Cheadle profile

Today, Cheadle is a busy, affluent, suburban community nestling between the Manchester metropolis and the leafy lanes of rural Cheshire. One hundred years ago however it was a small, quiet, semi-rural parish which was neither part of Manchester or nearby Stockport.

The growth of recent times has seen many new houses built, as well as modern offices, business parks, superstores and even a luxury hotel complex. A new nearby motorway means Cheadle is now also much more accessible to all parts of the country, while the expansion at Manchester Airport means there are sometimes as many as 50 flights an hour passing overhead, with direct flights to destinations across the globe.

 

But while the modern developments have shaped contemporary life, Cheadle also has a very rich history and was mentioned nearly 1000 years ago in the Domesday Book, when it was no more than a small clearing in a wood, with a very sparse population. However, discoveries of coins and pottery in recent times suggest people may have been living in the area hundreds of years earlier, although exact records are now very hard to find.

For many years, the symbolic centre of Cheadle has been St. Mary's church, which, apart from necessary restoration and renovation, has barely changed since it was completed more than 450 years ago.

But while St Mary's is the oldest remaining building in Cheadle, there are several grand houses which have been standing for around 150 years or more. These include Moseley Old Hall, Abney Hall and Bruntwood Hall. Similarly, the brightly painted White Hart pub and the George and Dragon pub (an old coaching inn), located at either end of Cheadle High Street, are other notable institutions which have played an important part in Cheadle's history.

The High Street itself has also changed considerably as shops have come and gone, but it remains at the heart of village life and most days of the week it is bustling with shoppers, traders and commuters.

There's also plenty of beautiful parks, gardens and open spaces in the area, most notably Bruntwood Park and Abney Hall Park which are filled with a wonderful assortment of fauna and flora and provide an ideal resting place to escape from the hectic pressures of everyday life.

Over the years, Cheadle has survived bombings in World War 2, the closure of both its railway stations and only cinema and even its independence when it was incorporated into the borough of Stockport in the 1970s. But despite the setbacks, it remains a vibrant, thriving, popular place to live and with the right direction, it is hoped it will continue to prosper in the decades ahead, while retaining its idyllic village charm which has been part of its appeal for many generations.