| Static Image Name: | Wilmslow Church.jpg |
| Static Image Caption: | St Bartholomew's Church, Wilmslow |
| Static Image 2 Caption: | Coat of Arms of Wilmslow Town Council |
| Country: | England |
| Type: | Town and civil parish |
| Coordinates: | 53.325°N -2.239°W |
| London Distance: | 154miles[1] |
| London Direction: | SE |
| Official Name: | Wilmslow |
| Population: | 26,213 |
| Population Ref: | (2021 Census)[2] |
| Civil Parish: | Wilmslow Town Council |
| Unitary England: | Cheshire East |
| Lieutenancy England: | Cheshire |
| Region: | North West England |
| Constituency Westminster: | Tatton |
| Post Town: | WILMSLOW |
| Postcode District: | SK9 |
| Postcode Area: | SK |
| Dial Code: | 01625 |
| Os Grid Reference: | SJ840810 |
Wilmslow is a market town and civil parish in Cheshire, England. It is 11miles south of Manchester and within the unitary authority of Cheshire East. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census.[3]
Wilmslow derives its name from Old English Wīghelmes hlāw = "mound of a man called Wīghelm."
Much about the local Iron Age history of Wilmslow was uncovered with the discovery of Lindow Man, in Lindow Moss. Preserved in the peat bogs for 2,000 years, Lindow Man is one of the most important Iron Age finds in the country. Despite a campaign to keep Lindow Man in the area, he was transferred to the British Museum and is a central feature of the Iron Age exhibition. Lindow Man returned to Manchester Museum in April 2008 for a year-long exhibition.[4]
An IRA bomb exploded near the railway station in March 1997, damaging signalling equipment. The original IRA message was confusing and led to the evacuation of the Wilmslow Police Station to the local leisure centre not far from the explosion. Nobody was hurt.[5]
In the general election of the same year, the parliamentary constituency of Tatton, in which Wilmslow falls, made headlines as part of the "sleaze" accusations levelled against the then Conservative Government. Tatton MP, Neil Hamilton, was accused of accepting cash for tabling Parliamentary questions, and subsequently defeated in the election by independent candidate Martin Bell.[6] Bell was supported in his door to door canvassing for votes by David Soul and served a single term as MP.
Wilmslow was one of the eight ancient parishes of the Macclesfield Hundred of Cheshire. It was subdivided into the townships of Bollinfee, Chorley, Fulshaw and Pownall Fee. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 the townships became civil parishes in their own right. Wilmslow was recreated as a civil parish on 30 September 1894[7] when Pownall Fee and Fulshaw were abolished. Wilmslow gained most of Bollinfee, most of Fulshaw and part of Pownall Fee; the rest of Fulshaw became part of the much reduced Bollinfee civil parish, in Alderley Edge Urban District, while the other 1523acres of Pownall Fee were used to create the new Styal civil parish. The Wilmslow Urban District Council came into being in 1895 consisting only of the newly formed civil parish of Wilmslow.[8] On 21 June 1951 it was granted its own coat of arms.[9] On 1 April 1974 Wilmslow became part of Macclesfield Borough and on 1 April 2009 it became part of the Cheshire East unitary authority.
On 1 April 1936, Wilmslow lost 19acres to Alderley Edge. However it gained 3acres from Chorley and on the abolition of Bollinfee, Handforth and Styal civil parishes it gained 1080acres and 1521acres respectively.
Wilmslow along with other towns such as Whitworth, Poynton and Alderley Edge successfully objected to being part of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester when it was formed in 1974, although the town does form part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area.
| Wilmslow Compared | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Wilmslow | Cheshire | England | |
| Total population | 25,498 | 673,781 | 49,138,831 | |
| White | 95.9% | 98.4% | 90.9% | |
| Asian | 1.8% | 0.5% | 4.6% | |
| Black | 0.3% | 0.2% | 2.3% | |
According to the 2001 United Kingdom census, the wards of Wilmslow North and Wilmslow South have a combined population of 25,498, of which 13,400 (52.5%) are females and 12,098 (47.5%) are males. In addition, 5,197 (20.4%) are aged 16 and under while 4,780 (18.8%) are aged 65 and over.[10]
Ethnic white groups (British, Irish, other) account for 95.9% of the population, with ethnic minority groups accounting for 4.1% of the population.
A breakdown of religious groups and denominations:
There are three Church of England churches in Wilmslow, St Bartholomew's, St Anne's and St John's. St Bartholomew's is a 16th-century building, which was modified in the 19th century. It has a turreted bell tower. The first rector of the church was a Thomas Dale, who is buried beneath a headstone presumably engraved by him outside the entrance to the church.
Wilmslow Methodist Church occupies a modern building close to the town centre, replacing an 1886 building which itself replaced the original 1798 church, built seven years after John Wesley's death.
The Sacred Heart & St Teresa's Church is the Roman Catholic church and dates from the late 19th century.[11]
Dean Row Chapel, 2miles east of the town centre, is a Grade II* listed building built around the end of the 17th century. Initially Presbyterian, it is now a Unitarian chapel.[12]
There is also a United Reformed Church in Wilmslow close to the town centre.
Situated in the North of England, 11 miles (18 km) from Manchester city centre and 7 miles (11 km) from Macclesfield, Wilmslow town centre is focused upon Bank Square, Grove Street and Water Lane. Although Bank Square has traditionally provided the location for many of the town's banks, the name in fact originates from the bank, or slope, leading down to the Carrs and up towards the railway station. The River Bollin flows through The Carrs Park and once provided the power source for nearby Quarry Bank Mill, now a National Trust site, and enjoyment for the local population.
Before the railway came in 1842, Wilmslow comprised only a few farms and a church.
For purposes of the Office for National Statistics, Wilmslow forms part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area.
The town is part of the Golden Triangle together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury. It grew in popularity in the Victorian era as a desirable area for wealthy North West (most generally Manchester) merchants to move out to once the railways arrived and connected the towns.
Wilmslow is the founding location of sports equipment manufacturer Umbro which has its headquarters in the area.[13]
The town is a key location for Royal London, the mutual financial services company. The Information Commissioner's Office, one of the government's executive agencies, is also based in Wilmslow.
The UK headquarters of Waters Corporation, an American manufacturer of analytical laboratory instruments, is located on Altrincham Road in Wilmslow, at the site of Huntingdon Life Sciences' Stamford Lodge facility, which was demolished in 2012.[14]
Wilmslow and its close surroundings are served by several car showrooms of notable marques. These include Aston Martin, Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar, Maserati, Land Rover, Bentley, McLaren, Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini. The town's Aston Martin dealership sells the highest number of Aston Martins in the UK; a high demand stimulated largely by the high level of affluence in the town.[15]
The town has a number of parks including The Carrs Park.
Wilmslow held its first Scarecrow Festival in July 2010 with 85 local businesses taking part and 93 different scarecrows. The week-long festival is organised by the Rotary Club of Wilmslow Dean and the members of the Wilmslow Business Group.[16]
The Wilmslow Festive 10k, organised by Run North West, takes place at the end of November each year. The run starts in Wilmslow town centre with 2479 finishers in 2017.[17] The Wilmslow Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road running race, established in 1984 and usually run in March.
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter. [18]
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Manchester on 95.1 FM, Heart North West on 105.4 FM, Smooth North West on 100.4 FM, XS Manchester on 106.1 FM, Capital Manchester and Lancashire on 102.0 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West on 96.2 FM, Silk Radio on 106.9 FM and Canalside Radio, a community based station which broadcast on 102.8 FM. [19] [20]
The town is served by the local newspapers, The Wilmslow Express [21] and Knutsford Guardian. [22]
Wilmslow railway station is situated on the Crewe to Manchester spur of the West Coast Main Line, via Stockport. The station is also a junction for the Styal Line which takes a different route to Manchester Piccadilly, via Styal, Manchester Airport and Heald Green, but avoiding Stockport.
The station is served by three train operating companies:
Wilmslow's main bus interchange is at Bank Square; it is served by three regular bus routes, operated by D&G Bus:[26]
There is also a free bus service, between Knutsford and Handforth Dean retail park, which operates on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.[28]
There are no longer any direct bus services to Stockport or Manchester, as Wilmslow lies outside of Greater Manchester where Stagecoach Manchester now focus their operations; there are also no Sunday or Bank Holiday bus services.
The A34 road, which links Salford and Winchester, by-passes the town centre to the east; this was later extended around neighbouring Alderley Edge. It joins the A555 at Handforth Dean, which has been extended to Manchester Airport.
Manchester Airport lies just four miles (6 km) along the A538 to the north-west, but Wilmslow lies away from the approach and departure routes and therefore does not suffer from aircraft noise as Hale Barns and Heald Green do.