Bollington
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Template:GBmap Bollington (Template:Coor gb) is a village in the county of Cheshire in the north of England, north of Macclesfield and east of Prestbury. In the Middle Ages it was part of the earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield.
Bollington is also known locally as the Happy Valley. It is situated on the River Dean and the Macclesfield Canal.
Bollington's most famous landmark is White Nancy, a monument to the Napoleonic Wars at the summit of Kerridge.
Bollington used to be served by the Middlewood Way, a former railway between Marple Rose Hill and Macclesfield. The railway was built to serve the cotton mills of Bollington and Kerridge Stone. The line was closed in the 1960s because British Rail was losing money on the line. Now it is a popular place for walking and riding horses.
Cotton mills
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Bollington was a major centre for cotton milling. At one time there were as many as thirteen mills in the town, but none are still working, and all but two have been destroyed.
The two remaining mills, Adelphi Mill and Clarence Mill, have been restored and made into tourist attractions. Adephi, which belonged to the Courtalds group, was closed in the 1960s and is now converted for many small firms to operate from and has gained a new lease on life.
There is a connection with Quarry Bank Mill at nearby Styal through the younger Samuel Greg, who became the manager of one of the mills in Bollington on his father's death in 1832.
External links
- Local website (http://www.happy-valley.org.uk/)
- Short description of Bollington (http://www.higheringersleyfarm.co.uk/bollington.htm) - Cheshire magazine