Poulton is a settlement and 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 Poulton and Pulford, in the

Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to l ...

, in the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

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. In 2001 census the parish had a recorded population of 92. Since 1995, significant archaeological activity has been conducted in the area, first by the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

and later by the independent group known as the Poulton Research Project.

History

Archaeological research has established there has been human habitation in the area since the

Mesolithic period The Mesolithic ( Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonym ...

(8,000 B.C.). In the

Sub-Roman Britain Sub-Roman Britain, also called post-Roman Britain or Dark Age Britain, is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the founding of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The term was originally used to describe archae ...

period,

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

roundhouse ditches, Briquetage and animal bones have also been found suggesting the area was once an important site for the processing and preserving of meat for trading. Roman finds include ditches, domestic ceramics and building materials relating to the

Legio XX Valeria Victrix Legio XX Valeria Victrix, in English the Twentieth Victorious Valeria Legion, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The origin of the Legion's name is unclear and there are various theories, but the legion may have gained its title ''Vale ...

that was garrisoned at the nearby legionary fortress of

Deva Victrix Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary castra, fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II Adiutrix, Legio II ''Adiutrix'' in the 70s AD as the ...

(

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

). During the medieval period, Poulton Chapel was an important monastic site that was founded by the Cistercian monks of Poulton Abbey in the mid 12th century. Although it is believed to have been a substantial site, only a small amount of ground level masonry survives. Until 1919 the village was part of the Grosvenor Estate administered from nearby Eaton Hall. Several of the buildings in the former parish were commissed by

Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, (13 October 1825 – 22 December 1899), styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845, Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869, and known as The Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an ...

, and designed by Douglas and Fordham, a well-known Cheshire architects' practice. In 1870–72,

John Marius Wilson John Marius Wilson (c. 1805–1885) was a British writer and an editor, most notable for his gazetteers. The '' Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (published 1870–1872), was a substantial topographical dictionary in six volumes. It was ...

described the settlement in the ''

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...

'' as:

POULTON, a township in Pulford parish, Cheshire; on an affluent of the river Dee, 4¼ miles S of Chester. Acres, 1, 391. Real property, £1, 723. Pop., 132. Houses, 22. A Cistertian abbey was founded here, in 1153, by Robert Pincerna; and was removed, in 1220, to Dieulacres in
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
.

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the RAF established RAF Poulton to the northwest of the settlement. The base was used to train pilots flying

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

s. Much of wartime airfield's runway, perimeter track, and aircraft hardstandings remain.

Governance

Poulton 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

Pulford Pulford is a village and former civil parishes in England, civil parish, now in the parish of Poulton and Pulford, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is on the B5445 road, ...

, in 1866 Poulton became a civil parish, on 1 April 2015 the parish was abolished and merged with Pulford to form "Poulton and Pulford".

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Former civil parishes in Cheshire Cheshire West and Chester

History

Governance

See also

References

External links