Belfield is a area within

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Beal and

River Roch The River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell. Course Rising on Chelburn Moor (south of Todmorden in the Pennines), the river flows south through Littleborough towards Rochdale where ...

, east-northeast of Rochdale's town centre. Belfield is bound to the east by the Rochdale Canal, which forms Rochdale's common boundary with Firgrove in Milnrow. Historically a part of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, Belfield was formerly a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

within the ancient township of Butterworth, and for a time held in part by the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

. Belfield derives its name from the River Beal, which flows into the area from neighbouring Milnrow. A family with the surname Belfield were living in the locality during the reign of Edward III, when lands in Butterworth were conveyed to Adam de Belfield (1278–1279). In 1293–1294 Richard de Belfield conveyed to his brother Henry, "all his lands lying between the Bele (River Beal) and Stonneybeck ( Stanney Brook)". For centuries a major landmark in the area was Belfield Hall, a

historic house A historic house generally meets several criteria before being listed by an official body as "historic." Generally the building is at least a certain age, depending on the rules for the individual list. A second factor is that the building be in ...

held by local dignitaries, including Alexander Butterworth and Richard Townley, who each served as the

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanc ...

. There is a possible moated site in Belfield (). The building on the site probably dates to c.1619 with parts rebuilt in 1752; part of the building is used as two cottages whilst the rest has been left to decay. Belfield's Anglican

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

is St Ann's. It was consecrated by the

Bishop of Manchester The Bishop of Manchester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). The current bishop is David Walker w ...

in 1913. Belfield Bridge lies over the Rochdale Canal and is a Grade II listed structure. Belfield Community School, a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

, lies within the locality.

References

{{Authority control Areas of Rochdale