Great Budworth
Encyclopedia
Great Budworth is a civil parish and village, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Northwich
, England, within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
. It lies off the A559 road, east of Comberbach
, northwest of Higher Marston and southeast of Budworth Heath. Until 1948, Great Budworth was part of the Arley Hall
estate.
, the name Great Budworth comes from the Old Saxon
words bode ("dwelling") and wurth ("a place by water").
, Budworth to the west and Pickmere to the east.
It was situated in the hundred of Bucklow and deanery of Frodsham. At 15 miles (24.1 km) in length and 10 miles (16.1 km) in width, it was considered to be the largest parish in Cheshire, except Prestbury. The parish contained nineteen townships: Budworth, Anderson, Appleton-cum-Hull, Aston-juxta-Budworth, Barnton, Barterton, or Bartington, Cogfoall, Comberbach, Dutton, Little-Leigh, Marbury, Marton, Pickmere, Stretton, Nether-Tabley, Over-Witley, Nether Witley, and Wincham.
. It mentions a priest at Great Budworth. In 1130, the St Mary and All Saints Church was given to the Augustinian
canon
of Norton Priory
by William FitzNigel, Constable
of Chester and Baron of Halton
.
During the reign of Henry III
, Sir Geoffrey de Dutton (sometimes "Geffrey de Budworth") (d. 1248) was lord of the manor. De Budworth was the son of Adam, a younger son of Hugh de Dutton. Peter, grandson of De Budworth and ancestor of Sir Peter Warburton, second Bart. of Arley, moved to Warburton
, assumed that name, and was a proprietor of Great Budworth. De Budworth gave a third of his land, including St Mary and All Saints Church, to Norton Priory
in order to secure perpetual masses for his soul. After the dissolution of the monasteries
, King Henry VIII
granted the estate to John Grimsditch. It was afterwards divided into several parcels.
There may have been a school in Great Budworth as early as 1563, but certainly one existed by 1578. For centuries, the village was owned by the head of Arley Hall who would collect rent from the villagers. Rowland Egerton-Warburton
of Arley Hall paid for restorations and improvements to the church in the 1850s. Egerton-Warburton also undertook a "campaign to render it (the village) picturesque
in Victorian
eyes". To this end he commissioned architects including William Nesfield
and John Douglas
to work on buildings in the village. Douglas remodelled the George and Dragon inn
in 1875, and restored some of the cottages.
A running pump was the only source of drinking water for the whole community until 1934 when a piped supply was first connected. Until 1948, Great Budworth was part of the Arley Hall estate.
is located in the village. The village is a popular location for films and television including Cluedo
and more recently in the Natwest advert. Arley Hall
, a historic house
, is nearby. Also of note in the area are George and Dragon
and Cock o' Budworth pubs, 54–57 High Street
, Dene Cottages
, Goldmine House
and Belmont Hall
.
St Mary and All Saints' Church has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican
parish church
in the diocese of Chester
, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth. Clifton-Taylor
includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches. Richards describes it as "one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture remaining in Cheshire". The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
considered it to be "one of the most satisfactory Perpendicular churches in Cheshire". In the north chapel is a memorial to Sir Peter Leicester
, the 17th-century historian, and in the Warburton Chapel is the alabaster
effigy
of Sir John Warburton who died in 1575. In the north chapel is an organ which was designed by Samuel Renn
and installed in 1839.
and its attached cottage (Rose Cottage), designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. were built in 1870 for Rowland Egerton-Warburton
of Arley Hall and were designed by the Chester architect John Douglas. Built with brown brick with some timber framing, and clay tile roofs the house faces west. It is a double storied building with two gabled bays
. The cottage is simple in form with a dormer and blue brick diapering
.
Dene Cottages
are a pair of cottages, designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building. They were built in 186768 for Rowland Egerton-Warburton
of Arley Hall
and designed by the Chester
architect John Douglas
. The lower storeys are constructed in brown brick. The upper storeys are timber-framed
with plaster
panels. The roof is in clay tiles. The plaster panels are pargetted
with floral motifs.
Belmont Hall
in this parish was built by J. H. Smith-Barry Esq., who deposited in it his valuable collection of pictures and statues, afterwards removed to Marbury. Smith-Barry sold it to Henry Clarke. Built in 1755 and designed by James Gibbs
, it is a Grade I listed building. As of 2011 it is occupied by Cransley School
.
George and Dragon pub
, designated by English Heritage
Grade II listed building was initially built as a simple three-bay
Georgian
inn. In 1875, its restoration was commissioned by Egerton-Warburton. The Chester
architect, John Douglas
carried out the work; he added tall rubbed chimneys, mullion
ed windows and a steep pyramidal turret
. The double storied inn has bays
built in brick with a roughcast rendering
on the upper storey. It has clay tiled covered hipped roofs. Its other architectural features comprise a projecting two-storey porch with oak post-and-rail fence inscribed with a number of sayings on either side, lateral bay with four-light mullioned window in the lower storey and a three-light mullioned window in the upper storey, a tall rubbed brick chimneystack, and the inn sign located diagonally from the right corner The inn continues to function as a public house and restaurant.
, a row of four dwellings in High Street Cheshire
, designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. had been built in the early 18th century, or earlier. In 1870 or just before 1875, they were refaced and partly rebuilt for Rowland Egerton-Warburton of Arley Hall by the architect John Douglas. or just before 1875. The two outer buildings are houses and the two central buildings are cottages. They are built in brown brick with clay tile roofs, and have two storeys plus attics. Each building has a gable
, those on the outer buildings being larger than those on the inner buildings, and all are decorated with brick and plaster.
, Budworth Mere was used as a fish hatchery. Stocked with bream and pike, its reeds breed Reed warbler
s and Great crested grebe
. Other avifauna includes mallard
s and coot
s.
performed in the village every November which brings together the whole community. It features Saint George
, the Black Knight and a Hobby Horse. In Great Budworth, the "soul cake" may be a glass of beer or other sustenance; into it comes the devil, or Beelzebub
, now "Belshy Bob".
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
, England, within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health...
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. It lies off the A559 road, east of Comberbach
Comberbach
Comberbach is a civil parish and small village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, located between Northwich and Warrington. The village sports a new Memorial Hall , a Bowling Club, two pubs - the Spinner and Burgamot, and the Drum...
, northwest of Higher Marston and southeast of Budworth Heath. Until 1948, Great Budworth was part of the Arley Hall
Arley Hall
Arley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about south of Lymm and north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adjacent chapel. Formal gardens to the southwest of the hall...
estate.
Etymology
According to Sir Peter LeycesterSir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet
Sir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet was an English antiquarian and historian. He was involved in the English Civil War on the royalist side and was subsequently made a baronet...
, the name Great Budworth comes from the Old Saxon
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in the Netherlands by Saxon peoples...
words bode ("dwelling") and wurth ("a place by water").
Geography
Great Budworth is approached from the main Warrington to Northwich road and lies about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the town of Northwich. It is situated along a ridge of overlooking two meresMere (lake)
Mere in English refers to a lake that is broad in relation to its depth, e.g. Martin Mere. A significant effect of its shallow depth is that for all or most of the time, it has no thermocline.- Etymology :...
, Budworth to the west and Pickmere to the east.
It was situated in the hundred of Bucklow and deanery of Frodsham. At 15 miles (24.1 km) in length and 10 miles (16.1 km) in width, it was considered to be the largest parish in Cheshire, except Prestbury. The parish contained nineteen townships: Budworth, Anderson, Appleton-cum-Hull, Aston-juxta-Budworth, Barnton, Barterton, or Bartington, Cogfoall, Comberbach, Dutton, Little-Leigh, Marbury, Marton, Pickmere, Stretton, Nether-Tabley, Over-Witley, Nether Witley, and Wincham.
History
The early history of Great Budworth is documented in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
. It mentions a priest at Great Budworth. In 1130, the St Mary and All Saints Church was given to the Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Norton Priory
Norton Priory
Norton Priory is a historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England, comprising the remains of an abbey complex dating from the 12th to 16th centuries, and an 18th-century country house; it is now a museum. The remains are a scheduled ancient monument and have been designated by English...
by William FitzNigel, Constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
of Chester and Baron of Halton
Barony of Halton
The Barony of Halton, in Cheshire, England, comprised a succession of 15 barons who held under the overlordship of the County Palatine of Chester ruled by the Earl of Chester. It was not therefore an English feudal barony which was under full royal jurisdiction, which is the usual sense of the...
.
During the reign of Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
, Sir Geoffrey de Dutton (sometimes "Geffrey de Budworth") (d. 1248) was lord of the manor. De Budworth was the son of Adam, a younger son of Hugh de Dutton. Peter, grandson of De Budworth and ancestor of Sir Peter Warburton, second Bart. of Arley, moved to Warburton
Warburton, Greater Manchester
Warburton is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Cheshire, Warburton lies on the south bank of the River Mersey between the borough of Warrington and Greater Manchester. Today, the village remains...
, assumed that name, and was a proprietor of Great Budworth. De Budworth gave a third of his land, including St Mary and All Saints Church, to Norton Priory
Norton Priory
Norton Priory is a historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England, comprising the remains of an abbey complex dating from the 12th to 16th centuries, and an 18th-century country house; it is now a museum. The remains are a scheduled ancient monument and have been designated by English...
in order to secure perpetual masses for his soul. After the dissolution of the monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
granted the estate to John Grimsditch. It was afterwards divided into several parcels.
There may have been a school in Great Budworth as early as 1563, but certainly one existed by 1578. For centuries, the village was owned by the head of Arley Hall who would collect rent from the villagers. Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Eyles Egerton-Warburton was a landowner in Cheshire, England. He was a devout Anglican in the high church tradition and a local benefactor. He paid for the restoration of his parish church and for the building of two new churches in villages on his estates...
of Arley Hall paid for restorations and improvements to the church in the 1850s. Egerton-Warburton also undertook a "campaign to render it (the village) picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
in Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
eyes". To this end he commissioned architects including William Nesfield
William Eden Nesfield
William Eden Nesfield was an English architect, designer and painter.W. E. Nesfield was the eldest son of the landscape architect and painter William Andrews Nesfield. He was educated at Eton and then articled to the architect William Burn in 1850, transferring after two years to his uncle by...
and John Douglas
John Douglas (architect)
John Douglas was an English architect who designed about 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, and northwest England, in particular in the estate of Eaton Hall. He was trained in Lancaster and practised throughout his career from an office in Chester, Cheshire...
to work on buildings in the village. Douglas remodelled the George and Dragon inn
George and Dragon, Great Budworth
The George and Dragon is a public house in the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:Great Budworth is a village that was formerly in the estate of Arley Hall...
in 1875, and restored some of the cottages.
A running pump was the only source of drinking water for the whole community until 1934 when a piped supply was first connected. Until 1948, Great Budworth was part of the Arley Hall estate.
Notable landmarks
The Grade I listed St Mary and All Saints ChurchSt Mary and All Saints Church, Great Budworth
St Mary and All Saints Church, Great Budworth, is in the centre of the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the...
is located in the village. The village is a popular location for films and television including Cluedo
Cluedo
Cluedo is a popular murder/mystery-themed deduction board game originally published by Waddingtons in Leeds, England in 1949. It was devised by Anthony E. Pratt, a solicitor's clerk from Birmingham, England. It is now published by the United States game and toy company Hasbro, which acquired its U.S...
and more recently in the Natwest advert. Arley Hall
Arley Hall
Arley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about south of Lymm and north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adjacent chapel. Formal gardens to the southwest of the hall...
, a historic house
Historic house
A historic house can be a stately home, the birthplace of a famous person, or a house with an interesting history or architecture.- Background :...
, is nearby. Also of note in the area are George and Dragon
George and Dragon, Great Budworth
The George and Dragon is a public house in the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:Great Budworth is a village that was formerly in the estate of Arley Hall...
and Cock o' Budworth pubs, 54–57 High Street
54–57 High Street, Great Budworth
54–57 High Street is a row of four dwellings in High Street, Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building....
, Dene Cottages
Dene Cottages, Great Budworth
Dene Cottages consists of a pair of cottages in the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. The cottages have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building....
, Goldmine House
Goldmine House, Great Budworth
Goldmine House and its attached cottage are at No. 26 Southbank, Great Budworth, Cheshire, England, to the south of St Mary and All Saints' Church...
and Belmont Hall
Belmont Hall, Cheshire
Belmont Hall, Cheshire, is a country house to the northwest of the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The house stands to the north of the A559 road...
.
St Mary and All Saints' Church
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the diocese of Chester
Diocese of Chester
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth. Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor OBE was an English architectural historian, writer and TV broadcaster.-Biography and works:...
includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches. Richards describes it as "one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture remaining in Cheshire". The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
considered it to be "one of the most satisfactory Perpendicular churches in Cheshire". In the north chapel is a memorial to Sir Peter Leicester
Sir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet
Sir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet was an English antiquarian and historian. He was involved in the English Civil War on the royalist side and was subsequently made a baronet...
, the 17th-century historian, and in the Warburton Chapel is the alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of Sir John Warburton who died in 1575. In the north chapel is an organ which was designed by Samuel Renn
Samuel Renn
Samuel Renn was an English organ builder who ran a business in Stockport, and later he traded in Manchester.Renn was born in Kedleston, Derbyshire and in 1799 was apprenticed to his uncle, James Davis, an organ builder in London. Renn became his foreman and supervised organ installations and...
and installed in 1839.
Houses
Goldmine HouseGoldmine House, Great Budworth
Goldmine House and its attached cottage are at No. 26 Southbank, Great Budworth, Cheshire, England, to the south of St Mary and All Saints' Church...
and its attached cottage (Rose Cottage), designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. were built in 1870 for Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Eyles Egerton-Warburton was a landowner in Cheshire, England. He was a devout Anglican in the high church tradition and a local benefactor. He paid for the restoration of his parish church and for the building of two new churches in villages on his estates...
of Arley Hall and were designed by the Chester architect John Douglas. Built with brown brick with some timber framing, and clay tile roofs the house faces west. It is a double storied building with two gabled bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
. The cottage is simple in form with a dormer and blue brick diapering
Diapering
Diaper is any of a wide range of decorative patterns used in a variety of works of art, such as stained glass, heraldic shields, architecture, silverwork etc. Its chief use is in the enlivening of plain surfaces.-Etymology:...
.
Dene Cottages
Dene Cottages, Great Budworth
Dene Cottages consists of a pair of cottages in the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. The cottages have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building....
are a pair of cottages, designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II listed building. They were built in 186768 for Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Eyles Egerton-Warburton was a landowner in Cheshire, England. He was a devout Anglican in the high church tradition and a local benefactor. He paid for the restoration of his parish church and for the building of two new churches in villages on his estates...
of Arley Hall
Arley Hall
Arley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about south of Lymm and north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adjacent chapel. Formal gardens to the southwest of the hall...
and designed by the Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
architect John Douglas
John Douglas (architect)
John Douglas was an English architect who designed about 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, and northwest England, in particular in the estate of Eaton Hall. He was trained in Lancaster and practised throughout his career from an office in Chester, Cheshire...
. The lower storeys are constructed in brown brick. The upper storeys are timber-framed
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
with plaster
Plasterwork
Plasterwork refers to construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called pargeting...
panels. The roof is in clay tiles. The plaster panels are pargetted
Pargeting
Pargeting is a decorative plastering applied to building walls.Pargeting derives from the word 'parget', a Middle English term that is probably derived from the Old French 'pargeter' / 'parjeter', to throw about, or 'porgeter', to roughcast a wall...
with floral motifs.
Belmont Hall
Belmont Hall, Cheshire
Belmont Hall, Cheshire, is a country house to the northwest of the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The house stands to the north of the A559 road...
in this parish was built by J. H. Smith-Barry Esq., who deposited in it his valuable collection of pictures and statues, afterwards removed to Marbury. Smith-Barry sold it to Henry Clarke. Built in 1755 and designed by James Gibbs
James Gibbs
James Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
, it is a Grade I listed building. As of 2011 it is occupied by Cransley School
Cransley School
Cransley School is an independent day school in Great Budworth, near to the town of Northwich, Cheshire, England. The school educates boys between the ages of 3 and 11, and girls between the ages of 3 and 16....
.
George and Dragon pub
George and Dragon, Great Budworth
The George and Dragon is a public house in the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:Great Budworth is a village that was formerly in the estate of Arley Hall...
, designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
Grade II listed building was initially built as a simple three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
inn. In 1875, its restoration was commissioned by Egerton-Warburton. The Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
architect, John Douglas
John Douglas (architect)
John Douglas was an English architect who designed about 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, and northwest England, in particular in the estate of Eaton Hall. He was trained in Lancaster and practised throughout his career from an office in Chester, Cheshire...
carried out the work; he added tall rubbed chimneys, mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed windows and a steep pyramidal turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
. The double storied inn has bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
built in brick with a roughcast rendering
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
on the upper storey. It has clay tiled covered hipped roofs. Its other architectural features comprise a projecting two-storey porch with oak post-and-rail fence inscribed with a number of sayings on either side, lateral bay with four-light mullioned window in the lower storey and a three-light mullioned window in the upper storey, a tall rubbed brick chimneystack, and the inn sign located diagonally from the right corner The inn continues to function as a public house and restaurant.
The 54–57 High Street
The 54–57 High Street54–57 High Street, Great Budworth
54–57 High Street is a row of four dwellings in High Street, Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building....
, a row of four dwellings in High Street Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. had been built in the early 18th century, or earlier. In 1870 or just before 1875, they were refaced and partly rebuilt for Rowland Egerton-Warburton of Arley Hall by the architect John Douglas. or just before 1875. The two outer buildings are houses and the two central buildings are cottages. They are built in brown brick with clay tile roofs, and have two storeys plus attics. Each building has a gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
, those on the outer buildings being larger than those on the inner buildings, and all are decorated with brick and plaster.
Flora and fauna
In the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Budworth Mere was used as a fish hatchery. Stocked with bream and pike, its reeds breed Reed warbler
Reed Warbler
The Eurasian Reed Warbler, or just Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds across Europe into temperate western Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa....
s and Great crested grebe
Great Crested Grebe
The Great Crested Grebe is a member of the grebe family of water birds.- Description :The Great Crested Grebe is long with a wingspan. It is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater. The adults are unmistakable in summer with head and neck decorations...
. Other avifauna includes mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
s and coot
Coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...
s.
Culture
The Soul Cakers Play is a seasonal folk playFolk play
Folk plays such as Hoodening, Guising, Mumming and Soul Caking are generally verse sketches performed in countryside pubs in European countries, private houses or the open air, at set times of the year such as the Winter or Summer solstices or Christmas and New Year...
performed in the village every November which brings together the whole community. It features Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
, the Black Knight and a Hobby Horse. In Great Budworth, the "soul cake" may be a glass of beer or other sustenance; into it comes the devil, or Beelzebub
Beelzebub
Beelzebub -Religious meaning:Ba‘al Zəbûb is variously understood to mean "lord of flies", or "lord of the dwelling". Originally the name of a Philistine god, Beelzebub is also identified in the New Testament as Satan, the "prince of the demons". In Arabic the name is retained as Ba‘al dhubaab /...
, now "Belshy Bob".