Darnhall

Last updated

Darnhall
Darnhall - Radio Telescope.jpg
The MERLIN radio telescope, Darnhall
Cheshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Darnhall
Location within Cheshire
OS grid reference SJ635631
Civil parish
  • Darnhall
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town WINSFORD
Postcode district CW7
Dialling code 01270
Police Cheshire
Fire Cheshire
Ambulance North West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cheshire
53°09′51″N02°32′53″W / 53.16417°N 2.54806°W / 53.16417; -2.54806

Darnhall is a civil parish and small village to the south west of Winsford in the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It had a population of 232 at the 2011 Census. [1]

Contents

History

The Norman Earls of Chester had a hunting lodge or summer palace at Darnhall in Over parish. There was an enclosed area where deer and wild boar were kept to be hunted by the Earl and his guests. It was there that the last earl met his death in 1237. It was rumoured that his wife, Helen, the daughter of Llywelyn the Great, had poisoned him in order to favour the powerful aristocrat that her daughter had married. However, King Henry III annexed the title and its lands and spent time at Darnhall. After the Second Barons' War, the Ash Brook was dammed to drive three water mills and to make pools to keep fish. [2] In 1270 at the behest of his son, Henry III gave the estate to the Cistercians, who built Darnhall Abbey in 1274 on the north bank of the new lake. However the land was not suitable for the grand scale of building envisaged, and the locals were not cooperative, so the monks left Darnhall to found Vale Royal Abbey in Whitegate in 1281.

For a period of around 50 years, between the foundation of Vale Royal and the death of Abbot Peter, the tenants and villeins of Darnhall periodically rebelled against the abbey's overlordship, sometimes violently. [3]

The first mention of a priest is in 1307 when a Thomas de Dutton is mentioned, but it is uncertain if this was at St Chad's in Winsford or as a chaplain at Darnhall, or both. The church and responsibility for the parish was given to St Mary's Convent in Chester, who appointed the priests in charge. [2]

By the eighteenth century, Darnhall belonged to Thomas Corbett (secretary of the Admiralty), and through him it descended to Thomas Corbett (Lincolnshire MP). [4]

Geography

A small area near the eastern boundary of the civil parish falls within the Weaver Valley Area of Special County Value. The parish includes Darnhall Wood, part of the Wettenhall And Darnhall Woods Site of Special Scientific Interest, together with woodland in the adjacent Wettenhall parish. [5] [6]

Landmarks

Darnhall is home to one of the radio telescopes that make up the Jodrell Bank MERLIN (Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network) radio telescope array linking six observing stations that together form a powerful telescope with an effective aperture of over 135 mi (217 km). [7]

One of the Darnhall Knobs as viewed from Moors Lane Stone Pillar, Darnhall Knobs - geograph.org.uk - 272669.jpg
One of the Darnhall Knobs as viewed from Moors Lane

At the junction between Moors Lane and Hall Lane stands two stone pillars known as the "Darnhall Knobs", one of which was constructed in 1897 to mark the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria after the previous column fell 70 years prior. The other pillar stands parallel and is said to have ancient origins. [8]

Notable people

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frodsham</span> Town and civil parish in England

Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population in 2021 was 9,300. It is 16 miles (26 km) south of Liverpool and 28 miles (45 km) southwest of Manchester. The River Weaver runs to its northeast and on the west it overlooks the estuary of the River Mersey. The A56 road and the Chester–Manchester railway line pass through the town, and the M56 motorway passes to the northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwich</span> Human settlement in England

Northwich is a market and port town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane. The town is about 18 miles (29 km) east of Chester, 15 miles (24 km) south of Warrington, and 19 miles (31 km) south of Manchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vale Royal</span> Former borough in Cheshire, England

Vale Royal was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It contained the towns of Northwich, Winsford and Frodsham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winsford</span> Town in Cheshire, England

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 industry after the river was canalised in the 18th century, allowing freight to be conveyed northwards to the Port of Runcorn on the River Mersey. The town of Winsford has an estimated population of 35,500 in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddisbury (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 to 1950 and 1983 onwards

Eddisbury is a constituency in Cheshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Edward Timpson, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuddington, Eddisbury</span> Human settlement in England

Cuddington is a civil parish and rural village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, about 4 miles west of Northwich and 13 miles east of Chester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Over, Cheshire</span> Area in England

Over is an ancient borough, mentioned in the Domesday Book, now a part of Winsford in the Cheshire West and Chester district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Wharton forms the eastern part, the boundary being the River Weaver. It is said to have retained its borough status and to be the smallest borough in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitegate, Cheshire</span> Human settlement in England

Whitegate is a small village in Cheshire, England, located near the towns of Northwich and Winsford. It is situated in the civil parish of Whitegate and Marton, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester.

Vale Royal Abbey is a former medieval abbey and later country house in Whitegate, England. The precise location and boundaries of the abbey are difficult to determine in today's landscape. The original building was founded c. 1270 by the Lord Edward, later Edward I, for Cistercian monks. Edward had supposedly taken a vow during a rough sea crossing in the 1260s. Civil wars and political upheaval delayed the build until 1272, the year he inherited the throne. The original site at Darnhall was unsatisfactory, so was moved a few miles north to the Delamere Forest. Edward intended the structure to be on a grand scale—had it been completed it would have been the largest Cistercian monastery in the country—but his ambitions were frustrated by recurring financial difficulties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wimboldsley</span> Human settlement in England

Wimboldsley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stanthorne and Wimboldsley, in the Cheshire West and Chester district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, 2 miles south of Middlewich. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 153.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheshire West and Chester</span> Borough in England

Cheshire West and Chester is a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. It superseded the boroughs of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Vale Royal and the City of Chester; its council is a unitary authority, having also assumed the functions and responsibilities of the former Cheshire County Council within its area. The remainder of ceremonial Cheshire is composed of Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington. Cheshire West and Chester has three key urban areas: Chester, Ellesmere Port and Northwich/Winsford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cholmondeston</span> Village in Cheshire, England

Cholmondeston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies 5 miles (8 km) to the northwest of Nantwich. Nearby villages include Aston juxta Mondrum, Barbridge, Calveley and Wettenhall. The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal and the Crewe–Chester railway line run through the civil parish. The area is predominantly rural, with a total population of around 150 in 2001, increasing to 175 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wardle, Cheshire</span> Human settlement in England

Wardle is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies on the Shropshire Union Canal, north west of Barbridge Junction, and is 4 miles to the north west of Nantwich, and the parish also includes part of the small settlement of Wardle Bank. The total population is around 250. RAF Calveley was a flight-training station during the Second World War, and the Mark III radio telescope stood on the airfield site in 1966–96. The modern civil parish includes Wardle Industrial Estate and is otherwise largely agricultural. Nearby villages include Barbridge, Calveley and Haughton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wettenhall</span> Human settlement in England

Wettenhall is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies 3½ miles to the south west of Winsford and 6 miles to the north west of Crewe. The parish also includes the settlements of Chapel Green and Woodside. Nearby villages include Alpraham, Calveley, Cholmondeston, Church Minshull, Little Budworth and Tarporley. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 135, increasing to 192 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poole, Cheshire</span> Village in Cheshire, England

Poole is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which lies to the north west of Nantwich and to the west of Crewe. The Shropshire Union Canal runs through the parish. Nearby villages include Acton, Aston juxta Mondrum, Barbridge, Stoke Bank, Rease Heath and Worleston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hankelow</span> Human settlement in England

Hankelow is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies on the A529, around 1.25 miles (2.0 km) north east of Audlem and 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Nantwich. The civil parish has an area 369 hectares and also includes the small settlement of The Dell and part of Corbrook, with a total population of just over 260 in 2011. Nearby villages include Aston, Broomhall Green, Sound, Hatherton and Buerton in Cheshire and Woore in Shropshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forests of Mara and Mondrem</span> Former forests in Cheshire, England

The Forests of Mara and Mondrem were adjacent medieval forests in Cheshire, England, which in the 11th century extended to over 60 square miles (160 km2), stretching from the Mersey in the north almost to Nantwich in the south, and from the Gowy in the west to the Weaver in the east. Mara and Mondrem were a hunting forest of the Norman Earls of Chester, established soon after 1071 by the first earl, Hugh d'Avranches. They might earlier have been an Anglo-Saxon hunting forest. Game included wild boar, and red, fallow and roe deer.

Darnhall is a civil parish in Cheshire West and Chester, England. It contains eight buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings, all of which are at Grade II. This grade is the lowest of the three gradings given to listed buildings and is applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". The parish is entirely rural and this is reflected in the nature of the listed buildings, which consist of three farmhouses, a mill house, a mill, stables, and two bridges.

References

  1. ↑ "Parish population 2011". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 Curzon, J. Brian. It's All Over (2006)
  3. ↑ Green, Richard Firth (1999). A crisis of truth : literature and law in Ricardian England. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 166–167. ISBN   0-8122-3463-4. OCLC   39498769.
  4. ↑ Burke, John (1838). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry; Or, Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Etc. p. 191. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  5. ↑ Natural England: Wettenhall And Darnhall Woods Archived 23 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 16 April 2010)
  6. ↑ Natural England: Nature on the Map: Wettenhall & Darnhall Woods SSSI [ permanent dead link ] (accessed 16 April 2010)
  7. ↑ "MERLIN". www.merlin.ac.uk. MERLIN/VLBI National Facility. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "Darnhall Knobs, Winsford". Geograph.
  9. ↑ Pearson, Chris. "Lee of Darnhall". Cheshire Heraldry Web Journal. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.