Cheddleton is an ancient parish and village in the Staffordshire Moorlands, near to the town of

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

, England. St Edwards Church, Cheddleton (geograph 4087242)

History

The village is divided into two distinct

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...

– the traditional village and the modern

Redrow Redrow plc is one of the largest British housebuilders with a network of 14 operational divisions across the UK. It is based in Flintshire, Wales and employs 2,300 people. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is currently a constituent ...

development located at St. Edward's Park, on the grounds of the old St. Edward's Psychiatric Hospital. This extensive site has been redeveloped and many of the old listed hospital buildings have been renovated, including the old hospital water tower, the highest building in the surrounding area, which now serves as an impressive private dwelling. The traditional village is served by one shop, three public houses, a veterinary surgery, an off licence and two churches: St Edward's (Anglican) and St Andrew's (Methodist). The modern development has limited amenities, although there is a Latin American cuisine restaurant situated on the canal side, nearby. The village hit the headlines in March 2006 when a fire at a house on Hillside Road killed four people. The cause of the fire was quickly established as arson and eight months later a local man called Mark Goldstraw was found guilty on four counts of murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum term of 35 years. The village is twinned with Mitterteich in Germany. The twinning association holds regular meetings and exchanges between the two villages. Ashcombe Park in Cheadle Road is a Grade II* listed stately house built by

James Trubshaw James Trubshaw (13 February 1777 – 28 October 1853) was an English builder, architect and civil engineer. The parish church of St Edward the Confessor is on Hollow Lane; it is a Grade II* listed building. It was built from the 13th to 15th century.Church of St Edward the Confessor, Cheddleton
British Listed Buildings, accessed 27 July 2014. In the churchyard are buried Sir

Thomas Wardle Sir Thomas Edward Wardle (born 1912 in West Leederville, Western Australia, died in 1997) was a businessman and supermarket proprietor from Western Australia. He was best known for his "Tom the Cheap" supermarket chain as well as revolutionisi ...

(1831–1909) and his wife Elizabeth. Thomas Wardle owned a dyeworks in Leek which specialised in silk. He was a friend of the architect

George Gilbert Scott, Jr. George Gilbert Scott Jr. (8 October 1839 – 6 May 1897) was an English architect working in late Gothic and Queen Anne revival styles. Known in later life as 'Middle Scott', he was the eldest son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott), a ...

and of the artist William Morris: in the 1860s there were additions to the church by Scott, and stained-glass windows in the church were created by artists associated with William Morris. The cross in the churchyard is an ancient monument. The base is medieval; the upper part is by George Gilbert Scott Jr. and features

Instruments of the Passion Arma Christi ("weapons of Christ"), or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus Christ in Christian symbolism and art. They are seen as arms in the sense of heraldry, and also as the weapons Chris ...

Cheddleton Flint Mill

Cheddleton Flint Mill is a Grade II* listed building, situated along the Caldon Canal. It is a prime example of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

's industrial past – a flint grinding watermill previously used for supplying the pottery industry further along the canal in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

. It is open to the public free of charge, and has been preserved, with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, by the Cheddleton Flint Mill Industrial Heritage Trust.

Cheddleton Carnival

Every year there is a

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

organised by the Cheddleton Carnival Committee on the second Saturday in August, held on the Ashcombe Park Cricket Club car park. The committee also organises other events in the village throughout the rest of the year, most notably the Bonfire Night fireworks display – held, again, in the car park, and the 'Duck Race', held annually at the Boat Inn and raced along the canal. The committee raises funds for Cancer Research UK and to date have raised over £750,000.

Schools

Cheddleton is served by St. Edward's CE (c) First School, close to St. Edward's Church and the local community centre. Children attend the school from the beginning of their education up to

Key Stage 2 Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years. England and Wales Legal definition The t ...

( Reception class to Year 4). The school has an additional nursery provision and before / after school clubs provided on-site by Early Stages Ltd who also run Teddy's Garden Day nursery from a converted hospital building on St Edwards Park. The old schoolhouse has been turned into a well established tea room, just down the road from St. Edward's. On the St Edward's site, the former isolation hospital has been restored and converted into a children's day nursery.

Transport

The

North Staffordshire Railway The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire. The company was based i ...

opened its Churnet Valley Railway on 1 September 1849, and opened a railway station at . Closed in 1963, today it is operated as part of a

preserved railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

Sports

Cheddleton is home to Leek RUFC, who play their home games at Post & Times Park on St. Edward's Park. Cheddleton is also home to Ashcombe Park Cricket Club, who play their home games at Ashcombe Park Cricket Ground at the south end of the village. The John Pointon Sports And Recreation Facility was opened at Windy Arbour, Cheddleton on the ground of the old Berresford Bus site. Cheddleton was also home to one of the best loved MotoX tracks in the UK, the steep, mostly natural sand track hosted numerous rounds of various local and national championships. Over the years many riders who have moved on to race at an international level have competed at Cheddleton including the son of

Ron Haslam Ronald Haslam (born 22 June 1956) is an English former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who had been racing for over thirty years, winning two World titles, four British championships and having ridden in almost 110 GPs. Haslam spends much of ...

, current World Superbike rider and former Moto GP rider Leon Haslam.

Notable people

* Charles Boucher, Anglican priest and first Archdeacon of Loughborough, was born and grew up in Cheddleton *Isaac Findler, a well known local artist in the 19th century * Ewen Henderson, ceramic artist born in Cheddleton *

Sybil Leek Sybil Leek (''née'' Fawcett; 22 February 1917 – 26 October 1982) was an English witch, astrologer, occult author and self-proclaimed psychic. She wrote many books on occult and esoteric subjects, and was dubbed "Britain's most famous witch ...

, grew up in Cheddleton at Victoria Cottages off Station Road and went on to become one of the most widely publicised witches of modern times writing a total of 60 books *Sir

Lee Pearson Sir David Lee Pearson (born 4 February 1974) is a 14-times Paralympic Games gold medallist, having represented British para-equestrianism in Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo. Over the course of his career he has won 30 gold med ...

, a Paralympic horse riding champion who lives in the village. He won 10 Paralympic gold medals, and in 2004 was awarded

BBC Midlands BBC Midlands may refer to: *BBC East Midlands, the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland, headquartered in Nottingham *BBC West Midlands BBC Midlands (known as the Midland Region from 1927 until c. 1 ...

Sports Personality of the Year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participat ...

. *

Jessica Sylvester Jessica Aimee Sylvester (born 9 July 1987 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire) is a British freestyle swimmer. Sylvester represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (B ...

, Olympic swimmer who represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics and grew up in Cheddleton *

Sampson Walker Sampson Walker (March 25, 1843 – March 7, 1933) was an English-born businessman and political figure in Manitoba. He represented Winnipeg North from 1903 to 1907 in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a Conservative. Born in Cheddleto ...

, born in Cheddleton, emigrated to Canada and founded the Walker Oil Company. He was a member of the Winnipeg city council in 1891 and a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Staffordshire Staffordshire Moorlands Towns and villages of the Peak District