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CHESHIRE

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Originally appearing in Volume V06, Page 92 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CHESHIRE , a See also:

north-western See also:county of See also:England, bounded N. by See also:Lancashire, N.E. by See also:Yorkshire and See also:Derbyshire, S.E. by See also:Staffordshire, S. by See also:Shropshire, W. by Denbighshire and See also:Flint, and N.W. by the Irish See also:Sea. Its See also:area is 1027.8 sq. m. The See also:coast-See also:line is formed by the estuaries of the See also:Dee and the See also:Mersey, which are separated by the See also:low rectangular See also:peninsula of Wirral. The See also:estuary of the Dee is dry at low See also:tide on the Cheshire See also:shore, but that of the Mersey bears upon its See also:banks the ports of See also:Liverpool (in Lancashire) and See also:Birkenhead (on the Wirral shore). The Dee forms a See also:great See also:part of the county boundary with See also:Denbigh-See also:shire and Flint, and the Mersey the boundary along the whole of the See also:northern See also:side. The See also:principal See also:river within the county is the See also:Weaver, which crosses it with a north-See also:westerly course, and, being joined by the Dane at See also:Northwich, discharges into the estuary of the Mersey See also:south of See also:Runcorn. The See also:surface of Cheshire is mostly low and gently undulating or See also:flat; but the broken line of the Peckforton hills, seldom exceeding 600 ft. in height, runs north and south flanking the valley of the Weaver on the See also:west. A low narrow See also:gap in these hills is traversed by the small river Gowy, which rises to the See also:east but has the greater part of its course to the west of them. Commanding this gap on the west, the See also:Norman See also:castle of Beeston stands on an isolated See also:eminence. The northern part of the hills coincides approximately with.the See also:district still called See also:Delamere See also:Forest, formerly a See also:chase of the earls of See also:Chester, and finally disforested in 1812. In certain sequestered parts the forest has not wholly lost its See also:ancient See also:character. On the east Cheshire includes the western See also:face of the broad See also:belt of high See also:land which- embraces the See also:Peak district of Derbyshire; these hills rise sharply to the east of See also:Congleton, See also:Macclesfield and See also:Hyde, reaching a height of about 'Soo ft. within Cheshire.

Distributed over the county, but principally in the eastern See also:

half, are many small lakes or See also:meres, such as See also:Combermere, Tatton, Rostherne, Tabley, Doddington, Marbury and See also:Mere, and it was a See also:common practice among the gentry of the county to build their mansions on the banks of these See also:waters. The meres See also:form one of the most picturesque features of the county. See also:Geology.—With the exception of a small area of Carboniferous rocks on the eastern border, and a small patch of See also:Lower See also:Lias near Audlem, the whole See also:country is occupied by Triassic strata. The great central See also:plain is covered by red and mottled See also:Keuper Marls. From these marls See also:salt is obtained; there are many beds of See also:rock-salt, mostly thin; two are much thicker than the others, being from 75 ft. to over See also:loo ft. thick. Thin beds and See also:veins of See also:gypsum are common in the marls. The striking features of the Peckforton Hills are due to the repeated faulting of the Lower Keuper See also:Sandstone, which lies upon beds of See also:Bunter Sandstone. Besides forming this well-marked See also:ridge, the Lower Keuper Sandstones or " Waterstones " form several ridges north-west of Macclesfield and appear along most of the northern See also:borders of the county and in the neighbourhood of New See also:Brighton and Birkenhead. The Lower Keuper Sandstone is quarried near the last-named See also:place, also at Storeton, Delamere and See also:Manley. This is .a See also:good See also:building See also:stone and an important See also:water-bearing stratum; it is often ripple-marked, and bears the footprints of the Cheirotherium. At Alderley Edge ores of See also:copper, See also:lead and See also:cobalt are found.. West of the Peckforton ridge, Bunter Sandstones and pebble beds extend to the border.

They also form low foothills between See also:

Cheadle and Macclesfield. They fringe the northern boundary and appear on the south-eastern boundary as a narrow See also:strip of hilly ground near Woore. The See also:oldest rock exposed in the county is the small faulted anticline of Carboniferous See also:limestone at Astbury, followed in See also:regular See also:succession eastward by the shale, and thin limestones and sandstones of the Pendleside See also:series. These rocks extend from Congleton Edge to near Macclesfield, where the outcrop bends sharply eastward and runs up the Goyt valley. Some hard quartzites in the Pendleside series, known locally as ` Crowstones," have contributed to the formation of the high Bosley See also:Min and neighbouring hills. East of Bosley Min, on either side of the Goyt valley, are the Millstone Grits and Shales, forming the elevated moorland tracts. See also:Cloud See also:Hill, a striking feature near Congleton, is capped by the " Third Grit," one of the Millstone Grit series. From Macclesfield northward through See also:Stockport is a narrow See also:tongue of Lower and See also:Middle See also:Coal-Measures—an See also:extension of the Lancashire coalfield. Coal is See also:mined at Neston in the Wirral peninsula from beneath the Trias; it is a connecting See also:link between the Lancashire and Flintshire coalfields. Glacial See also:drift is thickly spread over all the lower ground.; laminated red See also:clays, stiff See also:clay with northern erratics and lenticular See also:sand masses with occasional gravels, are the common types. At See also:Crewe the drift is over 400 ft. thick. Patches of Drift sand, with marine shells, occur on the high ground east of Macclesfield at an See also:elevation of 1250 ft.

See also:

Agriculture and See also:Industries.—The See also:climate is temperate and rather See also:damp; the See also:soil is varied and irregular, but a large See also:pro-portion is a thin-skinned clay. More than four-fifths of the See also:total area is under cultivation. The See also:crop of See also:wheat is comparatively insignificant; but a large quantity of oats is grown, and a great proportion of the cultivated land is in permanent pasture. The vicinity of such populous centres as Liverpool and See also:Manchester, as well as the several large towns within the county, makes See also:cattle and See also:dairy-farming profitable. See also:Cheese of excellent quality is produced, the name of the county being given to a particular See also:brand (see DAIRY). Potatoes are by far the most important See also:green crop. See also:Fruit-growing is carried on in some parts, especially the cultivation of stone fruit and, among these, damsons; while the See also:strawberry beds near Farndon and See also:Holt arc celebrated. In the first half of the 19th See also:century the See also:condition of agriculture in Cheshire was notoriously backward; and in 1865–1866 the county suffered with especial severity from a visitation of cattle See also:plague. The total loss of stock amounted to more than 66,000 See also:head, and it was necessary to obtain from the See also:Treasury a See also:loan of f270,o00 on the See also:security of the county See also:rate, for purposes of See also:relief and See also:compensation. The cheese-making See also:industry naturally received a severe See also:blow, yet to agriculture at large an ultimate good resulted as the possibility and even the See also:necessity of new methods were See also:borne in upon the farmers. The industries of the county are varlous and important. The manufacture of See also:cotton goods extends from its seat in Lancashire into Cheshire, at the See also:town of Stockport and elsewhere in the north-east.

Macclesfield and Congleton are centres of See also:

silk manufacture. At Crewe are situated the great workshops of the See also:London & North-Western railway See also:company, the institution of which actually brought the town into being. Another instance of the See also:modern creation of a town by an individual See also:industrial See also:corporation is seen in See also:Port Sunlight on the Mersey, where the See also:soap-See also:works of Messrs See also:Lever are situated. On the Mersey there are See also:shipbuilding yards, and machinery and See also:iron works. Other important manufactures are those of tools, chemicals, clothing and hats, and there are See also:printing, See also:bleaching and dye works, and See also:metal foundries. Much sandstone is quarried, but the See also:mineral See also:wealth of the county lies in coal and salt. The second is a specially important product. Some rock-salt is obtained at Northwich and See also:Winsford, but most of the salt is extracted frofn brine both here and at Lawton, Wheelock and See also:Middlewich. At Northwich and other places in the locality curious accidents frequently occur owing to the sinking of the soil after the brine is pumped out; walls crack and collapse, and houses are seen leaning far out of the perpendicular. A little copper and lead are found. Communications.--The county is well served with See also:railways. The See also:main line of the London & North-Western railway, passing north from Crewe to See also:Warrington in Lancashire, serves no large town, but from Crewe branches diverge fanwise to Manchester, Chester, North See also:Wales and See also:Shrewsbury.

The Great Western railway, with a line coming northward from See also:

Wrexham, obtains See also:access through Cheshire to Liverpool and Manchester. These two companies jointly See also:work the Birkenhead railway from Chester to Birkenhead. The See also:heart of the county is traversed by the Cheshire Lines, serving the salt district, and reaching Chester from Manchester by way of Delamere Forest. In the east the Midland and Great Central systems enter the county, and the North Staffordshire line serves Macclesfield. The Manchester, South Junction & See also:Altrincham and the Wirral railways are small systems serving the localities indicated by their names. The river Weaver is locked as far up as Winsford, and the transport of salt is thus expedited. The profits of the See also:navigation, which was originally undertaken in 1720 by a few Cheshire squires, belong to the county, and are paid annually to the relief of the county rates. In the salt district through which the Weaver passes subsidence of the land has resulted in the formation of lakes of considerable extent, which See also:act as reservoirs to See also:supply the navigation. There are further means of inland navigation by the See also:Grand See also:Trunk, Shropshire See also:Union and other canals, and many small steamers are in use. The Manchester See also:Ship See also:Canal passes through a See also:section of north Cheshire, being entered from the estuary of the Mersey by locks near Eastham, and following its See also:southern shore up to Runcorn, after which it takes a more See also:direct course than the river. See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The ancient county, which is a county See also:palatine, has an area of 657,783 acres, with a population in 1891 of 730,058 and in 1901 of 815,099. Cheshire has been described as a suburb of Liverpool, Manchester and the See also:Potteries of Staffordshire, and many of those whose business lies in these centres have colonized such districts as Bowdon, Alderley, See also:Sale and See also:Marple near Manchester, the Wirral, and Alsager on the Staffordshire border, until these localities have come to resemble the richer suburban districts of London.

On the See also:

short seacoast of the Wirral are found the popular resorts of New Brighton and See also:Hoylake. This See also:movement and importance of its industries have given the county a vast increase of population in modern times. In 1871 the population was 561,201; from 18o1 until that See also:year it had increased 191 %. The area of the administrative county is 654,825 acres. The county contains 7 hundreds. The municipal boroughs are Birkenhead (pop. 110,915), Chester (38,309), Congleton (10,707), Crewe (42,074), See also:Dukinfield (18,929), Hyde (32,766), Macclesfield (34,624), See also:Stalybridge (27,673), Stockport (92,832). Chester, the county town, is a See also:city, county of a city, and county See also:borough, and Birkenhead and Stockport are county boroughs. The other See also:urban districts with their populations are as follows:- Of the townships in this table, those marked (a) are within a See also:radius of about 15 m. from Manchester (See also:Knutsford being taken as the limit), while those marked (b) are in the Wirral. The localities of densest population are thus clearly illustrated. The county is in the North Wales and Chester See also:circuit, and assizes are held at Chester. It has one See also:court of See also:quarter sessions, and is divided into fourteen See also:petty sessional divisions.

The boroughs already named, excepting Dukinfield, have See also:

separate commissions of the See also:peace, and Birkenhead and Chester have separate courts of quarter sessions. There are 464 See also:civil parishes. Cheshire is almost wholly in the See also:diocese of Chester, but small parts are in those of Manchester, St See also:Asaph or See also:Lichfield.. There are 268 ecclesiastical parishes or districts wholly or in part within the county. There are eight See also:parliamentary divisions, namely, Macclesfield, Crewe, Eddisbury, Wirral, Knutsford, Altrincham, Hyde and Northwich, each returning one member; the county also includes the parliamentary borough of Birkenhead returning one member, and parts of the borough of Stockport, which returns two members, and of See also:Ashton-under-Lyne, Chester, Stalybridge, and Warrington, which return one member each. See also:History.-The earliest recorded See also:historical fact See also:relating to the district which is now Cheshire is the See also:capture of Chester and destruction of the native Britons by the Northumbrian See also:king lEthelfrith about 614. After a See also:period of incessant strife between the Britons and their Saxon invaders the district was subjugated by See also:Ecgbert in 83o and incorporated in the See also:kingdom of See also:Mercia. During the gth century iEthelwulf held his See also:parliament at Chester, and received the See also:homage of his tributary See also:kings from See also:Berwick to See also:Kent, and in the loth century lEtheiflwd rebuilt the city, and erected fortresses at Eddisbury and Runcorn. See also:Edward the See also:Elder garrisoned Thelwall and strengthened the passages of the Mersey and the Irwell. On the splitting up of Mercia in the loth century the dependent districts along the Dee were made a shire for the fortress of Chester. The shire is first mentioned in the See also:Abingdon See also:Chronicle, which relates that in 98o Cheshire was plundered by a See also:fleet of Northmen. At the See also:time of the Domesday Survey the county was divided into twelve hundreds, exclusive of the six hundreds between the Ribble and the Mersey, now included in Lancashire, but then a part of Cheshire.

These divisions have suffered great modification, both in extent and in name, and of the seven modern hundreds Bucklow alone retains its Domesday appellation. The hundreds of Atiscross and Exestan have been transferred to the counties of Flint and Denbigh, with the exception of a few townships now in the See also:

hundred of Broxton. The prolonged resistance of Cheshire to the Conqueror was punished by ruthless harrying and sweeping confiscations of See also:property, and no Englishman retained estates of importance after the See also:Conquest. In See also:order that the shire might be relieved of all obligations beyond the ever-pressing necessity of defending its borders against the inroads of hostile neighbours, it was constituted a county palatine which the See also:earl of Chester " held as freely by his See also:sword as the king held England by his See also:crown." The County had its See also:independent parliament 91 consisting of the barons and See also:clergy, and courts, and all lands except those of the See also:bishop were held of the earl. The court of See also:exchequer was presided over by a See also:chamberlain; a See also:vice-chamberlain, and a See also:baron of the exchequer. It was principally a court of See also:revenue, but probably a court of See also:justice also, before that of the See also:justiciary was established, and had besides the functions of a See also:chancery court, with an exclusive See also:jurisdiction in See also:equity. Other See also:officers of the See also:palatinate were the See also:constable, high-steward and the serjeants of the peace and of the forests. The abbots of St Werburgh and Combermere and all the eight barons held courts, in any of which cases of See also:capital See also:felony might be tried. During the 12th and 13th centuries the county was impoverished by the See also:constant inroads of the Welsh. In 1264 the castle and city of Chester were granted to See also:Simon de See also:Montfort, and in 1267 the treaty of Shrewsbury procured a short See also:interval of peace. See also:Richard 1I., in return for the loyal support furnished him by the county, made it a principality, but the act was revoked in the next reign. In 1403 Cheshire was the headquarters of Hotspur, who roused the See also:people by telling them that Richard II. was still living.

At the beginning of the See also:

Wars of the See also:Roses See also:Margaret collected a See also:body of supporters from among the Cheshire gentry, and Lancastrian risings occurred as See also:late as 1464. At the time of the Civil See also:War feeling was so equally divided that an See also:attempt was made to form an association for preserving See also:internal peace. In 1643, however, Chester was made the head-quarters of the royalist forces, while See also:Nantwich was garrisoned for the parliament, and the county became the See also:scene of constant skirmishes until the surrender of Chester in 1646 put an end to the struggle. From the number of great families with which it has been associated Chester has been named " the See also:mother and See also:nurse of See also:English gentility." Of the eight baronies of the earldom none survives, but the See also:title of that of Kinderton was bestowed in 1762 on See also:George Venables-See also:Vernon, son of See also:Anne, See also:sister of See also:Peter Venables, last baron of Kinderton, from whom the See also:present See also:Lord Vernon of Kinderton is descended. Other great Domesday proprietors were See also:William FitzNigel, baron of Halton, ancestor of the Lacys; See also:Hugh de See also:Mara, baron of Montalt, ancestor of the Ardens; Ranulph, ancestor of theMainwarings; and Hamo de See also:Massey. The Davenports, Leighs and Warburtons trace their descent back to the 12th century, and the Grosvenors are descended from a See also:nephew of Hugh See also:Lupus. In the reign of See also:Henry VIII. the distinctive privileges of Cheshire as a county palatine were considerably abridged. The right of See also:sanctuary attached to the city of Chester was abolished; justices of the peace were appointed as in other parts of the kingdom, and in 1542 it was enacted that in future two knights for the shire and two burgesses for the city of Chester should be returned to parliament. After the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned four members from two divisions, and Macclesfield and Stpckport returned two members each. Birkenhead secured See also:representation in 1859. From 1868 until the Redistribution Act of 1885 the county returned six members from three divisions. From earliest times the See also:staple products of Cheshire have been salt and cheese.

The salt-pits of Nantwich, Middlewich and Northwich were in active operation at the time of Edward the See also:

Confessor, and at that date the See also:mills and See also:fisheries on the Dee also furnished a valuable source of revenue. Twelfth century writers refer to the excellence of Cheshire cheese, and at the time of the Civil War three hundred tons at £33 per ton were ordered in one year for the troops in Scctland. The trades of tanners, skinners and See also:glove-makers existed at the time of the Conquest, and the export See also:trade in See also:wool in the 13th and 14th centuries was considerable. The first See also:bed of rock-salt was discovered in 167o. See also:Weaving and wool-combing were introduced in 1674. Antiquities.-The main See also:interest in the See also:architecture of the Alderley Edge (a) 2,856 Hoylake and West See also:Kirby (b) . 10,911 Alsager 2,597 Knutsford (a) . 5,172 Altrincham (a) 16,831 Lower Bebington (b) 8,398 Ashton-upon-Mersey (a) . 5,563 Lymm (a) . 4,707 Bollington (a) . 5,245 Marple (a) . 5,595 Bowdon (a) 2,788 Middlewich 4,669 Bredbury and Romiley (a) 7,087 Mottram-in-Longdendale (a) 3,128 Bromborough_ (b) .

. 1,891 Nantwich . 7,722 Buglawton (Congleton) 1,452 Neston and Parkgate (b) 4,154 Cheadle and Gatley (a) 7,916 Northwich . 17,611 Compstall (a) . 875 Runcorn 16,491 See also:

Ellesmere Port and See also:Whitby (b) 4,082 Sale (a) . 12,088 See also:Hale (a) . 4,562 See also:Sandbach . . . . 5,558 Handforth (a) 911 Tarporley 2,644 See also:Hazel See also:Grove and Bramhall (a) 7,934 See also:Wallasey (b) 53,579 Higher Bebington (b) 1,540 Wilmslow (a) 7,361 Hollingworth (a) 2,447 Winsford . 10,382 See also:Hoole (Chester) 5,341 Yeardsley-cum-Whaley (a) 1,487 county lies in the direction of domestic buildings rather than ecclesiastical. Old half-timbered houses are common in almost every part of the county; many of these add to the picturesqueness of the streets in the older towns, as in the See also:case of the famous Rows in Chester, while in the country many ancient See also:manor-houses remain as See also:farm-houses. Among the finest examples are Bramhall See also:Hall, between Stockport and Macclesfield, and Moreton Old Hall, near Congleton (see See also:HousE, PIate IV., fig. 13).

The first, occupying three sides of a quadrangle (formerly completed by a See also:

fourth side), See also:dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, and contains a splendid panelled hall and other rooms. Of Moreton Hall, which is moated, only three sides similarly remain; its date is of the 16th century. Other buildings of the Elizabethan period are not infrequent, such as Brereton and Dorfold Halls, while more modern mansions, set in See also:fine estates, are numerous. Crewe Hall is a modern building on an ancient site, and Vale Royal near Winsford incorporates fragments of a Cistercian monastery founded in 1277. A noteworthy instance of the half-timbered See also:style applied to an ecclesiastical building is found in the See also:church of Lower Peover near Knutsford, of which only the See also:tower is of stone. The church dates from the 13th century, and was carefully restored in 1852. Cheshire has no monastic remains of importance, See also:save those attached to the See also:cathedral of Chester, nor are its See also:village churches as a See also:rule of See also:special interest. There is, however, a fine late Perpendicular church (with earlier portions) at Astbury near Congleton, and of this style and the Decorated the churches of See also:Bunbury and Malpas may be noticed as good illustrations. In Chester, besides the cathedral, there is the massive Norman church of St See also:John; and St See also:Michael's church and the See also:Rivers See also:chapel at Macclesfield are noteworthy. No more remarkable religious monuments remain in the county than the two sculptured Saxon crosses in the See also:market-place at Sandbach. Ruins of two Norman castles exist in Beeston and Halton.

End of Article: CHESHIRE

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