Audlem
Audlem | |
---|---|
![]() Main square in Audlem, taken in 2011. | |
Location withinCheshire | |
Population | 1,832 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | SJ660436 |
Civil parish |
|
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CREWE |
Postcode district | CW3 |
Dialling code | 01270 |
Police | Cheshire |
Fire | Cheshire |
Ambulance | North West |
UK Parliament | |
Audlem(/ʊərdləm/ORD-ləm) is a village andcivil parishlocated inCheshire,North West England.In 2021, it had a population of 1,832.[1]
The largest village in southern Cheshire, Audlem is approximately 7 mi (11 km) south ofNantwich.just a mile north of the border with the neighbouring county ofShropshire,the village is eight miles (13 km) east ofWhitchurchand seven miles (11 km) north ofMarket Drayton.It is also approximately 9 mi (14 km) from the border withWales.
History
[edit]Audlem was mentioned in theDomesday Bookin 1086 asAldelime.By the late 13th century,St James' Churchhad been founded andEdward Igranted it a market charter in 1295.[2]
The arrival of theShropshire Union Canalin 1835 was a significant development for Audlem. The canal boosted the local economy by facilitating the transport of goods and materials, particularly agricultural produce and coal. During this period, many of the village's distinctive Georgian and Victorian buildings were constructed. Audlem’s flight of 15 locks, designed byThomas Telford,are a notable engineering feature. Though commercial activity on the canal virtually ceased in the 1950s, it is now an important source of tourism for the village. The canal continues to draw visitors and leisure boaters alike along the waterway itself and to walk the picturesque path.[3]
In 2008 village residents launched an online referendum on moving the village to Wales from England – in a protest over prescription charges in England.[4][3]
Landmarks
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/St_James%27_Church%2C_Audlem.jpg/220px-St_James%27_Church%2C_Audlem.jpg)
There are many historic buildings includingMoss Hallis anElizabethantimber-framedhall from 1616 0.5 miles (1 km) from Audlem village centre.
Education and facilities
[edit]Audlem has clubs fortennis,badminton,football,cricket,golf,pigeon racing(orpigeon-fancying),caravanning,bell ringing andbowls.Cyclistsmeet informally at the Old Priest-House Cafe. Audlem has a website, AudlemOnline.[5] Saint James' Primary School is the only school in the village.
Transport
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Shropshire_Union_Canal%2C_Audlem_-_geograph.org.uk_-_5346242.jpg/220px-Shropshire_Union_Canal%2C_Audlem_-_geograph.org.uk_-_5346242.jpg)
Roads
[edit]Audlem is located at the junction of theA525andA529roads in south Cheshire. The A525 road runs from Newcastle under Lyme and Woore from the east and Whitchurch from the west. The A529 runs from Nantwich in the north and from Market Drayton in the south.
Audlem is approximately 10 miles west of theM6 motorway.The closest junctions are junction 16 from the North and junctions 15 and 14 from the South.[6]
Canal
[edit]Audlem is on theShropshire Union Canal,which has a flight of 15 locks, to raise the canal 93 feet (28 m) from theCheshire Plainto the Shropshire Plain. TheRiver Weaverpasses west of the village.
Railway
[edit]Audlem railway stationclosed along with the local railway line in 1963. The station was on the formerGreat Western RailwaybetweenMarket DraytonandNantwich,opened in 1863.[7]The station was immortalised in the song "Slow Train"byFlanders and Swann.
The closest railway stations are Nantwich,Whitchurchon theWelsh Marches line,both stations are 7 miles from Audlem.Crewe,on theWest Coast Main Line,is 10 miles away.
Buses
[edit]Audlem is served by the number 72 and 73 buses between Nantwich, Wrenbury and Audlem. They are operated byD&G Buson behalf of Cheshire East Council.[8]
Notable residents and associated people
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/The_Lord_Combermere%2C_Audlem_-_geograph.org.uk_-_4189874.jpg/220px-The_Lord_Combermere%2C_Audlem_-_geograph.org.uk_-_4189874.jpg)
- Isabella Whitney(c.1546/48–after 1624), the first woman known to have published secular poetry in the English language, grew up in Ryle Green when her father took a lease of a farm there.[9]Her brother,Geoffrey Whitney(c.1548–c.1601), is likewise believed to have been brought up there; also a poet, he is known for his collectionChoice of Emblemes.[10]
- William Baker(1705–71), architect, surveyor and building contractor, lived at Highfields from the 1740s.[11]
- Field MarshalStapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere(1773–1865), soldier, associate of theDuke of Wellington,was educated at a grammar school then in Audlem for three years from age nine before enteringWestminster School.[12]
- Henry Lisle(1846 in Audlem – 1916), lawyer[13]and political figure inSaskatchewan,Canada
- Alice Elizabeth Gillington(1863 in Audlem – 1934), author, poet and journalist;[14]published books about Gypsies
- Mary Clarissa Gillington,later better known as May Byron (1861 in Audlem – 1936), author, poet, elder sister of Alice Gillington
- Herbert Broomfield(1878 in Audlem – unknown), football goalkeeper,[15]28 pro appearances forBolton Wanderers F.C.
- Peter Ellson(1925 in Audlem – 2014), professional footballing goalkeeper,[16]219 pro appearances forCrewe Alexandra F.C.
- Peter McGarr(born 1953), classical composer and teacher; he has written several pieces inspired by Audlem ('Audlem Sonatas', 'Night-time' and 'Mourning Gamelan'), as homage to his mother, who lived in the village when she was a child.[17]
- Margaret Canovan(1939–2018), political theorist, lived in Audlem from 1979 to 2003 while working atKeele University.[18]
See also
[edit]Notes and references
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^"Civil Parish population 2011".Neighbourhood Statistics.Office for National Statistics.Retrieved13 March2016.
- ^Scholes, R. (2000). pages 24–25.
- ^abBourne, Dianne."The historic, pretty village where residents go all out so it stays pristine – and even paid more tax to keep developers away".Manchester Evening News.Retrieved2 June2024.
- ^"Story of Audlem".Audlem Online.Retrieved2 June2024.
- ^"Home page".AudlemOnline.Retrieved27 February2022.
- ^"Audlem Online: How to find us".Audlem Online.Retrieved2 June2024.
- ^"Audlem Village History website".Archived fromthe originalon 13 February 2008.
- ^"72, 73 Nantwich – Wrenbury and Audlem".DG Buses.Retrieved2 June2024.
- ^Travitsky, B. S. (2004). "Whitney, Isabella (fl. 1566–1573)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.Oxford University Press.Retrieved21 April2010.
- ^Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. LXI. Oxford University Press. 1900. pp. 142–143.
- ^Robinson, J. M. (31 January 1991). "Highfields, Audlem, Cheshire".Country Life.
- ^Mary, Viscountess Combermere; Knollys, W. W. (1866).Memoirs and Correspondence of Field-marshal Viscount Combermere.Vol. 1. p. 25.
- ^Saskatchewan Archives Board, Members of the Legislative Assemblyretrieved 17 March 2018
- ^EFDSS Folk Music Journal, Alice E. Gillington, Dweller on the Roughsretrieved 17 March 2018
- ^Profile at MUFC Info.comretrieved 17 March 2018
- ^"Peter Ellson – A Tribute".Crewe Alexandra F.C. 16 April 2014.Retrieved2 June2024.
- ^Website of UK Composer Peter McGarr
- ^European Consortium for Political Research, University of Essex (2016).Directory of European Political Scientists(4th ed.). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co.ISBN9783111577555.Retrieved17 May2021.
Bibliography
[edit]- Scholes, R. (2000).Towns and villages of Britain: Cheshire.Wilmslow, Cheshire: Sigma Press.ISBN1-85058-637-3.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)