|
The Cheshire Portal
Welcome Cheshire Plain from the Mid Cheshire Ridge
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in the North West of England. Chester is the county town, and formerly gave its name to the county. The largest town is Warrington, and other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Macclesfield, Nantwich, Northwich, Runcorn, Sandbach, Widnes, Wilmslow and Winsford. The county is administered as four unitary authorities. Cheshire occupies a boulder clay plain (pictured) which separates the hills of North Wales from the Peak District of Derbyshire. The county covers an area of 2,343 km2 (905 sq mi), with a high point of 559 m (1,834 ft) elevation. The estimated population is a little over one million, 19th highest in England, with a population density of around 450 people per km2. The county was created in around 920, but the area has a long history of human occupation dating back to before the last Ice Age. Deva was a major Roman fort, and Cheshire played an important part in the Civil War. Predominantly rural, the county is historically famous for the production of Cheshire cheese, salt and silk. During the 19th century, towns in the north of the county were pioneers of the chemical industry, while Crewe became a major railway junction and engineering facility. Selected article
The Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey. When it was constructed in the mid 1950s, it was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m (250 ft) in diameter. It is now the third largest, after the Green Bank and Effelsberg telescopes. It forms part of the MERLIN and European VLBI Network arrays of radio telescopes. Originally known as the 250 ft telescope or the Radio Telescope at Jodrell Bank, then as the Mark I telescope when future telescopes (the Mark II, III and IV) were being discussed around 1961, it was renamed the Lovell Telescope in 1987 after Bernard Lovell. Lovell and Charles Husband were both knighted for their roles in creating the telescope. The Lovell Telescope became a Grade I listed building in 1988, and won the BBC's online competition to find the UK's greatest "Unsung Landmark" in 2006. Selected image
Salt-making by the open-pan method dates back to the Roman occupation, and was one of Cheshire's major industries. The Lion Salt Works was the last place in the county to use the method. It closed in 1986, when this picture was taken, and is now a museum. Credit: Chris Allen (8 June 1986) In this month
July 1538: Dissolution of Combermere Abbey. July 1804: Runcorn to Latchford Canal opened. 1 July 1869: Statue of Richard Grosvenor unveiled in Grosvenor Park. 4 July 1837: First trains crossed Dutton Viaduct. 4 July 1887: Queens Park, Crewe dedicated. 11 July 1910: Pulp author Hugh B. Cave born in Chester. 11 July 1978: Hybrid elephant Motty born at Chester Zoo. 14 July 1876: Chapel builder Thomas Hazlehurst born in Runcorn. 17 July 924: Edward the Elder (pictured) died at Farndon or Aldford. 17 July 1256: Edward, heir of Henry III and Lord of Chester, first visited Chester. 17 July 2015: An explosion at a wood-treatment mill in Bosley killed four employees. 20 July 1376: Charter of disafforestation of Wirral issued. 20 July 1816: Histologist and ophthalmologist William Bowman born in Nantwich. 21 July 1961: Silver Jubilee Bridge officially opened by Princess Alexandra. 23 July 1403: Sir Richard Venables and Richard de Vernon executed for supporting Henry "Hotspur" Percy in the Battle of Shrewsbury. 27 July 1962: Olympic gold medallist swimmer Neil Brooks born in Crewe. 29 July 1940: Crewe hit by first Cheshire air raid of Second World War. Selected list
The output of Chester-based architect John Douglas (1830–1911) included 40 new churches, as well as work on existing churches and church furniture. The majority of his works were in Cheshire and North Wales. His architectural styles were eclectic, but as he worked during the Gothic Revival period much of his output incorporates elements of the English Gothic style. His new churches (St Wenefrede's, Bickley pictured) date from the early 1860s until his death. They are in a range of materials including sandstone and red and other coloured brick; a few examples use half-timbering. His church restorations were influenced by the Oxford Movement, which advocated a shift in emphasis from preaching to the sacrament of the Eucharist, and thus from the pulpit to the altar. Consequences of this included moving the pulpit from a more central position to the side of the church, replacing box pews with open pews, creating a central aisle to give a better view of the altar, and removing galleries; a larger chancel was also required for the associated ritual. One of the hallmarks of Douglas' designs is the attention to detail, especially in wooden articles, and his church furniture often incorporates highly detailed wood carving. GeographyTop: Map of modern Cheshire showing urban areas (grey) and the major road network. Chester (red) is the county town, and Warrington has the greatest population. Towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants in 2011 are highlighted; the size of dot gives a rough indication of the relative population. Wales and the adjacent English counties are shown in capitals. Bottom: Relief map showing the major hills. The Mid Cheshire Ridge is a discontinuous ridge of low hills running north–south from Beacon Hill (north of Helsby Hill) to Bickerton Hill. Most other high ground falls within the Peak District in the east of the county. Shining Tor (559 metres), on the boundary with Derbyshire, forms the county's high point.
Administration The ceremonial county of Cheshire is administered by four unitary authorities (click on the map for details): 2 – Cheshire East 3 – Warrington 4 – Halton In the local government reorganisation of 1974, Cheshire gained an area formerly in Lancashire including Widnes and Warrington. The county lost Tintwistle to Derbyshire, part of the Wirral Peninsula to Merseyside, and a northern area including Stockport, Altrincham, Sale, Hyde, Dukinfield and Stalybridge to Greater Manchester. Selected biography
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult (8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Born in Chester, he was educated at Westminster School, Christ Church, Oxford, and the Leipzig Conservatory, where he learned to conduct by watching the eminent Hungarian conductor Arthur Nikisch. He made his concert debut in 1914, and conducted the first performance of Holst's The Planets in 1918. Boult conducted the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra 1924–30 and 1959–60, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for twenty years from its inception in 1930. After his controversial enforced retirement from the BBC Symphony, he became Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he held until 1957. He continued to conduct and make recordings until 1981. Particularly associated with 20th century British music, Boult's prolific recordings include the complete Vaughan Williams symphonies, as well as many works by Elgar and Holst. The main auditorium (pictured) of the Birmingham Conservatoire was named for him. Did you know...
Selected town or village
Peckforton is a scattered settlement and civil parish covering 1,754 acres (710 ha), near Malpas. The population was around 150 in 2006. The Peckforton Hills form the western part of the parish, with high points at Peckforton Point and Stanner Nab (around 200 metres). They are the source of the Weaver and Gowy rivers. Part of Peckforton Woods, largely planted in 1922, form a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The hills have been quarried since the Roman era. Peckforton appears in the Domesday survey of 1086. The area is predominantly agricultural. The earliest surviving buildings date from the early 17th century. Peckforton and the adjacent Beeston were part of an estate purchased by John Tollemache in 1840. He had Peckforton Castle – a mansion designed by Anthony Salvin in imitation of a medieval castle – built at the northern end of the Peckforton ridge. A local stone mason carved an elephant bearing a castle in red sandstone from the same quarry. Many of the local buildings were constructed for Tollemache using brick in the 1860s and 1870s. In the news.JPG) Crewe Market Hall 29 October, 1 November: Warrington council and the mayor of Crewe each announce plans to bid for city status in 2022. 13–14 October: Prince Edward visits Chester and opens a Fire Service training centre in Winsford. 8 October: Castle Street shopping area in Macclesfield reopens after refurbishment. 4 October: Restoration of the grade-I-listed Bridgegate, part of Chester city walls, is completed. 25 September: A bronze frieze by the sculptor Tom Murphy is unveiled in Warrington, as a memorial to the band Viola Beach. 9 September: The fifth stage of the Tour of Britain cycle race takes place in Cheshire, starting at Alderley Park and finishing in Warrington. 24 July: The grade-II-listed Crewe Market Hall (pictured) formally reopens after refurbishment. 15 July: Crewe, Runcorn and Warrington are awarded potential funding under the "Town Deal" government scheme. QuotationThis is a pretty Rich land; ... its much on Enclosures and I passed by severall large pooles of waters, but what I wonder'd at was yt tho' this shire is remarkable for a greate deale of greate Cheeses and Dairys I did not see more than 20 or 30 Cowes in a troope feeding, but on Enquiry find ye Custome of ye Country to joyn their milking together of a whole village and so make their great Cheeses. From Through England on a Side Saddle by Celia Fiennes (1698)
Subcategories
TopicsRecommended articles.svg) Things you can do
WikiProject Related portalsAssociated WikimediaThe following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
Discover Wikipedia using portals | ||||||
