Romiley (or Rvmelie in Medieval Latin) is documented in the Domesday Book of 1086 as being predominantly agricultural, with 16 ploughlands (areas defined as 120 acres each) and 9 square leagues of woodland.

[2] Romiley's agricultural nature continued during the centuries leading up to the late Victorian era, when it became a residential area with a small district centre.

[5] Romiley was historically a township and chapelry in the ancient parish of Stockport, which formed part of the Macclesfield Hundred of Cheshire.

In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so Romiley became a civil parish.

The nearby village of Compstall, situated between Romiley and Marple Bridge, is home to the Etherow Country Park.

[16] The suburb is served by Romiley railway station, which is on the Hope Valley Line between Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly.

The most regular services run on a Stockport circular route to Bredbury and Portwood (383 anticlockwise), and to Marple and Offerton (384 clockwise).

[18] Romiley contains four conservation areas, a designation made by the local council to protect locations which have special architectural or historical character.