Bollington
Encyclopedia
Bollington is a small rural town and civil parish in the county of Cheshire
, (County Palatine
of Chester
), 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. According to the 2001 UK census, Bollington had a population of 7,095.
Bollington is also known locally as the Happy Valley. It is situated on the River Dean
and the Macclesfield Canal
. It has become a favourite destination for those working in nearby Manchester and Liverpool due to its location and picturesque character.
Bollington's most famous landmark is White Nancy
, a monument that some say was built to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo
in the Napoleonic Wars
at the summit of Kerridge
Hill.
Bollington used to be served by the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple railway
, a former railway between Marple
Rose Hill and Macclesfield. The railway was built to serve the cotton mills of Bollington and Kerridge
stone quarries as well as the coal fields in the area, principally at Poynton
. The line was closed in 1970 because British Rail
was losing money on the line. Now it is a popular place for walking and riding horses and is known as the Middlewood Way.
Bollington is twinned with Thurles
in North Tipperary
, Ireland.
Clarence Mill still stands and has since been converted into luxury apartments, offering fantastic views over the valley.
One of the oldest surviving mills in Bollington is the very small Defiance Mill built in Queen Street about 1800, now restored for residential occupation.
There is a large paper coating
mill on the site of Lower Mills. The original mill was built by George Antrobus in 1792 but very little of those buildings remain. A stone built traditional mill still survives amongst the more recent brick developments. In the 1830s and 1840s this mill was rented to Thomas Oliver and Martin Swindells for the production of fine cotton thread for the lace-making industry.
The town is noted for the number of active groups specialising in every form of artistic, sporting and social endeavour The Bollington Arts Centre provides a performance space for many of these groups.
Every five or six years since 1964, the town has played host to The Bollington Festival
which runs for two and a half weeks and involves various community activities, from concerts, theatrical, opera, art exhibitions, to local history events, science events and competitions.
In 2005 Canalside Community Radio was launched to provide community news and entertainment for the duration of the festival. Cousins John and Terry Waite
opened the Festival. In December 2008 Canalside Community Radio began broadcasting to northeast Cheshire having obtained a full-time licence after five years of trying.
Hiking, cycling and riding through the hills and along the canalside around Bollington are popular activities. Boats can be hired for day-trips and holidays at Grimshaw Lane canal wharf.
The town is well known for its large number of traditional public houses, most of which have not been modernised.
MP David Rutley
.
Bollington is represented by two councillors on the Cheshire East Unitary Council, with the two seats both currently occupied by the conservatives
.
have a retained fire station in Bollington. The town has a medical practice on Wellington Road, and a dental surgery on Bollington Road. The town does not have its own police station; policing is provided from local stations in neighbouring Poynton and Wilmslow by the Cheshire Constabulary
. The town has a small yet thriving local retail community, with two bakers
, three meat puryeyors, a delicatessen
, and a small Cooperative
convenience store. The town has several restaurants, wine bars, and coffee shops, along with the traditional public houses mentioned above.
has two schools in the town, St John the Baptist Church of England on Grimshaw Lane, and Bollington Cross Church of England on Bollington Road. St John's School is part of a federation with Pott Shrigley Church of England School.
Although Bollington does not have a secondary school, the nearby Tytherington School
, Fallibroome Academy
, All Hallows Catholic College and Poynton High School
serve the town's older students.
Bollington's youngsters can attend the local Youth Club at Water Street School and the Guiding and Scouting movements are all represented. Bollington United Junior Football Club (JFC) has three clubs for children ranging from under-10s to under-17s.
and Whiteley Green by almost fifty volunteers. The magazine was started in 1994 by a group of residents who felt that whilst Bollington was served by the neighbouring Macclesfield
newspapers, it was in need of a Bollington-centred publication. All copies are available online on the town's extensive Happy Valley web site.
. The group has a healthy membership, and regularly has guest speakers.
's Air Training Corps
, which has recently opened a new headquarters on Shrigley Road. The Squadron had close links with 42(R) (formerly 236 OCU) of the Royal Air Force before the latter was disbanded in the government defence review in 2010.
is for 10–18 year olds. The Bollington and Macclesfield Sea Cadets also have a unit website.
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, (County Palatine
County palatine
A county palatine or palatinate is an area ruled by an hereditary nobleman possessing special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom or empire. The name derives from the Latin adjective palatinus, "relating to the palace", from the noun palatium, "palace"...
of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
), England, in the unitary authority of Cheshire East
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...
. It is located east of Prestbury
Prestbury, Cheshire
Prestbury is a village, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Prestbury is a long, narrow parish covering 1,165 hectares to the west of the Peak Park foothills and to the east of the sandstone ridge which is...
. In 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...
it was part of the Earl of Chester
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
's manor of Macclesfield.
, and the ancient parish of Prestbury. According to the 2001 UK census, Bollington had a population of 7,095.
Bollington is also known locally as the Happy Valley. It is situated on the River Dean
River Dean
The River Dean rises at Longclough in Macclesfield Forest on the western edge of the Peak District foothills above the village of Rainow in north east Cheshire, England.Together with a number of tributary streams it is impounded by the dam at Lamaload...
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...
. It has become a favourite destination for those working in nearby Manchester and Liverpool due to its location and picturesque character.
Bollington's most famous landmark is White Nancy
White Nancy
White Nancy is a structure at the top of the northern extremity of The Saddle of Kerridge, overlooking the village of Kerridge and the town of Bollington, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and is on the National Monuments Record. Its...
, a monument that some say was built to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
at the summit of Kerridge
Kerridge
Kerridge is a village in Cheshire, England, part of the parish of Bollington. Kerridge borders the neighbouring parish of Rainow.It gives its name to Kerridge Ridge – one of the western foothills of the Pennines – by which it stands. It is overlooked by the local landmark of White Nancy...
Hill.
Bollington used to be served by 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...
, a former railway between 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:...
Rose Hill and Macclesfield. The railway was built to serve the cotton mills of Bollington and Kerridge
Kerridge
Kerridge is a village in Cheshire, England, part of the parish of Bollington. Kerridge borders the neighbouring parish of Rainow.It gives its name to Kerridge Ridge – one of the western foothills of the Pennines – by which it stands. It is overlooked by the local landmark of White Nancy...
stone quarries as well as the coal fields in the area, principally at Poynton
Poynton
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, north of Macclesfield, south of Stockport...
. The line was closed in 1970 because British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
was losing money on the line. Now it is a popular place for walking and riding horses and is known as the Middlewood Way.
Bollington is twinned with Thurles
Thurles
Thurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...
in North Tipperary
North Tipperary
North Tipperary is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-West Region and is also located in the province of Munster. It is named after the town of Tipperary and consists of 48% of the land area of the traditional county of Tipperary. The county was established in 1898 and has had a county...
, Ireland.
History
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Bollington was a major centre for cotton spinning. The Waterhouse Mill, sadly now demolished, off Wellington Road, once spun the finest cotton in the world, as was sought after by lace makers in Nottingham and Brussels.Clarence Mill still stands and has since been converted into luxury apartments, offering fantastic views over the valley.
One of the oldest surviving mills in Bollington is the very small Defiance Mill built in Queen Street about 1800, now restored for residential occupation.
There is a large paper coating
Coated paper
Coated paper is paper which has been coated by a compound to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness or reduced ink absorbency. Kaolinite or calcium carbonate are used to coat paper for high quality printing used in packaging industry and in magazines...
mill on the site of Lower Mills. The original mill was built by George Antrobus in 1792 but very little of those buildings remain. A stone built traditional mill still survives amongst the more recent brick developments. In the 1830s and 1840s this mill was rented to Thomas Oliver and Martin Swindells for the production of fine cotton thread for the lace-making industry.
Culture
The town has several churches. The parish Church of St John the Baptist closed several years ago, leaving St Oswald's Church in Bollington Cross as the only Anglican church. St Gregory's church on Wellington Road is the Roman Catholic place of worship in the town, and the Methodists have a church opposite the council offices.The town is noted for the number of active groups specialising in every form of artistic, sporting and social endeavour The Bollington Arts Centre provides a performance space for many of these groups.
Bollington Festival
The Bollington Festival is a festival which takes place every four or five years in the small town of Bollington in the Pennine foothills near Macclesfield, Cheshire in England...
which runs for two and a half weeks and involves various community activities, from concerts, theatrical, opera, art exhibitions, to local history events, science events and competitions.
In 2005 Canalside Community Radio was launched to provide community news and entertainment for the duration of the festival. Cousins John and Terry Waite
Terry Waite
Terry Waite CBE is an English humanitarian and author.Waite was Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages including journalist John...
opened the Festival. In December 2008 Canalside Community Radio began broadcasting to northeast Cheshire having obtained a full-time licence after five years of trying.
Hiking, cycling and riding through the hills and along the canalside around Bollington are popular activities. Boats can be hired for day-trips and holidays at Grimshaw Lane canal wharf.
The town is well known for its large number of traditional public houses, most of which have not been modernised.
Governance
The town falls within the Westminster constituency of Macclesfield, which is currently represented by the ConservativeConservative 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...
MP David Rutley
David Rutley
David Henry Rutley is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Macclesfield, and was first elected at the 2010 general election....
.
Bollington is represented by two councillors on the Cheshire East Unitary Council, with the two seats both currently occupied by the conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
Services and provisions
Cheshire Fire BrigadeCheshire Fire and Rescue Service
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statuory fire and rescue service for the English county of Cheshire, consisting of the unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington. It has 24 fire stations...
have a retained fire station in Bollington. The town has a medical practice on Wellington Road, and a dental surgery on Bollington Road. The town does not have its own police station; policing is provided from local stations in neighbouring Poynton and Wilmslow by the Cheshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an area of with a population of roughly 1 million.The Chief Constable of the...
. The town has a small yet thriving local retail community, with two bakers
Bakers
Baker's is a supermarket chain operating primarily in the metro area of Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by Kroger.-History:Abraham Baker opened his first grocery store in Walnut, Iowa in 1927. His first Omaha-area store opened in Bellevue, Nebraska in 1947, and his first in Omaha itself opened in 1957...
, three meat puryeyors, a delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
, and a small Cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
convenience store. The town has several restaurants, wine bars, and coffee shops, along with the traditional public houses mentioned above.
Education
Bollington is served by four primary schools. The Roman Catholic school of St Gregory is on Albert Road, along with the secular Dean Valley Community Primary School. The Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
has two schools in the town, St John the Baptist Church of England on Grimshaw Lane, and Bollington Cross Church of England on Bollington Road. St John's School is part of a federation with Pott Shrigley Church of England School.
Although Bollington does not have a secondary school, the nearby Tytherington School
Tytherington High School
Tytherington School is a specialist science college in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. As of 2010, the school has approximately 1,200 pupils, with ages ranging from 11–18, including sixth form.- History :...
, Fallibroome Academy
Fallibroome High School
The Fallibroome Academy is a comprehensive school for girls and boys aged 11 – 18 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Fallibrome specialises in Performing arts and has at least 1500 plus students and contains a high quality sixth form of over 345. Fallibroome was opened as a purpose-built...
, All Hallows Catholic College and Poynton High School
Poynton High School
Poynton High School and Performing Arts College is a secondary school in Poynton near Stockport, England. It is a mixed non denominational school though its roll is 96% white British and predominantly Anglican....
serve the town's older students.
Sport
The Recreation Ground, across the road from the library, provides a football pitch, bowling green and cricket pitch, all of which are in regular use by Bollington Cricket Club, Bollington Athletics Club, and the Bollington Bowling Club. Another cricket pitch located between South West Avenue and Clarke Lane, by the Lord Clyde pub, is home to Kerridge Cricket Club. Bollington has a hockey club, which plays on the King's School astro pitches.Bollington's youngsters can attend the local Youth Club at Water Street School and the Guiding and Scouting movements are all represented. Bollington United Junior Football Club (JFC) has three clubs for children ranging from under-10s to under-17s.
Bollington Live!
Bollington Live! is a publication produced three times a year by a team of volunteer writers, editor and distributors. It is funded by local businesses who sponsor and advertise. It covers a wide range of issues of local interest, from historical articles, to matters of current concern. The magazine is delivered free to every household and business in Bollington, plus others in Pott ShrigleyPott Shrigley
Pott Shrigley is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census, the civil parish and village has a population of 220. The nearest town is Bollington to the southwest.The village has a Church...
and Whiteley Green by almost fifty volunteers. The magazine was started in 1994 by a group of residents who felt that whilst Bollington was served by the neighbouring 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...
newspapers, it was in need of a Bollington-centred publication. All copies are available online on the town's extensive Happy Valley web site.
Probus
Retired professional gentlemen in Bollington meet weekly at ProbusProbus Clubs
The Probus Club movement was formed in the United Kingdom in 1965. Often sponsored by Rotary International, Probus Clubs cater for the interests of retired or semi-retired professional or business people. Each club is autonomous...
. The group has a healthy membership, and regularly has guest speakers.
Women's Institute
Bollington has a branch of the Women's Institute, which meets regularly.Royal Air Force Cadets
Bollington is home to a squadron (236) of the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
's Air Training Corps
Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps , commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation and the Royal Air Force . It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, with a regular RAF Officer, currently Air...
, which has recently opened a new headquarters on Shrigley Road. The Squadron had close links with 42(R) (formerly 236 OCU) of the Royal Air Force before the latter was disbanded in the government defence review in 2010.
Sea Cadets
The Sea Cadet CorpsSea Cadet Corps (United Kingdom)
The Sea Cadet Corps is a UK national youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Navy and open to young people between the ages of 10-18 years old. The SCC is the UK's largest Naval Cadet Force with over 30,000 cadets and adult volunteers...
is for 10–18 year olds. The Bollington and Macclesfield Sea Cadets also have a unit website.
Notable people
- John RyleJohn Ryle (manufacturer)John Ryle is universally regarded as the "Father of the United States Silk Industry." A native of Bollington, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, John Ryle started working in the silk mills of his native town at the age of five, where he was known as a "bobbin boy." Ryle's entire family had been...
, Born and died in Bollington. Emigrated to the United States and became known as the Father of the United States Silk Industry.
- Sir James ChadwickJames ChadwickSir James Chadwick CH FRS was an English Nobel laureate in physics awarded for his discovery of the neutron....
, the Nobel prize-winning scientist who proved the existence of neutronNeutronThe neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
s, was born in Bollington, and educated at Bollington Cross School.
- James BaileyJames Bailey (footballer)James Joseph Bailey is an English footballer currently playing for Derby County in The Championship...
, schooled, brought up, and lives in Bollington. A professional footballer for Premiership team Derby CountyDerby County F.C.Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
.
- Libby CleggLibby CleggLibby Clegg, born March 24, 1990 in Bollington, Cheshire, is a professional disability runner from Scotland. She represented Great Britain in the T12 100 m and 200 m at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, winning a silver medal in the T12 100 m race....
, blind athlete, born and lived in Bollington until moving to Scotland at the age of 11. Silver Medal winner at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008.
- David DickinsonDavid DickinsonDavid Dickinson is an English antiques expert, television presenter and entrepreneur.-Biography:...
, of TV's Bargain HuntBargain HuntBargain Hunt is a British television programme in which two pairs of contestants are challenged to buy antiques at a fair and then sell them in an auction for a profit. It has aired on BBC One since 13 March 2000 in a daytime version and from 22 August 2002 to 13 November 2004 in a primetime version...
and Real DealDickinson's Real DealDickinson's Real Deal is an ITV, UK modern antiques and collectables television programme presented by David Dickinson. The new series air on the ITV Network whereas old episodes are repeated on ITV3.-The show:...
fame, lives in the town.
- Terry WaiteTerry WaiteTerry Waite CBE is an English humanitarian and author.Waite was Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages including journalist John...
, best known for having been held hostage for four years in LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, but who has devoted his life to humanitarian causes, was born and lived for a short time in Bollington; his father was the town's policeman.
External links
- Bollington In Photos. This is a website about Bollington dedicated to photographing the people and places in and around Bollington.
- Bollington Circular Walk (Discovercheshire website)