High Legh
Encyclopedia
High Legh is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
, England
. It lies six miles north west of Knutsford
, seven miles east of Warrington
and seventeen miles south west of Manchester City Centre
.
According to the 2001 census, the population of the entire civil parish was 1,632.
Unusually this village was home to two ancient landed gentry families for generations, namely: Leigh of West Hall
and Cornwall-Legh of East Hall. Both halls have now been demolished, but both families are still represented today, the head of the West Hall family being Edward Leigh
, MP
but no longer associated or living within the parish and that of the East Hall family Richard, 6th Baron Grey of Codnor
. A member of a cadet branch of the Leigh of West Hall
family was created a baronet
in 1773, becoming Sir
Egerton Leigh
, but this title is now dormant. The third lords of the manor were the Egertons of Tatton
and all three landed families swapped and consolidated their estates throughout the 18th and 19th centuries until the Egerton Leighs sold their High Legh estate to the Cornwall-Leghs just before World War I. When Maurice, the last Lord Egerton of Tatton, sold off the remaining farms and land in High Legh in the 1930s, so ended a connection dating back to the 13th century.
East Hall was demolished in the early 1970s (whilst West Hall had been some 20 years previously) and the debris was used as foundations for the first Thelwall
Viaduct bridge of the M6
. High Legh Hall (East Hall) resembled nearby Tatton Park
and the West Hall (Egerton Leigh) was a beautiful Tudor building which looked not unlike Little Moreton Hall
.
In a mainly agricultural area, its proximity to Manchester
and the area now known as Gold Trafford, has made it nowadays a most desirable residential area.
High Legh was recorded in the Domesday Survey as having two Saxons theins (Ulviet or Wulfgeat, and Dob). The boundary between Mere
and High Legh is still known as Dobb Lane and is in fact the medieval boundary between the two parishes. A moated site was found some years before, alongside the Roman road which connected Wilderspool
and Latchford
to Watling Street (A556) and contained Samian pottery from Cirencester
, a Roman cloak clasp and a beautiful flint knife. High Legh also has a high status Bronze Age
burial site. High Legh is the location of an early Methodist chapel in Northwood Lane, with Wesleyan
connections. Northwood Methodist Chapel was founded by the Okell family of High Legh (who married into the Egerton Leigh family). In the early 19th century, Robert Moffat
, a Scottish lad, came to work on the West Hall estate as a gardener, but in 1814 he joined the London Missionary Society
and moved to Plantation Farm in Dukinfield
. In 1816 he left with his wife for southern Africa
where he became a missionary
; his daughter met and fell in love with their student preacher, David Livingstone
. The oldest building in the parish is believed to be St Mary's Chapel
, formerly the domestic chapel of the Cornwall-Legh family of High Legh Hall (or East Hall), which is sometimes open to the public. However, other older buildings in the parish contain wattle and daub but no evidence as to their dates is available.
The Church of England
Church of St John
was formerly the domestic chapel of the West Hall (Egerton Leigh family).
High Legh Park was laid out by Humphrey Repton for George John Legh in 1791, and John Nash was also engaged to create an idyll village (never completed). Repton removed the old Toll road (the original Roman road) and dropped it to its present position (A50), removing the village and creating a more enclosed entrance to the estate and pleasure gardens.
Both Halls were used by the Government for the training of Royal Engineers
during World War II
after the families moved out. They never returned to the Halls and subsequently sold the internal section of the estate to two building companies, Wimpey Homes and Crossley Homes. In the 1980s more of the estate pleasure gardens was sold off for housing to Ideal Homes. In the 1990s another estate was built on the former Army Camp buildings, now known as The Belfry. All the street names in these developments have a connection with the history of High Legh, either with one or other of the ancient landed families, prominent people within the parish or parts of the former park (Pheasant Walk).
There have been three schools in High Legh. The one within the triangle on the side of the A50 is now High Legh Village Hall, managed by High Legh Community Association. The latest school (with new extensions 1993-94) was built on Wrenshot Lane in 1976; this land was donated by Charles Cornwall-Legh
to Cheshire County Council.
The village now has several sporting facilities including High Legh Cricket Club which plays at Arley Hall
the home of the Viscount Ashbrook
, golf at High Legh Park Country Club on land formerly part of the West Hall estate, High Legh Bowling Club, opposite the Village Hall and High Legh Tennis Club. On 10 October 2009 High Legh Railway (a 7 1/4 gauge 400-yard railway) was opened by Louise Robbins (Headteacher of High Legh Primary School), operated by Vee Limited.
Cheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies six miles north west of Knutsford
Knutsford
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
, seven miles east of Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
and seventeen miles south west of Manchester City Centre
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
.
According to the 2001 census, the population of the entire civil parish was 1,632.
Unusually this village was home to two ancient landed gentry families for generations, namely: Leigh of West Hall
Edward Leigh
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh is a British Conservative politician. He has sat in the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire since 1997, and for its predecessor constituency of Gainsborough and Horncastle between 1983 and 1997...
and Cornwall-Legh of East Hall. Both halls have now been demolished, but both families are still represented today, the head of the West Hall family being Edward Leigh
Edward Leigh
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh is a British Conservative politician. He has sat in the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire since 1997, and for its predecessor constituency of Gainsborough and Horncastle between 1983 and 1997...
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
but no longer associated or living within the parish and that of the East Hall family Richard, 6th Baron Grey of Codnor
Baron Grey of Codnor
Baron Grey, of Codnor in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of England. Sir Henry Grey, grandson of Richard de Grey and who saw military service under Edward I, was summoned to Parliament by writ in 1299...
. A member of a cadet branch of the Leigh of West Hall
Edward Leigh
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh is a British Conservative politician. He has sat in the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire since 1997, and for its predecessor constituency of Gainsborough and Horncastle between 1983 and 1997...
family was created a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
in 1773, becoming Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Egerton Leigh
Egerton Leigh
Egerton Leigh DL, JP was a British soldier, landowner, Conservative politician and author.-Personal life:The member of an ancient Cheshire family, Leigh was the son of Egerton Leigh and Wilhelmina Sarah, daughter of George Stratton...
, but this title is now dormant. The third lords of the manor were the Egertons of Tatton
Tatton Park
Tatton Park is a historic estate in Cheshire, England, to the north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a manor house dating from medieval times, Tatton Old Hall, gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attraction and hosts over 100 events annually...
and all three landed families swapped and consolidated their estates throughout the 18th and 19th centuries until the Egerton Leighs sold their High Legh estate to the Cornwall-Leghs just before World War I. When Maurice, the last Lord Egerton of Tatton, sold off the remaining farms and land in High Legh in the 1930s, so ended a connection dating back to the 13th century.
East Hall was demolished in the early 1970s (whilst West Hall had been some 20 years previously) and the debris was used as foundations for the first Thelwall
Thelwall
Thelwall is a suburban village in Warrington, North Cheshire, England, close to the Lymm junction of the M6.-Geography:Thelwall nowadays borders the villages of Lymm and Grappenhall, and , Latchford. It is also one of the two principal settlements of Grappenhall and Thelwall civil parish...
Viaduct bridge of the M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
. High Legh Hall (East Hall) resembled nearby Tatton Park
Tatton Park
Tatton Park is a historic estate in Cheshire, England, to the north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a manor house dating from medieval times, Tatton Old Hall, gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attraction and hosts over 100 events annually...
and the West Hall (Egerton Leigh) was a beautiful Tudor building which looked not unlike Little Moreton Hall
Little Moreton Hall
Little Moreton Hall is a moated 15th and 16th-century half-timbered manor house southwest of Congleton, Cheshire. It is one of the finest examples of timber-framed domestic architecture in England. The house is today owned by the National Trust. It has been designated by English Heritage as a...
.
In a mainly agricultural area, its proximity to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and the area now known as Gold Trafford, has made it nowadays a most desirable residential area.
High Legh was recorded in the Domesday Survey as having two Saxons theins (Ulviet or Wulfgeat, and Dob). The boundary between Mere
Mere, Cheshire
Mere is a civil parish and linear village along the A556 road in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, North West England, about south-west of Altrincham. Bucklow Hill is at its northeast end, and the Mere crossroads is at the far end. The village of Mere is...
and High Legh is still known as Dobb Lane and is in fact the medieval boundary between the two parishes. A moated site was found some years before, alongside the Roman road which connected Wilderspool
Wilderspool
Wilderspool is a district of Warrington, England, located near to the town centre. Its area is basically Wilderspool Causeway and the streets coming off it; the limits being the River Mersey into the Stockton Heath Area of Warrington , Bridgefoot , and Centre Park...
and Latchford
Latchford
Latchford is a suburban district and electoral ward of the unitary borough of Warrington, in Cheshire, England. It is around one mile south of Warrington town centre and has a total resident population of 7,856....
to Watling Street (A556) and contained Samian pottery from Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, a Roman cloak clasp and a beautiful flint knife. High Legh also has a high status Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
burial site. High Legh is the location of an early Methodist chapel in Northwood Lane, with Wesleyan
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
connections. Northwood Methodist Chapel was founded by the Okell family of High Legh (who married into the Egerton Leigh family). In the early 19th century, Robert Moffat
Robert Moffat
Robert Moffat was a Scottish Congregationalist missionary to Africa, and father in law of David Livingstone....
, a Scottish lad, came to work on the West Hall estate as a gardener, but in 1814 he joined the London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
and moved to Plantation Farm in Dukinfield
Dukinfield
Dukinfield is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in central Tameside on the south bank of the River Tame, opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, and is east of the city of Manchester...
. In 1816 he left with his wife for southern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
where he became a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
; his daughter met and fell in love with their student preacher, David Livingstone
David Livingstone
David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
. The oldest building in the parish is believed to be St Mary's Chapel
St Mary's Chapel, High Legh
St Mary's Chapel, High Legh, is a former Anglican parish church in the village of High Legh, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.-History:...
, formerly the domestic chapel of the Cornwall-Legh family of High Legh Hall (or East Hall), which is sometimes open to the public. However, other older buildings in the parish contain wattle and daub but no evidence as to their dates is available.
The Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Church of St John
St John's Church, High Legh
St John's Church, High Legh, is in the village of High Legh, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Knutsford, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the diocese of Chester. Its benefice was united with that of St Paul, Over Tabley until 1 March 2011. Each...
was formerly the domestic chapel of the West Hall (Egerton Leigh family).
High Legh Park was laid out by Humphrey Repton for George John Legh in 1791, and John Nash was also engaged to create an idyll village (never completed). Repton removed the old Toll road (the original Roman road) and dropped it to its present position (A50), removing the village and creating a more enclosed entrance to the estate and pleasure gardens.
Both Halls were used by the Government for the training of Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
after the families moved out. They never returned to the Halls and subsequently sold the internal section of the estate to two building companies, Wimpey Homes and Crossley Homes. In the 1980s more of the estate pleasure gardens was sold off for housing to Ideal Homes. In the 1990s another estate was built on the former Army Camp buildings, now known as The Belfry. All the street names in these developments have a connection with the history of High Legh, either with one or other of the ancient landed families, prominent people within the parish or parts of the former park (Pheasant Walk).
There have been three schools in High Legh. The one within the triangle on the side of the A50 is now High Legh Village Hall, managed by High Legh Community Association. The latest school (with new extensions 1993-94) was built on Wrenshot Lane in 1976; this land was donated by Charles Cornwall-Legh
Baron Grey of Codnor
Baron Grey, of Codnor in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of England. Sir Henry Grey, grandson of Richard de Grey and who saw military service under Edward I, was summoned to Parliament by writ in 1299...
to Cheshire County Council.
The village now has several sporting facilities including High Legh Cricket Club which plays at Arley Hall
Arley Hall
Arley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about south of Lymm and north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adjacent chapel. Formal gardens to the southwest of the hall...
the home of the Viscount Ashbrook
Viscount Ashbrook
Viscount Ashbrook is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1751 for Captain Henry Flower, 2nd Baron Castle Durrow. The title of Baron Castle Durrow, in the County of Kilkenny, had been created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1733 for his father William Flower...
, golf at High Legh Park Country Club on land formerly part of the West Hall estate, High Legh Bowling Club, opposite the Village Hall and High Legh Tennis Club. On 10 October 2009 High Legh Railway (a 7 1/4 gauge 400-yard railway) was opened by Louise Robbins (Headteacher of High Legh Primary School), operated by Vee Limited.