Poole is 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 authorit ...

in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which lies to the north west of

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

and to the west of Crewe. The Shropshire Union Canal runs through the parish. Nearby villages include Acton,

Aston juxta Mondrum Aston juxta Mondrum is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is about four miles north of Nantwich. The civil parish also includes part of Worleston village. Etymo ...

, Barbridge,

Stoke Bank Stoke Bank is an inclined stretch of the East Coast Main Line (ECML) between and . It is named after the village of Stoke Rochford, close to Stoke Summit, which at above sea level is the highest point of the ECML between and . It is not however ...

, Rease Heath and Worleston. The civil parish is largely rural with scattered farms and buildings, and a total population of around 90 in 2006. At the time of the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish remained less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of Worleston.

History

Poole was a late Saxon village; the name derives from the Saxon ''Pol'', meaning a pool. Two holdings were recorded in the

Domesday survey 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, with a total population of 9, greater than any of the surrounding manors except Acton. A coppice or small wood was recorded. Before 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 Con ...

, it was held by Wulfeva, described as "a free woman", and afterwards by William Malbank (or Malbedeng), the first Baron of Wich Malbank (

). At this time, Poole fell within the Forest of Mondrem, the southern half of

Delamere Forest Delamere Forest is a large wood in the village of Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by Forestry England, covers an area of making it the largest area of woodland in the county. It contains a mixture of deciduous and ...

. The two manors of White-Poole and Barrets-Poole each maintained an underforester and also paid ''frithmote'' tax, which might have entitled them to certain forest privileges or exempted them from the

forest court A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

s. By the

late medieval The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

period, Poole was divided into three manors, Barrets-Poole (later Barratt-Poole), War-Poole and White-Poole.Cheshire Federation of Women's Institutes, pp. 185–6 The area of the modern civil parish fell within the ancient parish of Acton in the Nantwich Hundred; it was served by St Mary's Church, Acton until 1873. In 1601, Poole had a watermill at Poole Bridge. An inn, Cocapalle Hill, was recorded at Poole Hill in 1662. Later known as The Cock o' Poole Hill, it was still in existence in 1831, but had closed by 1842.Lamberton & Gray, p. 115 In the 18th century, Methodists were recorded in Poole, as well as in the adjacent parish of Cholmondeston. John Wesley visited four times between 1751 and 1757. On his second visit in 1752, Wesley wrote: "...we reached Poole ... in the evening and found a congregation gathered from many miles around, several of whom had sat up all night for fear of losing the morning sermon." A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was built in 1834 at a cost of £120, on a piece of land purchased for 5 shillings.Latham, p. 70 Poole Chapel, Cheshire

Poole retained its medieval division into three manors into the 19th century. The Elcock or Elcocke family held the manor of White-Poole, which included Poole Farm, from around 1600.Latham, p. 22 Early in the 19th century, White-Poole passed by marriage into the Massey family of Chester, and William Massey built Poole Hall in 1812–7.Binney M. Cheshire fat cat pad. ''Times'' (15 June 2007)
(accessed 5 April 2010) In 1800, Barratt-Poole was held by the Egertons of Oulton and War-Poole by the

Earl of Dysart Earl of Dysart (pronounced ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1643 and has been held continuously since then by descendants of the 1st Earl, William Murray. Creation The title was created in 1643 for William Murray, ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, evacuees from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and elsewhere were housed at Poole Old Hall.

Governance

Poole is administered by Worleston and District Parish Council, jointly with the adjacent civil parishes of Worleston and

. From 1974 the civil parish was served by

Crewe and Nantwich Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population (2001 census) of 111,007. It contained 69 civil parishes and one unparished area: the town of Crewe. It now fo ...

Borough Council, which was succeeded on 1 April 2009 by the new

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

of Cheshire East. Poole falls in the parliamentary constituency of Eddisbury, which has been represented by

Edward Timpson Anthony Edward Timpson, (born 26 December 1973) is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eddisbury in Cheshire at the 2019 general election. He was previously MP for neighbouring Crew ...

since 2019, after being represented by Stephen O'Brien (1999–2015) and

Antoinette Sandbach Antoinette Geraldine Mackeson-Sandbach (born 15 February 1969), known as Antoinette Sandbach, is a former British politician who was elected as Member of Parliament for Eddisbury in Cheshire at the 2015 general election. The following day, 8 ...

(2015–19). Stream nr Poole Old Hall

Geography, transport and economy

The civil parish has a total area of .Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council: Parish Statistics (downloaded fro

5 April 2010) Much of the terrain is flat, with an average elevation of around 45 metres. A network of unnamed brooks, tributaries of the

River Weaver The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included ...

, run across the civil parish, with more undulating terrain occurring in their vicinity; the eastern parish boundary and parts of the north and west boundaries are defined by these brooks. There are also numerous scattered small meres and ponds. There are several small areas of woodland, including part of Poole Gorse. In the north east of the parish, near Poole Old Hall, is an area designated as access land. A short stretch of the Shropshire Union Canal, just south of

Hurleston Junction Hurleston Junction () is the name of the canal junction where the Llangollen Canal terminates and meets the Shropshire Union Canal main line at Hurleston, Cheshire, England. History The Chester Canal was planned as a broad canal running from C ...

, runs north–south near the western edge of the parish.Cheshire East Council & Cheshire West and Chester Council: Interactive Mapping: Poole
(accessed 31 March 2010)] The unclassified Wettenhall Road is the major road of the civil parish; it runs broadly north–south, leading to Wettenhall and

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining industr ...

to the north, and joining the A51 near

to the south. It crosses a brook at , south of Poole Bank Farm, via a red sandstone bridge, which dates from the early 19th century and is listed at grade II. Pool Old Hall Lane runs eastwards from Wettenhall Road to join Barons Road near Worleston, Dairy Lane runs northeastwards to join the B5074, and Poole Hill Road runs westwards to connect with the A51. The

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

Regional Route 75 follows Wettenhall Road. The Crewe and Nantwich Circular Walk runs north–south through the east of the civil parish. The area is predominantly rural, with the major land use being agricultural, particularly dairy farming. Local industries include a plant nursery () and machine knitting centre (). A tea shop is located adjacent to the machine knitting centre.

Demography

The total population of the civil parish was estimated as 90 in 2006. In the 2001 census, the population was 101.Combining Cheshire County Council: Local Statistics: Aston juxta Mondrum – Poole
Neighbourhood Statistics: Aston juxta Mondrum CP
(accessed 17 August 2007) The population has declined since 1801; the historical population figures were 168 (1801), 167 (1851), 155 (1901) and 99 (1951).
(accessed 31 March 2010)

Places of worship

Poole Methodist Chapel is a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on Wettenhall Road (); it is listed at grade II. Built in 1834 and largely unaltered externally, the design is typical of early Methodist churches. The single-storey red-brick building has a slate roof and encloses a single rectangular room used for worship. The entrance features a semi-circular fanlike arch above the door, with a dated tablet above. There are four windows with Y-tracery and pointed arches. The interior was affected by dry rot and was replaced in 1954. It belongs to the Nantwich section of the Nantwich Circuit. Badger Point Poole

Other landmarks

Poole Hall Poole Hall is a Regency architecture, Regency mansion at Poole, Cheshire, Poole, near Nantwich in Cheshire, England. It dates from 1812 to 1817 and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* Listed buildi ...

on Cinder Lane () was built in 1812–7 for William Massey of Chester, possibly to the design of

Lewis Wyatt Lewis William Wyatt (1777–1853) was a British architect, a nephew of both Samuel and James Wyatt of the Wyatt family of architects, who articled with each of his uncles and began practice on his own about 1805. Lewis Wyatt is known primarily ...

, on the site of an earlier building. It is listed at grade II*. The two-storey building is in red brick with sandstone trimming, and features a semicircular porch with four unfluted Ionic columns.

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

considered the interior to be "exceptionally fine".Pevsner & Hubbard, p. 289 The park was designed by John Webb; it includes an L-shaped ornamental pond, possibly the remains of a moat to the earlier building.Latham, p. 120Images of England: Poole Hall
(accessed 5 April 2010) A

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

barn to the north of the hall, dating from the late 17th century, is also listed at grade II. Pinfold Poole Bank

Two further timber-framed, grade-II-listed buildings survive within the civil parish; both are on Wettenhall Road. Poole Bank Farmhouse () is a T-shaped, two-storey building with a tile roof. Badger Point () is a single-storey building with a thatched roof. Both date from the mid-17th century and feature small framing with a brick infill. The grade-II-listed Poole Farmhouse () originally dates from the mid-17th century; a two-storey, T-shaped building in red brick, it features

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s at its corners. A grade-II-listed

pinfold An animal pound is a place where stray livestock were impounded. Animals were kept in a dedicated enclosure, until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding. Etymology The terms "pinfold" and "pound" are Saxon in origi ...

or cattle pound, dating from the early 19th century, stands at the junction of Wettenhall Road and Pool Old Hall Lane, near Poole Bank (). Constructed of red sandstone blocks, the pinfold is a rectangular enclosure of around 3 metres²; the gate is missing. Pinfolds were maintained by the lord of the manor; stray livestock were rounded up and confined in the enclosure by an official termed a "pinder", with a fine being imposed for their release. Albert Hornby

Education

There are no educational facilities within the civil parish. Poole falls within the catchment areas of St Oswald's Worleston Church of England Primary School in

, and Malbank School and Sixth Form College in

Notable residents

The 19th-century cricketer A. N. Hornby lived at Poole Hall, as did his father, William Henry Hornby, MP for

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

.Latham, pp. 105–6 Sir William Holland, MP, also lived in the hall in 1904.

References

Sources

*Cheshire Federation of Women's Institutes. ''The Cheshire Village Book'' (Countryside Books & CFWI; 1990) () *Husain BMC. ''Cheshire under the Norman Earls: 1066–1237'' (''A History of Cheshire'', Vol. 4; series editor JJ Bagley) (Cheshire Community Council Publications Trust; 1973) *Lamberton A, Gray R. ''Lost Buildings around Nantwich'' (Landmark Publishing; 2006) () *Latham FA, ed. ''Acton'' (The Local History Group; 1995) () *Pevsner N, Hubbard E. ''The Buildings of England: Cheshire'' (Penguin Books; 1971) ()

External links

Worleston, Aston-juxta-Mondrum Poole and Reaseheath parish website
{{authority control Civil parishes in Cheshire Villages in Cheshire