Villages and Countryside

Crewe and Nantwich includes:

•  6 Historic Parks and Gardens at Cholmondley Castle, Combermere Park, Crewe Hall,Dorforld Hall and Queens Park;
•  713 listed buildings;
•  20 Scheduled Ancient Monuments;
•  5 Ramsar Sites and 10 sites of Special Scientific Interest;
•  A National Nature Reserve at Wybunbury Moss, Cheshire Wildlife Trust Reserve at Quakers Coppice and a Local Nature Reserve at Sound Common; and
•  19 Conservation Areas designated for their attractive townscape or village character.

South Cheshire exhibits classic English countryside with gentle rolling meadowland, picturesque meres and an abundance of trees.  It is a rich agricultural area noted for its carefully tended farms and excellent Cheshire cheese.

Surrounding Crewe and Nantwich are a multitude of pleasant villages set in classic English countryside.  Many of the villages date back to before the Norman Conquest and several have been designated conservation areas because of their attractive and historic buildings.  Some are described below.

ACTON is a small hamlet with an interesting Church which dates back to the 13th century. Nearby Dorford Hall is a Jacobean country house built in 1616 with beautiful plaster ceilings and oak paneling. The house is open to the public.

AUDLEM is an attractive village where the Shropshire Union Canal descends from Shropshire to the Cheshire Plain by way of 15 locks within a distance of two miles.  The canal side facilities, together with the shops and pubs in the village, make Audlem an ideal stopping place for tourists, particularly those traveling on the canal.  The 13th century Parish Church of St James stands proudly above the village on a raised mound and by the canal is a lock-keepers cottage built by Thomas Telford during the construction of the canal.

BARTHOMLEY is one of the most attractive villages in the Borough with a sandstone church and black and white timber framed pub surrounded by charming Jacobean cottages with attractive gardens. Nearby is Engelsea Brook Chapel and Museum of Primitive Methodism.

BICKERTON – the hills here are the highest part of the Borough with a section of the Sandstone Trail long-distance footpath passing through this lightly populated countryside.

BULKELEY is a small village nestling below the sandstone ridge.  The Sandstone Trail crosses Bulkeley Hill.

BUNBURY is dominated by St Boniface’s Church which was built largely in the 13th and 14th centuries on the site of an earlier Norman church. Nearby are half timbered cottages and a row of almshouses dating from 1874. Bunbury Mill is a fully restored 19th century working corn mill and to the west of the village is Beeston Castle.

CHOLMONDELEY CASTLE was built in 1801 to an imitation Gothic design and is surrounded by magnificent gardens and grounds containing a Chapel which are open to the public.

CHURCH MINSHULL is a designated conservation area containing an 18th century church.

COMBERMERE Park is the setting for the beautiful Combermere Abbey which was founded in 1130 and restored in the early 1800’s.  The Park is a designated Historic Park.  Across the lake is Brankelow Folly behind which is an obelisk commemorating Field Marshall Viscount Combermere, 1865.

DODDINGTON Hall is a large 18th century private mansion set in gardens landscaped by Capability Brown, overlooking Doddington Lake, a popular sailing venue.  The 13th century castle is to the north of the Hall.

FADDILEY has several very attractive and interesting buildings including a row of cottages with tall and unusual chimneys.

MARBURY is a conservation area and a wide range of wildlife can be seen on the Mere.  St Michael’s Church is beautifully set above Big Mere and the village has several attractive buildings.

PECKFORTON is a small estate village, now a conservation area, on the lower slopes of wooded Peckforton Hills. The village’s splendid black and white cottages contrast with its sandstone castle which was built in 1844 by the first Lord Tollemache and occupies a prominent position opposite Beeston Castle.

WARMINGHAM is set on the River Wheelock which flows through the village and is crossed by an old stone bridge. St Leonard’s Church is extremely attractive opposite, which is a group of period cottages.  Also in the village is Warmingham Mill.

WILLASTON is the home of the annual World Worm Charming Championships. Willaston Hall is a Georgian structure built in 1731 of brick and stone dressings.

WRENBURY is an attractive village set around a green.  St Margaret’s Church probably dates from the early 18th century and Wrenbury Hall is a pleasant 17th century building in the Elizabethan style. The village is situated on the Llangollen canal and makes an ideal stopping place for tourists.

WYBUNBURY is best known for its leaning Church tower which is all that remains of the Parish Church.  The chancel was demolished because of structural problems caused by sandy soil.  The tower developed a dangerous list and was underpinned in 1989 and made safe.  Wybunbury Moss National Nature Reserve is a unique floating bog, home to a rich variety of unusual flora and fauna.

South Cheshire is classic English countryside with gentle rolling meadowland, picturesque meres and an abundance of trees. It is a rich agricultural area noted for its carefully tended farms and excellent Cheshire cheese.

©CNBC 2003.  All rights reserved.
Site Map