Heaton Norris - History

History

Heaton Norris was part of the Manchester barony of the Grelley family, but between 1162 and 1180 it belonged to William le Norreys. In the early 13th century, Heaton Norris was a sub manor of Manchester, it encompassed all of the Four Heatons. It was escheated (i.e. reverted) to the manor of Manchester around 1280. In 1322, there were 32 dwellings suggesting a population of 150, the ten freeholders of the escheated manor had the right to graze on common pasture and to cut wood. There was no chapel of ease, unlike neighbouring St Ostwalds at Didsbury, and didn't get one till St Thomas' was built in 1758. The township remained part of the parish of Manchester in the Salford Hundred of Lancashire until 1835 when the southern portion of the parish was absorbed into Stockport. In 1894, under the Local Government Act 1894, it was divided again, with a portion becoming part of Stockport county borough in Cheshire, and the remaining part forming the Heaton Norris urban district in Lancashire. A further 16 acres (65,000 m2) transferred in 1901, and the remainder, Heaton Moor and Heaton Chapel, was added to Stockport county borough in 1913. There was a plebiscite in the 1930 on whether the area wished to become part of Manchester again, but the vote was lost. In 1901, the population was recorded as 26,251. Since 1974 it has formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester.

Weaving was first recorded in 1580 and by 1776 farms were being advertised as having cowsheds and large loom houses. In spite of the industrial developments nearby, most of Heaton Norris remained agricultural, though in 1836 there were 20 mills employing upwards of 5,000. The rural nature changed with the arrival of the railway station at Heaton Norris in 1840 and Heaton Chapel in 1852, when the area became largely residential.