Bollington

Bollington
A view over Bollington from White Nancy, looking north
Bollington
Bollington shown within Cheshire
Population	8,310 (2011)
OS grid reference	SJ9377
Civil parish	Bollington
Unitary authority	Cheshire East
Ceremonial county	Cheshire
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MACCLESFIELD
Postcode district	SK10
Dialling code	01625
Police	Cheshire
Fire	Cheshire
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Macclesfield

Bollington is a small town and civil parish in Cheshire, England, to the 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. In 2001, Bollington had a population of 7,095.^[1] (8,310 in 2011 census^[2])

Bollington, locally nicknamed "Happy Valley",^[3] is on the River Dean and the Macclesfield Canal, on the south-western edge of the Peak District. Rising above the town is Kerridge Hill that is surmounted by White Nancy, a monument built to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo in the Napoleonic Wars.

Bollington is twinned with Thurles in County Tipperary, Ireland.

History

Clarence Mill, and the Macclesfield Canal

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Bollington was a major centre for cotton spinning. The Waterhouse Mill, now demolished, off Wellington Road, once spun the finest cotton in the world, and was sought after by lace makers in Nottingham and Brussels.^[4]

Clarence Mill still stands and has since been converted into luxury flats. One of the oldest surviving mills in Bollington is the very small Defiance Mill, built in Queen Street about 1800 and also now restored for residential occupation.

There is a large paper coating mill on the site of Lower Mills. The original mill was built by George Antrobus in 1792 but very little of those buildings remain. A stone-built traditional mill still survives amongst the more recent brick developments. In the 1830s and 1840s this mill was rented to Thomas Oliver and Martin Swindells for the production of fine cotton thread for the lace-making industry.

Other remaining mills include Adelphi (Swindells, 1856) and Lowerhouse (Antrobus, 1819, later occupied by Samuel Greg Jnr).

Governance

The town falls within the Westminster constituency of Macclesfield, which is currently represented by the Conservative MP David Rutley.^[5]

Bollington is represented by two councillors on the Cheshire East Unitary Council, with one seat currently occupied by a Conservative and the other by an independent (Bollingtonfirst).^[6]

Bollington Town Council^[7] has Parish status. There are 12 councillors. From 2012 a number of responsibilities and buildings are being taken over from Cheshire East Council, including the Civic Hall.

Services and provisions

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service have a retained fire station in Bollington. The town has a medical practice on Wellington Road, and a dental surgery on Bollington Road. The town does not have its own police station; policing is provided by the Cheshire Constabulary. The town has a small yet thriving local retail community, with three bakers, three butchers, a delicatessen, and a small Cooperative convenience store. The town has several notable restaurants, wine bars, and coffee shops, along with a dozen or so traditional public houses.^[8]

Education

Bollington is served by four primary schools. The Roman Catholic school of St Gregory is on Albert Road, along with the secular Dean Valley Community Primary School. The Church of England has two schools in the town, St John the Baptist Church of England on Grimshaw Lane, and Bollington Cross Church of England on Bollington Road. St John's School is part of a federation with Pott Shrigley Church of England School. Secondary aged students travel to Tytherington School, The Fallibroome Academy, The Kings School, Macclesfield, All Hallows Catholic College and Poynton High School.

Sport

The Recreation Ground, across the road from the Civic Hall and Library, provides a football pitch, bowling green, tennis court and cricket pitch, all of which are in regular use by Bollington Cricket Club,^[9] Bollington Athletics Club, and the Bollington Bowling Club. Another bowling green is provided in Ingersley Vale for employees and retirees of Tullis Russell Coatings, a major employer in the town. A further cricket pitch located along Clarke Lane, by the Lord Clyde pub, is home to Kerridge Cricket Club. Bollington has a hockey club, which plays on the King's School Astro pitches.

Landmarks

Bollington is notable for White Nancy, a stone obelisk located on top of Kerridge Hill. At c.6m high and painted white, this 1817 monument to victory at the Battle of Waterloo is visible from as far away as Shropshire and the western hills of Cheshire.

The big mills, Clarence, Adelphi and Lowerhouse, are notable examples of 19th century mill buildings in the northwest of England.

Culture

The town has several churches. The parish Church of St John the Baptist closed several years ago, leaving St Oswald's Church in Bollington Cross as the only Anglican church. St Gregory's church on Wellington Road is the Roman Catholic place of worship in the town. The Grade-II listed Methodist church on Wellington Road has been closed to worship and has been sold.

Bollington Festival 2005

Every five or six years since 1964, the town has played host to the Bollington Festival which runs for two and a half weeks and involves various community activities, from concerts, theatrical, opera, art exhibitions, to local history events, science events and competitions.^[10]

In 2005 Canalside Community Radio was launched to provide community news and entertainment for the duration of the festival. Cousins John and Terry Waite opened the Festival.^[11] In December 2008 Canalside Radio – The Thread – began broadcasting to northeast Cheshire on 102.8 FM having obtained a full-time licence after five years of trying.

Hiking, cycling and riding through the hills around Bollington and along the Macclesfield Canal towpath are popular activities. Boats can be hired for day-trips and holidays at Grimshaw Lane canal wharf.

The town has many traditional public houses, most of which have not been modernised.^[8]

Societies and organisations

Bollington has a branch of the Women's Institute, which meets regularly while retired professional gentlemen may meet at the weekly Probus.

The Guide and Scout movements are all represented. Bollington United Junior Football Club (JFC) has three clubs for children ranging from under-10s to under-17s.^[12] Bollington is home to 236 Squadron of the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps, which has its headquarters on Shrigley Road. The Squadron had close links with 42(R) (formerly 236 OCU) of the Royal Air Force before the latter was disbanded in the government defence review in 2010. The Sea Cadet Corps is for 10‑ to 18‑year‑olds. The Bollington and Macclesfield Sea Cadets also have a unit website.^[13]

There are numerous artistic, musical and theatrical groups^[14] all providing popular exhibitions and performances. Many of these are held at the Bollington Arts Centre.^[15]

Transport

Bollington is 2 miles (3.2 km) from the A523 road that runs from Hazel Grove, through Macclesfield to Leek in Staffordshire. The nearest motorway junctions are Junctions 17 and 19 (Congleton and Knutsford) on the M6, and junction 1 and 27 (Cheadle and Wilmslow) on the M60.^[16]

Bollington no longer has its own railway station, the nearest one being in Prestbury or Macclesfield for InterCity trains to London and Manchester. Regular bus services connect Bollington with Macclesfield, Hazel Grove and Stockport.

Bollington Station in 1960

Bollington used to be served by the Macclesfield, Bollington & Marple Railway, a former railway between Marple Rose Hill and Macclesfield. The railway was built in 1869 by the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) and the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR), as a part of a quest to provide an alternative link between Manchester and the south, that was independent of the London & North Western Railway (L&NWR). Cotton mill owner Thomas Oliver had suggested this route hoping to revive the cotton mills of Bollington, the Kerridge stone quarries as well as the coal fields at Poynton. The line was closed in 1970 as part of the Beeching closures. The trackbed is today used for walking, cycling and horseriding; it is known as the Middlewood Way.^[17]

The Macclesfield Canal passes through the centre of the town and is a picturesque and rural part of the Cheshire Ring. The stretch from Marple Junction on the Peak Forest Canal to Bosley is without locks and is carried on an embankment through Bollington. Kerridge was the scene of a spectacular breach on 29 February 1912, where the water from Bosley to Bugsworth basin emptied through the town.^[18] Today the canal is used for leisure purposes.

Media

Bollington Live! is a publication produced three times a year by a team of volunteer writers, editor and distributors. It is funded by local businesses who sponsor and advertise. It covers a wide range of issues of local interest, from historical articles, to matters of current concern. The magazine is delivered free to every household and business in Bollington, plus others in Pott Shrigley and Whiteley Green by almost fifty volunteers. The magazine was started in 1994 by a group of residents who felt that whilst Bollington was served by the neighbouring Macclesfield newspapers, it was in need of a Bollington-centred publication. All copies are available online^[19] on the town's extensive Happy Valley web site.^[20]

Notable people

• John Ryle, Born and died in Bollington. Emigrated to the United States and became known as the Father of the United States silk industry.
• Sir James Chadwick, the Nobel prize-winning scientist who proved the existence of neutrons, was born in Bollington, and began his education at Bollington Cross School.
• James Bailey, schooled, brought up, and lives in Bollington. A professional footballer for Derby County.
• Libby Clegg, blind athlete, born and lived in Bollington until moving to Scotland at the age of 11. Silver Medal winner at both the 2008 Summer Paralympics and the 2012 London Paralympics.
• David Dickinson, of TV's Bargain Hunt and Real Deal fame, lives in the town.
• Angie Lewin, designer of prints and screens, was born and brought up in Bollington.
• Terry Waite, best known for having been held hostage for four years in Lebanon, but who has devoted his life to humanitarian causes, was born and lived for a very short time in Bollington; his father was one of the town's policemen.
• Ben Amos, professional footballer, lived for some years in Bollington and played for local team Bollington United; once played for Manchester United.^[21] but is now playing for Bolton Wanderers.

See also

• Listed buildings in Bollington
• Hollin Old Hall
• Clarence Mill

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bollington.

• Bollington In Photos. This is a website about Bollington dedicated to photographing the people and places in and around Bollington.
• Bollington Circular Walk (Discovercheshire website)

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