Buckley, Greater Manchester
Encyclopedia
Buckley is a suburb
an area within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale
, in Greater Manchester
, England. It lies at the northern fringe of Rochdale
, along the course of Buckley Brook, "upon an eminence of ground" by the South Pennines
. It is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) south-southwest of the village of Wardle and 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north-northeast of Rochdale's town centre. Buckley spans a watercourse, a prison, farmland and residential properties.
Buckley emerged as a constituent community of the manor of Hundersfield
following the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain
. Although the name Buckley is of Old English derivation, the settlement's medieval history is tied closely to a Norman
family who were granted the estate as a gift for their services given in the Norman conquest of England
; they subsequently adopted the surname 'de Buckley
'. Members of the Buckleys of Buckley family appear throughout the High Middle Ages in legal charters related to Buckley, the surrounding area, and its manor house Buckley Hall
.
Throughout the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, Buckley was the principal estate of the township of Wardleworth
. The Buckleys of Buckley Hall continued to hold positions of regional importance, such as priests, gentry and military officers, but their size and influence diminished through death and migration prompting the obsolescence of the Buckley estate. Industrialisation resulted in the neighbouring town of Rochdale to encroach on Buckley; the area was absorbed into the Municipal Borough of Rochdale
in the 1870s.
Although continuously occupied and revamped during the 18th and 19th centuries, Buckley Hall became unoccupied in the 1880s. The Brothers of Charity
, an institute of the Catholic Church, successfully agitated for the purchase of Buckley Hall and its conversion into an orphanage
for Catholic boys. The orphanage was operational from 1888 until 1947. The original building was demolished in the early-1990s and HM Prison Buckley Hall
was opened in its place.
in the Early Middle Ages
. The name Buckley is derived from the Old English term æblæc hlæw, which translates as "bleak hill". This Old English term became corrupted to "Blakelow", and then into the variants of "Bucklegh", "Bulkey", "Bukklegh", and "Bucley" before settling on "Buckley".
The medieval hamlet
of Buckley lay within the Anglo-Saxon
manor of Hundersfield
, in the parish of Rochdale
. It remained in obscurity until the 11th century, when it is believed that Normans
loyal to William the Conqueror were gifted the estate as a reward for their services given during the Norman conquest of England
. It is from this exchange that the "ancient" and "local" family of Buckley—the progentitors of the Buckley surname
in North West England
—was founded. "Geoffrey de Buckley" is the oldest known member of the Buckley family, who appeared during the 12th century in charters relating to Stanlow Abbey
, Whalley Abbey
and land exchange in and around the hamlet of Buckley. Although Buckley is a term of Old English derivation, the given name Geoffrey
is of Old French
origin, and the use of the nobiliary particle
'de' indicates the Norman origins of the Buckley family. Geoffrey de Buckley served as the Dean of Whalley, and his nephew, also called Geoffrey de Buckley, was killed at the Battle of Evesham
in 1265 and is commemorated in windows at Worcester Cathedral
and Lichfield Cathedral
.
At the centre of the Buckley estate was a watermill
used for grinding grain, which existed at least as early as 1335, and Buckley Hall
, which first appears in written records in a description dated 1626. Buckley Hall was noted as a "faire mansion house", and was owned by a family or families surnamed Buckley, after the locality. The Buckleys of Buckley used Buckley Hall as a chapel
and residence and continued to have influence over local and regional affairs as preist
s, yeomen, esquire
s and other gentry
into the Early Modern Period
; Geoffrey Buckley of Buckley was the Rector of St Alban's Church in London
during the 1470s, and John Buckley of Buckley, son of Abel, was a Lieutenant Colonel with the Roundhead
s at the Siege of Lathom House
during the English Civil War
. When the manor of Hundersfield was abolished and its territory subdivided amongst new townships
, Buckley Hall and its surrounding area fell within the bounds of Wardleworth
. Buckley appears to have been the "principal estate" of Wardleworth and encompassed land in the outlying areas of Foxholes and Fieldhouse. The main line of the Buckley family continued to own Buckley Hall and its estates, while other members founded new families in Saddleworth
, and Shaw and Crompton
. The lineal descendants of the Buckleys of Buckley gradually diminished in number and influence through death and migration; the last member of the main branch of the Buckleys of Buckley was a Captain William Buckley. In 1722, Captain Buckley had a lethal dispute with Major Samuel Crooke, the High Sheriff of Lancashire
, regarding a right of way in Higher Walton, Lancashire
. Buckley and Cooke entered a duel at Rochdale in which Cooke was killed. Buckley was tried at the assizes
in Lancaster
and found guilty of manslaughter, but received "only a light sentence". He died in 1730.
The demise of the Buckleys of Buckley, combined with the urbanisation of the expanding market town
of Rochdale
, brought about the gradual obsolescence of the Buckley estate. Buckley Hall passed from Captain William Buckley to his nephew Thomas Foster (who assumed the surname of Buckley), and his son, Edward Buckley, who in 1786 sold the hall and estate to Robert Entwisle. Although by 1626 a "considerable part of the town of Rochdale was built on the southern side of Wardleworth", the industrialisation
of Rochdale advanced its encroachment upon the bounds of Buckley. In 1825 part of Wardleworth was included in the area of the commissioners for the improvement of the town of Rochdale, and an act of parliament in 1839 allowed Rochdale's Water Works Company to construct a reservoir in Buckley to supply water to Rochdale. Buckley Wood Reservoir was completed in December 1841 and held 24271312 gallons (110,339,568.8 l) of water. By 1851 Rochdale had expanded well into the bounds of Wardleworth, and in 1872 the remaining area of Wardleworth was subsumed into the Municipal Borough of Rochdale
, effectively abolishing Wardleworth and bringing Buckley entirely into the bounds of Rochdale.
Although the Buckley family was said to be one of the founders of the cotton trade in the area, industrial scale textile processing was introduced to Buckley with the construction of Buckley Mills. Buckley became "a Victorian ensemble of a mill, workers' housing" and Buckley Hall as "the mill owners house", which in 1860 fell to the Schofields, a family of merchants and traders. Buckley Mills were visited by Henry Pelham-Clinton, 6th Duke of Newcastle in September 1873. Buckley Hall was demolished in the 1860s by the Schofields and rebuilt "to the highest standards of comfort and opulence for the time ... four storeys high of red brick with yellow brick arches in an Italianate style with an Elizabethan bow". However, in 1882 Buckley Hall became unoccupied as a result of William Schofield's death, and stayed unoccupied until brought to the attention of Herbert Vaughan and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford in 1887. Buckley Hall was found to be suitable for conversion into an orphanage and Poor Law School operated by the Brothers of Charity
, a Catholic institute from Ghent
in Belgium. Buckley Hall Orphanage officially opened on 19 March 1888 with 28 Catholic boys in residence. Construction of Eclipse Mill at Buckley began in 1899.
, and the Greater Manchester Urban Area
, "upon an eminence of ground" at the foothills of the South Pennines
. It is located at 53°37′52"N 2°8′31"W (53.6312°, -2.1421°), which is 11.1 miles (17.9 km) north-northeast of Manchester city centre
and 170 miles (274 km) north-northwest of central London
. The A58 road
runs southeast-to-northwest along the southern edge of Buckley. The Buckley Brook runs southerly along Buckley's eastern fringe until it discharges into Hey Brook
, a tributary of the River Roch
. Buckley Brook is so named because it passes through Buckley.
There is a mixture of suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Buckley—which has no formal boundary—and is fringed by Great Howarth (to the northeast), Low Hill and Smallbridge
(to the east), Howarth Cross (to the southeast), Fieldhouse and Wardleworth (to the south), Cronkeyshaw and Foxholes (to the southwest), Nook Farm
(to the west), Healey
(to the north east), and Birchin Head and rural land (to the north). Foxholes and Fieldhouse have been documented as being a part of Buckley.
in the Rochdale ecclesiastical parish
and hundred of Salford
. Following the Norman conquest of England
, Buckley fell into Norman
ownership, and was governed as a private estate consisting of "messuage
and lands" held by the 'de Buckley' family. In 1576, Buckley was described as a "manor
", still held by the Buckleys of Buckley, albeit under the overlordship of Sir John Byron, Jr.
. When Hundersfield was subdivided into townships
, Buckley became part of Wardleworth township
in the county
of Lancashire
; east of watercourse of Buckley Brook was Wardleworth's boundary with Wuerdle and Wardle.
In 1825, well after the demise of the Buckleys of Buckley, part of Wardleworth was included in the area of the police commissioner
s who were tasked with the improvement of the encroaching market town
of Rochdale
. In 1872 the remaining area of Wardleworth became part of the Municipal Borough of Rochdale
; Buckley became Rochdale's northeastern boundary with the Wardle Urban District in 1894. Local governance continued on this basis until after the Local Government Act 1972
, when in 1974, the then County Borough of Rochdale was abolished and replaced by the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale
, a local government district of Greater Manchester
.
Buckley falls within the Rochdale county constituency
, which is represented by Simon Danczuk
MP, a member of the Labour Party
.
and has been the only significant landmark in Buckley. It first makes an appearance in record in a written description dated 1626, but was at that time noted as being an ancient hall. It held a collection of vertu
until it was dispersed in 1884. The Brothers of Charity
, an institute of the Catholic Church, successfully agitated for the purchase of Buckley Hall and its conversion into an orphanage
for Catholic boys. The orphanage was operational from 1888, until 1947.
As a means to replace "crumbling Victorian prisons", and to cope with an increasingly large prison population of England and Wales
, the government of the United Kingdom
turned to the private sector
and gave contracts to companies for the operation of private prisons. HM Prison Buckley Hall
was the fourth privately managed prison in the United Kingdom, and the first privatised Category C establishment holding medium security prisoners. Between 1966 and 1989 it operated as a senior detention centre. It reopened in 1994 before a demolition of the Buckley Hall mansion and rebuilding programme took place. The present prison buildings opened in 1995. In 2002, HMP Buckley Hall reopened as a prison for female offenders; the first prisoners arrived in April that year. As a result of increases in the size of Britain's male prison population, HMP Buckley Hall was reverted back to a male Category C prison in September 2005 with prisoners arriving in December 2005. In 2009, HMP Buckley Hall had a maximum prisoner capacity of 381.
force, and falls within the Healey community area of Rochdale North. Rochdale Police Station is the closest police station. Statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
,
from fire stations at Rochdale and Littleborough.
Hospital services are provided by The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust who provide an accident and emergency
(CLOSING in April 2011) service at Rochdale Infirmary and Mental Health Services are provided by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust at Birch Hill Hospital.
Community health services, including GPs, district and community nurses, dentists and pharmacists, are co-ordinated by NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale. Waste management is co-ordinated by the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority
, which is a statutory waste disposal authority.
Buckley's Distribution Network Operator for electricity is Electricity North West Ltd.
United Utilities manages Buckley's drinking and waste water.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an area within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale
Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale
The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
, 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 lies at the northern fringe of Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, along the course of Buckley Brook, "upon an eminence of ground" by the South Pennines
South Pennines
South Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. It is bounded to the west by the Forest of Rossendale and the Yorkshire Dales to the north...
. It is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) south-southwest of the village of Wardle and 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north-northeast of Rochdale's town centre. Buckley spans a watercourse, a prison, farmland and residential properties.
Buckley emerged as a constituent community of the manor of Hundersfield
Hundersfield
Hundersfield was a manor, parish and, from 1746, township, within the parish of Rochdale, in the hundred of Salford, England. It straddled the historic county boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire...
following the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain
Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain
The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain was the invasion and migration of Germanic peoples from continental Europe to Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, specifically the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain after the demise of Roman rule in the 5th century.The stimulus, progression and...
. Although the name Buckley is of Old English derivation, the settlement's medieval history is tied closely to a Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
family who were granted the estate as a gift for their services given in the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
; they subsequently adopted the surname 'de Buckley
Buckley (surname)
Buckley is a surname originating from either England or Ireland. It is particularly common throughout parts of England and Ireland, as well as Canada and the United States....
'. Members of the Buckleys of Buckley family appear throughout the High Middle Ages in legal charters related to Buckley, the surrounding area, and its manor house Buckley Hall
Buckley Hall
Buckley Hall was a historic house in the hamlet of Buckley, in the Wardleworth township of the Parish of Rochdale, Lancashire - what is now a district of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England....
.
Throughout the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, Buckley was the principal estate of the township of Wardleworth
Wardleworth
Wardleworth was a township at the geographic centre of the Parish of Rochdale, in Salford hundred, Lancashire, England. The principal estate of this township was Buckley...
. The Buckleys of Buckley Hall continued to hold positions of regional importance, such as priests, gentry and military officers, but their size and influence diminished through death and migration prompting the obsolescence of the Buckley estate. Industrialisation resulted in the neighbouring town of Rochdale to encroach on Buckley; the area was absorbed into the Municipal Borough of Rochdale
County Borough of Rochdale
Rochdale was, from 1856 to 1974, a local government district coterminate with the town of Rochdale in the northwest of England.-Municipal borough:...
in the 1870s.
Although continuously occupied and revamped during the 18th and 19th centuries, Buckley Hall became unoccupied in the 1880s. The Brothers of Charity
Brothers of Charity
The Brothers of Charity are a Catholic institute of religious brothers and associate members at the service of the people most in need in the field of education and health care. The institute was founded in 1807 by Canon Peter Joseph Triest in Ghent, Belgium, who also founded three other religious...
, an institute of the Catholic Church, successfully agitated for the purchase of Buckley Hall and its conversion into an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
for Catholic boys. The orphanage was operational from 1888 until 1947. The original building was demolished in the early-1990s and HM Prison Buckley Hall
Buckley Hall (HM Prison)
HM Prison Buckley Hall is a Category C men's prison, located in the Buckley district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
was opened in its place.
History
Buckley emerged as a settlement following the Anglo-Saxon settlement of BritainAnglo-Saxon settlement of Britain
The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain was the invasion and migration of Germanic peoples from continental Europe to Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, specifically the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain after the demise of Roman rule in the 5th century.The stimulus, progression and...
in the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
. The name Buckley is derived from the Old English term æblæc hlæw, which translates as "bleak hill". This Old English term became corrupted to "Blakelow", and then into the variants of "Bucklegh", "Bulkey", "Bukklegh", and "Bucley" before settling on "Buckley".
The medieval hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Buckley lay within the Anglo-Saxon
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...
manor of Hundersfield
Hundersfield
Hundersfield was a manor, parish and, from 1746, township, within the parish of Rochdale, in the hundred of Salford, England. It straddled the historic county boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire...
, in the parish of Rochdale
Rochdale (ancient parish)
Rochdale was an ecclesiastical parish of early-medieval origin in northern England, administered from the Church of St Chad, Rochdale. At its zenith, it occupied of land amongst the South Pennines, and straddled the historic county boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire...
. It remained in obscurity until the 11th century, when it is believed that Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
loyal to William the Conqueror were gifted the estate as a reward for their services given during the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
. It is from this exchange that the "ancient" and "local" family of Buckley—the progentitors of the Buckley surname
Buckley (surname)
Buckley is a surname originating from either England or Ireland. It is particularly common throughout parts of England and Ireland, as well as Canada and the United States....
in North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
—was founded. "Geoffrey de Buckley" is the oldest known member of the Buckley family, who appeared during the 12th century in charters relating to Stanlow Abbey
Stanlow Abbey
Stanlow Abbey was a Cistercian abbey situated on Stanlow Point on the banks of the River Mersey in the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England ....
, Whalley Abbey
Whalley Abbey
Whalley Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Whalley, Lancashire, England. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey was largely demolished and a country house was built on the site. In the 20th century the house was modified and it is now the Retreat and Conference House of the...
and land exchange in and around the hamlet of Buckley. Although Buckley is a term of Old English derivation, the given name Geoffrey
Geoffrey (given name)
"Geoffrey", often spelled Jeffrey and abbreviated as "Geoff" or "Jeff" or "Geof", is a male given name in the English-speaking world. Geoffrey originated from an Old French form of a Germanic name. Although the name's second element is "frid", meaning "peace", the first element of the name is...
is of Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
origin, and the use of the nobiliary particle
Nobiliary particle
A nobiliary particle is used in a family name or surname in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. This article is dedicated to explain how noble families of different countries identify themselves by...
'de' indicates the Norman origins of the Buckley family. Geoffrey de Buckley served as the Dean of Whalley, and his nephew, also called Geoffrey de Buckley, was killed at the Battle of Evesham
Battle of Evesham
The Battle of Evesham was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by Prince Edward – later King Edward I – who led the forces of his father, King Henry III...
in 1265 and is commemorated in windows at Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester...
and Lichfield Cathedral
Lichfield Cathedral
Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands...
.
At the centre of the Buckley estate was a watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
used for grinding grain, which existed at least as early as 1335, and Buckley Hall
Buckley Hall
Buckley Hall was a historic house in the hamlet of Buckley, in the Wardleworth township of the Parish of Rochdale, Lancashire - what is now a district of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England....
, which first appears in written records in a description dated 1626. Buckley Hall was noted as a "faire mansion house", and was owned by a family or families surnamed Buckley, after the locality. The Buckleys of Buckley used Buckley Hall as a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
and residence and continued to have influence over local and regional affairs as preist
Preist
Preist is a municipalfity in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
s, yeomen, esquire
Esquire
Esquire is a term of West European origin . Depending on the country, the term has different meanings...
s and other gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
into the Early Modern Period
Early Modern Britain
Early modern Britain is the history of the island of Great Britain, roughly corresponding to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Major historical events in Early Modern British history include the English Renaissance, the English Reformation and Scottish Reformation, the English Civil War, the...
; Geoffrey Buckley of Buckley was the Rector of St Alban's Church in London
St Alban, Wood Street
St Alban's was a church in Wood Street, City of London. It was dedicated to Saint Alban. Only its tower now remains.-History:Some argue that it dated back to King Offa of Mercia, who is believed to have had a palace on the site which included a chapel...
during the 1470s, and John Buckley of Buckley, son of Abel, was a Lieutenant Colonel with the Roundhead
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
s at the Siege of Lathom House
Siege of Lathom House
The Siege of Lathom House was a military confrontation between a Parliamentarian army and a Royalist stronghold in Lathom near Ormskirk in Lancashire. It lasted from late February to late May 1644, when the siege was lifted.-Background:...
during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. When the manor of Hundersfield was abolished and its territory subdivided amongst new townships
Township (England)
In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...
, Buckley Hall and its surrounding area fell within the bounds of Wardleworth
Wardleworth
Wardleworth was a township at the geographic centre of the Parish of Rochdale, in Salford hundred, Lancashire, England. The principal estate of this township was Buckley...
. Buckley appears to have been the "principal estate" of Wardleworth and encompassed land in the outlying areas of Foxholes and Fieldhouse. The main line of the Buckley family continued to own Buckley Hall and its estates, while other members founded new families in Saddleworth
Saddleworth
Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
, and Shaw and Crompton
Shaw and Crompton
Shaw and Crompton is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, north of Oldham, southeast of Rochdale, and to the northeast of the city of Manchester...
. The lineal descendants of the Buckleys of Buckley gradually diminished in number and influence through death and migration; the last member of the main branch of the Buckleys of Buckley was a Captain William Buckley. In 1722, Captain Buckley had a lethal dispute with Major Samuel Crooke, the High Sheriff of Lancashire
High Sheriff of Lancashire
The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales...
, regarding a right of way in Higher Walton, Lancashire
Higher Walton, Lancashire
Higher Walton is a village in South Ribble, Lancashire, England. It is on the old road between Blackburn and Preston where it crosses the River Darwen. The road, at this point, is now part of the A675. Nearby places include Walton-le-Dale, Coupe Green, and Bamber Bridge.The main road through the...
. Buckley and Cooke entered a duel at Rochdale in which Cooke was killed. Buckley was tried at the assizes
Assizes (England and Wales)
The Courts of Assize, or Assizes, were periodic criminal courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the Quarter Sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court...
in Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
and found guilty of manslaughter, but received "only a light sentence". He died in 1730.
The demise of the Buckleys of Buckley, combined with the urbanisation of the expanding market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
of Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, brought about the gradual obsolescence of the Buckley estate. Buckley Hall passed from Captain William Buckley to his nephew Thomas Foster (who assumed the surname of Buckley), and his son, Edward Buckley, who in 1786 sold the hall and estate to Robert Entwisle. Although by 1626 a "considerable part of the town of Rochdale was built on the southern side of Wardleworth", the industrialisation
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
of Rochdale advanced its encroachment upon the bounds of Buckley. In 1825 part of Wardleworth was included in the area of the commissioners for the improvement of the town of Rochdale, and an act of parliament in 1839 allowed Rochdale's Water Works Company to construct a reservoir in Buckley to supply water to Rochdale. Buckley Wood Reservoir was completed in December 1841 and held 24271312 gallons (110,339,568.8 l) of water. By 1851 Rochdale had expanded well into the bounds of Wardleworth, and in 1872 the remaining area of Wardleworth was subsumed into the Municipal Borough of Rochdale
County Borough of Rochdale
Rochdale was, from 1856 to 1974, a local government district coterminate with the town of Rochdale in the northwest of England.-Municipal borough:...
, effectively abolishing Wardleworth and bringing Buckley entirely into the bounds of Rochdale.
Although the Buckley family was said to be one of the founders of the cotton trade in the area, industrial scale textile processing was introduced to Buckley with the construction of Buckley Mills. Buckley became "a Victorian ensemble of a mill, workers' housing" and Buckley Hall as "the mill owners house", which in 1860 fell to the Schofields, a family of merchants and traders. Buckley Mills were visited by Henry Pelham-Clinton, 6th Duke of Newcastle in September 1873. Buckley Hall was demolished in the 1860s by the Schofields and rebuilt "to the highest standards of comfort and opulence for the time ... four storeys high of red brick with yellow brick arches in an Italianate style with an Elizabethan bow". However, in 1882 Buckley Hall became unoccupied as a result of William Schofield's death, and stayed unoccupied until brought to the attention of Herbert Vaughan and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford in 1887. Buckley Hall was found to be suitable for conversion into an orphanage and Poor Law School operated by the Brothers of Charity
Brothers of Charity
The Brothers of Charity are a Catholic institute of religious brothers and associate members at the service of the people most in need in the field of education and health care. The institute was founded in 1807 by Canon Peter Joseph Triest in Ghent, Belgium, who also founded three other religious...
, a Catholic institute from Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
in Belgium. Buckley Hall Orphanage officially opened on 19 March 1888 with 28 Catholic boys in residence. Construction of Eclipse Mill at Buckley began in 1899.
Geography
Buckley lies along the northern edge of both RochdaleRochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, and the Greater Manchester Urban Area
Greater Manchester Urban Area
The Greater Manchester Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the large conurbation that encompasses the city of Manchester and the continuous metropolitan area that spreads outwards from it, forming much of Greater Manchester in North West England...
, "upon an eminence of ground" at the foothills of the South Pennines
South Pennines
South Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. It is bounded to the west by the Forest of Rossendale and the Yorkshire Dales to the north...
. It is located at 53°37′52"N 2°8′31"W (53.6312°, -2.1421°), which is 11.1 miles (17.9 km) north-northeast 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...
and 170 miles (274 km) north-northwest of central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
. The A58 road
A58 road
The A58 is a major road in northern England that runs between Prescot, Merseyside and Wetherby, West Yorkshire.It runs north east from Prescot on the outskirts of Liverpool via St Helens, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Hindley, Westhoughton, Bolton, Bury, Heywood, Rochdale and Littleborough then over the...
runs southeast-to-northwest along the southern edge of Buckley. The Buckley Brook runs southerly along Buckley's eastern fringe until it discharges into Hey Brook
Hey Brook
Hey Brook is a watercourse in Rochdale, Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch. It originates at the confluence of Buckley Brook and Syke Brook, and flows through Wardleworth to the River Roch.-Tributaries:*Syke Brook*Buckley Brook...
, a tributary of the River Roch
River Roch
The River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell that gives Rochdale its name.-Course:...
. Buckley Brook is so named because it passes through Buckley.
There is a mixture of suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Buckley—which has no formal boundary—and is fringed by Great Howarth (to the northeast), Low Hill and Smallbridge
Smallbridge, Greater Manchester
Smallbridge is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. It lies at the foothills of the Pennines, in the northeast of Rochdale, contiguous with Buckley, and to the south of the village of Wardle.-External links:...
(to the east), Howarth Cross (to the southeast), Fieldhouse and Wardleworth (to the south), Cronkeyshaw and Foxholes (to the southwest), Nook Farm
Nook Farm
Nook Farm is an estate of council houses situated within the area of Skye, part of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the farm that used to occupy the area until the land was sold to Rochdale Council and building commenced in the early 20th century. Many of the roads on...
(to the west), Healey
Healey, Greater Manchester
Healey is a place in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It covers Shawclough, Syke and Nook Farm, as well as the rest of the land known as Healey on the right hand side of Whitworth Road after Gale Street up to Healey Corner ....
(to the north east), and Birchin Head and rural land (to the north). Foxholes and Fieldhouse have been documented as being a part of Buckley.
Governance
In the Early Middle Ages, Buckley was governed as a part of the Anglo-Saxon manor of HundersfieldHundersfield
Hundersfield was a manor, parish and, from 1746, township, within the parish of Rochdale, in the hundred of Salford, England. It straddled the historic county boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire...
in the Rochdale ecclesiastical parish
Rochdale (ancient parish)
Rochdale was an ecclesiastical parish of early-medieval origin in northern England, administered from the Church of St Chad, Rochdale. At its zenith, it occupied of land amongst the South Pennines, and straddled the historic county boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire...
and hundred of Salford
Salford (hundred)
The hundred of Salford was an ancient division of the historic county of Lancashire, in Northern England. It was sometimes known as Salfordshire, the name alluding to its judicial centre being the township of Salford...
. Following the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
, Buckley fell into Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
ownership, and was governed as a private estate consisting of "messuage
Messuage
In law, the term messuage equates to a dwelling-house and includes outbuildings, orchard, curtilage or court-yard and garden. At one time messuage supposedly had a more extensive meaning than that conveyed by the words house or site, but such distinction no longer survives.A capital messuage is the...
and lands" held by the 'de Buckley' family. In 1576, Buckley was described as a "manor
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
", still held by the Buckleys of Buckley, albeit under the overlordship of Sir John Byron, Jr.
Sir John Byron, Jr.
Sir John Byron Junior was an Elizabethan English knight.He was the son of Sir John Byron Sr and lived at Clayton, Manchester, and later Royton, both then in Lancashire and later still at Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire....
. When Hundersfield was subdivided into townships
Township (England)
In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...
, Buckley became part of Wardleworth township
Wardleworth
Wardleworth was a township at the geographic centre of the Parish of Rochdale, in Salford hundred, Lancashire, England. The principal estate of this township was Buckley...
in the county
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
; east of watercourse of Buckley Brook was Wardleworth's boundary with Wuerdle and Wardle.
In 1825, well after the demise of the Buckleys of Buckley, part of Wardleworth was included in the area of the police commissioner
Police commissioner
Commissioner is a senior rank used in many police forces and may be rendered Police Commissioner or Commissioner of Police. In some organizations, the commissioner is a political appointee, and may or may not actually be a professional police officer. In these circumstances, there is often a...
s who were tasked with the improvement of the encroaching market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
of Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
. In 1872 the remaining area of Wardleworth became part of the Municipal Borough of Rochdale
County Borough of Rochdale
Rochdale was, from 1856 to 1974, a local government district coterminate with the town of Rochdale in the northwest of England.-Municipal borough:...
; Buckley became Rochdale's northeastern boundary with the Wardle Urban District in 1894. Local governance continued on this basis until after 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....
, when in 1974, the then County Borough of Rochdale was abolished and replaced by the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale
Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale
The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
, a local government district of Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
.
Buckley falls within the Rochdale county constituency
Rochdale (UK Parliament constituency)
Rochdale 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 is represented by Simon Danczuk
Simon Danczuk
Simon Christopher Danczuk is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rochdale since 2010.-Early life and career:...
MP, a member of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Landmarks
Buckley HallBuckley Hall
Buckley Hall was a historic house in the hamlet of Buckley, in the Wardleworth township of the Parish of Rochdale, Lancashire - what is now a district of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England....
and has been the only significant landmark in Buckley. It first makes an appearance in record in a written description dated 1626, but was at that time noted as being an ancient hall. It held a collection of vertu
Vertu (collections)
Vertu is a loosely defined category of objects of art appealing to curiosity or to an interest in the Western classical era. Examples of Vertu might include Greek and Roman antiquities, classical sculpture, or particularly fine science-related collections...
until it was dispersed in 1884. The Brothers of Charity
Brothers of Charity
The Brothers of Charity are a Catholic institute of religious brothers and associate members at the service of the people most in need in the field of education and health care. The institute was founded in 1807 by Canon Peter Joseph Triest in Ghent, Belgium, who also founded three other religious...
, an institute of the Catholic Church, successfully agitated for the purchase of Buckley Hall and its conversion into an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
for Catholic boys. The orphanage was operational from 1888, until 1947.
As a means to replace "crumbling Victorian prisons", and to cope with an increasingly large prison population of England and Wales
Prison population of England and Wales
There are 139 prisons in England and Wales, with 19 built since 1995. Seven prisons are private: built under the Private Finance Initiative, they are termed DCMF prisons and revert to the government after 25 years. A further two prisons are privately managed but were built with public money...
, the government of the United Kingdom
Government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
turned to the private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
and gave contracts to companies for the operation of private prisons. HM Prison Buckley Hall
Buckley Hall (HM Prison)
HM Prison Buckley Hall is a Category C men's prison, located in the Buckley district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
was the fourth privately managed prison in the United Kingdom, and the first privatised Category C establishment holding medium security prisoners. Between 1966 and 1989 it operated as a senior detention centre. It reopened in 1994 before a demolition of the Buckley Hall mansion and rebuilding programme took place. The present prison buildings opened in 1995. In 2002, HMP Buckley Hall reopened as a prison for female offenders; the first prisoners arrived in April that year. As a result of increases in the size of Britain's male prison population, HMP Buckley Hall was reverted back to a male Category C prison in September 2005 with prisoners arriving in December 2005. In 2009, HMP Buckley Hall had a maximum prisoner capacity of 381.
Public services
Buckley is policed by the Greater Manchester PoliceGreater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...
force, and falls within the Healey community area of Rochdale North. Rochdale Police Station is the closest police station. Statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England.Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service covers an area of approximately...
,
from fire stations at Rochdale and Littleborough.
Hospital services are provided by The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust who provide an accident and emergency
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
(CLOSING in April 2011) service at Rochdale Infirmary and Mental Health Services are provided by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust at Birch Hill Hospital.
Community health services, including GPs, district and community nurses, dentists and pharmacists, are co-ordinated by NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale. Waste management is co-ordinated by the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority
Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority
The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority is a waste disposal authority created under the Local Government Act 1985 to carry out the waste management functions and duties of the Greater Manchester County Council after its abolition in 1986....
, which is a statutory waste disposal authority.
Buckley's Distribution Network Operator for electricity is Electricity North West Ltd.
United Utilities manages Buckley's drinking and waste water.