Bollington is a village in Cheshire, located three miles to the north of Macclesfield and 18 miles to the South East of Manchester. Nestled in the western foothills of the Pennine range of hills above the Cheshire plain, adjacent to the Peak District National Park; the boundary just enters the parish, an area known as the Cheshire Peak District.
The surrounding countryside is very beautiful and is regarded as a very desirable place to live and work, mainly due to the advantages of its stunning location and the village being home to an abundance of pubs and restaurants. This gives a hint on what inhabitants of the village are like; fun loving, friendly and pleasant are the best words to describe them!
It is a village born of its rural origins with the industrialisation of the area beginning in the mid-18th century and rapidly developing in the 19th century when several large cotton mills were built, coal mines were opened and stone quarries. The opening of the Macclesfield canal in 1831 provided important incentive for industrial development as did the former railway that followed in the late 1860’s.
At the time Bollington was also home to the biggest water wheel in England and only second in Britain to the Laxey wheel in the Isle of Man. The wheel powered huge mills to produce cotton.
By 1914 Bollington had a population of around 6000 people and was dominated by fine cotton spinning. There was a significant increase in the population during the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s turning the village into a dormitory for Macclesfield and Manchester.
The pinnacle of Bollington has to be White Nancy. A small white stone obelisk standing alone on top of Kerridge Hill. Visible for miles around, it was erected in 1817 by the Gaskell family as a monument to the Battle of Waterloo. Although it has now been sealed, White Nancy remains to this day a notable landmark and represents a symbol of the village.
Today Bollington is still a thriving town, renowned for its lovely independent shops, cafes, and pubs. Several historic mills still stand, many now converted into apartments revealing the town’s industrial past around every corner. It is a wonderful base for visitors to the Peak District, with many trails starting just outside the village. There is great walking and cycling on the Middlewood Way, a converted railway track that stretches for 11 miles from Macclesfield to Marple.
It is also a great place for families with access to four primary schools, parks, a recreation ground, and an Art Centre. In 2015 it was voted as one of the most desirable places for couples to start a family.