Timeline of Cheshire history
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The timeline of Cheshire history shows significant events in the history of the English county of Cheshire.
.jpg)
- 70: The Romans found the fortress and town of Deva Victrix, now Chester.[1]
- c. 90: Legio XX Valeria Victrix arrive in Chester.[2]
- 410: Romans retreat from Britannia.[1]
- 429: Germanus of Auxerre wins the Battle of Maes Garmon, near Mold, and establishes Cadell as the Christian ruler of a region, later Powys, based on pre-Roman Cornovii territory, thought to include Cheshire.[3]
7th century
- 603: Synod of Chester.[4]
- 616: Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeats a Welsh army at the Battle of Chester.[5]
- 689: Church of St John the Baptist founded outside Chester city walls by King Æthelred of Mercia and Bishop Wilfrid.[6]
9th century
- 830: The district was subjugated by Ecgberht, King of Wessex and incorporated in the kingdom of Mercia.[7]
- 874 or 875: St Werburgh's remains brought to Chester for protection against Danish invaders.[8][9]
- c. 890: Chester establishes a mint.[9]
- 890: Plegmund, probably of Plemstall, becomes Archbishop of Canterbury.[10]
- 893: First mention of Scandinavian settlers in Chester.[11]
- 893–894: A Danish force overwinters in Chester.[12]
- 894–895: King Alfred drives the Danes from Chester.[13]
10th century
- 907: Chester refounded as a burh by Æthelflæd and King Edward the Elder, and re-fortification starts.[14][15]
- 907: Church to St Werburgh, later Chester Cathedral, founded by Æthelflæd, rebuilt from an earlier church dedicated to St Peter and St Paul.[8][16]
- 907: Æthelflæd founds new church dedicated to St Peter and St Paul in Chester.[16]
- 914: The Iron Age hill fort at Eddisbury is re-fortified by Æthelflæd.[17]
- 915: Æthelflæd builds a burh at Runcorn.[18]
- 915–920: Re-fortification of Chester probably completed.[9]
- 919: Edward the Elder builds a burh at Thelwall.[19]
- 923–924: Chester revolts against rule from Wessex and is subdued by Edward the Elder.[19]
- 17 July 924: Edward the Elder dies at Farndon[20] or Aldford.[19]
- 937: King Æthelstan defeats the armies of Dublin, Alba and Strathclyde at the Battle of Brunanburh, probably near Bromborough.[21]
- 958: King Edgar of England grants a charter to St Werburgh's Abbey, Chester.[22]
- 973: Edgar of England visits Chester.[23]
- 980: Vikings raid Chester.[24]
- 980: First recorded use of the shire or county of Chester.[25]
11th century
- 1007: Eadric Streona becomes the King's ealdorman of Mercia.[26][27]
- 1016: Edmund Ironside ravages Chester.[24]
- c. 1017: King Cnut executes Eadric Streona, and makes Leofric Earl of Mercia.[26]
- 1062: Edwin succeeds as Earl of Mercia.[28]
- 1069–1071: William I leads the Norman Conquest into Cheshire; besieges Chester and kills Edwin, Earl of Mercia.[citation needed]
- 1070: Hugh d'Avranches created as first Earl of Chester.[29]
- 1070: Chester Castle built.[30]
- 1070: Frodsham Castle built.[31]
- 1075: St John the Baptist's Church, Chester becomes a cathedral.[32]
- 1092: Monastery founded on site of current Chester Cathedral by Hugh d'Avranches.[8]
12th century
- 1115: Norton Priory founded.[33]
- 1133: Combermere Abbey founded.[34]
- 1140: Serious fire in Chester.[35]
- c. 1150: Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester founds a Benedictine nunnery in Chester.[36]
- 1157: Henry II entertained at Chester Castle.[37]
- 1165: Henry II entertained at Chester Castle again.[37]
- 1180: Serious fire in Chester.[35]
- 1182: Cheshire land north of the Mersey becomes part of the new county of Lancashire.
- 1190: Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester founds Little St John's Hospital in Chester.[38]
- c. 1195: Liber de Luciani laude Cestrie, the oldest surviving piece of Cheshire writing, was created.[39]
13th century
- 1211: King John entertained at Chester Castle.[37]
- 1215–16: In the Carta Communis Cestriensis, Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester grants limited concessions to his feudal lords.[40]
- 1220s: Beeston Castle built.[41]
- 1236: Dominican friars arrive in Chester.[35]
- 1237: 7th Earl of Chester, John, dies without a male heir. Henry IV passes the title to his son, Prince Edward – later to become King Edward I.
- 1237–38: Franciscan friars arrive in Chester.[35]
- 1237–51: Stone walls replace the wooden palisade around Chester Castle.[42]
- 1253: Aldford and Alderley markets created.[43]
- 1261: Macclesfield market created.[43]
- 1264: The castle and city of Chester were granted to Simon de Montfort. [7]
- 1272: Congleton market created.[43]
- 1275: Monks of St Werburgh's Abbey build Kaleyard Gate in Chester city walls.[44]
- 1277: King Edward I lays foundation stone to Vale Royal Abbey.[45]
- 12 May 1278: Serious fire in Chester when nearly the whole of the city is burnt.[35]
- 1279–80: Timber superstructure of the Old Dee Bridge swept away.[46]
- 1280: Over market created.[43]
- 1281: Serious fire in Middlewich.[47]
- 1292–93: Chambers for the king and queen, and a new outer gatehouse built at Chester Castle.[48]
14th century
- 1306: Serious fire in Northwich.[47]
- 1322–25: Chester Water Tower built.[49]
- 1349: The black death arrives in Cheshire.[38][50]
- 1364: Doddington Castle built.[51]
- 20 July 1376: Charter of disafforestation of Wirral issued.[52]
- 1387: Major repairs to the Old Dee Bridge.[46]
- 1391: Norton Priory becomes a mitred abbey.[53]
- 1394: Richard II visits Chester with many of his nobles.[54]
- 1397: Lands in the march of Wales added to Cheshire, and it is promoted to the rank of principality.[55]
- 16 October 1398: Richard II gives 3000 marks to his Cheshire supporters at the Battle of Radcot Bridge.[56]
- 1399: Henry IV (then still Duke of Lancaster) seizes Chester Castle and causes Richard II to be brought there from Flint Castle, after which Richard abdicates and Henry becomes king.[57]
- 1399–1407: Tower built to fortify Chester's Dee Bridge.[58]
15th century
- 1400: Unsuccessful attack on Chester Castle by supporters of deposed Richard II.[59]
- July 1403: Many Cheshire gentry support the unsuccessful uprising of Henry "Hotspur" Percy against Henry IV.[60]
- 1422: First reference to Chester Mystery Plays.[61]
- 1433: Famine led to food shortages in Chester.[54]
- July 1438: Serious fire in Nantwich.[47]
- 1444: Henry VI visits Chester.[54]
- 1445: Fee-farm (rent payable to the Crown) for Chester is halved from £100 to £50, attributed to silting of the River Dee; further reductions agreed in 1484 and 1486.[62]
- 1450: A group of Cheshire gentry successfully petitions the Crown against the introduction of a parliamentary subsidy.[63]
- 1452, 1455, 1459: Margaret of Anjou visits Chester.[54][64]
- 23 September 1459: Many Cheshire gentry killed fighting on both sides in the Battle of Blore Heath, early in the Wars of the Roses.[65]
- 1470: Edward IV visits Chester.[54]
- April 1484: Richard III visits Chester.[54]
- March 1486: Henry VII visits Chester.[54]
- 1488: Stockport Grammar School is founded.[66]
- 1492, 1494: Fires in Chester's Foregate and Northgate Streets.[67]
- July 1493: Henry VII again visits Chester.[54]
- 1497: First performance of Chester Midsummer Show.[68]
16th century
- 1502: Macclesfield Grammar School is founded.[69]
- 1504-1508: Construction of the earliest part of Little Moreton Hall near Congleton.[7]
- 1506: Great Charter establishes Chester as a county, codifies its government, and gives the city the right to hold a court of quarter sessions.[70]
- April 1506: Henry VII visits Chester.[54]
- 1507: Outbreak of "sweating sickness" in Chester.[54]
- 1510: St Ursula's Hospital founded in Chester.[38]
- 1527: Malpas Grammar School founded.[71]
- 1535: Outbreak of plague in Nantwich.[47]
- 1536: Dissolution of Norton Priory.[72]
- 1536: First piped water supply for civil use in Chester established.[67]
- 1538: Dissolution of Vale Royal Abbey by Sir Thomas Holcroft.[45]
- July 1538: Dissolution of Combermere Abbey.[34]
- 15 August 1538: Dissolution of Chester's three friaries.[73]
- 20 January 1540: Dissolution of St Werburgh's Abbey.[73]
- 1541: St Werburgh's abbey becomes a cathedral of the Church of England known as Chester Cathedral by order of King Henry VIII.[74] Chester becomes a diocese.[75]
- 1543: Cheshire sends its first members to sit in Parliament.[76]
- 1575: Chester Mystery Plays are banned.[68]
- 1577: Christopher Saxton publishes his map of Cheshire.[77]
- 1578: Sandbach market opens.[78]
- December 1583: Fire destroys much of Nantwich, but not Churche's Mansion built in 1577.[79][7]
- 1584: Elizabeth I contributes to a national fund for the rebuilding of Nantwich.[80][81]
- 1591: Stanley Palace built in Chester on the site of the former Dominican friary.[82]
17th century
.jpg)
- 1604: Outbreak of the plague kills around 500 people in Nantwich.[83]
- 1636: Completion of Crewe Hall.[84]
- 1637: First known stagecoach runs between Birmingham and Holywell via Nantwich and Chester.[85]
- 1642: Failure of the Bunbury Agreement, an attempt by local gentry to keep Cheshire neutral in the English Civil War.[86]
- 23–28 September 1642: Charles I in Chester.[87]
- 13 March 1643: First Battle of Middlewich in English Civil War.[88]
- 24 January 1644: Battle of Nantwich in the English Civil War.[89]
- November 1644–February 1645: Siege of Chester.[90]
- 24 September 1645: Battle of Rowton Heath in the English Civil War.[91]
- 3 February 1646: Chester surrenders to the Parliamentary forces.[92][7]
- 21 October 1650: First record of the Cheshire cheese trade with London.[93]
- 1655: Cheshire under military rule, governed by Charles Worsley.[94]
- 1657: Stagecoach service begins between London and Chester.[85]
- 1670: Smith-Barry family re-discovers salt in Northwich and mining restarts.[95][7]
- 1674: John Ray's Collection of English Words includes written record of the Cheshire dialect.[96]
- 1687: James II visits Chester.[97]
- 6 June 1690: William III stays at Combermere Abbey on his way to the Battle of the Boyne.[34]
18th century
- 1700: Brine springs are discovered at Winsford.[98]
- 1735–36: The New Cut dug along the River Dee from Chester to Connah's Quay because of silting of the river.[99]
- 1744: Charles Roe builds a watermill in Macclesfield and triggers start of the silk industry.
- 12 May 1762: Creation of the title of Baron Vernon, of Kinderton in the County of Chester. [7]
- 1763: Cheshire Hunt founded.[100]
- March 1776: Bridgewater Canal complete throughout its length from Manchester to Runcorn.[101]
- 1777: Completion of the Trent and Mersey Canal.[102]
- 1779: The Chester Canal opens between Chester and Nantwich.[103]
- 1780: Chester Eastgate rebuilt.[104]
- 1780: Marston salt mine opens.[105]
- 1781: Chester Northgate rebuilt.[104]
- 1784: First mail coach runs through Cheshire, between London and Holyhead.[85]
- 1788: Chester Watergate rebuilt.[104]
- 1788–1815: Major rebuilding of Chester Castle by Thomas Harrison[106]
- 1795: The Chester Canal extended to Ellesmere Port.[107]
19th century
- July 1804: Runcorn to Latchford Canal opens.[108]
- 1806: The Middlewich Branch opens, linking the Shropshire Union and the Trent and Mersey Canals.[107]
- 1808–10: Chester Northgate rebuilt.[104]
- 8 May 1817: Early paper on Cheshire dialect read at Society of Antiquaries by Roger Wilbraham.[109]
- 1812: Delamere Forest disforested.[7]
- 1832: The future Queen Victoria opens the Grosvenor Bridge in Chester.[110]
- 1837: Crewe railway station is built in fields near to Crewe Hall.[111]
- 1838: First meeting of the Cheshire Agricultural Society.[112]
- 1839: Foundation of Chester Diocesan Training College, now the University of Chester.[113]
- 1840: Crewe–Chester–Birkenhead railway line opens.[114]
- 1843: Crewe Railway Works opens.[115]
- 1843: Foundation of the Chetham Society.[116]
- 1845: Crewe Railway Works completes its first locomotive, Columbine.[115]
- 24 May 1847: Five people are killed in the Dee bridge disaster when a girder of the railway bridge crossing the River Dee fractures.[117]
- 1848: Chester railway station opens.[118]
- 1855–76: George Gilbert Scott works on restoring Chester Cathedral.[119]
- 1857: Cheshire Constabulary founded.[120]
- 1862: Chester Exchange is gutted by fire.[118]
- 1865–66: Devastating outbreak of rinderpest (cattle plague) causes the collapse of the county's economy.[121][7]
- 1867: Grosvenor Park opens in Chester.[122]
- 21 May 1868: The first train crosses Runcorn Railway Bridge.[123]
- 1869: Railway line opens between Weaver Junction and Liverpool via Runcorn.[124]
- 15 October 1869: Chester Town Hall opened by Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.[125]
- 1871: Population: 561,201. [7]
- 1874: John Brunner and Ludwig Mond found Brunner Mond in Winnington near Northwich and start manufacturing soda ash.[126]
- 1874: Cheshire Lines Committee opens railway line between Manchester and Chester via Altrincham.[124]
- 1875: Anderton Boat Lift opens.[127]
- 1877: Glossary of Cheshire dialect published by Egerton Leigh.[96]
- 11 March 1878: Foundation of the Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.[128]
- 1881: The west tower of St John the Baptist's Church, Chester collapses.[32]
- 1886: The Grosvenor Museum opens in Chester.[129]
- 1886: Rail tunnel under the River Mersey opens between Liverpool and Birkenhead.[124]
- 1889: Cheshire County Council founded.
- 1891: Population: 730,058.[7]
- 21 May 1894: Manchester Ship Canal officially opened by Queen Victoria.[130]
- 27 May 1899: Official opening of Eastgate Clock in Chester on Queen Victoria's 80th birthday.[131]
20th century
- 1901: Population: 815,099.[7]
- 29 May 1905: Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge officially opened by Sir John Brunner.[132]
- 1914: Completion of 800 houses were built since 1899 at Port Sunlight to house a population of 3,500.[7]
- 1921: Cheshire School of Agriculture opens at Worleston.[133]
- 1926: Imperial Chemical Industries is created.[134]
- 1931: Chester Zoo opens.[135]
- 1938: Newgate opens in Chester.[136]
- 1951: Chester Mystery Plays are revived.[137]
- 21 July 1961: Runcorn-Widnes road bridge (later named the Silver Jubilee Bridge) is opened by Princess Alexandra.[138]
- 1964: Runcorn New Town is designated.[138]
- 1969: First conservation areas designated, including Chester and Nantwich.[139]
- 1 April 1974: Cheshire boundaries changed by Local Government Act 1972.[140] Runcorn and Widnes merge to form the Borough of Halton.[138]
- 1982: Norton Priory Museum opens.[141]
- 1983: Anderton Boat Lift closes.[127]
- 26 February 1993: IRA explosive devices go off at Warrington gasworks.[142]
- 20 March 1993:: IRA explosive devices kill two children and injure 54 people in Warrington.[143]
- 1 April 1998: Halton and Warrington become unitary authorities.
21st century
- 2002: Anderton Boat Lift reopens.[127]
- 1 September 2007: The Cheshire Regiment merges into the Mercian Regiment.[144]
- 1 April 2009: Two unitary authorities of Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East replace Cheshire County Council and its districts.[145]
- 14 October 2017: Mersey Gateway Bridge, a six-lane road bridge crossing the River Mersey between Runcorn and Widnes, opens.[146]
