Austerson is a civil parish 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, lying immediately south of the town of Nantwich and north of the village of Audlem. Predominantly rural with scattered farms, the civil parish includes the small settlement of Old Hall Austerson at , about two miles south of Nantwich centre. In 2001, the total population was a little under 150, increasing to 194 at the 2011 Census. Nearby villages include

Broomhall Green Broomhall is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The main line of the Shropshire Union Canal runs through the parish and the River Weaver forms part of its boundary. The main se ...

, Hack Green, Hankelow,

Sound Heath Sound Heath, also known as Sound Common, is an area of common land in Sound, Cheshire, Sound, near Nantwich in Cheshire, England, which includes Heath (habitat), heathland, grassland, shrubland, scrub, woodland and wetland habitats. The majority ...

and

Stapeley Stapeley is a hamlet (at ) and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The hamlet lies 2¼ miles to the south east of Nantwich. The parish also includes the small settlements of Broa ...

History

Austerson derives from the Saxon ''Essetune'', meaning "Aelfstan's Farm". The civil parish 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. ...

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

in the Nantwich Hundred; it was served by

St Mary's Church, Acton St Mary's Church is an active Anglican parish church located in Monk's Lane, Acton, a village to the west of Nantwich, Cheshire, England. Since 1967 it has been designated a Grade I listed building. A church has been present on this sit ...

. Major early landowners include the families of Bulkeley, Wettenhall, Praers and Bromley. In the late 15th century the land was acquired by Sir William Needham of Shavington. Part of Austerson and the adjacent parish of

Baddington Baddington is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which lies immediately to the south-west of Nantwich and north of Audlem. Predominantly rural with scattered farms, the civil ...

was forest until at least the mid-17th century, with wood being used as fuel for salt production in nearby Nantwich. A kiln field marked on tithe maps suggests that the parish formerly had a brick kiln. A small council estate was built between 1953 and 1965.

Governance

Austerson is administered by the Sound and District Parish Council. 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 of

. Austerson 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, and previously by Gwyneth Dunwoody (1983–2008), Edward Timpson (2008–17) and Laura Smith (2017–19).

Geography and transport

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

5 April 2010) The River Weaver forms much of the eastern boundary of the civil parish, and an unnamed brook forms part of the western boundary. The land is generally flat with an average elevation of around 50 metres, sloping downwards near the eastern boundary to the narrow river valley of the Weaver. There are several small meres and unnamed brooks. A narrow strip of broad-leaved woodland runs along a brook south of Dairy House Farm ().Cheshire County Council: Interactive Mapping: Austerson
(accessed 27 January 2009)Ordnance Survey Explorer Map 257 The A530 (Baddington Lane) runs immediately to the west of part of the north-western boundary of the civil parish. Coole Lane runs from the A530 north–south through the northern part of the civil parish. The

Crewe and Nantwich Circular Walk The Crewe and Nantwich Circular Walk is a long-distance walkers' path in the Cheshire East area of Cheshire, England. As the name suggests, the walk forms a circuit around the towns of Crewe and Nantwich. It is one of two circular walks i ...

also runs broadly north–south through the northern part.

Demography

In 2006, the total population of the civil parish was estimated as 140. The 2001 census recorded a population of 145, in 37 households. The historical population figures were 59 (1801), 55 (1851), 36 (1901), 68 (1951) and 114 (1971).Latham, p. 59 Austerson Church House Farm

Landmarks

Austerson Hall () is a farmhouse dating from the late 17th century. In brick with a roughcast finish, it follows a T-shaped plan and is

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Church House Farm () is an L-shaped, red-brick former farmhouse dating from around 1820. It has been used as a nursing home since 1989, and is also listed at grade II. The timber-framed Elizabethan building of

Austerson Old Hall Austerson Old Hall is southeast of the village of Alvanley, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The hall was dismantled and moved from its original site in t ...

or Old Hall Farm was moved to

Alvanley Alvanley is a small rural village and civil parish near Helsby, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is on the B5393 road and near junction 14 of the M56 motorway. ...

in 1974. A grade-II-listed barn remains which dates from the late 16th century, and is brick nogged with a timber frame.

Education

There are no educational facilities within the civil parish. The parish falls within the catchment areas of Sound and District Primary School in Sound and

Brine Leas High School Brine Leas School is an academy school in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The school has 1,287 pupils enrolled, and has technology and language status. The school opened in 1977 as a comprehensive co-educational establishment. The first head tea ...

in Nantwich.Cheshire County Council: Interactive Mapping: Brine Leas High School
(accessed 27 January 2009)

History

Governance

Geography and transport

Demography

Landmarks

Education

See also

References

Sources

External links