Lea is a 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of Doddington and District, in the unitary authority area of

Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council, which is based in the town of Sandbach. Other towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Congleton, Wilms ...

and the ceremonial county of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England, which lies to the north east of

Audlem Audlem ( ) is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cheshire, North West England. In 2021, it had a population of 1,832. The largest village in southern Cheshire, Audlem is approximately south of Nantwich, just north of t ...

and to the south of

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

. The parish was predominantly rural, but it includes the hamlet of Lea Forge (at ). Nearby villages include

Betley Betley is a village and civil parish in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England, about halfway between the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Nantwich. Betley forms a continual linear settlement with Wrinehill. SchoolBetley ...

, Blakenhall,

Hough Hough may refer to: * Hamstringing, or severing the Achilles tendon of an animal * the leg or shin of an animal (in the Scots language), from which the dish potted hough is made * Hough (surname) Communities United Kingdom * Hough, Alderley ...

, Walgherton and

Wybunbury Wybunbury or is a village (at ) and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies 3¼ miles to the south east of Nantwich and 3¾ miles to th ...

. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 25. At the time of the 2011 Census the population remained less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of Blakenhall, Cheshire.

Governance

Lea was administered by Doddington and District Parish Council, which also includes the parishes of

Blakenhall Blakenhall is a suburb and ward of Wolverhampton, England. The population of the ward, including Goldthorn Park, was around 12,600 at the 2021 census. Toponymy and history Blakenhall's name, according to toponymists, comes from the Old Eng ...

Bridgemere Bridgemere is a village (at ) and former civil parish, now in the parish of Doddington and District, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is around south east of Nantwich and west ...

Checkley cum Wrinehill Checkley cum Wrinehill is a former civil parish, now in the parish of Doddington and District, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which lies adjacent to the boundaries with Shropshire ...

, Doddington and

Hunsterson Hunsterson is a hamlet (at ) and former civil parishes in England, civil parish, now in the parish of Doddington and District, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The hamlet is located ...

.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 ci ...

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

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

. Lea falls in the parliamentary constituency of

, which has been represented by

Kieran Mullan Kieran John Mullan (born 6 June 1984) is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexhill and Battle. He was previously the MP for Crewe and Nantwich between 2019 and 2024. He has been Shadow Minister f ...

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

Edward Timpson Anthony Edward Timpson, (born 26 December 1973) is a British former Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eddisbury in Cheshire from 2019 to 2024. Timpson was previously the MP for neighbouring Crewe ...

(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 ...

(1983–2008). Lea was formerly a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the parish of

, from 1866 Lea was a civil parish in its own right, on 1 April 2023 the parish was abolished to form "Doddington and District".

Geography and transport

The parish includes several areas of mixed woodland, including Lea Park. The South Cheshire Way

long-distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-co ...

runs through the parish. The A51 runs immediately to its west.

Landmarks

Lea Hall Geograph-1699007-by-Dave-Dunford

There is one

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in the parish. This is a

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

house dating from the 16th century named Lea Hall, which was extended in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

at Grade II*. This grade is the middle of the three grades of listing designated by English Heritage, and is granted to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest".

References

External links

{{authority control Former civil parishes in Cheshire Villages in Cheshire Borough of Cheshire East