Warmingham

History

An Iron Age gold stater (coin) dating from around the end of the 1st century BC was found in the parish. One face depicts a horse, with a wreath on the obverse. An urn described as Roman, but possibly as early as the Bronze Age, was discovered in a burial mound near Forge Mill. There is no other evidence of Roman inhabitation at Warmingham, although the remains of a Roman road from Middlewich to near Nantwich pass around 200 metres away from the parish's north-west corner.

Warmingham is documented under Tetton in the Domesday Book of 1086.

A prisoner-of-war camp was located at Donkinson's Oak, near the southern edge of the parish, during the Second World War, and there was a heavy anti-aircraft battery near Bottoms Farm in 1940–41. The village gained an electricity supply in the 1950s. The village post office and shop closed in the 1970s.

Salt and other industries

The Warmingham area has a long history of salt extraction. Brine from the parish's flashes is thought to have been used to make salt in Middlewich, an important salt-producing centre during the Roman occupation. Natural brine pumping ceased in the area in the early 1970s, and British Salt started to extract brine by the controlled pumping method, which prevents subsidence, at a site near Hill Top Farm in the early 1980s.

The village had a corn mill from around 1289. It was still in operation in around 1750, when its annual output of bar iron was recorded as 300 tons, more than any other Cheshire forge. The former corn mill was adapted to grind coconut shells for manufacturing plastics, and aircraft parts were made there during the Second World War. By 1990, the building had been converted into craft workshops, and it had been demolished by 2006.

Governance

Warmingham is administered by Warmingham 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. Warmingham falls in the parliamentary constituency of Congleton, which has been represented since the 2024 general election by Sarah Russell of the Labour Party. It was previously part of the Eddisbury constituency, which since its establishment in 1983 had been held by the Conservative Party MPs Alastair Goodlad (1983–99), Stephen O'Brien (1999–2015), Antoinette Sandbach (2015–19) and Edward Timpson (2019–24).

Geology and geography

The Northwich Halite Formation, a Triassic salt field, underlies the civil parish, with the 170–240-metre-thick salt-bearing layer lying around 180–250 metres below the surface. In the area of Hill Top and Hole House, sandy soil overlays red clay, with the base rock being Triassic sandstone–mudstone.

The River Wheelock runs broadly north-west to south-east through the civil parish, with much of the parish lying in its valley. The ground is undulating with an average elevation of around 45 metres. Hoggins Brook, a tributary of the Wheelock, forms parts of the northern and western boundaries of the parish, and Fowle Brook runs north–south in the south-east corner. Crabmill Flash lies immediately north of the Wheelock at ; part of Elton Flashes lies in the east of the parish, and Bottoms Flash and part of Railway Flash lie in the south-east of the parish. These wetlands form part of the Sandbach Flashes, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a popular site for birdwatching. Numerous meres and ponds are scattered throughout the area, and there are several small areas of woodland in the north west of the parish, near The Old Hough. Warmingham Moss occupies the south-west of the parish.

Economics

The parish is predominantly agricultural, with dairy farming remaining the main land use. Brine is extracted using controlled brine pumping by British Salt from the Warmingham brine field, located near Hill Top Farm to the west of Warmingham village, and is processed to make white salt at its Middlewich salt works. Warmingham is one of two major brine fields still being exploited in Britain (the other being the Holford brine field at Lostock Gralam, also in Cheshire). Since 2003, EDF has stored natural gas in underground cavities created by dissolving salt near Hole House Farm, with a total storage capacity of 75 million m3. A second gas storage site has been constructed near Hill Top Farm, and is scheduled to start operating by the end of 2016.

Demography

According to the 2001 Census, the parish had a population of 175, increasing to 244 in 92 households at the 2011 Census. This represents a decline from the population of 1851; historical population figures are 346 (1801), 423 (1851), 218 (1901) and 199 (1951). The population density was 0.3 persons/hectare in 2011, well below the average of 3.2 persons/hectare for Cheshire East.

Places of worship

The Church of England parish church of St Leonard's is in the centre of Warmingham village. The purple-brick church tower dates from 1715, and the body of the church was rebuilt in red sandstone in 1870, replacing an earlier timber-framed building; it is listed at grade II*. The base of a medieval stone cross, dating from around 1298, survives in the churchyard; it is listed at the lower grade of II, and is also a scheduled monument.

Other landmarks

Warmingham village was historically centred around Warmingham Bridge across the Wheelock, which falls within a conservation area that also includes St Leonard's Church, Church House, Hill Top Cottage, Mill House, Island House and the Bear's Paw Hotel, extending to cover earthworks east of the village centre. There are two separate sets of earthworks: one is at the site of the 13th-century watermill, and represents the dam, leat and mill pond; the other is a partially moated site associated with Sir John Trussel's manor house.

The oldest surviving building in the civil parish, Church House, dates from the late 16th century and is listed at grade II*. It is partly red brick and partly half-timbered, with a typical Elizabethan façade combining close studding with decorative framing in a chevron pattern. One former resident was John "Rebel" Kent, a supporter of Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") in the Jacobite uprising of 1745. The 19th-century Bear's Paw is the only remaining public house in the parish.

Outside the village, there are two grade-II-listed, early-17th-century farm buildings, Old Hough Farm House and Mill Lodge, which each combine brick with timber framing. Both are off Forge Mill Lane in the north of the parish. Warmington Grange, off School Lane, is a grade-II-listed former rectory dating from the early 19th century, which served as a club and restaurant from the 1970s until 2005.

Culture and community

The village maintains the tradition of holding Warmingham Wakes in early May; the event is now used to raise money for St Leonard's Church. The village has an active Women's Institute, founded in 1948. The village hall on School Lane, originally an army hut, was renovated in the 1970s; plans to build a new hall were ongoing in 2016.

Transport

Warmingham Road runs north–south through the parish, connecting Coppenhall Moss (in Crewe) and Lane Ends with Warmingham village, where it crosses the Wheelock and becomes School Lane. Hall Lane runs east from Warmingham Road to the parish of Moston. White Hall Lane runs north from School Lane, connecting with Forge Mill Lane which runs west to Occlestone Green, and Crabmill Lane runs south from School Lane to connect with Hall Lane in Moston. The West Coast Main Line railway runs north–south for a few hundred metres in the south-west corner of the parish, between the Crewe and Winsford stations, and is crossed by a footbridge. The Crewe and Nantwich Circular Walk runs east–west through the south of the parish. The Cycling the Salt Ride cycle route runs along part of the eastern boundary, via Crabmill Lane.

Education

Warmingham Church of England Primary School is on School Lane in Warmingham village; it also accepts pupils from part of Minshull Vernon. For secondary education, the civil parish falls within the catchment area of Sir William Stanier School in Crewe.

References

Sources

• Cheshire Federation of Women's Institutes. The Cheshire Village Book (Countryside Books and CFWI; 1990) ()
• D. J. Evans, R. A. Chadwick. Underground Gas Storage: Worldwide Experiences and Future Development in the UK and Europe (Geological Society of London; 2009) ()
• Andrew Goodwin, Colin Lythgoe. *The Birds of Sandbach Flashes 1935 to 1999 * (South East Cheshire Ornithological Society; 2000)
• Clare Hartwell, Matthew Hyde, Edward Hubbard, Nikolaus Pevsner. The Buildings of England: Cheshire (Yale University Press; 2011) ()
• J. Howard Hodson. Cheshire, 1660–1780: Restoration to Industrial Revolution. A History of Cheshire Vol. 9 (Series Editor: J. J. Bagley) (Cheshire Community Council; 1978) ()
• Laurie McKenna. Timber Framed Buildings in Cheshire (Cheshire County Council; 1994) ()
• Blair Poole. Archaeological Watching Brief Report: Project Revolution (L – P : Heritage; 2013)
• Warmingham Village Plan 2006 (Warmingham Parish Council; 2006) (downloaded from http://www.cheshireaction.org.uk/downloads/list/categories/parish-plans/P72; 8 October 2016)

References

1. [http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/warmingham.html Genuki: Warmingham] (accessed 15 August 2007)
2. (2010). "Ten archaeological objects reveal east Cheshire history". BBC.
3. "Barrows to Bog Bodies". Cheshire County Council.
4. "Gold Stater". Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester councils.
5. "Possible Bronze Age burial mound". Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester councils.
6. Poole 2013, pp. 8–10
7. The [[medieval]] manor was granted to Randulphus. There is believed to have been a medieval church in the village, although only a cross base remains. The earliest recorded rector was in 1298. The land passed to the Mainwaring and Trussell families, and in the 16th century part was sold to [[Christopher Hatton]]. It then passed to [[Randolph Crewe]], and remained in the Crewe family until 1918. The village school was founded in 1839.Cheshire Federation of Women's Institutes 1990, pp. 227–28
8. Warmingham Village Plan 2006, p. 3
9. Ellie Cullen. (6 August 2013). "Local author uncovers wartime history of Crewe". [[Crewe Chronicle]].
10. "Anti Aircraft Battery near Bottoms Farm". Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester councils.
11. K. L. Wallwork. (1960). "Some Problems of Subsidence and Land Use in the Mid-Cheshire Industrial Area". [[The Geographical Journal]].
12. "Cessation of Natural (Wild Brine) Pumping". [[Cheshire Brine Subsidence Compensation Board]].
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17. [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080634_en_2#pt2-l1g3 Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008]
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19. Poole 2013, p. 7
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22. Goodwin & Lythgoe 2000, pp. 8–10
23. Warmingham Village Plan 2006, p. 2
24. British Geological Survey. (2006). "Mineral Planning Factsheet". Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
25. (2008). "Warmingham: Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Strategy". Cheshire East Council.
26. (May 2010). "Brine supply infrastructure to be upgraded". [[British Salt]].
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29. [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=792608&c=Warmingham&d=16&e=15&g=428279&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 Neighbourhood Statistics: Warmingham CP] (accessed 12 August 2007)
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35. "Interactive Mapping: Warmingham Conservation Area". Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester councils.
36. McKenna 1994, p. 19
37. "Church House". Historic England.
38. "Warmingham Bridge". Historic England.
39. "Old Hough Farm House". Historic England.
40. "Mill Lodge". Historic England.
41. Warmingham Village Plan 2006, pp. 6–8
42. "Warmingham Wakes". Warmingham Parish Council.
43. Warmingham Village Plan 2006, p. 5
44. "Warmingham & District Women's Institute". Warmingham Village Hall.
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48. "Interactive Mapping: Warmingham Church of England Primary School". Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester councils.
49. (August 2025). "Interactive Mapping: Sir William Stanier Community School". Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester councils.