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Hazel Grove

Coordinates: 53°22′30″N 2°06′40″W / 53.375°N 2.111°W / 53.375; -2.111
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the village of Hazel Grove in Stockport, England. For the UK Parliament constituency, see Hazel Grove (UK Parliament constituency). For the electoral ward, see Hazel Grove (Stockport electoral ward).

Hazel Grove
London Road, the major road through Hazel Grove
Hazel Grove is located in Greater Manchester
Hazel Grove
Hazel Grove
Location within Greater Manchester
Area4.19 km2 (1.62 sq mi)
Population20,170 (Built-up area, 2021)[1]
• Density4,814/km2 (12,470/sq mi)
OS grid referenceSJ925865
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSTOCKPORT
Postcode districtSK6, SK7
Dialling code0161, 01625
PoliceGreater Manchester
FireGreater Manchester
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Greater Manchester
53°22′30″N 2°06′40″W / 53.375°N 2.111°W / 53.375; -2.111

Hazel Grove is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, and became part of Greater Manchester in 1974. The built up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics had a population of 20,170 at the 2021 census.

History

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Until the 16th century, there was very little development at Hazel Grove. The area straddled the boundaries of four townships or manors: Bosden, Bramhall, Norbury, and Torkington. Norbury was mentioned in the Domesday Survey in 1086 (as Nordberie).[2]

The Bull's Head pub and Bullock Smithy Inn at the Hazel Grove tram terminus, in around 1900

In 1560, a blacksmith called Richard Bullock built a smithy on the corner of what is now Torkington Park. This building later became the Bullock Smithy Inn. It stood on the main road from Manchester and Stockport to Buxton and London, later numbered as the A6 road. A village known as Bullock Smithy gradually grew up along the road. The name Hazel Grove, referring to a grove of hazel trees, was also sometimes used for the area, appearing on a 1749 map as 'Hessel-grave'. In 1836, the villagers of Bullock Smithy held a public meeting and resolved to formally adopt the name Hazel Grove for the village.[3][4]

London Road, in around 1900

Religion

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There were no churches in the area until the end of the 16th century. By the early 17th century, a chapel had been built in Norbury township. It stood in fields to the east of Macclesfield Road, opposite Norbury Hall Farm, nearly a mile south of Hazel Grove. The chapel was known for being served by Nonconformist ministers in the late 17th century. After the Restoration, a law was passed in 1662 forbidding ministers to preach without the Book of Common Prayer. The minister of Norbury Chapel, John Jollie, went there to preach, but found that the door was locked. He and his followers broke down the door and he preached as usual. Subsequently, he was tried for nonconformity, but it was decided that Norbury Chapel was not a consecrated place.[5]

In 1788, John Wesley preached in Bullock Smithy. In his journal he described the village as "... one of the most famous villages in the county for all manner of wickedness."[6]

St Thomas' Church

In the 1830s, it was decided to build a new church, both to serve the growing village and to replace the increasingly ruinous Norbury Chapel. The site chosen was on the southern edge of the village, and was also in Norbury township. The church, dedicated to St Thomas, was completed in 1834.[7] The site of Norbury Chapel then reverted to fields.[8] In 1842 an ecclesiastical parish called 'St Thomas, Norbury' was created, which initially just covered the Norbury township.[9] The ecclesiastical parish was enlarged in 1878 to take in Bosden and parts of Bramhall and Torkington townships, such that it then covered the whole of Hazel Grove village.[10]

The legal name of the ecclesiastical parish covering Hazel Grove remains 'St Thomas, Norbury'.[11][12] The church is now known both as 'Norbury Church' and 'St Thomas, Hazel Grove'.[13]

Governance

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There is one main tier of local government covering Hazel Grove, at metropolitan borough level: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. The council is a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which is led by the directly-elected Mayor of Greater Manchester. Hazel Grove gives its name to the Hazel Grove ward for elections to Stockport Council and to the Hazel Grove constituency for parliamentary elections.[14]

Administrative history

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The village of Hazel Grove historically straddled the boundaries of Bosden, Bramhall, Norbury, and Torkington. Bosden was a detached part of the township of Handforth (also known as Handforth-cum-Bosden), which formed part of the ancient parish of Cheadle.[15][16][17] Bramhall, Norbury, and Torkington were all townships within the parish of Stockport.[18][8]

From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under the poor laws, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Stockport and Cheadle, the civil functions were exercised by each township 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 Bramhall, Norbury, Torkington, and Handforth-cum-Bosden each became separate civil parishes.[19] Bosden, which lay some 5 miles (8.0 km) away from the rest of its parish at Handforth, was subsequently made a separate civil parish in 1878.[8][20]

Civic Hall at Hazel Grove

When elected parish and district councils were created in 1894, the four parishes were each given a parish council and included in the Stockport Rural District. Shortly afterwards, Stockport Borough Council began campaigning to have the various small parishes just outside its southern boundaries (most of which had formerly been townships in the parish of Stockport) incorporated into the County Borough of Stockport. The five parish councils of Bramhall, Bosden, Norbury, Torkington and neighbouring Offerton (to the north of Hazel Grove) collectively decided that they wished to resist being brought into Stockport, and therefore petitioned Cheshire County Council to create an urban district covering the combined area of their five parishes.[21] The county council agreed, and the five parishes were therefore abolished in September 1900, with the area becoming the new civil parish and urban district of Hazel Grove and Bramhall.[17][22]

Hazel Grove was the main settlement within the Hazel Grove and Bramhall Urban District, and the council chose to base itself there, initially at offices on London Road,[23] then at Torkington Lodge from 1937.[24]

Hazel Grove and Bramhall was abolished in 1974 to become part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester.[25]

Transport

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Hazel Grove station

Notable features of Hazel Grove include the A6 road, a major thoroughfare which connects Luton with Carlisle, passes through the centre of the area. There have been many attempts and plans to build a by-pass for the heavy traffic that uses the A6 on its way into and around Stockport and south Manchester. In early 2015, the plans for the by-pass were finalised and put into effect;[26] it was opened in October 2018.[27]

The area is served by Hazel Grove railway station, which is on the Hope Valley and Buxton lines from Stockport. Regular services, operated by Northern Trains, reach Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly and Buxton.[28] Hazel Grove (Midland) station was situated between the railway overbridges at the south end of the town and was only open from 1902 until 1917.[29]

Bus services in the area are operated by Stagecoach Manchester and Belle Vue Coaches. Hazel Grove is the southern terminus for the 192 bus route, which runs along the A6 to Manchester via Stockport. Other routes connect the area with Buxton, Manchester Airport and Hawk Green.[30]

The local tram services to Stockport, Reddish and Manchester terminated near Norbury Church and the Rising Sun pub until about 1950, when they were replaced by buses and the cobbles on the A6 were covered by tarmac. At the start of the operation of the tram services, Hazel Grove residents were – jokingly – alleged to black-lead the tramlines early in the morning.

Education

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The area has four state primary schools – Hazel Grove, Torkington, Norbury Hall and Moorfield. In addition, there are two Catholic primary schools – St Simon's and St Peter's.

Hazel Grove High School is the area's high school for pupils aged 11–18.

Economy

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London Road

Most residents work outside the village.[citation needed] Hazel Grove is also home to the UK Adidas headquarters, who have their main warehouse on the edge of the village, and the nearby Stepping Hill Hospital which is the main maternity and A&E hospital serving the Stockport and south Manchester areas.

Mirlees, Bickerton and Day established a factory in October 1908, where diesel engines were manufactured for many years.[31]

Nexperia (formerly NXP, Philips, Mullard) have a semiconductor manufacturing plant (wafer Fab) off Bramhall Moor Lane in Hazel Grove. The site has been there for over 25 years and currently employs around 1100 people.[citation needed] Before that, the site was at School Street, which has an interesting history. Before 1939, the site beside the Marcliff (later Warwick) cinema at the south end of the village had a garage and petrol station (opposite Jack Sharp's greyhound track), which was converted at the outbreak of war into an aircraft factory,[citation needed] occupying the entire triangle between Macclesfield Road and the two railway lines. This seemed also to have been extended behind the Norbury Church, in School Street. At the end of the war, prefabs were built.[citation needed] The Macclesfield Road site was taken over later for pharmaceuticals by British Schering. Eventually, G.E.C. started a transistor factory at the School St address. Both of these locations are now light industrial estates housing a number of small businesses, some still in the original buildings.[citation needed]

Hazel Grove's high street, London Road, and its surrounding area is the largest district centre in Stockport Borough with a diverse range of small shops and larger supermarkets, public houses, restaurants and takeaways[citation needed].

Sport and recreation

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Speedway racing was staged at the Hazel Grove Greyhound Stadium in 1937, although details of the meetings are sketchy. Greyhound racing meetings were held every Saturday afternoon for many years, until the track was closed around 1960. In the 1970s, part of the site was made into an extension of the local football pitches on Torkington Park for amateur teams to use, until the site was sold and redeveloped; partly as a Carpetright store, partly as the Greyhound Industrial Estate.[citation needed]

Hazel Grove has two recreational centres: Hazel Grove Sports Centre, in the grounds of Hazel Grove High School,[32] and Life Leisure Hazel Grove (Hazel Grove Swimming Pool).

Hazel Grove Snooker Club, on Macclesfield Road, has been a notable centre of national snooker competitions since its establishment in November 1984. Being one of the largest snooker venues in the UK, the club has hosted a substantial number of WPBSA (later WSA) and ESPB competitions throughout the last three decades, leading to two confirmed and referee-verified 147 breaks at the club (Jason Prince in British Open Qualifier, 13 January 1999,[citation needed] and Nick Dyson in UK Tour Event 4, 2 March 1999[33]). The club has also hosted major disability sports events, such as the WDBS Northern Classic 2019 for participants with learning and physical disabilities[34] and the WDBS DS Active Workshop 2019 providing snooker training for players with Down's Syndrome.[35]

There is also a tennis and bowling club on Douglas Road and two cricket clubs, Hazel Grove CC and Norbury CC. The latter includes a lacrosse club and crown green bowling club, each with their own facilities. Torkington Park provides crown green bowling, tennis courts and football pitches.

Hazel Grove Football Club was founded in 1957 and play their home games at Torkington Park. The club was taken over by new management in 2014 and plays in the Manchester Saturday Morning Football League. Richmond Rovers JFC is a junior football club based opposite the high school on Jacksons Lane.

Notable residents

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See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales". Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  2. ^ "Cheshire L–Z". The Domesday Book Online. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  3. ^ Heginbotham, Henry (1892). Stockport: Ancient and Modern, Volume II. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. pp. 137–138. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  4. ^ "Country News". London Mercury. 9 October 1836. p. 7. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  5. ^ Heginbotham, Henry (1892). Stockport: Ancient and Modern, Volume II. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. pp. 200–201. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  6. ^ The Works of the Rev John Wesley AM, Volume IV. London: John Mason. 1840. p. 395. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  7. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Thomas (Grade II) (1260001)". National Heritage List for England.
  8. ^ a b c "Cheshire Sheet XIX, 1882". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  9. ^ "No. 20185". The London Gazette. 10 January 1843. p. 89.
  10. ^ "No. 24616". The London Gazette. 23 August 1878. p. 4810.
  11. ^ "Norbury Church". A church near you. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  12. ^ "Church of England parish map". Church of England Data Services Team. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  13. ^ "Norbury Church". Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  15. ^ Earwaker, John Parsons (1877). East Cheshire: Past and Present. p. 264. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  16. ^ Brooke, Richard (1857). Visits to Fields of Battle in England. London: John Russell Smith. p. 268. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  17. ^ a b "Bosden Hamlet / Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  18. ^ "Stockport Ancient Parish / Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  19. ^ Youngs, Frederic (1991). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume II, Northern England. London: Royal Historical Society. p. xv. ISBN 0861931270.
  20. ^ Langston, Brett. "Stockport Registration District". UK BMD. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  21. ^ "Proposed new urban council". Manchester Courier. 12 January 1900. p. 10. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  22. ^ Annual Report of the Local Government Board. 1901. p. 340. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  23. ^ Kelly's Directory of Cheshire. 1914. p. 358. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  24. ^ "Councillors - Hazel Grove". Stockport Image Archive. Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  25. ^ "Local Government Act 1972: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70 (sch. 1), retrieved 15 January 2025
  26. ^ "SEMMMS : A6 and Manchester Airport Relief Road". a6marr.stockport.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  27. ^ "A6MARR opens to traffic | SEMMMS". Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  28. ^ "Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern". Northern Railway. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  29. ^ "Station Name: HAZEL GROVE (Midland)". Disused-stations.org.uk. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  30. ^ "Hazel Grove Bus Services". Bus Times. 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  31. ^ "Mirrlees Fields – History". mirrleesfields.org.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  32. ^ "Welcome to HG Sports Centre". Hazel Grove High School. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  33. ^ "On this Week". Eurosport. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  34. ^ "Hazel Grove Hosts Successful Disability Snooker Event". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  35. ^ "DSActive run first workshop for World Disability Billiards and Snooker". Down's Syndrome Association. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  36. ^ "Time and place: Joan Bakewell". The Times. 1 March 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  37. ^ "Occupation: Local Hero". Manchester Evening News. Reach plc. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  38. ^ "Never mind Rooney – Garbutt's the real legend". Manchester Evening News. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  39. ^ "WOMEN OF IMPACT". metsoc.org. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  40. ^ "James Horsfield club profile". Manchester City F.C. 12 October 2015. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  41. ^ Trice, Jeff. "Johnny Johnson". www.margatefootballclubhistory.com. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  42. ^ "Benny Phillips". Mossley Web. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  43. ^ Stocks, Lisa (5 August 2010). "Four years later… guitar hero Tim is finally in the pink". Manchester Evening News. p. 11.
  44. ^ "Entry for Thompson, Edward John". Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland. Epworth Press. 2000. Retrieved 24 September 2023.

Bibliography

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  • Coutie, H (1982). Hazel Grove: A Village History Trail: Hazel Grove or Bullock Smithy?. Stockport Historical Society. ISBN 0-905164-75-X.
  • Speak, R (1964). The Story of Hazel Grove and Bramhall. Stockport: The Crescent Press.
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