Waverton 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

on the outskirts of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

in the unitary authority of

Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to l ...

and the ceremonial county of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England. It lies about south-east of Chester High Cross, south of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and south west of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. It is almost continuous with the village of Rowton to the north west and that in turn is almost continuous with

Christleton Christleton is a village and civil parish 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) passes through ...

. According to the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 1,587. The village's

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church is dedicated to St. Peter. The village has an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

church and there is a

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

church on the edge of the village in the parish of Rowton. The village has a post office, a number of shops, a takeaway, hairdressers, a primary school and a pub called the Black Dog. The village is home to the outdoor children's adventure attraction, the Crocky Trail. The Waverton Good Read Award was founded in 2003 for first-time UK novelists. Waverton Business Park is also located in the village, off the A41. The

Shropshire Union Canal The Shropshire Union Canal, sometimes nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. It is the modern name for a part of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company network. In the leisure age, two of the branches of that netwo ...

(originally Chester Canal) runs through the middle of Waverton. The village had two railway stations, Black Dog from 1840 to 1898 and Waverton from 1898 to 1959 which offered services on both the

North Wales Coast Line The North Wales Main Line ( or ; ), also known as the North Wales Coast Line (), is a major railway line in the north of Wales and Cheshire, England, running from Crewe on the West Coast Main Line to Holyhead on the Isle of Anglesey. The lin ...

and Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway. The North Wales Coast Line continues to run past the village between

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

and

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, While the Tattenhall and Whitchurch Railway was closed in the 1960s. Waverton railway station is now a bus depot run by Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire, while the site of Black Dog railway station is in use for the North Wales Coast Line with nothing remaining of the station site. The village also has a large junior football team, AFC Waverton, which competes in both the Chester and District Junior Football League and the Ellesmere Port Junior Football League.

History

The settlement was named ''Wavretone'' 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'', where it was said to be in the Dudestan

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

. The name was first given as ''Waverton'' in 1260, having been called ''Waueretone'' in 1150, and ''Wauertone'' in 1100. The origin of the name is not certain. The Church of St Peter's

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

has a roof that has been dated to 1665. The tower, on the west end of the building, is built in the Perpendicular Style and possess a nineteenth-century pyramidal roof. Although the church was restored in the 1880s, the chancel's timber framing, the windows, and

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

are all original. New residential developments led to a significant expansion of the village in the 20th Century. Until the late 1970s there was a chemical works located on the canal in the centre of Waverton. Residents of the village tend to be commuters to Liverpool and Manchester with easy access to the

M53 motorway The M53 is an motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside and the Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough of Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It is also referred to as the Mid Wirral ...

and

M56 motorway The M56 motorway serves the Cheshire and Greater Manchester areas of England. It runs east to west from junction 4 of the M60 at Gatley, south of Manchester, to Dunkirk, approximately north of Chester. With a length of , it connects North Wales ...

, as well as into Chester city centre.

Notable people

* Joseph Wright (ca.1824-1908), local greyhound trainer, he farmed at Avenue Farm, previously being the innkeeper of The White Horse public house in the village.WAVERTON A History of its People and Places, page 131/132 * Jack Wright (1850–1929), local greyhound trainer *

Joe Wright Joseph Wright (born 25 August 1972) is an English film director. His motion pictures include the period drama adaptations '' Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), ''Atonement'' (2007), '' Anna Karenina'' (2012), and '' Cyrano'' (2021), the action thrill ...

(1855-1923), local greyhound trainer * Robert Kelsell Wright (1858–1908), slipped the Waterloo Cup finals in 1890 & 1895, he farmed at Well House Farm. * Tom Wright (1861–1956), local greyhound trainer

References

External links

Waverton website
{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Civil parishes in Cheshire

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links