Ashton Hayes 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 Ashton Hayes and Horton-cum-Peel, in the unitary authority of

Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Gover ...

and 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 tow ...

, England. It is located about 8 miles 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 ...

on the B5393 road. The nearest villages are

Mouldsworth Mouldsworth is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Chester in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is about 8 miles north east of Chester city centre on the B5393 road ...

to the north east and Kelsall to the south east. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 936. The main village in the parish – formerly known as Ashton – was renamed Ashton Hayes following a referendum, to avoid confusion with other places of the same name. The civil parish was abolished in 2015 to form Ashton Hayes and Horton-cum-Peel, part of it also went to

History

In 1086, the village was recorded 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 manusc ...

as comprising 12 households and lying within the hundred of Rushton in the county of Cheshire.

Medieval pottery kiln

In 1933 a pottery kiln, which had been in use between the 13th and 15th century, was discovered in the garden of Smithy House. When excavated, it was found to consist of an oval structure with a stoke-hole on the southeast side. It contained thousands of fragments of broken pottery. Some of these have been reconstructed, forming about 30 objects, mainly jugs and pitchers, which are now in the Grosvenor Museum,

. The site of the kiln is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and ...

Carbon neutrality

In November 2005, the Ashton Hayes Parish Council agreed that the village should try to become England's first

carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...

village and launched a programme starting 26 January 2006. The move is supported by the local community, businesses, the local council and

The Energy Saving Trust Energy Saving Trust (EST) is a British organization devoted to promoting Efficient energy use, energy efficiency, energy conservation, and the sustainable energy, sustainable use of energy, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions and helping to p ...

. In July 2006 the total annual output of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

from the village was calculated by students from the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancel ...

at 4,765.76

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

. With the aid of a DEFRA grant, a film was made explaining the issues and the villagers' efforts, and intended to receive its premier in the village on 25 January 2007. It is hoped that the film will increase awareness and encourage other communities to adopt the concept. Measures taken to offset or reduce this have included installing house insulation, installing energy saving light bulbs and

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

s, and a large number of trees have been planted. In the first year of the programme the village reduced its carbon footprint by 20%. In the 10 years since, the figure rose to 40%. The programme has inspired other towns and cities to adopt similar models.

References

External links

Ashton Hayes Parish CouncilAshton Hayes County Primary SchoolAshton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral ProjectGoing Carbon Neutral (PowerPoint presentation)
* {{authority control Villages in Cheshire Former civil parishes in Cheshire Energy conservation in the United Kingdom Cheshire West and Chester

History

Medieval pottery kiln

Carbon neutrality

See also

References

External links