Portal:Cheshire
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The Cheshire Portal
Welcome Cheshire Plain from the Mid Cheshire Ridge
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in the North West of England. Chester is the county town, and formerly gave its name to the county. The largest town is Warrington, and other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Macclesfield, Nantwich, Northwich, Runcorn, Sandbach, Widnes, Wilmslow and Winsford. The county is administered as four unitary authorities. Cheshire occupies a boulder clay plain (pictured) which separates the hills of North Wales from the Peak District of Derbyshire. The county covers an area of 2,343 km2 (905 sq mi), with a high point of 559 m (1,834 ft) elevation. The estimated population is a little over one million, 19th highest in England, with a population density of around 450 people per km2. The county was created in around 920, but the area has a long history of human occupation dating back to before the last Ice Age. Deva was a major Roman fort, and Cheshire played an important part in the Civil War. Predominantly rural, the county is historically famous for the production of Cheshire cheese, salt and silk. During the 19th century, towns in the north of the county were pioneers of the chemical industry, while Crewe became a major railway junction and engineering facility. Selected article
Eddisbury hill fort, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, is the largest and most complex of the seven Iron Age hill forts, or fortified hill-top settlements, in Cheshire. Located on Eddisbury Hill of the Mid Cheshire Ridge near the village of Delamere, Eddisbury falls within the southern group of Cheshire forts, together with Kelsborrow Castle and Oakmere hill fort. Eddisbury was constructed before 200–100 BC and expanded in 1–50 AD. The fort was partially destroyed by the Romans in the 1st century AD, to prevent the site being reused. It was reoccupied in the 6th–8th centuries AD, and an Anglo-Saxon burh was probably established there in 914 by Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred the Great. Excavations were carried out on the site in 1935–38. The fort measures 200 by 380 metres and is surrounded by two ramparts separated by a ditch 10 metres wide and 0.5 metres deep. Quarrying and ploughing have damaged the site, leading to it being assessed as "at high risk". The land is partly owned by the Forestry Commission and partly in private ownership. Selected image
The two 9th-century Anglo-Saxon crosses, known as Sandbach Crosses, now stand in Sandbach's market place. Thought to have been brought to the town in the Middle Ages from an unknown site, they are first recorded there in 1585. They were thrown down, either after the Reformation or during the Civil War, with their parts being scattered as far away as Oulton and Tarporley. The crosses were reassembled and erected in their current location by the historian George Ormerod in 1816. Credit: Bob Harvey (24 August 2005) In this month
July 1538: Dissolution of Combermere Abbey. July 1804: Runcorn to Latchford Canal opened. 1 July 1869: Statue of Richard Grosvenor unveiled in Grosvenor Park. 4 July 1837: First trains crossed Dutton Viaduct. 4 July 1887: Queens Park, Crewe dedicated. 11 July 1910: Pulp author Hugh B. Cave born in Chester. 11 July 1978: Hybrid elephant Motty born at Chester Zoo. 14 July 1876: Chapel builder Thomas Hazlehurst born in Runcorn. 17 July 924: Edward the Elder (pictured) died at Farndon or Aldford. 17 July 1256: Edward, heir of Henry III and Lord of Chester, first visited Chester. 17 July 2015: An explosion at a wood-treatment mill in Bosley killed four employees. 20 July 1376: Charter of disafforestation of Wirral issued. 20 July 1816: Histologist and ophthalmologist William Bowman born in Nantwich. 21 July 1961: Silver Jubilee Bridge officially opened by Princess Alexandra. 23 July 1403: Sir Richard Venables and Richard de Vernon executed for supporting Henry "Hotspur" Percy in the Battle of Shrewsbury. 27 July 1962: Olympic gold medallist swimmer Neil Brooks born in Crewe. 29 July 1940: Crewe hit by first Cheshire air raid of Second World War. Selected list
The output of Chester-based architect John Douglas (1830–1911) included 40 new churches, as well as work on existing churches and church furniture. The majority of his works were in Cheshire and North Wales. His architectural styles were eclectic, but as he worked during the Gothic Revival period much of his output incorporates elements of the English Gothic style. His new churches (St Wenefrede's, Bickley pictured) date from the early 1860s until his death. They are in a range of materials including sandstone and red and other coloured brick; a few examples use half-timbering. His church restorations were influenced by the Oxford Movement, which advocated a shift in emphasis from preaching to the sacrament of the Eucharist, and thus from the pulpit to the altar. Consequences of this included moving the pulpit from a more central position to the side of the church, replacing box pews with open pews, creating a central aisle to give a better view of the altar, and removing galleries; a larger chancel was also required for the associated ritual. One of the hallmarks of Douglas' designs is the attention to detail, especially in wooden articles, and his church furniture often incorporates highly detailed wood carving. GeographyTop: Map of modern Cheshire showing urban areas (grey) and the major road network. Chester (red) is the county town, and Warrington has the greatest population. Towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants in 2011 are highlighted; the size of dot gives a rough indication of the relative population. Wales and the adjacent English counties are shown in capitals. Bottom: Relief map showing the major hills. The Mid Cheshire Ridge is a discontinuous ridge of low hills running north–south from Beacon Hill (north of Helsby Hill) to Bickerton Hill. Most other high ground falls within the Peak District in the east of the county. Shining Tor (559 metres), on the boundary with Derbyshire, forms the county's high point.
Administration The ceremonial county of Cheshire is administered by four unitary authorities (click on the map for details): 2 – Cheshire East 3 – Warrington 4 – Halton In the local government reorganisation of 1974, Cheshire gained an area formerly in Lancashire including Widnes and Warrington. The county lost Tintwistle to Derbyshire, part of the Wirral Peninsula to Merseyside, and a northern area including Stockport, Altrincham, Sale, Hyde, Dukinfield and Stalybridge to Greater Manchester. Selected biography
Jonathan Philip Agnew (born 4 April 1960), nicknamed "Aggers", is a cricket broadcaster and former professional cricketer, who was born in Macclesfield. He had a successful first-class career as a fast bowler for Leicestershire from 1979 to 1990, playing for England six times in Test matches and One Day Internationals. His greatest success came towards the end of his career, after he started to swing the ball. He took 100 wickets in a season in 1987 and was named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1988. Since his retirement, Agnew has become a leading voice of cricket on radio, as the BBC radio cricket correspondent and as a commentator on Test Match Special. He has also appeared on the Australian Grandstand team. He is known for his humour and occasional innuendo. His notorious on-air "leg over" comment in 1991 has been voted "the greatest sporting commentary ever" in a BBC poll. Did you know...
Selected town or village
Sound is a small settlement and civil parish near Nantwich. The parish covers 1,089 acres (441 ha) and also includes Newtown and Sound Heath, with a total population of around 240 in 2011. The name is of Saxon origin and means "a sandy place". The first record of the township is in 1310. It was raided by Royalist forces in 1643, during the Civil War. The Methodist chapel was built in 1838, and a primary school on the boundary with Broomhall opened in 1876. Other historic buildings include a rare example of a malt kiln. The area is mainly agricultural, with dairy farming predominating. The flat terrain has an average elevation of around 60 metres. The River Weaver runs along the southern boundary and the Welsh Marches railway line crosses the parish. Sound Heath, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Local Nature Reserve, is an important habitat for freshwater invertebrates and breeding birds. Nationally scarce species observed here include the mud snail, great raft spider, a species of water scavenger beetle and the beautiful snout moth. In the news.JPG) Crewe Market Hall 29 October, 1 November: Warrington council and the mayor of Crewe each announce plans to bid for city status in 2022. 13–14 October: Prince Edward visits Chester and opens a Fire Service training centre in Winsford. 8 October: Castle Street shopping area in Macclesfield reopens after refurbishment. 4 October: Restoration of the grade-I-listed Bridgegate, part of Chester city walls, is completed. 25 September: A bronze frieze by the sculptor Tom Murphy is unveiled in Warrington, as a memorial to the band Viola Beach. 9 September: The fifth stage of the Tour of Britain cycle race takes place in Cheshire, starting at Alderley Park and finishing in Warrington. 24 July: The grade-II-listed Crewe Market Hall (pictured) formally reopens after refurbishment. 15 July: Crewe, Runcorn and Warrington are awarded potential funding under the "Town Deal" government scheme. QuotationOn Saturday the[y] came to Bartomley, (giving an alarm to the garrison of Crewe Hall,) as they marched they set upon the church, which had in it about twenty neighbours, that had gone in for safety; but the Lord Byron's troop, and Connought, a Major to Colonel Sneyd, set upon them, and won the church; the men fled into the steeple, but the enemy burning the forms, rushes, mats, &c. made such a smoke, that being almost stiffled, they called for quarter, which was granted by Connought; but when they had them in their power, they stripped them all naked, and most cruelly murdered twelve of them, contrary to the laws of arms, nature, and nations. From Providence Improved by Edward Burghall (1778)
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