A fortified village was established at Thelwall in 923, in the reign of King Edward the Elder, which is mentioned in two very early sources, including the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:
"Kynge Edwarde made a cite at Thelewall in [th]e northe parte of [th]e Marches, nye the water of Mersee, where he put certeyne knyghtes."—Higden's Polychronicon[1][2]
"A.D. 923. This year went King Edward with an army, late in the harvest, to Thelwall; and ordered the borough to be repaired, and inhabited, and manned. And he ordered another army also from the population of Mercia, the while he sat there to go to Manchester in Northumbria, to repair and to man it. This year died Archbishop Plegmund; and King Reynold won York."—Anglo-Saxon Chronicle[3]
An inscription on the Pickering Arms[4] records that "In the year 920 King Edward the Elder founded a city here and called it Thelwall". According to Sir Peter Leycester it was "so called from the stakes and stumps, cut from the trees, wherewith it was environed about as a wall".[5] It is more likely that the original meaning of Thelwall was "pool by a plank bridge" (the earliest record of the name is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 923 as "Thelwæl", in 1241 it occurs as "Thelewell").[6]
Earthworks remain of an embankment, possibly part of these fortifications, found in the grounds of Chaigeley School. These remains are a designated English Heritage National Monument.[7]
Thelwall was formerly a township and chapelry in the parish of Runcorn,[8] in 1866 Thelwall became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Grappenhall.[9] In 1931 the parish had a population of 509.[10]
Thelwall is perhaps best known for the Thelwall Viaduct, which carries the M6 motorway across the Manchester Ship Canal and opened in 1963[12] (a second viaduct was added in 1996).[13] The village is between the Ship Canal and the Bridgewater Canal, and on the east–west A56 and B5157. To the east, between the village and the M6, is Statham.
Thelwall returns officers from the Lymm North and Thelwall Ward to serve on the Borough Council, and is allocated three representative seats. As of 2023[update] the Councillors representing Thelwall are:[15]
Bob Barr (Liberal Democrat)
Ian Marks (Liberal Democrat)
Wendy Johnson (Liberal Democrat)
Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council
The Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council consists of sixteen elected officials serving a term of four years.
As of 2023[update], the following is a list of those members representing Thelwall Ward on the Parish Council:[16]
Helen Speed
Cliff Taylor
Louise Fernyhough
Ray Fisher
Patrick Warner
Robert Hignett
Education
There are three schools in the village:
Thelwall Community Infant School, for children aged 4–7. As of 2018, its most recent Ofsted judgement was in 2008, and was Outstanding.[17]
Thelwall Community Junior School, for children aged 8–11. As of 2018, its most recent Ofsted judgement was in 2015, and was Good.[18]
^Edward the Elder ordered a burh to be built as a defence against the Danes. "Burh" means military fort but has been mistranslated by Higden leading to Thelwall being described as a “cite" (town or city).
