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
The Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey and Holmes Chapel, is part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The main Lovell Telescope (pictured) was the largest steerable radio telescope in the world on its completion in 1957; it is now the third largest. The observatory's three other active radio telescopes are the Mark II and the 42 ft and 7 m diameter telescopes. Jodrell Bank is also the base of the Multi–Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN). Established in 1945 by Sir Bernard Lovell to investigate cosmic rays, the observatory has played an important role in the research of meteors, quasars, pulsars, masers and gravitational lenses, and was also heavily involved with the tracking of space probes at the start of the Space Age. A popular tourist attraction, Jodrell Bank has also been mentioned in Doctor Who and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In 2019, the observatory was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 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
3 May 1938: Cheshire County Council granted a banner of arms, now the county flag. 8 May 1817: Early paper on Cheshire dialect read at Society of Antiquaries by Roger Wilbraham. 12 May 1278: Fire destroyed much of Chester. 13 May 1983: Lindow Woman bog body discovered. 14 May 1853: Novelist and playwright Hall Caine (pictured) born in Runcorn. 18 May 1980: Musician Ian Curtis committed suicide at Macclesfield. 21 May 1868: First train crossed Runcorn Railway Bridge. 21 May 1894: Manchester Ship Canal officially opened by Queen Victoria. 23 May 1911: Architect John Douglas died in Chester. 24 May 1847: Five people killed in the Dee bridge disaster. 27 May 1899: Eastgate Clock unveiled, marking the 80th birthday of Queen Victoria. 29 May 1905: Widnes–Runcorn Transporter Bridge officially opened by Sir John Brunner. 31 May 1807: Primitive Methodism originated in a prayer meeting at Mow Cop. 31 May 1939: Humanitarian Terry Waite born in Styal. Selected list
The output of Chester-based architect John Douglas (1830–1911) included a diverse range of non-residential works. 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. He is probably best remembered for his incorporation of vernacular elements in his buildings, especially half-timbering, but also tile-hanging, pargeting, and decorative brickwork in diapering and tall chimney stacks. In addition to numerous churches, Douglas's non-residential works included a great variety of buildings such as schools, shops, offices, hotels, public houses, banks, model farms, cheese factories, a gentlemen's club, a public baths and a public convenience. The Eastgate Clock in Chester, a memorial of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, is perhaps the best known of the smaller commissions he undertook. Other examples include memorials, a canopy over a well (pictured), a temporary triumphal arch, a garden ornament and an obelisk. 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
Rowland Eyles Egerton-Warburton (14 September 1804 – 6 December 1891) was a Cheshire landowner, garden designer and poet. Born at Norley, he inherited the Arley and Warburton estates, and is best remembered for rebuilding Arley Hall and its chapel, in association with the young Nantwich architect George Latham. With his wife, he designed formal gardens for the hall, including one of Britain's earliest herbaceous borders. The hall and its gardens are now an important tourist attraction. A keen fox hunter, he served as president of the Tarporley Hunt Club. His poetry collection, Hunting Songs, ran to eight editions, and some of his rhymes remain on signposts in the Arley Hall grounds. A major local benefactor, he built or restored three churches, two schools, a church hall, post office, public road and multiple cottages, many of which were designed by Chester architect John Douglas. He is particularly known for his work in giving the village of Great Budworth, "one of Cheshire's most charming villages", its present picturesque appearance. Did you know...
Selected town or village
Northwich, the most northerly of Cheshire's wich towns, lies at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane, near Winsford, in the heart of the Cheshire Plain. The population of the civil parish was nearly 20,000 in 2011. Northwich rests on Lower Keuper saliferous beds. The settlement – then called Condate, thought to mean "confluence" – has been known since the Roman era, when it was important as a river crossing and a source of salt, and the area has long been exploited for its salt pans. The town has had a market since at least 1535. From the 19th century, pumped water was used to extract salt as brine, leading to subsidence problems and the creation of flashes. Several buildings were designed to be lifted in the event of subsidence. Northwich has been involved in the chemical industry since 1874, when Brunner Mond, later part of ICI, started to manufacture soda ash in Winnington. The mines were stabilised in the early 2000s, and much of the industrial area has been reclaimed to form Northwich Woodlands. The Weaver Hall Museum documents the town's salt industry. 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. QuotationChester is a glorious ancient city with a rare elegance in its beautifully preserved old buildings. A sense that all England's history is encapsulated here in its broad, cobbled, enchanting streets and from its 2000 year old walls to the awesome cathedral. Yet it is surprisingly young and lively. A living city with a zing in the air, yet mature and relaxed, a city that knows itself to be happy in its skin. This is the city I grew up in and loved. From Life of Dickens by Graham Laud (1939)
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