Holmes Chapel is a large 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 area of

Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council. Towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Congleton, Sandbach, Wilmslow, H ...

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 county tow ...

, England. Until 1974 the parish was known as Church Hulme. Holmes Chapel is about north of

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

and south of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

. The population of the village was recorded as 5,605 as of the 2011 census. It has however grown due to a number of large housing developments. According to the Index of Deprivation, the village ranks as the 18th least deprived ward in the United Kingdom (out of 8,414). Holmes Chapel railway station has services to

and

, making the village convenient for commuters.

Swettenham Meadows Nature Reserve Swettenham Meadows is a nature reserve in Cheshire, England, on the north bank of Swettenham Brook, a short distance north east of Swettenham village and 2.5 miles (4 km) east of Holmes Chapel village (). The Swettenham Meadows reserve ...

lies east of the village and

Goostrey Goostrey is an old farming village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located in open countryside, 14 miles NE of Crewe and 12 miles W of Macclesfield. Goostrey Paris ...

lies to the north. The village has a number of

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s. There is a major supermarket (Aldi), several smaller supermarkets, a precinct, and numerous outlets including a fish and chip shop, off licence, pizzeria, estate agent, a chemist and a library, and a bakery. The town has one secondary school, Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, and two primary schools: Holmes Chapel Primary School and Hermitage Primary School. It has a GP Practice on London Road. Cotton Hall, where John Cotton was resident in 1400, remained the

family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families ...

until the 18th century when Daniel Cotton married into the

Booths Booths is a chain of high-end supermarkets in Northern England. Most of its branches are in Lancashire, but there are also branches in Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. It has been described as the "Wait ...

Twemlow Twemlow is a civil parish, containing the village of Twemlow Green in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2011 Official UK Census, the population of the entire civil parish wa ...

; a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, t ...

of the family were created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

s and then Viscounts Combermere. Cotton Hall dates from at least the 15th century with some additions in the 17th, 19th and 20th centuries. A farm and estate, just off Middlewich Road, Cotton Hall is today listed Grade II* under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, as amended, for its special architectural or historic interest.

Geography

Holmes Chapel, set within the

Cheshire Plain The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland within the county of Cheshire in North West England but extending south into Shropshire. It extends from the Mersey Valley in the north to the Shropshire Hills in the south, bounded b ...

, it lies on the mid-reaches of the

River Dane The River Dane is a tributary of the River Weaver that originates in the Peak District area of England. The name of the river (earlier ''Daven'') is probably from the Old Welsh ''dafn'', meaning a "drop or trickle", implying a slow-moving river. ...

as it meanders its way around the north end of the village. The village is within the Unitary Authority district of

, and used to be administered by Congleton borough. Holmes Chapel has been twinned with

Bessancourt Bessancourt () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. Bessancourt station has rail connections to Persan, Saint-Leu-la-Forêt and Paris. Population Twin Towns Bessancourt is twinned with: * Holmes Chap ...

, France, since 1980.

Points of interest

St Luke's Church was built in about 1430. Originally half-timbered, the brick walls encasing the nave and chancel are later additions. It was designated a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

on 14 February 1967.

Notable people

* Major

Philip Glazebrook Major Philip Kirkland Glazebrook, DSO (24 December 1880 – 7 March 1918) was a British businessman and Conservative politician. He was killed in action in the First World War. He was the son of John Knowles Glazebrook and Cecilia Anne Esthe ...

, DSO (1880–1918) businessman and Tory politician, MP for Manchester South 1912-1918. *

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series '' The X Factor''. Following his elimination, he was brough ...

, (born 1994) singer, songwriter, actor. Former member of

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...

Sport

* Sir Henry Cotton, MBE (1907–1987) professional golfer, won

the Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

in 1934, 1937 and 1948 *

Shirley Strong Shirley Elaine Strong (née Strong, born 18 November 1958) is a British former athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres hurdles. In this event, she won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, a gold medal at the 1982 Comm ...

(born 1958) former athlete, won silver medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

in 100 metres hurdles * Andy Porter (born 1968) former professional footballer turned coach and manager, played 357 times for

Port Vale F.C. Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

* Seth Johnson, (born 1979) former professional footballer, 275 pro appearances * Dean Ashton, (born 1983) former professional footballer, made over 240 appearances * Ryan Brooke (born 1990) football forward, plays for Curzon Ashton F.C. * Tom Lowery (born 1997) footballer, SoccerBase Database
retrieved 3 March 2018 plays for Crewe Alexandra F.C.

References

External links