Macclesfield
Encyclopedia
Macclesfield is a market town within the 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...

, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...

 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. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688. A person from Macclesfield is sometimes referred to as a "Maxonian", (this reference has been popularised by the local newspapers and did not exist before the 1990's). Macclesfield, like many other areas in Cheshire, is considered to be a relatively affluent town.

History

Situated in the ancient Domesday Hundred of Hamestan
Hundreds of Cheshire
The Hundreds of Cheshire, as with other Hundreds in England were the geographic divisions of Cheshire for administrative, military and judicial purposes. They were introduced in Cheshire some time before the Norman conquest...

, the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 lists Macclesfield as "Maclesfeld", whilst in 1183 it was referred to as "Makeslesfeld". It was once thought thought that Macclesfield got its name from "Michael's field" - referring to St. Michael, as in St. Michael's church, but that cannot be the case since the original dedication of the church was to 'All Saints'. The English Place-Name Society
English Place-Name Society
The English Place-Name Society is a learned society concerned with toponomastics and the toponymy of England, in other words, the study of place-names ....

 gives it name as being derived from the Old English for Maccels' open country.

It is also said that the name was originally derived from a Saxon landlord named Macca, hence Macca's felds.

Macclesfield was granted a borough charter by Earl Ranulf III of Chester, in the early thirteenth century, and a second charter was granted by the future King Edward I
Edward 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...

, in 1261. The parish church of All Saints was built in 1278, an extension of a chapel built in approximately 1220.

The borough had a weekly market, and two annual fairs: the Barnaby fair, was on St Barnabas day (11 June), the other on the feast of All Saints (1 November).

Macclesfield was the administrative centre of the later Hundred of Macclesfield
Hundreds of Cheshire
The Hundreds of Cheshire, as with other Hundreds in England were the geographic divisions of Cheshire for administrative, military and judicial purposes. They were introduced in Cheshire some time before the Norman conquest...

, which occupied most of east Cheshire. The Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield was very large, and its boundary went as far as Disley
Disley
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...

. The manor house was situated on the edge of the deer park, on the west of the town.

In addition, the Earls of Chester had established the forest of Macclesfield
Macclesfield Forest
Macclesfield Forest is an area of woodland, predominantly conifer plantation, located around south east of Macclesfield in the civil parish of Macclesfield Forest and Wildboarclough, in Cheshire, England. The existing woodland is the last substantial remnant of the Royal Forest of Macclesfield, a...

, which was much larger than its present-day namesake. It was used for hunting deer, as well as pasturing sheep and cattle. By the end of the 13th century, large areas of the forest had been ploughed up because of the pressure of population growth. In 1356, two trees from the forest were gifted to archer William Jauderell
William Jauderell
William Jauderell was an archer in the English armies in Wales of Edward, the Black Prince in the 14th century.A descendant of Peter Jauderel, a soldier who had helped King Edward conquer Wales in the late 13th century, William Jauderell held estates in Cheshire and Macclesfield Forest registered...

 to repair his home.

The so-called 'Macclesfield Castle' was a fortified town house built by the dukes of Buckingham in the later Middle Ages.

In the uprising of 1745, Charles Stuart and his army marched through Macclesfield as they attempted to reach London. The Mayor was forced, reluctantly, to officially welcome the prince, and this welcome is commemorated in one of the town's famous silk tapestries. At one point, Macclesfield was the world's biggest producer of finished silk
Silk throwing
Silk throwing is the industrial process where silk that has been reeled into skeins, is cleaned, receives a twist and is wound onto bobbins. The yarn is now twisted together with threads, in a process known as doubling. Colloquially silk throwing can be used to refer to the whole process: reeling,...

; now, the four Macclesfield Silk Museums display a huge range of information and products from that period. At one time the silk manufacture was home-based but as machinery was introduced large sheds were built to accommodate it and the workers were expected to move into them. Paradise Mill is a working mill museum which demonstrates the art of silk weaving to the public.

Macclesfield is also well known as the original home of Hovis breadmakers, originally produced in the now apartment block conversion of the Publicity Works mill (commonly referred to as "the Hovis Mill") on the canal close to Buxton Road and set up by a Macclesfield businessman and a baker from Stoke-on-Trent, the name is said to derive from the latin "homo-vitalis" (strength for man) as a way of providing a cheap and nutritious food for the poor mill workers and was a very dry and dense wholemeal loaf completely different from the modern version.

Between 1826 and 1831 the Macclesfield Canal
Macclesfield Canal
The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England, one of the six that make up the Cheshire Ring.-Route:The canal runs from Marple Junction at Marple, where it joins the Upper Peak Forest Canal, , southwards , before arriving at Bosley.Having descended the 12 Bosley Locks over the course...

 was constructed, linking Macclesfield to 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:...

 to the north and Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, near the border with Cheshire. It forms part of The Potteries Urban Area in North Staffordshire, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 24,112...

 to the south. The canal was built by the renowned engineer James Brindley
James Brindley
James Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.-Early life:...

, but was completed as much of the coal and other potential cargo was increasingly being shipped by rail transport.

Waters Green was once home to a nationally known horse market which features in the legend of the Wizard of Alderley Edge
Alderley Edge
Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,409....

.

Waters Green and an area opposite Arighi Bianchi, now hidden under the Silk Road held a sheep and cattle market up until the 1980's.

Macclesfield railway station
Macclesfield railway station
Macclesfield railway station is a main line station serving the Cheshire town of Macclesfield. It lies on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line, in the United Kingdom....

 opened at Beech Lane by the LNWR on 19 June 1849, replaced a month later by Hibel Road Station.

Macclesfield is said to be the only Mill Town left unbombed in the Second World War.

Geography

Macclesfield is located in the east of Cheshire, on the River Bollin
River Bollin
The River Bollin is a major tributary of the River Mersey in the north-west of England.It rises in Macclesfield Forest at the western end of the Peak District, and can be seen in spring form, from the Buxton to Macclesfield road. The stream then descends the through Macclesfield and Wilmslow where...

, a tributary of the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....

. It is close to the county borders 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...

 to the north, 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...

 to the east and Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

 to the south. It is near the towns 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...

 to the north, Buxton
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...

 to the east, and Congleton
Congleton
Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Dane, to the west of the Macclesfield Canal and 21 miles south of Manchester. It has a population of 25,750.-History:The first settlements in...

 to the south. It is 30 miles (45 km) to the east 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...

, the county town of Cheshire. To the west of the town lies the Cheshire Plain
Cheshire Plain
The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland situated almost entirely within the county of Cheshire in northwest England. It is bounded by the hills of North Wales to the west, and the Peak District of Derbyshire and North Staffordshire to the east and southeast...

 and to the east lie the hills 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....

. The town is most famous for its once thriving silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 industry, commemorated in the local Silk Museum. Although "Silk Town" seems to be the preferred nickname these days, Macclesfield's traditional local nickname is "Treacle
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...

 Town" — supposedly from an incident where a merchant spilt a load of treacle on Hibel Road, and the poor rushed out to scoop it off the cobbles. Another, less picturesque, reason has it that the mill-owners used to provide barrels of treacle to the unemployed weavers.

Landmarks and tourist attractions

The hilltop church of St Michael and All Angels
St Michael's Church, Macclesfield
St Michael and All Angels Church, Macclesfield overlooks Market Place in the town of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of...

, with a view of the hill range called Kerridge. The apparently 15th century sandstone tower has carved panels with coats of arms: 1. Two chevrons and a canton (possibly Fitton); 2. A cross engrailed; 3. A cross engrailed charged with a mullet; 4. A pale fusilly (possibly Nigel or Norton Augustinian Abbey, Cheshire, founded by Fitz-Nigel); 5. A cross ermine; 6. Quarterly, 1st and 4th a stag lodged, 2nd and 3rd a human leg couped at the thigh. Macclesfield is the home to furniture store Arighi Bianchi
Arighi Bianchi
Arighi Bianchi is a furniture shop in the town of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It was founded in 1854 by Italian immigrants Antonio Arighi and Antonio Bianchi who originated from the village of Casnate on the shores of Lake Como....

, a local football club Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town F.C.
Macclesfield Town Football Club is an English football team. The club was formed in 1874 and is based in the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire. The team play its home games at the 6,355 capacity Moss Rose stadium...

, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca plc is a global pharmaceutical and biologics company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's seventh-largest pharmaceutical company measured by revenues and has operations in over 100 countries...

, and The King's School, Macclesfield
The King's School, Macclesfield
-Notable former pupils:* Peter Moores, ex-England Cricket Coach* Rev. Thomas Taylor, priest and historian* Alan Beith, politician* Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent of Sky News...

 which dates from the 16th century. The fine Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 Town Hall was designed by Francis Goodwin
Francis Goodwin
Francis Goodwin was an English architect, best known for his many provincial churches in the Gothic revival style, civic buildings such as the first Manchester Town Hall and Macclesfield town hall , plus country houses such as Lissadell House, County Sligo .Goodwin was born at King's Lynn,...

 in 1823. Present day industries include: pharmaceuticals, textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

s, light engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

, paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....

 and plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

s.

Culture and sport

Macclesfield has been accused of having few cultural amenities; in 2004, research was published in The Times naming Macclesfield and its borough the most uncultured town in Britain, based on its lack of theatres, cinemas and other cultural facilities.

There was a huge boost to Macclesfield's cultural scene in 2010 with the creation of the Barnaby Festival, a celebration of art, culture and heritage, reinventing the centuries old tradition of marking St Barnabas day. A rich and varied visual arts programme included 'Save Us' a contemporary art exhibition in Christ Church, curated by Karen Gaskill. It featured ten artists with a connection to Macclesfield, and some with an international reputation. The Silk Opera Company was created to perform 'The Monkey Run' at Barnaby, written and conducted by Nicholas Smith and starring Eleanor Sutton and Jayne Carpenter. The performances met with local critical acclaim and the Company is now growing and performing around the region. Macclesfield is also home to a Silk Museum and a number of art galleries, including at York Chambers, Duke's Court.

Local newspapers include the Macclesfield Express and the Community News. Macclesfield residents have access to Macclesfield Forum, an online message board, for informal discussion of local news and issues. The town is also served by two locally-based radio stations: Canalside Community Radio based at the Clarence Mill in Bollington
Bollington
Bollington is a small rural town and civil parish in the county of Cheshire, , England, in the unitary authority of Cheshire East. It is located east of Prestbury. In the Middle Ages it was part of the Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield., and the ancient parish of Prestbury...

, just north of Macclesfield, and Silk FM, a commercial independent radio station with studios in the town.

The last remaining commercial cinema in Macclesfield closed in 1997. Discussions have taken place regarding the possibility of building a multiplex cinema, but similar attempts to build a cinema have thus far been unsuccessful. In 2005 a small scale cinema was set up in the Heritage Centre, and Cinemac has since become well established; also based in the Heritage Centre is the Silk Screen arts cinema, which gives fortnightly screenings of art house films. However, during the recent outlining of plans for the new Macclesfield town centre, a large cinema has been given the go-ahead after many years of pressure from the residents.

Amateur dramatics is well represented in the town by Macclesfield Amateur Dramatic Society which has existed since 1947 and has its own theatre in the town. Macclesfield Majestic Theatre Group has been producing musicals in the town since its inception in 1971, initially at the Majestic Theatre (hence the title) which was on the main street, but latterly at various other locations after the theatre was converted into a public house, by the new tenants. Most recently shows have been produced at the Heritage Centre, Evans Theatre Wilmslow, and MADS theatre on Lord Street Macclesfield. Several members of the society have gone on to the professional stage, most famously Marshall Lancaster and Jonathan Morris.

Gawsworth Hall
Gawsworth Hall
Gawsworth Old Hall is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Gawsworth, Cheshire, England. It is a timber-framed house in the Cheshire black-and-white style. The present house was built between 1480 and 1600, replacing an earlier Norman house...

 hosts an annual Shakespeare festival as well as many arts and music events throughout the year.

Macclesfield has appeared in film: it was used as the location for Sir John Mills's film So Well Remembered in 1947. Some of the locations are still recognisable, such as Hibel Road. A fictionalised version of Macclesfield's railway station appeared in the 2005 football hooliganism film Green Street
Green Street
Green Street is a 2005 British/American independent drama film about football hooliganism in England. It was directed by Lexi Alexander and stars Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam. In the United States and Australia, the film is called Green Street Hooligans, while in the United Kingdom it has the...

. It was also the location of the 2007 film Control, a biopic film about Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...

 who grew up in Macclesfield.

Musically, Macclesfield is best known as the home town of bluesman John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...

 as well as Ian Curtis
Ian Curtis
Ian Kevin Curtis was an English singer and lyricist, famous for leading the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980...

 and Stephen Morris of Joy Division, and Gillian Gilbert
Gillian Gilbert
Gillian Lesley Gilbert is an English musician, keyboardist, guitarist and singer, best known as a member of New Order and a founding member of The Other Two.-Biography:...

 who along with Stephen Morris was a member of New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...

. A memorial to Curtis is located in Macclesfield Crematorium. Other Macclesfield acts to have gained recognition include The Macc Lads and Marion
Marion (band)
Marion are an English rock band, originally formed in 1993, in Macclesfield, Cheshire. They became synonymous with the Britpop music scene, appearing on the Britpop Now BBC television special...

. The Macclesfield band Silk Brass have also gone on to receive a National Champion title in the brass band movement in 2003.

In literature, Macclesfield is the second principal location of the fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 novels The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is a children's fantasy novel by English author Alan Garner, first published in 1960. The novel is set in and around Macclesfield and Alderley Edge in Cheshire, and tells the story of two children, Colin and Susan, who are staying with some old friends of their mother...

and The Moon of Gomrath
The Moon of Gomrath
The Moon of Gomrath is a fantasy story by the author Alan Garner, published in 1963. It is the sequel to The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.-Plot synopsis:...

by Alan Garner
Alan Garner
With his first book published, Garner abandoned his work as a labourer and gained a job as a freelance television reporter, living a "hand to mouth" lifestyle on a "shoestring" budget...

.

Macclesfield's professional football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 club, Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town F.C.
Macclesfield Town Football Club is an English football team. The club was formed in 1874 and is based in the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire. The team play its home games at the 6,355 capacity Moss Rose stadium...

, first gained league status in 1997 as Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...

 champions (they won that title two years earlier but were denied promotion as they failed to meet stadium capacity requirements), and currently play in League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

. The club play their home games at the Moss Rose
Moss Rose
Moss Rose is a multi-purpose stadium in Macclesfield, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Macclesfield Town F.C....

 in the south of the town.
Youth football teams include Macclesfield Juniors FC, Macclesfield Saints JFC and Tytherington
Tytherington
Places in the United Kingdom known as Tytherington.*Tytherington, Cheshire*Tytherington, Gloucestershire*Tytherington, Wiltshire, a settlement on the boundary of the parishes of Heytesbury and Sutton VenyTytherington , Somerset, Near Frome...

 Juniors. Macclesfield RUFC, the town's rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 club, play in National League One, following promotion from National League 2 (North) in the 2009 - 2010 season.

Macclesfield's cycling club
Cycling club
A cycling club is a society for cyclists. It can be local or national, general or specialised. The Cyclists' Touring Club, CTC) in the United Kingdom is a national association; i-Team and are internet clubs; the Tricycle Association, Tandem Club and the Veterans Time Trial Association, for those...

 Macclesfield Wheelers is a local club for all cycling activities, from pleasure riding to racing. World famous cyclist Reg Harris
Reg Harris
Reginald - 'Reg' - Hargreaves Harris OBE was a leading English track racing cyclist in the 1940s and 1950s. He won the world amateur sprint title in 1947, two Olympic silver medals in 1948, and the professional title in 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1954...

 produced "Reg Harris" bikes in Macclesfield for 3 years during the 1960s. The local cycling campaign group is known as MaccBUG (Macclesfield Borough Bicycle Users Group). Formed in 1999 they campaign for better cycling provision for leisure and utility cyclists.

Macclesfield Chess Club
Macclesfield Chess Club
Macclesfield Chess Club meets every Tuesday between September and the following May at the New Liberal Club, Boden Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 6LL, UK. The club runs several teams in the two local chess leagues.- History :...

 is one of the oldest chess clubs in the country having been founded in 1886.

Barracks Square
Barracks Square, Macclesfield, England
Barracks Square or the Militia Barracks is a square Macclesfield, England that was first developed in the 1850s for the military.The barracks, consisting of married quarters, CO's quarters and the armoury were for the use of the permanent staff of the 2nd Royal Cheshire Militia.- Military History...

 was the home of the Cheshire Militia from 1859. It is now a Grade 2 listed residential area.

In December 2006, Sport England
Sport England
Sport England is the brand name for the English Sports Council and is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

 published a survey which revealed that residents of Macclesfield were the 3rd most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 29.3% of the population participate at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes.

In 2008, the borough was named as the fifth happiest of 273 districts in Britain by researchers from the Universities of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...

 and Manchester, who used information on self-reported personal well-being from the British Household Panel Survey.

Education

Macclesfield is served by four state high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

s; Macclesfield High School
Macclesfield High School
Macclesfield High School was a school situated in Macclesfield, Cheshire. It was opened in 2007 to replace Henbury High School and was Macclesfield's first new school since Fallibroome High School in 1979. It is built on the Learning Zone campus, sharing it with Macclesfield College, Park Lane...

, 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...

, Tytherington High 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 :...

 and All Hallows Catholic College
All Hallows Catholic College, Macclesfield
All Hallows' Catholic College is an OfSTED 'outstanding' school . It is a large Catholic co-educational comprehensive school and sixth form college that educates approximately 1176 children between 11 and 19 years of age. The college is 'voluntary aided' and is supported by its trustees, the...

.
There are also two independent schools, The King's School
The King's School, Macclesfield
-Notable former pupils:* Peter Moores, ex-England Cricket Coach* Rev. Thomas Taylor, priest and historian* Alan Beith, politician* Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent of Sky News...

 and Beech Hall School
Beech Hall School, Macclesfield
Beech Hall School, Macclesfield is an independent school in Macclesfield, England and is a member of both IAPS and ISA -History:...

.

Macclesfield High School is made up of students from the former school Henbury High School, and also took in the students left over when the secondary school Ryles Park closed 2004, which had been in turn an amalgamation of Ryles Park girls school and the oldest state school in the town, Macclesfield Central boys school which closed in 1975. It is on the site of Macclesfield College and Park Lane Special School as part of the Macclesfield 'Learning Zone', which was opened in 2007. Macclesfield High School was the name originally given to the girls grammar school on Fence Avenue now forming part of the King's School.

Rail services

Macclesfield is on the Stafford to Manchester
Stafford to Manchester Line
The Stafford to Manchester Line is a branch of the West Coast Main Line serving Stafford, Norton Bridge, Stone, Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove, Congleton, Macclesfield, Cheadle Hulme, Stockport and Manchester....

 section of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

.Macclesfield railway station
Macclesfield railway station
Macclesfield railway station is a main line station serving the Cheshire town of Macclesfield. It lies on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line, in the United Kingdom....

 has frequent services to Manchester Piccadilly (25 minutes away), Stoke
Stoke-on-Trent railway station
Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station is a main-line railway station in central England. It is located on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line and serves the Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent...

 and London Euston (1 hour 47 minutes) by Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

, and to Birmingham New Street and beyond provided by CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...

. Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...

's stopping service between Manchester and Stoke calls at Macclesfield.

Roads

Macclesfield is served by good road links from the north, south and west, but has fewer roads going east due to the proximity of the Peak District. From the south, access from Congleton
Congleton
Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Dane, to the west of the Macclesfield Canal and 21 miles south of Manchester. It has a population of 25,750.-History:The first settlements in...

 and the Potteries is from the A536
A536 road
-Route:Starting at the junction with the A34 in Lower Heath, Congleton, the road travels through the villages of Eaton and Gawsworth before entering Macclesfield...

, and via the A523
A523 road
The A523 is a road in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, England running from a junction with the A52 north west of Ashbourne to the A6 in Hazel Grove, passing through Leek, Macclesfield and Poynton....

 from Leek. From the north, the main access to the town is the A523 from Manchester, Hazel Grove
Hazel Grove
-Education:Hazel Grove has a number of primary schools and Hazel Grove High School, the local high school. Some do decide to go to other local high schools, such as local Marple Hall, in neighbouring village Marple. The main primary schools in the area are, Hazel Grove Primary School, Torkington...

 and 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 main west–east road is the A537
A537 road
The A537 is a road linking Knutsford, Cheshire and Buxton, Derbyshire. Part of the route includes the Cat and Fiddle Road, one of the most dangerous in Great Britain.-Route:...

 Knutsford
Knutsford
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...

 to Buxton
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...

 Road. At various points around the town centre, some of these roads combine, such as the A537 / A523 on the Silk Road section, giving rise to traffic congestion, especially at peak times. The A538
A538 road
The A538 is a road linking Macclesfield, Cheshire to Altrincham in Greater Manchester, through Prestbury, Wilmslow and Hale and providing access to Manchester Airport and the M56 motorway. The road is a Primary route between the A34 Junction in Wilmslow and Manchester Airport / M56...

 provides access to Prestbury
Prestbury
Prestbury may refer to:* Prestbury, Cheshire* Prestbury, Gloucestershire* Prestbury, a subdivision of Aurora, Illinois...

, Wilmslow
Wilmslow
-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...

 and Manchester Airport, with the B5470 being the only other east bound route from the town, heading to Whaley Bridge
Whaley Bridge
Whaley Bridge is a small town and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England, situated on the River Goyt. Whaley Bridge is approximately south of Manchester, north of Buxton , east of Macclesfield and west of Sheffield, and had a population of 6,226 at the 2001 census. This...

 and Chapel-en-le-Frith
Chapel-en-le-Frith
Chapel-en-le-Frith is a small town in Derbyshire, England, on the edge of the Peak District near the border with Cheshire, from Manchester. Dubbed "The Capital of the Peak District", the settlement was established by the Normans in the 12th century, originally as a hunting lodge within the Forest...

.

Notable people

  • Jonathan Agnew
    Jonathan Agnew
    Jonathan Philip Agnew is an English cricket broadcaster and former professional cricketer. He was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire and educated at Uppingham School. He is nicknamed "Aggers", and, less commonly, "Spiro"....

     - cricketer and cricket commentator
  • Christopher Leese - AKA Chris L. UK rap sensation and complete bumder.
  • Ben Ainslie
    Ben Ainslie
    Charles Benedict Ainslie, CBE is an English sailor and three-times Olympic gold medalist. He started sailing at the age of 8 and first competed at the age of 10...

     (born 1977) - Olympic gold medal winning yachtsman
  • Vera Brittain
    Vera Brittain
    Vera Mary Brittain was a British writer, feminist and pacifist, best remembered as the author of the best-selling 1933 memoir Testament of Youth, recounting her experiences during World War I and the beginning of her journey towards pacifism.-Life:Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Brittain was the...

     - writer, lived in Macclesfield as a child.
  • Deborah Corrigan
    Deborah Corrigan
    Deborah Jane Corrigan is a former glamour model.She began her career as a Page Three Girl, which lead to more modelling work in men's magazine pictorials. She was also famous for having a relationship with comedian Jim Davidson...

     - glamour model and Page Three girl
    Page Three girl
    Page Three is a tabloid newspaper feature consisting of a topless photograph of a female glamour model, usually printed on the paper's third page...

  • Peter Crouch
    Peter Crouch
    Peter James Crouch is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the England national team.Crouch started his career as a trainee with Tottenham Hotspur...

     - Stoke City and England
    England national football team
    The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

     international football player
  • Ian Curtis
    Ian Curtis
    Ian Kevin Curtis was an English singer and lyricist, famous for leading the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980...

     - Lead singer of English band Joy Division: died there in 1980.
  • David Dickinson
    David Dickinson
    David Dickinson is an English antiques expert, television presenter and entrepreneur.-Biography:...

     (born David Gulessarian) - antiques expert and television presenter
  • Reg Harris
    Reg Harris
    Reginald - 'Reg' - Hargreaves Harris OBE was a leading English track racing cyclist in the 1940s and 1950s. He won the world amateur sprint title in 1947, two Olympic silver medals in 1948, and the professional title in 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1954...

     - successful track cyclist, active in the 1940s, 1950s and 1970s
  • Noddy Holder
    Noddy Holder
    Neville John "Noddy" Holder MBE is an English musician and actor. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist with the rock band Slade....

     (born in Walsall, West Midlands) - Slade frontman
  • Marshall Lancaster
    Marshall Lancaster
    Marshall Lancaster is a British actor. He has appeared in many television dramas, including Coronation Street, Holby City, The Lakes and Family Affairs, but is probably best known for playing DC Chris Skelton in the BBC time-travel police dramas, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.Lancaster is a...

     (born in Macclesfield, 1974) - actor best-known for playing DC Chris Skelton in the BBC dramas Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.
  • Geoff Lloyd
    Geoff Lloyd
    Geoff Lloyd is a British radio presenter. Lloyd presents Geoff Lloyd's Hometime Show, Monday-Friday, 5pm-8pm on Absolute Radio...

     - radio DJ, also known as the Geoff half of Pete And Geoff
    Pete And Geoff
    The duo of Pete and Geoff were DJs Pete Mitchell and Geoff Lloyd, who from January 2003 to December 2005 hosted the breakfast show on Virgin Radio. In the early 1980s, Mitchell was an aspiring musician who moved into management and production...

    . Currently doing the Hometime show on Absolute Radio.
  • The Macc Lads - infamous local punk rock
    Punk rock
    Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

     band.
  • John Mayall
    John Mayall
    John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...

     (born in Macclesfield, 1933) - the father of British Blues and a notable Blues bandleader
  • Mr Methane
    Mr. Methane
    Paul Oldfield, born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, North West England, is better known by his stage name Mr. Methane. He is a British flatulist or "professional farter" who started performing in 1991; he briefly retired in 2006 but re-started in mid-2007; he claims to be the only performing...

     (born in Macclesfield) - the world's only currently performing flatulist.
  • Peter Moores
    Peter Moores (cricketer)
    Peter Moores is a former English county cricketer. He played as a wicketkeeper for Worcestershire and Sussex He became the coach of Lancashire County Cricket Club, on 11 February 2009....

     - former England Cricket Coach was born and went to school in Macclesfield.
  • Jim Moray
    Jim Moray
    Jim Moray is an English folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.-Recording artist:While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded I Am Jim Moray EP. During 2002 he appeared at the Glastonbury festival and the Cambridge Folk...

     (born in Macclesfield) - folk musician
  • Stephen Morris - Drummer in the bands Joy Division
    Joy Division
    Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...

    , New Order
    New Order
    New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...

    , The Other Two
    The Other Two
    AlbumsSingles-External links:* * - Videos :* * * *...

     & Bad Lieutenant
    Bad Lieutenant (band)
    Bad Lieutenant are an English alternative rock band formed in 2007 following the breakup of New Order. The band consists of Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, Phil Cunningham, Jake Evans and Tom Chapman....

    .
  • Brian Redhead
    Brian Redhead
    Brian Leonard Redhead was a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He was probably best known as a co-presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 which he worked on from 1975 until 1993, shortly before his death...

      - lived and commuted from Macclesfield - former journalist Manchester Guardian and BBB Radio 4 Today anchorman.
  • Kirsten Reynolds
    Kirsten Reynolds
    Kirsten Reynolds is a British artist who makes works using a wide variety of media. She often works with sound and light and uses electronics, video and found objects to make artworks. Her practice also encompasses drawing, painting, sculpture, collage and print-making...

     Artist and Musician was born in Macclesfield.
  • Nick Robinson
    Nick Robinson
    Nicholas Anthony "Nick" Robinson is a British journalist and political editor for the BBC. Robinson was interested in politics from a young age, and went on to study a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics degree at Oxford University, where he was also President of the Oxford University Conservative...

     - Political editor for 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...

     was born in Macclesfield and attended nearby Cheadle Hulme School
    Cheadle Hulme School
    Cheadle Hulme School is an independent day school in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, England for boys and girls aged 4–18 years old. It was formed as The Manchester Warehousemen and Clerks' Orphan Schools in 1855 and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.- History :In the early...

    .
  • Mr Scruff - Stockport based DJ was born in Macclesfield in 1972.
  • David Shrigley
    David Shrigley
    -Life and career:Shrigley was born in Macclesfield on 17 September 1968, the younger of two children born to Rita and Joseph Shrigley. Shrigley grew up in Oadby, Leicestershire, England...

     - The Glasgow based artist was born in the town in 1968, and lived there until 1970.
  • Arthur Smith Woodward
    Arthur Smith Woodward
    Sir Arthur Smith Woodward was an English palaeontologist.-Biography:Woodward was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England and was educated there and at Owens College, Manchester. He joined the staff of the Department of Geology at the Natural History Museum in 1882. He became assistant Keeper of...

     - palaeontologist
  • Jaime Harding - Lead vocalist of Brit-Pop band Marion

See also

  • Cat and Fiddle Road
    Cat and Fiddle Road
    The Cat and Fiddle is a road in England running between Buxton, Derbyshire and Macclesfield, Cheshire, named after the public house at its summit. Formed by parts of the A537, A54 and A53 it is famous for its scenic views across the Greater Manchester conurbation, Peak District National Park and...

  • St Michael's Church, Macclesfield
    St Michael's Church, Macclesfield
    St Michael and All Angels Church, Macclesfield overlooks Market Place in the town of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of...

  • Christ Church, Macclesfield
    Christ Church, Macclesfield
    Christ Church, Macclesfield is a redundant Anglican church in Great King Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It is open to visitors at advertised times. ...

  • St Alban's Church, Macclesfield
    St Alban's Church, Macclesfield
    St Alban's Church, Macclesfield, is in Chester Road, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It is an active Roman Catholic parish church. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...

  • King Edward Street Chapel, Macclesfield
    King Edward Street Chapel, Macclesfield
    King Edward Street Chapel, Macclesfield is in the town of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.-History:...

  • Macclesfield Castle
    Macclesfield Castle
    Macclesfield Castle was a fortified manor house/castle in Macclesfield, Cheshire . John de Macclesfield began construction of the castle in 1398. It was made from sandstone, and was square with projecting wings. Alterations were made in the 15th century, and it passed through the hands of two...

  • Barracks Square and Armoury Towers
    Barracks Square, Macclesfield, England
    Barracks Square or the Militia Barracks is a square Macclesfield, England that was first developed in the 1850s for the military.The barracks, consisting of married quarters, CO's quarters and the armoury were for the use of the permanent staff of the 2nd Royal Cheshire Militia.- Military History...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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