Population 246 (2001 Census) Civil parish Eaton and Eccleston Region North West Local time Friday 7:49 PM UK parliament constituency City of Chester | OS grid reference SJ412626 Ceremonial county Cheshire Country England Dialling code 01244 | |
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Weather 10°C, Wind S at 11 km/h, 83% Humidity | ||
Eccleston is a civil parish and village in the county of Cheshire, the borough of Cheshire West, and close to Chester. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the entire civil parish was 184, increasing to 246 at the 2011 Census. The village is situated on the estate of the Duke of Westminster who maintains his ancestral home at nearby Eaton Hall.
Contents
Map of Eccleston, UK
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.
Eccleston was the site of a ferry across the River Dee.
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.
The Old Churchyard is the resting place of the Dukes of Westminster. Also buried here are Alfred Ernest Ind VC, who died on 29 November 1916, Sir Henry Nelson Clowes KCVO (1911–1993), Sir Philip Hay KCVO (1918–1986), Private Secretary to HRH The Duchess of Kent, and his wife Dame Margaret Katherine Hay DCVO (1918–1975), Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II, a granddaughter of 1st Duke of Westminster.