Tattenhall 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of Tattenhall and District, south-east of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, in the unitary authority area of

Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to l ...

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. In the 2001 census, the population was recorded as 1,986, increasing to 2,079 by the 2011 census.

History

The settlement of ''Tatenale'' was 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. The name is believed to be derived from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

personal name ''Tata'' and ''halh'', meaning "a meadow" or "nook of land". The spelling of the village has altered over the centuries: ''Tatenhala'' (1280), ''Tattenhall'' (1289), ''Tatnall'' (1473), ''Tottenhall'' (1553) and ''Tettenhall'' (1649). The village was a self-sustained settlement in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The building of the Chester Canal (now part 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 ...

) provided an economic boost to the village, improving transportation and allowing local produce to be exported. Tattenhall Road railway station opened in 1840 and linked Tattenhall to Chester and Crewe. Tattenhall railway station opened in 1872, linking the village with Whitchurch. The railways led to the establishment of industries including the manufacture of glue, gelatine, fertiliser and bricks. Tattenhall railway station closed in 1957, as did the Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway between Chester and Whitchurch. Tattenhall Road railway station closed in 1966. New housing developments saw the village expand through the second half of the twentieth century. Tattenhall was a township and parish within Broxton Hundred, which became a civil parish in 1866. The population was recorded at 606 in 1801, 982 in 1851, 975 in 1901, 1,049 in 1951 and 1,986 in 2001. The civil parish was abolished on 1 April 2015 to form "Tattenhall and District".

Community

St Alban's Church is designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

as a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Parts of the building are thought to date from the early sixteenth century. Its

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

is combined with that of All Saints, Handley. St Plegmund's Roman Catholic church in the village closed in 2012. Its 1970s building was demolished in 2014. Tattenhall Park Primary School is a coeducational community primary school, teaching pupils aged 3–11. Older pupils travel to schools in Malpas and Tarporley for state-provided secondary education. The village centre has a number of shops including a post office and butcher. There are three pubs in Tattenhall: The Sportmans, The Letters Inn and The Bear & Ragged Staff. A number of buildings in the centre of the village are now used as offices. Within Tattenhall are several houses designed in 1927 by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Clough Williams-Ellis Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Military Cross, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate architecture, Italianate village of Portmeirion in North ...

, famous for creating the Italianate village of

Portmeirion Portmeirion (; ) is a folly* * * tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Dwyryd in the community (Wales), community of Penrhyndeudraeth, from Porthmadog and from Minffordd railway station. Portmeirion was d ...

in north west

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Although agriculture remains an important element of the local economy, tourism has also become more significant. The Ice Cream Farm, owned by Cheshire Farm Ice Cream, is to the north of the village in nearby Newton-by-Tattenhall. Established in 1986, it is the ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'' ‘Largest Ice Cream Shop’. The 300 berth Tattenhall Marina on the Shropshire Union Canal opened in 2009.

Governance

The unitary authority of

Council replaced

Chester City Council Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West and Chester. It is ...

and Cheshire County Council on 1 April 2009. The Tattenhall

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 ...

includes the villages of Beeston, Burwardsley and Handley, stretching east to Tilstone Fearnall and south to Broxton. In the 2001 census, the total population of the ward was recorded at 4,374. Tattenhall is within the parliamentary constituency of

Chester South and Eddisbury Chester South and Eddisbury is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. The Member of P ...

. There are fifteen parish councillors for Tattenhall and District, with the most recent election taking place on 4 May 2023, although it was uncontested.

Notable residents

* Edward Ould (1852–1909), an architect. * Herbert Watkins-Pitchford (1868–1951), pioneer veterinarian working in South Africa, born and raised in Tattenhall * Leslie Jones (1891–1962), cricketer * Harry Threadgold (1924-1996), football goalkeeper, who played 438 games, incl. 343 for

Southend United F.C. Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League (English football), National League, the fifth English football league system, level of En ...

* Tommy Scott (born 1964), frontman/songwriter of the Liverpool band

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

, moved to Tattenhall in 2008 * Ben Woodburn (born 1999), footballer, raised locally, played over 125 games and 11 for

References

External links