Local History
Early History
Archaeological evidence has been found from the Bronze Age and Roman occupation and the discovery of an Anglo Saxon stone cross in 1873 shows there was an Anglo Saxon presence in the area. However the earliest mention of the area now known as Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme was in the Domesday Book in 1086 when the area was an important and large single estate valued at £20. The Earl of Chester was one of the earliest owners and the property then came to the de Chedle family who took their name from the land.
In 1294 the lord of manor was Geoffrey de Chedle and on his death the estate passed to his descendant Robert. Robert had no male heirs and so the estate passed to his wife Matilda for her lifetime and then was divided between Roberts two daughters. The northern part (now Cheadle) became Chedle Bulkley and was inherited by Agnes while Clemence inherited the southern area (now Cheadle Hulme) which became known as Chedle Holme. Shortly afterwards this estate was divided again and the area around Hulme Hall was held by the Vernon family and was known as Holme. Following the death of the last Vernon in 1476 the estate was reunited.
Isabel de Bagulegh inherited the estate from her mother Clemence. She married Sir Thomas Danyers who received the gift of Lyme Hall and an annuity from the King for his support in the Crusades. Their daughter Matilda inherited and on her death the manor passed to John Savage and the Savage family held the land for 250 years. In 1626 Charles I created the title Viscount Savage for the then owner Thomas Savage. Thomas’s daughter Joan inherited the estate on the death of her father and she married the Ist Marquis of Winchester who was a Catholic. On Joan’s early death the estate passed to her husband and was conviscated in 1643 during the persecution of Catholics in The Civil War.
Land started to be sold to tenants during this period. The Kelsall family bought Bradshaw Hall estate in 1550 and around the same period Handforth Hall was established for the Brereton family. The land was being enclosed and this continued over the following centuries.
After the Civil War the estate was acquired by the Mosley family who were from Manchester. At this time it became known as Chedle Mosley. Anne was the last of the Mosley family to hold the manor and following her death in 1734 it was bought by John Davenport, who was the brother of William Davenport of Bramhall. He had no children and on his death the estate passed into the Bamford family. When the last Bamford died in 1806, Robert Hesketh inherited taking the name Robert Bamford Hesketh. Winifred, Countess of Dundonald was the last of Bamford Heskeths descendants to own the manor and she died in 1924.
Modern History
The population of Cheadle Hulme grew steadily during the 19th century from 971 in 1801 to 2319 in 1851. In 1868 the area became a Parish and was merged with Cheadle Bulkley in 1879. The area was rural and the population was made up of farmers and peasants working the land as tenants for the Lord of the Manor. Silk weaving took place in domestic cottages until the early 20th century and was then taken to Macclesfield. Other industry included a Corn Mill open until the First World War, Cotton Weaving and a Brickworks. With the opening of the railway in the 1840s employment opportunities opened up in Manchester and Stockport and more people came to live in the area. By 1894 Cheadle Hulme was part of the Cheadle and Gatley District and the population continued to grow rapidly into the 20th century. With an expanding population shops and businesses opened and houses were built and the area gradually became more suburban.
During the Second World War Cheadle Hulme was home to evacuees from Manchester and parts of RAF Handforth. This was a maintenance unit – RAF No 61 MU. The depot opened in 1939 and covered large areas of land in Cheadle Hulme and Handforth. Responsible for storing and despatching stores to the RAF the unit was served by an internal railway network. The unit closed in 1959 and only the government pay offices in Dairyhouse Lane now remain.
The Cheadle and Gatley District was abolished in 1974 and Cheadle Hulme became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport.