Irene Preston's Historical Writing
TORKINGTON
Torkington seems be derived from a Saxon named Turec, ing (ingas)
meaning the people of and ton a settlement; so it translates as Turec's
settlement, farm or enclosure. It was part of the Macclesfield hundred
and was also on the edge of the Macclesfield Forest, both coming under
separate laws. It was probably taken into account with other small
settlements in the Domesday survey as most of Stockport was laid waste.
A family used the name of Torkington during the reign of King John when
a John Torkington was a witness to a charter of Sir Robert de Stokeport
in circ.1200. It seems to have become a manor about this time as
considerable lands and tenements were granted to the Leghs, Ardernes,
Davenports, Hydes, Fittons and various other wealthy families in the
Macclesfield Hundred. There was a Torkington Hall built about 1600
called the Manor House but it is now a farmhouse and the Legh family
built a large mansion called Torkington Lodge before 1795. Prior to 1820
there was a Large House with the oldest silk mill which stood near the
Bull’s Head. By 1819 it was no longer held as a manor.
The road that connected Bramall Hall with Lyme Hall ran along what is
now Jackson's Lane, Dane Lane, Mill Lane and High Lane. It cut straight
across the country and was probably just a dirt track.