Wheelock, Cheshire
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Wheelock is a large village in the
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 ...
of
Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East borough of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, Cheshire, Wheelock. At the 2021 United Kingd ...
which is in the unitary authority of
Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council, which is based in the town of Sandbach. Other towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Congleton, Wilms ...
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 is south of Sandbach on the road to
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. ...
. It was named after the
River Wheelock The River Wheelock is a small river in Cheshire in north west England. It drains water from the area between Sandbach and Crewe, and joins the River Dane at Middlewich (), and then the combined river flows into the River Weaver in Northwich ...
.


Overview

Before its bypass was opened, among
lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructio ...
drivers Wheelock was notorious for a vicious little hill running from the Trent and Mersey Canal bridge up to a bridge crossing over the
North Staffordshire Railway The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a Great Britain, British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shro ...
near the junction with Zan Drive, particularly when winter weather made the road icy. Zan Drive leads to a small industrial area named Zan Industrial Park. Wheelock is currently serviced by a number of local businesses. The village currently has one public house, The Cheshire Cheese, and three restaurants: a Chinese takeaway, the Shampaan Indian restaurant (in the former Nags Head pub) and Barchetta Restaurant next to the canal. The Commercial Hotel, formerly the largest public house in the village, is now a dog centre: a small shop from which basic groceries can be purchased, and a large pet food store where all manner of foods and treats can be bought for a variety of animals also service the community. Wheelock Hall Farm has converted their shop into a family day out. The business has been expanded to include an onsite café, and large play area for children.


History

The village was named after the
River Wheelock The River Wheelock is a small river in Cheshire in north west England. It drains water from the area between Sandbach and Crewe, and joins the River Dane at Middlewich (), and then the combined river flows into the River Weaver in Northwich ...
which runs through it, and in which ''Wheelock'' is derived from an Old Welsh source meaning "winding river".Dodgson, J. McN. (1970a). page 38.Dodgson, J. McN. (1970b). page 274. The first recorded name for the village is ''Hoileck/Hoiloch'' 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 ...
. By 1396 the name had evolved to ''Quelock'' then in 1382 to ''Whelock''. Two years later, in 1384 it was ''Welock'' and by 1390 the name ''Wheelock'' was settled upon. In 1801 the population was 189, by 1851 it was 548 and by 1901 it was 685. In 1931 the parish had a population of 756. The village was originally a
township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
and
chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...
within the ancient parish of Sandbach, which formed part of
Northwich Hundred Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane, east of Chester, south of Warrington and south of Manc ...
. Later on it became part of Congleton
Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...
,
Rural Sanitary District Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...
, and Rural District.Youngs, F. A. (1991). page 40. Wheelock and surrounding land was made a separate
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 ...
in 1866, on 1 April 1936 the civil parish was abolished, with the northern part (containing the village) being transferred to Sandbach Urban District and Sandbach civil parish, and the southern part (containing the hamlet of Wheelock Heath and surrounding farmland) being transferred to
Haslington Haslington is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies about north-east of the much larger railway town of Crewe and approximately ...
civil parish in
Nantwich Rural District Nantwich Rural District was a division of Cheshire until 1974, when it merged with the Nantwich and Crewe urban districts to create the Borough of Crewe and Nantwich Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a Non-metropolitan district, l ...
. Ecclesiastically, Wheelock lies in the
Diocese of Chester The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside. History Ancient diocese Before the si ...
, and a separate
ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
was formed in 1840. It first formed part of
Middlewich Middlewich is a town and civil parish in Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is located east of Chester, east of Winsford, south-east of Northwich and north-west of Sandbach. The population of the parish at the United Kingdom 2021 census, ...
rural deanery, but since 1880 it has been part of Congleton rural deanery. Wheelock first lay in the general Cheshire county parliamentary constituency until 1832, when it became part of the Cheshire Southern Division constituency. From 1867 until 1885 it was in the Cheshire Middle Division constituency, and from 1885 until 1948 it lay in the parliamentary constituency of
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. ...
. The village was also served by a branch line from
Kidsgrove Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, on the Cheshire border. It is part of the Potteries Urban Area, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 26,276 (2019 census) ...
to
Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East borough of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, Cheshire, Wheelock. At the 2021 United Kingd ...
with a
station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
. This has since closed and the line is now a footpath. The old station survives as a garage and some cottages.


Governance


Local government

From 1974 to 2009 Wheelock had some services administered by
Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities: Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...
, and others by Congleton Borough Council. On 1 April 2009 both these local authorities were succeeded by
Cheshire East Council Cheshire East Council is the local authority for Cheshire East, a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs th ...
, who are based at the former Congleton Borough headquarters at Westfields in Sandbach. At the lowest level of local government Wheelock is administered by Sandbach Town Council as it is now part of Sandbach civil parish. The village had previously been administered by Sandbach Urban District Council, until this was then merged with other urban and rural councils to form Congleton Borough Council in 1974.


Constituencies

Wheelock is in the Congleton Constituency; the MP is Sarah Russell since 2024. Before
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
in 2020, it was part of the North West Constituency for elections to the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
.


Religious sites

Some of the churches in Wheelock have joined with the ecclesiastical parish of Sandbach and others to form the group
Churches Together in Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East borough of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock. At the 2021 census, the Sandbach built u ...
. This group helps bring the various denominational churches together. Wheelock has four churches: * Christ Church, Wheelock *Wheelock Methodist Church *Congregational Church, Wheelock *
Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...
Kingdom Hall A Kingdom Hall is a place of worship used by Jehovah's Witnesses. The term was first suggested in 1935 by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Society, for a building in Hawaii. Rutherford's reasoning was that these ...
in Forge Fields


Education

* Wheelock Primary School (formerly Wheelock County Primary School) *Wheelock Pre-School


Notable people

*
Edward Harwood Edward Harwood (1729–1794) was a prolific English classical scholar and biblical critic. Life Harwood was born at Darwen, Lancashire, in 1729. After attending a school at Darwen, he went in 1745 to the Blackburn grammar school under Thomas Hu ...
(1729–1794) English classical scholar and biblical critic, preached at Wheelock * Wallace Oakes (1932–1965) awarded the George Cross after a steam train accident, lived in Wheelock


Notes and references


Notes


Bibliography

* * *


External links

{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Former civil parishes in Cheshire Sandbach