Baguley

For other uses, see Baguley (disambiguation).

Baguley
Baguley social housing. The tower-block is Brookway Court
Baguley  Baguley shown within Greater Manchester
Population	14,794 (2011)
OS grid reference	SJ816891
Metropolitan borough	Manchester
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MANCHESTER
Postcode district	M23
Dialling code	0161
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Wythenshawe and Sale East
List of places UK England Greater Manchester

Baguley (/ˈbæɡəli/ BAG-əlee) is a small locality in Wythenshawe, and an electoral ward of the city of Manchester in North West England. The population of the abovementioned Ward at the 2011 census was 14,794.

Baguley is a derivation of the old English words BACGA - meaning badger, and LEAH - meaning wood (Bacga originally meant 'a bag-shaped animal'). So Baguley means 'badger's wood'. There are still plenty of badgers and woods around the area.

Historically in Cheshire, Baguley is mentioned as Bagelei in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was incorporated into Manchester in 1931.

History

Baguley Hall is a 14th-century timber-framed manor house that may have replaced an 11th- or 12th-century house.

Most of Baguley was developed for housing after World War II as part of the Wythenshawe Estate, including many council houses and later tower blocks; Manchester City Council publications refer to Baguley as "one of Europe's biggest housing estates". However, much of the social housing has been sold off under the "Right To Buy" scheme and there are also several private housing developments in the area; and parkland was provided from the start under the development plan.

Administrative history

Baguley was a township of Bowdon, one of the ancient parishes of the Bucklow Hundred of Cheshire. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1886 the township became a civil parish in its own right. In 1931 Manchester extended its boundaries south of the Mersey in to form Wythenshawe; Baguley was incorporated into the civil parish and city of Manchester, along with neighbouring Northenden and Northen Etchells.

Commerce

Baguley also includes the Roundthorn Industrial Estate where several factories and businesses are located. This included a Habitat store which opened in the 1970s, but closed in 2011 when the company downsized and closed all of its stores outside London. In the early 1990s, a large Tesco superstore opened in the area. Across the road from this is Brookway Retail Park, which is home to several stores including Aldi, B & M, Matalan, Pets at Home, and Wickes.

Railway

Baguley railway station was opened on 1 February 1866 and closed on 30 November 1964 during the 'Beeching Axe'. Baguley Station was mostly served by local trains operating from Stockport Tiviot Dale to and from Liverpool Central, and on a separate line from Stockport to Altrincham, but the station was located on the Mid-Cheshire Line and express trains ran through it.

The line is still used for passenger services running between Manchester, Stockport and Chester via Northwich and for a variety of goods services. There is a proposal to open a new Baguley station as an interchange station for Manchester Metrolink when the extension to Wythenshawe and Manchester Airport is built, reintroducing an intermediate stop on this line.

Public services

See also South Manchester University Hospital

Baguley is covered by the South Manchester Division of Greater Manchester Police.