Grappenhall

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Grappenhall
Cheshire
Grappenhall.jpg
Parr Arms and St Wilfrid's Church
Location
Grid reference: SJ639863
Location: 53°22’23"N, 2°32’35"W
Data
Population: 9,651
Post town: Warrington
Postcode: WA4
Dialling code: 01925
Local Government
Council: Warrington
Parliamentary
constituency:
Warrington South

Grappenhall is an ancient parish in the Bucklow Hundred of Cheshire, that forms a suburb of Warrington, otherwise in Lancashire. The civil parish of Grappenhall and Thelwall had a population of 9,651 in the 2021 census.[1]

History

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

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.[2] 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.

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.[3] Grappenhall is home to the 25th Warrington East (St Wilfred's) Scout Troop.[4]

Sport

There is a cricket ground, which is the home of Grappenhall Cricket Club.[5] Australian cricketer Steve Smith was signed for the club for five weeks in 2007, when he was 17.[6]

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[7][8] due to local authority cuts.[9] The library is run by the Friends of the Grappenhall library who pay £10 a year to help with its upkeep.[10]

In popular culture

Parts of the Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes were filmed in the centre of Grappenhall.[11] The village name appears in the title of the song "Grappenhall Rag", by the Darwen singer-songwriter Bryn Haworth.[12]

References

  1. https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/northwestengland/admin/warrington/E04000325__grappenhall_and_thelwall/
  2. History, St Wilfrid's Church, Grappenhall, https://www.stwilfridschurch.org.uk/home/history/, retrieved 9 January 2021 
  3. "Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden". Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council. 2018. http://grappenhallandthelwallpc.org.uk/grappenhall-heys-walled-garden/. 
  4. "25th Warrington East Scout Group » History". Grappenhallscouts.org.uk. 3 August 1914. http://www.grappenhallscouts.org.uk/about/history. Retrieved 6 August 2013. 
  5. "Grappenhall Cricket Club". Grappers.com. http://www.grappers.co.uk/. Retrieved 6 August 2013. 
  6. "Cheshire village cricket club recalls 'homesick' Steve Smith". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-49688278. Retrieved 13 September 2019. 
  7. "A brief history of Grappenhall Library". Grappenhall Community Library. http://www.grappenhall.org.uk/about-us/grappenhall-library-history. Retrieved 13 December 2016. 
  8. "Grappenhall Community Library". http://libraries.communityknowledgehub.org.uk/resource/grappenhall-community-library. Retrieved 13 December 2016. 
  9. "Grappenhall villagers win campaign to take ownership of former council library". The Warrington Guardian. http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/9452421.Villagers_take_ownership_of_former_council_library/?ref=twtrec. Retrieved 13 December 2016. 
  10. "Community libraries: 10 case studies". http://locality.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Community-Libraries-10-Case-Studies.pdf. Retrieved 13 December 2016. 
  11. "Filming Location Matching "Grappenhall, Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK" (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". http://www.imdb.com/search/title/?locations=Grappenhall,+Warrington,+Cheshire,+England,+UK. 
  12. "Bryn Haworth Grappenhall Rag". YouTube. 20 November 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb57BtNev9M. Retrieved 6 August 2013. 

Outside links

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