Davenham (pronounced Dave-n-ham) is a rural village and civil parish approximately south of the town of

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 ...

, part of the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester 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 ...

in England. It has a population of 5,655, reducing following reorganisation to 2,745 at the 2011 Census. The village is close to the

A556 The A556 is a road in England which extends from the village of Delamere in Cheshire West and Chester to the Bowdon Interchange in Cheshire East, bordering Greater Manchester. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sect ...

and A533 roads and both the

River Dane The River Dane is a tributary of the River Weaver that originates in the Peak District area of England. The name of the river (earlier ''Daven'') is probably from the Old Welsh ''dafn'', meaning a "drop or trickle", implying a slow-moving river. ...

and River Weaver. It is the birthplace of former marathon world record holder, Paula Radcliffe.

History

Davenham is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Devenham. Its name means "hamlet on the River Dane". The site of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Shipbrook Castle Shipbrook Castle near Davenham in Cheshire was a Norman castle situated beside the River Dane, the exact site of which is now unknown. Davenham is recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Devenham''. Its name means "hamlet on the River Dane". The site ...

by the River Dane is indicated by the name of Castle Hill, between Shipbrook Bridge and Shipbrook Hill Farm, but no traces now remain. In 1936 the whole of Eaton (near Davenham) and part of Leftwich civil parish (which extended into Davenham village) was added to Davenham, and in 1955 part of Davenham was transferred to Northwich civil parish. Between 1996 and 2006, a large housing development was built on farmland to the northwest of the village centre. The estate is known as Kingsmead and is separated from the historic village of Davenham by the A556 Northwich bypass. This area was originally the Kingsmead ward of the civil parish with five members representing the ward on Davenham parish council. Following a community governance review, Kingsmead became a separate parish with its own parish council in April 2011. In 2006 the Kingsmead Residents' Association was formed by residents who were concerned at the state of maintenance of the public areas of the estate. By Easter 2007 the association had over 500 members and expanded its interests to cover topics such as litter on the estate, speeding on the main spine and loop roads and the adoption of the estate's roads by the County Council, in addition to the association's primary aim which was to take over the Estate Management company responsible for the upkeep of the public areas of the estate. Davenham parish council along with Moulton parish council decided in 2007 to part-fund a

Police Community Support Officer A police community support officer (PCSO; cy, swyddog cymorth cymunedol yr heddlu, SCCH), or as written in legislation community support officer (CSO; cy, swyddog cymorth cymunedol, SCC) is a uniformed member of police staff in England and Wal ...

(PCSO) in order to keep a police presence in Davenham and Kingsmead. Due to policing boundaries it was decided that one PCSO from Winsford Neighbourhood Policing Unit would police Davenham and Moulton, whilst a PCSO from Northwich would cover Kingsmead and Leftwich. The village's football team reached the final of the 1887

Welsh FA Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

, losing to

Chirk Chirk ( cy, Y Waun) is a town and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the traditional county of Denbighshire, and later Clwy ...

Geography

Davenham is situated in the centre of the Cheshire Plain between the River Weaver and River Dane. It is surrounded by the civil parishes of

, Hartford, Rudheath, Byley, Bostock, Moulton and Winsford.

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

in the name of Davenham and Moulton exists. This ward covers much of Davenham and stretches to the Northwich area also Winsford. The total population at the 2011 Census was 13,565.

Population

* 1801: 327 * 1851: 552 * 1901: 706 * 1951: 2,306 * 2001: 5,655 * 2011: 2,745

Church

The church of St. Wilfrid goes back to the Domesday period but the current edifice is the fourth on the site, dating from a major reconstruction between 1844 and 1870 in the Victorian Gothic revival style. The tower has a recessed spire built in 1850. Legend says that the church was founded by St Wilfrid on a journey through Cheshire in the 7th Century, but the first documented evidence of a church on the site is an existing priest and church in 1086.

Schools

Davenham has traditionally had a Primary school, Davenham Church of England Primary School. However the parish now includes parts of the Kingsmead development which includes Kingsmead Primary School built in 2004. Both these schools are feeder schools to

The County High School, Leftwich The County High School, Leftwich, is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, for students between 11 and 16 years of age, in Leftwich, Cheshire, England. History The school was established in 1957 as the Northwich County Gr ...

as well as other, more distant secondary schools such as Weaverham or the Grange.

References

External links

Davenham Parish Council website

St. Wilfrids Church website

Kingsmead Primary school website
{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Civil parishes in Cheshire