Aldford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of

Aldford and Saighton Aldford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Aldford and Saighton, in the county of Cheshire, England. (). The village is approximately to the south of Chester, on the east bank of the River Dee. The Aldford Brook joins ...

, in the 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. (). The village is approximately to the south 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 east bank of the River Dee. The Aldford Brook joins the Dee just north of the village. In the 2001 census, the population of the village was 213. The population of the civil parish was recorded as 272 in the 2011 census.

History

The name Aldford means "Old Ford" and likely derives from

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 ...

Aldford Castle Aldford Castle is a motte and bailey castle in the village of Aldford in Cheshire. The motte is to the north of St John's Church, and the church stands on the site of an infilled bailey ditch. The origin and dates of construction of the castle ...

dates back over 800 years. The village was a township in Broxton Hundred. A civil parish from 1866, it was abolished in 2015 to form Aldford and Saighton civil parish. The population was 331 in 1801, rising to 521 in 1851, then 113 in 1901 and decreasing to 96 by 1951. Between 1960 and 1991, the village was the location of a Royal Observer Corps monitoring bunker, to be used in the event of a nuclear attack. No trace of the bunker remains today.

Landmarks

Most of the building stock was constructed as a ''designed village'' in the middle of the 19th century by Sir

Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster (27 January 1795 – 31 October 1869), styled The Honourable Richard Grosvenor from 1795 to 1802, Viscount Belgrave from 1802 to 1831 and Earl Grosvenor from 1831 to 1845, was an English pol ...

, in almost rectangular form. A number of buildings in the village were designed by the architect John Douglas. These include the Grade II listed St John's church and the Grosvenor Arms public house. The River Dee outside the village is crossed by the

Aldford Iron Bridge Aldford Iron Bridge is a bridge crossing the River Dee north of the village of Aldford, Cheshire, England, linking the village with Eaton Hall, forming part of the Buerton Approach to the hall (). It is recorded in the National Heritage List ...

, which was built in 1824 by William Hazledine for the 1st Marquis. Iron Bridge Lodge, adjacent to this bridge, was designed by Douglas & Fordham in 1894 and is listed Grade II.

Aldford Hall Aldford Hall is a farmhouse to the south of the village of Aldford, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The house was designed by John Douglas for Hugh Gro ...

and the Roman road Watling Street are outside the village.

References

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

History

Landmarks

See also

References