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Windmill Lane, Kerridge

by Alec and Val Scaresbrook

If you can face the steep climb up Windmill Lane, you'll find a flattish road along the top of Kerridge Hill, plus relics of the industrial revolution.

This long ridge has been quarried for its sandstone for at least 500 years and there still is one quarry in operation. There were also coal mines here which exploited the seams that outcropped on the hillside. Drift mines were dug into the hillside to extract the coal but only on a small scale. The last closed down in 1926.

Chimney

On the right you can see the top of a chimney that was marked on early maps as Victoria Engine Chimney, presumably taking its name from Victoria Bridge nearby. Apparently the bridge once bore the date 24th May 1837, the date of Queen Victoria's birthday and the year of her accession. It's possible that this was the year that the tramway below the bridge was opened. If you hang over the bridge parapet you'll see the tramway that necessitated the bridge. Kerridge Tramway was built by the owner of Endon Quarries to move stone down to the newly constructed Macclesfield canal. This extremely steep section may have used gravity engines or steam winding engines, which would explain the existence of the chimney. A public footpath descends beneath the bridge and alongside the incline, if you fancy exploring further. The gradient eases off on the other side of the cottage, but you've got to climb back up all of those steps again. There are supposed to be 118, but we lost count.

Windmill

Windmill Lane did have a windmill once, which was used to make flour, but it was demolished in the 1940s. It originally stood on Macclesfield Common and was moved to Kerridge Hill in the early 1800s. It was sited in front of the row of cottages set back from the road on the left, close to a quarry entrance. If you walk along the public footpath, which leaves the quarry track on the right and heads for the side of the cottages, you can see the site better.

See the map below