Gawsworth, Cheshire
Historical Description
Gawsworth, a village and a parish in Cheshire. The village stands near the Macclesfield Canal, 3½ miles SW by S of Macclesfield, and is an ancient place, with some old houses. It has a post office under Macclesfield; money order and telegraph office, Macclesfield. The parish comprises 5704 acres; population, 633. The manor belonged at the Conquest to Earl Ranulpb, passed to the Bigods, was long held by the Fittons, and belongs now to the Earl of Harrington. Gawsworth Hall is a seat of the Earl. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Chester; net value, £403 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Harrington. The church dates from the 15th century and is a handsome structure, with a pinnacled tower, and contains monuments of the Fittons. Near the churchyard is an old tilting-ground.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Cheshire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Gawsworth St. James | |
Hundred | Macclesfield | |
Poor Law union | Macclesfield |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Gawsworth from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Gawsworth (St. James))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Cheshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Gawsworth are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Cheshire papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Cheshire, 1580 is available on the Heraldry page.