Norley
Encyclopedia
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish in 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies to the north of Delamere Forest
Delamere Forest
Delamere Forest or Delamere Forest Park is a wood in the Cheshire West and Chester area of Cheshire, England, near the town of Frodsham. It includes of mixed deciduous and evergreen woodland, centred at around , making it the largest area of woodland in Cheshire...
, near the village of Cuddington
Cuddington, Vale Royal
Cuddington is a civil parish and rural village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, about six miles west of Northwich and fourteen miles east of Chester....
. Its name is derived from Norlegh, which means "north clearing".
History
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...
, Norley was included under the manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Kingsley. 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...
the manor of Norley was granted to Richard de Kingsleigh, and Roger de Norley was granted land within the manor. Later the area was dominated by two estates
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
, Norley Hall and Norley Bank.
Norley Hall
The first Norley Hall was built at the beginning of the 15th century and the present hall dates from 1782 when it was built by William Hall. In the 19th century the hall was bought by the Woodhouse family of Liverpool. It was later occupied by Charles F. Bell and then the Dronsfield family. It has now been divided into apartments.Norley Bank
Norley Bank was built by James Croxton in the 18th century and later acquired by Rev. Rowland Egerton. His eldest son was Rowland Egerton-WarburtonRowland 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...
who inherited the Arley
Arley, Cheshire
Arley is a small village in the civil parish of Aston by Budworth, Cheshire, England adjacent to Arley Hall. 0.7 miles to the east is a small group of houses known as Arley Green. The village is 3.8 miles south of Lymm and 5 miles north of Northwich.The buildings now comprising Arley Green...
and 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...
estates, and who built the present 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...
. Hon. Arthur Lascelles bought the house in about 1852 and it remained in private ownership until in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when it was used as a British Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
hospital. In 1953 it was bought by Liverpool Corporation
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Joe Anderson.-Domain:...
with the intention of converting it into an approved school
Approved School
Approved School is a term formerly used in the United Kingdom to mean a particular kind of residential institution to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control...
, but this did not materialise and in 1957 it was sold and demolished.
Geography
Norley lies in rural farmland to the north of Delamere ForestDelamere Forest
Delamere Forest or Delamere Forest Park is a wood in the Cheshire West and Chester area of Cheshire, England, near the town of Frodsham. It includes of mixed deciduous and evergreen woodland, centred at around , making it the largest area of woodland in Cheshire...
and is connected to the surrounding villages by unclassified roads. To the northwest is Kingsley
Kingsley, Cheshire
Kingsley is a civil parish and a village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is approximately 5 miles south east of the town of Frodsham....
, to the north Crowton
Crowton
thumb|right|200px|Map of civil parish of Crowton within borough of Vale RoyalCrowton is a civil parish and village within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located approximately 6 miles west of Northwich.-External links:...
, and to the east are Cuddington
Cuddington, Vale Royal
Cuddington is a civil parish and rural village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, about six miles west of Northwich and fourteen miles east of Chester....
and Sandiway
Sandiway
Sandiway is a village in the civil parish of Cuddington, Cheshire, England. It lies to the east of and is contiguous with the village of Cuddington....
.
Landmarks
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....
of St John the Evangelist
St John the Evangelist's Church, Norley
St John the Evangelist's Church, Norley, stands to the west of the village of Norley, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the...
stands to the northwest of the village. It is a Grade II* listed building dating from 1879 which was designed by J. L. Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson was a Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency unrivalled in his generation.-Early life and education:Pearson was born in Brussels, Belgium on 5...
. In the churchyard is a monument to the Woodhouse family which is listed Grade II. The other Grade-II-listed building in the village is Norley Hall and its adjoining farm. The public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in the village is the Tiger's Head. This was originally a farmhouse and opened as a beerhouse in 1840.