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Baddiley is a scattered settlement 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the unitary authority of
Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council, which is based in the town of Sandbach. Other towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Congleton, Wilms ...
and the ceremonial county of
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, England. The civil parish also includes the north-western part of the village of Ravensmoor (also in the parish of Burland), as well as the small settlements of Baddiley Hulse, Batterley Hill, and parts of Gradeley Green and Swanley. According to the 2001 Census the parish had a total population of 226, increasing at the 2011 Census to 249. The largest settlement within the parish, Ravensmoor centres on a crossroads with a small
village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...
. It lies around six miles south west of
Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...
.


History

Baddiley 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
as ''Bedelie'', and the manor then belonged to the Praers family. The ancient manor was more extensive than the modern parish, also including
Faddiley Faddiley is a small village (at SJ 590 530) and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is located 4 miles to the west of Nantwich. The parish also includes the small set ...
, which lies to the north west. In the first half of the 13th century, part of the Baddiley parish was granted to
Combermere Abbey Combermere Abbey is a former monastery, later a country house, near Burleydam, between Nantwich, Cheshire and Whitchurch, Shropshire, Whitchurch in Shropshire, England, located within Cheshire and near the border with Shropshire. Initially Congr ...
, a
Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
monastery which had been endowed on its foundation in 1133 with a large area of land to the south; in 1355, the abbey also acquired the right to appoint the priest of the Baddiley church in exchange for land at Baddiley Grange. (Baddiley is not, however, included among the lands surrendered to the government when the abbey was dissolved in 1538.) By the 14th century, the manor had passed by marriage to the Bromley, Hondford and Mainwaring families, finally passing solely to the Mainwarings who occupied Baddiley Hall. To the south and east of the Hall and the church of St Michael is an area of earthworks interpreted as the site of the medieval village. The parish formerly had a population of 276 (1801), 281 (1851), 211 (1901) and 219 (1951). Much of the village of Ravensmoor dates from the second half of the 20th century.


Geography and transport

Ravensmoor lies on the eastern boundary of the civil parish, at an elevation of 65 m, around 2¼ miles south west of
Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture ...
. Nearby settlements include the village of Wrenbury and the hamlets of Acton, Burland,
Faddiley Faddiley is a small village (at SJ 590 530) and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is located 4 miles to the west of Nantwich. The parish also includes the small set ...
and
Sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...
. Most of the civil parish is flat; the western edge, approaching the
Weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...
valley, is slightly more undulating in character, however, with a maximum elevation of 85 m. The land use is predominantly pasture, with some arable to the west. The Llangollen branch of the
Shropshire Union Canal The Shropshire Union Canal, sometimes nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. It is the modern name for a part of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company network. In the leisure age, two of the branches of that netwo ...
passes through the parish. This stretch of canal immediately south of
Hurleston Hurleston was a civil parish until April 2023 and now forms part of the civil parish of Stoke and Hurleston, within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which lies to the north west of Nantwi ...
Junction (where the Llangollen branch splits from the main Shropshire Union) has three grade-II-listed
lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...
s by J Fletcher and
Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...
. Constructed in blue-and-red brick with stone dressing, they date from 1805. The modern brick-and-concrete Baddiley Bridge carries the Nantwich road across the canal east of Baddiley Hulse (at SJ 607 494). There are also three older footbridges in traditional brick serving public rights of way: Halls Lane, Greenfield and an unnamed bridge. West of Baddiley lie Baddiley Mere, the marshy Hell Hole and the small fishing lake of Baddiley Reservoir, and many smaller meres or ponds dot the countryside. The area is also crossed by the Ravensmoor and Edleston Brooks, and many unnamed tributaries. Spinners Wood, a small area of mixed woodland (predominantly oak, birch, hazel and holly), planted by local volunteers in March 2000 to commemorate the millennium, stands just outside Ravensmoor (at SJ 620 505). Baddiley Gorse is a small deciduous wood by the Shropshire Union Canal (at SJ 610 509).


Places of worship

The grade-I-listed St Michael's Church, Baddiley (at SJ 604 502), is a rare example of a timber-framed church. Its chancel dates from 1308. Only a handful of churches of this type remain in England; other surviving examples include churches at Lower Peover and Marton (Cheshire), Melverley (
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
), Besford (
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
) and
Hartley Wespall Hartley Wespall is a village and civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. It is near the larger village of Hook, which lies approximately 2.5 miles (4.1 km) south-west from the hamlet. St.Mary Church is fl ...
(
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
). The original timber-framing was largely replaced by brick in 1811. The tympanum is one of the most interesting in England; it is dated 1663 but is structurally medieval and stands on an eight-foot screen. The parish also contains the Baddiley and Ravensmoor Methodist Church, formerly a Wesleyan Chapel, located in Ravensmoor. Dated 1878, the building is in orange brick with stone dressing and has a prominent circular window and pillars capped with decorative stonework. Historically, St Mary's at nearby Acton also served part of the civil parish of Baddiley.


Other notable buildings

Other notable buildings within the parish include the grade-II-listed Baddiley Hall, an L-shaped three-storey building in brown brick dating from the late 17th century. Formerly the manor house of the Mainwaring family, it has been a farmhouse since the 19th century. Several other farmhouses within the parish are also listed, including Springe Lane Hall (early 17th century), Crabmill Farmhouse (early 19th century), and Baddiley Farmhouse and farm-buildings (c. 1870). The Farmer's Arms public house stands at the crossroads opposite the village green in the centre of Ravensmoor.


See also

* Listed buildings in Baddiley


References


External links

* {{authority control Civil parishes in Cheshire Villages in Cheshire Former populated places in Cheshire