Cheshire Places (4) : Weaverham

Weaverham is a village in central Cheshire, near to Northwich. Weaverham is next to Owley Wood which is part of the Mersey Forest.

Weaverham has Saxon origins, the name means the village near the winding river (the nearby river Weaver). The crossing of the river is likely to be why the village was formed in the first place. Weaverham remained a quiet village for centuries though grew notably in the 1930s due to an influx of workers for an ICI facility.

Weaverham's parish church is dedicated to St Mary. The tower dates from the 15th century, much of the rest from the 16th, though there has been a church on the site since Saxon times.

Weaverham has no railway station of it's own but is a short walk away from Action Bridge station.

End of the book

You may have wondered (though most likely have not as i suspect you are normal) how i manage to create the graphs such as on this page which shows the rolling stock and train companies i have traveled on over the course of a year. The answer is, i have listed all of my journies on rail in a little black book! I don't write down the numbers (my train spotting days can be left in my teens) but i note the type of train i have been on, and who operates it. 

This then allows me to create graphs using Google Sheets and sometimes i publish them at the end of the year. So, i have been doing this for a number of years now but my book has finally run out of new pages! But fear not, i will start a new book next week...

Churches (236) : Priory Church of St Mary and St Michael, Great Malvern

Work began on the priory in Malvern in 1085CE. The priory was dedicated to St Mary and was built on land belonging to Westminster Abbey. After the Dissolution, local people bought the priory to use as a new parish church, however the small local population meant that it was a struggle to maintain the large church's upkeep. By the late 18th century the priory had fallen into disrepair and was restored in the 19th century.

Much of the priory dates from a 15th century extension in the Perpendicular Style. The church has a square central tower. The church has a twin aisled nave and a north transept, the south transept and a lady chapel has now gone. The chancel has a chapel dedicated to St Anne.

Model Week : Painting the Antarctic

I remember now why i paused work on the Auster Antarctic earlier in the year. I did not have yellow paint in acrylic and was unable to get some and must have just forgot about it. Well now i have finally restarted the project and reached the painting stage. I have a tin of yellow paint in enamel and have used that, though it is a rather horrible thin paint which needs a lot of coats. However, progress is good and the Antarctic will hopefully finally be finished next week.

Passing through Whitchurch

In Shropshire.

Cheshire Places (3) : Sandbach

Sandbach is a market town in the east of the county.

Sandbach derives it's name from the Anglo-Saxon for sand stream or valley (bæce). Two Saxon crosses in the market square are survivors from at least the 9th century or earlier (see photo below). By the time of the Domesday Book the village was known as Sanbec, though the name was written as Sandbitch by the 18th century. Sandbach became a market town in 1579, being granted a royal charter by Queen Elizabeth.

St Mary's church dates from the 16th century and was built on the site of a Saxon church.

By the 17th century, Sandbach was well known for the brewing industry, ale brewed in Sandbach was popular even as far away as London. In the 19th century silk mills were a major industry in the town. A major industry in the late 19th and 20th century was the building of lorries and other commercial vehicles. Foden was established in Elworth near Sandbach in 1856, later Foden traction engines were built in Sandbach. The lorry manufacturer ERF (created by Edwin Richard Foden) was established in Sandbach in 1933 and continued until the end of the century.

Sandbach railway station was opened in 1842 and is a stop on the Crewe-Manchester Line. Sandbach is close to the M6 motorway and has a junction (17) and service station named after the town.

Half-success at Stratford

Today i went to Stratford-upon-Avon to update my images of the station for my next book, which will be on the railway stations of Warwickshire. This i achieved, then i moved onto phase 2 of today's plan. This was to go by bus to Bidford-upon-Avon. Unfortunately, the bus didn't turn up so i had to abandon that trip for another day. To be honest the Stratford photos are more important but i can't help but feel today has been a bit of a waste.

Churches (235) : St Matthew, Walsall

The parish church of St Matthew in Walsall dates from 1220 though little of this original church, which was dedicated to All Saints, survives today. Most of the current church is from a major rebuilding in the early 1820s. The chancel is from the 15th century though has also been restored in the 19th century, under the chancel is a 13th century crypt.

The church has a nave with north and south aisles and a clerestory. There is a tower to the south west with a spire. The church is largely built from Bath stone though the chancel is sandstone.

Arriving at Lichfield Trent Valley

The end of the Cross-City Line.

Model week : Antarctic at (long long) last

What has happened to model kit building this year? Well it is a mystery for sure. Back in January i began Project #108, an Auster Antarctic, then for some reason paused building after just making the cockpit area. Then somehow it was September and there hadn't been progress at all! Well, we are back up to full speed now, building is complete and painting has just begun.  

To be honest, i often do pause projects for a while though for nine months is something unusual!

Cheshire Places (2) : Nantwich

The market town of Nantwich is to the south of the county.

Nantwich has Roman origins, salt from Nantwich being used at Roman garrisons at Chester and Stoke-on-Trent. The name Nantwich has Welsh origins, meaning brook and brine springs. By the time of the Domesday Book, Nantwich was listed as having eight salt houses. Nantwich remained the most important salt town in Cheshire into the Medieval period. Nantwich was granted a market charter in the 14th century.

The salt industry continued to grow, by the 16th century there were around 400 salt houses in the town. However, the industry declined quickly after this and by the end of the 18th century the salt industry had almost disappeared. As well as salt, another important trade in Nantwich was the tanning industry, this survived in the town until 1974.

The town was largely burned down in 1583. The town was rebuilt with the help of Queen Elizabeth and to this day the town has a fine selection of Elizabethian timber-framed buildings. The parish church of St Mary is 14th century and one of the few surviving buildings in the town from before the fire.

Nantwich railway station opened in 1858. The Shropshire Union Canal runs through the west of the town.

Uppingham, Rutland by bus

I want to explore Rutland more but the problem is only the county town Oakham has a rail connection. However, yesterday i went to Oakham by train and then took a bus out to the second largest town in the county which is Uppingham. The buses in Rutland seem to work pretty well so i will be doing this again in future to explore more villages in the county.

Uppingham is a lovely place, full of beautiful buildings and a good church. You can see my photos here.

Project Deblogification complete

The Around the Shires blog, which looks at British towns and villages, has now become the latest blog to reach the end of updates and has been replaced by a section on my website. This now completes Project Deblogification, but wait... didn't i say earlier that there were two blogs left to be replaced?

Indeed, i did plan to replace my Waterways blog last of all but having given it some thought i have decided to keep that blog going. There will be a section on my website coming soon dedicated to canals and other inland waterways, however i think this section complements rather than replaces the blog.

Churches (234) : St Mary the Virgin, Bulwell

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin and All Souls in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire was built in the mid-1800s to replace an earlier (11th century) dilapidated church which had been damaged in a storm. There may have been churches on the site dating back to Saxon times.

The new church was consecreted in 1850. A chancel was added in 1900. A north chapel added in 1946. The church has an aisled nave, a west tower, a chancel and the north chapel and vestry. The church is built from rubble stone with an ashlar dressing.

Pushing away

A Class 68 propels a train away from Birmingham Moor Street.

Yellow phone

This month's purchase of retro office technology is a telephone, another GPO 746 to be exact. I have three of them in various colours, the latest is in a very pleasing yellow. It doesn't have a plug so can't be connected to the telephone line, though i don't have a land line anyway! To find out more about the 746, and to see my red one, click here.

Cheshire Places (1) : Alsager

Alsager is a town on the south eastern border of the county. 

Alsager has Saxon origins, the name coming from the Old English Ælle's arable land. By the time of the Domesday Book, it was known as Eleacier and remained a small farming village for centuries. In the centre of Alsager is a lake known as the Mere. As with many places Alsager did not change until the advent of new technologies and industries, in Alsager's case the railways.

Situated between Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent, Alsager became a popular home for managers of various industries in those industrial towns who could easily commute after the railway station was opened in 1848.

In the Second World War, an armaments factory was built near to Alsager, the town greatly expanding with the new workers bought in for the factory. The factory at Radway Green continues to produce small arms ammunition for the British armed forces. A Royal Marines training camp was also constructed in the town, after the war this was re-purposed as a refugee camp.

Gongoozling in Rugby

I went to Rugby yesterday, one of the few Warwickshire stations i have yet to re-visit in my ongoing effort to update my available imagery for my forthcoming book on Warwickshire railway stations. The weather was not that great though, being rather murky and humid and with some light rain. Though i never seem to go to Rugby when it is good weather!

I also did a walk along the Oxford Canal in Rugby, covering some new ground (or towpath to be exact) that i have not been along before, including two neat aqueducts. You can see my canal photos here.

Churches (233) : St Chad, Stafford

The parish church of St Chad in Stafford dates from the 12th century and is the oldest building in Stafford though has been much changed. The nave had four bay arcades and was cruciform with a crossing tower which was built in the 14th century. The transepts were removed in the 17th century during major work on the church, the original arcades were also bricked up.

However, the church was in a poor state, the nave partially collapsed in the 18th century. In the 1740s the church was restored with a new west front though this was replaced by the current west front a century later during other restoration work. The bricked up arcades were opened up and a new north transept built, a south transept was added in the 1950s.

Typing on a Sears Chevron

Typing on our latest machine.

Tackley thrice

I have been to Tackley before, on Saturday it was my third visit to this small Oxfordshire village. However, until now i have not ventured as far as the parish church so did so finally on this trip, and very nice it is too along with the rest of the village. You can see my photos here.

Modern Collins (10) : A Wave of Fatalities

A Wave of Fatalities by Michael Delving is one of those frequent Modern Collins entries from the 1970s and 1980s which portrayed a professional in a field getting involved in a serious crime and becoming an amateur detective to help solve it.

Our hero in this case is an American antique dealer and his wife, visiting the UK looking for interesting antiques to buy. He comes across a very interesting medieval box of Jewish origin but, before he can close the deal, the owner is murdered and the box goes missing.

Although also a suspect in the case, our man helps the police investigate the case (although not officially). The theme of being an outsider and how others react to you is to the fore throughout this interesting story full of suspect and interesting characters.