Bridgemere is a village (at ) 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the unitary authority of

Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council. Towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Co ...

and the 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 around south east of

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

and west of

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

. The southern boundary of the parish is on the border with

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. The civil parish also includes the small settlements of Admiral's Gorse, Parrah Green, Prince Hill, Seven Stars and Wheel Green.Genuki: Bridgemere
(accessed 30 January 2009) The total population is a little under 150. Nearby towns include

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

in Cheshire,

Market Drayton Market Drayton is a market town and electoral ward in the north of Shropshire, England, close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is on the River Tern, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" (c. 1868) and earlier simply as "Dray ...

and Whitchurch in Shropshire, and villages include

Blakenhall Blakenhall is a suburb and ward in Wolverhampton, England. Toponymy and history Blakenhall's name, according to toponymists comes from the Old English 'blæc', meaning 'black' or dark coloured, & 'halh' meaning 'nook' or 'corner'. It was deve ...

, Buerton and

Hankelow Hankelow is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies on the A529 road, A529, around north east of Audlem and south of Nantwi ...

in Cheshire,

Madeley, Staffordshire Madeley is a village and ward in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire, England. It is split into three parts: Madeley, Middle Madeley, and Little Madeley. Madeley Heath is also considered by many to be part of Madeley. In ...

and

Woore Woore is a village and civil parish in the north east of Shropshire, England, of about 3,950 acres (1,600 hectares). It had a population of 1,004 in the 2001 Census, rising to 1,069 at the 2011 Census. Etymology The name means "boundary" in an ...

, Shropshire.

History

Bridgemere was originally a township in the

ancient 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. ...

of Wybunbury in the Nantwich Hundred. During the medieval period, it had an iron foundry.Cheshire Federation of Women's Institutes. ''The Cheshire Village Book'' pp. 38–41 (Countryside Books & CFWI; 1990) () One of the two major coaching roads in Cheshire ran from London via Bridgemere to

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 ...

and on to

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

in Wales; it became one of the first turnpike roads in the county in 1743. A coach service between London and Chester ran three times a week from 1657, taking four days over the journey; by 1780, a daily service ran from London to

, and from 1784 the mail coach used the road. The road was improved after 1810, but its use dwindled after 1820 with the coming of the railways. Bridgemere parish had three inns in 1765, one of which was named the Holly Bush. By 1801, there was only a single inn, which had closed by 1821. On 28 October 1944, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, a

Wellington bomber The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

from

RAF Chipping Warden Royal Air Force Chipping Warden or more simply RAF Chipping Warden was a Royal Air Force station located north-east of Banbury near the village of Chipping Warden, Northamptonshire, England. The station was built in early 1941 and opened in Jul ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

crashed at Prince Hill on a training exercise. A memorial to the six airmen who died in the crash was dedicated in 2003. In 1972, of land near Bridgemere Hall were landscaped and stocked with waterfowl to form Bridgemere Wildlife Park. The park expanded into a zoo before its closure in 1992.

Governance

Bridgemere is administered by Doddington and District Parish Council, which also includes the parishes of

Checkley cum Wrinehill Checkley cum Wrinehill is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which lies adjacent to the boundaries with Shropshire and Staffordshire. The hamlet of Checkley (at ) lies to th ...

, Doddington, Hunsterson and

Lea Lea or LEA may refer to: Places Australia * Lea River, Tasmania, Australia * Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows * RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA" England * Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish * Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...

.Doddington and District Parish Council Official Web Site
(accessed 18 August 2007) From 1974 the civil parish was served by

Crewe and Nantwich Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population (2001 census) of 111,007. It contained 69 civ ...

Borough Council, which was succeeded on 1 April 2009 by the new

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

. Bridgemere falls in the parliamentary constituency of

, which has been represented by

Kieran Mullan Kieran Mullan (born 6 June 1984) is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Crewe and Nantwich at the 2019 general election. Early life and career Mullan was born in 1984. He grew up in so ...

since 2019, after being represented by Laura Smith (2017–19),

Edward Timpson Anthony Edward Timpson, (born 26 December 1973) is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eddisbury in Cheshire at the 2019 general election. He was previously MP for neighbouring Crewe a ...

(2008–17) and

Gwyneth Dunwoody Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody (née Phillips; 12 December 1930 – 17 April 2008) was a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter from 1966 to 1970, and then for Crewe (later Crewe and Nantwich) from February 1 ...

(1983–2008).

Geography and transport

The civil parish has a total area of .Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council: Parish Statistics (downloaded fro

5 April 2010) The terrain is gently undulating, with high points of 110 metres at south of Admiral's Gorse and 102 metres at Prince Hill (). The area is predominantly rural, with the major land use being agricultural. There are several small areas of woodland within the parish, including Acorn Coppice, Lea's Wood, Harrow's Wood, Threeper's Drumble and part of Shaw's Rough. Forge Brook and several other unnamed brooks run through the parish, and there are many scattered small meres and ponds.Cheshire County Council: Interactive Mapping: Bridgemere
(accessed 30 January 2009)Ordnance Survey Explorer 257: Crewe & Nantwich A small area of Doddington, Cheshire, Doddington Park, including part of Doddington Pool, falls within the civil parish north of Hunterson Road. Landscaped in the 18th century by

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

, the park is listed at grade II by the

National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

. The A51 trunk road runs north–south through the civil parish. Hunterson Road (Bridgemere Lane) runs east–west towards the north of the parish, and Dingle Lane runs southwards from Hunterson Road; the village is centred on the junction of the two lanes.

Demographics

In 2006, the total population of the civil parish was estimated as 130. The 2001 census recorded a population of 133 in 49 households, the population increasing to 148 at the 2011 Census. The historical population figures for the parish were 125 (1664), 230 (1801), 233 (1821), 220 (1851), 149 (1901) and 141 (1951).

Bridgemere Garden World

Bridgemere Garden World is on the A51 about 2 km south of the village. With a total area of , it is one of the largest garden centres in Europe, and receives around 1.8 million annual visitors.Sampson, Katie. Who's the pick of the bunch in the garden centre world? ''Independent'' (22 March 2000)
(accessed 30 January 2009)
& ttp://cmsen.eghn.org/etpg-bridgemere-garten.html The Garden (accessed 30 January 2009) The garden centre sells over five thousand plant varieties, most of which are grown locally, as well as garden furniture and accessories. A display garden dating from around 1985 is open to the public free of charge. Designed to inspire amateur gardeners, it is composed of more than twenty separate gardens, including English country, Victorian, Mediterranean, woodland, water, rose and patio gardens. The display also includes recreations of prize-winning gardens from the

Tatton Park Tatton Park is an historic estate in Cheshire, England, north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a medieval manor house, Tatton Old Hall, Tatton Park Gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attr ...

and

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the ''Great Spring Show'',Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural ...

s, as well as the garden in which the 1993 television series ''Gardener's Diary'' was filmed. Other facilities include a restaurant and coffee shop. It was founded in 1961 as a small rose nursery with three employees, described as "a little garden shed in a small field".Royal Horticultural Society: General news (July 2006)
(accessed 30 January 2009) By 1990, the garden centre employed 140 people and included of plant displays, as well as the largest collection of house plants in Europe. Founder John Ravenscroft holds the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Veitch Memorial Medal The Veitch Memorial Medal is an international prize issued annually by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). Goal The prize is awarded to "persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement o ...

and was awarded the RHS

Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...

in 2008. He also won a lifetime achievement award from Garden Retail in 2007. In 2006, Bridgemere Garden World was acquired for £15 million by

Wyevale Garden Centres Wyevale Garden Centres (formerly The Garden Centre Group) was a British chain of garden centres. At its height, it was the largest garden centre operator in the United Kingdom, with 154 locations in England and Wales. It became the largest garden ...

. Wyevale announced plans in 2008 to demolish the existing buildings and redevelop the site.Horticulture Week: Wyevale to flatten Bridgemere Garden world in makeover (1 October 2008)
(accessed 30 January 2009)

Other landmarks

Bridgemere Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was built in 1831. Bridgemere Hall () is a 19th-century mansion on Hunterson Road. An RAF war memorial is located by the A51 at .

Education

Bridgemere Church of England Primary School is located on Bridgemere Lane at , and serves the civil parish of Bridgemere as well as the adjacent parishes of Hunsterson and

. Bridgemere falls within the catchment area of Brine Leas High School in

.Cheshire County Council: Interactive Mapping: Brine Leas High School
(accessed 30 January 2009)

References

External links

Bridgemere Church of England Primary School website
{{authority control Civil parishes in Cheshire Villages in Cheshire Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England