This time our series has its focus on the village of Alderley Edge, an old (and these days) upmarket village settlement overlooking the Cheshire Plain. Noted for its position on the sandstone rock outcrops known as The Edge.
The modern-day village of Alderley Edge probably takes its name from the Old English “Chorlegh”, from the words “ceorl” and “leah”, first noted in a charter in 1280, although some historians claim that it possibly derived from Anglo-Saxon, “Aldredelie” recorded in 1086. Another source claims it as from the Old English “Aldrydeleah” meaning ‘the meadow or woodland clearing of a woman called Aldryd.
Although the settlement was first recorded in written records in the Norman period of the 13th century, it did not appear in the Domesday book of the late 11th century. The Edge is noted for its ancient mine workings and tunnels, the earliest evidence is of Bronze Age copper mines, a valuable metal used in the making of bronze.
In the Iron Age, the area was under the control of the Celtic tribe, the Cornovii and lay within the northern reaches of the tribe’s territory. The copper mines of the area would have been a source of wealth and trade.
The Roman period
The Romans were known to have worked the copper mines along Alderley Edge, and the Roman regional administration based in what is now the city of Chester would have taken full advantage of this source of metal ore. A hoard of 564 Roman coins was unearthed in 1995 and the coins were dated to the period between the years 317 to 336, towards the closing years of the Roman occupation of Britain.
Medieval period
From the 15th century onwards, estates along the Edge and including the settlement that became Alderley Edge. belonged to the de Trafford family. The neighbouring village of Nether Alderley was granted a market charter in 1253, and across the medieval period, a number of wealthy halls and estates were established. The area remained largely rural until the late 18th century.
The coming of the railways during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century created a problem when the Birmingham and Manchester Railway built a line in 1842 out to the village of Chorlegh, because the name Chorlegh could be easily confused with Chorley in Lancashire as a destination, especially by a travelling public with limited reading ability. So the station was given the name Alderley Edge, the location of The Edge being well known. The same logic was applied years later in 1894 when the administrative local government board was renamed to Alderley Edge to remove confusion with Chorley in Lancashire.
The copper mines along The Edge finally discontinued in 1920s after continuous extraction mining since 1690. The tunnels and entrances to the mines were taken over by Derbyshire Caving Club under licence to the National Trust in the 1960s.
The Legends of Alderley
The most significant local legend is that of the ‘Wizard of the Edge’, and there are several versions of this tale, some of which include elements of Arthurian legends. The most recognisable version of the Wizard of the Edge, was first brought to a wider audience in 1805 when the story was published in the newspaper, the ‘Manchester Mail’.
The Legend of the Wizard of the Edge
“Legend tells of a Mobberley farmer leading a milk-white mare to market in Macclesfield. Along the Edge, at a spot called Thieves Hole, an old man in grey stopped him and offered to buy the horse. The farmer declined, confident of a better price at market. The old man predicted that he would return that evening, unsold, to the same spot.
Failing to sell the horse, the farmer retraced his steps. The old man reappeared and repeated his offer, which was now accepted. Leading the farmer to a spot near Stormy Point, the old man waved a wand, uttered a spell, and revealed iron gates in the rock. Inside was a cavern filled with sleeping men and white horses. The old man, a wizard, paid the farmer from a chest and explained the sleepers would rise if England faced peril. He then sent the astonished farmer home.
Some versions include prophecies with the wizard foretelling that the sleeping men and horses would awaken to save the country during George, the son of George’s reign. Later adaptations, such as James Roscoe’s poem, suggest the wizard was Merlin and the sleepers were King Arthur’s army.”
Some students of historic British myths and legends have noted a similarity between the description of the wizard, as an old man clad in grey robes, and the Norse myths of Odin as ‘Grimnir the Wanderer’.
It is also not a coincidence that the description of the wizard bares a close resemblance to the character of Gandalf the Grey, the wizard in J.R. Tolkien’s stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was known to use ancient legends as a source for his novels.
In addition, the author Alan Garner grew up and lived in the village of Alderley Edge and wrote a series of fictional novels based on the legends of Alderley Edge. Specifically, his children’s novels “The Weirstone of Brisingamen” and “The Moon of Gomrath”, which combined elements of local history, local legends, Celtic mythology and Norse mythology together with direct references to identifiable features of the village and of The Edge.
The most recent population statistics show that is 92.1% White, a clear recommendation. Any ethnic minority elements in the Alderley Edge district are most likely to be wealthy sports personalities, musicians, entertainers or business people.
Aldeley Edge is now considered to be part of Cheshire’s ‘Golden Triangle’, the cluster of affluent villages and private estates that are residences for a concentration of the region’s wealthier personalities.
CREDITS
Main Image: British Movement.
Sign Image: By Pete Birkinshaw – CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34606487
Tunnel: By Nigeldibben – CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6032555
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