Malpas is an ancient

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and a

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 authority ...

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. Malpas is now referred to as a village after losing its town status. It lies near the borders with

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and had a population of 1,673 at the 2011 census.

Etymology

The name derives from

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

and means "bad/difficult passage".

History

Medieval (Norman 1066–1154)

After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

of 1066 Malpas is 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 ...

of 1086 as belonging to

Robert FitzHugh Robert FitzHugh (d.1436) was Bishop of London and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Origins FitzHugh was the second son of Henry FitzHugh, 3rd Baron FitzHugh (-1425), KG, of Ravensworth Castle in North Yorkshire, by his wife Elizabet ...

, baron of Malpas. Malpas and other holdings were given to his family for defensive services along the Welsh border. A concentrated line of castles protected Cheshire's western border from the Welsh; these included

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

castles at

Shotwick Shotwick is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Puddington, on the southern end of the Wirral Peninsula in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village ...

Dodleston Dodleston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is situated to the south west of Chester, very close to the England–Wales border. The ...

Aldford 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 join ...

, Pulford,

Shocklach Shocklach is a village in the civil parish of Shocklach Oviatt and District, in the Cheshire West and Chester district, in the county of Cheshire, England. Shocklach village is in the southwestern corner of Cheshire, approximately from the bo ...

, Oldcastle and Malpas. The earthworks of Malpas Castle are still to be found to the north of St. Oswald's Church.

Medieval (Plantagenet 1154–1485)

Malpas retains its general layout established in the medieval period. Malpas was granted a Market Charter for a weekly market and annual fair in 1281, thus making it an official "Market Town"

Tudor – Elizabethan (1485–1603)

The seventh son of Sir Randolph Brereton of Shocklach and Malpas, Sir William Brereton, became chamberlain of Chester, and groom of the chamber to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. He was beheaded on 17 May 1536 for a suspected romantic affair with

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

. These accusations may have been politically motivated.

Civil War and the Stuarts (1603–1714)

Cheshire was strategically very important during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

as it controlled the north–south movement of troops from the west of the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

to the east of the Clwydian range – Chester, as the main port to Ireland was supremely important as

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

had an army there.

Transport

Malpas was once served by a

a station , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor, creative director, and writer. He appeared in a number of Japanese TV dramas, including ''Mei-chan no Shitsuji'', ''Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'' and ''Zettai Kareshi''. Additionally, he was well kn ...

on the

Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway The Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway was a line in Cheshire built by the London and North Western Railway in the 19th century. The branch, which was long, connected the North Wales Coast Line from with the Welsh Marches line and Oswestry ...

. The B5069 road passes through the village from the Welsh border, towards the A41 road near

Hampton Heath Hampton is a small village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 UK census, the total population of the civil parish was 409, decreas ...

. The B5395 road diverges from the A41 at

Grindley Brook Grindley Brook is a small village in Shropshire, England, on the A41 trunk road around 1.5 miles north west of the market town of Whitchurch. It is the most northerly settlement in Shropshire and borders directly onto Cheshire, and is within t ...

and heads towards Malpas.

Demography

According to the 2001 census, the

had 1,628 residents living in 720 households. This increased slightly in the 2011 census to 1,673 residents, composed of 767 (45.8%) males and 906 (54.2%) females, in 810 households.

Governance

Malpas was formerly a township and ancient parish within Broxton Hundred, which became a civil parish in 1866. It has had a parish council since their formation in 1894. Prior to that, Malpas had been administered through Vestry Meetings held in St Oswald's Church. Between 1894 and 1936 the village had its own rural district council. Under a Cheshire County review order in 1936, the boundaries of several rural districts were adjusted. Malpas Rural District was abolished and most of the area absorbed into

Tarvin Rural District Tarvin was, from 1894 to 1974, a rural district in the administrative county of Cheshire, England. The district was named after the village of Tarvin, and saw considerable boundary changes throughout its life. Creation The district was created ...

. On 1 April 1974 this was merged into Chester District. Further changes occurred on 1 April 2009 when the

Cheshire West & 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 Governme ...

unitary authority was formed. An

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

in the same name exists. This ward stretches north to Edge and south to

Wigland Wigland is a civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and ceremonial county of Cheshire in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to ...

. The total population of this ward taken at the 2011 census was 3,975. Malpas is within the Eddisbury parliamentary constituency.

Listed buildings

Religion

* Church of England, see:

St Oswald's Church, Malpas St Oswald's Church stands on the highest point in the market town of Malpas, Cheshire, England, on or near the site of a Norman motte and bailey castle. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade ...

* High Street Church, an ecumenical partnership bringing together traditions of the United Reform Church and the Methodist Church.

Education

* Primary School − Malpas Alport Endowed Primary School * Secondary School −

Bishop Heber High School Bishop Heber High School is a comprehensive secondary school in Malpas, Cheshire, England. The school is named after bishop Reginald Heber (1783–1826), who was born in Malpas and is remembered as a hymn-writer. In 2011, the school was rated o ...

, named after

Bishop Reginald Heber Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English Anglican bishop, man of letters and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Bishop of Calcutta until his death at the age of 42. The son of a rich lando ...

Notable people

* Ian Bartholomew, ''Coronation Street'' actor, lives in Malpas *

Ralph Churton Ralph Churton (1754 – 1831) was an English churchman and academic, archdeacon of St David's and a biographer. Life He was born on an estate called the Snabb, in the township of Bickley and parish of Malpas, Cheshire, on 8 December 1754, being ...

, Anglican churchman and biographer *

Anthony Harvey Anthony Harvey (3 June 1930 – 23 November 2017) was an English filmmaker who began his career as a teenage actor, was a film editor in the 1950s and moved into directing in the mid-1960s. Harvey had fifteen film credits as an editor, and he ...

, filmmaker, was a resident from 1968 *

(1783–1826), Bishop of Calcutta and poet *

Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist minister and author, who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary ''Exposition ...

(1662–1714), Presbyterian minister and biblical commentatorBritish Listed Buildings: Cenotaph to Matthew Henry on Grosvenor Street Roundabout, Chester Castle
Matthew Henry's Birthplace *

Mark Rylands Mark James Rylands (born 11 July 1961) is a British former Anglican bishop. From 2009 until 2018, he was the area Bishop of Shrewsbury in the Church of England. Early life Rylands was born on 11 July 1961, the son of Michael Rylands and Denise ...

Anglican Bishop of Shrewsbury The Anglican Bishop of Shrewsbury is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire and ...

2009–18, Malpas resident 1961–1988 *

Chris Stockton Christopher Stockton (born 5 April 1969) is a British auto racing driver, who is known for his efforts in the British Touring Car Championship, and British and International GT racing Racing career Early years Born in Chester, Stockton won 1 ...

, former jockey, owner of rare cattle, BTCC racing driver

References

External links

Malpas Community Website
which includes sections on history, art, events, sports and social groups and businesses.
Visions of Britain
– ''

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...

'' (1870–72)
Visions of Britain, John Bartholomew, ''Gazetteer of the British Isles'' (1887)

K. Matthews: Saxon Cheshire
{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Civil parishes in Cheshire Cheshire West and Chester