Before Local Government reorganisation in 1974, Cheshire
included many more districts and townships than it does today. Many
smaller urban and Municipal Boroughs were combined or disappeared altogether.
Others were lost to the newly created Greater Metropolitan County of
Manchester - these included Marple, Hazel Grove, Bredbury, Romily, Cheadle
and Gatley, all of which were incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough
of Stockport (previously a County Borough). Hyde, Denton and Stalybridge
were incorporated into newly created Tameside. Altrincham, Sale, Bowden
and Hale were similarly absorbed into Trafford. Disley was taken out
of Cheshire completely and became part of the High Peak district of
Derbyshire.
Pre-1974 Cheshire. © John Moss 2003.
Apart from those which were lost to the County, the
actual number of Boroughs was also reduced, as shown in the map below.
Post-1974 Map of the County of Cheshire and
its Boroughs. © John Moss 2003
Cheshire has developed two distinctively different
characters - the industrial and the rural. The River Weaver, Northwich
and Middlewich have become known for their salt mining, chemicals and
soap production, while much of the rest is distinctly agricultural with
rolling fields of cattle producing Cheshire milk and cheese as well
as potatoes. Eastham, Ellesmere Port and Runcorn are decidedly industrialised
with Ince Power Stations and Petrochemical production facilities at
Carrington and Partington dominating the landscape - these facilities
were encouraged by the creation of the Manchester Ship Canal that runs
along the northern edge of the county from Manchester to Liverpool.
Crewe developed intensive railway locomotive engineering (over 2000
locomotives were built there).
Birkenhead on the Wirral saw Camel Laird Shipbuilding dominating Birkenhead
on the Wirral Peninsula (now no longer part of Cheshire County, having
been moved into Merseyside). Rural Cheshire is today a most pleasant
and a much sought after place to live. It is reckoned that more millionaires
live in the county than in any other in the United Kingdom.
Cheshire East is
a unitary authority area with borough status and was established in
April 2009 as part of the structural changes to local government in
England. It was an amalgamation of the boroughs of Macclesfield, Congleton
& Crewe and Nantwich, together with a disaggregated share of the
former Cheshire County Council.
Cheshire West was created from the residual part of the disaggregated
former County Council, together with the other three former Cheshire
borough councils: the City of Chester, Ellesmere Port & Neston and
Vale Royal which were similarly amalgamated to create the new unitary
authority area of Cheshire West and Chester.
(Source: Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com).
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