Living in Bowdon
Bowdon village is situated on a lofty site providing beautiful views across open Cheshire countryside.
Right at the heart of the village, and looking across to St. Mary’s Parish Church are two pubs, the Griffin and the Stamford Arms. Along with Swadesh, one of Bowdon’s most popular venues, good food is served every day.
Bowdon, from the mid 1800’s, has been a chosen location for those who have made their wealth from commercial activities. The 19th century cotton mill owners have left a legacy of mansion houses unseen outside the squares of central London. The genteel pastimes of the first owners of these beautiful homes can still be enjoyed today at the Bowdon Croquet, Bowdon Tennis and Bowdon Cricket, Hockey and Squash clubs.
Bowdon has an unrivalled selection of period properties ranging from two bedroom cottages in the Brick Kiln Row area through to historic mansion houses which can be found on the leafy roads of Green Walk, The Firs and Stamford Road . Many of these houses have been converted into apartments, providing the opportunity to share the grandeur once only enjoyed by the cotton millionaires.
For those desiring the comfort and configuration of a more recent property the roads around Stanhope and Eyebrook Road provide an unrivalled choice of twentieth century executive homes.
Bowdon History
The beginning of Bowdon as a haven for the commercially successful of Manchester started in earnest with the opening of the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway in 1849.
As there was a necessity to be close to the train station the first property developments began in 1849-1850 in Albert Square.
The Earl of Stamford, who owned all of the land surrounding Altrincham, sold five plots for the speculative building of six houses of a certain standard. These included the:
- Four houses on Beechfield dating from 1853 which line the carriageway entrance to the Bowdon Downs Congregational Church – was built in 1848.
- Delamer House on Delamer Road.
- Southbank now “Southbank Nursing Home” on Cavendish Road.
The first residents of these properties were not from Manchester, but middle class people moving from poorer houses in Altrincham. As was common practice at the time, these houses were rented to the new tenants.
By the 1860’s a number of what can only be described as sizeable mansions were being built on Green Walk – a road made around 1760 for coaches travelling from Dunham Massey Hall to St. Mary’s Church, Bowdon.
These include Oakley, Bowdon Croft, Hilston House and Erlsedene. The latter two houses have been converted into apartments. These properties were without doubt built by the wealthiest of settlers choosing to live in a place more distant from Altrincham.
One of Bowdon’s striking landmarks is the Church of St. Mary which dates from 1856-60. It is believed this church is probably the fifth to have been built on this site. There is evidence of buildings from the 12th, 14th and 16th Centuries.
However, leisure time was not solely devoted to the Church, as the Bowdon Cricket Club was founded in 1856 and can now be found on South Downs Road.
As the mansions of Bowdon became more numerous so the requirement for leisure pursuits increased.
In 1873 Bowdon Bowling and Croquet Club was founded on Winton Road, which is thought to be the seventh oldest croquet club in the country.