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Landmarks in the Village

The White Barn

1) The White Barn public house (also serves food as the “Hungry Horse”) sits at the cross roads of the A49 and Norley Road.

2) Cuddington Station is accessible on foot from Norley Road and by vehicle from the A49. There is an art gallery here and a team of volunteers regularly attend to the flower beds.

3) Cuddington Grange is a large imposing property, just off Norley Road via Park Crescent; it was built by the Thompson salt family of Northwich.

4) Cuddington Grange Stables sit alongside Norley Road; they are now converted to 3 dwellings.

5) Nos. 2-8 Warrington Road (A49) are referred to as The Railway Cottages and they, together with both of the Cuddington Grange buildings and The White Barn, are included in the council Historic Buildings Survey.

6) The Round Tower, built of sandstone, which stands in the middle of the A556 Road by the east entrance to Norley Road is the most notable landmark of the village and is a listed Grade II building. It provides both a direction signal for visitors and a depiction for the village local newspaper which is inevitably called the “Round Tower”. It also inspires the crest of Sandiway School. It was originally a gatehouse to the Vale Royal Abbey estate, probably built in the early 1800s, and was on the east side of the road until an additional lane was provided. Old photographs show that there used to be an addition to the tower and that it was inhabited as demonstrated by a good smoke emanating from the chimney. Regrettably the driveway, which ran through the current Golf Course up to the Abbey for the Cholmondeley family, has been unilaterally closed off by the Golf Course owners thus causing a significant loss to the village for recreational purposes. In recent years the tower was knocked down by a motorist and despite delay in rebuilding, through funding concerns and insistence on appropriate planning/sandstone, local inhabitants were delighted when the rebuild took place in 2015.  PRESS HERE for a video commissioned by Grosvenor Construction which shows the behind the scenes renaissance of the Sandiway Round Tower and the determination of the people of Sandiway to save this historic icon.

Toolerstone

7) The Toolerstone found approximately 50 metres down Hunts’s Lane, east off Weaverham Road, is a listed Grade II monument. It is a medieval square boundary stone with eroded markings that marked the north western boundary of the lands of Vale Royal Abbey where they met with Delamere Forest.

8) The John Douglas inspired buildings (meaning either fully designed or remodelled) each provide a landmark of their own and these are commented upon when discussing each part of Area 4. They are the following 6 listed Grade II buildings - Model Cottage, St John’s Church, St John’s Church LychgateCroft Cottage, Croft House and Redwalls – plus the 4 unlisted properties of Magpie Cottage/Delamere Cottage, Sandiway Manor and Forest Hey. (PRESS HERE for a fuller review of John Douglas-designed buildings)

9) Two further buildings built prior to the John Douglas era - The Toolerstone dwelling (early 17th century) and the Barn (1702) at Gorstage Bank - are also listed Grade II.

10) Little Fold (Norley Road), Bryn Chapel Cottage (Weaverham Road), Portobello (Norley Road), Bryn Cottage (Weaverham Road), Ashbank House (Weaverham Road), Field House (Smithy Lane), Cartledge House (Norley Road), White Lodge and White Lodge Mews (Norley Road) are all included in the council Historic Buildings Survey.

11) The Norley Road parade of shops (built early 1960s) is one of only two in the village. These shops are well used since the nearest large shopping centres are both about 5 miles away in either Northwich or Winsford. Included are a Hair Dressers, Dry Cleaners, Estate Agent (currently unattended), Baker’s shop, General Provisions shop (including newsagents and a cash machine), plus a unit available to let. There are flats above the shops. At the corner of Trickett Lane and Norley Road there is a barber’s shop.

12) The Hunting Box in Norley Road was built for the Thompson salt family in the late 1800s when George, the son of Henry Ingram Thompson who built Cuddington Grange and Beechfields, decided to leave the salt trade and set up a stable from where local gentry could hire horses for the hunt.

Sandiway Methodist Church

13) The Sandiway Methodist Chapel was built about 1875 on the site of a former chapel in Weaverham Road; a hall was added in 1958.

14) Cartledge Moss is a protection area for local wildlife where newts are found.

The Library

15) The Library on Mere Lane is a vital community resource where other functions in addition to lending books take place such as children’s activities and coffee mornings.

16) Two Mares Pit used to be alongside Mere Lane and got its title from two horses which are alleged to have drowned in it; hence the derived Mere Lane name.

17) The Mere Lane and Fir Lane parade of shops is one of only two in the village. These shops are well used since the nearest large shopping centres are both about 5 miles away in either Northwich or Winsford. Included are a Dentist, Rowlands Pharmacy, Premier General Provision shop including Handley’s Newsagents, Spar General Provision shop including the Post Office and a cash machine, 2 Hair Dressers (Hair Studio and The Hair Company), Fruitlands Fruit and Vegetables, Greenwood Lighting, The Wok Chinese Takeaway, Kebab and Pizza shop, and a Butchers called Littlers which is recognised district wide as offering quality supply.

Cuddington Primary

18) Cuddington Primary School is a well-regarded school and was rated Good by OFSTED. When it was built in 1952, for a short time, education was provided to school leaving age until the Weaverham Secondary School was built.

19) Ash Road provides the only road entrance, just off the A49, to the currently under construction Bovis Housing Estate; it stretches a good way across the village and is known as a short cut between the A49 and the A556 roads instead of motoring a little further distance south where the roads intersect.

20) Of note is number 4 Grange Road which is where Shirley Strong, a Commonwealth Games hurdling silver medallist, lived; the Rev. John Vaughan Griffiths, at that time vicar of St. John’s, persuaded Shirley to run up the aisle of the church as part of the recognition of her success.

21) Apart from the entrance to the estate which has 2 pillars marked “The Grange” the landmark nearest the estate is the Blakemere Centre on the south side of the A556.

22) The Shell Garage sits where there used to be a toll bar at the cross roads of the A49 and A556.

23) Golden Nook Farm is included in the council Historic Buildings Survey.

Bluecap Hotel

24) The Bluecap Hotel, dated 1716, is the Landmark that most village people would recognise in this area.  It is named after the famous foxhound from the Kennel Lane kennels.

25) The former school on School Lane, 1875 designed by John Douglas, is classed as a Locally Important Building by the council.

26) The Bluecap Hotel, Sandiway Lodge (on Dalefords Lane), Ivy Cottage (on the corner of Ivy Drive, now named Rose Cottage) and Lowther Lodge Stables (on an inset off the A556) are included in the council Historic Buildings Survey.

27) “Granny’s Hump” is phraseology for fields off the A49 that people recognise.

28) Beechfield is shown in the council’s historic buildings survey.

St John's church

29) St. John’s Church of England sits on the west side of the Norley Road west access to Hadrian Way.

30) Little Fold, where the famous architect John Douglas was born in 1830, stands diagonally opposite the east access from Norley Road to Hadrian Way.

31) The access footpath and steps from St. John’s Way are well known as they are popular with villagers frequenting the Blue Cap for a meal or refreshment.

32) The Wilbraham Millennium Gate, on the site of the old South Lodge (demolished in 1969) entrance, is the most notable landmark standing at the junction of Cuddington Lane and Norley Road. It was formally opened by Hugh Wilbraham the great, great, great, grandson of the Founder of Delamere Lodge. It was the Wilbraham family who had Delamere Lodge designed, moving in in 1784.

33) In the green area of The Burrows at Delamere Park there is a large ancient mature chestnut tree which captures attention, as does a large tree on a mound of earth close to the junction of Delamere Park Way West and Hollow Oak Lane

34) The foxhound “Bluecap” Memorial (1772) and the Cheshire Hunt Kennels (1834) in Kennel Lane are both Grade II listed

35) On Kennel Lane the following are included in the council Historic Buildings Survey - Blue Cap HouseStud Grooms Cottage, Cottages (Cheshire Kennels), Kennel Cottage, Hansomes House.

36) Blakemere Stables is also included in the survey.

37) Blakemere, which is advertised widely, receives thousands of visitors each year.

38) Pettypool Trust, which encompasses Special Educational Needs (SEN), comprises a College and Activity Centre with quick and easy access from any town or city in the North-West of England.

39) The Sandiway Golf Club was established in 1920 and has a highly rated 18-hole course.

40) Gorstage Hall is a Grade II listed building (early to middle 19th century) sitting on the west side of Weaverham Road

41) Abbotsford is also a Grade II listed building (1890) which sits on the east side of the A49 just north of the Moorlands Park Estate.

42) The Gorstage Cemetery is located on Weaverham Road between the entrance to Smithy Lane and the bridge over the railway. It is managed by Weaverham, Cuddington and Acton Bridge Cemetery Committee. Cemex Aggregates have offered a piece of land adjacent to the north of the Cemetery as extra capacity. The Cemetery is well maintained and has a small brick building at its centre.

43) Bryn Farm (A49 – Warrington Road) is in the council Historic Buildings survey.

44) Old Cuddington Conservation Area lies to the north west of the ASLEV.

45) Yew Tree Cottage, early 17th century, is a listed building in the Conservation Area.

Cuddington Methodist

46) Cuddington Methodist Chapel, dated 1849, lies at the junction of Mill Lane and Cuddington Lane and is within the Conservation Area.

47) The Old Mill House, early 18th century, is a listed building to the east of the ASLEV.

48) Merlewood is a large imposing property, overlooking Thompson’s Pool and accessible from Mill Lane; it was built by the Thompson salt family of Northwich and is included in the council Historic Buildings Survey.

49) Delamere Manor, lying to the west on Cuddington Lane was built pre second world war by the Wilbrahams; for a few years it was occupied by the pop musician Gary Barlow.

50) Further north east along Cuddington Lane is an old Water Tower; it “towers” over the countryside and can be seen from a good distance with many transmitters fixed around its elevated perimeter.

51) The following properties in Cuddington Lane are included in the council Historic Buildings Survey – Cuddington Hall, Poplar Farm, Poplar Cottages, Cuddington Bank Cottage, The Mount, Manor FarmBryn Smithy, Pinfold Cottages, Top Farm Cottage.

52) Also included in the Survey – Home Farm (Wood’s Lane), Gardener’s Cottage (off Wood’s Lane), Watermill Farm (Norley Road), Cuddington Cottage (Norley Road), Estate Cottages (Norley Road), Brook House (Bag Lane), Willow Tree and Willow Brook Cottages (Waste Lane), Chapel Bank Cottages (Mill Lane).