Alkrington Garden Village is a suburban area of Middleton, in the

Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. Its largest town is Rochdale and the wider borough covers other outlying towns and villages, including Heywood, Greater Manchester, Heywood, Littleb ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England. Alkrington lies on the northern edge of the city of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

with the suburb of

Blackley Blackley is a suburban area of Manchester, in the county of Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is approximately north of Manchester city centre, on the River Irk. History The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the Do ...

directly to the south. The

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

added Alkrington to the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale; though Alkrington is separated from the town of

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

by the rest of Middleton and rural land. The "Woodside" district of Alkrington is home to a number of affluent properties with Woodfield Road, Middleton's most expensive street, being located here.

History

In 1212, the manor of Alkrington, consisting of four

oxgang An oxgang or bovate (; ; ; ) is an old land measurement formerly used in Scotland and England as early as the 16th century sometimes referred to as an oxgait. It averaged around 20 English acres, but was based on land fertility and cultivation, a ...

s of land, was held by Adam de Prestwich from the Montbegon

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contrad ...

. About 20 years later it passed to the de Lacys, and subsequently to the Crown; but the manor continued to descend with the Prestwich family. In 1561, Sir Robert Langley gave the manor to his daughter Katherine who was married to Thomas Legh of Lyme and it was sold by the Leghs in 1627 to Robert and John Lever. Sir Darcy Lever, was

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient office, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...

in 1736. Sir Ashton Lever, who was high sheriff in 1771, collected curiosities which he exhibited at Alkrington Hall. He was succeeded by his brother whose younger son, John lived at Alkrington until 1834 and then to Dorning Rasbotham who sold it to John Lees. Historically a part of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Alkrington was a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham in the hundred of

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

. Once rolling farmland, in 1866 Alkrington became a separate

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, in 1886 Alkrington was added to the Municipal Borough of Middleton, and developed into a residential area. On 31 December 1894 the parish was abolished and merged with Middleton. In 1891 the parish had a population of 446.

Alkrington Hall

The Grade II* listed Alkrington Hall had been converted into flats however now it's two separate dwellings. It was built between 1735–36 to the designs of

Giacomo Leoni Giacomo Leoni (; 1686 – 8 June 1746), also known as James Leoni, was an List of Italian architects, Italian architect, born in Venice. He was a devotee of the work of Florence, Florentine Renaissance architecture, Renaissance architect Leon Ba ...

for Darcy Lever. The three-storey house is mainly brick built with

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

dressings and tile and slate roofs. Its Classical style facade has nine bays with single-storey three-bay wings either side. The central three bays project slightly and have giant Ionic

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s above the rusticated stone ground floor. The woodland around Alkrington Hall comprises 125 acres (50 ha) and is a designated Local Nature Reserve, Alkrington Woods. The remains of an earlier hall can be seen on the site. The manor of Alkrington was bought by the Lever family in the 1600s but when the last family member died childless the estate and present hall were sold. The new owners sold on most of the land and the hall came into the possession of the local council who converted it to flats. The hall was later resold into private hands and converted into four luxury homes.

Geography

The area of Alkrington township was . The underlying geology is that of the

Lancashire Coalfield The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British Coalfield#Great Britain, coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago. The Rom ...

. The highest ground, above sea level in the south-east and north east but mostly above , slopes downwards to the boundary brooks in the south west. The main road that serves Alkrington is the A664 from Manchester via Blackley to Middleton. Junction 20 of the

M60 motorway The M60 motorway, Manchester Ring Motorway or Manchester Outer Ring Road is an orbital motorway in North West England. Built over a 40-year period, it passes through all of Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolt ...

is to the south-west.

Religion

There are three churches within the old township area. The

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Church of St Michael was founded in 1839, a Congregational church was built in 1929 and the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

St Thomas More Church was built in 1960.

Notable people

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...

, comedian, was born and brought up in Alkrington. * Liam Fray, lead singer of

The Courteeners Courteeners are an English band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 2006 by Liam Fray (lead guitar/vocals), Michael Campbell (drums/backing vocals), Daniel "Conan" Moores (rhythm guitar) and Mark Cuppello ...

, was born and brought up in Alkrington. * Brian Kidd, former

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

footballer, resides in Alkrington. *

Bernard Manning Bernard John Manning (13 August 1930 – 18 June 2007) was an English comedian and nightclub owner. He gained a high profile on British television during the 1970s, appearing on shows such as '' The Comedians'' and '' The Wheeltappers and Shun ...

(1930–2007), comedian and nightclub owner, lived in the area for more than 20 years. * Nedum Onuoha, former Manchester City footballer, owns a home in the area. * Ashley Ward, former Manchester City footballer, was born and brought up in Alkrington.

Transport

, several bus services serve Alkrington, including: * 17:

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vill ...

to Shudehill Interchange via

. This service is operated by

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

as part of the Bee Network. * 17A:

to Shudehill Interchange. This service is operated by

as part of the Bee Network. * 18: Langley to Manchester Royal Infirmary. This service is operated by

as part of the Bee Network. Some services terminate at Shudehill Interchange instead of Manchester Royal Infirmary. * 41: Middleton to Sale Metrolink. This service is operated by

as part of the Bee Network. Some services terminate at North Manchester General Hospital instead of Middleton * 114: Boarshaw to Piccadilly Gardens. This service is operated by

under the Bee Network. Most services terminate at Alkrington, Lincoln Road instead of Boarshaw. * 115: Middleton - Moston -

Harpurhey Harpurhey ( ) is an inner-city suburb of Manchester, England, 2.3 miles northeast of the Manchester city centre, city centre. Historically in Lancashire, the population at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census was 17,652. Areas of Harpurh ...

- Higher

Circular. This service is operated by

as part of the Bee Network. * 116: Middleton - Higher

- Moston Circular. This service is operated by

as part of the Bee Network. * 159:

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

to Middleton via Chadderton. This service is operated by Diamond Bus under the Bee Network. * 163: Bury Interchange to Piccadilly Gardens. This service is operated by Go North West as part of the Bee Network. * 415: Middleton to

via Chadderton. This service is operated by

as part of the Bee Network.

References

{{Reflist Areas of Greater Manchester Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester Country houses in Greater Manchester Palladian architecture Middleton, Greater Manchester Local Nature Reserves in Greater Manchester