Peckforton Castle

Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ537593), perched on a rocky sandstone crag 350 feet (107 m) above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232), on his return from the Crusades. In 1237, Henry III took over the ownership of Beeston, and it was kept in good repair until the 16th century, when it was considered to be of no further military use, although it was pressed into service again in 1643, during the English Civil War. The castle was slighted (partly demolished) in 1646, in accordance with Cromwell's destruction order, to prevent its further use as a bastion. During the 18th century, parts of the site were used as a quarry. The castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument owned and managed by English Heritage. The walls of the outer bailey and the gatehouse and curtain walls of the inner bailey are recorded separately in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade I listed buildings. A legend states that the royal treasure of Richard II was buried in the castle grounds but many searches have failed to discover the hoard.

Beeston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, which itself is in the ceremonial county of Cheshire in the north of England. It is located approximately 10 km south-east of Chester, and approximately 3.5 km south-west of Tarporley, close to the Shropshire Union Canal. According to the 2011 census, Beeston had a population of 188.

Peckforton is a scattered settlement (centred at SJ538564) and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The settlement is located 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to the north east of Malpas and 7.5 miles (12.1 km) to the west of Nantwich. The civil parish covers 1,754 acres (710 ha), with an estimated total population of 150 in 2006. The area is predominantly agricultural. Nearby villages include Bulkeley to the south, Beeston to the north, Higher Burwardsley to the west, Spurstow to the east and Bunbury to the north east. The Peckforton Hills form the western part of the civil parish with high points at Peckforton Point (203 metres) and Stanner Nab (200 metres). They are the source of the Weaver and Gowy rivers. Part of Peckforton Woods, largely planted in 1922, form a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The hills have been quarried since the Roman era. Peckforton appears in the Domesday survey of 1086. The earliest surviving buildings date from the early 17th century. Peckforton and the adjacent Beeston were part of an estate purchased by John Tollemache, Lord Tollemache in 1840. He had Peckforton Castle – a Victorian mansion designed by Anthony Salvin in imitation of a medieval castle – built at the northern end of the Peckforton ridge. Many of the local buildings were constructed for Lord Tollemache using brick in the 1860s and 1870s as part of the Peckforton Estate.

The Peckforton Hills are a sandstone ridge running broadly northeast–southwest in the west of the English county of Cheshire. They form a significant part of the longer Mid Cheshire Ridge which extends southwards from Frodsham towards Malpas. Bulkeley Hill (grid reference SJ525552) stands at the south end, and the ridge is continued southwards by Bickerton Hill. The high points are Peckforton Point (SJ529557; 203 m), immediately north of Bulkeley Hill (224m), and Stanner Nab (SJ531573; 200 m), towards the northern end of the ridge. Settlements around the hills include Burwardsley to the west, Beeston to the north, Peckforton and Bunbury to the east and Bulkeley to the south. On Ascension Day the parishioners of St Boniface, Bunbury walk to the 200m summit of Stanner Nab for a service as the sun sets.

Brassey Green is a small rural village near Tarporley, in Tiverton and Tilstone Fearnall civil parish, within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Brassey Green Hall is a two storeyed, 16th century farmhouse and a designated Grade II listed building. It is timber-framed with wattle and daub and rendered brick infill and a slate roof. The 18th century Brassey Green Baptist Chapel is also Grade II listed. Constructed with red brick and a Welsh slate roof, it was restored from 1983 after falling into disrepair. Although no longer a place of worship, it has since been used occasionally by youth groups.

The Bulkeley Hill Narrow Gauge Railway was a 350 yards (320 m) long 2 ft (610 mm) gauge rope-hauled incline on the Bulkeley Hill near Bulkeley in Cheshire, England. With a grade of nearly 1:1 in one section, it is known as Cheshire's Steepest Railway.

St John's Church is in School Lane, Burwardsley, Cheshire, England. It 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 Malpas. Its benefice is combined with those of Holy Trinity, Bickerton, St Wenefrede, Bickley, and All Saints, Harthill.

Tiverton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tiverton and Tilstone Fearnall, in the Cheshire West and Chester district and ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It had a population of 406 in 2001, reducing to 318 at the 2011 census. Tiverton became a civil parish in 1866, on 1 April 2015 the parish was abolished to form Tiverton and Tilstone Fearnall; part also went to Tarporley. The former civil parish of Tiverton and the current parish of Tiverton and Tilstone Fearnall both include the hamlet of Four Lane Ends.

Bulkeley () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bulkeley and Ridley, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is on the A534 road, 9 miles (14 km) west of Nantwich. In the 2011 census it had a population of 239.

Haycroft is a deserted village in the civil parish of Spurstow, in Cheshire, England, located at SJ5553157178, immediately east of Haycroft farm. Aerial photography has shown evidence of a medieval village and a field system. The site is a scheduled monument.

Bulkeley Methodist Church is in Wrexham Road in the village of Bulkeley, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Bickerton Hill refers to two low red sandstone hills that form the southern end of the Mid Cheshire Ridge in Cheshire, north-west England. The high point, Raw Head, lies on the northerly hill and has an elevation of 227 metres. Parts of the southerly hill are also known as Larkton Hill. There is evidence of settlement on the hills dating as early as the Neolithic or Bronze Age. The earthworks of an Iron Age hill fort, Maiden Castle, are located on the summit of the southerly hill; they are a Scheduled Monument. The hills have been quarried and mined for copper since the 17th century, and a grade-II-listed engine house chimney remains as a remnant of the mining industry. Several caves occur in the sandstone, some of which have a history of habitation. The Sandstone Trail, a long-distance footpath, runs along the ridge, and the area is popular with walkers. A large area of the southerly hill is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its biological importance; much of this hill is owned by the National Trust. Its summit plateau has an extensive area of lowland heath, a rare habitat in Cheshire, and one that is particularly important for reptiles. A substantial population of lobed maidenhair spleenwort, a fern that is rare in Britain, is found here. Nationally scarce species observed in the area include the bleached pug and alder kitten moths, and the Malthus frontalis species of soldier beetle. The western escarpment of the northerly hill has also been designated an SSSI for its exposed Triassic sandstones.