Romiley

Romiley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it borders Marple, Bredbury and Woodley. At the 2011 census, the Romiley ward, which includes Compstall, Bredbury Green and a large part of Bredbury, had a population of 14,139.

History


Romiley (or Rvmelie in Medieval Latin) is documented in the Domesday Book as being predominantly agricultural, with 16 ploughlands (areas defined as 120 acres each) and 92 leagues of woodland. It had no recorded population.

Romiley's agricultural nature continued during the centuries leading up to the late Victorian era, when it became a residential area with a small district centre.

The Peak Forest Canal flows around the west and south of Romiley. It was completed in 1805. Although much of the canal fell into disuse by the early 1960s, it was restored and subsequently reopened in April 1974.

Education
There are four primary schools: Romiley Primary School, Bredbury Green Primary School, St. Christopher's Catholic Primary School and Greave Primary School (which is on the border with Woodley).

Secondary education is provided by Werneth School and Harrytown Catholic High School in Bredbury, with much of the suburb being in the catchment area for Marple Hall School in nearby Marple.

Amenities


Romiley has its own theatre, the Forum Theatre. This is a building owned by Stockport Council but, since 2003, has been managed by NK Theatre Arts, a registered charity which provides all-inclusive performing arts workshops for children, young people and adults. The theatre is also used by many other local community groups in Stockport.

There are many pubs in Romiley, including The Friendship Inn, Romiley Arms, Platform One, Duke of York and Stock Dove.

Geography
Romiley's surroundings are rural, although it is a suburb, with fields to the north, south and east. Compstall, between Romiley and Marple, is home to the Etherow Country Park which is the largest country park in Stockport.

Transport


The suburb is served by Romiley railway station, which is on the Hope Valley Line between Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly. Services run westbound to Manchester Piccadilly, either via Bredbury or Woodley; eastbound trains travel either to Rose Hill Marple or to Marple and beyond to New Mills Central and Sheffield.

Romiley is served by several bus services, which are operated by Stagecoach Manchester. The most regular services run on a Stockport circular route to Bredbury and Portwood (383 anticlockwise) and to Marple and Offerton (384 clockwise). There is also an hourly 382 service, which runs from Stockport to/from Woodley, via Romiley.

Conservation areas
Romiley contains four conservation areas, a designation made by the local council to protect locations which have special architectural or historical character. It helps reduce traffic, preserve wildlife and important landscapes, and restricts making changes which affect the look of the area such as changing front doors, roofing, facades or windows. They are:
 * Barlow Fold (1997, reviewed in 2006) is around 0.5 mi to the north-east of Romiley village centre and 4 mi north-east of Stockport. The conservation area covers 0.39 hectares and contains 12 households.
 * Chadkirk (2006) is a quiet rural retreat lying approximately 0.5 mi south of the centre of Romiley. It comprises farmlands, a 17th-century farmhouse, outbuildings, a Victorian walled garden and a 16th-century chapel, forming an oasis of peace and tranquility, surrounded on three sides by ancient woodlands and the River Goyt which flows alongside.
 * Church Lane (1996, extended in 2006). Church Lane Conservation Area is essentially a late 19th-century railway suburb, overlaying the lanes and fields of a former agricultural area. It developed as a railway suburb, following the opening of Romiley railway station in 1862; however, it has the form and character of a village or earlier community as the area is focused around the landmark church of St Chad (1864–66).
 * Greave Fold (1996, reviewed 2006) is 0.5 mi north of Romiley village centre and approximately 4 mi north-east of Stockport. The conservation area covers 2.31 hectares and contains 48 households.

A further conservation area adjoins Romiley at Hatherlow in Bredbury.

Notable people

 * Arthur Lockwood (1903–1933), cricketer