Biddulph

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Date:1086 - 2015 (c.)

Description:Biddulph lies in a valley formed by the Biddulph Brook in the north west of Staffordshire on the county’s boundary with Cheshire.

The name Biddulph or Bidolf is Anglo- Saxon and originally means ‘by diggings’, meaning literally a place by the mine. As the name is Anglo-Saxon, this suggests that there was very probably coal here before the Norman Conquest. In the Domesday Survey of 1086, Biddulph belonged to the King. It consisted of one hide. In area, that is about 120 acres but the land was not under cultivation at the time of Domesday. In the Middle Ages, Biddulph remained a remote place, part of the moorlands where sheep farming was a principal activity.

A church existed in Biddulph before the Norman Conquest but the earliest recorded incumbent was Edward de Biddulph in 1190. The church, dedicated to St Lawrence was re- built in the 16th century, substantially damaged during the Civil War and rebuilt again in 1834. This time the work was carried out by Thomas Trubshawe, one of the Haywood dynasty of master builders and architects. At Knypersley, a church, dedicated to St John the Evangelist, was built in 1848-1851 at the expense of John Bateman, while Christ Church was built at Biddulph Moor a little later in 1863.

In 1532-33, 37 families were recorded in Biddulph and Knypersley. In 1666, 34 households in Biddulph were assessed for the payment of the hearth tax, 37 in Knypersley and 31 households were not chargeable. At that time, the largest house in Biddulph, what was left of Biddulph Old Hall, was occupied by Francis Biddulph and had six hearths. The largest in Knypersley, Knypersley Hall, had 20 hearths and was occupied by Sir John Bowyer.

These two families were on opposing sides in the Civil war. John Biddulph was killed at the Battle of Hopton Heath in 1643 fighting for the Royalists and subsequently Biddulph Old Hall was virtually destroyed, having been beseiged for three months by the Parliamentarians. On the other hand the Bowyers supported Cromwell. John Bowyer was a garrison commander at Leek. He later changed sides and was rewarded after the Restoration of the King in 1660.

Biddulph Grange was believed to have been one of the granges of the Cistercian Abbey of Hulton,. The property was acquired in 1812 by the Bateman family and developed by James Bateman who moved there in 1842. He was responsible for the laying out between 1842-1865 of the remarkable gardens, which represent one of the greatest Victorian gardens in England. At the time they were considered to be very fine and were described in great detail in the Gardener’s Chronicle in 1857-1862. The property was sold to Robert Heath in 1872 and in 1923 it became an orthopaedic hospital. Eventually the hospital closed in 1991, by which time, with a great deal of local support, the gardens had been acquired by the National Trust to enable their restoration.

Industry in Biddulph has been surprisingly varied over the centuries. In the Middle Ages the industry in the area comprised of both coal and iron working. Coal working is not well documented before the 17th century and it is in the 19th century that it becomes particularly significant. White’s trade directory of 1851 lists five coalmasters, including John Bateman. It is the Batemans, Staniers, Lancasters and later the Heaths who dominated the development of coal mining in Biddulph.

Iron working was closely allied to coal and is first documented here in 1334. A bloom smithy is recorded in 1644. By the later 18th cent there was a forge, owned by Francis Gosling, known as the Lee Forge. Later it was Robert Heath, one of the most influential ironmasters in North Staffordshire, who was to develop the Biddulph Valley ironworks. As well as coal and iron there was also textile working here, including cotton manufacturing and silk throwing. In 1840 there were three silk mills in Biddulph. Other related manufacturing trades were button making and fustian cutting, which ceased in the 1930s.