Nether Alderley shows a drop from 679 to 522 within the same period). There was no church in Chorley until 1852, when the larger expansion of the town in the demanded enlarged accommodation, but St Mary's Church, Nether Alderley, retains some 14th century work including a font. The First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1871 therefore shows "Chorley" (as it still was) with the new Queen's Hotel next to the station, new shops and terraced houses along London Road, and a Post Office at the town centre, where Macclesfield Road meets Alderley Road. To the north are wooded areas with detached villas, but to the east is a much larger area, roughly approximating to the modern conservation area, where curving roads divide generous wooded plots, usually with its own house, although some plots remained undeveloped until much later. Of interest is the use of the names "Brickfield" and "Brick kiln" on a site to the north-east of Alderley Edge, suggesting a source for the local bricks. The 1899 map shows a similar footprint but it is much easier to make out the individual villas and their names – Holybank, Ashfield (Alderley Edge villa), The Larches, etc. Also very evident on this map are the remains of the old mines towards and within Windmill Wood, immediately to the southeast. In the 20th century, Alderley Edge continued to expand with much post-war housing around the northeastern and western edges. Nether Alderley has remained relatively unchanged, apart from the sale of Alderley Park to Astra Zeneca (previously ICI, Imperial Chemical Industries). Astra Zeneca has since sold Alderley Park to Manchester-based, family-owned property company Bruntwood. The park is now home to 150 science companies and is the UK's largest single-site life-science facility along with commercial workspace, residential and retail spaces. Administrative history From medieval times the area was part of the Chorley township of the ancient parish of Wilmslow in the Macclesfield Hundred of Cheshire. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 Chorley became a civil parish in its own right. Alderley Edge civil parish was created on 31 December 1894 from part of Chorley civil parish. Along with Bollinfee civil parish it formed Alderley Edge Urban District. In 1974 it became a civil parish in the new non-metropolitan district of Macclesfield. Since 1 April 2009 it has been part of the unitary authority of Cheshire East. Boundary changes The civil parish was enlarged