Ashton Hayes 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
, now in the parish of
Ashton Hayes and Horton-cum-Peel, in the unitary authority of
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 str ...
and 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 county t ...
, England. It is located about 8 miles east of
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 ...
on the
B5393 road. The nearest villages are
Mouldsworth
Mouldsworth is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Chester in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is about 8 miles north east of Chester city centre on the B5393 roa ...
to the north east and
Kelsall
Kelsall is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located around east of Chester, west of Northwich and north west of Tarporley. The village is s ...
to the south east. According to the
2011 Census it had a population of 936.
The main village in the parish – formerly known as Ashton – was renamed Ashton Hayes following a referendum, to avoid confusion with other places of the same name. The civil parish was abolished in 2015 to form Ashton Hayes and Horton-cum-Peel, part of it also went to
Mouldsworth
Mouldsworth is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Chester in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is about 8 miles north east of Chester city centre on the B5393 roa ...
.
History
In 1086, the village 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as comprising 12 households and lying within the hundred of Rushton in the county of Cheshire.
Medieval pottery kiln
In 1933 a pottery kiln, which had been in use between the 13th and 15th century, was discovered in the garden of Smithy House. When excavated, it was found to consist of an oval structure with a stoke-hole on the southeast side. It contained thousands of fragments of broken pottery. Some of these have been reconstructed, forming about 30 objects, mainly jugs and
pitchers
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
, which are now in the
Grosvenor Museum
Grosvenor Museum is a museum in Chester, Cheshire, in the United Kingdom. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. Its full title is The Grosvenor Museum of Natural History and Archa ...
,
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 ...
. The site of the kiln is a
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
.
Carbon neutrality
In November 2005, the Ashton Hayes Parish Council agreed that the village should try to become England's first
carbon neutral
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
village and launched a programme starting 26 January 2006.
The move is supported by the local community, businesses, the local council and
The Energy Saving Trust. In July 2006 the total annual output of
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
from the village was calculated by students from the
University of Chester
, mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching"
, former_names =
, established = (gained university status in 2005)
, type = Public
, endowment = £395,000 (2018)
, budget = £118.3 million
, chancellor = Gyles Brandreth
, vice_chancello ...
at 4,765.76
tonnes
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States ...
.
With the aid of a
DEFRA DEFRA may refer to:
* Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law
* Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department
{{Disambiguation ...
grant, a film was made explaining the issues and the villagers' efforts, and intended to receive its premier in the village on 25 January 2007.
It is hoped that the film will increase awareness and encourage other communities to adopt the concept.
Measures taken to offset or reduce this have included installing
house insulation, installing
energy saving light bulbs and
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s, and a large number of trees have been planted. In the first year of the programme the village reduced its carbon footprint by 20%. In the 10 years since, the figure rose to 40%.
The programme has inspired other towns and cities to adopt similar models.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Ashton Hayes
Ashton Hayes is a former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashton Hayes and Horton-cum-Peel, in Cheshire West and Chester, England. It contains six buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed bui ...
*
Carbon footprint
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...
*
Bioenergy Village
{{Unreferenced, date=April 2021
A bio-energy village is a regionally oriented concept for the use of renewable energy sources in rural areas. The system uses biomass from local agriculture and forestry in a biogas powerplant to meet the complet ...
*
Sustainable energy
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenh ...
*
Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
Energy in the United Kingdom came mostly from fossil fuels in 2021. Total World energy supply and consumption, energy consumption in the United Kingdom was 142.0millionTonne of oil equivalent, tonnes of oil equivalent (1,651TWh) in 2019. In 20 ...
*
Baywind Energy Co-operative
Baywind Energy Co-operative was the first co-operative to own wind turbines in the United Kingdom.
Baywind was modelled on the similar wind turbine cooperatives and other renewable energy co-operatives that are common in Scandinavia, and was fou ...
*
2000 Watt society
References
External links
Ashton Hayes Parish CouncilAshton Hayes County Primary SchoolAshton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral ProjectGoing Carbon Neutral (PowerPoint presentation)*
{{authority control
Villages in Cheshire
Former civil parishes in Cheshire
Energy conservation in the United Kingdom
Cheshire West and Chester