Beeston is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, which itself is in the ceremonial county of Cheshire in the north of England. It is located approximately 10 km south-east of Chester, and approximately 3.5 km south-west of

Tarporley Tarporley is a large village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. The civil parish also contains the village of Rhuddall Heath. Tarporley is bypassed by the A49 and A51 roads. At the 2011 census, the population was 2,614. History Tarporle ...

, close to the Shropshire Union Canal. According to the 2011 census, Beeston had a population of 188.

History

Beeston is listed 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 manus ...

in 1086 as a parish within the ancient

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Rushton in Cheshire. The hundreds of Cheshire were consolidated in the 13th century, with Beeston becoming a township within Bunbury parish.A Vision of Britain through Time: Beeston History.
Accessed 23 July 2022.

Beeston Castle Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England (), perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232), on his return from th ...

was occupied from the 13th to mid-17th centuries; its site west of the center of the village is in the care of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

: :

here crowns an isolated sandstone rock, 366 feet high; and commands a charming view of the vale of Cheshire, and over the Mersey to Liverpool. The castle was built, as a fortress, in 1228, by Ranulf de Blundeville; became a royal garrison between Henry III. and his barons; was dismantled, in 1645, by order of

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

; and is now an extensive and picturesque ruin. The Victorian-era

Peckforton Castle Peckforton Castle is a Victorian country house built in the style of a medieval castle. It stands in woodland at the north end of Peckforton Hills northwest of the village of Peckforton, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Herit ...

is less than a mile southwest of Beeston.

Population

According to the 1881 Census data, the population of Beeston was 328. Of these, 56 were engaged in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, suggesting a strong farming community in the area. 30 persons were employed in

domestic service A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

in the parish at the time as well, possibly indicating the presence of a country estate. There was also a

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled afte ...

, an innkeeper and a shopkeeper, which suggests that there was a school, an inn and a village shop present in 1881. The overall trend for in Beeston has been that the population has reduced since the 1881 census, with approximately 188 people living in the village in 2011. This is despite the overall number of households in the parish increasing.

Transport

Beeston is located off the A49, which bypasses the village to the east. The village was once served by Beeston Castle and Tarporley railway station on the Chester to Crewe main line. The station closed to goods traffic in January 1965, and to passengers 15 months later, in April 1966. The line remains open, and sections of the platforms are still in situ.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Civil parishes in Cheshire

History

Population

Transport

See also

References

External links