Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester) is a county palatine in North West England. Its county town is the city of Chester. It is one of the most affluent counties in England, with numerous rural towns and villages, and borders the ceremonial counties of Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Derbyshire, Staffordshire (with Stoke-on-Trent), and Shropshire; it also borders the unitary authorities of Flintshire and Wrexham in Wales.
Some northern parts of the county are effectively suburbs of Manchester or Liverpool, and many of those who work in these cities commute from other parts of the county.
Formerly, Warrington was the largest town in the administrative county, although approximately half of the town lying to the north of the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal (the area covered by part of the the pre-1974 County Borough plus Warrington Rural District and parts of Golborne Urban District and Whiston Rural District) is traditionally part of Lancashire. Warrington and Halton (including Widnes and Runcorn) are now unitary authorities.
The administrative centre for Cheshire is Chester, the historical county town. Other important towns in Cheshire are: Northwich, Crewe, Altrincham, Wilmslow, Ellesmere Port, Macclesfield, Runcorn and Widnes. The county is home to some of the most affluent areas of England, including Alderley Edge, Wilmslow, Prestbury and Knutsford. The area is sometimes referred to as The Golden Triangle on account of the area in around the above mentioned towns and villages.
As part of a 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose the cuckooflower as the county flower.
Music critic/writer John Harris, who was born and raised in Cheshire (he still retains a slight cheshire burr), describes his home county on his website as "probably England's least remarkable county!".
History
- Main article: History of Cheshire.
Cheshire in the Domesday Book was recorded as a much larger county than it is today. Its northern border was the River Ribble, and it was recorded with eighteen hundreds, six of which were north of the River Mersey.
In 1182 the land north of the Mersey became administered as part of the new county of Lancashire instead. Later, the hundreds of Atiscross and Exestan became part of Wales. Over the years the ten hundreds consolidated to just seven — Broxton, Bucklow, Eddisbury, Macclesfield, Nantwich, Northwich, and Wirral.
Through The Local Government Act 1972 which came into effect in 1974, some areas near the border with Lancashire were transferred to the metropolitan counties of Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Notably Stockport, Hyde, Dukinfield and Stalybridge in the north-east and much of the Wirral Peninsula in the north-west. At the same time the far north-eastern tip of the county, comprising the areas of Woodhead and Tintwistle was transferred to Derbyshire. Also at this time, Warrington and Widnes were transferred from the geographical county of Lancashire to that of Cheshire.
Halton and Warrington became unitary authorities independent of Cheshire County Council on April 1, 1998, but remain part of the Lieutenancy Area of Cheshire for ceremonial purposes, as well as fire and policing.
A referendum for a further local government reform connected with a regional assembly was planned for 2004, but was abandoned (see Northern England referendum, 2004).
Economy
Cheshire is a mainly rural county with a high concentration of villages. Agriculture is generally based around the dairy trade and cattle are the predominant livestock. Most of the industry is in the North adjacent to the Mersey, notably the centre of the British chemical industry, including ICI at Runcorn (originally sited here because of the proximity of salt mines). Crewe was once the centre of the British railway industry and remains a major junction. Towns in the east of Cheshire form Manchester's most affluent commuter belt with some of the UK's highest property prices outside the Home Counties. Cheshire is rich in canals, particularly the east of the county with its strategic importance between Manchester, Stoke and Birmingham. The Rochdale, Ashton, Peak Forest, Macclesfield, Trent and Mersey and Bridgewater canals have been restored for leisure use, forming the "Cheshire Ring".
The following is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Cheshire at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year |
Regional Gross Value Added4 |
Agriculture1 |
Industry2 |
Services3 |
| 1995 |
11,828 |
272 |
4,673 |
6,883 |
| 2000 |
14,879 |
188 |
5,049 |
9,641 |
| 2003 |
17,159 |
225 |
4,988 |
11,945 |
Note 1: includes hunting and forestry
Note 2: includes energy and construction
Note 3: includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Note 4: Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
Geography
Cheshire covers a boulder clay plain separating the hills of North Wales and the Peak District of Derbyshire. This was formed following the retreat of ice age glaciers which left the area dotted with kettle holes, locally referred to as "meres". The bedrock of this region is almost entirely Triassic sandstone, outcrops of which have long been quarried, notably at Runcorn, providing the distinctive red stone for Liverpool Cathedral and Chester Cathedral.
The eastern half of the county is Upper Triassic Mercia mudstone laid down with large salt deposits which were mined for hundreds of years around Northwich. Separating this area from Lower Triassic Sherwood sandstone to the west is a prominent Sandstone Ridge. A 51km footpath, the Sandstone Trail, follows this ridge from Frodsham to Whitchurch passing Delamere Forest, Beeston Castle and earlier iron age forts.
Buildings
Prehistoric burial grounds can be found at the Bridestones, near Congleton (neolithic) and Robin Hood's Tump, near Alpraham (bronze age).[1] The remains of iron age hill forts are found on sandstone ridges at several locations in Cheshire. Examples include Maiden Castle on Bickerton Hill, Helsby Hillfort and Woodhouse Hillfort at Frodsham. The Roman fortress and walls of Chester, perhaps the earliest building works in Cheshire remaining above ground, are constructed from purple-grey sandstone.[2]
The distinctive local red sandstone has been used for many monumental and ecclesiastical buildings throughout the county, for example, the medieval Beeston Castle, Chester Cathedral and numerous parish churches. Occasional residential and industrial buildings, such as Helsby Station, Helsby (1849) are also in this sandstone.
Many surviving buildings from the 15th to 17th centuries are timbered, particularly in the southern part of the county. Notable examples include the moated manor house Little Moreton Hall, dating from around 1450, and many commercial and residential buildings in Chester, Nantwich and surrounding villages.
Early brick buildings include Peover Hall, near Macclesfield (1585), Tattenhall Hall (pre-1622) and Pied Bull Hotel in Chester (17th C). From the 18th century, orange, red or brown brick became the predominant building material used in Cheshire, although earlier buildings are often faced or dressed with stone. Examples from the Victorian period onwards often employ distinctive brick detailing, such as brick patterning and ornate chimney stacks and gables. Notable examples include Arley Hall, near Macclesfield, Willington Hall, near Chester (both by Nantwich architect George Latham) and Overleigh Lodge, Chester. From the Victorian era, brick buildings often incorporate timberwork in a mock Tudor style, and this hybrid style has been used in some modern residential developments in the county. Industrial buildings, such as the Macclesfield silk mills (for example, Waters Green New Mill), are also usually in brick.
Famous products
Famous people
- Ian Astbury singer in the band The Cult, was born in Heswall;
- Lewis Carroll was born and raised in Daresbury, Warrington, hence the Cheshire cat;
- Emma Bossons ceramic artist at Moorcroft was born in Congleton;
- Singer Tim Burgess from the Charlatans;
- Anglo–Canadian actress Kim Cattrall, born in Widnes;
- Ian Curtis singer with Joy Division;
- Djibril Cissé French international footballer lives in Frodsham;
- Actor and singer Tim Curry was born in Warrington;
- Thomas Egerton, 1st Baron Ellesmere was born in Ellesmere;
- Writer Alan Garner lives in Goostrey;
- Film and stage actress Dame Wendy Hiller was born in Bramhall;
- Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell was brought up in the town of Knutsford, which she depicted in her book, Cranford;
- Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, one of the UK's wealthiest residents lives at Eaton Hall near Chester;
- Emma Hamilton (Lady Hamilton) was born in the county;
- George Mallory born in Mobberley, Cheshire, famous mountaineer, died in 1924 climbing Mount Everest;
- Wayne Rooney, footballer;
- Michael Owen, footballer, was born in Chester and stills maintains a family home there despite recent transfers to Real Madrid in 2004 and then to Newcastle United F.C in 2005;
- Harry Kewell, footballer;
- Daniel Craig, actor playing the 6th James Bond, was born in Chester;
- Derby County footballer Seth Johnson went to Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School;
- West Ham footballer Dean Ashton grew up in Holmes Chapel.
Settlements
This is a list of the major towns and cities in the traditional county of Cheshire. For a full list of settlements in the ceremonial county see list of places in Cheshire.
(*) Traditionally part of Lancashire.
(**) Traditionally part of Cheshire but which since 1974 have been administered as part of other counties.
Places of interest
(in alphabetical order)
- Adlington Hall
- Anderton Boat Lift
- Arley Hall
- Beeston Castle
- Capesthorne Hall
- Cholmondley Castle
- Doddington Park
- Ellesmere Port Boat Museum
- Elton Hall, Aldford
- Gawsworth Hall
- Hills: Shining Tor, Shutlingsloe
- Holt Castle
- Jodrell Bank Science Centre
- Lamaload Reservoir
- Lion Salt Works, Marston, an industrial museum
- Little Moreton Hall
- Long distance footpaths: Biddulph Valley Way, Gritstone Trail, Sandstone Trail
- Lyme Hall, Lyme Park, one of the locations for BBC's Pride and Prejudice
- Macclesfield Canal
- Macclesfield Forest
- Moss Hall, Audlem
- Ness Botanic Gardens
- Parkgate
- Peckforton Castle
- Peover Hall
- Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, an industrial museum
- River Weaver, River Dee, River Dane, River Bollin, River Goyt, River Gowy
- Sandbach Crosses
- Shropshire Union Canal
- Swettenham Meadows
- Tabley House
- Tatton Park
- Tegg's Nose Country Park
- Trent and Mersey Canal
- Watermills: Bunbury Mill, Nether Alderley Mill, Quarry Bank Mill, Stretton Mill
References
- ^ Cheshire County Council: Revealing Cheshire's Past
- ^ Images of England
External links