Wirswall

Wirswall is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, located at SJ544441 near the Shropshire border, around 1½ miles north of Whitchurch, Shropshire.Ordnance Survey Pathfinder 807: Whitchurch (Shropshire) & Malpas (Cheshire)] The historical township had an area of 973 acres. [Phillips ADM, Phillips CB (eds). "A New Historical Atlas of Cheshire" p. 109 (Cheshire County Council; 2002) (ISBN 0 904532 46 1)] The civil parish also includes the settlements of Bradeley Green, Wicksted and part of Willey Moor. [http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/wirswall.html Genuki: Wirswall] (accessed 12 August 2007)]

According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 76. [Combining [http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/CheshireCC.LocalStaistics.Web/results.aspx?session_id=7cfde834-5d5b-4238-bab1-b47b73739794&missed_stages=3 Cheshire County Council: Local Statistics: Marbury cum Quoisley - Wirswall] & [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=792592&c=Marbury&d=16&e=15&g=428441&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 Neighbourhood Statistics: Marbury cum Quoisley CP] (accessed 17 August 2007)]

History

A large perforated stone axe was found in the village, suggesting occupation during the Neolithic Period.Latham FA (ed). "Wrenbury and Marbury" (The Local History Group; 1999) (ISBN 0 9522284 5 9)]

The village appears in the Domesday Book as Wiresuelle, an outlying estate of Marbury. Like much of the land in the Nantwich hundred it was then held by William Malbank, having been earlier held by Earl Harold. The Domesday Book describes it as being 'waste', suggesting that any settlement might have been destroyed during the suppression of the rebellion of 1069–70. In 1288, it formed part of the barony of Wich Malbank. In 1656, Wirswall (then spelled Wyrsal) was held by the Hinton family.

The population was formerly 103 (1801), 83 (1851), 138 (1901) and 169 (1951).

Geography and transport

The village is surrounded by low hills, which form the highest land in the immediate area. A trig point at 156 m is located to the south east of the village at SJ549438. [ [http://jeremyp.net/trigpoint/index.php United Kingdom Trig Points] ] Nearby villages include Marbury and Wrenbury.

The South Cheshire Way (long-distance footpath) runs through the village, and Bishop Bennet Way (bridleway) terminates there. The Llangollen branch of the Shropshire Union Canal runs ¾ miles to its east.

Landmarks

Wicksted Hall is a brick and timbered building with a stone portal, dating from the late 19th century. [Pevsner N, Hubbard E. "The Buildings of England: Cheshire", p. 390 (Penguin; 1971) (ISBN 14 071042 6)] Wirswall Hall has a grade-II-listed timber-framed barn dating from the 16th or 17th centuries. [ [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=2&id=422365 Images of England: Barn at Wirswall Hall] (accessed 12 August 2007)] There are also two grade-II-listed farmhouses. Grange Farm has a two-storey, four-bay farmhouse with a projecting gabled bay. The building is dated 1636 and has a timber frame with brick infill. [ [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=422366 Images of England: Grange Farmhouse] (accessed 12 August 2007)] Wood Farm has a two-storey Gothic-style farmhouse in rendered brick which dates from the early 19th century. The slightly projecting central bay of the main building bears a shield and is flanked with two octagonal turrets capped with pinnacles. [ [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=422367 Images of England: Wood Farmhouse] (accessed 12 August 2007)]

Notable people

The Victorian children's book illustrator Randolph Caldecott lived in Wirswall between 1861 and 1867, while working at the Whitchurch branch of the Whitchurch & Ellesmere Bank, and many of his illustrations feature local landscapes. [ [http://www.randolphcaldecott.org.uk/who.htm Randolph Caldecott Society UK: Who was Randolph Caldecott?] ]

References