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Historic Publications & Documents
A fascinating insight into the history of Altrincham, along with some of the surrounding area, is provided by these digitised or transcribed publications and documents from the historic and more recent past.
The PDFs which are searchable, are arranged in date order, with the oldest first. General guides to the area are included below but the Historic Street Directories have their own web page. As with all searchable PDFs of historic publications, an additional visual search may be needed.
Along with the front cover to the left, there is one image from each publication to the right, which can be enlarged and those of the other publications browsed from there.
Go to the Local History Publications for PDFs of works by local authors from 1983 to the present.
The Guardian of the Gates: Being an Old Monkish Legend of the Founding of the Church of the Holy Virgin, Bowdon, anon, n.d.
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (1 MB)
Typed manuscript describing Bowdon as the only gates leading to Hades used by the Devil in the 8th century.
The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Volume 1, George Ormerod, 1819 (extracts)
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (39 MB)
Contains Preface; General Introduction; Leycester’s Prolegomena and description of the Bucklow Hundred (which includes Altrincham, Bowdon, Dunham Massey, Timperley and Hale).
‘A Month’s Rustication in Altrincham’, Walter Aston, Manchester, 1825
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (7 MB)
Extracts from a Journal written on a family visit to Altrincham in September and October 1825 by Walter Aston (1805 – 1881), typed up by his son Walter Aston in 1904.
Manchester South Junction & Altrincham Railway Act, 11 & 12 Victoriae, Cap lviii, 22 July 1848
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (3.3 MB)
This is the Act of Parliament which enabled the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway Company ‘to provide additional Station Accommodation in Manchester; and for other Purposes’. It lists the owners and occupiers whose land was affected.
Report to the General Board of Health on a Preliminary Inquiry into the Sewerage, Drainage, and Supply of Water, and the Sanitary Condition of the Inhabitants, of the Town of Altrincham, in the County of Chester, Robert Rawlinson, 1851
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (15 MB)
This Report led directly to the creation of the ‘Detail Plans of the Township of Altrincham Surveyed for the Local Board of Health, 1852’, which are featured on the Compare 1852 and 1876 Plans page. The Background gives further information.
(Trafford Local Studies Collection, ALT/9/1/5)
‘Specification for a Survey and Plans of the Town and township of Altrincham’, 1851 (transcription)
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (3.8 MB)
This is the document which led to the creation of the detailed survey commissioned by the Board of Health and completed in March 1852. More information can be found in the Background. The Plans can be explored on the Compare 1852 and 1876 Plans page or be seen on the Whole 1856 and 1876 Plans page.
‘Altrincham Survey. Book of Reference. 1852’, Charles E. Cawley, 1852 (Transcription v.8 2024)
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (1.8 MB)
This is a transcription of the descriptions, uses, sizes, owners and occupiers of the numbered Plots of the ‘Detail Plans of the Township of Altrincham Surveyed for the Purposes of the Local Board of Health 1852’ by Charles E. Cawley M.I.C.E., Manchester, 1852. The original Book is held by Trafford Local Studies Centre in Sale (ALT/9/1/4/1), as are the Detail Plans (ALT/9/1/1/1). Please also visit the 1852 Plans Data to search and sort by Plot number or name of Owner or Occupier, which link to the numbered Plot on the Compare 1852 and 1876 Plans page. Also see the Background for more information.
A History of Altrincham and Bowdon with an Account of the Barony and House of Dunham, Alfred Ingham, 1879
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (9 MB)
First edition of this detailed account of the history of the area.
Manchester Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Throat Report, 1885 (extract, photocopy)
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (0.5 MB)
Extract listing presents given and by whom.
Manchester Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Throat Report, 1887 (extract, photocopy)
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (3.4 MB)
Extract listing Donors and Subscribers.
The Autobiography of the Rev. Harry Grey, B. A. with a Short Account of his Last Illness and Death, Harry Grey, 1888
Summer Rambles around Manchester, Alfred Rimmer, 1889
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (18 MB)
Reprinted with additions, from the Manchester Guardian
Altrincham and Bowdon with Historical Reminiscences of Ashton-on-Mersey, Sale, and Surrounding Townships, Alfred Ingham, 1896
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (14 MB)
This is a second and much expanded edition of Alfred Ingham’s fascinating account.
Imperial and Local Progress of Sixty Years 1837 – 1897
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (14.5 MB)
Altrincham and Bowdon Guardian Supplement to the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, 1897.
(Trafford Local Studies collection, cat. ref. LHC/48)
Town and Trade of Altrincham, 1897
Download searchable PDF (4.5 MB)
(Trafford Local Studies Collection, T-AL-A-658.871-TOW)
Butler’s Illustrated Guide to Bowdon and its Environs, Samuel Butler, 1901, 2nd edition
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (1 MB)
By 1904, Dora Butler and her brother Joseph were running the stationers and printers business, which had been set up in Altrincham by their parents, Samuel and Rachael Butler. They produced illustrated local guides from 1900 and from 1904 until World War I, a set of local view postcards known as The Bowdon Series, which covered other areas as well.
Coronation of King Edward VII: Altrincham, Bowdon, Dunham and Hale Official Programme of the Celebration, June 26th 1902, 1902
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (4 MB)
Bowdon Parish Church Ancient and Modern: The Jubilee Book 1860 – 1910, Arthur Gore, 1910 (photocopy)
Snapshots of History: Altrincham, Bowdon and Hale Guardian Year Book and Almanac for 1911 (extract)
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (4.5 MB)
A handy timeline of major events in Altrincham and the surrounding area from 1100 until 1907.
Manuscript of Lecture on Saint John’s Jubilee by David Morrison, October 1915
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (11 MB)
Typed manuscript outlining the history of the church of Saint John the Evangelist, Altrincham during its first 50 years with descriptions of the local characters associated with it.
The Magazine of The County High School for Boys – Altrincham, 1922
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (2.5 MB)
Now known as Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, the school was founded as Altrincham County High School for Boys (ACHS) in 1912 as a result of the 1902 Balfour Education Act, to provide a partly fee-paying secondary education for an area which stretched from Sale to Knutsford.
It opened with 57 pupils and 3 staff housed in the red brick building, which still forms the central block of the school today.
Antiquities at Bowdon: A Lecture Delivered by J. J. Phelps, M. A. to the Members of The Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society at Bowdon, On Saturday 13th June 1925, J. J. Phelps, 1926
The Annals of the Altrincham County High School for Girls, January 1928 – May 1930, D. Coleman, D. M. Hills and M. Howes Smith (eds), 1930
The Story of Timperley Methodism, Ernest H. Wright, 1933 (typed extract on Booth Bank, Oldfield Brow and Altrincham)
Manchester South and Altrincham Junction Railway, Colonel A. C. Trench, Ministry of Transport, 2nd January 1934 (Report on a Accident on 6th December 1933)
Scrapbook relating to George Arthur Quayle, steeplejack and aviator, covering the period c.1916 – c.1934
DOWNLOAD semi-searchable PDF (25 MB)
Contains newspaper cuttings, photographs and ephemera of his aviation exploits and his repair and demolition work in the north of England, including the removal of the unsafe spire at Saint Margaret’s Church, Dunham Massey in 1927.
The Borough of Altrincham Charter Celebrations: July Thirty-First 1937, A. Glossop, E. G Bosworth and Edward R. Cross, 1937
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (5.1 MB)
Altrincham Official Guide, Altrincham Chamber of Trade under the auspices of Altrincham Borough Council, 1948
NEWLY ADDED Altrincham and District Youth Handbook, Cheshire Education Committee in conjunction with Altrincham and District Youth Council, 1954
Download searchable PDF (6.7 MB)
Four North Country Retail Markets, Anthony Garbutt, June 1956
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (7 MB)
Typed manuscript of a thesis submitted for the Special Diploma in Town and Country Planning, School of Town and Country Planning, University of Manchester.
Churchill Golden Jubilee 1906 – 1956: The Story of the Churchill Machine Tool Co, Ltd, A History of Precision Grinding, The Churchill Machine Tool Company, 1956
A.C.E.S. (Altrincham Charities Entertainments Society) Variety Show in Aid of the Mayor of Altrincham’s Charities: Programme, 1st February 1960, 1960
Altrincham and Sale Green Guide, 1969
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (8 MB)
A handy record of local businesses in the area at that time.
The Harry Bailey Manuscript on Bowdon Vale, Cheshire, transcribed 1971-72
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (0.7 MB)
This is a transcription of the recollections of local resident Harry Bailey (1892 – 1971), published in Bowdon Church News 156 (February 1972) to 180 (December 1973).
A Short Guide to the Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Bowdon, Canon Maurice H. Ridgway BA, FSA, mid-1970s
Garden Fete, Saint Anne’s E. N. T. Hospital, Altrincham and Bowdon League of Friends, 8th September 1979
Robins Review, Altrincham Football Club, 28-Page Souvenir Edition Reviewing the 1978-80 Season Allan Sykes (ed.), John Rooney (photographer), 1980
Altrincham Chamber of Trade Festival Shopping Week Pageant and 25th Charter Celebration Souvenir, 6th-13th October 1992, 1992
