Rowton, Cheshire

The Battle of Rowton Heath, also known as the Battle of Rowton Moor, occurred on 24 September 1645 during the English Civil War. Fought by the Parliamentarians, commanded by Sydnam Poyntz, and the Royalists under the personal command of King Charles I, it was a significant defeat for the Royalists with heavy losses and prevented Charles from relieving the siege of Chester. Before the battle, Charles had been attempting to link up with the Marquess of Montrose in Scotland following the Royalist defeat in the Battle of Naseby. Although his attempts were unsuccessful, they were disruptive enough that the Committee of Both Kingdoms ordered Sydnam Poyntz to pursue the King with approximately 3,000 horse. After Charles was informed that Chester, his only remaining port, was under siege, he marched intending to relieve the defenders, ordering 3,000 horse under the command of Marmaduke Langdale to camp outside the city while he and 600 others travelled into Chester itself on 23 September 1645. The intent was to attack the besieging Parliamentarians from both sides, Charles mistakenly believing that Poyntz had failed to follow them. In fact he was barely 15 miles (24 km) behind, and moved to attack Langdale's force in the early hours of 24 September. Although Langdale drove Poyntz off, the Parliamentarians besieging Chester sent reinforcements, and Langdale was forced to retreat to Rowton Heath, closer to Chester, and wait for his own reinforcements. This force, under Charles Gerard and Lord Bernard Stewart, was prevented from joining them, and Langdale was instead attacked by both Poyntz's force and the reinforcement. After being driven off the field and failing in an attempt to regroup at Chester itself, the Royalists retreated as dusk fell. Royalist casualties were high, with 600 killed, including Stewart, and 900 taken prisoner. This defeat prevented Charles from relieving the defenders in Chester, which fell to the Parliamentarians on 3 February 1646. Charles instead withdrew with approximately 2,400 remaining cavalry, most of whom were destroyed by Poyntz's ambush at Sherburn-in-Elmet on 15 October 1645.

Waverton is a former railway station that served the village of Waverton in Cheshire West and Chester, England. From 1898 to 1959, it replaced the first station which was open between 1840 and 1898.

Christleton High School is a large academy school located in the small village of Christleton on the outskirts of Chester, England. The Headteacher is Kevin Smith. The School offers education from age 11 to 18 and has its own Sixth Form. Three current sitting Members of Parliament attended the school; Sarah Atherton, Samantha Dixon and Luke Pollard.

Saighton Lane Farm is a farm, originating as a model farm, in Saighton Lane, 0.5 miles (1 km) to the north-northeast of the village of Saighton, Cheshire, England. The farmhouse and the farm buildings are recorded separately in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade II listed buildings.

Christleton Old Hall is a former country house in the village of Christleton, Cheshire, England. It was built in the early 17th century as a timber-framed house by a member of the Egerton family but around 1870, when being used as a rectory, was encased in Ruabon red brick whilst the Rev Lionel Garnett was rector. The house is built in two and three storeys with Welsh slate roofs. The entrance front has seven bays. The interior of the house contains "much good Jacobean plasterwork and panelling". The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The gate piers, gates and garden walls are listed at Grade II. The remains of tunnels still surround the house, possibly connecting it to the village church. It was bought c.1710 by Gerard Townsend, a Chester merchant, who left it to his son Robert Townsend, a lawyer and the Recorder of Chester. It has been subsequently owned by The Ince Family, Mrs Mary Legh, J Verney Lace and Major & Mrs Currie. In 1946 it was acquired by the Guest Williams brothers, who were related by marriage to the Ince, Legh and Currie families. Since the sale of the property in 1974, it has been substantially restored.

Christleton is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The Shropshire Union Canal (originally Chester Canal) passes through the village. The 2001 census recorded a population for the entire civil parish of 2,112, reducing to 2,053 in the 2011 census.In 2022 Christleton was voted "one of the best places to live" in Cheshire.

St James' Church is in the village of Christleton, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester. It is the only Cheshire church designed by William Butterfield.

Waverton is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Chester in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies about 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of Chester High Cross, 19 miles (31 km) south of Liverpool and 33 miles (53 km) south west of Manchester. It is almost continuous with the village of Rowton to the north west and that in turn is almost continuous with Christleton. According to the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 1,587.The village's Anglican church is dedicated to St. Peter. The village has an Evangelical church and there is a Methodist church on the edge of the village in the parish of Rowton. The village has a post office, a number of shops, a takeaway, hairdressers, a primary school and a pub called the Black Dog. The village is home to the outdoor children's adventure attraction, the Crocky Trail. The Waverton Good Read Award was founded in 2003 for first-time UK novelists. Waverton Business Park is also located in the village, off the A41. The Shropshire Union Canal (originally Chester Canal) runs through the middle of Waverton. The village had two railway stations, Black Dog from 1840 to 1898 and Waverton from 1898 to 1959 which offered services on both the North Wales Coast Line and Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway. The North Wales Coast Line continues to run past the village between Chester, Crewe and North Wales, While the Tattenhall and Whitchurch Railway was closed in the 1960s. Waverton railway station is now a bus depot run by Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire, while the site of Black Dog railway station is in use for the North Wales Coast Line with nothing remaining of the station site. The village also has a large junior football team, AFC Waverton, which competes in both the Chester and District Junior Football League and the Ellesmere Port Junior Football League.

Black Dog railway station was the first station that served the village of Waverton in Cheshire West and Chester, England. The stop, which was open from 1840 to 1898, was as "Black Dog" after a nearby public house, but it was sometimes referred to as "Waverton". The station was closed in 1898 after it was replaced with the second station at Waverton, which was about 120 m (390 ft) west of Black Dog; it closed to passengers in 1959.

Christleton Hall is a former country house in the village of Christleton, Cheshire, England. It was built in about 1750 for Townsend Ince. The building was later used as a boarding school. In 1934 the Salvatorians purchased the hall from the Hemelryk family, From 1974 to 2021, the hall and its grounds was a law college, one of the campuses of the University of Law.Additions were made to it in the middle of the 19th century, and in the early part of the 20th century. The house is constructed in red brick with stone dressings, and has a Welsh slate roof. It is in three stories, and has a south front of four bays, three of which are from the original house. The hall is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The 20th-century additions are excluded from the listing.The University of Law sold the site in 2019; the campus will remain in Christleton until summer 2021. Cheshire West and Chester’s planning committee in 2022 approved proposals to convert the hall into 18 apartments and build 24 detached houses on the site.

Abbey Gate College is an independent school in Chester, Cheshire, England for pupils aged 4 – 18 years. The infant and junior school is based in the village of Aldford, 2 miles (3.2 km) from the senior school in Saighton.

Saighton Grange originated as a monastic grange. It was later converted into a country house and, as of 2013, the building is used as a school (Abbey Gate College). It is located in Saighton, Cheshire, England. The only surviving part of the monastic grange is the gatehouse, which is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is one of only two surviving monastic manorial buildings in Cheshire, the other being Ince Manor. The rest of the building is listed at Grade II, as is its chapel.