Holmes Chapel


Holmes Chapel is a small town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Until 1974 the parish was known as Church Hulme. Holmes Chapel is about north of Crewe and south of Manchester.
The population of the village was recorded as 5,605 as of the 2011 census. It has however grown due to a number of large housing developments. According to the Index of Deprivation, the village ranks as the 18th least deprived ward in the United Kingdom. Holmes Chapel railway station has services to Manchester and Crewe, making the village convenient for commuters. Swettenham Meadows Nature Reserve lies east of the village and Goostrey lies to the north.
The village has a number of public houses. There is a major supermarket, several smaller supermarkets, a precinct, and numerous outlets including a fish and chip shop, off licence, pizzeria, estate agent, a chemist and a library, and a bakery. The town has one secondary school, Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, and two primary schools: Holmes Chapel Primary School and Hermitage Primary School. It has a GP Practice on London Road.
For centuries the Cotton family resided at Cotton Hall, an estate and farm, just off Middlewich road. John Cotton of Cotton Hall was resident there in 1400. Cotton Hall dates from at least the 15th century with some additions in the 17th, 19th and 20th centuries. This building is today listed Grade II* under the Planning Act 1990, as amended. for its special architectural or historic interest.

Geography

Holmes Chapel, set within the Cheshire Plain, it lies on the mid-reaches of the River Dane as it meanders its way around the north end of the village. The village is within the Unitary Authority district of Cheshire East, and used to be administered by Congleton borough.
Holmes Chapel has been twinned with Bessancourt, France, since 1980.

Religion

was built in about 1430. Originally half-timbered, the brick walls encasing the nave and chancel are later additions. It was designated a Grade I listed building on 14 February 1967.

Notable people