Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/Archive

The following items are featured in the Did you know... section of the Cheshire Portal. To suggest an article for inclusion, use the suggestions page

Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/1

...that Runcorn Town Hall (pictured) was originally built as Halton Grange, a mansion for Thomas Johnson, a local soap and alkali manufacturer?
...that Gwyneth Dunwoody, MP for Crewe (1974–83) and Crewe and Nantwich (1983–2008), was the longest-serving woman MP in the UK?
...that St Stephen's Church in Macclesfield Forest still practises a rush-bearing ceremony, largely abandoned in the 17th century?
...that in Bishop Lloyd's House, Chester, is a fireplace with an overmantel containing a carving of Cupid riding on a lion?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/2

Teggs Nose quarry

...that the Tegg's Nose Country Park has a collection of historical quarrying equipment (pictured) recalling its history of quarrying dating back to the 16th century?

...that the cellar of 23 Northgate Street, Chester, contains the remains of columns from the principia of the Roman fortress that previously stood on the site?

...that Oakmere Hall was built for John and Thomas Johnson of Runcorn but they became bankrupt before it was completed and the house was sold to a Liverpool merchant?

...that Cecil Duckworth, executive chairman of Premiership rugby union club Worcester Warriors, earned his fortune selling boilers?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/3

Rev. William Cotton, by Margaret Carpenter (1832)

...that Rev. William Cotton (pictured), vicar of Frodsham introduced the skills of beekeeping to New Zealand in the 1840s?
...that after Crewe Hall was gutted by fire in 1866, E. M. Barry was employed to restore it to a facsimile of the Jacobean original?
...that under the terms of the Bunbury Agreement, Cheshire would have remained neutral during the English Civil War?
...that when Chester Cathedral was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century, its exterior was almost completely recased in Runcorn sandstone?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/4

...that St John the Evangelist's Church (pictured) in the village of Sandiway was designed by John Douglas who had been born in the village and who was lord of the manor of Sandiway?
...that the Bear and Billet, now a public house in Chester, was originally the town house of the Earls of Shrewsbury?
...that William Gaskell, husband of the well-known Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, was a pioneer in the education of the working classes?
...that inmates of Nantwich Workhouse could be confined in a dungeon for drinking tea?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/5

...that much of medieval Chester Castle (pictured) was rebuilt in neoclassical style by architect Thomas Harrison around 1800?
... that Holy Trinity Church, Warrington, contains a brass chandelier which formerly hung in St Stephen's Chapel in the British House of Commons?
...that George Ormerod, an English antiquary and historian, was responsible for organising the restoration of the Saxon crosses in Sandbach in 1816?
... that Bridgewater House, Runcorn, was built for the Duke of Bridgewater when he was supervising the building of the Bridgewater Canal in the 1760s, and is now used as offices?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/6

...that listed structures in the parish of Acton include an aqueduct (pictured), sundial, icehouse, clock tower, telephone box and a statue of a dog upsetting a food bowl?

...that Joseph Partridge, a former waggoner, wrote the first history of the town of Nantwich?

...that lead shot for the Napoleonic Wars was made at Chester Shot Tower, probably the oldest surviving shot tower in the world?

...that All Saints' Church in Daresbury has stained glass panels depicting characters from Alice in Wonderland?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/7

...that after the Chester Town Hall (pictured) was officially opened in 1869 to replace an earlier building burnt down in 1862, another fire destroyed the council chamber in 1897?
...that English civil engineer James Trubshaw's straightening method used on Wybunbury's St Chad's tower in 1832 was later used to stabilise the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
...that John Thomson served for 55 years as the schoolmaster of Nantwich Blue Cap School and the school closed some six months after his retirement aged 86 or 87?
... that the Port of Runcorn was an independent customs port for two separate periods before becoming part of the Port of Manchester in 1894?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/8

...that Christ Church in Macclesfield (pictured) was built by Charles Roe for the Rev. David Simpson, because he had been denied a curacy in another church?
...that the gates of Warrington Town Hall, erected in 1895, had been shown at the 1862 International Exhibition in London?
...that during the English Civil War, Charles I was staying in Gamul House in Chester when his army was defeated at the Battle of Rowton Moor?
...that the Round Tower in Sandiway was originally the gate lodge of the great house of Vale Royal Abbey?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/9

Peter Leycester

...that the 1673 history of Cheshire by Sir Peter Leycester (pictured) questioned Amicia Mainwaring's legitimacy, leading to a "paper war" of 15 pamphlets with the Mainwaring family?
...that in Grosvenor Park, in the city of Chester, is an archway which had been in the city's St Michael's Church?
...that the Boer War Memorial in Winsford records the names of those who served in the conflict and survived as well as those who were lost?
...that Churche's Mansion, Nantwich, one of the few buildings to survive the Great Fire of 1583, bears a carved salamander, a traditional protection against fire?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/10

Memorial board in St Mary's Church, Thornton-le-Moors

...that Randle Holme III of Chester painted memorial boards (example pictured) without the permission of the English College of Arms, resulting in its King of Arms, William Dugdale, travelling north on at least three occasions between 1667 and 1670 to destroy them?
...that Ince Manor and Saighton Grange Gatehouse are the only two surviving monastic manorial buildings in Cheshire?
...that the Memorial to John Whitaker stands in the forecourt of the Sunday School that he established in 1814?
...that British television programmes including Cluedo and The Forsythe Saga were partly filmed at Arley Hall?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/11

...that during the English Civil War, the Crown Inn (pictured) in Nantwich was used as a place of worship, as the church was used as a prison?
...that when 30 Bridge Street, Chester was rebuilt in 1890, it was unique at that period in the city because it was no higher than the building it replaced?
... that architectural historian Edward Hubbard wrote the definitive biography of Cheshire architect John Douglas, but died before it could be published?
...that David Beckham and Victoria Adams were given a replica of Rookery Hall as a cake at their engagement party?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/12

...that The Christian by Hall Caine (pictured), published in 1897, was the first novel in Britain to sell over a million copies?
...that St Mary's Church, Widnes, has a wayside pulpit incorporated into its boundary wall?

...that the creation of Grosvenor Museum, Chester was inspired by a society formed by Charles Kingsley, then a canon of Chester Cathedral?
...that the Wright's Almshouses in Nantwich, which date from 1638, were moved in the 1970s to stand by the Crewe Almshouses?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/13

...that Robert Spear Hudson used paintings by professional artists for advertising (example pictured) before Pear's Soap and Lever Brothers?
...that the Mark II radio telescope built in 1964 at Jodrell Bank Observatory was the first telescope to be controlled by a digital computer?
...that plans for St Werburgh's Mount, Chester, should have been submitted at the same time as those for St Werburgh Chambers, but were delayed because its architect John Douglas was ill?
...that while Peover Hall is a Grade II* listed building, its stable block is listed at Grade I because of its elaborate internal architecture?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/14

Entrance to Carnegie Library, Runcorn

...that the Carnegie Library (pictured) in Runcorn was designed in 1906 by the local council's surveyor and water engineer and is now a listed building?
...that landowner Rowland Egerton-Warburton arranged for his house, Arley Hall, to be designed in Tudor style while the chapel was designed in Gothic style?
...that two trains returning from the 1851 Chester races lost adhesion in Sutton Tunnel, and a third crashed into them, killing nine and injuring up to 40 people?
...that Bridgemere Garden World, now one of the largest garden centres in Europe, started as "a little garden shed in a small field" in 1961?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/15

Ruins of Rocksavage c. 1818

...that the ruined Elizabethan mansion of Rocksavage (pictured) in Runcorn was once the second-largest house in Cheshire?
...that the Three Old Arches in Chester has a shop front which is considered to be the oldest in England?
...that St Lawrence's Church, a listed building in Stoak, has a Tudor hammerbeam roof, a Jacobean altar, a Georgian pulpit, an Elizabethan chalice and chairs from the time of Charles II?
...that for security reasons, the findings relating to uranium in John Holt's 1941 PhD thesis on artificial radioactivity were not released?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/16

...that the Georgian façade of 116 Hospital Street (pictured) conceals a 15th-century structure, which might be the oldest house in Nantwich?

...that the medieval scheduled monuments of Cheshire include Vale Royal Abbey which was the largest Cistercian church in England?

...that the manor of Nether Tabley, including Tabley Old Hall and Tabley House, was owned by the Leicester family for almost exactly 700 years?

...that architect John Douglas was responsible for the 19th-century black-and-white revival in Chester?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/17

God's Providence House, Chester

...that God's Providence House (pictured) in Chester probably gained its name because the owners survived the plague of 1647–48?
...that the depictions of fish on the medieval statue of St Christopher in Norton Priory are so realistic that five different species can be identified?
...that as a consequence of Earl Rivers' reversion to Roman Catholicism in 1697, the Lyon's Paw Hotel, Frodsham, was renamed the Bear's Paw?
...that nearly half of the castles in Cheshire are along the Wales–England border and were built to defend England against its neighbour?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/18

Page from the Lyme Caxton Missal

...that the Lyme Caxton Missal (page pictured), on display at Lyme Park, is the only near-complete existing copy of the earliest known edition of a missal according to the Sarum Rite?
...that when the Water Tower in Chester was built in 1322–25 it stood in the River Dee, but it is now about 200 yards (183 m) inland due to silting of the river?
...that the schools designed by John Douglas for the 1st Duke of Westminster in Eccleston and Waverton are considered to be the best of Douglas's village schools?
...that St Michael's Church, Marbury contains the oldest pulpit in Cheshire?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/19

...that Roger Wilbraham founded the Widows' Almshouses (pictured) in Nantwich in memory of his wife, who died on the first anniversary of the death of their eldest son?
...that the body of St Werburgh is said to have rested overnight on the site of All Saints Church, Church Lawton on its journey from Lincolnshire to Chester, where she is patron saint?
...that Parker's Buildings, built in Chester for the Duke of Westminster, are still standing after 120 years despite early complaints about their "poor materials and workmanship"?
...that listed buildings in Minshull Vernon include five canal bridges, two aqueducts and a former privy?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/20

Grave of John Middleton, St Mary's, Hale

...that in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Hale is the grave of John Middleton (pictured), who was reputed to have been over 9 feet (3 m) tall?
...that one theory suggests that the unique Chester Rows were constructed in the medieval era on top of debris from the ruins of Roman buildings?
...that although most of the works of Arnold Thornely are in Liverpool and northwest England, he is best known for the Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast?
...that the 16th-century 140–142 Hospital Street in Nantwich may stand on the site of the 11th-century Hospital of St Nicholas, which gives the street its name?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/21

Sankey Canal and Sankey Brook

...that Sankey Valley Park, Warrington (pictured) follows the course of the historical Sankey Canal, England's first canal?

...that Ranulf le Meschin ruled Cumberland before becoming Earl of Chester in 1120?

...that in 1663, Roger Wilbraham organised the replacement of Nantwich Bridge, and the new bridge was completed in time for his son to be the first corpse carried across it?

...that the medieval bylaw that states any Welshman loitering within Chester city walls after sunset may be shot with a longbow has never been officially repealed?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/22

Chester Racecourse, Chester

...that Chester Racecourse (pictured), built on the site of a blocked harbour in 1533, is the oldest horse racing course in England?

...that St Paul's Church in Hooton has been described as "unquestionably one of the most spectacular churches of Cheshire"?

...that footballer Tommy Magee is the only West Bromwich Albion player to have won both a League Championship medal and an FA Cup winners' medal with the club?

...that while there are over 1,300 Iron Age hill forts in England, Kelsborrow Castle is one of only seven in Cheshire?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/23

...that the bend in the street occupied by Regent House (pictured) in Nantwich follows the line of the outer wall of the town's Norman castle?
...that Tom Brittleton is the oldest footballer ever to play a competitive match for Sheffield Wednesday?
...that Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster persuaded architect John Douglas to add half-timbering to his stone and brick design for 2–18 St Werburgh Street, Chester?
...that Maiden Castle, an Iron Age hill fort in Cheshire, is so-called because it is thought never to have been taken in battle?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/24

Statue of Ludwig Mond

...that the statues of Ludwig Mond (pictured) and John Brunner stand next to each other in the grounds of the factory they founded?

...that the Grosvenor Bridge in Chester was the world's largest single-span arch for 30 years?

...that John Douglas's design for a shop in Sankey Street, Warrington was said to be influenced by John Ruskin and George Gilbert Scott?

...that William Huggins enjoyed following a travelling animal circus?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/25

Former malt kiln near Sound

...that a rare example of an intact malt kiln (pictured) survives in Sound?
...that Bonewaldesthorne's Tower in Chester city walls is documented to 1249, and was used in the 19th–20th centuries as a museum with a camera obscura and an observatory?
...that in 1966, Vin Denson became the first British rider to win a stage of the Giro d'Italia?
...that Regency mansion Poole Hall once housed an eclectic collection including teasmaids, mannequins, toy robots, a pinball machine and Keith Richards' Bentley?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/26

Tollemache Almshouses, Nantwich

...that the Tollemache Almshouses (pictured) in Nantwich may stand on the site of the Hospital of St Lawrence, a medieval lazar house?

...that James Chadwick, who was later to win the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the neutron, experimented with radioactive toothpaste during World War I?

...that Crypt Chambers, a department store in Chester, was built in 1858 above one of the best medieval crypts in the city?

...that the stables of Oakfield Manor have been used to house lions?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/27

...that the 63 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cheshire include diverse wetlands, such as mosses (pictured), swamps, fens, meres, ponds and rare examples of inland salt marsh?

...that Arthur Dodd, a British prisoner of war during World War II, was an eye-witness to the horrors of Auschwitz?

...that when George Booth built Booth Mansion in Chester, he angled the building to make it more visible from Chester Cross, but was fined £10 for encroaching into the street?

...that John Wesley preached in the kitchen of Gates Farm in Cholmondeston?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/28

Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster

...that Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster (pictured) is reputed to have thrown either a Bible or a Prayer Book at the head of King George IV?
...that Raw Head was a Marilyn, but was demoted in 2009 after a re-survey?
...that John Douglas' design for 78–94 Foregate Street, Chester was so unlike any of his previous architectural styles that it "shocked the City Council Improvement Committee"?
...that the Tarporley Hunt Club, founded in 1762, is the oldest surviving hunt club in England?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/29

Lychgate at St Michael's, Marbury

...that the listed buildings of Marbury cum Quoisley include an obelisk, a lychgate (pictured), a churchyard wall, and half a bridge?
...that the porch of Macclesfield Castle, dating from the reign of Henry II and the only standing part of the castle, was replaced by cottages and shops in 1932?
...that St Oswald's Chambers in Chester was built on land purchased by the architect John Douglas to enhance the view towards Chester Cathedral?
...that Delamere Forest is the remnant of the Norman hunting forests of Mara and Mondrem, which once covered over 60 square miles (160 km²) of Cheshire?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/30

...that 9 Mill Street (pictured) in Nantwich dates from 1736, and has been a house, a bank, a political club and a restaurant?

...that Samuel Huggins' objections to the "so called restoration" of Chester Cathedral helped found the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings?

...that Holy Trinity Church, Northwich, was the largest of the three churches designed by Edmund Sharpe for the Weaver Navigation Trustees?

...that a part of the Parthenon Frieze currently at the British Museum used to be kept at Marbury Hall?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/31

...that 46 High Street, an Elizabethan merchant's house in Nantwich, has a carved wooden caryatid (pictured)?
...that Queen Victoria said that Viscountess Amberley "ought to get a good whipping" for speaking publicly in favour of women's suffrage?
...that the Blue Bell in Chester contains a chamber separated from the rest of the building which has been a ticket office for stage coach operators, a soda fountain bar and a barber's shop?
...that the Bluecap Memorial in Cuddington commemorates a foxhound and is a listed building?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/32

...that when Methodist George Whitefield preached in Nantwich, a mob tried to disperse his audience with a bull, but a Methodist Chapel (pictured) later became the town's largest chapel?
...that Tatton Hall contains ten full-length portraits of the Cheshire gentlemen who met in 1715 and decided to support King George I rather than James Stuart in the first Jacobite rebellion?
...that the restaurant of the hotel Chester Grosvenor and Spa, overseen by executive chef Simon Radley, was awarded its 19th consecutive Michelin star in 2009?
...that the excavation at Norton Priory in the 1970s revealed the largest floor of mosaic tiles to be found in any modern excavation?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/33

Equestrian Statue of Viscount Combermere

...that the Equestrian Statue of Viscount Combermere (pictured) was the first major piece of open-air public sculpture to be erected in Cheshire?
...that although Peckforton Castle was built as a family home in 1850, it mimicked a Norman castle in design and position?
...that St John the Evangelist's Church in Runcorn is known as "The Choirboys' Church" because its choirboys wrote thousands of letters to raise money to build it?
...that the ornate Chesters' Stores building of 1911 in Nantwich was likened to the Lusitania liner because of its porthole-like windows?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/34

...that the ornate Jacobean Revival-style 39 Welsh Row (pictured) in Nantwich was built as a humble savings bank?
...that when Catalyst museum in Widnes was opened in 1989, it was the world's first museum devoted to the chemicals industry?
...that Sir Oliver Starkey was the only English knight present at the siege of Malta and is the only person to be buried in the crypt of Valletta Cathedral who was not a Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller?
...that Stanley Palace in Chester, built as a town house in 1597, has since been apartments, a boys' school, and a museum, and is now used as an office and meeting rooms?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/35

...that in 1613, Sir Roger Wilbraham, Elizabeth I's Solicitor-General for Ireland, founded the first almshouses (pictured) in his birthplace, Nantwich?

...that Hockenhull Platts, three bridges on a medieval road, were crossed in 1353 by the Black Prince, in 1698 by Celia Fiennes, and in 1780 by Thomas Pennant?

...that the architect John Douglas designed a pair of houses at 31 and 33 Dee Banks, Chester, one for his own use and the other probably as an investment?

...that during the Popish Plot, John Plessington was seized at Puddington Old Hall and hanged at Chester Castle in 1679?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/36

Queen's Aid House, Nantwich

...that the Queen's Aid House (pictured) has a plaque commemorating Elizabeth I's aid in rebuilding Nantwich after a fire, the only time she is known to have contributed to such a cause?
...that Eddisbury hill fort, the largest and most complex Iron Age hill fort in Cheshire, was destroyed by the Romans to prevent it being used against them?
...that architect John Douglas showed his designs for Wrexham Road Farm, Eccleston, and Saighton Lane Farm at the Royal Academy in 1888?
...that the site of the factory established by Charles Wigg in 1865 is now a nature reserve?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/37

...that the apparent timber framing of St John's Church, High Legh (pictured) is "a sham"?
...that the rose garden at Lymm Hall was Edward Kemp's first recorded commission?
...that the architect John Douglas built Walmoor Hill in Chester as a house for himself, and since his death it has been used as a girls' college and as the County Fire Headquarters?
...that when Sir Thomas Grosvenor became baronet, he was aged eight, and when he married at the age of 21, his wife was aged 12?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/38

...that Dutton Horse Bridge (pictured) on the River Weaver is one of the earliest surviving laminated timber structures?
...that the Grade II* listed Lower Huxley Hall in the town of Huxley, is approached by a Grade II* listed bridge and archway, and stands on a moated site that is a scheduled monument?
...that one of John Romney's etchings which sold well was of The Chester and Holyhead Railway Bridge Accident which occurred in 1847?
...that the listed buildings in Poole include a pinfold or cattle pound?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/39

...that during the Siege of Chester, King Charles I watched the Battle of Rowton Heath from the Phoenix Tower (pictured) on the city's walls?
...that when Winnington Hall was used as a girls' finishing school in the 19th century, it was visited by Sir Charles Hallé and John Ruskin?
...that the Monument to Captain John Francis Egerton commemorates a soldier who was killed in the First Anglo-Sikh War?
...that in his lifetime, Thomas Brassey was involved in building one-third of the railway built in the United Kingdom and one-twentieth of that built in the world?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/40

The Duchess of Cambridge posing in her wedding dress after her marriage to Prince William

...that Kate Middleton's wedding dress (pictured) for her marriage to Prince William was designed by Sarah Burton?
...that the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe was opened in 1887, destroyed by fire in 1910, and rebuilt on the same site in 1911?
...that St Peter's Church, Plemstall, is built on the site of a hermitage occupied by Plegmund, who was later the Archbishop of Canterbury?
...that the Eastgate Clock in Chester is the second most photographed timepiece in the United Kingdom, after Big Ben?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/41

Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

...that Lady Carlisle (pictured) so adamantly opposed alcohol consumption that when her daughter married a brewer, she refused to speak with her for years?
...that the 19th-century Shrigley Hall, originally a country house, was later a Salesian school with a chapel added in 1936, and now is a hotel and country club?
...that the pulpit in Christ Church, Barnton has been described as "Puginesquely elaborate"?
...that a plaque on Phoenix Tower in Chester states that King Charles I stood on the tower in 1645 as he watched his soldiers being defeated at Rowton Moor?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/42

St Mary and All Saints' Church, Great Budworth

...that St Mary and All Saints' Church (pictured) in Great Budworth is considered by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner to be "one of the most satisfactory Perpendicular churches in Cheshire"?
...that Shotwick Hall was built in 1662, replacing an earlier manor house on a nearby moated site?
...that the Four Counties Ring is a canal ring linking the counties of Cheshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, and the West Midlands?
...that Thomas Harrison's first commission was for Skerton Bridge, the first large public bridge in England to have a flat roadway, and his last commission was for Grosvenor Bridge, which has the longest masonry arch in Britain?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/43

...that the listed buildings in Wrenbury cum Frith include three timber lift bridges (example pictured) constructed by Thomas Telford?
...that the students of Chester College helped to build its chapel between 1844 and 1847?
...that the A535 road is the main road that gives access to the Jodrell Bank Observatory and the Quinta Garden, both founded by Sir Bernard Lovell?
...that Professor Andor Harvey Gomme's first name was a family joke?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/44

Sweetbriar Hall, Nantwich

...that scientist Joseph Priestley is believed to have lived at Sweetbriar Hall (pictured), in Nantwich, and another scientist, Sir William Bowman, was born there?
...that although Arley Hall was in Jacobean style, its owner decided that its chapel should be in Gothic style?
...that her experiences with girls on the street led philosopher Bertrand Russell's "stern and gloomy" Aunt Maude to write Clubs for Working Girls?
...that the listed buildings in Lymm include three aqueducts, a cross, a water tower, a well, an icehouse, a pigeon house, a mounting block, a milepost and the stocks?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/45

...that philosopher Bertrand Russell feared the ridicule of his grandmother, Lady Stanley of Alderley (pictured), best known for defending the "right of women to the highest culture hitherto reserved to men"?
...that there are two war memorials in Crewe, one with a statue of a soldier, and the other with a statue of Britannia?
...that Chester city walls form the most complete circuit of Roman and medieval defensive town walls in Britain?
...that the listed buildings in Dodcott cum Wilkesley include a former monastery, game larder, icehouse, folly with kennels, battlemented water tower, clock tower and a sundial?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/46

...that the churchyard gates (church pictured) in the small village of Burleydam come from Lleweni Hall, and were described as "of great elegance" by Samuel Johnson?
...that Bache Hall, a former country house, now provides accommodation for students of the University of Chester?
...that William Allen was a co-founder of the first bank to be opened in Manchester, and was also the father of a future bishop?
...that the listed buildings in Northwich include three structures designed so that they could be lifted in the event of further subsidence in the town due to salt extraction?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/47

...that throughout the 400-year history of Combermere Abbey (pictured), various of its abbots and priors were excommunicated, assaulted, murdered, and accused of forgery and covering up murder?
...that the Chester Roman Amphitheatre was the largest amphitheatre in Roman Britain, seating over 8,000 people?
...that Antony Grey became Stonewall Hero of the Year in 2007, to mark the 40th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK in which he was instrumental?
...that the listed buildings in Great Budworth include a sundial, stocks, a lychgate, a guidepost, two wellhouses, and a telephone kiosk?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/48

...that Addleshaw Tower (pictured) in Chester is the first free-standing bell tower to be built by an English cathedral since the 15th century?
...that James Hall's 1883 history of Nantwich remains one of the chief sources for the town's history?
...that Chorley Old Hall, the oldest inhabited country house in Cheshire, consists of two ranges, one medieval (c.1300), the other Elizabethan (mid-16th century)?
...that, unusually, Macclesfield War Memorial contains a sculpture of a soldier killed by gassing?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/49

Former Congregational Chapel, Monks Lane, Nantwich

...that the Congregational Chapel (pictured) of Nantwich was founded in 1780 by a former captain of the dragoons preaching in a coachmaker's shop?
...that Wirral Country Park was the first designated country park in Britain when it opened in 1973?
...that Runcorn signal box was one of the earliest operational signal boxes built by the LMS to incorporate Air Raid Precautions specifications?
...that Lance Corporal William Windsor of The Royal Welsh, who retired on 20 May 2009, is a Cashmere goat?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/50

Statue of Richard Grosvenor, Second Marquess of Westminster

...that when the Statue of Richard Grosvenor (pictured) was created in the 1860s, it was said to have been the largest sculpture in Britain to be carved from a single block of marble?
...that the design of Henbury Hall, built in the 1980s, is based on Palladio's Villa Rotonda?
...that the mud snail, great raft spider and Enochrus isotae water scavenger beetle, all rare in the UK, have been found in the ponds of Sound Heath?
...that Libby Lane is the first woman to be appointed a bishop by the Church of England?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/51

Norcliffe Chapel, Styal

...that Norcliffe Chapel (pictured) was founded by a Unitarian, but was a Baptist chapel for its first ten years?
...that the Huxley Hoard, discovered near Huxley in 2004 and now on display at the Museum of Liverpool, consists of 21 flattened silver bracelets and one silver ingot?
...that Ramsdell Hall has been described by architectural writers as a "curious" and "appealingly quirky" house?
...that one of the main cast of Pawn Stars UK, Mark Andrew "Big Mark" Manning, used to work at a crematorium before becoming a pawnbroker?

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...that the four lions surrounding the Obelisk Commemorating Roger Barnston (pictured) have been described as either mourning or snoozing?
...that St James' and St Paul's Church, Marton, is one of the oldest timber-framed churches in Europe?
...that when Lady Mary Calverley built Oddfellows' Hall in Chester in 1676, she was fined £20 because it caused the loss of a portion of the Chester Rows?
...that listed buildings in Peckforton include a carved stone elephant bearing a replica of a medieval castle?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/53

Miniature of Elizabeth Gaskell by William John Thomson (1832)

...that on the Gaskell Memorial Tower in Knutsford are two different depictions of Elizabeth Gaskell (pictured)?
...that the Church of St Cuthbert by the Forest in Mouldsworth has a detached campanile?
...that the Warrington architect William Owen designed the first 28 houses in the model village of Port Sunlight?
...that the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port contains the largest collection of canal boats in the world?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/54

Chester War Memorial

...that Giles Gilbert Scott submitted two designs for the Chester War Memorial (pictured), but both were rejected?
...that Gavin Patterson, the new CEO of BT, is known for his open shirt collar?
...that the founder of All Saints Church in Scholar Green died during its construction, and the church was completed and paid for by his son?
...that Mellor's Gardens at Hough Hole House are themed on Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/55

...that after Capesthorne Hall (garden front pictured) was badly damaged by fire in 1861, it was rebuilt by Anthony Salvin who generally followed Edward Blore's earlier plans?
...that the partly submerged Mersey flat, Daresbury, is a scheduled monument?
...that Englesea Brook Chapel and Museum contains the first organ to be used in a Primitive Methodist chapel?
...that in her international debut season, visually impaired cyclist Sophie Thornhill won two gold medals with one guide and another two with a different guide?

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Detail from Tribuna of the Uffizi (1772-78) by Johann Zoffany, showing Wilbraham (probably on the left) admiring the statue of the Venus de' Medici

...that Roger Wilbraham (pictured on left) probably admired the Venus de' Medici statue in the 1770s?
...that the oldest memorial in All Saints' Church, Runcorn, is dedicated to two women, "both good wives"?
...that when the public house The Falcon was a town house owned by Sir Richard Grosvenor in 1643, it was the first building to enclose its portion of the Chester Rows?
...that of the 31 listed buildings in Crewe, only two date from before the arrival of the railway in 1837?

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Portal:Cheshire/Did you know/57

New Cheshire Salt Works in 1986

...that the family-run New Cheshire Salt Works (pictured) was said to have had a "magnificent" Art Deco vacuum evaporator, decorated with stripes of different-coloured woods?
...that Maria Elizabetha Jacson was wary of offending her society's conventions by writing about sexual classification?
...that Kris Leonard, vocalist of the band Viola Beach, commented that the lyrical content of their songs was inspired by their "very grey and industrial" hometown of Warrington?
...that the Battle of Brunanburh, fought in 937, has been described as "the greatest single battle in Anglo-Saxon history before Hastings"?

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