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 and 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 Returns
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.
