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
St Mary's Church, Nantwich is the Anglican parish church of the town of Nantwich. The church is built in red sandstone on a cruciform plan with an octagonal tower. Building commenced in 1340 but was interrupted in 1349–1369, probably by an outbreak of the Black Death, which has resulted in the church's style being a mix of Decorated and Perpendicular. The church was briefly used as a prison for Royalists captured at the battles of Nantwich and Preston during the English Civil War. George Gilbert Scott carried out substantial restorations in the 19th century. The interior features a stone lierne-vaulted ceiling to the choir, carved stone canopies over the sedilia in the chancel, as well as intricately carved wooden misericords and choirstall canopies. A Grade I listed building, the church has been called the "Cathedral of South Cheshire". It is considered by some to be one of the finest medieval churches in England. Raymond Richards describes it as "one of the great architectural treasures of Cheshire" and Alec Clifton-Taylor includes it in his list of "outstanding" English parish churches. Selected image
Built in 1799, Chester Shot Tower is probably the oldest remaining shot tower in the world and was used to manufacture lead shot for the Napoleonic Wars. Lead was exported via Chester during the Roman period and the lead industry flourished in the city during the 19th century. Credit: Espresso Addict (3 February 2007) In this month
1 December 1901: Artist and illustrator Charles Tunnicliffe born in Langley. 1 December 1906: Carnegie Library, Runcorn officially opened. 6 December 1891: Rowland Egerton-Warburton died at Arley Hall. 8 December 1665: Civil War diarist Edward Burghall died at Alpraham. 9 December 1836: Dutton Viaduct completed. 10 December 1583: Great Fire of Nantwich started. 13 December 1643: Siege of Nantwich started. 14 December 1979: Footballer Michael Owen born in Chester. 17 December 1925: Cricketer A. N. Hornby (gravestone pictured) died in Nantwich. 17 December 1973: Long-distance runner Paula Radcliffe born in Davenham. 19 December 1572: Landlord of Nantwich's Crown Inn murdered; the investigation involved many among the town's gentry. 22 December 1643: Royalist forces occupied Audlem, Brindley, Buerton, Hankelow, Hatherton, Hurleston, Stoke and Wrenbury during the Civil War. 23 December 1642: Bunbury Agreement drawn up. 24 December 1643: Twelve Parliamentarians massacred at St Bertoline's Church, Barthomley. 26 December 1643: Second Battle of Middlewich during the Civil War. 26 December 1962: Train crash at Coppenhall, between Crewe and Winsford, killed 18 people and injured 34. 29 December 1940: Air raid badly damaged the Crewe Rolls Royce works and killed 16 employees. Selected list
The 63 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cheshire cover a total area of 19,844 hectares (49,035 acres), and are protected by law for their biological, geological or geomorphological interest. Wetland is the type of SSSI best represented in the county, with a range of diverse habitats including mosses, raised bog, swamps, fens, meres and ponds. Flashes, such as Elton Flashes (pictured), originate in subsidence after salt extraction, and contain rare examples of inland salt marsh. Cheshire's largest SSSIs are the Mersey and Dee estuaries. The higher ground at the foot of the Pennines has two extensive SSSIs containing heather moorland, grassland and blanket mire habitats. The lowland heath habitat is, however, very rare. Ancient woodland is sparse in the county, but is found on the slopes of the Mid Cheshire Ridge, in river valleys towards the north of the county, and around the Mersey Basin. Several sites, such as Rixton Clay Pits, are on former industrial land. The Triassic sandstones of the Mid Cheshire Ridge are exposed at the Raw Head geological site, and geological features are also exposed at railway cuttings. 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
Neil Brooks (born 27 July 1962) is a former sprint freestyle swimmer. Born to working-class parents in Crewe, Brooks emigrated to Australia as a toddler. He started swimming lessons after nearly drowning in a childhood accident. Brooks formed part of the Australian team for the 1980 Olympics (commemorative badge pictured) in Moscow. The peak of his swimming career came in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, as part of the Quietly Confident Quartet, when he caught and passed the Soviet Union's Sergey Kopliakov during the anchor leg to seal a narrow victory for Australia. This victory remains the only time that the United States did not win the event at Olympic level. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, he gained silver and bronze medals for relay events. Brooks also won gold and silver medals in the individual 100 m freestyle events at the 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games, respectively. Brooks' career was marred by disciplinary problems, and he was suspended following the 1986 Commonwealth Games, ending his international career. He subsequently worked as a news presenter and sports commentator. Did you know...
Selected town or village
Chester is a city on the River Dee, near the border with Wales. It is the second-largest settlement in Cheshire after Warrington, with a population of nearly 80,000 in 2011, and as of 2019 serves as Cheshire West and Chester's administrative headquarters. It was founded as the Roman fort of Deva Victrix in 79 AD, one of the main army camps in Roman Britain, and later a major civilian settlement. In 689, Æthelred of Mercia founded a minster church, later the first cathedral, and the Saxons improved the walls to protect against the Danes. Chester was one of the last places in England to fall to the Normans. A castle was built to dominate both the town and the Welsh border. City status was granted in 1541. Chester is among the best-preserved walled cities in Britain, with its walls almost complete, and several surviving medieval buildings. The Industrial Revolution brought railways, canals and new roads. Substantial Victorian development included the town hall and Grosvenor Museum, as well as the many Black-and-white Revival buildings in the centre. Tourism, shops and financial services are important to the modern economy. 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. QuotationIn the first place, Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses above a certain rent are women. If a married couple come to settle in the town, somehow the gentleman disappears; he is either fairly frightened to death by being the only man in the Cranford evening parties, or he is accounted for by being with his regiment, his ship, or closely engaged in business all the week in the great neighbouring commercial town of Drumble, distant only twenty miles on a railroad. In short, whatever does become of the gentlemen, they are not at Cranford. ... The ladies of Cranford are quite sufficient. "A man," as one of them observed to me once, "is so in the way in the house!" From Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (1851–3)
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