In 1841 Heaton Norris was described as a township in the parish of Manchester, and partly in the town and parliamentary and corporate borough of Stockport, the remainder of which is in Cheshire, 6 miles S. of Manchester. The river Mersey here separates the parishes of Manchester and Stockport. Number of acres 2,126. In 1825 there were about 12 cotton mills; in 1836, 20 : hands employed upwards of 5,000. The Manchester and Stockport canal terminates here; and the Manchester and Birmingham railway passes over the Mersey, by a magnificent viaduct. In 1774 the number of houses was 130; 1831, 2,127. The population in 1774 was 769; 1801, 3,768; 1811, 5,232; 1821, 6,958; 1831, 11,238.

Heaton Norris has at different times been in three counties. It lies to the north of the River Mersey, hence it was originally in Lancashire. However, in the early twentieth century it became part of the town of Stockport, Cheshire. Finally, in 1974, with the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, it became part of the new county of Greater Manchester.