Cheadle Constituency Tour

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A Guide to the Cheadle Constituency The Parliamentary Constituency of Cheadle is a suburban constituency, sitting on the southern tip of Greater Manchester and at the northern end of Cheshire. It is one of three and a half constituencies contained within Stockport Borough, the remaining ones being Hazel Grove, Stockport and Denton & Reddish. Bramhall Village, together with Woodford, has a population of over 40,000. It accounts for at least two of the seven Borough Council wards that make up Cheadle constituency. The earliest reference to Bramhall was in the 11th Century Domesday Book. Its name comes from two Saxon words: brom meaning ‘broom, a local shrub’ and halh meaning ‘secret place’. In other words, Saxon Bramhall was a nook covered in broom. Bramhall today is very different - an affluent and busy suburban village. Prominent in the village is Bramall Hall, a 14th century Cheshire manor house surrounded by the 70 acres of Bramall Park.
Cheadle Hulme, sitting in the Ladybrook Valley, also covers two of the Borough Council wards in Cheadle constituency and was first mentioned in the Domesday Book. There it was linked together with Cheadle as part of an estate owned by the Earl of Chester. Over the years, Cheadle Hulme grew around a cluster of hamlets, such as Smithy Green, Lane End, Gill Bent and Grove Lane. Until the 20th century, it was known as Cheadle Moseley. Today, the village centres around Station Road and is home to 30,000 affluent suburban commuters. At the southwest end of the Cheadle constituency is Heald Green, an independently minded suburban village contained within a single ward. Heald Green plays host to a range of business parks and is very close to Manchester Airport. As a result, there are many businessmen living with their families in the area. At the centre of village life is the Café Unity, organised by local Church groups and run by volunteers. Gatley Village was originally known as Gateclyve, an Old English term meaning ‘a place where goats are kept’. In the Industrial Revolution, Gatley became a centre for loom weavers and button makers, although it was undermined by the later development of heavy machinery, leading to local Luddite riots.
Cotton manufacturers built Gatley Hill House in the mid 18th century and this is an important part of village life today. The 1930s Tatton Cinema, with its Art Deco façade, is another prominent feature of Gatley Village. The Gatley Festival is a celebration of village life and is held on the first Sunday in July each year. Cheadle Village takes its name from the Saxon word cede meaning ‘a clearing in a wood’. Its Domesday identity, with just ten households, is very different to its modern role as a busy suburb of Greater Manchester. Cheadle also houses the first state Grammar School to be established under the 1944 Education Act, Moseley Hall Grammar School bordering the Micker Brook. Stepping Hill Ward centres around Stepping Hill hospital and the busy A6. Stepping Hill Hospital is the main NHS Foundation Trust hospital for Stockport, serving a population of around 350,000. With a 4 star rating, the hospital is a leading centre of employment for those working in healthcare. The A6 altogether runs from Luton to Carlisle and our local stretch is perhaps the A6 at its busiest, being a key trunk road into Manchester. With several local train stations too, it is not surprising that Stepping Hill houses many local commuters. Ben Jeffreys, Feb 09

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