Torkington

Human settlement in England

Torkington

The Torkington Centre

Torkington

Location within Greater Manchester

Metropolitan borough|

* Stockport

Metropolitan county|

* Greater Manchester

Region|

* North West

Country| England
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Police| Greater Manchester
Fire| Greater Manchester
Ambulance| North West

List of places

England
Greater Manchester

53°22′43″N 2°06′21″W﻿ / ﻿53.3785°N 2.1059°W﻿ / 53.3785; -2.1059

Torkington is an area of Hazel Grove in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It was formerly a civil parish in Cheshire, covering the small hamlet of Torkington and eastern parts of the village of Hazel Grove. The parish was abolished in 1900 to become part of Hazel Grove and Bramhall, which was in turn abolished in 1974 to become part of the metropolitan borough of Stockport. Torkington Park is one of the main public open spaces in Hazel Grove.

## History

[edit]

Torkington was historically a township in the ancient parish of Stockport, which formed part of the Macclesfield Hundred of Cheshire.[1] From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under the poor laws, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Stockport, the civil functions were exercised by each township rather than the parish as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so Torkington became a civil parish.[2]

The village of Hazel Grove straddled four townships: Bosden, Bramhall, Norbury, and Torkington.[3] When elected parish and district councils were created in 1894, Torkington was given a parish council and included in the Stockport Rural District.[1] Shortly afterwards, Stockport Borough Council began campaigning to have the various small parishes just outside its southern boundaries (most of which had formerly been townships in the parish of Stockport) incorporated into the County Borough of Stockport. The five parish councils of Bramhall, Bosden, Norbury, Offerton and Torkington collectively decided that they wished to resist being brought into Stockport, and therefore petitioned Cheshire County Council to create an urban district covering the combined area of their five parishes.[4] The county council agreed, and the parish of Torkington was therefore abolished in September 1900, with the area becoming part of the new civil parish and urban district of Hazel Grove and Bramhall.[1][5]

In 1891 (the last census before the abolition of the parish), Torkington had a population of 294.[6]

Torkington Park

Hazel Grove and Bramhall Urban District Council bought Torkington Lodge in 1935.[7] The early 19th century main house was converted into the council's headquarters, with the first council meeting being held there in January 1937,[8] and its grounds were turned into a public park.[9][10]

Hazel Grove and Bramhall was abolished in 1974 to become part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester.[11]

Torkington today is classed as part of the Hazel Grove built up area by the Office for National Statistics.[12] Torkington is not a postal locality; the area comes under the Hazel Grove postal locality within the Stockport post town. Away from the built up area of Hazel Grove, eastern parts of the former Torkington parish remain rural, forming part of the North West Green Belt.[13]

## See also

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* Tarkington

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Torkington Township / Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
2. ^ Youngs, Frederic (1991). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume II, Northern England. London: Royal Historical Society. p. xv. ISBN 0861931270.
3. ^ "Cheshire Sheet XIX". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. 1882. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
4. ^ "Proposed new urban council". Manchester Courier. 12 January 1900. p. 10. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
5. ^ Annual Report of the Local Government Board. 1901. p. 340. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
6. ^ "Population statistics Torkington Tn/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
7. ^ "Torkington Lodge: Hazel Grove and Bramhall Council Recommended to Purchase". Stockport Advertiser. 28 June 1935. p. 13. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
8. ^ "Councillors - Hazel Grove". Stockport Image Archive. Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
9. ^ Planning Brief: Land at Torkington Lodge, Hazel Grove (PDF). Stockport: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. December 2010. p. 7. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
10. ^ Abbit, Beth (11 June 2016). "Watch: Incredible moment torrential rain turns streets into rivers". Manchester Evening News.
11. ^ "Local Government Act 1972: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70 (sch. 1), retrieved 15 January 2025
12. ^ "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales". Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
13. ^ Williams, Jennifer (11 September 2016). "Why thousands of homes could be built on Greater Manchester's green belt". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 September 2016.