Bell o' th' Hill

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Bell o' th' Hill
Blue Bell Inn, Tushingham.JPG
The Blue Bell, at Bell o' th' Hill
Cheshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bell o' th' Hill
Location within Cheshire
OS grid reference SJ523454
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town WHITCHURCH
Postcode district SY13
Dialling code 01948
Police Cheshire
Fire Cheshire
Ambulance North West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cheshire
53°00′14″N2°42′44″W / 53.003780°N 2.712265°W / 53.003780; -2.712265

Bell o' th' Hill is a small, scattered settlement in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, close to the border with Shropshire. Until 2015 it was in the civil parish of Tushingham cum Grindley: it is now in the civil parish of Tushingham-cum-Grindley, Macefen and Bradley. [1] The settlement is adjacent to the A41 road north of Whitchurch, and an earlier line of the main road passes through it.

The unusual place-name has been supposed to be a back-formation from that of the historic "Bell on the Hill" inn, but the inn name may in fact have been suggested by the earlier forms "Belle Hill", recorded in 1610, and "Bellow Hill", noted 1675, possibly an Old English name from belg and hläw ("rounded hill"). [2] The Bell was built in 1677 by a London grocer, Edmund Nevitt. [3] Now named the Blue Bell, it was Grade II listed in 1967. [4]

A document of 1314 refers to an assart between "le Castelward" and Tushingham Hall, which has been taken to suggest the presence of a castle or motte here. [2]

References

  1. Tushingham cum Grindley, Macefen & Bradley, GENUKI, 12-01-18
  2. 1 2 Dodgson, The place names of Cheshire, part II, 1972, p.48
  3. The Cheshire Sheaf vol 2, 1883, p.361
  4. Blue Bell, Tushingham cum Grindley, Historic England, 13-01-18