"Rosehill"

Views of Heald Road

Decorative bargeboards over two windows above a pair of garages

Highly ornate bargeboards over two windows above a pair of garages.

Pair of substantial properties with some scaffolding in evidence

A pair of substantial properties - probably apartments - close to the junction with Stamford Road. Note the small dormers next to the prominent ones at each end.

A rather ugly apartment block behind iron gates

"The Beeches", now an apartment block (of questionable taste in my opinion) near the junction with Langham Road (see below). This was formerly a Victorian villa that was used as the Bowdon vicarage in the 1960s/70s. It was converted and extended into its current configuration in the mid-1980s.

A view of "Larkhill" on Heald Road, taken from Heald Drive. Larkhill was once the Cheshire headquarters of British Red Cross. It was purchased by a local couple and converted back into a family residence in 1974. They remained there for over 40 years and when selling up were keen that it remained a family home rather than go the same way as The Beeches (see above). The new owners from 2016 have spent vast sums on modernising and alterations and continue to do so.

Is this ornamental, or did it once serve a useful purpose? The property itself is on Stamford Road, but this curious structure is best seen from Heald Road. Please get in touch if you know what it is/was!

A quick look at Heald Drive & Heald Close

Heald Drive

A shot taken from the junction with Heald Close looking back down the hill to Heald Road.

Heald Drive

View up residential street towards "High Lawn"

The view up Heald Drive from the junction with Heald Road. Part of "High Lawn", the house built for William Neild, is visible in the left background.

Heald Drive

Heald Drive: a more secluded, detached property at the top of the street.

Detached properties looking towards end of road

A shot looking up Heald Drive from its junction with Heald Close.

Heald Close: a more modern property on the west side of the road. Clearly a family residence!

Heald Close: one of the two larger properties at the end of the cul de sac...

A large, detached family home in a secluded location

...and here's the other one. Even though it looks fairly recent, all the properties on Heald Drive and Heald Close were built in the 1950s; several have been extended/remodelled over the years.

The eastern façade of "High Lawn", now an apartment block (developer: P J Livesey) but originally built for William Neild, a calico printer of Ardwick, Manchester. It's probably one of the most imposing older properties in Bowdon, but according to Pevsner has been "insensitively redeveloped".

Follow this link: High Lawn by Ian Bryce for a detailed description of its history. 14

Langham Road (incl. Nield's Brow)

Where is Langham Road?

A walk down Langham Road

Map showing location of Langham Road and Nield's Brow, two of the streets of Bowdon

You can't miss it! It's probably Bowdon's main thoroughfare nowadays (classified as the B5161), and the easterly extension of Park Road. It runs from Bow Green Road to the crossroads with Ashley Road, Stamford Road and Marlborough Road.

Most of this area of Bowdon was initially developed between 1838 and 1910.

As far as I can tell, the only non-residential property along the road is the Mercure Hotel (see next photo).

Nield's Brow is partly a ginnel (north of Langham Road), and partly a very short stretch of road between Langham Road and South Downs Road. It's named after William Neild (yes, the spelling is different!), a calico printer of Ardwick, Manchester (see 14).

OS grid ref.: SJ 7615 8651

what3words ref.: ///groom.scenes.play

Date of photography: Feb/March 2021

get in touch!

A walk down Langham Road

Large building bathed in sunlight with male figure on pavement

Let's take a walk along Langham Road, starting at the Hale end.

This is the Mercure Hotel. As a hotel, it's changed hands a few times over the years, but has been closed since October 2020. It is allegedly now in administration owing to difficulties arising from the lockdown.

The original part of this much expanded site was built as a hydropathic establishment, and as such was frequented by Bowdon's wealthier residents. Plans have been submitted to develop the site whilst retaining its historical features.

For more information, refer to this article by David Miller in the Bowdon Sheaf no. 50 (pp. 6-12).

A walk down Langham Road

Frontage of large property behind iron gates

"Beechmount", a classic Victorian mansion house that was converted into apartments and extended by Seddon Homes in the early C21.

Substantial property behind closed timber gates

This is "Enderley", a close neighbour of "Beechmount" from the preceding photo. A substantial, C21 private residence on the north side of the road. Another photo, taken by Richard Sutcliffe in 2017 with the gates open, can be found here on the Geograph website.

Driveway of large detached property, now a care home

The Cedars Rest Home. According to its website, The Cedars is "a beautiful Victorian villa originally built in the 1870’s, sympathetically converted and extended to provide...high quality personal and dementia care to up to 34 clients".

Large, white-rendered property with gravel driveway

No. 19 is on the south side of the road, next door but one to The Cedars.

Moving on past the junction with South Downs Road we come to Vicarage Lane, on the corner of which is this property, no. 45. I know nothing about it, but believe it has been divided into apartments. If you can help, please contact me using the button below.

This is Bowdon Old Hall, one of the township's older buildings. Its background is too detailed to examine here, so I hope the following will help: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listed_buildings_in_Bowdon,_Greater_Manchester. The late Marjorie Cox, a co-founder of Bowdon History Society, wrote a book entitled, "Bowdon Hall and Its People: A Study of the Hall and Its Estate, Its Owners and Tenants", which is available on Amazon. The Bowdon Sheaf series also contains some articles - all by Marjorie - about the Hall: see no. 26 (pp. 2-5), no. 29 (pp. 2-4) and no. 45 (pp. 1-2).

Blue plaque commemorating holder of Victoria Cross

Close to the junction with Richmond Road on the north side of Langham Road is this plaque commemorating Captain Edward Bradbury, VC. David Miller has written about Captain Bradbury and his fate in the Bowdon Sheaf no. 51 (pp. 8-10).

Pair of late C19 semis, brick-built with arched porches

We're now at the older end of Langham Road, where several of the original 17 farms in Bowdon were located. This photo and the next show two pairs of semi-detached properties on the south side of the road.

Pair of semi-detached houses with porches

The neighbours to the houses shown in the photo to the left. Note the difference in style to the previous properties.

Former farmhouse, presumably altered and expanded

And finally, here is one of the former farmhouses, substantially altered and expanded (I assume), but still bearing its original name (Vale Farm).

Views of Marlborough Road

5-way crossroads with traffic lights and waiting cars

This is the 5-way crossroads at the northern end of the road. Going anti-clockwise from the right are Stamford Road, Langham Road (the blue car), Marlborough Road, Ashley Road (into Hale) and, finally, the continuation of Ashley Road towards Altrincham. Date of photography: November 2020 (this photo) and February 2021 (all the others).

This is the rear entrance to the Mercure Hotel, which is located on Langham Road. The car park is empty because these photos were taken during the lockdown in early 2021. See Langham Road for more information about the hotel and its history (it was formerly a hydropathic establishment).

Elegant residence behind wooden gates and hedge/stone wall

This is "Flanders", a rather elegant house on the eastern side of the road. Get in touch using the button at bottom right if you know anything about its history/former residents, etc.

Road leading to junction with traffic lights on red

Another view of the crossroads, this time from Marlborough Road itself. The road heading off into the distance towards Altrincham is Ashley Road.

Main block of the Altrincham Grammar School for boys

Part of Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, a grammar school with Academy status. The current headmaster is G A Wright.
According to Wikipedia, "The school was founded as Altrincham County High School for Boys (ACHS) in 1912 as a result of the Balfour Education Act, to provide secondary education (partly fee-paying) for an area which stretched from Sale to Knutsford. It opened with 57 pupils and 3 staff (Headmaster, Deputy and one secretary), housed in the red brick building which still forms the central block of the school today. The south wing and the assembly hall were added in 1938 and the science block, gymnasium and workshops in 1964."

The main entrance to the school. With two schools (see next image) in such close proximity to each other, I imagine driving up and down the road at 15:30 of an afternoon in term time might be a frustrating experience...

The grounds of the Altrincham Preparatory School for Boys, fortunately sparsely populated due to the Covid-19 lockdown, as otherwise I would probably have been nabbed for trying to take photographs of children!

Road with detached properties on the left. A green bin is out for collection.

Continuing south past the school and on the western side of the road, opposite the junction with Blenheim Close (see below), are a couple of generously sized detached properties.

Red car parked in drive of large detached property

This is one of the two detached properties referred to above. If you know when it was built, please get in touch using the button at bottom right.

Detached home standing behind paved driveway and hedge

November 2021 - as are all the following images. "South Ash" is towards the southern end of the road.

The view north along Marlborough Road from close to the junction with South Downs Road. The entrance to Blenheim Close is just visible on the right.

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys. It's term time and a bell has just rung.

Views of South Downs Road

Moss Cottage

"Moss Cottage", at the junction with Marlborough Road and one of the few thatched cottages in Bowdon. It is undoubtedly one of the oldest properties in the entire area.

The date on the dormer is 1666, the year of the Great Fire of London! The initials "RL" and "HL" record that the cottage was built by Robert and Helen Lewis of Moss Farm.

OS grid ref.: SJ 7663 8641

what3words ref.: ///risky.hidden.cloak

Date of photography: February 2021

Moss Cottage

Woman standing in front of thatched cottage

Tricia, the current owner, in front of her cottage. She told me that the thatch only needs replacing every 30 years or so, but the moss you can clearly see in the photos has to be removed much more frequently.
She has lived here for more than 40 years.

Moss Cottage

Large detached home with green space in front

Nearly all the properties on South Downs Road are substantial detached homes or imposing apartment blocks. This is "Woodside", which appears to be a late C20 construction.

Large, glass-fronted property with parked cars

"Forrest Hill", one of the aforementioned apartment blocks (at least, I think it's an apartment block - correct me if I'm mistaken!)

Large, half-timbered residence behind double iron gates

"Sowlers Wood", or 23 South Downs Road. It was originally a family home, and still appears to be so.

The awkward S-bend as the road approaches the boundary with Hale. There have been several collisions along here over the years.

Cricket ground with hockey goals in background

The grounds of Bowdon Cricket, Hockey and Squash Club (the grounds are currently closed due to Covid-19), looking towards the houses of York Drive and Theobald Road (see below) in the background.

Impressive Italianate villa behind iron gates and railings

A block of luxurious apartments masquerading as an imposing Italianate villa. "Arncliffe", on the north side of the road overlooks the cricket ground.

"South Downs Cottage", another property overlooking the cricket ground from the north side of the road. I suspect this has been extensively remodelled over the years.