Disley
Encyclopedia
Disley is a village
and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
, England. It is located on the very edge of the Peak District
, in the Goyt Valley, very close to the county boundary with Derbyshire
at New Mills
, and south of Stockport
, Greater Manchester
. To the north of the village, the River Goyt and the Peak Forest Canal
, which opened in 1800, passes along the edge of the village. Today it is a dormitory village retaining a semi-rural character.
Disley railway station
is on the Manchester to Buxton line, with through trains to Preston and Blackpool.
The parish includes part of the neighbouring village of Newtown
, the bulk of which is in Derbyshire.
, there are references to confirmatory grants of land made to Jordan de Dystelegh of Disley Hall and Roger de Stanley-de-Dystelegh of Stanley Hall in the district, pointing to even older local settlements. It later had the name Dystelegh.
Sir Piers Legh of Lyme
founded St. Mary-the-Virgin Church
in Disley (completed 1524 and consecrated as parish church
in 1558. The earliest parish register is from 1591.
The village had at least one cotton mill
by the mid-19th century. As the cotton industry declined, more varied employment became the norm. In 2005, there is a paper mill and some light engineering works, but most people travel out to work.
rural sanitary district, alongside Hayfield and Mellor
in Derbyshire. In 1894, under the Local Government Act 1894
, rural sanitary districts became rural district
s, but were required to be entirely within one county or another - this led to Disley, the only Cheshire parish of the sanitary district, to form the Disley Rural District on its own - one of only a few single-parish rural districts to exist. This remained in existence until 1974, when it was merged into the new Borough of Macclesfield
, whilst retaining a parish council.
In April 2008 a referendum was announced for Disley residents due to the fact that the Borough of Macclesfield was to become part of the new Cheshire East
unitary authority as a result of major local government changes in Cheshire
in April 2009. Some residents believed that the village would be better served if it were part of the neighbouring boroughs of Stockport
in Greater Manchester
or High Peak in Derbyshire
.
On 8 May 2008 this referendum was held, with an overwhelming result in favour of staying within Cheshire, with less than 1/3 of the electors wanting to become part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
and an even lower proportion of the population wishing the village to become part of Derbyshire
's High Peak Borough.
Macclesfield Borough Council was succeeded on 1 April 2009 by the new unitary authority
of Cheshire East
.
. A.J.P. Taylor lived there, and Dylan Thomas
visited him there. Lord John Hunt who led the first successful Mount Everest
expedition in 1953 also lived in Disley.
estate. It became a main coaching stop
on the Manchester
to London route. The Rams head is now a restaurant and pub.
Lyme Park
is not located in the civil parish of Disley, but in the civil parish of Lyme Handley. However, it is sufficiently close to be associated with Disley. The hall was used by the BBC
as a setting in its adaptation of Pride and Prejudice
.
Disley is home to Disley Cricket Club a member of the Meller Braggins Cheshire Cricket League.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish 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...
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. It is located on the very edge of the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
, in the Goyt Valley, very close to the county boundary with Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
at New Mills
New Mills
New Mills is a town in Derbyshire, England approximately south-east of Stockport and from Manchester. It is sited at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Sett, on the border of Cheshire. The town stands above the Torrs, a deep gorge, cut through Woodhead Hill Sandstone of the Carboniferous period...
, and south of Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, 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...
. To the north of the village, the River Goyt and the Peak Forest Canal
Peak Forest Canal
The Peak Forest Canal, is a narrow locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network.-General description:...
, which opened in 1800, passes along the edge of the village. Today it is a dormitory village retaining a semi-rural character.
Disley railway station
Disley railway station
Disley railway station serves the village of Disley in Cheshire, England. It is 20 km south east of Manchester Piccadilly on the Manchester to Buxton line, built by the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway...
is on the Manchester to Buxton line, with through trains to Preston and Blackpool.
The parish includes part of the neighbouring village of Newtown
Newtown, Derbyshire
Newtown is an area of the town of New Mills in the High Peak borough of Derbyshire, England. It is situated west of New Mills proper, on the road to Disley. The county boundary between Cheshire and Derbyshire divides the area between the two counties...
, the bulk of which is in Derbyshire.
History
Its Anglo-Saxon name was Dystiglegh meaning "windy settlement". In the 13th century, in the time of Edward IEdward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
, there are references to confirmatory grants of land made to Jordan de Dystelegh of Disley Hall and Roger de Stanley-de-Dystelegh of Stanley Hall in the district, pointing to even older local settlements. It later had the name Dystelegh.
Sir Piers Legh of Lyme
Lyme Park
Lyme Park is a large estate located south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens, in a deer park in the Peak District National Park...
founded St. Mary-the-Virgin Church
St Mary's Church, Disley
St Mary's Church, Disley is a Church of England parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Chadkirk. It is on a hill overlooking the village of Disley, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...
in Disley (completed 1524 and consecrated as parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in 1558. The earliest parish register is from 1591.
The village had at least one cotton mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
by the mid-19th century. As the cotton industry declined, more varied employment became the norm. In 2005, there is a paper mill and some light engineering works, but most people travel out to work.
Governance
The parish of Disley was included in the 19th century as one of three parishes in HayfieldHayfield
Hayfield is a village and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak, in the county of Derbyshire, England. The village lies approximately east of New Mills, south of Glossop and north of Buxton by road....
rural sanitary district, alongside Hayfield and Mellor
Mellor, Greater Manchester
Mellor is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. Mellor, situated between Marple Bridge and New Mills, runs along a tributary of the River Goyt. It extends from the start of the old turnpike road at the boundary of Marple Bridge to the current county...
in Derbyshire. In 1894, under the Local Government Act 1894
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...
, rural sanitary districts became rural district
Rural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
s, but were required to be entirely within one county or another - this led to Disley, the only Cheshire parish of the sanitary district, to form the Disley Rural District on its own - one of only a few single-parish rural districts to exist. This remained in existence until 1974, when it was merged into the new Borough of Macclesfield
Macclesfield (borough)
Macclesfield was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It included the towns of Bollington, Knutsford, Macclesfield and Wilmslow and within its wider area the villages and hamlets of Adlington, Disley, Gawsworth, Kerridge, Pott Shrigley, Poynton,...
, whilst retaining a parish council.
In April 2008 a referendum was announced for Disley residents due to the fact that the Borough of Macclesfield was to become part of the new 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...
unitary authority as a result of major local government changes in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
in April 2009. Some residents believed that the village would be better served if it were part of the neighbouring boroughs of Stockport
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
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...
or High Peak in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
.
On 8 May 2008 this referendum was held, with an overwhelming result in favour of staying within Cheshire, with less than 1/3 of the electors wanting to become part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
and an even lower proportion of the population wishing the village to become part of Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
's High Peak Borough.
Macclesfield Borough Council was succeeded on 1 April 2009 by the new unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
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...
.
Past
Disley is the birthplace of the Anglo-American novelist Christopher IsherwoodChristopher Isherwood
Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood was an English-American novelist.-Early life and work:Born at Wyberslegh Hall, High Lane, Cheshire in North West England, Isherwood spent his childhood in various towns where his father, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, was stationed...
. A.J.P. Taylor lived there, and Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
visited him there. Lord John Hunt who led the first successful Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
expedition in 1953 also lived in Disley.
Present
Disley is also the home of- Big Brother contestant Anouska Golebiewski.
- Presenter of the BBC 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...
TV programme David DickinsonDavid DickinsonDavid Dickinson is an English antiques expert, television presenter and entrepreneur.-Biography:...
, who had his first antique shop there. - 2008 Paralympics cyclingCyclingCycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
gold medal-winning couple SarahSarah StoreySarah Joanne Storey, née Bailey OBE is a British swimmer, track and road cyclist, multiple gold medal winner at the Paralympic Games, and twice British national track champion....
and Ben Storey. - 2008 Olympics cycling gold medal winner Jamie StaffJamie StaffJamie Alan Staff MBE is an English racing cyclist and coach, formerly on BMX and later on the track. A World and Olympic champion, he has also won numerous other medals at World Championships, World Cups and at the Commonwealth Games....
who moved to Disley for access to Manchester VelodromeManchester VelodromeManchester Velodrome is an indoor cycle-racing track or velodrome in Manchester, northwest England. It opened in September 1994 and is the leading indoor Olympic-standard track in the United Kingdom. It houses the National Cycling Centre and British Cycling...
.
Points of interest
The "Rams Head" inn c.1650 at the centre of the village was formerly a lodge belonging to the Lyme ParkLyme Park
Lyme Park is a large estate located south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens, in a deer park in the Peak District National Park...
estate. It became a main coaching stop
Coaching inn
In Europe, from approximately the mid-17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...
on the 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...
to London route. The Rams head is now a restaurant and pub.
Lyme Park
Lyme Park
Lyme Park is a large estate located south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens, in a deer park in the Peak District National Park...
is not located in the civil parish of Disley, but in the civil parish of Lyme Handley. However, it is sufficiently close to be associated with Disley. The hall was used by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as a setting in its adaptation of Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV serial)
Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC...
.
Disley is home to Disley Cricket Club a member of the Meller Braggins Cheshire Cricket League.