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Bowdon
Population
Metropolitan borough	Trafford
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ALTRINCHAM
Dialling code	0161
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West

Bowdon is a village in the Altrincham area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England.

History

Both Bowdon and Dunham Massey are mentioned in the Domesday Book.

• The Domesday Book cites the existence of a church and a mill in Bowdon as follows Bogedone: Hamo de Mascy. Church, mill. Part of Altrincham and Hale. The current online version comments that Bowdon Church has fragments of Norman stonework.
• Dunham Massey is identified in the Domesday Book as Doneham: Hamo de Mascy.

Both areas came under Hamo de Masci in Norman times. His base was a wooden castle at Dunham. Watch Hill Castle was built on the border between Bowdon and Dunham Massey between the Norman Conquest and the 13th century. The timber castle most likely belonged to Hamo de Mascy; the castle had fallen out of use by the 13th century. The last Hamo de Masci died in 1342. The Black Death came to the area in 1348. In 1494 the ruins of the castle at Dunham were acquired by Robert Booth. In 1750, the estate passed to the Earl of Stamford. The last Earl of Stamford died in 1976.

The development of Bowdon as a residential area began apace in the 1840s, when the landowners of the area sold off parcels of land. The opening of Bowdon railway station in 1849 provided a commuter route to the centre of Manchester, making the clean air and tranquility of the Bowdon Downs more attractive to developers. Initially, terraces and semi detached houses were built, but by the 1860s and 1870s, the 'merchant princes' had built the large houses on Green Walk which are still a defining feature of the ward. By 1878 Kelly's Directory was describing Bowdon as "studded with handsome villas and mansions", and around 60% of the residents were business owners. Mains water appeared in 1864, and gas lighting by 1865.

The Altrincham History Society Tour highlights historical facts about Bowdon;

• The listed Altrincham/Dunham boundary stone of 1840 is in the garden wall of number 1 High Downs at the bottom right. This indicates the boundary of the ancient (1290) Borough of Altrincham with Dunham Massey.
• The area from the Devisdale across to The Downs was known as Bowdon Downs until about 1750 and was used as a common. 10,000 of Prince Rupert’s troops camped here and on Knutsford Heath in May 1644 on their way from Shrewsbury to Marston Moor during the Civil War. In December 1688 Lord Delamer, later the Earl of Warrington, rallied forces here from his tenants in support of the Prince of Orange, afterwards William III, who had arrived in England.
• The Altrincham Show used to be held on The Devisdale, Bowdon until 1966. Farmers came from as far afield as Scotland, Cornwall and Norfolk to show cattle.

The lower part of Bowdon is known as Bowdon Vale. It earned the nickname of "Soapy Town" in relation to the washing taken in from the residents of Bowdon.

Governance

Civic history

From 1894 to 1974, Bowdon formed an Urban District local government district in the administrative county of Cheshire.

Since April 1, 1974, Bowdon has formed an electoral ward and component area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford. Prior to this Bowdon formed:

• Bowdon Local Board (1864-75);
• Bowdon Urban Sanitary District (1875-94);
• Bowdon Urban District (1894-1974);

The records of Bowdon Urban District Council are held at the Trafford Local Studies Centre.

Bowdon has formed part of two Poor Law Unions: Altrincham (1837 to 1895); Bucklow (1895 to 1930).

Political representation

Bowdon was in the parliamentary constituency of Altrincham and Sale from 1945 until 1997. Bowdon has been part of the parliamentary constituency of Altrincham and Sale West since 1997. Since its formation the constituency has been represented in the House of Commons by the Conservative MP, Graham Brady. At the 2005 General Election, in Altrincham and Sale West the Conservatives won a majority of 7,159 and 46.4% of the vote. Labour won 30.3% of the vote, Liberal Democrats 21.7% and the United Kingdom Independence Party 1.7%. This is one of only a small number of seats in the northwest held by the Conservative Party, and the only one in Greater Manchester.

Bowdon is in Trafford Metropolitan Borough; Trafford Council is responsible for the administration of local services, such as education, social services, town planning, waste collection and council housing. Bowdon is covered by the Bowdon electoral ward; this ward has 3 out of the 63 seats on the Trafford Council; as of the 2007 local elections all 3 of these seats were held by the Conservative Party. The councillors for the Bowdon ward are:

• Councillor David Merrell (Conservative): Chairman of Planning Development Control Committee.
• Councillor Paula Pearson (Conservative): Chairman of Environment and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
• Councillor Stephanie Poole (Conservative).

Geography

Bowdon is located at the southwest edge of Greater Manchester. It is situated on a ridge which rises above the Cheshire Plain. Bowdon is the largest ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, and comprises several small, rural villages surrounded by open countryside, including Dunham Massey Country Park and other more densely populated residential areas.

It has been described as an affluent and attractive place to live.

The majority of the ward is owned by the National Trust as part of the Dunham Massey Estate, which serves as a significant communal asset for the residents of the local and wider areas. The estate includes Dunham Massey Hall and a deer park. Bowdon is a semi-rural ward and has a low population density.

Divisions and suburbs

There are four distinct neighbourhoods of Bowdon:

• Dunham Massey
• Warburton
• Bowdon
• Bowdon Vale

Demography

According to a Trafford Metropolitan Council report, the population of Bowdon in 2001 was 8,806. 1730 were under 16 and 1699 were 65 and over. In 2004, the majority of residents (8,343) described themselves as white. Out of 8414 wards in the United Kingdom, Bowdon ranks as 8,235th in terms of deprivation indicating that only 2.2% of UK wards suffer less deprivation

Education

Bowdon contains both state and independent schools.

State schools

• Bollin Primary School
• Bowdon CE Primary School
• Altrincham Grammar School For Girls, Cavendish Road, Bowdon. The school has a website.
• Altrincham Grammar School For Boys, Marlborough Road, Bowdon

Independent schools

• Altrincham Preparatory School, Marlborough Road, Bowdon.
• Culcheth Hall School, Ashley Road, Altrincham.
• Bowdon Preparatory School, Stamford Road, Bowdon.

Religion

Bowdon Parish

Bowdon Parish is part of the Archdeaconry of Macclesfield within the Anglican Diocese of Chester. The parish covers a number of churches in the south west part of the Greater Manchester conurbation (namely Altrincham St George, Altrincham St John, Ashley, Ashton upon Mersey St Martin, Ashton upon Mersey St Mary Magdalene, Bowdon, Broadheath, Dunham Massey St Margaret, Dunham Massey St Mark, Hale, Oughtrington, Partington and Carrington, Ringway, Sale St Anne, Sale St Paul, Timperley and Warburton

Registers of Baptisms 1628-1964, Marriages 1628-1964 and Burials 1628-1973 have been deposited at the Cheshire Record Office.

Anglican churches

Church of St Mary the Virgin, at Bowdon

• Bowdon parish church, Church Brow, Bowdon WA14 is an Anglican church which can be seen very clearly from the Cheshire Plain.

Leisure and recreation

• Dunham Massey - a National Trust property. This was formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and was acquired by the Trust in 1976. It was built on the site of the original Tudor house. The current property is described as "a Country estate including mansion with important collections and 'below stairs' areas, impressive garden and deer park";
• Bowdon Cricket, Hockey and Squash Club;
• Bowdon Vale Cricket Club was founded in the early 1870s and is a member of the Cheshire Cricket League;
• Bowdon Rugby Union Football Club - HQ is actually in Timperley;
• The Cinnamon Club, a live jazz and blues entertainment venue;
• Bowdon Lawn Tennis Club, founded 1877, is one of the oldest lawn tennis clubs in the world;
• Bowdon Bowling and Lawn Tennis Club, a less selective bowling and lawn tennis mixed club, founded in 1873;
• Bowdon Croquest Club - founded in 1873

Notable people

Altrincham Local History Society provides biographies for notable local residents in Bowdon.

• Thomas Coward, ornithologist was born at 6 Higher Downs in 1861. He wrote The Birds of Cheshire in 1900.
• John F. Leeming founder of the Lancashire Aero Club lived in Bowdon for many years and built their first aircraft in his garage during 1922/23.
• Sir Alexander Paterson, the reforming penologist, was born in Bowdon in 1884.
• Richard Sykes, local businessman and a pioneer of Rugby Football, lived in Bowdon and owned land in North Dakota, USA. He founded the town of Bowdon, North Dakota in 1899 which he named in tribute to his residence here.
• Alison Uttley moved to Bowdon in 1924 and wrote the Little Grey Rabbit books while living in Bowdon. There is a Blue Plaque at Downs House, 13 Higher Downs, Bowdon, where she lived from 1924 to 1938.

Many Manchester United footballers live or have lived in Bowdon including Roy Keane, Teddy Sheringham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Paul McGrath, Viv Anderson, Dennis Irwin, Mark Bosnich, Fabien Barthez and Andy Cole. Grameme Souness also lives in Bowdon.

External links

• Chester Diocese
• Altrincham History Society Tour
• Bowdon ward profile