Aston by Wrenbury

Aston (also known as Aston by Wrenbury, Aston in Wrenbury, Aston by Newhall, Aston in Newhall and Aston near Audlem) is a village (at SJ 610 468) in the civil parish of Newhall in the Crewe and Nantwich district of Cheshire, England.

The village should not be confused with several other villages named Aston in Cheshire, which include Aston juxta Mondrum, Aston by Budworth and Aston, Vale Royal.

History

The village features in the Domesday Book as Estune, meaning eastern manor, settlement or farmstead. [ [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7581429&queryType=1&resultcount=53 The National Archives: Domesday Book: Aston in Wrenbury, Cheshire] ]

Geography and transport

Aston lies between the larger villages of Wrenbury (1¼ miles north west) and Audlem (3¾ miles south east), with Nantwich being 4¼ miles to the north east. The main part of the village is located on Wrenbury Road north west of the A530; the southern part lies along Sheppenhall Lane south of the A530. The South Cheshire Way long-distance path runs through the village, and the Welsh Marches railway line runs ½ mile to the north west.

Landmarks

Features of interest include the red-brick St Andrew's Methodist Church (1866), [ [http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/newhall.html Genuki: Newhall (near Audlem)] ] which has an associated grade-II-listed lychgate and war memorial dating from around 1919 [ [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=422250 Images of England: Lychgate at Aston Burial-ground] ] leading to a small cemetery. Aston House Farm is a grade-II-listed, black-and-white timber farmhouse, dating from 1662. [ [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=422248 Images of England: Aston House Farmhouse] ] The village also has a grade-II-listed red telephone box, an example of the 1935 K6 style designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. [ [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=351239 Images of England: Telephone kiosk, Newhall, Aston] ]

Aston Mill is an animal feed mill run by H J Lea Oakes Ltd, one of the few large industrial enterprises in this predominantly agricultural area.

Connections with India

The Bhurtpore Inn in the north of the village dates from 1720 and was first recorded as a public house in 1778. [http://www.bhurtpore.co.uk/history.htm A Brief History of the Bhurtpore Inn] ] It was named to commemorate the Siege of Bhurtpore of 1825-6, at which local landlord Sir Stapleton Cotton, as Commander-in-Chief of the British forces, took the fort after a prolonged siege, earning the title of Viscount Combermere. The present Bhurtpore Inn, an untied hostelry serving a selection of real ales and curries, [ [http://www.goodguides.co.uk/pubs/pubdetails.asp?pub_id=2093647815 The Good Pub Guide: Bhurtpore, Aston] ] has won several awards, including the "The Good Pub Guide"'s National Beer Pub of the Year in 1997 & 1999, and CAMRA's Regional Pub of the Year 2005. [ [http://www.bhurtpore.co.uk/awards.htm Bhurtpore Inn: Awards] ]

References