200px, Map of civil parish of Utkinton within the former borough of Vale Royal
Utkinton is a village and former
civil parish, now in the parishes of
Utkinton and Cotebrook and
Tarporley, in the unitary authority of
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 str ...
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. It is approximately north of Tarporley, west of
Winsford and east of
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 ...
. The upper part of Utkinton is known as 'Quarry Bank'. Utkinton is at the heart of the local farming community. The area is also on the
Sandstone Trail
The Sandstone Trail is a long-distance walkers' path, following sandstone ridges running north–south from Frodsham in central Cheshire to Whitchurch just over the Shropshire border. The path was created in 1974 and extended in the 1990s. ...
.
At the time of the
2001 census the population was 651, increasing to 706 by the
2011 census.
History
The name means "Farm of Uttoc", deriving from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''tūn'' (a farmstead or settlement), ''ing'' (connected with) a person named Utta or Uttoc. It has been variously spelt over time, namely: ''Utkgnton'', ''Hutkynton'', ''Hudekintona'' and ''Utkyngton''.
Utkinton was a township in Tarporley parish of
Eddisbury Hundred, which became a civil parish in 1866. This was abolished in 2015 to form Utkinton and Cotebrook, with part also transferring to Tarporley civil parish. The population of the civil parish has been recorded as 458 in 1801, 500 in 1851, 463 in 1901 and 507 by 1951.
Community
Agriculture remains the primary use of land in the civil parish, although there has been an expansion in housebuilding since the mid-twentieth century. Thirty new houses were constructed in North Brook Road during the 1970s - the largest development in Utkinton to date.
Amenities within the community include Utkinton St. Paul's
Church of England Primary School and a village hall. Rose Farm is a mixed livestock farm, with an on-site shop, cafe and garden centre. The former Methodist Church had been converted into a private residence by 2015.
Landmarks
Utkinton Hall is a designated Grade I
listed building, constructed using
sandstone, with the oldest parts of the structure dating back to
medieval times.
The Bailiff's House is a three-storeyed seventeenth century building, also built with sandstone. It was extensively renovated in the late twentieth century and is a Grade II listed building.
A war memorial, consisting of a wooden
calvary
Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...
on a stone base in a small garden, is located in the east of the village at the junction of John Street and Quarry Bank. This commemorates the villagers who died fighting in
World War I and
World War II, which claimed seven servicemen and one serviceman from the village respectively.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Utkinton
Utkinton is a former civil parish, now in the parishes of Utkinton and Cotebrook and Tarporley, in Cheshire West and Chester, England. It is entirely rural, and contains the villages of Utkinton and Cotebrook. The A49 road runs through it i ...
References
External links
Utkinton and Cotebrook community website
{{authority control
Villages in Cheshire
Former civil parishes in Cheshire
Cheshire West and Chester
