Cheshire, a palatine and maritime county of England, bounded on the NW. by
the Irish Sea, and bordering on the counties of Lancaster, York, Derby,
Stafford, Salop, Denbigh, and Flint; extreme length, NE. and SW., 58 miles;
extreme breadth, 40 miles; average breadth 18 miles; area, 657,123 acres;
population 644,037. Cheshire forms, towards the Irish Sea, a flat peninsula,
the Wirrall [sic] (12 miles by 7 miles), between the estuaries of the
Mersey and the Dee, and inland a vast plain separating the mountains of Wales
from those of Derbyshire. This plain is diversified with fine woods of oak,
and &c., and is studded with numerous small lakes or meres. A low ridge of
sandstone hills runs North from Congleton, near the East border, and another
extends from the neighbourhood of Malpas to Frodsham, near the estuary of the
Mersey. The chief rivers are the Mersey with its affluent the Bollin, the
Weaver, and the Dee. The soil consists of marl, mixed with clay and sand, and
is generally fertile. There are numerous excellent dairy farms, on which the
celebrated Cheshire cheese is made; also extensive market gardens, the produce
of which is sent to Liverpool, Manchester, and the neighbouring towns. Salt
has been long worked; it is obtained from rock salt and saline springs; the
principal works are at Nantwich, Northwich, and Winsford. Coal and ironstone
are worked in the districts of Macclesfield and Stockport. There are
manufacturers of cotton, silk, and ribbons, carried on chiefly in the towns of
the East division; and shipbuilding, on the Mersey. Cheshire contains 7
hundreds and 503 parishes, and is entirely within the Diocese of Chester.
(From Bartholemew's Gazetteer of the British Isles, 1887. -C.H.)
The county boundary has changed several times since the late nineteenth
century, most significantly in 1974, when sizeable areas were transferred to the
counties of Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
The Family History Society of Cheshire
also have a Library ane Research Centre at the Festival Hall, Talbot Road,
Alderley Edge, which is open to members only.
Bibliographies
Cheshire : A Genealogical Bibliography by
Stuart Raymond. Published in 2
volumes by the Federation of Family History Societies, 1995. ISBN 1-86006-011-0
(vol. 1), 1-86006-012-9 (vol. 2).
Census
The census returns for 1841-1891 have been transcribed for the village of
Kelsall.
The Cheshire Record Office
have a new site containing almost all the surviving
Cheshire Tithe Maps from
the 1830s and 1840s, which can be compared with modern and 1st/3rd edition
Ordnance Survey plans, and aerial photography.
Probate Records
A searchable database of
Cheshire Wills
and other probate documents held at the Cheshire Record Office for the years
1492-1940.
