Cheshire is bounded by Lancashire on the whole northern side, except a small point to the north-east, where it touches Yorkshire; on the east by Derbyshire and Staffordshire, on the south by Shropshire, and a detached part of Flintshire, and by Denbighshire and the rest of Flintshire on the west, touching also upon the Irish Sea at its northwest extremity.

The form of the county is distinguished by two horns or projections, running east and west from its northern side; one of which is made by the hundred of Wirral, lying between the estuaries of the Mersey and the Dee; the other by a part of Macclesfield hundred, pushing out between Derbyshire and Yorkshire. A line drawn from the extremities of these projections is found to measure 58 miles; but the extent of the county from east to west, across its middle, does not exceed 40 miles. Its greatest extent from north to south is about 30 miles. In circumference it is about 112 miles, and, according to the agricultural survey of the county, published by the Board of Agriculture, it contains about 676,000 acres.

The general appearance of Cheshire is that of an extended plain, and is for the most part a flat country, whence it has obtained the name of the Vale Royal of England, though this name properly refers to its central part, in which was situated the abbey of Vale Royal, founded by King Edward the First.

On the eastern side of the county there is a range of hilly or rather mountainous country, connected with the Derbyshire and Yorkshire hills, of about 25 miles in length, and five in breadth, extending from near Congleton to the north-eastern extremity of the county. From Macclesfield, in a north-western direction, the surface is irregular and hilly; but continues of that description no further than Alderley, about five or six miles from Macclesfield: on the Shropshire side the surface is likewise broken and irregular. Approaching the western side of the county, at the distance of about ten miles east from Chester, there is another range of irregular hills, between the rivers Dee and Mersey; these hills are in a direction almost north and south, and extend about 25 miles from Malpas, on the south side of the county, to Frodsham, on the opposite of it. About a mile to the south of Altringham, rises an elevated tract of ground, called Bowden Downs, which extends a considerable distance from east to west. Its western extremity is covered with the wood of Dunham Park. Bowden church is situated on the summit of this tract, from whence there is a most extensive view of a large part of Cheshire and the southern part of Lancashire. The remaining part of the county, amounting to nearly four-fifths of the whole, is probably not more on a medium than from 100 to 200 feet above the level of the sea.

Ancient History

Cheshire is one of those six counties Staffordshire, Flintshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, and Leicestershire, inhabited previous to the arrival of the Romans by the Cornavii, Carnabii, or Cornavii. The learned Mr. Whitaker conjectures that the Cornavii of Cheshire derive their name from the situation and nature of their coast, and in particular from the peculiar form of the long promontory between the estuaries of the Dee and the Mersey above-mentioned. Mr. Owen, however, objects to this etymology, and argues that the small head-land between the rivers Dee and Mersey is too inconsiderable to have given name to this extensive nation, and prefers the etymon Corain, circling or winding, and air, streams. Then "the people would be called Coranivi, Coreinelviaid, Coreineivion, Coreineivwyr, and Coreineivwys, or the inhabitants of the banks of winding rivers; names very applicable with respect to the two great rivers, the Severn and the Dee, on which their county chiefly lay."

Camden professes himself ignorant whence the name is derived. The Cangi, or Clangi, are thought by him to have dwelt among the Cornavii, and particularly to have been seated in this county, as he conjectures from several pieces of lead found in the shore adjoining, with this inscription:

IMP. DOMIT. AUG. GER. DE. CEAXG.
IMP. VESP. VII. T. IMP. V. COSS.

Which he supposes to have been memorials of the victory obtained over the Ceangi, who lived in these parts. Dr. Leigh endeavors to confirm this opinion from the names of several towns, which seem to retain some traces of their ancient inhabitants, as Conghill in Broughton, and Congleton in Nantwich hundred. The name of the Cornavii continued until the decline of the Roman empire; for some troops of the Cornavii settled under the latter emperors, as may be seen in the Notitia Provinciarum; and very probably they were a martial people, because the Romans always kept strong garrisons in their territories to restrain or keep them in subjugation.

Cheshire was included by the Romans in the division they name Flavia Caesariensis, and on the final departure from the Island, it reverted again to the Britons, who continued its possessors till about the year 607, when it was conquered by Ethelfrith, the Saxon king of Bernicia, who defeated the army of Brochmael Yscithroc, king of Powys, assembled to oppose him near Chester. On this occasion Ethelfrith is said to have slain 1,200 defenceless monks, whom Brochmael had called from the neighbouring monastery of Bangor, and stationed on a hill, that they might assist him with their prayers.

It was afterwards conquered by the Mercians, and continued a part of their kingdom about 200 years, when it fell into the hands of the Danes, who kept it but a few years; for King Alfred, A. D. 877, carrying his arms against those invaders, conquered them, and making Cheshire a province to the kingdom of the West Saxons, constituted Etheldred, one of the race of the kings of Mercia, duke or governor of the county. After the family of Etheldred had possessed this dignity for six generations, they were at length deprived of it by Canute the Dane, who committed this part of Mercia to the government of the Earls of Chester; of these only Leofric, the son of Leofwid; Algar, the son of Leofric; and Edwin, the son of Edgar, enjoyed this dignity, previous to the Norman conquest; for, in the time of the last earl, William the Conqueror, and his Normans, got possession of the English throne, and thus the Saxon nobility ended.

William, upon his settlement in England, gave this province to Gherbod, a valiant Fleming, who had undergone many hardships for him, both in acquiring and settling his kingdom. This earl, after some time, had occasion to return to Flanders, where he was made prisoner, and obliged, from a long captivity, to resign his newly-acquired honours and possessions to another.

The Conqueror in his stead appointed Hugh de Aurenge, better known by the name of Hugh Lupus. To him he delegated extraordinary power; making this a county palatine, and gave it such a sovereign jurisdiction, that the ancient earls kept their own parliament, and had their own courts of of law in which any offence against the dignity, of the sword of Chester was as cognizable as the like offence would have been at Westminster against the dignity of the royal crown; for William allowed Lupus to hold this county "tarn libere ad gladium, sicutipsa Rextenebat Angliam tenebat ad coronam. The sword with which he was invested is still to be seen in the British Museum, inscribed, "hugo comes cestre." The office of sword-bearer, at the times of the coronation, was also held by this weapon.

When Lupus was established in his government he formed his parliament by the creation of eight barons, viz. Nigel, Baron of Halton; Robert, of Monthalt; William Malbeding, of Nantwich; Vernon, of Shipbrooke; Fitz Hugh, of Malpas; Hamon de Massie, of Dunham; Venables, of Kinderton; and Nicholas, of Stockport. They were obliged to pay him attendance, and to repair to his court to give it the greater dignity. They were also bound, in time of war with Wales, to find for every knight’s fee, a horse, with caparison and furniture, or two without furniture, in the division of Cheshire. Their knights and freeholders were to have corselets and habergions, and were to defend their lands with their own bodies. Every baron had also four esquires, every esquire one gentleman, and every gentleman one valet. Each of these barons had also their free courts of all pleas and suits, and sued all plaints except what belonged to the Earl's sword. They had besides power of life and death; the last instance of the exertion of which was in the person of Hugh Stringer, who was tried for murder in the baron of Kinderton’s Court, and executed in the year 1597.

This species of government continued from the Conquest till the reign of Henry the Third, a period of 171 years; when, in the year 1237, on the death of John Scot, the seventh earl of the Norman line, without male issue, Henry took the earldom into his own hands, and gave the daughters of the late earl other, lands in lieu; unwilling, as he said, that so great an inheritance should be parceled out among distaffs. The king bestowed the county on his son Edward, who did not assume the title, but afterwards conferred it on his son Edward, of Caernarvon; since that time the eldest sons of the kings of England have always been earls of Chester as well as princes of Wales. The palatinate was governed by the Earls of Chester as fully and independently, for nearly three centuries after this period, as it had ever been by the Norman earls; but Henry the Eighth, by authority of parliament, made it subordinate to the crown of England. Yet, notwithstanding this restraint, all pleas of lands and tenements, and all contracts within the county, are to be heard and determined within it; and all determinations out of it are deemed void ‘et coram nonjudici,’ except in cases of error, foreign plea, and foreign voucher; and for no crime but treason can an inhabitant of this county be tried out of it."

The county of Chester, being solely under the jurisdiction of its own earls, sent no representatives to the national parliament for the city, nor shire, till the year 1549, the 3rd of Edward the Sixth, when, upon the petition of the inhabitants, two members were summoned from each.

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CHESHIRE is on the north-west side of England, communicating with the Irish Sea by the friths or mouths of the Dee and Mersey: the county is bounded on the north by the Mersey, which divides it from Lancashire, and by a small portion of Yorkshire; on the east by Derbyshire (the small rivers Etherow and Goyt forming the boundary) and south-east by Staffordshire; on the south by Shropshire; on the south-west by Denbighshire and on the west by Flintshire and the Irish Sea; and is about 32 miles from north to south, and about 50 from east to west.

The area is rather above the average of English shires, being 655,036 acres.

The population of Cheshire has largely increased during the present century; the following table shows the numbers at each census: —

The history of Cheshire in the Iberian, Celtic and Belgian periods is almost a blank. The Romans occupied the county during many years; Chester, the ancient Deva, was the station of the 20th Legion, and the county was intersected by many Roman roads, the remains of which may still be traced in different places. After the downfall of the Romans, the Welsh held it till about 607, when it fell under the power of Ethelfrith, King of Bernicia; but it was recovered by the Welsh, who held much of it till it was again taken by Egbert in 828, and annexed to the kingdomof Mercia, since which it has always been held by the English. For several centuries it was the scene of frequent warfare with the Welsh. During the Parliamentary war Cheshire was hotly contested; but in February, 1646, the Royalists were subdued.

William the Norman made it a county palatine for his nephew, Hugh Lupus, whose dynasty held it for two centuries; it has been since 1246 an appanage of the eldest sons of the king, who hold the Earldom of Chester, with the Principality of Wales and Duchy of Cornwall, giving a nominal suzerainty over the West of England.

The county is generally level, consisting of the vales of the two great river systems of the Dee and Mersey and of the peninsula of Wirral, and includes several mores or large ponds, of which Combermere is the largest; towards the north and east the county rises into low hills and moorland. The soils consist of clayey and sandy loams and peat-moss, overlying the new red sandstone formation.

The country is watered by the Mersey, the Dee and the Weaver, and their tributaries, the Dane, the Bollin, the Peover and the Wheelock. The climate is moist, and, with the soil, is favourable for pasturage; the rich dairy-land produces the famous cheese. Many agricultural and market garden products are also raised, stimulated by the demand in Liverpool, Manchester and other populous manufacturing towns.

The great tongue of land between the Dee and the Mersey is called Wirral, and includes above 100,000 acres; the southern suburbs of Liverpool are seated on its northern shores. The friths of the Dee and Mersey are navigable for shipping, and have on them the ports of Birkenhead, Chester and Runcorn. The Weaver has been made navigable for vessels of from 250 to 300 tons from Winsford Bridge, and falls into the estuary of the Mersey at Weston Point Docks. The traffic in 1888 amounted to 1,498,120 tons; the surplus revenue from the Weaver Navigation is handed over for the benefit of the county.

The Manchester Ship Canal. This canal is intimately associated with Cheshire, the mouth being on the Cheshire shore of the Mersey, and portions of it traverse the county. The Manchester Ship Canal Company was incorporated by the Act 48 and 49 Vict. c. 188, which received the royal assent, 6 August, 1885. The capital was originally fixed at £8,000,000, with borrowing powers up to £1,812,000, but in 1890 second debentures were issued for £600,000, and in 1891 the Manchester Corporation was associated with the undertaking, and advanced £5,090,000. The canal was opened for traffic, Jan. 1, 1894, and the cost up to that date was £11,750,000. The official opening by H.M. the Queen took place May 21, 1894. The work was begun in November, 1887, under the superintendence of Mr. Leader Williams C.E. as engineer, and the late Mr. T. A. Walker being the contractor until his death, November 25, 1889, and it was finished under other contracts. The objects for which the company was formed include the purchase of “The Bridgewater Canal Undertaking,’’ which includes the canals known as the Bridgewater canals and the Runcorn and Weston canal, also warehouses and wharves in Manchester, docks and warehouses at Runcorn, and the Duke’s dock and large warehouses in Liverpool; and “The Mersey and Irwell Undertaking,” which includes the Mersey and Irwell Navigation and the Runcorn and Latchford canal, also warehouses at Manchester and Warrington and the Old Quay docks at Runcorn. The canal itself is 35 ½ miles in length, and virtually consists of four long docks, with five sets of locks, and 23 miles of the entire length, i.e. from Runcorn to Manchester, has been formed by making a straight and deep channel for the united streams of the Mersey and Irwell, which are thus diverted near Partington in this county, the Mersey resuming its course towards the sea on the north of the canal; the lower section of the canal from Eastham to Runcorn forms a curved line of 12 miles along the Cheshire shore of the estuary of the Mersey, joining at Weston Point the mouth of the navigable river Weaver, which is connected with an extensive system of canals; the depth of the canal is 26 feet, the various locks raising its level on the whole to 60 feet above the level of the sea; the minimum width at the bottom is 120 feet, or 48 feet wider than the bottom of the Suez canal; and for a distance of 3 ½ miles, on approaching Manchester, the bottom width is 170 feet, so that ships can lie along the banks without interfering with the fairway. The docks are on both banks of the Irwell, chiefly in Salford, but also in Manchester on the site of Pomona Gardens, Cornbrook, and extending to Throstleness and the Albert Bridge, near the Old Trafford road, occupy a space of 200 acres: at Barton-on-the-Irwell (Lancashire) the canal is crossed by the Bridgewater canal, carried over it by an aqueduct of two spans, one of which is constructed as a caisson or trough, moveable on a centre like an ordinary swing bridge: here also are placed locks 600 feet long by 65 feet wide, with a descending level of 15 feet; at Irlam, where the Cheshire Lines railway crosses by a viaduct, is another set of locks and sluices of similar dimensions, also affording a descent of 16 feet; several railway lines also cross the canal, and all the railway bridges have a high elevation, so as to give a clear headway of 75 feet above the water: at Partington is a large coal basin with coal tips for loading vessels: at Latchford, south-east of Warrington, is a further set of locks of equal size, with a fall of 16 feet 6 inches, and about a mile and a half below this is the Warrington dock: the next important point is at Runcorn, about 7 miles below Warrington; the docks here will always be accessible, instead of at spring tides only, and the Ship canal will be connected at this point with the London and North Western railway, the Runcorn and Weston canal, the Runcorn and Latchford canal, and, via the river Mersey, with the town of Widnes (Lancashire), and the Sankey Navigation, having on its northern bend three locks: beyond this the junction of the river Weaver necessitates sluices, ten in number, forming here the river wall of the canal and constructed to allow free access of the waters of the Mersey. The canal, from the spot at which it emerges into the estuary of the Mersey, is separated from it by a strongly constructed wall up to the entrance locks at Eastham, respectively 600 feet long and 80 feet wide, 350 feet long and 50 wide, and 150 by 30; the sills of the gates are 11 feet lower than the deepest dock sills at Liverpool or Birkenhead, and the channel approaching them is dredged three feet deeper than the lock sills. Ellesmere Port is the only outlet for the Shropshire Union system of canals. The locks on the Manchester canal are not single, but are in sets of different sizes to avoid waste of water in the passage of vessels of various tonnage, and besides the principal locks there are subsidiary locks at Weston Marsh, Weston Mersey, Bridgewater and Runcorn (Old Quay). Vessels will be able to navigate the canal with safety at a speed of five miles an hour, and it is estimated that the passage from the entrance at Eastham to Manchester will be accomplished in eight hours, which is much less time than is at present taken to cart goods from ship to rail in Liverpool and thence by rail to Manchester. The docks at Weston Point are joined to the great Cheshire salt field by the Weaver Navigation, over which a million tons of salt is carried yearly for exportation. At Runcorn, the Ship Canal Company, as the owners of the Bridgewater docks, are connected with the Staffordshire potteries and coal and iron industries by the Trent and Mersey and Bridgewater canals. At Partington and Barton, the Wigan and Worsley coal-fields are only a few miles from the canal. The Partington coal basin again, with its 5 ½ acres of water space and a half mile of quayage, giving an area of 20 acres, is only 8 miles from the nearest Lancashire colliery, and about 40 miles from the nearest South Yorkshire coal-field, which at present has no available outlet on the west coast. The Eastham section of the canal was flooded 19 June, 1891, and the first flotilla of traffic from Ellesmere Port passed down into the Mersey on the following 15 July; on 15 September, 1891, the water was admitted up to Weston Point, and on 25 November, 1893, the canal was entirely filled with water. The district affected by the Manchester Ship canal contains over 150 important towns, 100 of which have a population of more than 10,000, and in eleven of these the population exceeds 100,000; the total population of this area may be taken at 7,500,000, and it is also rich in minerals and great industries. The offices of the Company are at 41 Spring gardens, Manchester; Alfred H. Whitworth, secretary.

The other canals include the Grand Trunk, or Trent and Mersey canal, the Chester and Nantwich canal, the Macclesfield canal, the Ellesmere canal, Shropshire Union canal and the Peak Forest canal.

Cheshire is connected with the great system of railways by several lines, chiefly connecting with the south and continuing the Lancashire communication. The London and North Western railway is the chief of these, passing from the south by Stafford, Crewe, Winsford and Warrington to the north, and by Runcorn across the Mersey to Liverpool. From Crewe branches pass to Sandbach junction, Stockport and Manchester on the north-east, to Chester on the north-west, on the south-west through Whitchurch to Shropshire and South Wales, on the south-east to the Pottery District. From Chester lines run to Holyhead in North Wales, and through Shrewsbury to the Welsh borders and to South Wales, Another line connects Macclesfield with Staffordshire, and there is also a line from Stockport through Cheadle and Lymm to Warrington. At Crewe are the great engineering works of the London and North Western railway. The London and North Western and Great Western joint railway have branch lines from Chester through Hooton junction to Birkenhead, through Helsby junction to Frodsham junction and Runcorn, from Hooton junction to West Kirby, where it joins the Wirral railway, and one from Whitchurch through Malpas to Chester. The Great Western railway have a branch line from Shrewsbury to Crewe. The Cheshire Lines Committees railway have branches from Sandbach through Middlewich, Northwich, Knutsford, Altrincham and Bowdon to Manchester and Stockport, also to Cheadle and from Northwich to Chester, and to Helsby on the London and North Western and Great Western joint line and another to Over. The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire railway have a line from Stockport through Hyde and Dukinfield to Stalybridge, one from Stockport to Manchester and another to Macclesfield. This company opened, in 1896, a new line from Dee Bridge, passing through Parkgate and Upton to Bidston junction on the Wirral railway, and to the Mersey tunnel at Birkenhead. The Midland railway enters the county from the extreme north-east at Marple, passing through Hyde to Manchester. The North Staffordshire railway have a branch line from Stoke, Staffordshire, through Congleton and Macclesfield to Manchester and another to Crewe. The Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham railway connects those places and has a station at Sale. From Birkenhead the Wirral railway starts, passing through Wallasey and Hoylake to its terminus at West Kirby; this branch has a line from Wallasey to New Brighton. The Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway Co. have obtained powers to construct a line from Warrington through Knutsford and Macclesfield in this county, and passing through Buxton and Chesterfield in Derbyshire and Lincoln to Sutton on the Lincolnshire coast, and the first sod was cut June, 1892.

The minerals worked in Cheshire are fire-clay, coal, salt, sandstone, limestone, freestone, millstones, marl. Coal is largely worked near Stockport, and is found in Wirral; the amount raised in 1894 was 781,637 tons. Salt is a great industry in this county and obtained in large quantities from mines and salt springs at Northwich, Nantwich, Middlewich and Winsford; it is manufactured for the supply of England and for the export trade; for particulars of the production and manufacture see Northwich, page 410. The quantity of rock salt raised in 1894 was 138,277 tons, value £35,686, and salt from brine 1,445,365 tons, value £484,479. Fire-clay was raised to the extent of 12,568 tons in 1894.

From its contiguity to South Lancashire the manufactures of that district have extended into this county, including those of cotton and silk, fustian, woollen, worsted, flax, lace, ribbons and trimmings, hose, boots and hats; cotton printing and dyeing are also carried on. Ship-building, chiefly on the Mersey, rope-making and sail-cloth; also manufacture of chemicals, soap-boiling and tallow chandlery, but salt is the principal product of the county. The paper manufacture is small, and so is that of pottery. Brewing and malting are not carried on so extensively as in many other shires.

Bricks are made extensively; there are some small works for the copper, lead and zinc manufactures, and there are some machine works.

By the Act 1 Wm. IV. cap. 70, abolishing the palatine jurisdiction, the shire is joined with the North Wales circuit, and it has one court of quarter sessions. Chester is the shire town and seat of the assizes and quarter sessions. The county is divided into 16 petty sessional divisions.

The shire contains 469 and parts of 10 civil parishes, and is within the province of York, and forms a diocese comprising the whole of the county of Chester, with the county of the city of Chester. It is divided into the archdeaconries of Chester and Macclesfield. Chester archdeaconry is subdivided into the rural deaneries of Birkenhead, Chester, Frodsham, Malpas, Middlewich, Nantwich and Wirral; Macclesfield archdeaconry is subdivided into the rural deaneries of Bowdon, Congleton, Macclesfield, Mottram and Stockport.

Although the number of townships is large, yet the number of parishes is small; for the single townships do not constitute parishes as in the south of England, but many townships are united for ecclesiastical purposes as a parish. The largest of these parishes are: —

The municipal boroughs include the ancient cathedral city of Chester, having a population in 1891 of 37,105, and being a seaport; Birkenhead, 99,857; Stockport, 70,263; Macclesfield, 36,009; Stalybridge (partly in Lancashire), 26,783; Congleton, 10,744; Crewe, 28,761; Hyde, 20,354; other towns and places are-Runcorn, a shipping port on the Mersey, 20,050; Altrincham, 12,440; Wilmslow, 6,344; Nantwich, 7,412; Lymm, 4,995; Knutsford, 4,204; Bollington, 3,913; Hurdsfield, 3,726; Mottram, 3,270; Over, 6,835; Sandbach, 5,824; Leftwich, 3,398; Frodsham, 3,333; Hoole, 3,892; Winsford or Wharton, 3,605; Audlem, 1,371; Great Neston, 3,577; Tarporley, 2,702; Northwich, 3,324; Tarvin, 1,193; Malpas, 1,164. New Brighton, Hoylake, Great Neston and Parkgate are watering places. There are many large manufacturing villages in Cheshire

The Registration districts are:—

Rope, Shavington-cum-Gresty, Sound, Stapeley, Stoke, Walgherton, Weston, Willaston, Wistaston, Woodcott, Woolstanwood, Worleston, Wrenbury-with-Frith and Wybunbury.

Hundred of Northwich.-Allostock, Arclid, Birches, Blackden, Bostock, Bradwall, Brereton-cum-Smethwick, Buglawton, Byley-cum-Yatehouse, Church Hulme or Holmes Chapel, Church Lawton, Clive, Congleton, Cotton, Cranage, Croxton, Davenham, Davenport, Eaton, Elton, Goostrey-cum-Barnshaw, Hulme Walfield, Hulse, Kermincham, Kinderton-cum-Hulme, Lach Dennis, Leese, Leftwich, Lostock Gralam, Middlewich, Minshull Vernon, Mooresbarrow-cum-Parme, Moreton-cum-Alcumlow, Moston, Moulton, Nether Peover, Newbold Astbury, Newhall, Newton, Northwich, Occlestone, Odd Rode, Radnor, Ravenscroft, Rudheath, Sandbach, Shipbrook, Shurlach, Smallwood, Somerford, Sproston, Stanthorne, Stublach, Sutton, Swettenham, Tetton, Twemlow, Warmingham, Wharton or WinsfoTd,Whatcroft,Wheelock,Wimboldsley and Wotton-cum-Twambrooks.

Hundred of Wirral (Higher division).-Backford,Blacon-cum-Crabhall or Crabwall, Bromborough, Burton, Capenhurst, Childer Thornton, Chorlton-by-Backford,Croughton or Croghton, Eastham, Great Neston, Great Saughall, Great Stanney, Great Sutton, Hooton, Lea, Ledsham, Leighton, Little Neston, Little Saughall, Little Stanney, Little Sutton, Mollington Banastre or Little Mollington, Mollington Tarrant or Great Mollington, Ness, Nether Pool, Over Pool, Puddington, Raby, Shotwick, Stanlow, Stoke, Thornton Hough, Whitby, Willaston and Woodbank.

Hundred of Wirral (Lower division).-Arrow, Barnston, Bidston-cum-Ford, Birkenhead, Brimstage, Caldy, Claughton-cum-Grange, Frankby, Gayton, Grange, Greasby, Great Meolse, Heswall-with-Oldfield, Higher Bebington, Hoose, Irby, Landican, Liscard, Little Meolse, Lower Bebington, Moreton-cum-Lingham, Newton-cum-Larton, Noctorum, Oxton, Pensby,Poulton-cum-Seacomb, Poulton-cum-Spittle, Prenton, Saughall Massey or Saughan Massie, Storeton, Thingwell or Thingwall, Thurstaston, Tranmere, Upton or Overchurch, Wallasey, West Kirby and Woodchurch.

Chester City.-Holy Trinity, St. Bridget, St. John Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary-on-the-Hill, St. Michael, St. Olave, St. Oswald, St. Peter and Spittle Boughton.

St. Aidan’s Church of England Theological College, Birkenhead, between the Forest road, Claughton, erected in 1856 on a site of about 7 acres, purchased from the Birkenhead Commissioners for £9,325, is a large and handsome structure of brick, standing on a raised terrace, in the Tudor style, from designs by Mr. Wyatt, of London, and the late Mr. Henry Cole, of Birkenhead, architects, and includes a chapel, erected in 1882 at a cost of £3,500, from the designs of Mr. David Walker, architect, of Liverpool; this is of brick and stone, in the Decorated style, and consists of chancel, nave and a small western tower containing one bell: the stained east window is a memorial to Richard Bryars J.P. d. 1884; there are 240 sittings: the chapel is open to the public and there are full weekday and Sunday services. The object of this college is to train candidates for holy orders in the Church of England in parochial duties, as well as to afford sound theological instruction. The college is available for 70 students; the constitution of the college was remodelled in 1891; the view from the building presents a beautiful panorama of sea and landscape, including Birkenhead park, the Wallasey peninsula, and the entrances to the port of Liverpool. Rev. E. Elmer Harding M.A. principal and chaplain; Rev. C. W. Sherrard M.A. vice-principal; Rev. J. H. Beibitz M.A. chaplain; Rev. T. W. Crafer M.A. lecturer; Rev. C. E. Dandridge M.A. lecturer in pastoral theology.

The Cheshire Lunatic Asylum, on an eminence near the Liverpool Road, near Chester, and erected in 1829, is a structure of brick with stone facings, three storeys in height, with a central administrative block of four storeys and two wings: the south side of the building is occupied by the male and the north by the female patients; there are also buildings used as shops for carpenters, engineers, tailors, shoemakers and upholsterers, bakehouses and other useful purposes, good airing grounds, and, close by, a farm of about 120 acres: the total cost with additions up to 1896 was £123,749. The asylum is available for 671, and in 1896 it was full. Alexander Lawrence M.A., M.D., C.M. medical superintendent; James Murray Renton M.A., M.B., C.M. senior assistant medical officer; William Bell Campbell L.R.C.P.&S.Edin. junior assistant medical officer; Rev. Augustus Edward Farrar, chaplain; Very Rev. B. Fish, Catholic chaplain; Alexander Hornby, clerk to the Asylum and committee of visitors; Thomas Jones, steward; Miss Fanny Allen, housekeeper.

The Park Side County Lunatic Asylum, about a mile from Macclesfield, on the Chester road, was erected in 1868—71, at a cost of about £150,000 and is a structure of red brick in the Italian style, from designs by the late Mr. Griffith, architect, of Stafford; it is in two divisions, for males and females respectively, each division having its own infirmary and separate department for difficult cases; the superintendent’s house occupies the centre of the building; the recreation and dining hall and offices adjoin the clock tower, which, on the north side, forms the principal entrance; there are also workshops for the pursuit of various trades, a laundry and washhouse, and attached is a farm of about 60 acres. A wing for 96 epileptic patients was added in 1891 at a cost of about £7,000. A new and isolated hospital for infectious cases, erected at a cost of £3,000, was opened in July, 1895, and contains 12 beds. The asylum is supported by the union rates, and is available for about 800 patients: there are also a few private patients; the yearly average is 300 males and 400 females. Thomas Steele Sheldon M.B. medical superintendent; Charles Frederick Laing M.B., C.M. assistant medical officer; Rev. Thomas W. Dix M.A chaplain; Frank Tylecote, treasurer; A. C. Procter, clerk to visitors; John William Lees, clerk; Mrs. Sarah Ann Millington, housekeeper. The Asylum Church, erected at a cost of about £3,000, from designs by the same architect, is a building of stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, transepts, organ chamber, and vestry and a western turret containing two small bells; the church has 400 sittings: the Rev. Thomas Woodrow Dix M.A. of Christ Church, Oxon, has been chaplain since 1877.

Her Majesty’s Prison, at Knutsford, is an extensive structure of brick, in front of which is the Sessions House, a handsome building of stone, the whole being surrounded by lofty walls; the separate system is adopted here for certain classes of prisoners; there are cells for 476 males and 74 females. Captain Lee Percy Pennethorne, governor; Miss Harriet Hornby, matron; Rev. William Nicholas Truss S.C.L. chaplain; Rev. Robert Roberts Maurice, Catholic chaplain; Theodore Fennell M.R.C.S.Eng, surgeon.

Parliamentary Representation of Cheshire

Cheshire formerly returned three members in three divisions, but under the provisions of the “Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885,” it now returns eight members in eight divisions.

No. 1.-The Wirral division, comprises the hundred of Wirral and the municipal borough of Birkenhead.

No. 2.-The Eddisbury division comprises the sessional divisions of Broxton, Chester Castle (except so much as is comprised in the Wirral hundred), Eddisbury (except so much as is comprised in No. 5 division) and Nantwich (except so much as is comprised in No. 4 division), the municipal borough of Chester, and the townships of Bradwall, Minshull Vernon, Moston, Occleston, Sutton Tetton, Warmingham and Wimboldsley in Northwich sessional division.

No. 3.-The Macclesfield division, comprises the municipal boroughs of Congleton and Macclesfield and the townships of Birtles, Bosley, Eaton, Gawsworth, Henbury-cum-Pexell, North Rode, Wildboarclough and Wincle and so much of the townships of Hurdsfield and Sutton as is not included in the municipal borough of Macclesfield and the townships of Buglawton, Hulme Walfield, Newbold Astbury and Radnor in Northwich sessional division.

No. 4.-The Crewe division, comprises the townships of Alvaston and Beamheath in Alvaston, Barthomley, Bas-ford, Chorlton, Church Coppenhall, Crewe, Haslington, Hough, Nantwich, Rope, Shavington-cum-Gresty, Stapeley, Weston, Willaston, Wistaston, and Wybunbury in the sessional division of Nantwich, Newbold and the townships of Alsager, Arclid, Betchton, Church Lawton, Elton, Hassall, Morton-cum-Alcumlow, Old Rode, Sandbach, Smallwood and Wheelock in Northwich sessional division, No. 5.-The Northwich division, comprises the sessional division of Runcorn, the townships of Bartington, Dutton and Little Leigh in Daresbury sessional division, the townships of Acton, Over and Weaverham-cum-Milton in Eddisbury sessional division, the townships of Anderton, Bainton, Castle Northwich, Cogshall, Comberbach, Davenham, Eaton, Great Budworth, Hartford, Leftwich, Marbury, Marston, Moulton, Northwich, Wallerscoat, Witton-cum-Twambroks, Wincham and Winnington in Leftwich sessional division and the townships of Bostock, Clive, Croxton, Kinderton-cum-Hulme, Middlewich, Newton, Ravenscroft, Stanthorne, Wharton and What-croft in Northwich sessional division.

No. 6.-The Altrincham division, comprises the sessional divisions of Altrincham and Stockport (except so much as is comprised in Nos. 7 and 8 divisions) and so much of the borough of Stockport as is in the county of Chester.

No. 7.-The Hyde division, comprises so much of the municipal borough of Stalybridge as is included in the county of Chester, and the townships of Bosden, Bredbury, Brinnington (except the part included in the municipal borough of Stockport), Marple, Offerton, Romiley and Torkington in Stockport sessional division.

No. 8.-The Knutsford division, comprises the sessional divisions of Bucklow, Daresbury (except so much as is comprised in No. 5 division), Prestbury (except so much as is comprised in No. 3 division), Leftwich (except so much as is comprised in No. 5 division), so much of the municipal borough of Warrington as is in the county of Chester, and the townships of Allostock, Blackden, Brereton-cum-Smethwick, Byley-cum-Yatehouse, Church Hulme, Cotton, Cranage, Davenport, Goostrey-cum-Barmshaw, Kermincham, Leese, Mooresbarrow-cum-Parme, Somerford, Somerford Booths, Sproston, Swettenham and Twemlow in Northwich sessional division, and Disley, Taxall and Yeardsley-cum-Whaley in Stockport sessional division.

Under the provisions of the above-mentioned Act the borough of Chester lost one member and the representation of Macclesfield was merged into that of the county.

Military

Cheshire is the head quarters of the north-western military district, particulars of which will be found at p. 195. The city is also the depot of Regimental district No. 22 (the Cheshire regiment), which comprises the 1st & 2nd Battalions (22nd Foot) & the 1st & 2nd Royal Cheshire Militia, forming respectively its 3rd & 4th battalions; the head quarters of the 3rd are at Chester & 4th at Macclesfield.

Volunteer Infantry Brigades

Mersey Brigade.

The Brigade comprises the: —

1st Vol. Batt. Liverpool Reg. headquarters, 63 St. Anne street, Liverpool.

2nd Vol. Batt. Liverpool Reg. headquarters, 204 Upper Warwick street, Toxteth park, Liverpool.

3rd Vol. Batt. Liverpool Reg. headquarters, Southport.

4th Vol. Batt. Liverpool Reg. headquarters, 2 Islington square, Liverpool.

5th (Irish) Vol. Batt. Liverpool Reg. headquarters, 50 & 52 Everton brow, Liverpool.

6th Vol. Bat. Liverpool Reg. headquarters, 59 & 61 Everton road, Liverpool.

Fairs & Markets

Altrincham, April 29, August 5 & November 22; market day, Tuesday.

Astbury, last Friday in April & October.

Audlem, a wake in October; market day, Thursday.

Birkenhead, market days, Tuesday & Friday.

Cheadle, wakes, first Sunday after September 18.

Chester cheese fairs are held the third Wednesday in each month. There are also fairs every month for horses, usually held on Thursdays; & the following days have been appointed for the year 1896: January 9, February 6, March 5, April 2 & 30, Many 28, June 25, July 23, August 20, September 17, October 15, November 12, & December 10; market days, Wednesday & Saturday; weekly market for horned cattle, sheep & pigs on Thursdays.

Congleton, Tuesday before Shrovetide, May 12, July 13, November 22; market day, Saturday.

Crewe, market days, Friday & Saturday; corn market fortnightly & cattle market every Monday.

Frodsham, last Tuesday in April & last Thursday in Oct.

Hyde, May 16 & November 15; wakes, first Saturday after September 5; market day, Saturday.

Knutsford, April 23, Whit-Tuesday & November 8; market day, Saturday.

Lymm, April 3 & November 5.

Macclesfield, third Tuesday in February, March 6, May 6, June 22, July 11, August 12, October 4, third Tuesday & 21, November 11 & December 23; market days, Tuesday & Saturday.

Malpas, market day, Wednesday.

Middlewich, last Tuesday in February, April & October; market day, Tuesday.

Mottram, April 27 & October 31.

Nantwich, first Thursday in February, March, June, September & December; cheese fair first Thursday in each month, except January; market day, Saturday.

Northwich, April 10, August 2; market day, Friday.

Over, first Wednesday after May 12 & first Wednesday after September 20.

Prestbury, April 28 & October 22 for cattle.

Runcorn, first Monday in November & Whit-Monday for pleasure; market days, Tuesday & Friday.

Sandbach, Easter Tuesday, first Thursday after September 12 & December 28, the latter a cattle & pleasure fair & also for hiring servants; market day, Thursday.

Stalybridge, last Monday in each month; annual prize fair first Saturday in September; wakes, first Sunday after July 17; market day, Saturday.

Stockport, January 1, first Friday in February, March 4 & 25, May 1, first Friday in June, August, September & December, July 9 & October 23; market days, Friday & Saturday.

Sutton, April 4 & September 4.

Tarporley, May 1, August 1, first Monday after August 24, & December 11, for cattle & pedlery; market day, Thursday.

Tattenhall, May 18 & November 21.

Wilmslow, third Monday in April & third Monday in October.

Winsford, May 8 & November 25; market day, Saturday.

Chester County Council

Local Government Act 1888, 51 & 52 Vict. c. 41.

Under the above Act, Cheshire, after the 1st April, 1889, for the purposes of the Act, except certain boroughs, for which see below (a), became a separate and distinct administrative county (sec. 461 b), governed by a County Council, consisting of chairman, aldermen and councillors (the number of councillors determined by the Local Government Board), and elected in manner prescribed by the Act (sec. 2).

The chairman, by virtue of his office, is a justice of the peace for the county, without qualification (sec. 46).

The police for the county is under the control of a standing joint committee of the Quarter Sessions and the County Council, appointed as therein mentioned (sec. 9).

The coroners for the county are elected by the County Council, and the clerk of the peace appointed by such joint committee, and may be removed by them (sec. 83—2). The clerk of the peace for the county is also the clerk of the County Council (sec. 83—1).

The administrative business of the county (which would, if this Act had not been passed, have been transacted by the justices) is now transacted by the County Council.

(a) The following large boroughs are for the purposes of this Act administrative counties in themselves, called County boroughs (sec. 30), of which the municipal authority has the power of a County Council (sec. 31)-Birkenhead, Chester & Stockport.

County Constabulary

Head Quarters, Chester

The force consists of a chief constable, deputy chief constable, superintendent and chief clerk, 10 superintendents, 11 inspectors, 70 sergeants and 323 constables.

Chief Constable, Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. Hamersley.

Deputy Chief Constable & Superintendent, Lieutenant-Colonel G. H. Cope.

Superintendent & Chief Clerk, W. Leah, Chief Constable’s Office, 122 Foregate street, Chester.

Detective Inspector, David Pearson, Chester.

The following table shows the acreage under each kind of crop, and the number of horses, cattle, sheep and pigs in the County of Chester, as taken from the Agricultural Returns, 1894:—