Gatley - Roads and Transport

Roads and Transport

The River Mersey wasn't bridged in this area until 1745 (and then not continuously as three bridges collapsed over the years) so travelling to Didsbury meant fording the Mersey or crossing in a boat. Until the railway in 1864, the road from Didsbury to Gatley (and then onto Styal) forded the Mersey and came through Gatley Carrs. The "Gatley Ford" was near Didsbury's Millgate Lane, suggesting the river was forded somewhere near the current M60/M56 motorway junction.

Turnpikes opened across Stockport from 1725, with the road through Gatley being amongst the last, in 1820. This was the main road through Cheadle, Gatley, Altrincham and Northwich. By July 1822, the fast coach along the road from Stockport to Liverpool via Warrington made it possible to spend six hours in Liverpool and return on the same day.

Gatley had no public transport until 1896, when a postmaster started a cab service. In 1898 Mr Potts began to operate a service to Stockport with a single (horse drawn) omnibus, continuing until the arrival of the electric tram in 1904. Electric trams began to run in Stockport in 1902, with the service to Gatley (terminating at the Horse and Farrier) opening in March 1904. In Gatley, trams were replaced by buses in 1931. The trams were not wholly reliable: broken rear axles were common and the trams often disengaged from the electric cable.

The LWNR station at Cheadle allowed travel via Edgeley to Manchester, but closed as early as 1917 due to competition with the electric tram between Gatley and Stockport. LWNR opened the "Styal Line" in 1909 including Gatley (as Gatley for Cheadle until 1974) and Heald Green stations.

The M56 and M63 (now the M60) were opened in 1974, bypassing Gatley and joining with each other at Kingsway (Kingsway having been extended south across the River Mersey in 1959).

The ongoing Manchester Metrolink expansion will not include a station for Gatley, with the closest station being Benchill, which is approx one mile from Gatley.