View source for Eccleston, Cheshire

{{Short description|Village in Cheshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox UK place
| coordinates = {{coord|53.157|-2.880|display=inline,title}}
| official_name = Eccleston
| population = 246
| population_ref = ([[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]])
| civil_parish = Eaton and Eccleston
| unitary_england = [[Cheshire West and Chester]]
| lieutenancy_england = [[Cheshire]]
| region = North West England
| country = England
| constituency_westminster = [[Chester South and Eddisbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester South and Eddisbury]]
| post_town = CHESTER
| postcode_district = CH4
| postcode_area = CH
| dial_code = 01244
| os_grid_reference = SJ412626
| static_image_name = StMarysEccleston.JPG
| static_image_caption = [[St Mary's Church, Eccleston|St Mary's Church]]
}}
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'''Eccleston''' is a village and former [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]], now in the parish of Eaton and Eccleston, in the borough of [[Cheshire West and Chester]], in the ceremonial county of [[Cheshire]], England. The village is approximately {{convert|2.7|mi|km}} to the south of the city of [[Chester]], near to the [[River Dee, Wales|River Dee]]. The village is situated on the estate of the [[Duke of Westminster]] who maintains his ancestral home at nearby [[Eaton Hall (Cheshire)|Eaton Hall]].

According to the [[2001 United Kingdom census|2001 census]], the population of the parish was 184.<ref name=GENUKI>{{cite web|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CHS/Eccleston|title=Cheshire Towns & Parishes: Eccleston|publisher=GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy|access-date=18 November 2007}}</ref>
The population of the civil parish was recorded as 246 in the [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]].<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=E04011093|title=Eccleston Parish|access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref> 

== History ==
It is believed that the name of the village derives from the [[Primitive Welsh]] ''eglẹ̄s'' (a church) and the [[Old English]] ''tūn'' (a settlement, farmstead or estate).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Cheshire/Eccleston |title=Key to English Place-Names: Eccleston|publisher=University of Nottingham|access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref>

The village, mentioned as ''Eclestone'' in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, was on a [[Via Devana|Roman road]] to Chester.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/cheshire1.html#eccleston |title=Cheshire A-K: Eccleston|publisher=Domesday Book Online|access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref>  The settlement consisted of seven households (four villagers, one [[smallholding|smallholder]] and two slaves) on land under the ownership of [[Gilbert de Venables]] ('Gilbert the hunter').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SJ4162/eccleston/ |title=Eccleston|publisher=Open Domesday|first=Anna|last=Powell-Smith|access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref> In 1066 it was worth 1 pound 10 shillings and in 1086 it was worth 2 pounds 14 shillings despite being waste in 1070 suggesting a very quick economic rebound; it was also one of the most profitable manors that de Venables owned.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Ancestry - Sign In|url=https://www.ancestry.com/account/signin?returnurl=http://www.ancestry.com%2Ftree%2F172570354%2Ffamily%2Ffamilyview%3Fcfpid%3D322243644386|access-date=2021-09-17|website=www.ancestry.com}}</ref> It also had a boat and net (suggesting fishing), 5 hides paying geld, and 6 units of ploughland.<ref name=":0" /> The Normans built an early motte castle at Eccleston, one of a series forming a defence against Welsh raids on the farmlands of Cheshire, and emphasising the new post-Conquest order. The castle mound is preserved as a [[scheduled monument]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1011118 |desc=Motte and associated earthworks east of Old Rectory |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref>

Eccleston was largely rebuilt as an [[estate village]] by the [[Dukes of Westminster]] in the 19th century. The Cheshire volume of the ''Buildings of England'' series describes it as "the prime Eaton estate village" and "a showpiece".<ref name="pevsner_cheshire">{{cite book |url= |title=The Buildings of England: Cheshire |first1=Clare |last1=Hartwell |first2=Matthew |last2=Hyde |first3=Edward |last3=Hubbard |first4=Nikolaus |last4=Pevsner |publisher=Yale University Press |date=2011 |isbn=9780300170436 |pages=352–353}}</ref> Many of the buildings, including [[St Mary's School, Eccleston|St Mary's School]] and the shelter in the middle of the road junction at the centre of the village, were designed by [[John Douglas (English architect)|John Douglas]], the favoured architect of the Grosvenor family at the time. The 17th-century manor house pre-dates the Victorian rebuilding.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1138411 |desc=Manor House |grade=II |fewer-links=yes |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref>

Formerly a township in [[Hundreds of Cheshire|Broxton Hundred]], it includes the [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]]s of '''Belgrave''' and '''Morris Oak'''. The population was 199 in 1801, 289 in 1851, 320 in 1901 and 272 in 1951.<ref name=GENUKI/>

Eccleston was the site of a ferry across the [[River Dee, Wales|River Dee]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/picturesquechesh00cowaiala|title=Picturesque Cheshire |publisher=Sherratt and Hughes |location=London & Manchester |date=1903 |first=Thomas Alfred |last=Coward |access-date=15 June 2016}}</ref>

== Church ==
{{main|St Mary's Church, Eccleston}}
The church at Eccleston is called [[St Mary's Church, Eccleston|St. Mary's Church]]. It was built at the expense of the [[Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster|1st Duke of Westminster]] and cost £40,000 in 1899.

It was built on the site of an earlier church that was constructed in 1809. Part of the churchyard is unusual in that it is circular in shape, which indicates pagan origins. In 1929 an excavation revealed 20 bodies which are believed to date from 390 AD. They are the earliest known [[Christian burial]]s in Cheshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/eccleston.html|title=Photographs and history of St. Mary's Church and brief information about the village|first=Craig|last=Thornber|access-date=27 July 2007}}</ref>

The Old Churchyard is the resting place of the [[Duke of Westminster|Dukes of Westminster]]. Also buried here are [[Alfred Ernest Ind]] [[Victoria Cross|VC]], who died on 29 November 1916,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/cheshire.htm |title=Location of Alfred Earnest Ind's grave and VC medal. (Cheshire) |access-date=27 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927132201/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/cheshire.htm |archive-date=27 September 2013 }}</ref> Sir Henry Nelson Clowes [[Royal Victorian Order|KCVO]] (1911–1993), Sir Philip Hay [[Royal Victorian Order|KCVO]] (1918–1986), Private Secretary to [[Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark|the Duchess of Kent]], and his wife Dame Margaret Katherine Hay [[Royal Victorian Order|DCVO]] (1918–1975), [[Woman of the Bedchamber]] to [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]], a granddaughter of 1st Duke of Westminster.

== Governance ==
Eccleston is represented by the [[United Kingdom Parliament constituencies|Constituency]] of the [[Chester South and Eddisbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester South and Eddisbury]] in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|UK House of Commons]]. 

In local government, the unitary authority of [[Cheshire West and Chester]] replaced [[Chester City Council]] and [[Cheshire County Council]] on 1 April 2009. Eccleston is within the [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral ward]] of Christleton and Huntington.

Eccleston [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] was abolished on 1 April 2015 to form Eaton and Eccleston, with part also transferring to [[Dodleston]].<ref name=GENUKI/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/cheshire%20west%20and%20chester.html|title=Cheshire West and Chester Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|accessdate=1 September 2023}}</ref> It is governed by a [[Civil parishes in Cheshire|parish council]], made up of a seven-members. Meetings are held in the Eccleston Village Hall in the 3rd week of January, May, July and October each year. There are also special meetings scheduled to deal with specific issues when needed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eatonandecclestonparishcouncil.org/about-us |title=About Us|publisher=Eaton and Eccleston Parish Council|accessdate=14 July 2016}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Cheshire}}
* [[Listed buildings in Eccleston, Cheshire]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Eccleston, Cheshire|Eccleston}}

{{Cheshire, Cheshire West and Chester}}
{{Cheshire}}

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[[Category:Villages in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Cheshire West and Chester]]