Blackley
Encyclopedia
Blackley is an area of the city of Manchester
, in Greater Manchester
, England. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Manchester city centre
, by a meander of the River Irk
. Further north is Middleton
. It lies, mainly, between, and is served by, two main arterial roads out of Manchester
; Rochdale Road (A664 road), to Middleton
, and Cheetham Hill Road/Bury Old Road (A665 road) to Bury
.
. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon Blæclēah = "dark wood" or "dark clearing". In the 13th and 14th centuries Blackley was referred to as Blakeley or Blakelegh, a spelling that is consistent with the local pronunciation.
By the Middle Ages
, Blackley had become a park belonging to the lords of Manchester. Its value in 1282 was recorded as £6 13s 4d, a sum approximately equivalent in buying power to £3,500 today.
The lords of Manchester leased the land from time to time. In 1473 John Byron
held the leases on Blackley village, Blackley field, and Pillingworth fields at an annual rent of £33 6s 8d. The Byron family continued to hold the land until the beginning of the 17th century when Blackley was sold in parcels to a number of landowners.
By the middle of the 17th century Blackley was a village of just 107 inhabitants. Blackley today is hardly recognisable as the same rural area that it had been at the start of the 19th century. Now only local place names like Meadows School, Plant Hill or French Barn Lane hint at its rural past.
(ICI) ownership, to employ a large number, much in chemical research.
It was in the ICI laboratories that not only dyestuffs but also medical breakthroughs such as the anti-malaria
l drug Paludrine, and Antrycide to combat African sleeping sickness were discovered. In recent years the facility has contracted, and the staff level is now less than 100 in a descendant company, Avecia
, and the land at one point was scheduled for housing developments.
Adjacent to this facility, and formerley an early 19th-century logwood mill, there was another plant, Connolly's (Blackley) Ltd, later BICC
, makers of telecommunication cabling.
, considered to be the safest Labour Party
seat in Manchester.
The current Member of Parliament
(MP) is Graham Stringer
(Labour).
This is an area with a mixture of housing which is mainly council homes: owner-occupied, private renting and housing association
. It is part of the North Manchester Regeneration Area, a project set up by Manchester City Council
and private company Bellway's to improve existing housing, build new homes and improve the environment. There are about 240 council homes, all managed by Northwards Housing. About 150 are flats in small blocks. The rest are houses (mostly two or three-bedroom, with a handful of larger properties).
Boggart Hole Clough
Boggart Hole Clough
is a country park where many walks can be undertaken, guided or otherwise. Thanks to recent funding the park now has many leisure facilities; a bowling green
, tennis and basketball courts, a boating lake and a children's play area. It has its own permanent orienteering
course and an athletics track. Visitors can enjoy family fun days in the summer and an annual firework display.
Blackley Forest
A Site of Biological Importance
and an example of one of the country's first Community Woodlands. Planted to commemorate the Queen’s coronation and also the local people who gave their lives in the Second World War. The area has had woodland on it since the Norman Conquest in 1066, when wild boar and deer roamed and eagles flew above.
The forest is a diverse mix of woodland
, grassland and wetlands, dissected by a well established network of paths and steps. The River Irk
can be seen in its most natural state, fringed by birch
trees with some colonies of autumn crocus
.
Heaton Park
Heaton Park
, at around , is the biggest park in Greater Manchester, and one of the largest municipal parks in Western Europe
, providing some 25% of Manchester's total green space. It is the grounds of Heaton Hall, a Grade I listed, neoclassical 18th century country mansion. The hall was remodelled to a design by James Wyatt
in 1772, and is now open to the public as a museum and events venue. Although the park is officially part of the City of Manchester, only two of a number of entrances are accessed from Blackley, on Middleton Road.
Like many areas in Manchester, Blackley is very well served by buses primarily along the main arterial routes of Rochdale Road (A664), and Cheetham Hill Road/Bury Old Road (A665) directly to and from Manchester
city centre. Initially these would have been provided by the precursors to, and Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company
, and currently by First Manchester
There are frequent Metrolink
trams from Bowker Vale
to and from Manchester city centre and as far south as Altrincham
and as far north as Bury
.
Manchester's M60 orbital motorway is the northern boundary of Blackley.
'
, and Our Lady's RC Sports College. Each school has in excess of 800 pupils, and both rank average in the Manchester district in terms of results achieved and attendance.
Blackley Golf Club has occupied its present site close to the M60
since 1937, following the acquisition of the original course by Manchester City Council
. The club celebrated its centenary in 2007 and its new clubhouse will open in June 2009.
AFC Blackley
The only Saturday team to play in Blackley, they played in the Manchester Premier League. The club lost its ground in Blackley village when it was earmarked for development. The club then moved to Plant Hill Park. It has now disbanded.
Blackley Cricket Club
Blackley Cricket Club currently play in the North Manchester Cricket League. The club is located on Crab Lane.
, captain of Manchester United
and one of their eight players who died in the Munich air disaster
of February 1958, was cremated at the local crematorium after a funeral service at Flixton
parish church.http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Byrne&GSfn=Roger&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=14760450&
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...
, in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
, by a meander of the River Irk
River Irk
The River Irk is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England that flows through the northern suburbs of Manchester before merging with the River Irwell in Manchester city centre....
. Further north is Middleton
Middleton, Greater Manchester
Middleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, south-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester...
. It lies, mainly, between, and is served by, two main arterial roads out 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...
; Rochdale Road (A664 road), to Middleton
Middleton, Greater Manchester
Middleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, south-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester...
, and Cheetham Hill Road/Bury Old Road (A665 road) to Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
.
History
The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the Domesday BookDomesday 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...
. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon Blæclēah = "dark wood" or "dark clearing". In the 13th and 14th centuries Blackley was referred to as Blakeley or Blakelegh, a spelling that is consistent with the local pronunciation.
By the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Blackley had become a park belonging to the lords of Manchester. Its value in 1282 was recorded as £6 13s 4d, a sum approximately equivalent in buying power to £3,500 today.
The lords of Manchester leased the land from time to time. In 1473 John Byron
John Byron
Vice Admiral The Hon. John Byron, RN was a Royal Navy officer. He was known as Foul-weather Jack because of his frequent bad luck with weather.-Early career:...
held the leases on Blackley village, Blackley field, and Pillingworth fields at an annual rent of £33 6s 8d. The Byron family continued to hold the land until the beginning of the 17th century when Blackley was sold in parcels to a number of landowners.
By the middle of the 17th century Blackley was a village of just 107 inhabitants. Blackley today is hardly recognisable as the same rural area that it had been at the start of the 19th century. Now only local place names like Meadows School, Plant Hill or French Barn Lane hint at its rural past.
Industry
Some time during the 19th century, Ivan Levinstein set up a chemical works in the hollow around Crumpsal Vale (Old Market Street/Delauneys Rd). The facility expanded, under Imperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
(ICI) ownership, to employ a large number, much in chemical research.
It was in the ICI laboratories that not only dyestuffs but also medical breakthroughs such as the anti-malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
l drug Paludrine, and Antrycide to combat African sleeping sickness were discovered. In recent years the facility has contracted, and the staff level is now less than 100 in a descendant company, Avecia
Avecia
Avecia is a privately owned group of biotechnology companies with recognised leading positions in process development and manufacture of biological and oligonucleotide pharmaceuticals, with their international headquarters in Blackley, Manchester, United Kingdom.The group's Biologics business,...
, and the land at one point was scheduled for housing developments.
Adjacent to this facility, and formerley an early 19th-century logwood mill, there was another plant, Connolly's (Blackley) Ltd, later BICC
British Insulated Callender's Cables
British Insulated Callender's Cables was a 20th century British cable manufacturer and construction company, now renamed after former subsidiary Balfour Beatty.-History:...
, makers of telecommunication cabling.
Governance
Blackley is a part of the UK parliamentary constituency of Blackley and BroughtonBlackley and Broughton (UK Parliament constituency)
Blackley and Broughton is a parliamentary 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:...
, considered to be the safest Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
seat in Manchester.
The current Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) is Graham Stringer
Graham Stringer
Graham Eric Stringer is a British Labour Party politician who is the current Member of Parliament for Blackley and Broughton having previously represented Manchester Blackley from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...
(Labour).
Economy
During the 1930s substantial residential development took place in Blackley to provide overspill housing for Manchester's growing population.This is an area with a mixture of housing which is mainly council homes: owner-occupied, private renting and housing association
Housing association
Housing associations in the United Kingdom are independent not-for-profit bodies that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in housing need. Any trading surplus is used to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones...
. It is part of the North Manchester Regeneration Area, a project set up by Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
and private company Bellway's to improve existing housing, build new homes and improve the environment. There are about 240 council homes, all managed by Northwards Housing. About 150 are flats in small blocks. The rest are houses (mostly two or three-bedroom, with a handful of larger properties).
Landmarks
Blackley is well served in terms of green space and parks, with significant open spaces at Tweedale Common, Irk Valley, Nutbank Common. Additionally;Boggart Hole Clough
Boggart Hole Clough
Boggart Hole Clough
Boggart Hole Clough is a large urban park in Blackley, a district of Manchester, England. It occupies an area of approximately , part of an ancient woodland, with picturesque cloughs varying from steep ravines to sloping gullies. Clough is a local dialect word for a steep sided, wooded valley...
is a country park where many walks can be undertaken, guided or otherwise. Thanks to recent funding the park now has many leisure facilities; a bowling green
Bowling green
A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...
, tennis and basketball courts, a boating lake and a children's play area. It has its own permanent orienteering
Orienteering
Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...
course and an athletics track. Visitors can enjoy family fun days in the summer and an annual firework display.
Blackley Forest
A Site of Biological Importance
Site of Biological Importance
A Site of Biological Importance is one of the non-statutory designations used locally by the Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire County Councils in England to protect locally valued sites of biological diversity which are described generally as Local Wildlife Sites by the UK Government...
and an example of one of the country's first Community Woodlands. Planted to commemorate the Queen’s coronation and also the local people who gave their lives in the Second World War. The area has had woodland on it since the Norman Conquest in 1066, when wild boar and deer roamed and eagles flew above.
The forest is a diverse mix of woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
, grassland and wetlands, dissected by a well established network of paths and steps. The River Irk
River Irk
The River Irk is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England that flows through the northern suburbs of Manchester before merging with the River Irwell in Manchester city centre....
can be seen in its most natural state, fringed by birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
trees with some colonies of autumn crocus
Crocus
Crocus is a genus in the iris family comprising about 80 species of perennials growing from corms. Many are cultivated for their flowers appearing in autumn, winter, or spring...
.
Heaton Park
Heaton Park
Heaton Park
Heaton Park, covering an area variously reported as , 247 hectares, , over and is the biggest park in Greater Manchester, England and one of the biggest municipal parks in Europe. The park comprises the grounds of a Grade I listed, neoclassical 18th century country house, Heaton Hall...
, at around , is the biggest park in Greater Manchester, and one of the largest municipal parks in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, providing some 25% of Manchester's total green space. It is the grounds of Heaton Hall, a Grade I listed, neoclassical 18th century country mansion. The hall was remodelled to a design by James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
in 1772, and is now open to the public as a museum and events venue. Although the park is officially part of the City of Manchester, only two of a number of entrances are accessed from Blackley, on Middleton Road.
Transport
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...
city centre. Initially these would have been provided by the precursors to, and Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company
Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company
The Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company was incorporated in 1880, the result of a merger of the Manchester Suburban Tramways Company and the Manchester Carriage Company, to provide horse-drawn tram services throughout Manchester and Salford, England, and surrounding districts...
, and currently by First Manchester
First Manchester
First Manchester is one of the bus companies serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
There are frequent Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink
Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
trams from Bowker Vale
Bowker Vale Metrolink station
Bowker Vale Metrolink station is a Manchester Metrolink station on the former Manchester Victoria to Bury railway line.It was opened in 1938 by the London Midland and Scottish Railway, to serve a growing inter-war residential area...
to and from Manchester city centre and as far south as Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
and as far north as Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
.
Manchester's M60 orbital motorway is the northern boundary of Blackley.
Primary schools
Blackley has a number of primary schools which include:'
- St.Clare's Primary School
- Crab Lane Primary School
- Camberwell Park School
- Victoria Avenue Community Primary School
- Bowker Vale Primary School
- Mount Carmel RC Primary School
- Crosslee Community Primary School
- St John Bosco's RC Primary School
- Pike Fold Primary School
- Holy Trinity Primary School
Secondary schools
Blackley has two state secondary schools; Plant Hill Arts CollegePlant Hill Arts College
Plant Hill Arts College was an 11-16 community school, serving boys and girls predominately from the Blackley area of North Manchester. The school had approximately 820 pupils on roll before its was replaced by the Co-operative Academy of Manchester...
, and Our Lady's RC Sports College. Each school has in excess of 800 pupils, and both rank average in the Manchester district in terms of results achieved and attendance.
Sports
Blackley Golf ClubBlackley Golf Club has occupied its present site close to the M60
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...
since 1937, following the acquisition of the original course by Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
. The club celebrated its centenary in 2007 and its new clubhouse will open in June 2009.
AFC Blackley
The only Saturday team to play in Blackley, they played in the Manchester Premier League. The club lost its ground in Blackley village when it was earmarked for development. The club then moved to Plant Hill Park. It has now disbanded.
Blackley Cricket Club
Blackley Cricket Club currently play in the North Manchester Cricket League. The club is located on Crab Lane.
Notable people
(Either born in Blackley; or born in Manchester, and resident in Blackley)- Hasney AljofreeHasney AljofreeHasney Aljofree is a former English footballer who played as a defender.He began his career with Manchester United, during which time he earned one cap for the England U18 side. He joined Bolton Wanderers in 1996 and made his first team debut the following year...
, Swindon Town footballer - John BradfordJohn BradfordJohn Bradford was a prebendary of St. Paul's. He was an English Reformer and martyr best remembered for his utterance "'There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford". These words were uttered by Bradford while imprisoned in the Tower of London when he saw a criminal on his way to execution;...
, Protestant martyr - NorthsideNorthside (band)Northside are a British band from Blackley and Moston, Manchester, England. Formed in 1989, they released their only album Chicken Rhythms on Factory Records in 1991...
singer Dermo - Stephen BywaterStephen BywaterStephen Michael Bywater, is an English professional football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He has made appearances for seven clubs, most notably his current club Derby County, where he won the 2007 Championship Playoff final and West Ham United, where he spent eight seasons and made over 60...
: Professional footballer - Howard DaviesHoward Davies (LSE)Sir Howard Davies is a British economist. Davies served as Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science from 2003 to May 2011, having decided to resign from the position on 3 March 2011 following concern over the institution's decision to accept funding from a foundation...
, Director of the London School of Economics - David HeyesDavid HeyesDavid Alan Heyes is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Ashton under Lyne since 2001.-Early life:...
: British politician - Bernard HillBernard HillBernard Hill is a British actor of film, stage and television. In a career spanning thirty years, he is best known for playing Yosser Hughes, the troubled 'hard man' whose life is falling apart in Alan Bleasdale's groundbreaking 1980s TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff...
: Actor of film, stage and television - Jon MackenJon MackenJonathan Paul "Jon" Macken is an English-born Irish footballer who plays as a striker and currently plays for League One Walsall...
: Former Manchester United and Manchester City footballer - Bernard ManningBernard ManningBernard John Manning was an English comedian and nightclub owner. He was born and raised in Manchester in northwest England....
: Manchester comedian - Wilf McGuinnessWilf McGuinnessWilfred "Wilf" McGuinness is a former English football player and manager, who played twice for England. He is best known for taking over from Matt Busby as manager of Manchester United...
, Former Manchester United player and manager - Malcolm RobertsMalcolm RobertsMalcolm Roberts was an English traditional pop music singer, who enjoyed three hit singles from 1967 to 1969 in the UK Singles Chart.-Career:...
: Eurovision contestant - George Chandler Perkins: Artist
Roger Byrne
Roger ByrneRoger Byrne
Roger William Byrne was an English footballer and captain of Manchester United F.C.. He died at the age of 28 in the Munich air disaster....
, captain of Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and one of their eight players who died in the Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes",...
of February 1958, was cremated at the local crematorium after a funeral service at Flixton
Flixton, Greater Manchester
Flixton is a village and electoral ward within the Urmston area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. It lies about six miles to the southwest of Manchester city centre, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire.Flixton's present-day population is...
parish church.http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Byrne&GSfn=Roger&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=14760450&