Cheshire

ounty of Northwest England, which has contained the unitary authorities Halton and Warrington since April 1998 Cheshire County Council - Chester City Council - Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council - Congleton Borough Council - Macclesfield Borough Council
owns and cities	Chester (administrative headquarters), Crewe, Congleton, Macclesfield
rea	2,320 sq. km / 896 sq. miles
opulation	978,100 (1995)
opography	Cheshire is bounded on the north by Warrington, Halton, Merseyside, and Greater Manchester; on the east by Derbyshire and Staffordshire; on the south by Shropshire; and on the west by Wrexham and Flintshire. The new unitary authority of Halton consists principally of the former Cheshire towns Widnes and Runcorn. Chiefly a fertile plain, with the Pennines in the east. Highest point: Black Hill at 1,908 feet. Rivers flowing through Cheshire include: Mersey and the Dee. Weaver; a sandstone ridge extending south through central Cheshire together with Delamere Forest constitute a woodland and heath landscape, salt mines and geologically rich former copper workings at Alderley Edge (in use from Roman times until the 1920s).
ommerce	Agriculture: arable farming in the north; cheese (at one time produced entirely in farmhouses) and dairy products in the centre and south of the county Industries: aerospace industry, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, salt, silk and textiles (at Congleton and Macclesfield), vehicles
amous people	The novelist Elizabeth Gaskell lived at Knutsford (the locale of Cranford); Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) Cricketer Ian Botham was born in Heswall in 1955. He went to Milford School.
ttractions	Chester was the site of Deva, a Roman legionary fortress, and remains include the largest stone-built military Roman amphitheatre to have been discovered in Britain. The town has a medieval centre and the most complete city walls in England, extending for 3 km / 2 miles. Other features include the cathedral, dating from the 11th century, and the `Rows´, half-timbered shops with continuous galleried footwalks at first -floor level, dating from the medieval and Victorian periods. Chester Zoo is the largest in area in the country, spreading over 324 ha / 80 acres. Many Cheshire towns were market centres serving large rural areas in which there were comparatively few villages. Sandbach has two Saxon crosses and many villages have handsome churches, almost all built in the local red sandstone. From the Norman Conquest to the Tudor period Cheshire was a county palatine (an area under an overlord that did not send representatives to Parliament). Little Moreton Hall; discovery of Lindow Man, the first `bogman´ to be found in mainland Britain, dating from around 500 BC; Museum of the Chemical Industry on Spike Island; Quarry Bank Mill at Styal is a cotton-industry museum Birkenhead Prosperous port founded by Vikings, who called it Birken Haven. Remains of 12th Century Priory. Imposing Williamson Art Gallery. Grappenhall Nice village whose Church has a grinning Cheshire cat on its tower! Halton Ruined 11th century castle, attractive Castle Inn, and Chesshyre Library with many rare volumes, plus glorious views over to Wales and Lancashire. Hoylake Comfortable residential and seaside resort with a 4-mile promenade and famous Royal Liverpool Golf Club links. Once, it was a mere hamlet from which people set off for Ireland. Knutsford Olde-worlde atmosphere still around with good hotels and guest houses. Macclesfield Mentioned in the Domesday Book. Once the leading silk-manufacturing town in England with a legacy of 18th- and early 19th-centruy mills. Nantwich Famed for its brine baths with medicinal qualifies. The leather trade flourished here and its streets were said to be paved with scraps of leather. There is a splendid 14th-century church, and also many houses from the Tudor and Georgian periods. Stockport Its bridge over the Mersey was blown up in 1745 to prevent a rebel army marching from Scotland into the centre of the kingdom. Grew rich on silk, cotton, textiles and engineering. Captured by Prince Rupert in the Civil War. Adlington Hall, Macclesfield. Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich. Capesthorne Hall, Siddington. Tatton Park, Knutsford. A Regency mansion set in magnificent landscaped grounds. Beeston Castle, Tarporley. Cholmondeley Castle Gardens, Malpas. Chester Roman Amphitheatre, Vicars Lane, Chester. Dorfold Hall, Nantwhich.