Cheshire ( ) is a

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular ...

and

historic History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

county in

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

, bordered by

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

to the west,

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...

and

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

to the north,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

to the east, and

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

and

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 ...

to the south. Cheshire's

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

is the cathedral city 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 ...

, while its largest town by population is

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

. Other towns in the county include

Alsager Alsager ( ) is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located to the north-west of Stoke-on-Trent and east of Crewe. The town's population was 13,389 at the 2021 census. ''The Mere'' is a ...

Congleton Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Topon ...

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 ...

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...

Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is s ...

Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town in the borough of Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England. Knutsford is south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and 12.5 miles (20 km) south-east of Warrington. The population at the 2011 Census was ...

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...

Middlewich Middlewich is a town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, east of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,595 ...

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. ...

Neston Neston is a town and civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in Cheshire, England. It is part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The village of Parkgate is located to the north west and the villages of Little Neston and Nes ...

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

, Poynton,

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is the name of a historic market town and a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach itself as the largest, Elworth, Ettiley Heath a ...

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census. History Toponymy Wilmslow derives its name from Old ...

, and

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining indust ...

. Cheshire is split into the administrative districts of

Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Gover ...

Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council. Towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Congleton, Sandbach, Wilmslow, H ...

, Halton, and

. The county covers and has a population of around 1.1 million as of 2021. It is mostly rural, with a number of towns and villages supporting the agricultural and chemical industries; it is primarily known for producing chemicals, Cheshire cheese, salt, and silk. It has also had an impact on popular culture, producing notable figures such as ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' author

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

; musicians

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...

, Ian Curtis, and

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series '' The X Factor''. Following his elimination, he was brough ...

; actors

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

, and

Pete Postlethwaite Peter William Postlethwaite, (7 February 1946 – 2 January 2011) was an English character actor. After minor television appearances, including in '' The Professionals'', his first major success arose through the British autobiographical fil ...

; and athletes

Shauna Coxsey Shauna Coxsey (born 27 January 1993) is an English professional rock climber. She is the most successful competition climber in the UK, having won the IFSC Bouldering World Cup Season in both 2016 and 2017. She retired from competition climbi ...

Tyson Fury Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title since defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020, and '' The Ring'' magazine title from 2020 to August 202 ...

, and

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Marath ...

Toponymy

Cheshire's name was originally derived from an early name for Chester, and was first recorded as ''Legeceasterscir'' in the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of A ...

'',Harris, B. E. and Thacker, A. T. (1987). p. 237. meaning "the shire of the city of legions".Crosby, A. (1996). page 31. Although the name first appears in 980, it is thought that the county was created by

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin ...

around 920. 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 ...

, Chester was recorded as having the name ''Cestrescir'' (Chestershire), derived from the name for Chester at the time. A series of changes that occurred as English itself changed, together with some simplifications and

elision In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run toget ...

, resulted in the name Cheshire, as it occurs today. Because of the historically close links with the land bordering Cheshire to the west, which became modern

, there is a history of interaction between Cheshire and North Wales. The Domesday Book records Cheshire as having two complete Hundreds (Atiscross and Exestan) that later became the principal part of

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. Additionally, another large portion of the Duddestan Hundred later became known as

Maelor Saesneg English Maelor ( cy, Maelor Saesneg) comprises one half of the Maelor region on the Welsh side of the Wales-England border, being the area of the Maelor east of the River Dee. The region has changed counties several times, previously being part ...

when it was transferred to North Wales. For this and other reasons, the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it h ...

name for Cheshire (''Swydd Gaerlleon'') is sometimes used.

History

Earldom

Wales 1234 (Marchia Wallie and Pura Wallia)

After the Norman conquest of 1066 by

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

, dissent and resistance continued for many years after the invasion. In 1069 local resistance in Cheshire was finally put down using draconian measures as part of the

Harrying of the North The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate northern England, where the presence of the last Wessex claimant, Edgar Ætheling, had encouraged Anglo- Danish re ...

. The ferocity of the campaign against the English populace was enough to end all future resistance. Examples were made of major landowners such as Earl

Edwin of Mercia Edwin (Old English: ''Ēadwine'') (died 1071) was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's d ...

, their properties confiscated and redistributed amongst Norman barons. The earldom was sufficiently independent from the kingdom of England that the 13th-century

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by t ...

did not apply to the shire of

, so the

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant " chieftain", particu ...

wrote up his own Chester Charter at the petition of his barons.

County Palatine

William I made Cheshire a

county palatine In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating t ...

and gave Gerbod the Fleming the new title of

Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...

. When Gerbod returned to

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

in about 1070, the king used his absence to declare the earldom forfeit and gave the title to Hugh d'Avranches (nicknamed Hugh Lupus, or "wolf"). Because of Cheshire's strategic location on the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...

, the Earl had complete autonomous powers to rule on behalf of the king in the county palatine.

Hundreds

Cheshire in the

(1086) is recorded as a much larger county than it is today. It included two hundreds, Atiscross and Exestan, that later became part of North

. At the time of the Domesday Book, it also included as part of Duddestan Hundred the area of land later known as

English Maelor English Maelor ( cy, Maelor Saesneg) comprises one half of the Maelor region on the Welsh side of the Wales-England border, being the area of the Maelor east of the River Dee. The region has changed counties several times, previously being par ...

(which used to be a detached part of

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

) in Wales. The area between the

Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

and Ribble (referred to in the Domesday Book as "Inter Ripam et Mersam") formed part of the returns for Cheshire.Sylvester (1980). p. 14. Although this has been interpreted to mean that at that time south Lancashire was part of Cheshire, more exhaustive research indicates that the boundary between Cheshire and what was to become Lancashire remained the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...

. With minor variations in spelling across sources, the complete list of

hundreds of Cheshire The Hundreds of Cheshire, as with other Hundreds in England, were the geographic divisions of Cheshire for administrative, military and judicial purposes. They were introduced in Cheshire some time before the Norman conquest. Later on, both the n ...

at this time are: Atiscross, Bochelau, Chester, Dudestan, Exestan, Hamestan, Middlewich, Riseton, Roelau, Tunendune, Warmundestrou and Wilaveston.

Feudal baronies

There were 8 feudal baronies in Chester, the barons of Kinderton, Halton, Malbank, Mold, Shipbrook, Dunham-Massey, and the honour of Chester itself. Feudal baronies or baronies by tenure were granted by the Earl as forms of

feudal land tenure Under the English feudal system several different forms of land tenure existed, each effectively a contract with differing rights and duties attached thereto. Such tenures could be either free-hold, signifying that they were hereditable or perpe ...

within the palatinate in a similar way to which the king granted

English feudal baronies In the kingdom of England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was the highest degree of feudal land tenure, namely ''per baroniam'' (Latin for "by barony"), under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. The du ...

within England proper. An example is the barony of Halton. One of Hugh d'Avranche's barons has been identified as Robert Nicholls, Baron of Halton and Montebourg.

North Mersey to Lancashire

In 1182, the land north of the Mersey became administered as part of the new county of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, resolving any uncertainty about the county in which the land "Inter Ripam et Mersam" was. Over the years, the ten hundreds consolidated and changed names to leave just seven—Broxton, Bucklow, Eddisbury, Macclesfield, Nantwich, Northwich and Wirral.

Principality: Merging of Palatine and Earldom

In 1397 the county had lands in the

march of Wales The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...

added to its territory, and was promoted to the rank of principality. This was because of the support the men of the county had given to King Richard II, in particular by his standing armed force of about 500 men called the "Cheshire Guard". As a result, the King's title was changed to "King of England and France, Lord of Ireland, and Prince of Chester". No other English county has been honoured in this way, although it lost the distinction on Richard's fall in 1399.

Lieutenancy: North split-off

District

Through the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, some areas in the north became part of the metropolitan counties of

and

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is withi ...

(previously a county borough),

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

, Hyde,

Dukinfield Dukinfield is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, on the south bank of the River Tame opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, east of Manchester. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 19,306. Within the boundaries of the historic c ...

and

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 23,731 at the 2011 Census. Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east of Manchester city centre and north-west of Glossop. When a ...

in the north-east became part of Greater Manchester. Much of the

Wirral Peninsula Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to ...

in the north-west, including the county boroughs of Birkenhead and Wallasey, joined Merseyside as the

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 321,238, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, ...

. At the same time the

Tintwistle Rural District Tintwistle Rural District was a local government district in north east Cheshire, England from 1894 to 1974.Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. The area of south Lancashire not included within either the Merseyside or Greater Manchester counties, including

and the county borough of

, was added to the new non-metropolitan county of Cheshire.Local Government Act 1972

District and Unitary

Halton and

became unitary authorities independent of Cheshire County Council on 1 April 1998, but remain part of Cheshire for ceremonial purposes and also for fire and policing. A referendum for a further local government reform connected with an elected regional assembly was planned for 2004, but was abandoned.

Unitary

As part of the local government restructuring in April 2009,

Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...

and the Cheshire districts were abolished and replaced by two new unitary authorities,

and

. The existing unitary authorities of Halton and

were not affected by the change.

Governance

Current

File:Cheshire unitary labell.png, 220px, The ceremonial county showing the four unitary authorities. Click on the map for more information poly 132 343 74 237 19 152 25 129 215 134 231 120 255 121 298 172 293 195 263 221 221 222 179 257 152 293 175 350

poly 168 293 241 241 285 239 325 225 382 264 383 272 316 308 312 348 225 368

poly 333 175 269 130 267 103 300 82 357 102 480 90 491 189 410 239

poly 313 228 334 183 419 219 354 293

poly 131 105 166 58 182 73 182 94 201 99 207 91 218 105 210 129 183 127 161 121 131 107 Halton poly 188 75 192 30 266 9 296 73 267 82 251 107 234 112

desc none Cheshire has no county-wide elected local council, but it does have a

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibilit ...

under the

Lieutenancies Act 1997 The Lieutenancies Act 1997 (c. 23) is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that defines areas that lord-lieutenants are appointed to in Great Britain. It came into force on 1 July 1997. Creation of modern local government Prior to the Loca ...

and a High Sheriff under the

Sheriffs Act 1887 The Sheriffs Act 1887 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out the appointments and qualifications of sheriffs in England and Wales. The Act gives sheriffs the right to arrest those resisting a warrant (''posse comitat ...

. Local government functions apart from the Police and Fire/Rescue services are carried out by four smaller unitary authorities:

, Halton, and

. All four unitary authority areas have

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, ...

. Policing and fire and rescue services are still provided across the county as a whole. The Cheshire Fire Authority consist of members of the four councils, while governance of

Cheshire Constabulary Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Borough of Halton and Borough of Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an are ...

is performed by the elected

Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner The Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner is the police and crime commissioner, an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by Cheshire Police in the English County of Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and hist ...

. Winsford is a major administrative hub for Cheshire with the Police and Fire & Rescue Headquarters based in the town as well as a majority of Cheshire West and Chester Council. It was also home to the former Vale Royal Borough Council and Cheshire County Council.

Transition into a lieutenancy

From 1 April 1974 the area under the control of the county council was divided into eight local government districts;

Crewe and Nantwich Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population (2001 census) of 111,007. It contained 69 civil parishes and one unparished area: the town of Crewe. It now ...

Ellesmere Port and Neston Ellesmere Port and Neston was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It covered the southern part of the Wirral Peninsula, namely that part which is not included in the Metropolitan Borough of ...

, Halton,

Vale Royal A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municipa ...

and

. Halton (which includes the towns of

and

) and

became

unitary authorities 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 governme ...

in 1998. The remaining districts and the county were abolished as part of local government restructuring on 1 April 2009. The Halton and Warrington boroughs were not affected by the 2009 restructuring. On 25 July 2007, the Secretary of State

Hazel Blears Hazel Anne Blears (born 14 May 1956) is a former British Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Salford and Eccles, previously Salford, from 1997 to 2015. One of 101 female Labour MPs elected at the 1997 g ...

announced she was 'minded' to split Cheshire into two new unitary authorities,

, and

. She confirmed she had not changed her mind on 19 December 2007 and therefore the proposal to split two-tier Cheshire into two would proceed. Cheshire County Council leader Paul Findlow, who attempted High Court legal action against the proposal, claimed that splitting Cheshire would only disrupt excellent services while increasing living costs for all. A widespread sentiment that this decision was taken by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

long ago has often been portrayed via angered letters from Cheshire residents to local papers. On 31 January 2008 ''The Standard'', Cheshire and district's newspaper, announced that the legal action had been dropped. Members against the proposal were advised that they may be unable to persuade the court that the decision of Hazel Blears was "manifestly absurd". The Cheshire West and Chester unitary authority covers the area formerly occupied by the City of Chester and the boroughs of Ellesmere Port and Neston and Vale Royal; Cheshire East now covers the area formerly occupied by the boroughs of Congleton, Crewe and Nantwich, and Macclesfield. The changes were implemented on 1 April 2009.

Congleton Borough Council Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Topo ...

pursued an appeal against the judicial review it lost in October 2007. The appeal was dismissed on 4 March 2008.

Geography

Physical

Cheshire covers a

boulder clay Boulder clay is an unsorted agglomeration of clastic sediment that is unstratified and structureless and contains gravel of various sizes, shapes, and compositions distributed at random in a fine-grained matrix. The fine-grained matrix consists o ...

plain separating the hills of

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, ...

and the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, whe ...

(the area is also known as the Cheshire Gap). This was formed following the retreat of

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

glaciers which left the area dotted with

kettle hole A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...

s, locally referred to as meres. The bedrock of this region is almost entirely

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest per ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

, outcrops of which have long been quarried, notably at

, providing the distinctive red stone for

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in th ...

and

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sa ...

. The eastern half of the county is Upper Triassic

Mercia Mudstone The Mercia Mudstone Group is an early Triassic lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) which is widespread in Britain, especially in the English Midlands – the name is derived from the ancient kingdom of Mercia which corresponds to ...

laid down with large

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

deposits which were mined for hundreds of years around

. Separating this area from Lower Triassic Sherwood Sandstone to the west is a prominent sandstone ridge known as the

Mid Cheshire Ridge The Mid Cheshire Ridge is a range of low sandstone hills which stretch north to south through Cheshire in North West England. The ridge is discontinuous, with the hills forming two main blocks, north and south of the "Beeston Gap". The main mass ...

. A footpath, the

Sandstone Trail The Sandstone Trail is a long-distance walkers' path, following sandstone ridges running north–south from Frodsham in central Cheshire to Whitchurch just over the Shropshire border. The path was created in 1974 and extended in the 1990s. M ...

, follows this ridge from

to Whitchurch passing

Delamere Forest Delamere Forest is a large wood in the village of Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by Forestry England, covers an area of making it the largest area of woodland in the county. It contains a mixture of deciduous and ...

Beeston Castle Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England (), perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232), on his return from th ...

and earlier

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

forts. The highest point (county top) in the historic county of Cheshire was Black Hill (Peak District), Black Hill () near Crowden, Derbyshire, Crowden in the Cheshire Panhandle, a long eastern projection of the county which formerly stretched along the northern side of Longdendale and on the border with the West Riding of Yorkshire. Black Hill is now the highest point in the ceremonial county of West Yorkshire. Within the current ceremonial county and the unitary authority of

the highest point is Shining Tor on the Derbyshire/Cheshire border between

and Buxton, at above sea level. After Shining Tor, the next highest point in Cheshire is Shutlingsloe, at above sea level. Shutlingshoe lies just to the south of Macclesfield Forest and is sometimes humorously referred to as the "Matterhorn of Cheshire" thanks to its distinctive steep profile.

Human

Green belt

Cheshire contains portions of two Green belt (United Kingdom), green belt areas surrounding the large conurbations of Merseyside and Greater Manchester (North Cheshire Green Belt, part of the North West Green Belt) and Stoke-on-Trent (South Cheshire Green Belt, part of the Stoke-on-Trent Green Belt), these were first drawn up from the 1950s. Contained primarily within Cheshire East and Chester West & Chester, with small portions along the borders of the Halton and Warrington districts, towns and cities such as Chester, Macclesfield, Alsager, Congleton, Northwich, Ellesmere Port, Knutsford, Warrington, Poynton, Disley, Neston, Wilmslow, Runcorn, and Widnes are either surrounded wholly, partially enveloped by, or on the fringes of the belts. The North Cheshire Green Belt is contiguous with the Peak District, Peak District Park boundary inside Cheshire.

Borders

The Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county borders

and

in England along with

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham in Wales, arranged by compass directions as shown in the table. below. Cheshire also forms part of the

region.

Flora and fauna

In July 2022, the first beaver was born in Cheshire for the first time in 400 years.

Demography

Population

Based on the Census of 2001, the overall population of Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester is 673,781, of which 51.3% of the population were male and 48.7% were female. Of those aged between 0–14 years, 51.5% were male and 48.4% were female; and of those aged over 75 years, 62.9% were female and 37.1% were male. This increased to 699,735 at the 2011 Census. The population for 2021 is forecast to be 708,000. In 2001, the population density of Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester was 32 people per km², lower than the North West average of 42 people/km² and the England and Wales average of 38 people/km².

and

had a greater urban density than the rest of the county with 92 people/km².

Population change

Ethnicity

In 2001, ethnic white groups accounted for 98% (662,794) of the population, and 10,994 (2%) in ethnic groups other than white. Of the 2% in non-white ethnic groups: *3,717 (34%) belonged to mixed ethnic groups *3,336 (30%) were Asian or Asian British *1,076 (10%) were black or black British *1,826 (17%) were of Chinese ethnic groups *1,039 (9%) were of other ethnic groups.

Religion

In the 2001 Census, 81% of the population (542,413) identified themselves as Christian; 124,677 (19%) did not identify with any religion or did not answer the question; 5,665 (1%) identified themselves as belonging to other major world religions; and 1,033 belonged to other religions. The boundary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester follows most closely the pre-1974 county boundary of Cheshire, so it includes all of Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Wirral,

, and the Cheshire panhandle that included

Tintwistle Rural District Tintwistle Rural District was a local government district in north east Cheshire, England from 1894 to 1974.Cheshire cheese, Salt in Cheshire, salt and silk. The county has seen a number of Cheshire Inventions, Innovations and Firsts, inventions and firsts in its history. A mainly rural county, Cheshire has a high concentration of villages. Agriculture is generally based on the dairy trade, and cattle are the predominant livestock. Land use given to agriculture has fluctuated somewhat, and in 2005 totalled 1558 km² over 4,609 holdings. Based on holdings by EC farm type in 2005, 8.51 km² was allocated to dairy farming, with another 11.78 km² allocated to cattle and sheep. The chemical industry in Cheshire was founded in Roman Britain, Roman times, with the Salt in Cheshire, mining of salt in Middlewich and Northwich. Salt is still mined in the area by British Salt. The salt mining has led to a continued chemical industry around Northwich, with Brunner Mond based in the town. Other chemical companies, including Ineos (formerly Imperial Chemical Industries, ICI), have plants at

. The Essar Refinery (formerly Royal Dutch Shell, Shell Stanlow Refinery) is at Ellesmere Port. The oil refinery has operated since 1924 and has a capacity of 12 million tonnes per year. Crewe was once the centre of the Rail transport in Great Britain, British railway industry, and remains a major railway junction. The Crewe Works, Crewe railway works, built in 1840, employed 20,000 people at its peak, although the workforce is now less than 1,000. Crewe is also the home of Bentley cars. Also within Cheshire are manufacturing plants for Jaguar (car), Jaguar and Vauxhall Motors in Ellesmere Port. The county also has an aircraft industry, with the BAE Systems facility at Woodford Aerodrome, part of BAE System's Military Air Solutions division. The facility designed and constructed Avro Lancaster and Avro Vulcan bombers and the Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod. On the Cheshire border with

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

is the Broughton, Flintshire, Broughton aircraft factory, more recently associated with Airbus. Tourism in Cheshire from within the UK and overseas continues to perform strongly. Over 8 million nights of accommodation (both UK and overseas) and over 2.8 million visits to Cheshire were recorded during 2003. At the start of 2003, there were 22,020 VAT-registered enterprises in Cheshire, an increase of 7% since 1998, many in the business services (31.9%) and wholesale/retail (21.7%) sectors. Between 2002 and 2003 the number of businesses grew in four sectors: public administration and other services (6.0%), hotels and restaurants (5.1%), construction (1.7%), and business services (1.0%). The county saw the largest proportional reduction between 2001 and 2002 in employment in the energy and water sector and there was also a significant reduction in the manufacturing sector. The largest growth during this period was in the other services and distribution, hotels and retail sectors. Cheshire is considered to be an affluent county. However, towns such as Crewe and Winsford have significant deprivation. The county's proximity to the cities of Manchester and Liverpool means counter urbanisation is common. Cheshire West has a fairly large proportion of residents who work in Liverpool and Manchester, while the town of Northwich and area of Cheshire East falls more within Manchester's sphere of influence.

Education

All four Local Education Authority, local education authorities in Cheshire operate only comprehensive state school systems. When

, Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and Bebington were moved from Cheshire to Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Trafford and

in 1974, they took some former Cheshire selective schools. There are two universities based in the county, the University of Chester and the Chester campus of The University of Law. The

campus of Manchester Metropolitan University was scheduled to close in 2019.

Culture

Arts and entertainment

Detail of Lewis Carroll memorial window - geograph

Cheshire has produced musicians such as Joy Division members Ian Curtis and Stephen Morris (musician), Stephen Morris, One Direction member

, the members of The 1975, Take That member

, The Cult member Ian Astbury, Catfish and the Bottlemen member Van McCann, Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts, Stephen Hough, John Mayall, The Charlatans (English band), The Charlatans member Tim Burgess (artist), Tim Burgess, and Nigel Stonier. Actors from Cheshire include Russ Abbot, Warren Brown (actor), Warren Brown, Julia Chan, Ray Coulthard,

, Wendy Hiller, Tom Hughes (actor), Tom Hughes, Tim McInnerny, Ben Miller,

, Adam Rickitt, John Steiner, and Ann Todd. The most famous author from the county is

, who wrote ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and named the Cheshire Cat character after it. Other notable Cheshire writers include Hall Caine, Alan Garner, and Elizabeth Gaskell. Artists from Cheshire include ceramic artist Emma Bossons and sculptor/photographer Andy Goldsworthy.Stonard, John Paul (10 December 2000). "Goldsworthy, Andy"
Grove Art Online
Retrieved on 15 May 2007. Television programmes and news are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Local radio stations in the county include Dee 106.3, Chester's Dee Radio, Capital North West and Wales, Smooth Wales, Silk FM, Cheshire's Silk 106.9 and Signal 1. It is one of only four counties in the country (along with County Durham, Dorset, and Rutland) that does not have its own designated BBC radio station; the south and parts of the east are covered by BBC Radio Stoke, while BBC Radio Merseyside tends to cover the west, and BBC Radio Manchester covers the north and parts of the east. The BBC directs readers to Stoke on Trent, Stoke and

when Cheshire is selected on their website. There were plans to launch BBC Radio Cheshire, but those were shelved in 2007 after the BBC license fee settlement was lower than expected. The Royal Cheshire Show, an annual agricultural show, has taken place since the 1800s.

Sports

Athletes native to Cheshire include sailor Ben Ainslie, cricketer Ian Botham, rock climber

, boxer

, oarsman Matt Langridge, mountaineer George Mallory, marathon runner

, cyclist Sarah Storey, and hurdler Shirley Strong. It has also been home to numerous athletes from outside the county. Many Premier League footballers have relocated there over the years upon joining nearby teams such as Manchester United FC, Manchester City FC, Everton FC, and Liverpool FC. These include Dean Ashton, Seth Johnson, Jesse Lingard, Michael Owen, and Wayne Rooney. The "Golden Triangle (Cheshire), Cheshire Golden Triangle" is the collective name for a group of adjacent Cheshire villages where the amount of footballers, actors, and entrepreneurs moving in over the years led to the average house prices becoming some of the most expensive in the UK. Cheshire has one Football League team, Crewe Alexandra F.C., Crewe Alexandra FC, which plays in Football League One, League One. Chester F.C., Chester FC, a phoenix club formed in 2010 after ex-Football League club Chester City F.C., Chester City FC was dissolved, competes in the National League North. Northwich Victoria F.C., Northwich Victoria FC, another ex-League team which was a founding member of the Football League Division Two in 1892/1893, now represents Cheshire in the Northern Premier League along with Nantwich Town F.C., Nantwich Town FC, Warrington Town F.C., Warrington Town FC, and Witton Albion F.C., Witton Albion FC. Macclesfield Town F.C., Macclesfield Town FC formerly played in the National League (English football), National League, but went into liquidation in 2020. The Warrington Wolves and Widnes Vikings are the premier rugby league teams in Cheshire; the former plays in the Super League, while the latter plays in the RFL Championship, Championship. There are also numerous junior clubs in the county, including Chester Gladiators. Cheshire County Cricket Club is one of the clubs that make up the minor counties of English and Welsh cricket. Cheshire also is represented in the highest level basketball league in the UK, the British Basketball League, BBL, by Cheshire Phoenix (formerly Cheshire Jets). Europe's largest motorcycle event, the Thundersprint, is held in

every May.

Other

Cheshire has also produced a military hero in Norman Cyril Jones, a World War I flying ace who won the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), Distinguished Flying Cross.

Unofficial county flower

As part of a 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose the Cardamine pratensis, cuckooflower as the county flower. Previously, a sheaf of golden wheat was the county emblem, a reference to the Earl of Chester's arms in use from the 12th century.

Landmarks

Prehistoric burial grounds have been discovered at The Bridestones near

(Neolithic) and Robin Hood's Tump near Alpraham (Bronze Age). The remains of Iron Age hill forts are found on sandstone ridges at several locations in Cheshire. Examples include Maiden Castle, Cheshire, Maiden Castle on Bickerton Hill, Helsby Hillfort and Woodhouse Hillfort at

. The Roman fortress and walls of

, perhaps the earliest building works in Cheshire remaining above ground, are constructed from purple-grey sandstone. The distinctive local red sandstone has been used for many monumental and ecclesiastical buildings throughout the county: for example, the medieval

and numerous parish churches. Occasional residential and industrial buildings, such as Helsby railway station (1849), are also in this sandstone. Many surviving buildings from the 15th to 17th centuries are timbered, particularly in the southern part of the county. Notable examples include the moated manor house Little Moreton Hall, dating from around 1450, and many commercial and residential buildings in Chester,

and surrounding villages. Early brick buildings include Peover Hall near

(1585), Tattenhall Hall (pre-1622), and the Pied Bull Hotel in Chester (17th-century). From the 18th century, orange, red or brown brick became the predominant building material used in Cheshire, although earlier buildings are often faced or dressed with stone. Examples from the Victorian period onwards often employ distinctive brick detailing, such as brick patterning and ornate chimney stacks and gables. Notable examples include Arley Hall near

, Willington Hall near Chester (both by Nantwich architect George Latham (architect), George Latham) and Overleigh Lodge, Chester. From the Victorian era, brick buildings often incorporate timberwork in a mock Tudor style, and this hybrid style has been used in some modern residential developments in the county. Industrial buildings, such as the Macclesfield silk mills (for example, Waters Green New Mill), are also usually in brick.

Settlements

The county is home to some of the most affluent areas of northern England, including Alderley Edge,

, Prestbury, Cheshire, Prestbury, Tarporley and

, named in 2006 as the most expensive place to buy a house in the north of England. The former Cheshire town of

was in second place. The area is sometimes referred to as Golden Triangle (Cheshire), The Golden Triangle on account of the area in and around the aforementioned towns and villages. The cities and towns in Cheshire are: Some settlements which were historically part of the county now fall under the counties of Derbyshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester:

Transport

Buses

Bus transport in Cheshire is provided by various operators. The major bus operator in the Cheshire area is Arriva North West. Other operators in Cheshire include Stagecoach Chester & Wirral and Network Warrington. There are also several operators based outside of Cheshire, who either run services wholly within the area or services which start from outside the area. Companies include Arriva Buses Wales, BakerBus, High Peak, First Greater Manchester, D&G bus and Stagecoach Manchester. Some services are run under contract to Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Borough of Halton and Warrington Councils.

Railway

The main railway line through the county is the West Coast Main Line. Trains on the main London to Scotland line call at Crewe railway station, Crewe (in the south of the county) and Warrington Bank Quay railway station, Warrington Bank Quay (in the north of the county). Trains stop at Crewe and Runcorn on the Liverpool branch of the WCML; Crewe and Macclesfield are each hourly stops on the two Manchester branches. The major interchanges are: *Crewe railway station, Crewe (the biggest station in Cheshire) for trains to London Euston railway station, London Euston, Glasgow Central railway station, Glasgow Central, Edinburgh Waverley railway station, Edinburgh Waverley, Manchester Piccadilly railway station, Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street railway station, Liverpool Lime Street (via the WCML). Trains on other routes travel to Wales, the Midlands (Birmingham New Street railway station, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent railway station, Stoke and Derby railway station, Derby) as well as suburban services to Manchester Piccadilly, Chester railway station, Chester and Liverpool Lime Street. *

stations (Warrington Central railway station, Central and Warrington Bank Quay railway station, Bank Quay) for suburban services to Manchester Piccadilly, Chester railway station, Chester and Liverpool Lime Street and regional express services to North Wales, London, Scotland, Yorkshire, the East Coast and the East Midlands *Chester railway station, Chester for urban services (via Merseyrail) to Liverpool Central railway station, Liverpool Central, suburban services to Manchester Piccadilly railway station, Manchester, Warrington Bank Quay railway station, Warrington, Wrexham General railway station, Wrexham General and rural Cheshire and express services to Llandudno railway station, Llandudno, Holyhead railway station, Holyhead, Birmingham New Street railway station, Birmingham, the West Midlands, London and Cardiff Central railway station, Cardiff and, from May 2019, to Leeds railway station, Leeds. In the east of Cheshire, Macclesfield railway station, Macclesfield station is served by Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and Northern (train operating company), Northern, on the Manchester–London line. Services from Manchester to the south coast frequently stop at Macclesfield.

on the Wirral Peninsula is served by a Neston railway station, railway station on the Borderlands line between Bidston railway station, Bidston and Wrexham Central railway station, Wrexham.

Road

Cheshire has of roads, including of the M6 motorway, M6, M62 motorway, M62, M53 motorway, M53 and M56 motorway, M56 motorways; there are 23 interchanges and four service areas. It also has the A580 road, A580 "East Lancashire Road" at its border with

at Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh. The M6 motorway at the Thelwall Viaduct carries 140,000 vehicles every 24 hours.

Waterways

Anderton Boat Lift.jpg, Anderton Boat Lift River Dee Chester England.jpg, Chester Weir on the River Dee (United Kingdom), River Dee Canal near Newton.jpg, Canal cutting by Chester city walls Ellesmere-port-stanlow.jpg, Manchester Ship Canal from Ellesmere Port Dock towards Stanlow Refinery, Stanlow Canals in Cheshire, The Cheshire canal system includes several canals originally used to transport the county's industrial products (mostly chemicals). Nowadays they are mainly used for tourist traffic. The Cheshire Ring is formed from the Rochdale Canal, Rochdale, Ashton Canal, Ashton, Peak Forest Canal, Peak Forest, Macclesfield Canal, Macclesfield, Trent and Mersey Canal, Trent and Mersey and Bridgewater Canal, Bridgewater canals. The Manchester Ship Canal is a wide, stretch of water opened in 1894. It consists of the rivers River Irwell, Irwell and

made navigable to Manchester for seagoing ships leaving the Mersey estuary. The canal passes through the north of the county via Runcorn and Warrington.

List of rivers and canals

* Bridgewater Canal * Macclesfield Canal * Manchester Ship Canal * River Bollin * River Croco * River Dane * River Dean * River Dee (Wales), River Dee / Afon Dyfrdwy * River Gowy * River Goyt *

* River Weaver, River Weaver and Weaver Navigation * River Wheelock * Shropshire Union Canal and the Llangollen Canal, Llangollen branch * Trent and Mersey Canal

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Crosby, A. (1996). ''A History of Cheshire.'' ''(The Darwen County History Series.)'' Chichester, UK: Phillimore & Co . * * Harris, B. E., and Thacker, A. T. (1987). ''The Victoria History of the County of Chester. (Volume 1: Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Domesday).'' Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * Morgan, P. (Ed.) (1978). ''Domesday Book. Volume 26: Cheshire''. Chichester, Sussex: Phillmore and Company Limited. . * * Phillips, A. D. M., and Phillips, C. B. (Eds.) (2002). ''A New Historical Atlas of Cheshire.'' Chester, UK: Cheshire County Council and Cheshire Community Council Publications Trust. . * Shores, Christopher; Norman Franks, Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell (1990). ''Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920''. Grub Street. , . * Sylvester, D. (1980). ''A History of Cheshire, (The Darwen County History Series.)'' (Second Edition, original publication date, 1971). London and Chichester, UK: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. .

External links

*
Cheshire LieutenancyCheshire Market TownsChester, Cheshire & Beyond – The official tourist board for Chester & CheshireImages of Cheshire
at the English Heritage Archive
Office for National Statistics – 2001 Bicentenary – CheshireList of parks and open spaces in CheshirePlaces to visit, stay, shop and eat in Cheshire
{{Authority control Cheshire, Ceremonial counties of England Former non-metropolitan counties North West England NUTS 2 statistical regions of the United Kingdom Counties of England established in antiquity

Toponymy

History

Earldom

County Palatine

Hundreds

Feudal baronies

North Mersey to Lancashire

Principality: Merging of Palatine and Earldom

Lieutenancy: North split-off

District

District and Unitary

Unitary

Governance

Current

Transition into a lieutenancy

Geography

Physical

Human

Green belt

Borders

Flora and fauna

Demography

Population

Population change

Ethnicity

Religion

Education

Culture

Arts and entertainment

Sports

Other

Unofficial county flower

Landmarks

Settlements

Transport

Buses

Railway

Road

Waterways

List of rivers and canals

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links