Cholmondeston (
(accessed 31 March 2010)) is a 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 ...

in the unitary authority 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, Handf ...

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 lies to the northwest 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 villages include

Aston juxta Mondrum Aston juxta Mondrum is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is about four miles north of Nantwich. The civil parish also includes part of Worleston village. Etym ...

Barbridge Stoke is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The parish is predominantly rural with a total population of around 200, measured with the inclusion of Hurleston at 324 in the 20 ...

Calveley Calveley is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies 5½ miles to the north west of Nantwich. The parish also includes parts of the settlements of Bar ...

and Wettenhall. The

Middlewich Branch The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal is located in Cheshire, in the north west of England, and runs between Middlewich, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal, and Barbridge Junction, where it joins the main line of the Shrops ...

of the

Shropshire Union Canal The Shropshire Union Canal, nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. The Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union (SU) system and lie partially in Wales. The canal lies in ...

and the

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 ...

–

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 ...

railway line run through the civil parish. The area is predominantly rural, with a total population of around 150 in 2001, increasing to 175 at the 2011 Census.

History

A hoard of 26

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

coins was found in Cholmondeston, suggesting the possibility of Roman settlement in the area. The coins are mainly of the reign of

Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...

, dating from after 348. Cholmondeston appears in the

Domesday survey 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 Wil ...

of 1086 as ''Chelmundestone'', meaning "Coelmund's Farmstead" or "Village". Before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

, it was held by Wulfeva, described as "a free woman", and afterwards by William Malbank (or Malbedeng), the first Baron of Wich Malbank (

). Local historian Frank Latham suggests that it is possible that there was a substantial pre-Conquest village, later deserted. The Domesday survey recorded a population of 4. At this time, Cholmondeston fell within the Forest of Mondrem, the southern half of

Delamere Forest Delamere Forest is a large wood in the village of Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by Forestry England, covers an area of making it the largest area of woodland in the county. It contains a mixture of deciduous and ...

. The manor maintained an underforester and also paid ''frithmote'' tax, which might have entitled it to certain forest privileges or exempted it from the

forest court A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

s. The area of the modern civil parish fell within the ancient parish of

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

in the Nantwich Hundred; it was served by

St Mary's Church, Acton St Mary's Church is an active Anglican parish church located in Monk's Lane, Acton, a village to the west of Nantwich, Cheshire, England. Since 1967 it has been designated a Grade I listed building. A church has been present on this site ...

until 1873. Shropshire Union Canal Cholmondeston

Early landowners include the Crewe and Wettenhall families. The township was sold by the

Earl of Bridgewater Earl of Bridgewater was a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England, once for the Daubeny family (1538) and once for the Egerton family (1617). From 1720 to 1803, the Earls of Bridgewater also held the title of Duke of Bridgewa ...

to the Werden family in 1686, and by 1800 it had passed to the Drummond family. In the 18th century, Methodists were recorded in Cholmondeston, as well as in the adjacent parish of

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council ...

, which John Wesley visited four times between 1751 and 1757. Wesley is believed to have stayed at Gates Farm, just inside the Cholmondeston boundary, and he preached in the farm's kitchen.Cheshire Federation of Women's Institutes, p. 185 A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was built in Cholmondeston in 1833. It was replaced by a later red-brick chapel, built from the Twentieth Century Fund, which opened in 1903. The chapel closed in 1973.

Governance

Cholmondeston is administered by Cholmondeston and Wettenhall Parish Council jointly with the adjacent civil parish of Wettenhall. From 1974 the civil parish was served by

Crewe and Nantwich Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population (2001 census) of 111,007. It contained 69 civil parishes and one unparished area: the town of Crewe. It now f ...

Borough Council, which was succeeded on 1 April 2009 by the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governme ...

. Cholmondeston falls in the parliamentary constituency of Eddisbury, which has been represented by

Edward Timpson Anthony Edward Timpson, (born 26 December 1973) is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eddisbury in Cheshire at the 2019 general election. He was previously MP for neighbouring Crewe ...

since 2019, after being represented by

Stephen O'Brien Sir Stephen Rothwell O'Brien, (born 1 April 1957) is a British politician and diplomat who was the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. O'Brien assumed office on 29 May 2015, succeed ...

(1999–2015) and

Antoinette Sandbach Antoinette Geraldine Mackeson-Sandbach (born 15 February 1969), known as Antoinette Sandbach, is a former British politician who was elected as Member of Parliament for Eddisbury in Cheshire at the 2015 general election. The following day, 8 ...

(2015–19).

Geography, economy and transport

The civil parish has a total area of .Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council: Parish Statistics (downloaded fro

5 April 2010) The terrain is predominantly flat, with an average elevation of around 50 metres. A triangulation pillar, trig point is located at , at an elevation of 55 metres. Crowton Brook runs north–south through the civil parish and Bankside Brook forms part of the northern boundary; there are numerous scattered small meres and ponds. Several small areas of woodland are located within the civil parish. The small village of Cholmondeston () lies in the north of the civil parish at the junction between Winsford Road, Minshull Lane and Calveley Green Lane. The area is predominantly rural, with the major land use being agricultural. The

–

railway line runs east–west through the south of the civil parish. It crosses the

of the

, which also runs broadly east–west, immediately east of Venetian Marina. Two other canal bridges lie in the civil parish. Just to the west of the marina is Cholmondeston Bridge (), which carries Winsford Road. Benyon's Bridge is an accommodation (farm) bridge over the canal at .Cheshire East Council & Cheshire West and Chester Council: Interactive Mapping: Cholmondeston
(accessed 31 March 2010) Built in 1827–33 to a design by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (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 Scotla ...

, it is

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historical ...

at grade II. Immediately adjacent to Cholmondeston Bridge is Cholmondeston Lock, the first lock on the Middlewich branch. Railway bridge Cholmondeston

The unclassified Winsford Road is the major road of the civil parish; it runs broadly north–south, leading to Wettenhall and

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around ...

to the north, and joining the A51 near

to the south. In Cholmondeston village, Minshull Lane runs east from Winsford Road to connect with the B5074 at Wades Green near

Church Minshull Church Minshull is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is approximately north west of Crewe, just west of the River Weaver and Shropshire Union Canal. T ...

, while Calveley Green Lane runs west to connect with Calveley Hall Lane in

. In the south of the civil parish, Stokehall Lane runs west from Winsford Road to connect with the A51 at

. The

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

Regional Route 75 follows Winsford Road. The

Weaver Way 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 entertainment ...

footpath follows the towpath of the Shropshire Union Canal, connecting with the

Crewe and Nantwich Circular Walk The Crewe and Nantwich Circular Walk is a long-distance walkers' path in the Cheshire East area of Cheshire, England. As the name suggests, the walk forms a circuit around the towns of Crewe and Nantwich. It is one of two circular walks in ...

just to the east of the civil parish at Brickyard Bridge.

Landmarks

The Venetian Marina on the

opened in the early 1970s. As of 2010, it has 250 berths; facilities include workshops, tearooms and a shop. The only listed building in the parish is the Grade II listed Benyon's Bridge, over the canal west of the marina.

Demography

In 2006, the total population of the civil parish was estimated as 170. The 2001 census recorded a population of 153, in 53 households. The population has stayed relatively constant since 1801; the historical population figures are 168 (1801), 186 (1851), 162 (1901) and 172 (1951).

Education

There are no educational facilities within the civil parish. Cholmondeston falls within the catchment areas of Calveley Primary School in

and

Tarporley High School Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the village of Tarporley, Cheshire, England. Admissions It has around 1,000 students with 800,000 teachers. It is a ...

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 Tarpo ...

.Cheshire East Council & Cheshire West and Chester Council: Interactive Mapping: Tarporley High School
(accessed 31 March 2010)

References

Sources

*Cheshire Federation of Women's Institutes. ''The Cheshire Village Book'' (Countryside Books & CFWI; 1990) () *Husain BMC. ''Cheshire under the Norman Earls: 1066–1237'' (''A History of Cheshire'', Vol. 4; series editor JJ Bagley) (Cheshire Community Council Publications Trust; 1973) *Latham FA, ed. ''Acton'' (The Local History Group; 1995) ()

External links

{{authority control Civil parishes in Cheshire Villages in Cheshire