Alderley Edge

Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. In 2011, it had a population of 4,780. Alderley Edge is northwest of Macclesfield and south of Manchester, at the base of a steep and thickly wooded sandstone escarpment, Alderley Edge, which is the area's chief topographical feature and overlooks the Cheshire Plain. Alderley Edge is known for its affluence and expensive houses, falling inside Cheshire's Golden Triangle. Alderley Edge has a selection of cafes and designer shops and has attracted numerous Premier League footballers, actors and multi-millionaire businesspeople. It is one of the most expensive and sought-after places to live in the UK outside London. The area around Alderley Edge provides proof of occupation since the Mesolithic period with flint implements being found along the line of the sandstone outcrop. Evidence of copper mining in the Bronze Age has also been found to the south of the area. In 1995 members of the Derbyshire Caving Club found a hoard of 564 coins of the Roman Empire (now in the Manchester Museum) dating from AD 317 to AD 336. There are to date 13 recorded sites on the County Sites and Monuments Record (CSMR) in the settled area of Alderley Edge and 28 in Nether Alderley, with a further 44 along the Edge. Early medieval settlements are recorded at Nether Alderley, to the south of Alderley Edge. The first written evidence of Alderley Edge, known then as 'Chorlegh' (later spelt as 'Chorley') appeared in the 13th century, the likely derivation being from ceorl and lēah, meaning a peasants' clearing. Although not mentioned in the Domesday Book, it is included in a charter of c.1280. The name 'Alderley' first appears in 1086 as 'Aldredelie'. Several versions of the origin are known: one says it originated from Aldred and leah meaning 'Aldred's Clearing'. Another says it is most likely that the name Alderley came from Old English language 'Alðrȳðelēah' meaning "the meadow or woodland clearing of a woman called Alðrȳð. In the 13th century and during the Middle Ages, the area comprised estates that had many owners.