Calveley

History

Watfield Pavement, a stone road believed to have originally formed part of a Roman road from Chester to Chesterton in Staffordshire, passed through the parish. Originally held by the de Calveleys, the manor passed by marriage to the Davenport family in 1369. Their seat was at Calveley Hall. John Wesley is supposed to have visited the hall in 1749. The original hall was demolished at the end of the 18th century, and its replacement was also demolished in 1952.

A railway station at the village opened between 1840 and 1842. It remained open for passenger use until 7 March 1960 and for goods until 2 November 1964. There was a canal wharf to transfer goods between the canal and the railway.

Governance

Calveley is administered by the Calveley 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. Calveley falls in the parliamentary constituency of Eddisbury, which has been represented by Antoinette Sandbach since 2015, after being represented by Stephen O'Brien (1999–2015).

Geography and transport

Most of the civil parish is agricultural, with Fox Covert, Old Covert, Ladyacre Wood and several smaller areas of woodland, as well as numerous scattered small meres and ponds. Ankersplatt Brook forms part of the north-western boundary; Bankside Brook runs in the north of the parish, also forming a short stretch of the north-eastern boundary; and a tributary of Crowton Brook forms part of the south-eastern boundary. The terrain slopes gently from a high point of around 65 metres at SJ60005952, near Fields Farm, to low points of around 40 metres in the north of the parish and of around 50 metres at the south-western boundary.

The Shropshire Union Canal and the A51 (Nantwich Road) run for a few hundred metres across the south-west corner of the civil parish, near Calveley village. The road and canal then run side by side along the parish's south-western boundary, with this stretch of the canal falling within the adjacent parish of Wardle. The Crewe–Chester railway follows a similar line, around 100–200 metres inside the parish boundary, and is crossed by an accommodation bridge at SJ60035823. There is a petrol station on the A51 near Tweedale Canal Bridge. Calveley Hall Lane runs from the A51 in Wardle via Wardle Bank to Long Lane, which forms part of the parish's north-western boundary, looping back to the A51 within the parish of Alpraham. Calveley Green Lane connects Calveley Hall Lane with Cholmondeston.

Demography

According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 269, rising to 280 in 107 households in the 2011 census. This represents a decline from the 1901 population; the historical population figures are 144 (1801), 212 (1851), 312 (1901) and 202 (1951). The population density was 0.4 persons/hectare in 2011, well below the average of 3.2 persons/hectare for Cheshire East.

Places of worship

Calveley Church on Calveley Hall Lane (at SJ6038459270) dates from the 17th century. Originally a barn, it became a coach house to Calveley Hall and, in around 1838, the hall's private chapel. When the hall was demolished, it became an Anglican parish church. It is listed at grade II, the lowest grade.

Other landmarks

The Woodlands is a grade-II-listed red-brick farmhouse dating from the late 18th century. The mid-19th-century brick stables of Calveley Hall survive; they are also listed at grade II. The Davenport Arms is the only public house in the village.

Education

Calveley Primary Academy on Calveley Green Lane serves the civil parish, as well as the adjacent parishes of Alpraham, Cholmondeston, Stoke, Wardle and Wettenhall. Calveley falls within the catchment area of Tarporley High School in Tarporley for secondary education.