Wybunbury

Wybunbury is a village (at SJ 696 499) and civil parish in the Crewe and Nantwich district of Cheshire, England. The village lies 3¼ miles to the south east of Nantwich and 3¾ miles to the south of Crewe. The parish also includes the settlements of Clannor Heath, Daisy Hill, The Flag, Pinfold and parts of Blakelow, Haymoor Green and Howbeck Bank. [http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/wybunbury.html Genuki: Wybunbury] (accessed 15 August 2007)] Nearby villages include Hough, Shavington, Stapeley and Walgherton. The A51 runs east–west through the south-western corner of the parish.

According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1474. [ [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=792617&c=Wybunbury&d=16&e=15&g=428459&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 Neighbourhood Statistics: Wybunbury CP] (accessed 12 August 2007)]

Wybunbury is pronounced 'Winbury'.

Notable features

The leaning tower of the former church of St Chad, also known as the 'Leaning Tower of South Cheshire' and the 'Hanging Steeple of Wimberie', is located in Wybunbury village. [http://www.unesco.org/archi2000/pdf/burland.pdf Johnston G, Burland J. An early example of the use of underexcavation to stabilise the tower of St Chad, Wybunbury in 1832] (accessed 15 October 2007)] The 29.3 m tower is all that remains of a late fifteenth century church demolished in 1833. (Later churches, replacing the fifteenth century one, were also demolished in 1892 and 1977.) The tower was stabilised using underexcavation by James Trubshaw in 1832; this is the earliest known application of the technique, which was also used to stabilise the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The parish also includes the lowland raised bog of Wybunbury Moss, a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest. [ [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/nnr/nnr_details.asp?nnr_name=&C=0&Habitat=0&natural_area=&local_team=0&spotlight_reserve=0&X=&NNR_ID=171 National Nature Reserves: Wybunbury Moss NNR] (accessed 15 August 2007)] The bog is the setting for the children's book, "Nellie Longarms Will Get You... If You Don't Watch Out", by John Bailey and Rose Quigley. [ [http://www.nellielongarms.co.uk/ Nellie Longarms will get you... if you don't watch out] (accessed 15 October 2007)]

References