Visit Buckley, Greater Manchester Places

Welcome to Visit Buckley, Greater Manchester Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Buckley, Greater Manchester

  

Buckley, Greater Manchester Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Buckley, Greater Manchester

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Buckley, Greater Manchester history

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Buckley emerged as a settlement following the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the Early Middle Ages. The name Buckley is derived from the Old English term æblæc hlæw, which translates as “bleak hill”. This Old English term became corrupted to “Blakelow”, and then into the variants of “Bucklegh”, “Bulkey”, “Bukklegh”, and “Bucley” before settling on “Buckley”. The medieval hamlet of Buckley lay within the Anglo-Saxon manor of Hundersfield, in the parish of Rochdale. It remained in obscurity until the 11th century, when it is believed that Normans loyal to William the Conqueror were given the estate as a reward for their services given during the Norman conquest of England. It is from this exchange that the “ancient” and “local” family of Buckley — the progenitors of the Buckley surname in North West England — was founded. “Geoffrey de Buckley” is the earliest known member of the Buckley family, who appeared during the 12th century in charters relating to Stanlow Abbey, Whalley Abbey and land exchange in and around the hamlet of Buckley. Although Buckley is a term of Old English derivation, the given name Geoffrey is of Old French origin, and the use of the nobiliary particle ‘de’ indicates the Norman origins of the Buckley family. Geoffrey de Buckley served as the Dean of Whalley, and his nephew, also called Geoffrey de Buckley, was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265 and is commemorated in windows at Worcester Cathedral and Lichfield Cathedral. At the centre of the Buckley estate was a watermill used for grinding grain, which existed at least as early as 1335, and Buckley Hall, which first appears in written records in a description dated 1626. Buckley Hall was noted as a “faire mansion house”, and was owned by a family or families surnamed Buckley, after the locality. The Buckleys of Buckley used Buckley Hall as a chapel and residence and continued to have influence over local and regional affairs as priests, yeomen, esquires and other gentry into the Early Modern Period; Geoffrey Buckley of Buckley was the Rector of St Alban’s Church in London during the 1470s, and John Buckley of Buckley, son of Abel, was a Lieutenant Colonel with the Roundheads at the Siege of Lathom House during the English Civil War. When the manor of Hundersfield was abolished and its territory subdivided amongst new townships, Buckley Hall and its surrounding area fell within the bounds of Wardleworth. Buckley appears to have been the “principal estate” of Wardleworth and encompassed land in the outlying areas of Foxholes and Fieldhouse. The main line of the Buckley family continued to own Buckley Hall and its estates, while other members founded new families in Saddleworth, and Shaw and Crompton. The lineal descendants of the Buckleys of Buckley gradually diminished in number and influence through death and migration; the last member of the main branch of the Buckleys of Buckley was a Captain William Buckley. In 1722, Captain Buckley had a lethal dispute with Major Samuel Crooke, the High Sheriff of Lancashire, regarding a right of way in Higher Walton, Lancashire. Buckley and Cooke entered a duel at Rochdale in which Cooke was killed. Buckley was tried at the assizes in Lancaster and found guilty of manslaughter, but received “only a light sentence”. He died in 1730. The demise of the Buckleys of Buckley, combined with the urbanisation of the expanding market town of Rochdale, brought about the gradual obsolescence of the Buckley estate. Buckley Hall passed from Captain William Buckley to his nephew Thomas Foster (who assumed the surname of Buckley), and his son, Edward Buckley, who in 1786 sold the hall and estate to Robert Entwisle. Although by 1626 a “considerable part of the town of Rochdale was built on the southern side of Wardleworth”, the industrialisation of Rochdale advanced its encroachment upon the bounds of Buckley. In 1825 part of Wardleworth was included in the area of the commissioners for the improvement of the town of Rochdale, and an act of parliament in 1839 allowed Rochdale’s Water Works Company to construct a reservoir in Buckley to supply water to Rochdale. Buckley Wood Reservoir was completed in December 1841 and held 24,271,312 imperial gallons (110,339,570 l; 29,148,630 US gal) of water. By 1851 Rochdale had expanded well into the bounds of Wardleworth, and in 1872 the remaining area of Wardleworth was subsumed into the Municipal Borough of Rochdale, effectively abolishing Wardleworth and bringing Buckley entirely into the bounds of Rochdale. Although the Buckley family was said to be one of the founders of the cotton trade in the area, industrial scale textile processing was introduced to Buckley with the construction of Buckley Mills. Buckley became “a Victorian ensemble of a mill, workers’ housing” and Buckley Hall as “the mill owners house”, which in 1860 fell to the Schofields, a family of merchants and traders. Buckley Mills were visited by Henry Pelham-Clinton, 6th Duke of Newcastle in September 1873. Buckley Hall was demolished in the 1860s by the Schofields and rebuilt “to the highest standards of comfort and opulence for the time… four storeys high of red brick with yellow brick arches in an Italianate style with an Elizabethan bow”. However, in 1882 Buckley Hall became unoccupied as a result of William Schofield’s death, and stayed unoccupied until brought to the attention of Herbert Vaughan and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford in 1887. Buckley Hall was found to be suitable for conversion into an orphanage and Poor Law School operated by the Brothers of Charity, a Catholic institute from Ghent in Belgium. Buckley Hall Orphanage officially opened on 19 March 1888 with 28 Catholic boys in residence. Construction of Eclipse Mill at Buckley began in 1899.

Buckley, Greater Manchester landmarks

Buckley Hall first makes an appearance in record in 1626, but was noted as being an ancient hall. It held a collection of vertu until it was dispersed in 1884. The Brothers of Charity, an institute of the Catholic Church, successfully agitated for the purchase of Buckley Hall and conversion into an orphanage for Catholic boys. Between 1966 and 1989 it operated as a senior detention centre. It reopened in 1994 before a demolition of the mansion and rebuilding programme took place. In 2002, HMP Buckley Hall reopened as a prison for female offenders; the first prisoners arrived in April that year.

Buckley, Greater Manchester geography / climate

Buckley lies along the northern edge of both Rochdale and the Greater Manchester Urban Area. It is 11.1 miles (17.9 km) north-northeast of Manchester city centre. Buckley Brook is so named because it passes through Buckley. The A58 road runs southeast-to-northwest along the southern edge.

You can visit Buckley, Greater Manchester places with Walkfo Buckley, Greater Manchester to hear history at Buckley, Greater Manchester’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Buckley, Greater Manchester has 74 places to visit in our interactive Buckley, Greater Manchester map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Buckley, Greater Manchester, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Buckley, Greater Manchester places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Buckley, Greater Manchester & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 74 audio facts unique to Buckley, Greater Manchester places in an interactive Buckley, Greater Manchester map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Buckley, Greater Manchester Places Map
74 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Buckley, Greater Manchester historic spots	Buckley, Greater Manchester tourist destinations	Buckley, Greater Manchester plaques	Buckley, Greater Manchester geographic features
Walkfo Buckley, Greater Manchester tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Buckley, Greater Manchester

  

Best Buckley, Greater Manchester places to visit

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Buckley, Greater Manchester has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Buckley, Greater Manchester’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Buckley, Greater Manchester’s information audio spots:

Stanney Brook Stanney Brook originates in the Burnedge area of Shaw and Crompton. It flows through Milnrow into Rochdale before joining the River Roch at Newbold Brow. Its name derives from the Lancashire dialect word “stanner”

Hey Brook Hey Brook is a watercourse in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. It originates at the confluence of Buckley Brook and Syke Brook. It flows through Wardleworth to the River Roch.

St John the Baptist Church, Rochdale St John the Baptist Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. It was founded in 1830, and built in 1927. It is situated on the corner of Maclure Road and Dowling Street.

Rochdale (ancient parish) Rochdale was an ecclesiastical parish of early-medieval origin in northern England. At its zenith, it occupied 58,620 acres (237 km) of land amongst the South Pennines. It straddled the historic county boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Rochdale Town Hall Victorian-era municipal building in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, was built in 1871. Built in Gothic Revival style at a cost of £160,000 (£15 million in 2021) It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade I listed building. It functions as the ceremonial headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough Council and houses local government departments.

Rochdale Pioneers Museum The Rochdale Pioneers Museum is housed in the building where the Equitable Pioneers Society started trading on 21 December 1844. The museum includes a recreation of the original shop, containing its rudimentary furniture, scales, items that were sold at the store, etc.

Spodden Valley asbestos controversy 72 acres (290,000 m) of land in Spodden Valley in Rochdale, England, formerly used by Turner Brothers Asbestos Company. Site of world’s largest asbestos textile factory was sold to MMC Estates, a property developer. MMC submitted a planning application to build an “urban village” consisting of 650 homes, a children’s daycare centre and a business park on the site. However, asbestos containing materials were abundantly visible on the ground, and local residents claimed that there were numerous asbestos dumping sites across the area.

Touchstones Rochdale Touchstones Rochdale is an art gallery, museum, local studies centre, visitor information centre and café. The first part of the building was opened as a library in 1884 with the museum and gallery being added in 1903 and extended in 1913. It became an art and heritage centre in 2003.

Rochdale Infirmary Rochdale Infirmary is an acute general hospital in Greater Manchester. It is managed by the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

HM Prison Buckley Hall Buckley Hall Prison is a Category C male prison in the Buckley district of Rochdale in North West England. It is operated by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.

Visit Buckley, Greater Manchester plaques