Aldford

Aldford
St John's Church
Aldford is located in Cheshire
Aldford
Aldford
Location within Cheshire
Population272 (2011 census)
OS grid referenceSJ420592
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCHESTER
Postcode districtCH3
Dialling code01244
PoliceCheshire
FireCheshire
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cheshire
53°07′34″N 2°51′58″W / 53.126°N 2.866°W / 53.126; -2.866

Aldford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Aldford and Saighton, in the Cheshire West and Chester district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. (grid reference SJ420592). The village is approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to the south of Chester, on the east bank of the River Dee. The Aldford Brook joins the Dee just north of the village.

In the 2001 census, the population of the parish was 213.[1][2] The population of the civil parish was recorded as 272 in the 2011 census.[3]

History

The name Aldford means "Old Ford" and likely derives from Old English.[4]

Aldford Castle dates back over 800 years.

The village was a township in Broxton Hundred. A civil parish from 1866, it was abolished on 1 April 2015 to form Aldford and Saighton civil parish.[5] The population was 331 in 1801, rising to 521 in 1851, then 113 in 1901 and decreasing to 96 by 1951.[2]

School Lane

Between 1960 and 1991, the village was the location of a Royal Observer Corps monitoring bunker, to be used in the event of a nuclear attack. No trace of the bunker remains today. [6]

Landmarks

Most of the building stock was constructed as a designed village in the middle of the 19th century by Sir Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster, in almost rectangular form.[7] A number of buildings in the village were designed by the architect John Douglas. These include the Grade II listed St John's church[8][9] and the Grosvenor Arms public house.[10]

The River Dee outside the village is crossed by the Aldford Iron Bridge, which was built in 1824 by William Hazledine for the 1st Marquis.[11][12] Iron Bridge Lodge, adjacent to this bridge, was designed by Douglas & Fordham in 1894 and is listed Grade II.[13][14]

Aldford Hall and the Roman road Watling Street are outside the village.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aldford.

References

  1. ^ "2001 census: Parish Headcounts: Chester". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Aldford". GENUKI. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  3. ^ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Aldford Parish (E04011035)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Key to English Place-Names: Aldford". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Cheshire West and Chester Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Aldford ROC Post – Subterranea Britannica". www.subbrit.org.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  7. ^ Thornber, Craig (2005). "A Scrapbook of Cheshire Antiquities: Aldford". Archived from the original on 29 December 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
  8. ^ Historic England. "Church of St John the Baptist (Grade II) (1135984)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Images of England: Church of St John the Baptist, Aldford". English Heritage. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
  10. ^ "The Grosvenor Arms: History". Brunning & Price Ltd. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
  11. ^ Historic England. "Iron Bridge over the River Dee (Grade I) (1129943)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Images of England: Iron Bridge". English Heritage. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  13. ^ Historic England. "Iron Bridge Lodge (Grade II) (1138387)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Images of England: Iron Bridge Lodge". English Heritage. Retrieved 8 January 2009.