Historic Towns of Cheshire

ImagesImages courtesycourtesy of:of: CatalystCheshire Science County Discovery Council Centre Chester CityCheshire Council County Archaeological Council Service EnglishCheshire Heritage and Chester Photographic Archives Library and The Grosvenor Museum,Local Studies Chester City Council EnglishIllustrations Heritage Photographic by Dai Owen Library Greenalls Group PLC Macclesfield Museums Trust The Middlewich Project Warrington Museums, Libraries and Archives Manors, HistoricMoats and Towns of Cheshire OrdnanceOrdnance Survey Survey StatementStatement ofof PurposePurpose Monasteries TheThe Ordnance Ordnance Survey Survey mapping mapping within within this this documentdocument is is provided provided by by Cheshire Cheshire County County CouncilCouncil under under licence licence from from the the Ordnance Ordnance Survey.Survey. It It is is intended intended to to show show the the distribution distribution HistoricMedieval towns ofof archaeological archaeological sites sites in in order order to to fulfil fulfil its its 84 publicpublic function function to to make make available available Council Council held held publicpublic domain domain information. information. Persons Persons viewing viewing thisthis mapping mapping should should contact contact Ordnance Ordnance Survey Survey CopyrightCopyright for for advice advice where where they they wish wish to to licencelicence Ordnance Ordnance Survey Survey mapping/map mapping/map data data forfor their their own own use. use. The The OS OS web web site site can can be be foundfound at at www.ordsvy.gov.uk www.ordsvy.gov.uk Historic Towns of Cheshire The Roman origin of the Some of Cheshire’s towns have centres of industry within a ancient city of Chester is well been in existence since Roman few decades. They include known, but there is also an times, changing and adapting Roman saltmaking settlements, amazing variety of other over hundreds of years. Others Saxon Burhs, medieval boroughs historic towns across Cheshire, Warrington have developed from small and 19th century railway Halton and Warrington. Thelwall – 918 rural communities to towns. Widnes ' ▲ Wilderspool The evidence of their historic beginnings '▲Runcorn can be seen in the Runcorn – 912 buildings, street ▲ ▲ patterns and place Parkgate names of the towns Ellesmere Port Frodsham Northwich Macclesfield today. These historic towns range in size Eddisbury – 914 but they all have ' one thing in Chester – 907 ' Winsford common; they ▲ developed into Chester Middlewich Congleton permanent settlements Sandbach where most of the population made a living from non- agricultural occupations. Farndon Crewe ▲ © Crown copyright. Key to the origins of towns All rights reserved. Cheshire County Council Nantwich ● Roman '● Saxon burhs Licence No. 100019582. 2004 ● Saxon ▲● Post medieval Roman Towns The Roman army established a legionary fortress at Chester and smaller forts at Northwich and Middlewich. The presence of the army led to the development of towns around military settlements. These towns would have had workshops and traders to supply the soldiers. valuable commodity, used for flavouring and Reconstruction of Wilderspool Roman Towns were also established away from forts, at preserving food. There were salt production Settlement, 2nd century AD places where transport links met. sites outside the forts at Middlewich and Northwich. Recent excavations at Nantwich Wilderspool, Warrington Salt Towns have revealed a substantial salt-working The settlement at Wilderspool was home to a In Cheshire, the main activity apart from settlement on the banks of the River Weaver. civilian industrial community. It was situated at farming was salt making. Salt has been the lowest crossing point of the River Mersey, extracted from the brine springs of central Middlewich making it a good place for a settlement. Cheshire since the Iron Age, probably by the The settlement here was originally an auxiliary fort local tribe. It is likely that the Romans took of the Roman army, used to help secure control of The Roman settlement was occupied from the Illustrations by Graham Sumner © Roman Middlewich Project control of salt working in Cheshire as salt was a the northern territories. Outside the military end of the 1st century AD to the 4th century settlement was an area of salt production. AD. Excavations have identified lots of different industrial activity, with evidence of iron Excavations show that the settlement was smelting, lead and bronze working, glass and laid out along King Street in narrow timber pottery making and enamelling. buildings. The evidence of salt working included kilns, brine storage pits and lead salt The settlement’s position on the River Mersey, pans. The land at the rear of the buildings with links to the network of Roman roads, was used for small-scale industrial activity. There meant it could easily export its products and is evidence of iron, bronze and lead working, there was probably a port there. The settlement shoemaking, weaving, window glass making seems to have initially supplied the army in and leather working. The land at the edge north Britain, then later civilian markets. There is of the main settlement seems to have been good evidence for pottery production at subdivided into small fields for agriculture, Wilderspool and pottery vessels made there Saltworks around 130AD salt-making and pottery production. have been found at forts along Hadrian’s Wall. Saxon Towns Following the decline of Roman Britain, people of both Farndon and Sandbach may owe their The elaborate pre-Viking sculpture found in left the towns and returned to farming, until origins to Saxon Minster churches. Both appear Sandbach suggests the town was the focus of Saxon settlers developed new urban centres. to have circular churchyards, a shape a sculpture workshop operating in the early associated with early Saxon Churches. 9th century. Wichs The place name element “wich” is Saxon. In Burhs Cheshire it is used to refer to any of the salt The building of new fortified Saxon towns, producing towns. The Domesday Survey of known as burhs was recorded in the Anglo- 1086 provides valuable information about salt Saxon Chronicle. They were originally intended production in Saxon Cheshire. The valuation to defend against Viking attack. Burhs were of the towns of Middlewich, Nantwich and built at Chester, Eddisbury, Runcorn and Northwich give an idea of the amount of salt Thelwall. These defended sites often grew into being produced, with Nantwich being the trading centres and are important examples of most important. early urbanism in Cheshire. Estate centres Runcorn was founded as a burh in 912. It The large estates of the Saxon Earls would occupied an important strategic position, and have needed a centre for administration. Both would have allowed the Mercians to defend Frodsham and Macclesfield belonged to the the Mersey against Viking invasion from the Earl of Mercia before the Norman Conquest North. and were probably originally the administrative centres of large estates. They would have Thelwall was the site of a burh built in 918. It attracted further settlement and trade. At was primarily a fort, not a town, so the site was the time of the Domesday survey, both probably quite small. It was probably intended were valued at £8, one of the largest sums to guard the fords across the River Mersey in Cheshire. though no archaeological evidence for the site has yet been found. Churches and monastic sites Minsters were centres of the earliest Saxon religious communities. The settlement patterns Reconstruction of one of the Sandbach Crosses Medieval Towns Macclesfield Charter of 1261 The prosperity of medieval Cheshire can be Records show which a charter by William de seen in the development of towns. Tax records settlements were Boteler. William de are a good way of judging the size of towns granted borough Tabley granted a through history. Data for Cheshire towns is rare status. The King charter to Knutsford in however, because in the medieval period the originally granted 1292. shire was exempt from national taxes, having borough charters, but its own tax system, the Mize. Records of the by the 13th century The charters for these Mize of 1405 show that Nantwich paid £7 3s, local landowners were boroughs record the the largest sum in Cheshire (Chester was not also issuing charters. rights of the burgesses (citizens of the included). Most of the Cheshire boroughs were town). Their rights included the right to rent established in this way. The founding plots of land (burgage plots) in the town Crown Hotel, Nantwich. of a borough would have increased and exemption from tolls in their lord’s the lord’s revenue by encouraging other territories. and controlling trade. Charters may have been issued to take advantage In Macclesfield and Congleton of the success of existing markets. burgesses could form merchant guilds. This allowed them to control the quality Boroughs of the goods made and the price at which The right to self-administration was granted to they were sold. many towns through borough charters. There are good documentary references to many of In all the towns, burgesses still had to bake these. We have records of the charters for bread and grind corn at the lord’s ovens and Macclesfield, Frodsham, Congleton, Knutsford, mills. They also all had the right to common Warrington, Over and Farnworth. pasture and at Macclesfield and Congleton they could take peat from nearby mosslands. In the 13th century, Macclesfield and Frodsham were granted charters by Ranulph de All these boroughs were successful. In 1283 Blundeville, Earl of Chester. The borough of 110 burgages are recorded in Frodsham; in Congleton was created by Henry de Lacy, 1294, 38 burgages are recorded in Knutsford, Baron of Halton, and Warrington was granted while by 1311 there were 86 in Congleton. continued Aerial view of Medieval Towns Farndon Settlements without Borough town in Cheshire, with burgage plots lining Charters the north of Main Street. These plots are Other towns have no surviving charter, but do around 150 metres long and look as though have references to burgages and so are they were laid out to a plan, though later assumed to have had borough status.

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