Biddulph


Biddulph is a town and civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands district of the county of Staffordshire, England. The town lies north of Stoke-on-Trent and south-east of Congleton, close to part of the Staffordshire/Cheshire county border. In 2011 the parish had a population of 19,892.

Origin of the name

Biddulph's name may come from Anglo-Saxon/Old English bī dylfe, meaning "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.

Geography

Biddulph lies in a valley between the ridges of Mow Cop to the west and Biddulph Moor to the east.

Education

In common with other parts of the area administered by Staffordshire LEA, the Middle School system operates in Biddulph.
The town has one high school, with a sixth form called Biddulph High School; it was awarded Sports College status in 2002 and has since gained Technology College status. Biddulph also has two middle schools: Woodhouse Middle School, and James Bateman Middle School, serving pupils aged 9–13. These are fed by several first schools, including Kingsfield First School, Knypersley First School, Squirrel Hayes First School and Oxhey First School.

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. However, the town can receive BBC West Midlands and ITV Central through satellite television such as Freesat and Sky.

Radio

Community radio station, Churnet Sound 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. The weekly Biddulph Chronicle is a sister publication to the Congleton Chronicle.

Main sights

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 Grange is 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.

Transport

Roads

Biddulph lies on the A527, which links it to Congleton in the north and Stoke-on-Trent in the south.

Buses

Two bus companies operate local routes:

Railway

The nearest railway stations are at Congleton and Kidsgrove; both are served by Northern Trains, which operates a generally hourly service between, and.
The town was previously served by Biddulph railway station, which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in 1864. It was a stop 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 are extant and one of the original buildings is now a private residence. The trackbed now forms the Biddulph Valley Way.

Notable people

Sport

Twin towns

Biddulph is twinned with:

Freeman

The following person was listed as a Freeman of Biddulph and when the title was bestowed.