Blackley

2025-11-03T15:31:30Z

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{{About|the area of Manchester|the surname|Blackley (surname)|the hamlet in West Yorkshire|Blackley, West Yorkshire}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|53.52246|-2.22282|display=inline,title}}
| official_name = Blackley
| population = 10,196
| population_ref = ([[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 Census]])
| metropolitan_borough = [[Manchester]]
| metropolitan_county = [[Greater Manchester]]
| region = North West England
| constituency_westminster = [[Blackley and Middleton South (UK Parliament constituency)|Blackley and Middleton South]]
| post_town = MANCHESTER
| postcode_district = M9
| postcode_area = M
| dial_code = 0161
| os_grid_reference = SD853028
| static_image_name = Church of St Peter Blackley 7.jpg
| static_image_caption = The [[Grade II* listed building|Grade II* listed]] Church of St. Peter
| london_distance =
}}
'''Blackley''' {{IPAc-en|audio=En-uk-Blackley.ogg|ˈ|b|l|eɪ|k|l|i}} is a suburban area of [[Manchester]], in the county of [[Greater Manchester]], England. Historically in [[Lancashire]], it is approximately {{convert|4|mi}} north of [[Manchester city centre]], on the [[River Irk]].

==History==
The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]]. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon Blæclēah, which means "dark wood" or "dark clearing". In the 13th and 14th centuries, Blackley was referred to as ''Blakeley'' or ''Blakelegh''.<ref name="Blackley">{{cite web |title=Townships: Blackley |work=A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4 (1911), pp. 255–59 |publisher=British History Online |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=41412 |format=[[HTTP]] |access-date=10 April 2007}}</ref> By the [[Middle Ages]], Blackley had become a park belonging to the lords of Manchester.

Its value in 1282 was recorded as £6 13s 4d, a sum approximately equivalent in buying power to £333,500 today.<ref name="Blackley" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Currency converter |publisher=The National Archives |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/ |format=[[HTTP]] |access-date=10 April 2007}}</ref> The lords of Manchester leased the land from time to time. In 1473, [[John Byron (died 1450)|John Byron]] held the leases on Blackley village, Blackley field and Pillingworth fields at an annual rent of £33 6s 8d.

The Byron family continued to hold the land until the beginning of the 17th century, when Blackley was sold in parcels to a number of landowners.<ref name="Blackley" /> By the middle of the 17th century, Blackley was a rural village of just 107 inhabitants.

There was gradual residential development in the 1930s to 1960s, where most farmland was built upon.

Today, only pockets of the suburb are undeveloped green space, with farmland remaining close to the [[M60 motorway]].

[[File:Crab lane in 1908.jpg|thumb|Crab Lane in 1908]]

Blackley has an important history in the chemical industry, starting with the Borelle Dyeworks founded by Angel Raphael Louis Delaunay in 1785 and run by [[Imperial Chemical Industries|ICI]], who expanded it as a research centre for chemicals and pharmaceuticals.<ref>{{cite news |last=Curry |first=Emma |date=30 March 2016 |title=Nostalgia: Take a journey from Blackley's rural beginnings through its industrial heyday |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/nostalgia/nostalgia-take-journey-blackleys-rural-11113379 |work=Manchester Evening News |access-date=6 May 2024}}</ref> There were several other dye and chemical works. Connolly's Ltd made telecommunication cabling, later becoming part of [[British Insulated Callender's Cables|BICC]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Connollys |title=Connollys (Blackley) - Graces Guide}}</ref>

==Governance==
Blackley, since 2024, has been part of the parliamentary constituency of [[Blackley and Middleton South (UK Parliament constituency)|Blackley and Middleton South ]]. The current [[Member of Parliament]] is [[Graham Stringer]] of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], who was first elected in 1997 for the predecessor constituency [[Manchester Blackley]]. The candidate of the [[Reform UK]] came second in the general election of 2024, with 21.1% of the vote compared to Stringer's 53.8%.

The suburb is split between the local government wards of [[Higher Blackley]] and [[Charlestown, Manchester|Charlestown]] on [[Manchester City Council]]. The three councillors for both wards are members of the Labour Party.

In the 1860s records show Blackley was a separate [[civil parish]], on 26 March 1896 the parish was abolished to form [[North Manchester]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10342077|title=Relationships and changes Blackley CP/Ch through time|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=30 October 2024}}</ref> In 1891 the parish had a population of 7332.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10342077/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Blackley CP/Ch through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=30 October 2024}}</ref>

==Economy==
During the 1930s, residential development started to take place in the formerly rural village to provide more homes for Manchester's growing population. It became an area with a mixture of housing: mainly privately owned homes for owner occupation and private renting. In 2014, Blackley appeared on a list of ''Top 10 Places to Live In Greater Manchester''.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

The suburb is popular for commuters into [[Manchester city centre]]. The few opportunities to work in the suburb itself include the Hexagon Tower Development, close to [[North Manchester General Hospital|North Manchester Hospital]], which is a centre for scientific research into plastics and related innovation.

==Church of St Peter==
{{Main|Church of St Peter, Blackley}}
The [[Church of St Peter, Blackley|Church of St Peter]] on Old Market Street is a [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] church, which was built in 1844 by [[E. H. Shellard]]. It was erected at a cost of £3,162. It was designated a [[Grade II* listed building]] on 20 June 1988. The interior is aisled and particularly impressive for its complete 170 year old interior, with the extremely unusual survival of all the fine boxes and pews.

The churchyard contains the war graves of ten service personnel of [[World War I]], and seven of [[World War II]].

==Green spaces==
Blackley has several green spaces:

===Boggart Hole Clough===
[[Boggart Hole Clough]] is a large woodland and urban country park. The park has a [[bowling green]], tennis and basketball courts, a boating lake and a children's play area. It has its own permanent [[orienteering]] course and an athletics track. There is an old stone bridge across the brook running through the clough.

The clough was designated a local nature reserve in 2008.<ref>{{cite news |last=Clarke |first=Liv |date=28 September 2022 |title=The eerie haunted Greater Manchester park with a scenic woodland walk |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/eerie-haunted-greater-manchester-park-25118126 |work=Manchester Evening News |access-date=6 May 2024}}</ref>

===Blackley Forest===
Blackley Forest is a [[Site of Biological Importance]] and an example of one of the country's first Community Woodlands. It was planted to commemorate the Queen's coronation and also local people killed in the [[Second World War]]. The area has had woodland on it since the [[Norman Conquest]] in 1066, when there were wild boar, deer and eagles.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Blackley Forest |publisher=Friends of Blackley Forest |url=http://www.blackleyforest.com/foresthistory.html |format=[[HTTP]] |access-date=14 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708012832/http://www.blackleyforest.com/foresthistory.html |archive-date=8 July 2011}}</ref>

The forest is a mix of [[woodland]], grassland and [[wetlands]], with a network of paths and steps. The stretch of the [[River Irk]] in the forest is fringed by [[birch]] trees with some colonies of autumn [[crocus]].

===Heaton Park===
[[Heaton Park]], at around {{nowrap|{{convert|650|acre|km2|2}}}}, is the biggest park in Greater Manchester, and one of the largest municipal parks in [[Western Europe]], providing some 25% of Manchester's total green space. It is the grounds of [[Heaton Hall]], a [[Listed building|Grade I listed]], neoclassical 18th-century country mansion. The hall was remodelled to a design by [[James Wyatt]] in 1772,<ref>{{cite web |title=Heaton Hall & Orangery |publisher=Manchester City Council |url=http://www.heatonpark.org.uk/HeatonPark/History__Architecture/Heaton_Hall__Orangery/ |format=[[HTTP]] |access-date=14 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502023014/http://www.heatonpark.org.uk/HeatonPark/History__Architecture/Heaton_Hall__Orangery/ |archive-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> and is open to the public as a museum and events venue.

Although the park is officially part of the [[City of Manchester]], two of a number of entrances are accessed from the suburb of Blackley, on Middleton Road.<ref>{{cite web |title=History & Architecture |publisher=Manchester City Council |url=http://www.heatonpark.org.uk/HeatonPark/History__Architecture/Default.aspx |format=[[HTTP]] |access-date=14 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913004237/http://www.heatonpark.org.uk/heatonpark/History__Architecture/Default.aspx |archive-date=13 September 2010}}</ref>

==Transport==
Blackley is well served by buses primarily along the main arterial routes of [[A664 road|Rochdale Road (A664)]], and [[A665 road|Cheetham Hill Road/Bury Old Road (A665)]] directly to and from Manchester city centre. Initially these would have been provided by the precursors to, and [[Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company]], and currently by [[First Greater Manchester]].

Other journeys are provided by [[Stagecoach Manchester]], which took over [[JP Travel|JPT]] in April 2014. There are frequent [[Manchester Metrolink|Metrolink]] trams from [[Bowker Vale Metrolink station|Bowker Vale]] to and from Manchester city centre and as far south as [[Altrincham]] and as far north as [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]]. The M60 orbital motorway is the northern boundary of Blackley.

== Education ==

=== Primary schools ===
Blackley has a number of primary schools, which include:
* Charlestown Community Primary School
* Crab Lane Primary School
* Crosslee Community Primary School
* Holy Trinity CE Primary School
* Mount Carmel RC Primary School
* Pike Fold Primary School
* St Clare's RC Primary School
* St John Bosco RC Primary School
* Victoria Avenue Primary School

===Secondary schools===
* [[The Co-operative Academy of Manchester]]
* [[The Co-operative Academy North Manchester]]
* [[Our Lady's Roman Catholic High School, Manchester|Our Lady's RC High School]].

There are nearest secondary schools, including [[Manchester Communication Academy]].

===Special and alternative schools===
* Camberwell Park School
* Manchester Hospital Schools
* North Ridge High School

==Sports==

'''Blackley Golf Club'''
[[File:The course at Blackley Golf club.jpg|thumb|The course at Blackley]]

The award-winning Blackley Golf Club has occupied its present site close to the M60 motorway since 1937.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} The club celebrated its centenary in 2007, and a new clubhouse opened in 2009. The clubhouse offers use for wedding receptions and private hire. There is a golf shop, open to club members and the public.

The course's green is separated by fields from the motorway. A public footpath runs along the perimeter.

'''Blackley Cricket Club'''
[[File:Crab lane cricket ground.jpg|thumb|Crab Lane cricket ground in Blackley]]

Blackley Cricket Club currently plays in the Greater Manchester Cricket League. The club is located on Crab Lane. It won the cricket league title for Greater Manchester in 2009.

== Notable people ==
{{See also|Category:People from Blackley}}
(either born in Blackley, or resident of Blackley)

*[[Hasney Aljofree]] (b. 1978), Swindon Town footballer
*[[John Bradford]] (1510–1555), Protestant martyr
*[[Roger Byrne]] (1929–1958), captain of [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]], and one of eight players who died in the [[Munich air disaster]].
*[[Stephen Bywater]] (b. 1981), professional footballer
*[[Howard Davies (economist)|Howard Davies]] (b. 1951), economist and author: current Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland and former director of the London School of Economics.
*[[David Heyes]] (b. 1946), Labour politician: former Labour MP for [[Ashton-under-Lyne (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashton-under-Lyne]]
*[[Bernard Hill]] (1944–2024), actor of film, stage and television
*[[Jon Macken]] (b. 1977), former Manchester United and Manchester City footballer
*[[Bernard Manning]] (1930–2007), comedian
*[[Wilf McGuinness]] (b. 1937), former Manchester United player and manager
*[[Joe McIntyre (footballer)|Joe McIntyre]] (b. 1971), former professional footballer
*[[John Monks]] (b. 1945), Baron Monks of Blackley: Member of the House of Lords. Former General Secretary, TUC
*[[Northside (band)|Northside]] singer, Warren "Dermo" Dermody
*[[Malcolm Roberts (singer)|Malcolm Roberts]] (1944–2003), musician, entertainer and Eurovision contestant.
*[[Vini Reilly]] (b. 1953), musician: [[The Durutti Column]]
*[[Peter Townley]] (b. 1955), Church of England Archdeacon – current [[Archdeacon of Pontefract]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Greater Manchester}}
*[[Listed buildings in Manchester-M9]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20050921171849/http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/districts/blackley.html Blackley - Districts & Suburbs of Manchester]}}
*[http://www.blackleyforest.com Friends of Blackley Forest]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130813024116/htts://blackleycofe.church/ Churches of St Andrew's, St Paul's and St Peter's Blackley]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141006095818/http://www.heatonpark.org.uk/HeatonPark/ Heaton Park]

{{Manchester}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Areas of Manchester]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester]]

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Blackley