Audlem

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK place

Audlem (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, North West England. In 2021, it had a population of 1,832.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The largest village in southern Cheshire, Audlem is approximately Template:Convert south of Nantwich, just Template:Convert north of the border with the neighbouring county of Shropshire, the village is Template:Convert east of Whitchurch and Template:Convert north of Market Drayton. It is also approximately Template:Convert from the border with Wales.

History

Audlem was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Aldelime. By the late 13th century, St James' Church had been founded and Edward I granted it a market charter in 1295.<ref name=scholes>Scholes, R. (2000). pages 24–25.</ref>

The arrival of the Shropshire Union Canal in 1835 was a significant development for Audlem. The canal boosted the local economy by facilitating the transport of goods and materials, particularly agricultural produce and coal. During this period, many of the village's distinctive Georgian and Victorian buildings were constructed. Audlem’s flight of 15 locks, designed by Thomas Telford, are a notable engineering feature. Though commercial activity on the canal virtually ceased in the 1950s, it is now an important source of tourism for the village. The canal continues to draw visitors and leisure boaters alike along the waterway itself and to walk the picturesque path.<ref name="Bourne">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2008 village residents launched an online referendum on moving the village to Wales from England – in a protest over prescription charges in England.<ref name="story">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Bourne" />

Landmarks

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File:St James' Church, Audlem.jpg

St James' Church

There are many historic buildings including Moss Hall is an Elizabethan timber-framed hall from 1616 Template:Convert from Audlem village centre.

Education and facilities

Audlem has clubs for tennis, badminton, football, cricket, golf, pigeon racing (or pigeon-fancying), caravanning, bell ringing and bowls. Cyclists meet informally at The Tearoom at No.11. Audlem has a website, AudlemOnline.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Saint James' Primary School is the only school in the village.

Transport

File:Shropshire Union Canal, Audlem - geograph.org.uk - 5346242.jpg

The Shropshire Union Canal in Audlem

Roads

Audlem lies at the junction of the A525 and A529 roads in south Cheshire. The A525 road runs from Newcastle under Lyme and Woore from the east and Whitchurch from the west. The A529 runs from Nantwich in the north and from Market Drayton in the south.

Audlem is approximately Template:Convert west of the M6 motorway. The closest junctions are junction 16 from the North and junctions 15 and 14 from the South.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Canal

Audlem is on the Shropshire Union Canal, which has a flight of 15 locks, to raise the canal Template:Convert from the Cheshire Plain to the Shropshire Plain. The River Weaver passes west of the village.

Railway

Audlem railway station closed along with the local railway line in 1963. The station was on the former Great Western Railway between Market Drayton and Nantwich, opened in 1863.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The station was immortalised in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.

The closest railway stations are Nantwich and Whitchurch on the Welsh Marches line. Both stations are Template:Convert from Audlem. Crewe, on the West Coast Main Line, is Template:Convert away.

Buses

Audlem is served by the go-too bus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other bus services were discontinued on 1 September 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

File:The Lord Combermere, Audlem - geograph.org.uk - 4189874.jpg

The Lord Combermere pub in Audlem, named Field Marshal Lord Combermere, who was educated in the village

Notable residents and other people associated with Audlem include:

Isabella Whitney (c.1546/48–after 1624), the first woman known to have published secular poetry in the English language, grew up in Ryle Green when her father took a lease of a farm there.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Her brother, Geoffrey Whitney (c.1548–c.1601), is likewise believed to have been brought up there; also a poet, he is known for his collection Choice of Emblemes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
William Baker (1705–1771), architect, surveyor and building contractor, lived at Highfields from the 1740s.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Field Marshal Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere (1773–1865), soldier, associate of the Duke of Wellington, was educated at a grammar school then in Audlem for three years from age nine before entering Westminster School.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Henry Lisle (1846 in Audlem – 1916), lawyer<ref>Saskatchewan Archives Board, Members of the Legislative Assembly retrieved 17 March 2018</ref> and political figure in Saskatchewan, Canada
Alice Elizabeth Gillington (1863 in Audlem – 1934), author, poet and journalist;<ref>EFDSS Folk Music Journal, Alice E. Gillington, Dweller on the Roughs retrieved 17 March 2018</ref> published books about Gypsies
Mary Clarissa Gillington, later better known as May Byron (1861 in Audlem – 1936), author, poet, elder sister of Alice Gillington
Herbert Broomfield (1878 in Audlem – unknown), football goalkeeper,<ref>Profile at MUFC Info.com retrieved 17 March 2018</ref> 28 pro appearances for Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Peter Ellson (1925 in Audlem – 2014), professional footballing goalkeeper,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 219 pro appearances for Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Peter McGarr (born 1953), classical composer and teacher; he has written several pieces inspired by Audlem ('Audlem Sonatas', 'Night-time' and 'Mourning Gamelan'), as homage to his mother, who lived in the village when she was a child.<ref>Website of UK Composer Peter McGarr</ref>
Margaret Canovan (1939–2018), political theorist, lived in Audlem from 1979 to 2003 while working at Keele University.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>