Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the unitary authority of

Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council. Towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Co ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, south of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census.

History

Toponymy

Wilmslow derives its name from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''Wīghelmes hlāw'' = "mound of a man called Wīghelm."

Lindow Man

Much about the local

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

history of Wilmslow was uncovered with the discovery of

Lindow Man Lindow Man, also known as Lindow II and (in jest) as Pete Marsh, is the preserved bog body of a man discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss near Wilmslow in Cheshire, North West England. The remains were found on 1 August 1984 by commer ...

, in

Lindow Moss __NOTOC__ Lindow Moss, also known as Saltersley Common, is a raised mire peat bog on the edge of Wilmslow in Cheshire, England. It has been used as common land since the medieval period and is best known for the discovery of the preserved bog b ...

. Preserved in the peat bogs for 2,000 years, Lindow Man is one of the most important Iron Age finds in the country. Despite a campaign to keep Lindow Man in the area, he was transferred to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and is a central feature of the Iron Age exhibition. Lindow Man returned to

Manchester Museum Manchester Museum is a museum displaying works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history and is owned by the University of Manchester, in England. Sited on Oxford Road ( A34) at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, ...

in April 2008 for a year-long exhibition.

Recent history

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

bomb exploded near the railway station in March 1997, damaging signalling equipment. The original IRA message was confusing and led to the evacuation of the Wilmslow Police Station to the local leisure centre not far from the explosion. Nobody was hurt. In the general election of the same year, the parliamentary constituency of Tatton, in which Wilmslow falls, made headlines as part of the "sleaze" accusations levelled against the then

Conservative Government Conservative or Tory government may refer to: Canada In Canadian politics, a Conservative government may refer to the following governments administered by the Conservative Party of Canada or one of its historical predecessors: * 1st Canadian Mi ...

. Tatton MP, Neil Hamilton, was accused of accepting cash for tabling

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

ary questions, and subsequently defeated in the election by independent candidate

Martin Bell Martin Bell, (born 31 August 1938) is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 1997 to 2001. He is sometimes known as " ...

. Bell was supported in his door to door canvassing for votes by

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series ''Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ' ...

and served a single term as MP.

Administrative history

Wilmslow was one of the eight ancient parishes of the

Macclesfield Hundred The hundred of Macclesfield was an ancient division of the historic county of Cheshire, in northern England. It was known to have been in existence at least as early as 1242, and it was formed to a great extent from the earlier Domesday hundred ...

of Cheshire. It was subdivided into the townships of Bollinfee,

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

, Fulshaw and Pownall Fee. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 the townships became civil parishes in their own right. Wilmslow was recreated as a civil parish on 30 September 1894Wilmslow CP/AP/CP through time , Census tables with data for the Parish-level Unit
/ref> when Pownall Fee and Fulshaw were abolished. Wilmslow gained most of Bollinfee, most of Fulshaw and part of Pownall Fee; the rest of Fulshaw became part of the much reduced Bollinfee civil parish, in Alderley Edge Urban District, while the other of Pownall Fee were used to create the new

Styal Styal (, like ''style'') is a village and civil parish on the River Bollin near Wilmslow, Cheshire, England. History Styal village grew during the early years of the Industrial Revolution when industrialist Samuel Greg built a cotton mill and ...

civil parish. The Wilmslow Urban District Council came into being in 1895 consisting only of the newly formed civil parish of Wilmslow. On 21 June 1951 it was granted its own

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

. On 1 April 1974 Wilmslow became part of Macclesfield Borough and on 1 April 2009 it became part of the

unitary authority.

Expansion

On 1 April 1936, Wilmslow lost to

Alderley Edge Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. In 2011, it had a population of 4,780. Alderley Edge is northwest of Macclesfield and south of Manchester, at the base of a steep and thickly wooded sandstone escarpment, Alder ...

. However it gained from Chorley and on the abolition of Bollinfee,

Handforth Handforth is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 6,266. In the 1960s and 1970s, two overspill housing estates, Spath Lane in Handforth, and Colshaw Farm nearby in Wi ...

and

civil parishes it gained 1,080 and respectively. Wilmslow along with other towns such as Whitworth,

Poynton Poynton is a town in Cheshire, England, on the easternmost fringe of the Cheshire Plain, south-east of Manchester, north of Macclesfield and south of Stockport. Poynton has formed part of the Cheshire East unitary authority since the abolit ...

and Alderley Edge successfully objected to being part of the metropolitan county

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

when it was formed in 1974 although the town does form part of the

Greater Manchester Urban Area The Greater Manchester Built-up Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), consisting of the large conurbation that encompasses the urban element of the city of Manchester and the metropolitan area that forms ...

Demography

Population and ethnicity

According to the

United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

the wards of Wilmslow North and Wilmslow South have a combined population of 25,498, of which 13,400 (52.5%) are females and 12,098 (47.5%) are males. In addition, 5197 (20.4%) are aged 16 and under while 4780 (18.8%) are aged 65 and over. Ethnic white groups (British, Irish, other) account for 95.9% of the population, with ethnic minority groups accounting for 4.1% of the population.

Religion

A breakdown of religious groups and denominations: *Christian – 76.7% (19,567 people) *Muslim – 1.4% (363 people) *Jewish – 0.7% (182 people) *Hindu – 0.7% (168 people) *Buddhist – 0.4% (94 people) *Sikh – 0.2% (39 people) *Any Other Religion – 0.2% (58 people) *No Religion – 13.3% (3,390 people) *Religion Not Stated – 6.1% (1,555 people)

Places of worship

There are three

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

churches in Wilmslow, St. Bartholomew's, St Anne's and St John's. St Bartholomew's is a 16th-century building, which was modified in the 19th century. It has a turreted bell tower. The first rector of the church was a Thomas Dale, who is buried beneath a headstone presumably engraved by him outside the entrance to the church.
Wilmslow Methodist Church
occupies a modern building close to the town centre, replacing an 1886 building which itself replaced the original 1798 church, built 7 years after John Wesley's death. The Sacred Heart & St Teresa's Church is the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church and dates from the late 19th century. Dean Row Chapel, east of the town centre, is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

built around the end of the 17th century. Initially

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, it is now a Unitarian chapel. There is also
United Reformed Church
in Wilmslow close to the town centre.

Geography

Situated in the

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

, 11 miles (18 km) from

Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...

and 7 miles (11 km) from

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

, Wilmslow town centre is focused upon Bank Square, Grove Street and Water Lane. Although Bank Square has traditionally provided the location for many of the town's banks, the name in fact originates from the bank, or slope, leading down to the Carrs and up towards the railway station. The

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 t ...

flows through

The Carrs Park The Carrs Park is a park in Wilmslow, Cheshire, England. The park was gifted to the town by Boddingtons Brewery, Henry Boddington and follows the path of the River Bollin. History The word 'Carrs' comes from the Old Norse word 'Kjarr' meaning 'm ...

and once provided the power source for nearby

Quarry Bank Mill Quarry Bank Mill (also known as Styal Mill) in Styal, Cheshire, England, is one of the best preserved textile factories of the Industrial Revolution. Built in 1784, the cotton mill is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a ...

, now a

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

site, and enjoyment for the local population. Before the railway came in 1842, Wilmslow comprised only a few farms and a church. For purposes of the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...

, Wilmslow forms part of the

Economy

The town is part of the

Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...

together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury. It grew in popularity in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

as a desirable area for wealthy North West (most generally Manchester) merchants to move out to once the railways arrived and connected the towns. Wilmslow is the founding location of clothing giant

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 100 c ...

which has its headquarters in the area. The town is a key location for Royal London, the mutual financial services company. The

Information Commissioner's Office The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is a non-departmental public body which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It is the independe ...

, one of the government's executive agencies, is also based in Wilmslow. The UK headquarters of

Waters Corporation Waters Corporation is a publicly traded Analytical Laboratory instrument and software company headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts. The company employs more than 7,800 people, with manufacturing facilities located in Milford, Taunton, Massachu ...

, an American manufacturer of analytical laboratory instruments, is located on Altrincham Road in Wilmslow, at the site of

Huntingdon Life Sciences Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) was a contract research organisation (CRO) founded in 1951 in Cambridgeshire, England. It had two laboratories in the United Kingdom and one in the United States. With over 1,600 staff, it was until 2015 the larges ...

' Stamford Lodge facility, which was demolished in 2012. Wilmslow and its close surroundings are served by several car showrooms of notable marques. These include

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

and

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

. The town's Aston Martin dealership sells the highest number of Aston Martins in the UK; a high demand stimulated largely by the high level of affluence in the town.whatsin-wilmslow :: wilmslow, cheshire
/ref>

Recreation and sport

The town has a number of parks including

. Wilmslow held its first Scarecrow Festival in July 2010 with 85 local businesses taking part and 93 different scarecrows. The week-long festival is organised by the Rotary Club of Wilmslow Dean and the members of the Wilmslow Business Group. The Wilmslow Festive 10k, organised by Run North West, takes place at the end of November each year. The run starts in Wilmslow town centre with 2479 finishers in 2017. The

Wilmslow Half Marathon The Wilmslow Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road running race, established in 1984 and usually run in March as part of the Wilmslow Running Festival. Course The race starts to the west of Wilmslow, Cheshire and to the south of Manches ...

is an annual half marathon road running race, established in 1984 and usually run in March.

Transport

Wilmslow railway station Wilmslow railway station is in Wilmslow, Cheshire, England, south of Manchester Piccadilly on the Crewe to Manchester Line. This station is a junction on the Crewe–Manchester line south of Stockport with the Styal line from Wilmslow to Ma ...

is situated where the electrified line from

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

divides. One line continues to Manchester via

Cheadle Hulme Cheadle Hulme () is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England,. Historically in Cheshire, it is south-west of Stockport and south-east of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley, on the Cheshire Plain ...

and

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

, the other continues to Manchester Piccadilly via

, Manchester Airport and

Heald Green Heald Green is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. In the south-west of the borough, near Manchester Airport and within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it is bordered by Gatley and C ...

. The latter route is commonly known as the Styal Line. There are frequent services to Manchester, Alderley Edge, Crewe and

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those n ...

, plus a frequent service operated by

Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consi ...

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

, via

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. In addition, there is an infrequent daily service to

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

via

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, operated by

CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) ...

. There is also a regular hourly service direct to

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...

, operated by

Avanti West Coast Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise. During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...

. Wilmslow has two regular bus routes, which are: : 88 Altrincham-Wilmslow-Knutsford service (Monday - Saturday hourly) : 130 Parrs Wood - Macclesfield (Monday - Saturday hourly) There are no longer any bus services towards the airport, Stockport or Manchester or any Sunday or Bank Holiday bus services. The town is served by a number of bus services, with the main bus interchange being at Bank Square: The A34 Manchester to

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

and

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

road now bypasses the town centre to the east.

lies just four miles (6 km) along the A538 to the north west, but Wilmslow lies away from the approach and departure routes and therefore does not suffer from aircraft noise as

Hale Barns Hale Barns is a village near Altrincham in Greater Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre, 2 miles west of Manchester Airport and close to the River Bollin. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 9,736. Medieval ...

and

do. The A34 bypass is the main road network that serves the town of Wilmslow. This was extended beyond neighbouring

in Winter 2010–11. The A34 Bypass joins the A555 at Handforth Dean and this road has recently been extended to

Notable people

James Upton Corporal James Upton VC (3 May 1888 − 10 August 1949) was a British Army soldier and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...

(1670 in Wilmslow – 1749) an English clergyman, schoolmaster, and literary editor. *

Samuel Finney Samuel Finney (1857 – 14 April 1935) was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. Life and career Born at Talk-o'-th'-Hill, Finney began working when he was ten years old, and later became a coal miner. In 1881, he was appointed ...

(1719 in Wilmslow – 1798) an English miniature-painter. * James Tait (1863 – 1944 in Wilmslow) an English medieval historian, noted for his retiring, scholarly life in Wilmslow. *

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

FRS, FSS (1809 – 1898) politician, statesman and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

four separate times, lived at the Wilmslow Rectory between January and April 1828 to study under the supervision of Reverend John Turner. *

Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...

OBE FRS (1912 – 1954 in Wilmslow)

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

pioneer and driving force behind the Bombe machine for cracking the German

Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup * Enigma machine, a family ...

cypher, is perhaps Wilmslow's most notable resident. In 2004, a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

was placed on his house in his honour. *

Patrick George Patrick Herbert George (28 July 1923 – 23 April 2016) was an English painter who taught at the Slade School of Fine Art in London for most of his career. He was best known for his landscapes but also painted a number of portraits, including one ...

(1923 in Wilmslow – 2016) an English painter who taught at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

Roger Thatcher Arthur Roger Thatcher (22 October 1926 – 13 February 2010), commonly known as Roger Thatcher or sometimes as A. Roger Thatcher, was a British statistician. Thatcher was born in Birmingham and spent his formative early years in Wilmslow, Chesh ...

CB (1926 – 2010) a British statistician, spent his formative early years in Wilmslow *

Antony Grey Anthony Edgar Gartside Wright (6 October 1927 – 30 April 2010), better known by his pseudonym Antony Grey, was an English LGBT rights activist. Grey was credited by Lord Arran to have "done more than any single man to bring this social proble ...

(1927 in Wilmslow – 2010) pioneer gay rights activist *

Alan Garner Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...

OBE (born 1934), an author known for his books ''

The Owl Service ''The Owl Service'' is a low fantasy novel for young adults by Alan Garner, published by Collins in 1967. Set in modern Wales, it is an adaptation of the story of the Welsh mythology, mythical Welsh woman Blodeuwedd, an "expression of the myt ...

'', ''

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author Alan Garner. Garner began work on the novel, his literary debut, in 1957, after he moved into the late medieval house, Toad Hall, in Blackden ...

'' and ''

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 Once again, it details the involvement of two children, Colin and Susan, with the ...

,'' the last two of which are set in nearby

. * Richard Evans (born 1945 in Wilmslow) a graphic designer, photographer and illustrator * John Harris (born 1969 in Wilmslow) a British journalist, writer, and critic. *

Ronald Brunskill Ronald William Brunskill OBE (3 January 1929 – 9 October 2015) was an English academic who was Reader in Architecture at the University of Manchester. He was an authority on the history of architecture and particularly on British vernacular arch ...

(1929 – 2015) architectural historian

Acting & Broadcasting

* Stuart Hall (born 1929) a TV presenter convicted of indecent assault, lived in Wilmslow from 1958 to 2013. *

William Roache William Patrick Roache (born 25 April 1932) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since it was first broadcast on 9 December 1960. He is listed in the ''Guinness World Records ...

OBE (born 1932 in

Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...

) actor in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' since its inception in 1960. Roache has lived in Wilmslow for most of his adult life. *

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...

(born 1951) a presenter on British radio and TV, attended Wilmslow County Grammar School for Boys *

Barbara Wilshere Barbara Edith Eileen Wilshere (born 7 December 1959) is a South African-born British actress who has appeared in theatre, films and television. Early life She attended Wilmslow County Grammar School for Girls. Career She was the guest lead ...

(born 1959) a British actress who has appeared in theatre, films and television, attended Wilmslow County Grammar School for Girls *

Jo Wheeler Jo Wheeler (born 3 July 1963, Manchester) is an English weather forecaster who currently works for Sky News. Early life Wheeler's father and uncle worked in the broadcasting industry. From 1974–79 she attended Wilmslow County Grammar School fo ...

(born 1963) an English weather forecaster for Sky News, attended Wilmslow County Grammar School for Girls *Evie Lewis (born 1969) mayor from 1972 to 1998 *

Fionnuala Ellwood Fionnuala Ellwood (born 3 July 1964 in Dublin, Ireland) is an actress best known for portraying Lynn Whiteley in the ITV soap ''Emmerdale'' between 1989 and 1994. Early life She attended Wilmslow County Grammar School for Girls. Career Other ...

(born 1964) an actress, portrayed ''Lynn Whiteley'' in the ITV soap ''Emmerdale'', attended Wilmslow County Grammar School for Girls * Journalist and broadcaster

Miranda Sawyer Miranda Caroline Sawyer (born January 1967) is an English author, journalist and broadcaster. Education and early life Sawyer was born in Bristol and grew up in Wilmslow, Cheshire with her brother Toby, who is an actor. Sawyer was educated at ...

(born 1967) and her brother, actor Toby (born 1969) were born and grew up in Wilmslow *

Chris Hawkins Christopher Charles Hawkins (born 23 September 1975) is a British radio presenter, DJ, and music pundit. Hawkins is a regular early morning presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music. He can also be heard presenting documentary programmes on BBC Radio ...

(born 23 September 1975) and his wife

Clare Nasir Clare Lyn Nasir (born 20 June 1970) is an English meteorologist, author, and TV presenter. Early life Born in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, Nasir's family is musical, with Nasir playing the saxophone, while three of her brothers are professio ...

(born 1970) both presenters and journalists, have lived in Wilmslow since 2012. *

Simon Gregson Simon Alan Gregory (born 2 October 1974), better known by his stage name, Simon Gregson, is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Steve McDonald in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since 1989. He has rece ...

(born 1974) actor who plays taxi boss Steve McDonald in ''

.'' *

Ashley Taylor Dawson Philip Ashley Taylor Dawson (born 11 January 1982), known as Ashley Taylor Dawson, is an English actor and singer. He is known for portraying the role of Darren Osborne in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', as well as being a member of the ...

(born 1982) an English actor and singer, plays ''Darren Osborne'' in the British Channel 4 soap opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

'', also owns a night club in Wilmslow. *

John Junior John Junior, known as The Duckman is a British mental health activist and script consultant. He is known for co-creating, inspiring and featuring in multi-award winning and British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA nominated documenta ...

(born 1988), is a British mental health activist, who starred in Hollyoaks IRL series. Lives in Wilmslow.

Football

* Len Butt *

Edwin Dutton Edwin Dutton (8 April 1890 – 24 May 1972) was an Anglo-German footballer and coach. Dutton played as a forward for Britannia Berlin 92, BFC Preussen, Newcastle United and Germany. During the First World War he was interned at Ruhleben, a ci ...

Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all tim ...

Park Ji-Sung Park Ji-sung (; ; born 30 March 1981) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in the South Korean capital Seoul, Park is the most successful Asian player in football history, having won 19 trophies in ...

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...