Biddulph

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Biddulph
Biddulph is located in Staffordshire
Biddulph
Biddulph
Location within Staffordshire
Population19,892 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSJ8857
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Suburbs of the town
List
Post townSTOKE-ON-TRENT
Postcode districtST8
Dialling code01782
PoliceStaffordshire
FireStaffordshire
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Staffordshire
53°07′09″N 2°10′19″W / 53.119151°N 2.171922°W / 53.119151; -2.171922

Biddulph is a former coal mining town in the Staffordshire Moorlands district of the county of Staffordshire, England; it lies 9 miles (14 km) north of Stoke-on-Trent and 5 miles (8 km) south-east of Congleton. The town is close to part of the Staffordshire/Cheshire county border. The town forms part of the civil parish of the same name.

Origin of the name

[edit]

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.[2]

Geography

[edit]
Biddulph Valley, filled with fog

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

Education

[edit]

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 (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 and 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, including Kingsfield First School, Knypersley First School, Squirrel Hayes First School and Oxhey First School.

Local media

[edit]

Television

[edit]

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

Radio

[edit]

The town is home to Churnet Sound, a community radio station that 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

[edit]

The Sentinel is the local daily newspaper. There is also the Biddulph Chronicle, a weekly newspaper, which is a sister publication to the Congleton Chronicle.

Main sights

[edit]
Biddulph Grange
Biddulph Town Hall

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 is also home to Biddulph Grange, 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.[7]

Transport

[edit]

Roads

[edit]

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

Buses

[edit]

Two bus companies operate local routes:[8]

Railway

[edit]

The nearest railway stations are at Congleton and Kidsgrove; both are served by Northern Trains, which operates a generally hourly service between Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Manchester Piccadilly.[9]

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

[edit]
James Bateman

Sport

[edit]

Twin towns

[edit]
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in England

Biddulph is twinned with:

Freeman

[edit]

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

  • Tony Hall (2023)[20]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Town Population 2011". Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Bradley Green, Biddulph". jdwetherspoon.co.uk.
  3. ^ "Home - Biddulph High School". biddulph.staffs.sch.uk.
  4. ^ "Woodhouse Middle School- Index". Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
  5. ^ "James Bateman Middle School". jamesbateman.staffs.sch.uk.
  6. ^ "Over Biddulph (Staffordshire, England) Freeview Light transmitter". May 2004.
  7. ^ "Report to Cabinet" (PDF). Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Biddulph bus services". Bustimes.org. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern". Northern Railway. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  10. ^ Robert Bateman, The Three Ravens", Sotheby's retrieved 19 February 2018
  11. ^ Buckman, David (31 May 2012). "Jack Simcock obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  12. ^ Prof Brian Scarlett, Profile, World Congress in Particle Technology 2006 retrieved 19 February 2018
  13. ^ "Joan Walley, former MP, Stoke-on-Trent North". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  14. ^ John Farmer, Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database retrieved 19 February 2018
  15. ^ "Malcolm Bailey". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  16. ^ SoccerBase Database retrieved 19 February 2018
  17. ^ ESPN cricinfo Database retrieved 19 February 2018
  18. ^ SoccerBase Database retrieved 14 June 2021
  19. ^ Biddulph Twinning Association (27 October 2022). "Twinning Group needs new blood". Chronicle letters
    The king of Letter Pages!. Congleton Chronicle. p. 32.
  20. ^ "Unique honour for veteran councillor". Congleton Chronicle. 27 April 2023. p. 21.
[edit]

Media related to Biddulph at Wikimedia Commons