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Coordinates: 53°17'53?N 2°05'35?W? / ?53.298, -2.093
Bollington is a small town[2] in the Borough of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It is located north of Macclesfield and east of Prestbury. In the Middle Ages it was part of the Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield. According to the 2001 UK census, Bollington had a population of 7,095.[1]
Bollington is also known locally as the Happy Valley. It is situated on the River Dean and the Macclesfield Canal.
Bollington's most famous landmark is White Nancy, a monument that some say was built to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo in the Napoleonic Wars at the summit of Kerridge Hill.
Bollington used to be served by the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple railway, a former railway between Marple Rose Hill and Macclesfield. The railway was built to serve the cotton mills of Bollington and Kerridge stone quarries as well as the coal fields in the area, principally at Poynton. The line was closed in 1970 because British Rail was losing money on the line. Now it is a popular place for walking and riding horses and is known as the Middlewood Way.
Cotton mills
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Bollington was a major centre for cotton milling. At one time there were as many as thirteen mills in the town, many along the valley of the River Dean, but none is still working in cotton or other fibres, and only four original mills remain in modern commercial use.
Three of the remaining mills, Adelphi, Clarence and Lowerhouse, are in good condition and in full use. The top floors of Clarence Mill have been converted to apartments and the mill also provides a number of retail outlets on the Macclesfield Canal side together with the Discovery Centre, associated with the local Civic Society.[3][4] This tells the story of the Happy Valley, its cotton and other industries. A highlight is the society's vast photographic archive of the local area. Adelphi Mill, which belonged to the Courtaulds Group,[5] was closed in the 1960s and is now converted for many small firms to operate from and has gained a new lease on life.
Lowerhouse Mill houses a thriving paper coating business. It was built by the Antrobus family, and later owned and developed by Samuel Greg, son of Samuel Greg of Quarry Bank Mill at nearby Styal, who became the manager of the Lowerhouse Mill on his father's death in 1832. Samuel (junior) was renowned for his advanced social thinking and practices, providing housing, gardens, schooling and other benefits for his workers. He gave Bollington its nickname of the Happy Valley, but in German: Goldenthal.[6]
Lower Mill now houses part of Tullis Russell Coated Papers.
One of the oldest surviving mills in Bollington is the very small Defiance Mill built in Queen Street about 1800, 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.
Rumours abound that the currently derelict Ingersley Vale Mill (In neighbouring Rainow but only accessible by road from Bollington) is notable for sightings of ghosts and things of the supernatural. Many of the ghost seen were of a woman who died while using the machines in the Industrial era. Plans are in place to re-develop the main mill into apartments and demolish other later additions to the mill site, to build housing in their place. The development is hoped to incorporate a wide range of 'green' measures, including bringing back into use the mill pond and leat to provide water to generate electricity.
Culture & Activities
Every five or six years since 1964, the town has played host to the Bollington Festival which runs for a fortnight and involves various community activities, from concerts to shows, to local history events, to competitions.[7] In 2005 Canalside Community Festival was launched to provide community news and entertainment for the duration of the festival. Cousins John and Terry Waite opened the Festival.[8]
Hiking, cycling, riding, and walking through the hills and along the canalside around Bollington are popular activities. Grimshaw Lane canal wharf is a place where boats can be hired there for daytrips and holidays.
The town is well known for its large number of pubs, most of which have not been modernised.[4]
The Recreation Ground, across the road from the library, provides a football pitch, bowling green and cricket pitch, all of which are in regular use by Bollington Cricket Club,[9] Bollington Athletics Club,[10] and the Bollington Bowling Club. Another cricket pitch located between South West Avenue and Clarke Lane, by the Lord Clyde pub, is home to Kerridge Cricket Club.[11]
Bollington's youngsters can attend the local Youth Club and the Air Cadets at Water Street School, and the various branches of the Guiding and Scouting movements are all represented. Bollington United Junior Football Club (JFC) has three clubs for children ranging from under-10s to under-17s.[12]
Bollington Live!
"Bollington Live!" is a publication produced three times a year by volunteers. It is funded by local businesses who advertise, and 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 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 felt that a Bollington-centred publication was needed. Some copies are available online.[13]
The Sea Cadets
The Sea Cadet Corps is for 10 - 18 year old persons, it is a youth-based international organisation where youths can be part of a uniformed group which shows youths how to have sensible but serious fun. The Bollington and Macclesfield Sea Cadets also have a unit website.[14]
Famous Residents & Natives
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 short time in Bollington; his father was the town's policeman.
Sir James Chadwick, the Nobel prize-winning scientist who proved the existence of neutrons, was born in Bollington.
David Dickinson, of TV's Bargain Hunt fame, lives in the town.
Notes
- ^ a b "Official 2001 UK census figures". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved on 14 June 2007.
- ^ "Bollington Town". Cheshire County Council. Retrieved on 14 June 2007.
- ^ "Bollington Civic Society". www.happy-valley.org.uk. Retrieved on 25 October 2008.
- ^ a b "Bollington Discovery Centre". www.happy-valley.org.uk. Retrieved on 25 October 2008.
- ^ "Courtaulds group". www.courtaulds.co.uk.[dead link]
- ^ Longden, G; Bollington Civic Society History Group (1995). Bollington in old picture postcards. Europese Bibliotheek B.V., Uitgeverij Boekhandel A. ISBN 9028861580.
- ^ "Bollington Festival". www.bollingtonfestival.org.uk. Retrieved on 25 October 2008.
- ^ "Canalside Community Radio". www.cce-fm.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 October 2008.
- ^ "Bollington Cricket Club". bollington.play-cricket.com. Retrieved on 25 October 2008.
- ^ "Bollington Athletic Football Club". www.theshops.co.uk.[dead link]
- ^ "Kerridge Cricket Club". pages.zoom.co.uk.[dead link]
- ^ "Bollington United JFC". www.bollingtonunited.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 October 2008.
- ^ "Past editions of "Bollington Live!"". www.happy-valley.co.uk. Retrieved on 14 June 2007.
- ^ "Bollington and Macclesfield Sea Cadets". units.ms-sc.org. Retrieved on 25 October 2008.
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