Portal:Cheshire
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The Cheshire Portal
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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, 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 1,028,600, 19th highest in England, with a population density of 439 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
All Saints' Church, Runcorn is a grade-II*-listed parish church that stands on the south bank of the River Mersey, overlooking Runcorn Gap. Designed by Anthony Salvin, it was built in 1847–49; Hartwell and co-authors in the Buildings of England series describe it as "more generous and rounded than many of Salvin's other later churches." The first church on the site is said to have been founded by Ethelfleda in 915, when she built a castle nearby. The present building replaced a medieval church of around 1250. The church is built in local sandstone in Early English style with a steeple at the southwest corner, consisting of a square tower with an octagonal spire rising to 161 feet (49 m), which Hartwell and co-authors describe as "high" and "graceful." Some of the furniture in the church was moved from the previous building, as were some of the memorials, the majority of which are to members of the Brooke family from nearby Norton Priory. A former hearse house in the churchyard dates from about 1833. Selected picture
Emma, Lady Hamilton (1761–1815), best known as the mistress of Horatio Nelson, was born at Ness, the daughter of a blacksmith. Renowned for her beauty, she became the muse of portraitist George Romney, inspiring more than 60 pictures. This portrait dates from 1785. Selected list
Chester city walls surround the medieval extent of Chester. The circuit of the walls extends for 2 miles (3 km), rises to a height of 40 feet (12.2 m), and "is the most complete circuit of Roman and medieval defensive town wall in Britain." The walls and associated structures are a scheduled monument, and almost all parts are listed, mainly at grade I. The walls originated between 70 and 90 AD as defences for the Roman fortress of Deva Victrix. The earliest walls were earth ramparts surmounted by wooden palisades, with wooden gates and towers. Rebuilding in sandstone started at the end of the 1st century and took over 100 years. The existing circuit was completed by the end of the 12th century. The four main gates were replaced during the 18th and early 19th centuries. By the 18th century the walls were becoming popular as a promenade, and £1,000 (now £150,000) was spent in 1707 on repairs and paving the footway. Distinguished visitors who walked the walls at that time included John Wesley and Samuel Johnson. They remain a significant tourist attraction. In this month
November 1867: Grosvenor Park, Chester (pictured) opened. 1 November 1831: Harry Atkinson, Premier of New Zealand, born in Broxton. 4 November 1553: Lawyer Roger Wilbraham born in Nantwich. 7 November 1805: Railway builder Thomas Brassey born in Bulkeley. 11 November 1662: Lawyer John Chesshyre born in Halton. 14 November 1762: Tarporley Hunt Club first met. 15 November 1941: Author Heathcote Williams born in Helsby. 22 November 1961: Pianist Stephen Hough born in Heswall. 24 November 1935: Cyclist Vin Denson born in Chester. 24 November 1955: Cricketer Ian Botham born in Heswall. 26 November 1574: River Weaver in Nantwich flooded, affecting 40 dwellings and 24 salthouses. 29 November 1933: Musician John Mayall born in Macclesfield. 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. Recommended articlesPlaces: Bradwall • Middlewich • Runcorn • Widnes Sights: Adlington Hall • All Saints' Church, Runcorn • Beeston Castle • Capesthorne Hall • Chester Cathedral • Chester Rows • Cholmondeley Castle • Churche's Mansion • Crewe Hall • Eaton Hall • Gawsworth Old Hall • Halton Castle • Jodrell Bank Observatory • Little Moreton Hall History: Battle of Rowton Heath • Deva Victrix • Eddisbury hill fort • Lindow Man Geography & Transport: A500 road • Bridgewater Canal • Chester Canal • Manchester Ship Canal People: Jonathan Agnew Lists: Castles Selected biography
William "Billy" Windsor I is a cashmere goat who served as a lance corporal in the 1st Battalion, the Royal Welsh, an infantry battalion of the British Army, based at Chester. The tradition of having goats in the military originated in 1775, when a wild goat walked onto the battlefield in Boston during the Battle of Bunker Hill and led the Welsh regimental colours. Although descended from the same bloodline as the original royal herd, presented to Queen Victoria in 1837 by Mohammad Shah Qajar, the Shah of Persia, Billy was born in Whipsnade Zoo. He was presented to the regiment by Queen Elizabeth II in 2001, in a tradition dating back to 1844. His primary duty was to march at the head of the battalion on all ceremonial duties. He was deployed overseas, and paraded before royalty. His handler carried the title "Goat Major". Billy retired to Whipsnade Zoo in 2009. Did you know...
In the news
28 October: Hari Hi-Way, a three-year-old elephant, died at Chester Zoo only six weeks after the death of his sister Bala. 10 August: The M56 motorway was closed for 10 hours due to a fire in a tanker carrying propane gas near Helsby. 1 August: The pilot was killed when his Folland Gnat plane crashed in an air display near Oulton Park. 31 July: Two human skeletons, buried at least 400 years ago, are found within the walls of Halton Castle during excavations. 27 July: Round Tower Lodge, Sandiway, rebuilt after demolition following a road traffic accident. 18 July: Four people are missing following explosions and a fire at a wood treatment works in Bosley. 13 July: The first phase of a new project called Islands opens at Chester Zoo. QuotationThe ayr is very wholesome, insomuch that the people of the countrey are seldom infected with Diseases or Sicknesse, neither do they use the help of the Physicians, nothing so much, as in other countries: For when any of them are sick, they make him a posset, and tye a kerchieff on his head; and if that will not amend him, then God be merciful to him! The people there live till they be very old; some are Grandfathers, their Fathers yet living; and some are Grandfathers before they be married. From The Vale Royall of England by Daniel King (1656)
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