Portal:Cheshire
|
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
Tabley House is a grade-I-listed country house in Tabley Inferior, near Knutsford. It was built by John Carr in the Palladian style for Sir Peter Byrne Leicester. Completed in around 1769, it is the only Palladian country house in Cheshire to date from the 18th century. The house is in brick with stone dressings, and has a large sandstone portico on the south front and paired pavilion wings. Tabley House replaced Tabley Old Hall of around 1380, located on a moated island, which Sir Peter deemed "not commodious." The ruins of the Old Hall remain in the grounds. Its chapel, now known as St Peter's Church, was moved to stand by the new house in 1927. The house and estate continued to be held by the Leicester family until 1975, and subsequently belonged to the Victoria University of Manchester. The first-floor reception rooms are now open to the public and display paintings and furniture from the house. Selected image
Emma, Lady Hamilton (1761–1815), best known as the mistress of Horatio Nelson, was born at Ness, the daughter of a blacksmith. Renowned for her beauty, she became the muse of portraitist George Romney, inspiring more than 60 pictures. This portrait dates from 1785. In this month
1 January 1894: Manchester Ship Canal first opened to traffic. 2 January 1644: Dorfold Hall taken by Royalist forces during the Civil War. 3 January 1866: Crewe Hall gutted by fire. 13 January 1984: A cooling tower at Fiddlers Ferry Power Station (pictured) collapsed in high winds. 17 January 1644: Royalist forces attacked Nantwich during the Civil War. 20 January 1540: Dissolution of St Werburgh's Abbey. 20 January 1971: Singer–songwriter Gary Barlow born in Frodsham. 24 January 1909: Film star Ann Todd born in Hartford. 25 January 1837: Fire damaged the new wing of Vale Royal Abbey. 26 January 1644: Battle of Nantwich. 27 January 1832: Author and mathematician Lewis Carroll born in Daresbury. 27 January 1941: Cosmologist Beatrice Tinsley born in Chester. 28 January 1643: First battle of Nantwich. Selected list
The 23 listed buildings in Widnes include five at Grade II* and the remainder at Grade II. Widnes's oldest listed building is St Luke's Church, Farnworth, which dates from the 12th century. Other early structures include two 18th-century houses and a bridewell dating from 1827. In 1833, the Sankey Canal reached the area; the lock at the canal's terminus is another early listed structure. The St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway established a terminus adjacent to the canal, the world's first railway dock was constructed there and, in 1847, a chemical factory was established nearby. More chemical factories were built during the second half of the 19th century, and the town grew, absorbing the previously separated hamlets of Appleton, Cronton, Farnworth and Upton. The listed structures dating from after 1847 – including churches, cemetery chapels, the town hall, a war memorial, a health centre, railway stations, two bridges crossing the River Mersey, and the former power house of the demolished Widnes–Runcorn Transporter Bridge – largely reflect the growing population of the town and its increasing transport links. Structures relating to the chemical industry include Tower Building (pictured), formerly an office, and a sewer vent. Post-war listed structures include the Silver Jubilee Bridge (1956–61) and a Roman Catholic church and campanile (1960). 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
Edmund Sharpe (31 October 1809 – 8 May 1877) was an architect, architectural historian, railway engineer and sanitary reformer, who was born in Knutsford. As an architect, he predominantly designed churches, of which around forty survive; Cheshire examples include St Wilfrid's, Davenham, and Holy Trinity, Northwich. He pioneered the structural use of terracotta in the so-called "pot" churches, such as St Stephen and All Martyrs', Lever Bridge. He also developed railways in the north-west of England, and championed the construction of new sanitary works in Lancaster, where he practised in 1835–1851. Sharpe achieved his greatest recognition as an architectural historian, publishing many articles, books and detailed architectural drawings. He criticised the widespread practice of restoring medieval churches, and devised a scheme for the classification of English Gothic architectural styles. In 1875, he was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Did you know...
Selected town or village
Bradwall is a small village and civil parish near Sandbach. The name derives from the Old English, and means "broad spring". It covers an area of 1,938 acres (7.84 km2) and had a population of 182 in 2011. Archaeological finds include a Late Bronze Age axe head and a hoard of Roman coins. The village is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, but became known from the 13th century as the manorial estate of Richard de Bradwall and his successors, including the families of Venables, Berington and Oldfield. From the early 19th century, it became the seat of the Latham family who lived at Bradwall Hall (pictured) until its demolition in the early 20th century. Surviving historic buildings include the hall's coach-house, Bradwall Reformatory School, built by the Latham family in 1855, and the Wesleyan Methodist Church, founded in 1882. The manufacturer of Foden Trucks and their award-winning Fodens Motor Works Band were based in the civil parish until a 1936 boundary change. The area is now predominantly agricultural, with a mix of dairy and arable. Visitor activities include coarse fishing, horse riding and eventing (horse trials). In the news 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. QuotationIt lay in the midst of a demesne of considerable extent, and richly wooded with venerable timber; but, apart from the somber majesty of these giant groups, and the varieties of the undulating ground on which they stood, there was little that could be deemed attractive in the place. A certain air of neglect and decay, and an indescribable gloom and melancholy, hung over it. In darkness, it seemed darker than any other tract; when the moonlight fell upon its glades and hollows, they looked spectral and awful, with a sort of churchyard loneliness; and even when the blush of the morning kissed its broad woodlands, there was a melancholy in the salute that saddened rather than cheered the heart of the beholder. From "The Evil Guest" by Sheridan Le Fanu (1895)
Subcategories
TopicsRecommended articles Things you can do
WikiProject Related portalsAssociated WikimediaThe following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
Discover Wikipedia using portals | ||||||
