Bickerton, Cheshire

History

Bickerton appears in the Domesday survey as Bicretone. It was owned by Drogo from Robert FitzHugh, baron of Malpas, and was found waste at the time of the survey. Woodland extending to half a league (about ¾ mile or 1.2 km) was recorded. The name is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and relates to bees. A proposal to build a wind farm at Bickerton was abandoned in 2010 after the company responsible decided the proposed site did not receive enough wind.

Governance

Bickerton is administered jointly with Egerton by the Bickerton & Egerton Parish Council. From 1974 the civil parish was served by Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council, which was succeeded on 1 April 2009 by the unitary authority of Cheshire East. Since 2024 Bickerton has been within the parliamentary constituency of Chester South and Eddisbury which is represented by Aphra Brandreth.

Geography

The majority of the two Bickerton Hills falls within the civil parish, although the parts of the hills are in the Duckington, Larkton and Harthill parishes. Raw Head (; 227 metres) lies north of the A534, while the southerly hill (212 m) lies south of the road, immediately northwest of Bickerton village. The area around Raw Head and much of the southerly hill are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest. A wider area covering much of the north and west of the civil parish is also designated an Area of Special County Value. Around 300 acre of the southerly hill are managed by the National Trust.

Demography

According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 234, in 90 households. In the 2011 Census, the population of Bickerton and adjacent Egerton was assessed as 278. The population has fallen since the nineteenth century; the historical population figures were 270 (1801), 398 (1851), 323 (1901) and 256 (1951).

Places of worship

The Church of the Holy Trinity in Bickerton village dates from 1839, and became a parish church in 1869. Built of red sandstone, with Edmund Sharpe as the architect, it is listed at grade II. A war memorial stands in the adjacent graveyard, overlooking the crossroads of Goldford Lane and Long Lane.

Other landmarks

A disused copper mine chimney in red sandstone is located near Gallantry Bank, adjacent to the A534. Dating from the early 19th century, it is a rare remnant of the copper mining industry in this area. The copper mine was owned by the Egerton family of Oulton, and is thought to have been operational in 1697.

The Bickerton Poacher public house stands on the A534 by the junction with Stone House Lane.

Transport

The A534 runs east–west through the parish. Other major through routes include Long Lane running south from the A534 towards Malpas, and a lane running southeast from Long Lane to Cholmondeley which connects with the A49. The Sandstone Trail runs east from the summit of the southerly Bickerton Hill, crosses the A534, runs northwest to the summit of Raw Head and then turns south east to climb Bulkeley Hill.

Education

Bickerton Holy Trinity CE Primary School stands on Long Lane. It serves Bickerton as well as the nearby civil parishes of Bulkeley, Cholmondeley, Chorley, Egerton, Ridley and part of Duckington.

Bickerton civil parish falls within the catchment area of Bishop Heber High School in Malpas.

References

References

1. (July 2024). "Location of Chester South and Eddisbury".
2. [http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/bickerton.html Genuki: Bickerton] (accessed 21 February 2008)
3. [http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/cheshire1.html The Domesday Book Online: Cheshire A–K] (accessed 29 April 2010)
4. Husain BMC. ''Cheshire under the Norman Earls: 1066–1237'', ''A History of Cheshire'' Vol. 4 (JJ Bagley, ed.), pp. 12–13, 26 (Cheshire Community Council)
5. Phillips ADM, Phillips CB (eds). ''A New Historical Atlas of Cheshire'' p. 24, (Cheshire County Council & Cheshire Community Council Publications Trust; 2002)
6. Ellams B. [http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2010/01/07/bickerton-wind-farm-proposals-withdrawn-by-developer-59067-25541791/ Bickerton ‘wind farm' proposals withdrawn by developer], ''Cheshire Chronicle''. 7 January 2010 (accessed 9 May 2012)
7. "Bickerton & Egerton Parish Council". Cheshire East Council.
8. [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080634_en_2#pt2-l1g3 Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008] {{webarchive. link. (17 May 2009)
9. (July 2024). "Location of Chester South and Eddisbury".
10. (July 2024). "MPs representing Chester South and Eddisbury".
11. link. (6 April 2012 (accessed 28 May 2008))
12. [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/Special/sssi/unitlist.cfm?sssi_id=1003503 Natural England: Sites of Special Scientific Interest: Raw Head] (accessed 28 May 2008)
13. [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/Special/sssi/sssi_details.cfm?sssi_id=1002397 Natural England: Sites of Special Scientific Interest: Bickerton Hill] (accessed 28 May 2008)
14. link. (6 April 2012 (accessed 28 May 2008))
15. "Bickerton Hill", National Trust sign, Bickerton Hill carpark
16. [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=792559&c=bickerton&d=16&e=15&g=428282&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1203561922276&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 Neighbourhood Statistics: Bickerton CP] (accessed 26 May 2008)
17. "Civil Parish population 2011". Office for National Statistics.
18. [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1138611 Images of England: Church of the Holy Trinity] (accessed 21 February 2008)
19. [http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.53320/fromUkniwmSearch/1 United Kingdom National Inventory of War Memorials: Men of Bickerton WW1 and WW2] (accessed 13 March 2008)
20. [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1330096 Images of England: Sandstone chimney to former Copper Mine] (accessed 21 February 2008)
21. [https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20090318201007/http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/SchoolsSearch/Details.aspx?DfES=3142 Cheshire County Council: Bickerton Holy Trinity CE Primary School] (accessed 21 February 2008)
22. link. (3 June 2008 (accessed 25 May 2008))
23. link. (3 June 2008 (accessed 25 May 2008))