine Museum is situated on the site of the old Anson colliery in Poynton, Cheshire, England. It is the result of years of work by Les Cawley and Geoff Challinor who began collecting and showing stationary engines for a hobby. When the number and size of engines they collected...
, all other shafts have been capped and Park Pit has been levelled.
The Macclesfield Canal
Macclesfield Canal
The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England, one of the six that make up the Cheshire Ring.-Route:The canal runs from Marple Junction at Marple, where it joins the Upper Peak Forest Canal, , southwards , before arriving at Bosley.Having descended the 12 Bosley Locks over the course...
was originally proposed in 1765, but construction was not commenced until 1826 due to opposition from outside parties. Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
was the designer and the canal was completed in 1831. The original coal wharf at Higher Poynton is now in use for boatfitting.
Sir George Warren was a promoter of the extension of the turnpike road
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...
from 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...
by way of Hazel Grove
Hazel 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...
to Sandon in Staffordshire
Sandon, Staffordshire
Sandon is a village and parish in Staffordshire, approximately six miles NNE of Stafford. It is situated on the A51 road. According to MySpace it has a population of 261 people....
where it joined what is now the A51 road
A51 road
The A51 is a road in England running from Kingsbury in Warwickshire to Chester. The road follows the following route:*Kingsbury*Tamworth*Lichfield*Rugeley *Little Haywood*Great Haywood*Weston*Sandon...
. The Manchester and Birmingham Railway
Manchester and Birmingham Railway
The Manchester and Birmingham Railway was built between Manchester and Crewe and opened in stages from 1840. Between Crewe and Birmingham, trains were worked by the Grand Junction Railway...
Railway opened line through Poynton in 1845 which today forms part of the London–Manchester main line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
. The station
Poynton railway station
Poynton railway station serves the town of Poynton in Cheshire, England.The station has listed building status because it was built in 1887.It has been adopted by Brookside Garden Centre who maintain the garden....
on this line, offers local services to Manchester and Macclesfield. The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple railway
Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway
The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway was a railway line, 16 km long, linking Macclesfield with Marple in east Cheshire, England, opened in 1869 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and the North Staffordshire Railway , as a part of an alternative link between...
was opened in 1869, with stations at Higher Poynton and Middlewood, and was closed in 1970. The line is now footpath called the Middlewood Way.
During the late 18th century, the Pickford family developed their family business of waggoners on the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-to-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...
route with The Birches Farm at Poynton as its headquarters. The business thrived and they relocated to London in 1823. Pickfords
Pickfords
Pickfords is a moving company based in the United Kingdom, part of the Moving Services Group UK Ltd.The business is believed to have been founded in the 17th century, making it one of the UK's oldest functioning companies. The earliest record is of a William Pickford, a carrier who worked south of...
is today one of the best known removal
Moving company
A moving company, removalist, or van line is a company that helps people and businesses relocate their goods from one place to another. Typically they use moving vans, but for international moves or where storage is required, they may use special containerised vans or shipping containers.National...
firms in the United Kingdom.
From the 1870s private house-building gathered pace and gradually Poynton became a commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
for those working in the Manchester conurbation. Since the Second World War several housing estates have been built by both the local authorities and private developers.
The population has risen from 5000 to over 15,000 since 1945.
Governance
From 1974 until the 2009 structural changes to local government in England2009 structural changes to local government in England
Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a 'two-tier' system of counties and districts...
, Poynton was administered by a three-tiers of local governance: the parish council of Poynton-with-Worth, Macclesfield Borough Council
Macclesfield (borough)
Macclesfield was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It included the towns of Bollington, Knutsford, Macclesfield and Wilmslow and within its wider area the villages and hamlets of Adlington, Disley, Gawsworth, Kerridge, Pott Shrigley, Poynton,...
, and Cheshire County Council
Cheshire County Council
Cheshire County Council was a County Council, of the second highest level of United Kingdom Government for the residents of Cheshire. Founded in 1889, it ceased to exist on 1 April 2009, when it and the district councils in Cheshire were replaced by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and...
. Poynton-with-Worth (a civil parish) was made up of three electoral wards, was created in 1880 by uniting the hitherto two separate civil parishes of Poynton and Worth. Cheshire East Council took over the responsibilities of borough council and the county council on 1 April 2009, and the parish council has been renamed as Poynton Town Council. The Poynton electoral ward is represented on Cheshire East Council by three councillors, all members of the Conservative Party
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...
. Cheshire East Council has 81 councillors in 27 wards, of whom 59 are Conservative, 12 are 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...
, 6 are 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...
and four others. The boundaries are being reviewed, and the 2011 election will be for a 82 member council. Poynton and Adlington will be represented by two, two-member wards called Poynton West and Poynton East and Adlington. For the United Kingdom Parliament it is in the Macclesfield Constituency
Macclesfield (UK Parliament constituency)
Macclesfield is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
which in 2009 was represented by Sir Nicholas Winterton
Nicholas Winterton
Sir Nicholas Raymond Winterton is a retired British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Macclesfield from 1971 until he retired from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election....
, a Conservative. In 2010, David Rutley, a Conservative was elected after Sir Nicholas Winterton
Nicholas Winterton
Sir Nicholas Raymond Winterton is a retired British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Macclesfield from 1971 until he retired from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election....
retired.
Poynton is twinned with Érd
Érd
Érd is city and urban county in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary.-History:The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Archaeological findings indicate that prehistoric men lived here 50,000 years ago....
in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Geography
Poynton is located at SJ925835 53.348°N 2.114°W, between the Norbury brook and the Poynton Brook at the eastern most limit of the Cheshire Plain. The land is between 88 metres (288.7 ft) and 148 metres (485.6 ft) above sea level. The town is approximately 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) SSE of ManchesterManchester
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...
, 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Manchester Airport, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from junction 5 of the M56 motorway
M56 motorway
The M56 Motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, is in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England. It runs from Junction 4 of the M60 to Dunkirk, Cheshire and is in length. It is often busy with long-distance commuter traffic towards North Wales...
and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from junction 3 of the M60 motorway
M60 motorway
The M60 motorway, or Manchester Orbital, is an orbital motorway circling Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton...
. The west of the parish is predominantly residential, with diverse amenities, buffered from Hazel Grove
Hazel 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 Bramhall
Bramhall
Bramhall is a suburb of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of about 25,500.Research by the University of Sheffield has placed Bramhall as the "least lonely" place in Britain. Bramhall is also regarded as an affluent area where most residents...
by the planning restrictions of the North Cheshire Green Belt
Green Belt (UK)
In United Kingdom town planning, the green belt is a policy for controlling urban growth. The idea is for a ring of countryside where urbanisation will be resisted for the foreseeable future, maintaining an area where agriculture, forestry and outdoor leisure can be expected to prevail...
. To the south of the town are two business parks but here and to the east it is rural in nature, bounding on the former deer park
Medieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...
of Lyme Hall
Lyme Park
Lyme Park is a large estate located south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens, in a deer park in the Peak District National Park...
. This is green belt. The A6
A6
-Biology:* British NVC community A6 , a British Isles plants community* Xenopus A6 kidney epithelial cells in cell culture* Subfamily A6, a Rhodopsin-like receptors subfamily- Transportation :*A6 road, in several countries...
trunk road passes to the north of the parish, and the Macclesfield Canal
Macclesfield Canal
The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England, one of the six that make up the Cheshire Ring.-Route:The canal runs from Marple Junction at Marple, where it joins the Upper Peak Forest Canal, , southwards , before arriving at Bosley.Having descended the 12 Bosley Locks over the course...
runs north/south along the 155m contour to the east of the parish.
The town straddles the Red Rock Fault. Its 200 metres (656.2 ft) downthrow to the west brings the Permo-Triassic sandstones and mudstones of the Cheshire Plain up against the Millstone Grit and shales of the Peak District. To the immediate east of the fault are the coal measures
Coal Measures
The Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...
of the Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
period which, unlike those in the Lancashire Coalfield
Lancashire Coalfield
The Lancashire Coalfield in north-west England was one of the most important British coalfields.-Geography and geology:The geology of the coalfield consists of the coal seams of the Upper, Middle and Lower Coal Measures, layers of sandstones, shales and coal of varying thickness, which were laid...
, are missing the top layers. Here we find outcrops of the Middle Coal Measures
Coal Measures Group
The Coal Measures Group is a lithostratigraphical term coined to refer to the coal-bearing succession of rock strata which occur in Great Britain within the Westphalian Stage of the Carboniferous Period. The Coal Measures Group is preceded by the Millstone Grit Group which is of Namurian age...
. Coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from these strata, particularly the Four Foot Mine (or seam), the Five Foot Mine and the Accommodation Mine was extract
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
ed in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The lower ground, including most of Poynton, is covered by glacial till left by the retreating ice sheet at the close of the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
.
Woodford Aerodrome, to the west of the parish is now owned by BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
—a major employer in the area—and has a Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
weather station used for regional weather forecasting
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
. Woodford's weather station recorded a temperature of -17.6 C on 8 January 2010, during the Winter of 2009-2010 in the United Kingdom.
Transport
The Macclesfield CanalMacclesfield Canal
The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England, one of the six that make up the Cheshire Ring.-Route:The canal runs from Marple Junction at Marple, where it joins the Upper Peak Forest Canal, , southwards , before arriving at Bosley.Having descended the 12 Bosley Locks over the course...
, a canal with only one flight of locks, was originally proposed in 1765. However it was not commenced until 1826. Completed in 1831, it joins 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:...
in 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:...
with the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
near Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, near the border with Cheshire. It forms part of The Potteries Urban Area in North Staffordshire, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 24,112...
and forms a part 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 route was chosen so it could pass close to the Poynton Colleries, in order to transport coal to Macclesfield
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
for the steam engines and 5000 houses. It shortened the canal journey from Manchester to London by 25 miles and allowed easy carriage of coal to the cotton mills at 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...
.
Poynton lies to the south of the A6. This was the favoured London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to 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...
route in the late middle ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
as it avoided the wetter land of the Cheshire Plain. This is shown in John Ogilby
John Ogilby
John Ogilby was a Scottish translator, impresario and cartographer. Best known for publishing the first British road atlas, he was also a successful translator, noted for publishing his work in handsome illustrated editions.-Life:Ogilby was born in or near Killemeare in November 1600...
's road atlas of 1675. It was improved by the formation of a turnpike trust
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...
in 1724. In 1760, Sir George Warren, the Leghs of Adlington and James Pickford
James Pickford
James Pickford is an English race car driver, born 30 April 1979 in Macclesfield, Cheshire. As a child his interest was in motorbikes; his father Keith ran bike racing teams. However, as with Damon Hill his mother led him towards the relatively safe world of car racing, beginning in karts in 1994....
promoted a new turnpike road through Poynton with Worth from Hazel Grove
Hazel 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...
to Sandon in Staffordshire
Sandon, Staffordshire
Sandon is a village and parish in Staffordshire, approximately six miles NNE of Stafford. It is situated on the A51 road. According to MySpace it has a population of 261 people....
on the A51 road
A51 road
The A51 is a road in England running from Kingsbury in Warwickshire to Chester. The road follows the following route:*Kingsbury*Tamworth*Lichfield*Rugeley *Little Haywood*Great Haywood*Weston*Sandon...
. This provided a link to Macclesfield. It is now known as the A523
A523 road
The A523 is a road in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, England running from a junction with the A52 north west of Ashbourne to the A6 in Hazel Grove, passing through Leek, Macclesfield and Poynton....
, or locally as the London Road. Later the Chester Road, the A5149 provided a link to 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...
.
The Manchester and Birmingham Railway
Manchester and Birmingham Railway
The Manchester and Birmingham Railway was built between Manchester and Crewe and opened in stages from 1840. Between Crewe and Birmingham, trains were worked by the Grand Junction Railway...
opened a line through Poynton in 1845 which today forms part of the London–Manchester main line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
. The station
Poynton railway station
Poynton railway station serves the town of Poynton in Cheshire, England.The station has listed building status because it was built in 1887.It has been adopted by Brookside Garden Centre who maintain the garden....
on this line, offers local services to Manchester and Macclesfield. The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway
Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway
The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway was a railway line, 16 km long, linking Macclesfield with Marple in east Cheshire, England, opened in 1869 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and the North Staffordshire Railway , as a part of an alternative link between...
was opened in 1869, with stations at Higher Poynton and Middlewood
Middlewood railway station
Middlewood railway station serves the Middlewood and Higher Poynton districts of Poynton, Cheshire.It is on the Stockport to Buxton line, opened in 1879 by the London and North Western Railway on the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway which they had acquired in 1866...
. Since its closure in 1970, the line has been converted into a footpath and bridleway called the Middlewood Way.
Cheshire East Council is responsible for co-ordinating public transport. They run an Integrated Transport Service with Cheshire West and Chester Council
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health...
, but at the Environment and Prosperity Scrutiny Committee of 25/11/2009 - they agreed to investigate separating the services; this would commence in November 2010. Poynton with Worth parish council was one of the Cheshire parishes that were part of Selnec PTE
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive
Transport for Greater Manchester is the public body responsible for co-ordinating public transport services throughout Greater Manchester, in North West England. The organisation traces its origins to the Transport Act 1968, when the SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive was established to...
created by Transport Act 1968
Transport Act 1968
The Transport Act 1968 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The main provisions made changes to the structure of nationally owned bus companies, created passenger transport authorities and executives to take over public transport in large conurbations.-National Bus Company:The Act...
but was not included 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...
when it was formed on 1 April 1974 as a result of 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....
. As a result special ticketing arrangements are in place within the parish.
Poynton railway station
Poynton railway station
Poynton railway station serves the town of Poynton in Cheshire, England.The station has listed building status because it was built in 1887.It has been adopted by Brookside Garden Centre who maintain the garden....
on the West Coast Main Line is served by an hourly off-peak rail service to Stoke-On-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
and Manchester Picadilly
Manchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
Monday-Saturday, with extra trains at peak times (Mon-Fri). Sunday services consist of 3 trains in each direction.
Poynton with Worth is served by 5 bus services:
- 108 StockportStockportStockport 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...
- LeekLeekThe leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum , also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae...
(3 Journeys - Sunday/Bank Holiday) - 390 Stockport - BramhallBramhallBramhall is a suburb of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of about 25,500.Research by the University of Sheffield has placed Bramhall as the "least lonely" place in Britain. Bramhall is also regarded as an affluent area where most residents...
(3 Journeys Monday-Saturday) - 391 Stockport - MiddlewoodMiddlewood railway stationMiddlewood railway station serves the Middlewood and Higher Poynton districts of Poynton, Cheshire.It is on the Stockport to Buxton line, opened in 1879 by the London and North Western Railway on the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway which they had acquired in 1866...
(generally hourly - Monday-Saturday) - 392 Stockport - MacclesfieldMacclesfieldMacclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
via BollingtonBollingtonBollington is a small rural town and civil parish in the county of Cheshire, , England, in the unitary authority of Cheshire East. It is located east of Prestbury. In the Middle Ages it was part of the Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield., and the ancient parish of Prestbury...
(5-6 Journey's Monday-Saturday) - 393 Stockport - Macclesfield via AdlingtonAdlington, CheshireAdlington is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is known as Eduluintune in the Domesday Book. According to the 2001 census the civil parish had a population of 1,081 people across 401 households...
(5-7 Journey's Monday-Saturday)
The local aerodrome Woodford Aerodrome lies partially with in the parish, but for passenger flights Manchester International Airport
Manchester International Airport
Manchester Airport , formerly often called Ringway, is a major airport at Ringway in the City of Manchester within Greater Manchester, UK. In 2010 it was 4th busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers, and the busiest airport in the UK outside the London region...
is used.
Culture and community
Poynton Co-opCooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
was founded in 1862, staying independent until February 1992. There were many Friendly Societies
Friendly society
A friendly society is a mutual association for insurance, pensions or savings and loan-like purposes, or cooperative banking. It is a mutual organization or benefit society composed of a body of people who join together for a common financial or social purpose...
, Burial Clubs, Workmen's Club
Working men's club
Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...
and the Miners' Union. The Methodist Chapel was established in 1847 followed by the Baptists and Primitive Methodists
Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
chapels; together with St George's Church they were the social centres of the village. Lord Vernon opened the first school in 1838 which was extended as the number of children attending it grew, and this building is used today as the Poynton Youth and Community Centre.
The Poynton Show, is held every August bank holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
weekend. It started in 1885, as an agricultural show, and has grown in size, 35,000 people visited the show in 1970. It offers a full range of events in the main arena such as stunt riding and aerobatics, a fairground, exhibitions and competitive events.
The St George's Singers, is large choral society founded in 1956. Its current president is Dame Joan Bakewell. The choir has strong links with the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
and Chetham's School of Music
Chetham's School of Music
Chetham's School of Music , familiarly known as "Chets", is a specialist independent co-educational music school, situated in Manchester city centre, in North West England. It was established in 1969, incorporating Chetham's Hospital School, founded as a charity school by Humphrey Chetham in 1653...
. It has sung in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Krakov, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and Érd
Érd
Érd is city and urban county in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary.-History:The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Archaeological findings indicate that prehistoric men lived here 50,000 years ago....
; more locally the choir's Singing Day attracts over 200 singers to learn and perform choral music.
Poynton is also home to one of the North-West's premiere brass bands. The Vernon Building Society (Poynton) Brass Band
Vernon Building Society (Poynton) Brass Band
The Vernon Building Society Brass Band is a brass band from Poynton in Cheshire. As one of the North-West's premiere brass bands, Vernon Building Society Band is well-known for its original and entertaining concert programmes, as well as being a regular prize-winner at contests throughout the...
as it is now known, first started within the Poynton coal mining community and was supported by the mine owners, the Vernon family. It is not known for certain when the band began, but records from 1832 stating that new uniforms had been purchased by Lady Vernon suggest that it has existed for well over 160 years. Delighting audiences throughout the year with original and entertaining concert programmes, the band is also a regular prize-winner at contests throughout the country.
There are two Anglican churches in Poynton, St. Martin's, High Poynton, and St. George's, which occupies a prominent position in the town centre. St. George's church dates from 1859 and is in the Victorian Gothic style; the steeple was added in 1884. These have active congregations: running services, youth groups and a children's group.
Landmarks
Sir George Warren bought the Worth estate in 1792. Worth Hall, originally the home of the Downes family of Worth, has now been redeveloped as flats and lies within the confines of Davenport Golf Club. Several halls were built on the site in Poynton Park, known locally as Poynton pool, with each one then demolished to make way for a new one. The last hall, Poynton Towers, was finally taken down in the 1930s. The pool is an artificial lake, constructed in the 1760s by Sir George Warren who dammed a tributary of the Poynton Brook, as part of a landscaping project. The dam itself served as the foundation for the turnpike.Poynton Coppice is a designated Local Nature Reserve
Local Nature Reserve
Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...
- St Georges Church
- Park Colliery
- Anson Pit
Education
Education in Poynton is now run by Cheshire East Council; it was formerly run by Cheshire County Council. Due to the proximity to the border some parents choose to have their children educated in Stockport, or opt out and educate them privately.Primary schools
Vernon Infant School and Vernon Junior School were joined to form Vernon Primary School. Schools in Poynton include:
- Vernon Primary School
- Worth Primary School
- Lower Park School
- Lostock Hall School
- St Paul's RC Primary School
Secondary school