Marple, Greater Manchester
The first reference to Marple in written history was to Merpel, believed to be derived from the Old English maere pill, meaning 'the stream at the boundary'.After 1790, Samuel Oldknow transformed much of this lifestyle, with the construction of lime kilns and mills as part of the Industrial Revolution.He built workers' cottages and churches, introduced aspen trees to the area, and assisted in the constructions of the Macclesfield and Peak Forest Canals.In 1936, Marple Urban District, at the time part of Cheshire, annexed from Derbyshire the parish of Ludworth and Mellor.Marple grew as a residential suburb of Stockport after the arrival of frequent bus and rail services in the 1920s.[2] The area, close to Derbyshire, covers just over 11 square miles (28 km2) of countryside, ranging from heavily wooded valleys to hill-top moorland.[4] In 1974 the urban district was abolished and its former area was transferred to Greater Manchester to form part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport.[8] For the United Kingdom Parliament, Marple is in the Hazel Grove constituency, which is represented by Lisa Smart, a Liberal Democrat, elected in 2024, gaining the seat from the Conservatives.[13] Local news and television programmes are provided by Salford-based BBC North West and ITV Granada.[17] Marple featured in a 2010 BBC documentary on Dr Beeching which described the long-term effects of axing much of the UK railway network in the 1960s.The programme highlighted the transport issues and how getting a direct train from Marple to Stockport was now impossible and the road traffic made the journey one of the most difficult in the UK.The Roman Lakes leisure complex, in the valley bottom close to Strines, is popular with walkers, anglers, nature lovers and horse riders.There Christie bought two Jacobean oak chairs which she still possessed at the time of writing and, wanting a name for her old-maid character in The Thirteen Problems, she thought of Jane Marple.Marple station hosts regular services between Manchester Piccadilly, New Mills Central and Sheffield.Rose Hill was originally on the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway, which was closed in 1970, and is now at the end of a spur providing services to Manchester Piccadilly, via the Hyde loop.
Greater ManchesterDensityOS grid referenceLondonMetropolitan boroughStockportMetropolitan countyRegionNorth WestCountryEnglandSovereign statePost townPostcode districtDialling codePoliceAmbulanceUK ParliamentHazel GroveMetropolitan Borough of StockportRiver GoytManchesterMacclesfieldhistoric countyPeak Forest CanalMarple Lock FlightMarple AqueductMarpleRose Hill Marplerail networkMiddlewood Wayshared use pathMacclesfield, Bollington and Marple RailwayOld EnglishLudworthstanding stonestumuliarchaeological digMellorAll Saints' ChurchMacclesfield ForestDomesday BookIndustrial RevolutionSamuel Oldknowlime kilnsPeak Forest CanalsBenjamin OutramnarrowboatsCheshire RingUrban DistrictCheshireDerbyshireBeetham TowerWinter HillLancashireWest YorkshireNorth WalesRomileyOffertonHawk GreenHigh LaneDisleyStrinesNew MillsMotrilLiberal DemocratsConservativesLabourUnited Kingdom ParliamentLisa Smartprovince of GranadaUnited UtilitiesStepping HillStockport NHS Foundation Trustpolice stationGreater Manchester PoliceGreater Manchester Fire and Rescue Servicebrass bandsSalfordBBC North WestITV GranadaBBC Radio ManchesterHeart North WestSmooth North WestCapital Manchester and LancashireGreatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North WestYour FMManchester Evening NewsSunshineDr BeechingMacclesfield CanalBrabyns ParkDukinfield JunctionBugsworth BasinMarple JunctionBirminghamCheshire Ring canal systemVictorian eraMarple Hall SchoolChristopher IsherwoodWyberslegh HallAgatha ChristieThe Thirteen ProblemsJane MarpleTransport for Greater ManchesterHope Valley LineManchester PiccadillyNew Mills CentralSheffieldStagecoach ManchesterHigh PeakHayfieldStepping Hill HospitalBredburyGlossopHeaton ChapelStockport Metropolitan Borough CouncilBradshaw-IsherwoodMarple Sixth Form CollegeStephen BradburyJohn Bradshaw (1602–1659)King Charles ILieutenant ColonelJohn Stanhope Collings-WellsVictoria CrossEdmund Cooper