Bramhall

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Bramhall
Cheshire
Bramall Hall SE view, 2005.jpg
Bramall Hall
Location
Grid reference: SJ890845
Location: 53°21’27"N, 2°9’52"W
Data
Population: 25,004
Post town: Stockport
Postcode: SK7
Dialling code: 0161
Local Government
Council: Stockport
Parliamentary
constituency:
Cheadle

Bramhall is a village in northern Cheshire which has become a suburban village close by Stockport. It has a population of about 25,500.

Research by the University of Sheffield has placed Bramhall as the "least lonely" place in Britain.[1][2] Bramhall is also regarded as an affluent area where most residents enjoy good health.[3]

History

The manor of Bramall dates from the Anglo-Saxon period, when it was held as two separate estates by two Saxon freemen, Brun and Hacun.[4] In 1070 the manor of "Bramale" was granted to Hamon de Massey, who eventually became the first Baron of Dunham Massey.[5] The earliest reference to Bramall was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Bramale", a name derived from the Old English words brom meaning broom, both indigenous to the area, and halh meaning nook or secret place, probably by water. De Masci received the manor as wasteland, since it had been devastated by William the Conqueror's subdual. By the time of the Domesday survey, the land was recovering and cultivated again.[6]

In 1875 Bramhall was one of eight civil parishes of Cheshire to be included in the 'Stockport Rural Sanitary District'; the first of many civic reorganisations into which the village was pressed.

The sixties and early seventies saw a rapid growth in housing stock with the construction of four main housing estates: The Parkside and the New House Farm estates are in the north of Bramhall, The Dairyground estate is in central Bramhall and The "Little Australia" estate is in the south of Bramhall. Bramhall also has a small pocket of ex-council housing near to the village centre on the Australia estate.

Landmarks

Bramhall War Memorial

Bramall Hall, situated in 69 acres of parkland, is an example of a 14th-century Cheshire building. The Ladybrook flows through the park towards Cheadle and Bramall Hall.

The war memorial commemorates the deaths of 89 men killed in the two World Wars.[7]

Churches

St Michael and All Angel's Church

The Church of England parish church of St Michael and All Angels in Robins Lane was consecrated in 1911 when Bramhall parish was created, although the building was not completed until 1963. It replaced an earlier mission church opened in 1890.[8]

Other churches in Bramhall include the Methodist church near the town centre, the United Reformed church in Bramhall Lane South, the Baptist church in Woodford Road and Ford's Lane Evangelical church.

Transport links

Bramhall railway station which seves the village is on the main line from Manchester to London via Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent.

About the village

Bramhall has a number of bars, restaurants, cafés, clothes shops, hairdressers, beauty salons, charity shops, churches and a library. Many of these are housed in Bramhall's village square,[9] although some shops are in and around the main roads. There is also a recreation centre, a high school and several primary schools.

Sport and recreation

There is a recreation centre linked with the High School. Bramhall's most notable sporting club is Bramhall Cricket Club, close to the Cheshire border to the south of the village. There are also three lawn tennis clubs (LTC), Bramhall Queensgate LTC, to the north, Bramhall Lane LTC, close to the village, and Bramhall Park LTC, close to the park.

There are two golf courses in Bramhall: Bramhall and Bramall Park Golf Clubs. There are also three tennis centres: Bramhall Lane, Bramhall Park and Bramhall Queensgate.

Media

The local newspaper is called the Community News, which also covers Cheadle Hulme and Hazel Grove, distributing around 22,000 copies a week. There is also the larger Stockport Times West newspaper, which is a Manchester Evening News Media Publication that distributes more than 40,000 papers throughout Bramhall, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme and Gatley each week.

References