Eccleston is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Eaton and Eccleston, in the borough of Cheshire West, in the 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 county tow ...

, England. The village is approximately to the south of the city of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, near to the River Dee. The village is situated on the estate of the

Duke of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

who maintains his ancestral home at nearby Eaton Hall. According to the 2001 census, the population of the village was 184. The population of the civil parish was recorded as 246 in the 2011 census.

History

It is believed that the name of the village derives from the Primitive Welsh ''eglẹ̄s'' (a church) and the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

''tūn'' (a settlement, farmstead or estate). The village, mentioned as ''Eclestone'' 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, was on a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

to Chester. The settlement consisted of seven households (four villagers, one

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

and two slaves) on land under the ownership of

Gilbert de Venables Gilbert de Venables, aka Gilbert the Hunter, was a Norman lord who participated in the Norman Conquest of England. He was born in Venables, Eure, presumably the son of Odo II, Count of Blois (since he is mentioned as younger brother of Stephen, ...

('Gilbert the hunter'). In 1066 it was worth 1 pound 10 shillings and in 1086 it was worth 2 pounds 14 shillings despite being waste in 1070 suggesting a very quick economic rebound; it was also one of the most profitable manors that de Venables owned. It also had a boat and net (suggesting fishing), 5 hides paying geld, and 6 units of ploughland. The Normans built an early motte castle at Eccleston, one of a series forming a defence against Welsh raids on the farmlands of Cheshire, and emphasising the new post-Conquest order. The castle mound is preserved as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and ...

. Eccleston was largely rebuilt as an

estate village An estate village is a village wholly within and part of a private estate. Usually several hundred years old, they are often well preserved by the family that owns the estate. They often have small commercial operations such as pubs, craft shops, an ...

by the

Dukes of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

in the 19th century. The Cheshire volume of the ''Buildings of England'' series describes it as "the prime Eaton estate village" and "a showpiece". Many of the buildings, including St Mary's School and the shelter in the middle of the road junction at the centre of the village, were designed by John Douglas, the favoured architect of the Grosvenor family at the time. The 17th-century manor house pre-dates the Victorian rebuilding. Formerly a township in Broxton Hundred, it includes the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

s of Belgrave and Morris Oak. The population was 199 in 1801, 289 in 1851, 320 in 1901 and 272 in 1951. Eccleston was the site of a ferry across the River Dee.

Church

The church at Eccleston is called St. Mary's Church. It was built at the expense of the

1st Duke of Westminster Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, (13 October 1825 – 22 December 1899), styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845, Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869, and known as The Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an ...

and cost £40,000 in 1899. It was built on the site of an earlier church that was constructed in 1809. Part of the churchyard is unusual in that it is circular in shape, which indicates pagan origins. In 1929 an excavation revealed 20 bodies which are believed to date from 390 AD. They are the earliest known

Christian burial A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with specifically Christian rites; typically, in consecrated ground. Until recent times Christians generally objected to cremation because it interfered with the concept of the resurrection o ...

s in Cheshire. The Old Churchyard is the resting place of the

. Also buried here are Alfred Ernest Ind VC, who died on 29 November 1916, Sir Henry Nelson Clowes KCVO (1911–1993), Sir Philip Hay KCVO (1918–1986), Private Secretary to the Duchess of Kent, and his wife Dame Margaret Katherine Hay

DCVO The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(1918–1975),

Woman of the Bedchamber In the Royal Household of the United Kingdom the term Woman of the Bedchamber is used to describe a woman (usually a daughter of a peer) attending either a queen regnant or queen consort, in the role of lady-in-waiting. Historically the term 'Ge ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, a granddaughter of 1st Duke of Westminster.

Governance

Eccleston is represented by the

Constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of the City of Chester in the

UK House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

. It was previously represented by the

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

. In local government, 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 Gover ...

replaced

Chester City Council Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Local ...

and

Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...

on 1 April 2009. Eccleston is within the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to ...

of Christleton and Huntington. Eccleston

was abolished in 2015 to form Eaton and Eccleston, with part also transferring to

Dodleston Dodleston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is situated to the south west of Chester, very close to the England–Wales border. The c ...

. It is governed by a parish council, made up of a seven-members. Meetings are held in the Eccleston Village Hall in the 3rd week of January, May, July and October each year. There are also special meetings scheduled to deal with specific issues when needed.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Former civil parishes in Cheshire Cheshire West and Chester

History

Church

Governance

See also

References

External links