Bowdon, Greater Manchester
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Bowdon is a suburb of
Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...
and
electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
in the
Metropolitan Borough of Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sale. The borough wa ...
,
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, and became part of Greater Manchester in 1974.


History

The name Bowdon came from
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
''Boga-dūn'' = "
bow (weapon) The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was common t ...
-hill" or "curved hill". Bowdon and nearby Dunham Massey are both mentioned in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
, citing the existence of a church and a mill in Bowdon, and Dunham Massey is identified as ''Doneham: Hamo de Mascy''. Both areas came under Hamo de Masci in Norman times. His base was a wooden castle at Dunham. Watch Hill Castle was built on the border between Bowdon and Dunham Massey between the Norman Conquest and the 13th century. The timber castle most likely belonged to Hamo de Mascy; the castle had fallen out of use by the 13th century.Watch Hill Castle by Norman Redhead in The last Hamo de Masci died in 1342. The Black Death came to the area in 1348. Before 1494, the ruins of the castle at Dunham were acquired by Sir Robert Booth. In 1750, this and the other Booth estates passed to the
Earl of Stamford Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dor ...
by his marriage to Lady Mary Booth. The 10th and last
Earl of Stamford Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dor ...
died in 1976, who bequeathed Dunham Massey and his Carrington estates to the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
. The development of Bowdon as a residential area began apace in the 1840s, when the landowners of the area sold off parcels of land. The opening of Bowdon railway station in 1849 provided a commuter route to the centre of
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, making the clean air and tranquility of the Bowdon Downs more attractive to developers. Initially, terraces and
semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single-family Duplex (building), duplex dwelling that shares one common party wall, wall with its neighbour. The name distinguishes this style of construction from detached houses, with no sh ...
houses were built, but by the 1860s and 1870s, the 'merchant princes' had built the large houses on Green Walk which are still a defining feature of the ward.A history of Bowdon in the 19th Century
from Bowdon Bowling and Lawn Tennis Club.
By 1878, Kelly's Directory was describing Bowdon as "studded with handsome villas and mansions", and around 60% of the residents were business owners. Mains water appeared in 1864, and
gas lighting Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a fuel gas such as methane, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly by ...
by 1865. The Altrincham History Society Tour highlights historical facts about Bowdon: * The listed Altrincham/Dunham boundary stone of 1840 is in the garden wall of number 1 Higher Downs at the bottom right. This indicates the boundary of the ancient (1290) Borough of Altrincham with Dunham Massey. * The area from the Devisdale across to The Downs was known as Bowdon Downs until about 1750 and was used as a common. 10,000 of Prince Rupert's troops camped here and on Knutsford Heath in May 1644 on their way from
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...
to Marston Moor during the Civil War. In December 1688, Lord Delamer, later the Earl of Warrington, rallied forces here from his tenants in support of the
Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...
, afterwards William III, who had arrived in England. * The Altrincham Show used to be held on The Devisdale, Bowdon until 1966. Farmers came from as far afield as Scotland, Cornwall and Norfolk to show cattle.


Governance

There is one main tier of local government covering Bowdon, at
metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...
level: Trafford Council. The council is a member of the
Greater Manchester Combined Authority The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is a combined authority for Greater Manchester, England. It was established on 1 April 2011 and consists of 11 members: 10 indirectly elected members, each a directly elected councillor from one ...
, which is led by the directly-elected
Mayor of Greater Manchester The mayor of Greater Manchester is the directly elected metro mayor, mayor of Greater Manchester, responsible for strategic governance in the region that includes health, transport, housing, strategic planning, waste management, policing, the G ...
. The Bowdon ward is used for electing councillors to Trafford Council.


Administrative history

Bowdon was an
ancient 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
, which formed part of the
Bucklow Hundred The hundred of Bucklow 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 1260, and it was formed from the earlier Domesday hundreds of Bochelau and Tun ...
of Cheshire. The parish was large, being subdivided into numerous townships. Ashton upon Mersey appears to have historically been part of Bowdon parish, but had become a separate parish by 1350. Bowdon parish then comprised the townships of
Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...
, Ashley, Bollington, Carrington, Dunham Massey, Hale,
Partington Partington is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is sited south-west of Manchester city centre. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Ches ...
,
Timperley Timperley is a suburban village in the borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, it is approximately six miles southwest of central Manchester. T ...
, and a Bowdon township covering the central part of the parish around the village itself. The parish also included most of the township of
Baguley Baguley ( ) is an area and electoral ward of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 14,794. The name ''Baguley'' is derived from the Old English words ''bagga'' (badger, or possibly ref ...
and part of the township of Agden. From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under the
poor laws The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief in England and Wales that developed out of the codification of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws in 1587–1598. The system continued until the modern welfare state emerged in the late 1940s. E ...
, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Bowdon, the civil functions were exercised by the townships rather than the parish as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so the townships each became separate
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
es. The Bowdon township was made a
local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
in 1864, administered by an elected local board. Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the
Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...
.Bowdon
Genuki – England and Ireland Genealogy – URL accessed 19 February 2007.
Bowdon Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
. The area became part of the
Metropolitan Borough of Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sale. The borough wa ...
in
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
.


Political representation

Bowdon was in the parliamentary constituency of Altrincham from 1885 until 1945; in Bucklow from 1945 until 1950; in Knutsford from 1950 until 1983; and in Altrincham and Sale from 1983 until 1997. Bowdon has been part of the parliamentary
constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
of Altrincham and Sale West since 1997.


Geography

Bowdon is located at the southwest edge of
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
. It is situated on a ridge which rises above the Cheshire Plain. Bowdon is the largest ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, and comprises several small, rural villages surrounded by open countryside, including Dunham Massey Country Park and other more densely populated residential areas. It has been described as an affluent and attractive place to live.Bowdon Ward Profile
, Trafford Council Working Document, 2006. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
The majority of the ward is owned by the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
as part of the Dunham Massey Estate, which serves as a significant communal asset for the residents of the local and wider areas. The estate includes Dunham Massey Hall and a deer park. Bowdon is a semi-rural ward and has a low population density.


Divisions and suburbs

There are four distinct neighbourhoods of Bowdon: * Dunham Massey * Warburton * Bowdon * Bowdon Vale


Demography

According to a Trafford Metropolitan Council report, the population of Bowdon in 2001 was 8,806. 1,730 were under 16 and 1,699 were 65 and over. In 2004, the majority of residents (8,343) described themselves as
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
. Out of 8,414
wards of the United Kingdom The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The '' ward'' is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and dis ...
, Bowdon ranks as 8,235th in terms of deprivation, indicating that only 2.2% of UK wards suffer less deprivation. In 1931, 27.6% of Bowdon's population was middle class compared with 14% in England and Wales, and by 1971, this had increased to 58.9% compared with 24% nationally. Parallel to this doubling of the middle classes in Bowdon was the decline of the working class population. In 1931, 16.1% were working class compared with 36% in England and Wales; by 1971, this had decreased to 14.7% in Bowdon and 26% nationwide. The rest of the population was made up of clerical workers and skilled manual workers or other miscellaneous.


Education

Bowdon contains both state and independent schools. State schools * Bollin Primary School * Bowdon CE Primary School * Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Cavendish Road, Bowdon * Altrincham Grammar School For Boys, Marlborough Road, Bowdon Independent schools * Altrincham Preparatory School, Marlborough Road, Bowdon. * Bowdon Preparatory School, Stamford Road, Bowdon.


Religion

Bowdon Parish is part of the Archdeaconry of Macclesfield within the Anglican Diocese of Chester. The parish covers a number of churches in the south west part of the Greater Manchester conurbation, including: Altrincham St George, Altrincham St John, Ashley, Ashton upon Mersey St Martin, Ashton upon Mersey St Mary Magdalene, Bowdon, Broadheath, Dunham Massey St Margaret, Dunham Massey St Mark, Hale, Oughtrington, Partington and Carrington, Ringway, Sale St Anne, Sale St Paul, Timperley and Warburton. The main parish church of St Mary the Virgin can be seen very clearly from the
Cheshire Plain The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland within the county of Cheshire in North West England but extending south into Shropshire. It extends from the Mersey Valley in the north to the Shropshire Hills in the south, bounded by t ...
. Bowdon Vale Methodist Church has had a presence in the area since 1883. The registers of baptisms 1628–1964, marriages 1628–1964 and burials 1628–1973 have been deposited at the Cheshire Record Office.


Leisure and recreation

* Dunham Massey – formerly the home of the last
Earl of Stamford Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dor ...
, it was acquired by the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
in 1976. It was built on the site of the original Tudor house. The current property is described as "a Country estate including mansion with important collections and 'below stairs' areas, impressive garden and deer park"; * Bowdon Cricket Club, Hockey and Squash Club * Bowdon Vale Cricket Club – founded in the early 1870s and is a member of the Cheshire Cricket League * Bowdon Rugby Union Football Club – HQ is now in Timperley – founded in 1877 * Bowdon Lawn Tennis Club – founded 1877 * Bowdon Bowling and Lawn Tennis Club – founded in 1873 * Bowdon Croquet Club – founded in 1873 * Bowdon Golf Club, Dunham Massey (now defunct) was founded in 1890. The club continued until the early 1950s.


Notable people

Notable local residents have included: * Ernest Francis Bashford, (1873–1923) – oncologist * Michael Bishop, Baron Glendonbrook – chairman of British Midland Airways Ltd and Conservative member of the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
was born in Bowdon * Adolph Brodsky, (1851–1929) – the violinist, lived with his family in their house on East Downs Road * Thomas Coward, (1867–1933) –
ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
was born at 6 Higher Downs in 1861. He wrote ''The Birds of Cheshire'' in 1900. Retrieved on 22 December 2008. * Stirling Gallacher – actress born in Bowdon * John Ireland, (1879–1962) – composer * John F. Leeming, (1895–1965) – founder of the Lancashire Aero Club lived in Bowdon for many years and built aircraft in his garage during 1922/23 *
Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...
– former guitarist and co-songwriter of British alternative rock band
the Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
, notably wrote songs from the studio album '' The Queen Is Dead'' (1986) in his Bowdon home with bandmate
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...
. * Sir Alexander Paterson, (1884–1947) – the reforming penologist, was born in Bowdon in 1884 * Thomas B. Pitfield, (1903–1999) – composer * Hans Richter, (1843–1916) – conductor. Many visiting musicians stayed a Richter's house in The Firs, including the composer Bela Bartók * Paul Spicer – composer and conductor * Richard Sykes, (1839–1923) – local businessman and a pioneer of
Rugby Football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...
, lived in Bowdon and owned land in
North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
, USA. He founded the town of Bowdon, North Dakota in 1899 which he named in tribute to his residence here. *
Fred Talbot Frederick Wilson Talbot (born 17 December 1949) is a British former television presenter. He grew up in North West England, north west England. Early life and teaching Born in Edinburgh, Talbot grew up in north west England, where he attended ...
– television presenter (later convicted sex offender) *
Alison Uttley Alison Jane Uttley ( Taylor; 17 December 1884 – 7 May 1976) was an English writer of over 100 books. She is best known for a children's series about Little Grey Rabbit and Sam Pig. She is also remembered for a pioneering time slip novel for ch ...
, (1884–1976) – moved to Bowdon in 1924 and wrote the ''
Little Grey Rabbit Little Grey Rabbit is the lead character in a classic, eponymous series of English children's books, written by Alison Uttley and illustrated by Margaret Tempest, except for the last five, illustrated by Katherine Wigglesworth. They appeared over ...
'' books while living in Bowdon. There is a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
at Downs House, 13 Higher Downs, Bowdon, where she lived from 1924 to 1938. * Christopher Webber – actor, writer and music critic, an authority on Spanish
zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...
* The Lang Sisters – Edith, Mary and Helen started Culcheth Hall School in 1891 in the building that since 2011 has been Bowdon Preparatory School. There is a
Blue Plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
on the building to commemorate their contribution to girls education.


See also

* Listed buildings in Bowdon, Greater Manchester * List of people from Trafford


References


External links


Altrincham History Society Tour


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070927192443/http://www.trafford.gov.uk/cme/live/dynamic/DocMan2Document.asp?document_id=A7B83889-E107-4DD9-B583-A399CB3C00EF Bowdon ward profile {{Authority control Areas of Greater Manchester Unparished areas in Greater Manchester Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester Geography of Trafford