Northen Etchells is a former township

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...

 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

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It lay in the historic 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 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 its name, "Northen" is an old name for Northenden

Northenden

Northenden is a suburban area and electoral ward of the city of Manchester in North West England. It lies on the south side of both the River Mersey and the M60 motorway, west of Stockport and south of Manchester city centre. Northenden is bounded by the districts of Didsbury, Gatley and...

, and "Etchells" came from Anglo-Saxon ēcels = "land added to an estate".

Geography

Northen Etchells covered the rural area that includes much of modern-day Wythenshawe

Wythenshawe

Wythenshawe is a district in the south of the city of Manchester, England.Formerly part of the administrative county of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the 1920s to resolve the problem of its inner...

. As late as 1872, Northen Etchells was a township of moderately-sized farms and clusters of labourers' cottages around Hey Head, Moss Nook, Poundswick, Sharston, Crossacres and Brownlow Green.

To the north of Northen Etchells was the township of Northenden

Northenden

Northenden is a suburban area and electoral ward of the city of Manchester in North West England. It lies on the south side of both the River Mersey and the M60 motorway, west of Stockport and south of Manchester city centre. Northenden is bounded by the districts of Didsbury, Gatley and...

. Stockport Etchells

Stockport Etchells

Stockport Etchells is a former township in Greater Manchester, England. It lay in the historic county of Cheshire.-Geography:Stockport Etchells covered the rural area that includes modern-day Gatley and Heald Green...

 lay to the east, Styal

Styal

Styal is a village in Cheshire East, England. It is on the River Bollin, near to the town of Wilmslow.Styal is a commuter village, with access to Manchester. The village is dominated by Quarry Bank Mill and much of its housing is the mill's estate. The mill and the surrounding country park are...

 to the south with Baguley

Baguley

Baguley is a locality in Wythenshawe, and an electoral ward of the city of Manchester in North West England.Historically within Cheshire, the town is mentioned as Bagelei in the Domesday Book of 1086.-History:...

 and Altrincham

Altrincham

Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...

 townships to the west.

History

Northen Etchells existed as a township from the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 until 1894.

Northen Etchells and Stockport Etchells

Stockport Etchells

Stockport Etchells is a former township in Greater Manchester, England. It lay in the historic county of Cheshire.-Geography:Stockport Etchells covered the rural area that includes modern-day Gatley and Heald Green...

 were collectively called Etchells and often administered together from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Northen Etchells ceased to exist as an administrative body in 1894. Cheshire County Council

Cheshire County Council

Cheshire County Council was a County Council, of the second highest level of United Kingdom Government for the residents of Cheshire. Founded in 1889, it ceased to exist on 1 April 2009, when it and the district councils in Cheshire were replaced by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and...

 was created (along with 61 others) in 1888. In 1894 Rural District Councils and Parish Councils replaced the old townships. Northen Etchells became part of Bucklow Rural District

Bucklow Rural District

Bucklow Rural District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the north of the administrative county of Cheshire, England. Following the Local Government Act 1972, this rural district was split between the new Greater Manchester boroughs of Trafford and Manchester, and Macclesfield,...

Council, electing one councillor to the council.