Biddulph

This article is about the town. For other uses, see Biddulph (disambiguation).

Biddulph
Biddulph High Street
Biddulph Location within Staffordshire
Population	19,892 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	SJ8857
District	Staffordshire Moorlands
Shire county	Staffordshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Stoke-on-Trent
Postcode district	ST8
Dialling code	01782
Police	Staffordshire
Fire	Staffordshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Staffordshire Moorlands

Biddulph is a town in Staffordshire, England, 8.5 miles (14 km) north of Stoke-on-Trent and 4.5 miles (7 km) south-east of Congleton, Cheshire.

Origin of the name

Biddulph's name may come from Anglo-Saxon/Old English bī dylfe = "beside the pit or quarry". It may also stem from a corruption of the Saxon/Old English Bidulfe, meaning "wolf slayer", and the Biddulph family crest is a wolf rampant.

In the days of coal and iron, Biddulph was called Bradley Green, with the original site of Biddulph being the area in which the parish church, Grange House and the ruins of Biddulph Old Hall stand. It was not until 1930 that the town was marked on Ordnance Survey maps as Biddulph.^[2]

Geography

Biddulph valley, filled with fog, from Biddulph Moor

Biddulph is in a valley between the ridges of Mow Cop to the west and Biddulph Moor to the east. It encompasses the hamlets of Gillow Heath, Knypersley and Brown Lees.

Education

In common with other parts of the area administered by Staffordshire LEA, the Middle School system operates in Biddulph.

Biddulph has one high school (ages 13 to 16) with a sixth form (ages 16 to 18) called Biddulph High School,^[3] it was awarded Sports College status in 2002. It has since gained Technology College status. Biddulph also has two middle schools: Woodhouse Middle School^[4] (formerly Biddulph Grammar School), and James Bateman Middle School^[5] (formerly Park Middle School), serving pupils aged 9–13. These are fed by several first schools, such as Kingsfield First School, Knypersley First School, Squirrel Hayes First School, Oxhey First School, and several more.

Local media

Television

Since the town is close to the Cheshire-Staffordshire border, local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada that broadcast from Salford.^[6] However, the town can receive BBC West Midlands and ITV Central through satellite television such as Freesat and Sky.

Radio

The town is home to Churnet Sound radio a community radio station that broadcasts in DAB across south Cheshire and North Staffordshire. Other local radio stations are BBC Radio Stoke, Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire, Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire and Moorlands Radio.

Newspapers

The Sentinel is the local daily newspaper. There is also the Biddulph Chronicle, a weekly newspaper, which is a sister publication to the Congleton Chronicle.

Main sights

Biddulph Grange

Biddulph Town Hall

Within the valley created by the ridges of Mow Cop and Biddulph Moor, the main sights of note include; ancient burial mounds; evidence of the English Civil War; the bubonic plague; the site of the former Black Bull Colliery; tombs of possible Crusader knights; an Iron Age fort; and the site of a meeting of the Methodist movement with the Wesleys.

A dominant feature on hills above the village is Mow Cop Castle, which is a folly built in the 1750s to look like a medieval fortress and round tower.

Biddulph is also home to Biddulph Grange, a house and landscaped gardens owned by the National Trust. Adjacent to and part of the original estate is Biddulph Grange Country Park.

Biddulph Town Hall was completed in 1965.^[7]

Transport

Biddulph railway station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in 1864. The station was on the Biddulph Valley Line that ran from a junction just north of Congleton on the Stoke-on-Trent – Macclesfield line to a junction south of Stoke-on-Trent station. Passenger traffic was withdrawn from the station on 11 July 1927, but freight traffic continued until 5 October 1964. There was also a canal rail interchange at Congleton Junction. The remains of the small dock on the Macclesfield Canal can still be seen. Parts of the station platform can still be seen, and one of the original buildings is now a private residence, the trackbed now forms the Biddulph Valley Way.

The nearest active stations are now in Congleton or Kidsgrove, which provide connections to Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, London Euston, Macclesfield, Manchester, Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.

Biddulph is located on the A527, which links it to Congleton in the North and Stoke-on-Trent in the south.

Buses

D&G Bus provides bus services ^[8] to Hanley (No.9) and to Leek (No.93) and the No. 94 goes north to Congleton and south to Tunstall and Newcastle-under-Lyme

First Potteries also provides a bus service^[9] (No.7A) to Hanley.

Notable people

James Bateman

• James Bateman (1811–1897) landowner and horticulturist, developed Biddulph Grange
• Robert Bateman (1842–1922) painter,^[10] architect and horticultural designer.
• Jack Simcock (1929 - 2012) painter,^[11] studied at Burslem School of Art, known for "a long series of bleak, sombre oils on board" of the Mow Cop area
• Professor Brian Scarlett (1938–2004) academic ^[12] noted for his contributions to particle technology
• Joan Walley (born 1949) Labour Party politician,^[13] MP for Stoke-on-Trent North 1987 / 2015.

Sport

• John Archer (born 1941), footballer, played 335 games for teams including Port Vale, Crewe Alexandra and Chesterfield FC
• John Farmer (born 1947) former footballer,^[14] made 163 appearances for Stoke City F.C.
• Malcolm Bailey (born 1950) former footballer,^[15] 174 appearances for Altrincham F.C.
• Phil Dowd (born 1963) retired^[16] football referee
• Rob Bailey (born 1963) cricket umpire ^[17] and former player for Northants & England
• James Wilson (born 1995) footballer,^[18] plays for Port Vale and previously played for Manchester United.

Twin towns

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in England

Biddulph is twinned with:

• Fusignano, Italy^[19]

Freeman

The following is a list of people who have been a Freeman of Biddulph, and when the title was bestowed.

• Tony Hall (2023)^[20]

See also

• Listed buildings in Biddulph

References

1. "Town Population 2011". Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
2. "Bradley Green, Biddulph". jdwetherspoon.co.uk.
3. "Home - Biddulph High School". biddulph.staffs.sch.uk.
4. "Woodhouse Middle School- Index". Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
5. "James Bateman Middle School". jamesbateman.staffs.sch.uk.
6. "Over Biddulph (Staffordshire, England) Freeview Light transmitter". May 2004.
7. "Report to Cabinet" (PDF). Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
8. D&G Bus website, Route Maps retrieved 19 February 2018
9. First Potteries website, Route Maps retrieved 19 February 2018
10. Robert Bateman, The Three Ravens", Sotheby's retrieved 19 February 2018
11. Buckman, David (31 May 2012). "Jack Simcock obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
12. Prof Brian Scarlett, Profile, World Congress in Particle Technology 2006 retrieved 19 February 2018
13. "Joan Walley, former MP, Stoke-on-Trent North". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
14. John Farmer, Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database retrieved 19 February 2018
15. "Malcolm Bailey". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
16. SoccerBase Database retrieved 19 February 2018
17. ESPN cricinfo Database retrieved 19 February 2018
18. SoccerBase Database retrieved 14 June 2021
19. Biddulph Twinning Association (27 October 2022). "Twinning Group needs new blood". Chronicle letters
    The king of Letter Pages!. Congleton Chronicle. p. 32.
20. "Unique honour for veteran councillor". Congleton Chronicle. 27 April 2023. p. 21.

External links

Media related to Biddulph at Wikimedia Commons