Alvanley is a small rural village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

near

Helsby Helsby is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Overlooking the Mersey estuary, it is approximately north east of Chester and south we ...

, in the unitary authority of

Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Governm ...

and the ceremonial county of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

, England. The village is on the B5393 road and near junction 14 of the M56 motorway. According to the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 472.

History

The name means 'Aelfwald's wood/clearing', derived from an Old English personal name and the word ''lēah'' (a forest, wood, glade or clearing). The village is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as ''Elvedelie'', under the ownership of Earl Hugh of Chester and consisting of only three households (one villager and two smallholders). The population was recorded over time as 314 in 1801, 312 in 1851, 319 in 1901, 287 in 1951 and had reached 485 by the 2001 census.

Governance

Alvanley was a township in

Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is ...

parish of the Eddisbury Hundred, which became a civil parish in 1866. From 1875 Alvanley was part of the Runcorn Rural Sanitary District, then Runcorn Rural District from 1894. Local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 transferred the civil parish into the Borough of Vale Royal, which was superseded by the unitary authority of

Cheshire West & Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Governme ...

on 1 April 2009. Alvanley is within the Weaver Vale parliamentary constituency.

Community

The village has a primary school, a public house (the White Lion) and a Grade II listed parish church dedicated to St John.

Alvanley Hall Alvanley Hall is in Manley Road, to the southeast of the village of Alvanley, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The hall dates from various periods, main ...

is a Grade II* listed farmhouse to the south-east of the main village, dating mainly from the 17th century.

Sport

Alvanley Cricket Club, established in 1884, runs five senior teams and four junior teams ranging from under-9s to under-18s. The club came fifth in Division One of the

Cheshire County League The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales. Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Footb ...

in 2000, but a fallow period saw them fall back down to the Meller Braggins League. In 2011 the club won the League unbeaten with a record 461 points and in doing so found their way back into the County league for 2012. The Junior Section has in recent years begun to challenge for County Cups, without yet actually lifting one. 2008 to 2011 saw a period of investment in the club's infrastructure, rewarded by the award of prestigious games such as the Bunbury Festival and Cheshire County fixtures.

References

External links