Whitegate
Encyclopedia
Whitegate is a small village in 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...

, located near the towns of Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...

 and Winsford
Winsford
Winsford is a town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich, and grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the...

. It is situated in the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Whitegate and Marton
Whitegate and Marton
thumb|right|200px|Map of civil parish of Whitegate and Marton within the former borough of Vale RoyalWhitegate and Marton is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire...

, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It 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 Health...

.

At its centre is an ancient Anglican church. Nearby Vale Royal Abbey
Vale Royal Abbey
Vale Royal Abbey is a medieval abbey, and later country house, located in Whitegate, between Northwich and Winsford in Cheshire, England.The abbey was founded in 1270 by Edward I for monks of the austere Cistercian order...

 was once the largest Cistercian abbey church in Britain

The Railway

Whitegate was once connected to the national rail network, although the station was some distance from the village centre.

The railway branched from the Chester to Manchester (via Northwich) line
Mid-Cheshire Line
The Mid-Cheshire Line is a railway line in the north-west of England, between Chester and Manchester.- History :The Mid Cheshire line has its origins in railways promoted by three separate railway companies in the 19th century. The Cheshire Midland Railway was opened to passengers between...

 near Cuddington
Cuddington railway station
Cuddington railway station serves the village of Cuddington in Cheshire.The Northern Rail timetable for Cuddington can be found . The actual .pdf can be found . There is a basic hourly service each way on weekdays and every two hours on Sundays.-Route:...

, with a single stop at Whitegate and terminated at Winsford and Over
Over, Cheshire
Over is a former borough and market town that forms the western part of the town of Winsford in the English county of Cheshire. Wharton forms the eastern part, the boundary being the River Weaver.-Ancient Origins:...

.

The line was principally used for freight to and from the numerous salt works in the Winsford area, although passenger services continued until the 1930s. The line was finally closed in the 1960s.

Whitegate Way

By the 1970s the course of the disused railway had been turned into a footpath and bridle way. It is now open from close to the original junction near Cuddington to the site of the Winsford and Over terminus near the River Weaver
River Weaver
The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included eleven locks, was completed in 1732...

.

External links

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