Alderley, Cheshire
Historical Description
Alderley, a village, a township, and a parish in Cheshire. The village lies on an affluent of the river Bollin, 6 miles W by NW of Macclesfield. It has a station (Alderley Edge) on the L. & N.W.R., about a mile distant, 14½ miles from Manchester, and 175 from London; also, a post office under Crewe; money order and telegraph office, Chelford. The parish includes the townships of Nether Alderley, Over Alderley, and Great Warford. Acreage of Nether Alderley, 2852; population of the civil parish, 517; of the ecclesiastical, 895. Alderley Edge has a height of 650 feet, commands an extensive view, and yields excellent sandstone. Alderley Park is the seat of Lord Stanley of Alderley. The park is extensive and finely wooded, containing some magnificent beech trees and a large lake, called Radnor Mere. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Chester; net value, £750. Patron, Lord Stanley of Alderley. The parish church is an ancient stone edifice, and was restored in 1855 and 1878; it contains a fine monument in Caen stone to the first Lord Stanley.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Cheshire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Alderley St. Mary | |
Hundred | Macclesfield | |
Poor Law union | Macclesfield |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1639.
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The parish church of St. Mary, at Nether Alderley, is a building of grey stone in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave of three bays, aisles, and a tower containing 6 bells: there is a memorial window, inserted by the parishioners in 1856, to John Thomas, 1st Baron Stanley of Alderley, d. 23 October, 1850, to whom there is also a monument of Caen stone; by Westmacott; there is another to Edward John, 2nd Baron Stanley P.C. d. 16 June, 1869, a tablet to the Right Rev. Edward Stanley D.D. rector of this parish 1805-37, and bishop of Norwich 1837-49, d. 6 Sept. 1849: the chancel was rebuilt in 1855, and in 1877-8 the church was thoroughly restored under the care of Messrs. Paley and Austin, architects, of Lancaster, the total cost amounting to nearly £2,000. There are 250 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Alderley from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Alderley (St. Mary))
Land and Property
Alderley Park covers an area of 300 acres, and contains a sheet or ornamental water; adjoining the park is a fine beech wood, most of the trees in which were planted in 1620; the mansion, partly of red brick covered with ivy, was originally erected about 1790; a new wing, principally of stone, was added about 1860, and further enlargements made in 1904; above the park is a high ridge of ground called "Alderley Edge," affording fine views of the country.
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Cheshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Alderley are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Cheshire papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Cheshire, 1580 is available on the Heraldry page.