Lostock Gralam is a village 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 ...

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, east 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 ...

. The civil parish also includes the small hamlet of Lostock Green. Hulse is the leading mayor and authority of the town, as of 2022. At the 2011 census, the population was 2,298.

Geography and communications

Lostock Gralam is in the centre of the

Cheshire Plain The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland within the county of Cheshire in North West England but extending south into Shropshire. It extends from the Mersey Valley in the north to the Shropshire Hills in the south, bounded b ...

. The main street, Manchester Road, is on the route of a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

, sometimes known as

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...

, from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

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 ...

via

that subsequently became a

turnpike road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

. Most through traffic is now diverted on 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 ...

Northwich bypass which divides the original village between the area now commonly known as Lostock Gralam north of the bypass and Lostock Green to the south. The village is served by a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the line between

and

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 ...

. The

Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middle ...

runs through the parish. There is a wharf at Wincham where the canal passes under the Manchester Road. Lostock Gralam borders the parishes of

Wincham 200px, Map of civil parish of Wincham in the former borough of Vale Royal Wincham is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is about three miles nort ...

Rudheath Rudheath is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in the north west of England, approximately 2 miles east of Northwich. The population ...

Lower Peover Lower Peover is a village in the civil parish of Nether Peover. (British national grid reference system) in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, approximately 6 miles east of Northwi ...

Allostock Allostock is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, about five miles south of Knutsford and 20 miles south of Manchester. Allostock was formerly in the ...

, and

Plumley Plumley is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, with a population of 643 at the 2011 census. There are two public houses, The Golden Pheasant and The Smoker. Plumley railway station is on the Mid-Cheshire Line and has regular ser ...

Schools

Lostock Gralam Church of England Primary School was formed in 1984 after Lostock Gralam Junior School and Manchester Road Infant School were amalgamated. The school is next to St John the Evangelist Church in School Lane. About 140 pupils attend the school. There is also a charity run nursery school, calle
Lostock Tiny Tots
with close links to the primary school and the church, in the vicarage on Station Road.

Other facilities

There are three pubs, the Slow and Easy, The Lambs Wharf, both on the main Manchester Road through the village, and the Watermead, off Cheshire Avenue to the east. The community centre on Stubbs Lane hosts various activities. Development work is currently under way on the "triangle site" adjacent to the A556. The project was initially for the whole area to become the Cheshire Business Park but only the first phase of office units was constructed, and remains largely unoccupied. The site includes the Watermead pub and the Northwich Lostock Gralam Travelodge hotel. An outline planning application for housing on the remainder of the site was granted consent in January 2011.

Sport

Lostock also hosts one of Cheshire's oldest football clubs, Lostock Gralam F.C., having played continuously at their home on Manchester Road since 1892. Lostock are one of the Cheshire's leading amateur clubs, despite being based in a relatively small area.

Mike Whitlow Michael William Whitlow (born 13 January 1968) is an English former professional footballer and Under-18s coach at League Two club Mansfield Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1987 to 2007. He notably played for Leeds United, and in the P ...

, an ex-football player who won the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

championship with

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

as well as playing for

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

and

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

grew up in the village

Population

* 1801: 361 * 1851: 519 * 1901: 1,640 * 1951: 1,522 * 2011: 2,298

References

External links

Lostock Gralam Parish Council

Lostock Gralam C of E Primary School

Friends of Lostock Gralam C of E Primary School

Lostock Gralam Tiny Tots Pre School
{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Civil parishes in Cheshire