Christleton is a village and

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 ...

on the outskirts of Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The Shropshire Union Canal (originally

Chester Canal The Chester Canal was an English canal linking the south Cheshire town of Nantwich with the River Dee at Chester. It was intended to link Chester to Middlewich, with a branch to Nantwich, but the Trent and Mersey Canal were unco-operative abou ...

) passes through the village. The 2001 census recorded a population for the entire civil parish of 2,112, reducing to 2,053 in the 2011 census.

History

The likely meaning of the name Christleton is "Christians' farm or settlement", derived 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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''cristen'' (a Christian) - ''tūn'' (a settlement, enclosure or farmstead). Its history can be traced with certainty to 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 ...

, which contains an entry for ''Christetone'', though there is evidence of earlier occupation. By 1086, the land was under the ownership of Robert FitzHugh (son of

Hugh Lupus Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'Avr ...

) and comprised 23 households: twelve villagers, five smallholders, two female slaves (maidservants), two "reeves" (officials) and two "radmen" (riders or roadmen). During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

it was a

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

outpost.

Governance

Christleton is part of the City of Chester parliamentary constituency. The unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester replaced

Chester City Council 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 Local ...

and

Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...

on 1 April 2009. The village is within the electoral ward of Christleton and Huntington. Christleton is represented locally by its own parish council.

Landmarks

Christleton Old Hall Christleton Old Hall is a former country house in the village of Christleton, Cheshire, England. It was built in the early 17th century as a timber-framed house by a member of the Egerton family but around 1870, when being used as a recto ...

dates from the early 17th century and is a former country house and rectory. It was built for a member of the Egerton family of

Tatton Park Tatton Park is an historic estate in Cheshire, England, north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a medieval manor house, Tatton Old Hall, Tatton Park Gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attr ...

. In 1952 it was designated 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 ...

Christleton Hall Christleton Hall is a former country house in the village of Christleton, Cheshire, England. It was built in about 1750 for Townsend Ince. The building was later used as a boarding school. In 1934 the Salvatorians purchased the hall from the ...

was built circa 1750. It is another former country house that has also been used as a boarding school and a college campus. Part of the building has Grade II listed status.

Religion

The Anglican church is dedicated to St James and the current building was designed by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

and was consecrated in 1877. The church's continuous list of clergy dates back to 1215. The village also has a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

church.

Education

Secondary education is provided by

Christleton High School Christleton High School is a large Academy (English school), academy school located in the small village of Christleton on the outskirts of Chester. The Headteacher is Darran Jones. The School offers education from age 11 to 18 and has its own Six ...

, a large academy school that also caters for other suburban areas of Chester. Christleton also has a primary school. A branch of The College of Law is based in Christleton Hall.

Community

The village's amenities include a sports centre and swimming pool, a newsagent shop, parish hall and local

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s the Ring O Bells, the Cheshire Cat and The Plough. There is also a large pond situated by the village widely known as "Christleton Pit", which attracts children from the village and surrounding areas due to the abundance of wildlife. It has been the

best kept village A best kept village is a village that has won one of the annual county competitions in the United Kingdom for its tidiness, appropriateness, and typicality. The competitions have been nationally organized by the Campaign to Protect Rural England ...

in Cheshire in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. Christleton FC play in

West Cheshire League The West Cheshire Association Football League (commonly known as the West Cheshire League) is an English football league in the county of Cheshire, which also includes teams from Merseyside. Its current principal sponsor is ''Carlsberg'', also ...

Notable people

* Lt. Colonel

John Dolphin John Robert Vernon Dolphin (1 October 19052 May 1973) was a British engineer and inventor, who joined the Secret Intelligence Service and then became the Commanding Officer of the top-secret Second World War Special Operations Executive (SOE) " ...

CBE, born in Christleton in * Billy Matthews (1882–1921), former Wales international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, lived latterly in Christleton and is buried in the churchyard under a

CWGC The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mi ...

headstone as ''Shoeing Smith William Mathews, Royal Field Artillery''.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Civil parishes in Cheshire