Davenham (; ) 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

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. It is part of the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester. It had a population of 2,745 at the 2011 census. It is in the centre of 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 by t ...

near both 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. ...

and

River Weaver The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1721 and the work, which included ...

Overview

Davenham is recorded 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 ...

of 1086 as Devenham. Its name means "hamlet on the River Dane". The site of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

Shipbrook Castle by the River Dane is indicated by the name of Castle Hill, between Shipbrook Bridge and Shipbrook Hill Farm, but no traces now remain. In 1936, the whole of Eaton (near Davenham) and part of

Leftwich Leftwich is a historic village, ward and southern suburb of Northwich in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. The name, given as merely 'Wice' in the Domesday Book of 1086, is written 'Leftetewych' in a document of 1278 an ...

civil parish (which extended into Davenham village) was added to Davenham, and in 1955 part of Davenham was transferred to Northwich civil parish. Between 1996 and 2006, a large housing development was built on farmland to the northwest of the village centre. The estate is known as Kingsmead and is separated from the historic village of Davenham by the A556 Northwich bypass. This area was originally the Kingsmead ward of the civil parish, with five members representing the ward on the Davenham parish council. Following a community governance review, Kingsmead became a separate parish with its parish council in April 2011. In 2006, the Kingsmead Residents' Association was formed by residents who were concerned about the state of maintenance of the public areas of the estate. By Easter 2007 the association had over 500 members and expanded its interests to cover topics such as litter on the estate, speeding on the main spine and loop roads and the adoption of the estate's roads by the County Council, in addition to the association's primary aim which was to take over the Estate Management company responsible for the upkeep of the public areas of the estate. Davenham parish council along with Moulton parish council decided in 2007 to part-fund a

Police Community Support Officer A police community support officer (PCSO; ), or as written in legislation Community Support Officer (CSO; ), is a uniformed member of police staff in England and Wales, a role created by Section 38(2) of the Police Reform Act 2002, which was giv ...

(PCSO) in order to keep a police presence in Davenham and Kingsmead. Due to policing boundaries it was decided that one PCSO from Winsford Neighbourhood Policing Unit would police Davenham and Moulton, whilst a PCSO from Northwich would cover Kingsmead and Leftwich. The village has a football team Davenham FC, who most notably reached the final of the 1887 Welsh FA Cup. The church of St. Wilfrid goes back to the Domesday period but the current edifice is the fourth on the site, dating from a major reconstruction between 1844 and 1870 in the Victorian Gothic revival style. The tower has a recessed spire built in 1850. Legend says that the church was founded by

St Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...

on a journey through Cheshire in the 7th Century, but the first documented evidence of a church on the site is an existing priest and church in 1086. Davenham's main primary school is Davenham

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Primary School. However, the parish now includes parts of the Kingsmead development, which includes Kingsmead Primary School. Both schools are feeder schools to

's County High School and more distant high schools such as

Weaverham High School Weaverham High School is a coeducational secondary school located in Weaverham, Cheshire, England. Weaverham High School is one of the partner high schools of Sir John Deane's College. Many pupils from the school that go on to attend sixth fo ...

or The Grange in

Northwich Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane, east of Chester, south of Warrington and south of Ma ...

Governance

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 t ...

in the name of Davenham and Moulton exists, covering much of Davenham and stretching to areas including

and

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

. The total population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,565, while Davenham proper had a population of 2,745 (down from 5,655 at the 2001 census).Office for National Statistics : ''Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Vale Royal''
Retrieved 2009-12-14

Notable people

Adam Walton Adam Walton (born 17 April 1999) is an Australian professional tennis player. Walton has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 85 achieved on 31 March 2025. He also has a career high doubles ranking of No. 136 achieved on 4 March 2024 ...

(born 1971 in Davenham), radio disc jockey, presents shows on

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Wales, Welsh national radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the Welsh opt-out service of BBC Radio 4. As of August 2022, the stat ...

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a British former long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 200 ...

(born 1973 in Davenham), long-distance runner, three-time winner of the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

in 2002, 2003 & 2005. * Steve Woods (born 1976 in Davenham), former footballer who played in 364 games incl. 249 at

Torquay United F.C. Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

References

External links

Davenham Parish Council website

St. Wilfrids Church website

Kingsmead Primary school website
{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Civil parishes in Cheshire

Overview

Governance

Notable people

See also

References

External links