| Blackley | |
|---|---|
 TheGrade II* listed Church of St. Peter | |
  Blackley Location withinGreater Manchester | |
| Population | 10,196 (2001 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SD853028 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MANCHESTER |
| Postcode district | M9 |
| Dialling code | 0161 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Blackley/ˈbleɪkli/ ⓘ is an area ofManchester, in the county ofGreater Manchester, England. Historically inLancashire, it is approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north ofManchester city centre, on theRiver Irk.
The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in theDomesday 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 asBlakeley orBlakelegh.[1] By theMiddle 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.[1][2] The lords of Manchester leased the land from time to time. In 1473,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.[1] 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 theM60 motorway.
Blackley has an important history in the chemical industry, starting with the Borelle Dyeworks founded by Angel Raphael Louis Delaunay in 1785 and run byICI, who expanded it as a research centre for chemicals and pharmaceuticals.[3] There were several other dye and chemical works. Connolly's Ltd made telecommunication cabling, later becoming part ofBICC.[4]
Blackley, since 2024, has been part of the parliamentary constituency ofBlackley and Middleton South. The currentMember of Parliament isGraham Stringer of theLabour Party, who was first elected in 1997 for the predecessor constituencyManchester Blackley. The candidate of theReform 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 ofHigher Blackley andCharlestown onManchester City Council. The three councillors for both wards are members of the Labour Party.
In 1866 Blackley became a separatecivil parish, on 26 March 1896 the parish was abolished to formNorth Manchester.[5] In 1891 the parish had a population of 7332.[6]
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 ofTop 10 Places to Live In Greater Manchester.[citation needed]
The suburb is popular for commuters intoManchester city centre. The few opportunities to work in the suburb itself include the Hexagon Tower Development, close toNorth Manchester Hospital, which is a centre for scientific research into plastics and related innovation.
TheChurch of St Peter on Old Market Street is aGothic Revival church, which was built in 1844 byE. H. Shellard. It was erected at a cost of £3,162. It was designated aGrade 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 ofWorld War I, and seven ofWorld War II.
Blackley has several green spaces:
Boggart Hole Clough is a large woodland and urban country park. The park has abowling green, tennis and basketball courts, a boating lake and a children's play area. It has its own permanentorienteering 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.[7]
Blackley Forest is aSite 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 theSecond World War. The area has had woodland on it since theNorman Conquest in 1066, when there were wild boar, deer and eagles.[8]
The forest is a mix ofwoodland, grassland andwetlands, with a network of paths and steps. The stretch of theRiver Irk in the forest is fringed bybirch trees with some colonies of autumncrocus.
Heaton Park, at around650 acres (2.63 km2), is the biggest park in Greater Manchester, and one of the largest municipal parks inWestern Europe, providing some 25% of Manchester's total green space. It is the grounds ofHeaton Hall, aGrade I listed, neoclassical 18th-century country mansion. The hall was remodelled to a design byJames Wyatt in 1772,[9] and is open to the public as a museum and events venue.
Although the park is officially part of theCity of Manchester, two of a number of entrances are accessed from the suburb of Blackley, on Middleton Road.[10]
Blackley is well served by buses primarily along the main arterial routes ofRochdale Road (A664), andCheetham Hill Road/Bury Old Road (A665) directly to and from Manchester city centre. Initially these would have been provided by the precursors to, andManchester Carriage and Tramways Company, and currently byFirst Greater Manchester.
Other journeys are provided byStagecoach Manchester, which took overJPT in April 2014. There are frequentMetrolink trams fromBowker Vale to and from Manchester city centre and as far south asAltrincham and as far north asBury. The M60 orbital motorway is the northern boundary of Blackley.
Blackley has a number of primary schools, which include:
There are nearest secondary schools, includingManchester Communication Academy.
Blackley Golf Club
The award-winning Blackley Golf Club has occupied its present site close to the M60 motorway since 1937.[citation needed] 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
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.
(either born in Blackley, or resident of Blackley)
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