Grappenhall

Human settlement in England
  • Grappenhall and Thelwall
Unitary authority
  • Warrington
Ceremonial county
  • Cheshire
Region
  • North West
CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townWARRINGTONPostcode districtWA4Dialling code01925PoliceCheshireFireCheshireAmbulanceNorth West UK Parliament
  • Warrington South
List of places
UK
England
Cheshire
53°22′23″N 2°32′35″W / 53.373°N 2.543°W / 53.373; -2.543

Grappenhall is a village within the civil parish of Grappenhall and Thelwall in the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. The parish had a population of 9,377 at the 2001 census,[1] 9,687 at the 2011 census,[2] and 9,651 at the 2021 census.[3]

History

Grappenhall is first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 with the name Gropenhale and with a valuation of five shillings.

Sandstone carving of a 'Cheshire Cat', St Wilfrid's Church

St Wilfrid's Church has a carving of a cat on the west face of the tower. This may have been Lewis Carroll's inspiration for the grinning Cheshire Cat in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.[4] The church itself was first constructed in 1120, though was rebuilt 400 years later. The church was also, at a time, in the possession of the Boidelle (Boydell) family.[citation needed]

Along with the church, the centre of the village contains two pubs, the Parr Arms and the Ram's Head, and Grappenhall Hall Residential School (closed down) and St Wilfrid's Primary School. Bradshaw Community Primary School is located north of the village centre.

Leisure

Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden is near the village.[5] Grappenhall is home to the 25th Warrington East (St Wilfred's) Scout Troop.[6]

Sport

There is a cricket ground, which is the home of Grappenhall Cricket Club.[7] Australian cricketer Steve Smith was signed for the club for five weeks in 2007, when he was 17.[8]

Library

The Grappenhall Community library is a community-run library in the village. It was opened by the local authority in 1959 before being handed over to the Friends of Grappenhall Library after closure on 2 April 2011[9][10] due to local authority cuts.[11] The library is run by the Friends of the Grappenhall library who pay £10 a year to help with its upkeep.[12]

In popular culture

Parts of the Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes were filmed in the centre of Grappenhall.[13] The village name appears in the title of the song "Grappenhall Rag", by the Darwen singer-songwriter Bryn Haworth.[14]

See also

  • iconCheshire portal

References

  1. ^ 2001 Census: Grappenhall and Thelwall civil parish, Office for National Statistics, retrieved 10 June 2007
  2. ^ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish (E04000325)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics.
  3. ^ https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/northwestengland/admin/warrington/E04000325__grappenhall_and_thelwall/
  4. ^ History, St Wilfrid's Church, Grappenhall, retrieved 9 January 2021
  5. ^ "Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden". Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council. 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  6. ^ "25th Warrington East Scout Group » History". Grappenhallscouts.org.uk. 3 August 1914. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  7. ^ "Grappenhall Cricket Club". Grappers.com. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Cheshire village cricket club recalls 'homesick' Steve Smith". BBC News. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  9. ^ "A brief history of Grappenhall Library". grappenhall.org.uk. Grappenhall Community Library. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Grappenhall Community Library". Community Knowledge Hub. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Grappenhall villagers win campaign to take ownership of former council library". warringtonguardian.co.uk. The Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Community libraries: 10 case studies" (PDF). locality.org.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Filming Location Matching "Grappenhall, Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK" (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". IMDb. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Bryn Haworth Grappenhall Rag". YouTube. 20 November 2012. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grappenhall.
  • Images of the church and its cat.
  • Grappenhall Youth & Community Association
  • The Flickr Grappenhall Photography Group
  • WDCC, Warrington District Camera Club, which is based in Grappenhall
  • St Wilfrids, Grappemhall at boydellfamilyhistory.com