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White Nancy
Ever to watch over us
home > White Nancy
Gift | KRIV | Steps | Spectacular Views | Britain's Favourite View
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White Nancy was actually built as a summer house by the Gaskell family, who lived at Ingersley Hall, in about 1815. It is stone built with external rendering and regularly painted white in order to maintain its visibility. It is thought that it may have been built at that time to commemorate the battle of Waterloo. Internally there is a seat all round the wall with a large table in the centre. The table is circular, cut from a single piece of stone. It is believed to have been constructed by a man named Dod who is supposed to have celebrated his work by enjoying a tot of brandy and then reciting a jingle:
In the 1980s, at Christmas, Nancy was painted in artistic form such as a Father Christmas or Plum Pudding! This is no longer possible because it has now been painted in anti-graffiti paint, though by the look of the picture, (above) 29 December 2003, it isn't all that good! In 1919 James Shepley Chatterton wrote a delightful poem about White Nancy. |
Nancy voted most loved local landmark! Macclesfield Borough Council ran an internet Pride of Place vote to find out which was the most loved local landmark and, no surprise to Bollingtonians, our very own White Nancy won by a mile with almost 25% of the votes cast. Macclesfield Forest came second with Tatton Hall third. 
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This c.15 foot high landmark standing on the top of Kerridge Hill overlooking Bollington is visible for miles around. Its image provides the logo (top left) for the town of Bollington. The small rectangle represents the door that used to provide entry so giving you an idea of the size of the structure.|
See the historic picture from the Bollington Civic Society archive. |
As to the origin of the name 'White Nancy', there are several theories but none has any firm evidence to support it. It may have been named after one of the Gaskell daughters, Nancy. Then again, maybe after the horse that is said to have hauled the table top up the hill. Take your pick! The Gaskell family are said to have left an endowment for the annual maintenance of our Nancy - the princely sum of 2/6 per annum; that's 2 shillings and 6 pence or half a crown in old money and 12½p in decimal currency! * Peter Etherington is one of many prolific and skilful artists who live in and around Bollington. See his page which shows several of his delightful pictures. |
Gift to the town!
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During 1999 the owners of the farmland that includes Kerridge Hill very kindly donated Nancy and the piece of land she stands on to the people and town of Bollington. In recognition of this important and generous gift Nancy was completely repaired, re-plastered and repainted by local contractor Allen Stringer. He also gave her a coat of anti-graffiti wax but unfortunately this was damaged by vandals who later painted the monument with housepaint. |
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Stone paving has been laid around the base of Nancy in the form of a compass. N, E, W and S have been inscribed in the appropriate points. |
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Millennium project
The Kerridge Ridge and Ingersley Vale Countryside & Heritage Project
is presently underway. The objective is to preserve and develop those aspects of the area that are most enjoyed by the local population.
Kerridge Steps
The path up the north face of Kerridge Hill has always been steep and is often difficult especially in wet or frozen weather. In order to improve accessibility the Town Council decided that a proper path should be constructed from the private roadway that crosses the north face of the hill to the top. This project became known as the Kerridge Steps.
Experts were sought from Cumbria where they have considerable experience in building paths and steps on hillsides. The type of construction recommended was a pitched stone path. This is where blocks of stone are settled into the ground edge on. The idea is to reduce to a minimum the possibility of the stones tilting and becoming dislodged. With careful construction this technique provides a high level of grip to the feet with very little opportunity to slip and a progression of steps at alternate angles across the path so making it reasonably easy for walkers with different stride lengths to progress up or down the hill in a comfortable manner.
Some walkers have found the path difficult but it should be appreciated that the climb and descent is about 300 feet of continuous steps - human legs are not immediately capable of surmounting this many steps in one go! Especially coming down them! Take it carefully.
What a fantastic view!*
Kerridge Hill is renowned for its fabulous views. Whether it be the nearby hills to the east, the Cheshire plain to the west or Bollington laid out beneath you, there is so much to see from up here. We have two beautiful pictures taken by local photographer Roger Fielding. These panoramic views are in separate pages because they are on the large side, around 200k each.
300° view from White Nancy
150° view of the town from White Nancy
300° view from The Saddle
The next picture was taken by local photographer Peter Neville using a camera suspended from a kite!
Mobile 360 aerial view of and around Nancy
After clicking this link, for a full screen image click on 'Full screen' in the left hand menu then click 'White Nancy'. Click on the picture and move the mouse to change the viewing direction.Views of White Nancy are available on the Wallpaper page.
* Britain's Favourite View
Showing on ITV1 during summer 2007, Britain's Favourite View
