History of Bowdon

Both Bowdon and Dunham Massey are mentioned in the Domesday Book, citing the existence of a church and a mill in Bowdon, and Dunham Massey is identified as Doneham: Hamo de Mascy.[3]

The name Bowdon came from Anglo-Saxon Boga-dūn = “bow (weapon)-hill” or “curved hill”.

Both areas came under Hamo de Masci in Norman times. His base was a wooden castle at Dunham. Watch Hill Castle was built on the border between Bowdon and Dunham Massey between the Norman Conquest and the 13th century. The timber castle most likely belonged to Hamo de Mascy; the castle had fallen out of use by the 13th century.[4] The last Hamo de Masci died in 1342. The Black Death came to the area in 1348. Before 1494 the ruins of the castle at Dunham were acquired by Sir Robert Booth. In 1750, this and the other Booth estates passed to the Earl of Stamford by his marriage to Lady Mary Booth. The 10th and last Earl of Stamford died in 1976, who bequeathed Dunham Massey and his Carrington estates to the National Trust.

The development of Bowdon as a residential area began apace in the 1840s, when the landowners of the area sold off parcels of land. The opening of Bowdon railway station in 1849 provided a commuter route to the centre of Manchester, making the clean air and tranquility of the Bowdon Downs more attractive to developers. Initially, terraces and semi-detached houses were built, but by the 1860s and 1870s, the ‘merchant princes’ had built the large houses on Green Walk which are still a defining feature of the ward.[5] By 1878 Kelly’s Directory was describing Bowdon as “studded with handsome villas and mansions”, and around 60% of the residents were business owners.[5] Mains water appeared in 1864, and gas lighting by 1865.[5]

The Altrincham History Society Tour highlights historical facts about Bowdon:

The listed Altrincham/Dunham boundary stone of 1840 is in the garden wall of number 1 High Downs at the bottom right. This indicates the boundary of the ancient (1290) Borough of Altrincham with Dunham Massey.
The area from the Devisdale across to The Downs was known as Bowdon Downs until about 1750 and was used as a common. 10,000 of Prince Rupert’s troops camped here and on Knutsford Heath in May 1644 on their way from Shrewsbury to Marston Moor during the Civil War. In December 1688 Lord Delamer, later the Earl of Warrington, rallied forces here from his tenants in support of the Prince of Orange, afterwards William III, who had arrived in England.

The Altrincham Show used to be held on The Devisdale, Bowdon until 1966. Farmers came from as far afield as Scotland, Cornwall and Norfolk to show cattle.

The lower part of Bowdon is known as Bowdon Vale. It earned the nickname of “Soapy Town” in relation to the washing taken in from the residents of Bowdon.