32 Facts About Macclesfield

Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England.

Macclesfield, like many other areas in Cheshire, is a relatively affluent town.

Macclesfield was granted a borough charter by Ranulf de Blondeville, Earl of Chester, in the early 13th century, and in 1261 a second charter was granted by the future King Edward I, allowing a market, fair and judicial court.

Macclesfield was the administrative centre of the Hundred of Macclesfield, which occupied most of east Cheshire.

The Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield was very large, and its boundary extended to Disley.

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The Earls of Chester established the Forest of Macclesfield, which was much larger than its present-day namesake.

Macclesfield Castle was a fortified town house built by John de Macclesfield in the later Middle Ages.

Macclesfield was once the world's biggest producer of finished silk.

Between 1826 and 1831 the Macclesfield Canal was constructed, linking Macclesfield to Marple to the north and Kidsgrove to the south.

Macclesfield is the original home of Hovis breadmakers, produced in Publicity Works Mill on the canal close to Buxton Road.

Macclesfield is said to be the only mill town to have escaped bombing in World War II.

Macclesfield was first represented in Parliament after the Reform Act of 1832, when it was granted two Members of Parliament .

However under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the Macclesfield constituency was recreated with extended boundaries, as a county division, later in 1885.

Macclesfield was for some time considered to be a safe seat for the Conservative Party, having been held by it since the 1918 general election, but the 2017 election showed a significant swing away from the Conservatives.

Currently, Macclesfield is represented by David Rutley, a Conservative and practising Mormon.

Macclesfield was selected for this seat in 2010, when Sir Nicholas Winterton, who had been the incumbent for 38 years, announced his retirement following unfavourable press coverage relating to the claiming of Parliamentary expenses.

Macclesfield is represented by 12 councillors on Cheshire East Council: 9 Labour, 3 Independents.

Macclesfield is in the east of Cheshire, on the River Bollin, a tributary of the River Mersey.

Macclesfield is the manufacturing home to AstraZeneca, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.

Macclesfield station is on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line.

Macclesfield is served by good road links from the north, south and west, but has fewer roads going east due to the terrain of the Peak District.

Macclesfield residents have access to Macclesfield Forum, an online message board, for informal discussion of local news and issues.

Macclesfield has appeared in film: it was used as the location for Sir John Mills's film So Well Remembered in 1947.

Macclesfield was the home town of Ian Curtis and Stephen Morris of Joy Division, and Gillian Gilbert who, along with Morris, was a member of New Order.

Silk Brass Band, the Macclesfield-based brass band, won the National Championship of Great Britain Third Section Final in 2002.

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In literature, Macclesfield is the second principal location of the fantasy novels The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner.

Macclesfield is served by four state-funded academies ; Tytherington School, The Macclesfield Academy, Fallibroome Academy and All Hallows Catholic College.

Macclesfield Academy is made up of pupils from the former school Henbury High School, and took in the pupils left over when Ryles Park secondary school closed in 2004.

Macclesfield's cycling club Macclesfield Wheelers is a local club for all cycling activities, from pleasure riding to racing.

Macclesfield Hockey Club is a community club with 8 senior teams and a thriving junior section.

In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of Macclesfield were the third-most active in England in sports and other fitness activities; 29.

Until 2010, Macclesfield had an informal bond with Eckernforde in Germany in the aftermath of World War II when the townsfolk sent aid to Eckernforde.