Eccleston, Cheshire

infobox UK place
latitude= 53.157317
longitude= -2.880059
official_name= Eccleston
map_type= Cheshire
population= 184 (2001 Census)
civil_parish= Eccleston
shire_district= Chester
shire_county= Cheshire
region= North West England
country= England
constituency_westminster= City of Chester
post_town= CHESTER
postcode_district= CH4
postcode_area= CH
dial_code= 01244
os_grid_reference= SJ412626
static_

static_image_caption= St Mary's church in Eccleston, near Chester.

Eccleston is a civil parish and village in Chester District, Cheshire, and close to Chester. According to the 2001 census, the population of the entire civil parish was 184.citeweb|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=792453&c=Eccleston&d=16&e=15&g=427497&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779|title=2001 Census: Eccleston|work=Office for National Statistics|accessdate=27 July|accessyear=2007] The village is situated on the estate of the Duke of Westminster who maintains his ancestral home at nearby Eaton Hall.

History

It is believed that the name of the village derives from the Latin for 'Meeting Place'

Formerly a township in Broxton Hundred, it includes the hamlets of Belgrave and Morris Oak. The population was 199 in 1801, 289 in 1851, 320 in 1901 and 272 in 1951. [citeweb|url=http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/eccleston.html|title=Cheshire Towns & Parishes: Eccleston|work=GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy|accessdate=18 November|accessyear=2007]

Church

The church at Eccleston is called St. Mary's Church. It was built at the expense of the Duke of Westminster and cost £40,000 in 1899. It was built on the site of an earlier church that was constructed in 1809. Part of the churchyard is unusual in that it is circular in shape, which indicates pagan origins. In 1929 an excavation revealed 20 bodies which are believed to date from 390 AD. They are the earliest known Christian burials in Cheshire. [citeweb|url=http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/eccleston.html|title=Photographs and history of St. Mary's Church and brief information about the village|work=Craig Thornber|accessdate=27 July|accessyear=2007]

Two War Memorials exist within the Church, one of Bronze recording those that fell during World War I and a wooden memorial recording those that fell during World War II

The Churchyard is also the resting place of Alfred Ernest Ind VC, who died on 29 November 1916. [citeweb|url=http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/cheshire.htm|title=Location of Alfred Earnest Ind's grave and VC medal. "(Cheshire)" |accessdate=27 July|accessyear=2007] Ind was a Farrier Sergeant in the Royal Horse Artillery. He was awarded the Victoria Cross on 20 December 1901 at Orange River, South Africa during the Second Boer War.

References

See also

*St Mary's Church, Eccleston