Biddulph's name may come from Anglo-Saxon/Old English bī dylfe = "beside the pit or quarry". It may also stem from a corruption of the Saxon/Old English Bidulfe, meaning "wolf slayer", and as a result the Biddulph family crest is a wolf rampant.
In the days of coal and iron, Biddulph was actually 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'.[2]
Geography
A distant view of Biddulph from Biddulph Moor
Biddulph is located in a valley between the ridges of Mow Cop and Biddulph Moor to the east and west respectively. Biddulph also encompasses the hamlets of Gillow Heath, Knypersley and Brown Lees.
Education
In common with other parts of the area administered by Staffordshire LEA, the Middle School system operates in Biddulph.
Biddulph has one high school (ages 13 to 16) with a sixth form (ages 16 to 18) called Biddulph High School,[3] it was awarded Sports College status in 2002. It has since gained Technology College status. Biddulph also has two middle schools: Woodhouse Middle School[4] (formerly Biddulph Grammar School), and James Bateman Middle School[5] (formerly Park Middle School), serving pupils aged 9–13. These are fed by several first schools, such as Kingsfield First School, Knypersley First School, Squirrel Hayes First School, Oxhey First School, and several more.
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2023)
Biddulph Community Fire Station in July 2011
The supermarket chain Sainsbury's opened a new store in Biddulph in November 2010.[7]
JD Wetherspoons opened The Bradley Green on Biddulph High Street on 3 September 2001.
In addition to the supermarket development, a number of derelict and semi-derelict buildings were refurbished or rebuilt by the local Councils and private owners. These were in line with the intentions set out in the Town Centre Area Action Plan (2007),[8] which aimed to reverse the spiral of decline that had threatened the long-term viability of the town centre since the early 1990s.
A 3000 square metre primary health facility was built for the North Staffordshire Primary Care Trust in the town centre as part of the ongoing regeneration and investment programme.
A new cafe for youngsters, 'Biddulph Young People's Place' opened in March 2011 at Kingsfield First School after a year of planning and fund-raising.
In 2011 Biddulph, which has a population of approx. 20,000, was left without a post office for 4 months when the small supermarket in which it was situated closed down. A temporary Post Office was eventually set up in the town hall car park.[9] A new post office was opened in October 2013 at the northern end of Biddulph High Street.[10]
Biddulph had its railway station opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in 1864. The station was 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. The station remains in situ and the platforms as a private residence. With the trackbed forming the Biddulph Valley Way.
^Biddulph Twinning Association (27 October 2022). "Twinning Group needs new blood". Chronicle letters The king of Letter Pages!. Congleton Chronicle. p. 32.
^"Unique honour for veteran councillor". Congleton Chronicle. 27 April 2023. p. 21.
