Saighton (; ) is a village 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

, now in the parish of Aldford and Saighton, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, a few miles south of Chester. The 2011 Census recorded a population for the parish of 202. The civil parish was abolished in 2015 to form Aldford and Saighton. Much of the surrounding land is owned by the

Duke of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

History

The village is said to take its name from the Old English of ''salh'' and ''tun'' which translates into "the settlement where willow grows". The settlement predates the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

and is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

as ''Saltone''. Most of the land and buildings in Saighton are owned by the Duke of Westminster's Eaton Estate, which has been in the ownership of the Grosvenor family since the 1440s. Saighton is described in 1870–72 in

John Marius Wilson John Marius Wilson (c. 1805–1885) was a British writer and an editor, most notable for his gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographical index or directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains informati ...

's '' Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' as having a population of 272, 59 houses and a post office. In 1881 Saighton had a total population of 350, with most men working in farming, and most women who were employed working as servants. Saighton was a township in St. Oswald's ancient parish until 1866 when it became a civil parish. Six men from Saighton who lost their lives in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

are commemorated on the village's war memorial.

Places of interest

St Mary's Church is in the small settlement of

Bruera Bruera is a village in Cheshire, England. It is located between the two villages of Saighton and Aldford. Bruera is about six miles south of Chester and belongs to the Estate of the Duke of Westminster. Buildings and Churches St. Mary's Churc ...

, which lies between the villages of Saighton and Aldford, in Cheshire, England. 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, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a Grade II*

listed building 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 ...

. The church contains

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 ...

elements, but it has been subjected to alterations and modifications, particularly in 1896. Its benefice is combined with other churches St Peter, Waverton, and St John the Baptist, Aldford.

Saighton Camp Saighton Camp was a military installation located between Saighton and Huntington covering an area of approximately 33 hectares. History The camp was created between 1938 and 1939 for use as a military training camp during the Second World War. ...

was a military installation used by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. It was used as a training centre for the Royal Army Medical Corps before its closure in around 1999. The site is being redeveloped for residential use. The streets on the new estate have names with military significance, such as Wellesley,

Alanbrooke Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, (23 July 1883 – 17 June 1963), was a senior officer of the British Army. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, during the Se ...

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

and Dragoon. St Mary's Church, Bruera-2

The village has a voluntary aided Church of England primary school, with older children travelling to nearby Christleton or Malpas for state secondary education. Abbey Gate College is an independent day school located on the outskirts of Saighton in the grounds of Saighton Grange. The village has a village hall which is used for local events. A number of former farm buildings in Saighton have been converted for business use.

References

External links

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

History

Places of interest

See also

References

External links