Portal:Cheshire/Calendar/Archive
All events in the Cheshire portal calendar. For a chronological list, see the timeline of Cheshire history. To suggest an event for inclusion, use the suggestions page
January
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1 January 1894: Manchester Ship Canal first opened to traffic.
2 January 1644: Dorfold Hall taken by Royalist forces during the Civil War.
3 January 1866: Crewe Hall gutted by fire.
13 January 1984: A cooling tower at Fiddlers Ferry Power Station (pictured) collapsed in high winds.
17 January 1644: Royalist forces attacked Nantwich during the Civil War.
20 January 1540: Dissolution of St Werburgh's Abbey.
20 January 1971: Singer–songwriter Gary Barlow born in Frodsham.
24 January 1909: Film star Ann Todd born in Hartford.
25 January 1837: Fire damaged the new wing of Vale Royal Abbey.
26 January 1644: Battle of Nantwich.
27 January 1832: Author and mathematician Lewis Carroll born in Daresbury.
27 January 1941: Cosmologist Beatrice Tinsley born in Chester.
28 January 1643: First battle of Nantwich.
February
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1 February 1863: Artist and printmaker John Romney died in Chester.
1 February 1869: The first goods train crossed Runcorn Railway Bridge.
3 February 1646: Chester surrendered during the Civil War.
3 February 1857: First meeting of Cheshire Police committee.
3 February 1885: Foundation stone of Grosvenor Museum laid by the Duke of Westminster.
4 February 1253–4: Lordship of Chester gifted to Edward, heir of Henry III.
5 February 1977: Olympic gold medallist sailor Ben Ainslie born in Macclesfield.
6 February 1987: Lindow III discovered at Lindow Moss.
9 February 1539: First recorded race at Chester Racecourse.
13 February 1839: Riot at Chester Castle in support of poachers awaiting trial.
14 February 1926: Fire partially destroyed Oulton Hall.
15 February 1918: Physicist John Holt born in Runcorn.
19 February 1943: Nobel prize winning biochemist Tim Hunt born in Neston.
20 February 1643: Beeston Castle seized from the Royalists by Parliamentary forces commanded by Sir William Brereton (pictured).
20 February 1907: Radar pioneer Skip Wilkins born in Chorlton.
21 February 2008: Sunny Lowry, first woman to swim the Channel, died in Warrington.
26 February 1993: IRA explosive devices went off at Warrington gasworks.
March
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2 March 1968: Actor Daniel Craig born in Chester.
3 March 1614: Antiquarian Sir Peter Leycester born in Nether Tabley.
3 March 1951: Tony Hall, Director-General of the BBC, born in Birkenhead.
7 March 1544: Thomas Holcroft purchased Vale Royal Abbey after its dissolution.
7 March 2010: David Briggs became Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire.
10 March 2010: Chester City F.C. closed.
11 March 1584: Elizabeth I issued a brief supporting the rebuilding of Nantwich after the 1583 fire.
11 March 1878: Foundation of the Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.
12 March 1364: Ranulf Higden, a monk at the monastery of St Werburgh and author of Polychronicon, died in Chester.
13 March 1643: First Battle of Middlewich during the Civil War.
15 March 1757: Tower of St Mary's Church, Acton (pictured) collapsed.
20 March 1488: Stockport Grammar School founded.
20 March 1993: IRA explosive devices killed two children and injured 54 people in Warrington.
20 March 2002: Anderton Boat Lift reopened after restoration.
22 March 1846: Illustrator Randolph Caldecott born in Chester.
29 March 1829: Architect and engineer Thomas Harrison died in Chester.
30 March 2007: Cheshire FM, a Winsford-based local radio station, launched.
31 March 2009: Chester, Congleton, Crewe & Nantwich, Ellesmere Port & Neston, Macclesfield and Vale Royal boroughs abolished.
April
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1 April 1974: Widnes and Warrington gained from Lancashire; Hyde, Dukinfield and Stalybridge lost to Greater Manchester; parts of the Wirral lost to Merseyside; and Tintwistle lost to Derbyshire in local government reorganisation.
1 April 1998: Halton and Warrington became unitary authorities.
1 April 2009: Unitary authorities of Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East took control.
5 April 1847: The Port of Runcorn became an independent customs port.
5 April 1847: Birkenhead Park, the UK's first publicly funded civic park, opened.
8 April 1889: Conductor Adrian Boult born in Chester.
10 April 1964: Runcorn designated a new town.
10 April 1998: Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker (pictured) opened as a museum.
11 April 1830: Architect John Douglas born in Sandiway.
17 April 1948: Train crash near Winsford killed 24 people and injured 10.
17 April 1951: Peak District became the UK's first national park.
20 April 1857: Cheshire Constabulary formed.
21 April 1913: George V and Queen Mary visited Crewe Railway Works and Worleston Dairy Institute.
23 April 1610: First St George's Day race held at Chester Racecourse.
24 April 1643: Royalist forces plundered Acton, Dorfold, Ravensmoor and Sound during the Civil War.
25 April 1956: Construction of Silver Jubilee Bridge began.
26 April 1761: Emma, Lady Hamilton, mistress of Lord Nelson, born in Ness.
30 April 1851: Accident in Sutton Railway Tunnel killed nine people and injured at least 30.
May
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3 May 1938: Cheshire County Council granted a banner of arms, now the county flag.
8 May 1817: Early paper on Cheshire dialect read at Society of Antiquaries by Roger Wilbraham.
12 May 1278: Fire destroyed much of Chester.
13 May 1983: Lindow Woman bog body discovered.
14 May 1853: Novelist and playwright Hall Caine (pictured) born in Runcorn.
18 May 1980: Musician Ian Curtis committed suicide at Macclesfield.
21 May 1868: First train crossed Runcorn Railway Bridge.
21 May 1894: Manchester Ship Canal officially opened by Queen Victoria.
23 May 1911: Architect John Douglas died in Chester.
24 May 1847: Five people killed in the Dee bridge disaster.
27 May 1899: Eastgate Clock unveiled, marking the 80th birthday of Queen Victoria.
29 May 1905: Widnes–Runcorn Transporter Bridge officially opened by Sir John Brunner.
31 May 1807: Primitive Methodism originated in a prayer meeting at Mow Cop.
31 May 1939: Humanitarian Terry Waite born in Styal.
June
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5 June 1965: Engine fire on Crewe–Carlisle train between Crewe and Winsford fatally injured driver Wallace Oakes.
6 June 1690: William III stayed at Combermere Abbey on his way to the Battle of the Boyne.
7 June 1940: Actor Ronald Pickup born in Chester.
7 June 1954: Mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing died in Wilmslow.
8 June 1825: Ten to twelve thousand people attended the funeral of Sir John Grey Egerton of Oulton Park, MP for Chester and Freemason, at Little Budworth.
10 June 1878: Chester Tramways Company started operating horse-drawn trams in Chester.
10 June 1931: Chester Zoo opened.
14 June 1988: Lindow IV discovered at Lindow Moss.
16 June 1967: Daresbury Laboratory (pictured) officially opened by Harold Wilson, prime minister.
18 June 1886: Mountaineer George Mallory born in Mobberley.
19 June 2011: Fire damaged east wing of Peckforton Castle.
23 June 1999: Train crash near Winsford injured 31 people.
24 June 1604: Plague started in Nantwich, with around 430 deaths by the following March.
25 June 1897: Actor Basil Radford born in Chester.
26 June 1923: Jazz musician and bandleader Syd Lawrence born in Wilmslow.
27 June 1919: X-ray crystallographer Alexander Stokes born in Macclesfield.
July
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July 1538: Dissolution of Combermere Abbey.
July 1804: Runcorn to Latchford Canal opened.
1 July 1869: Statue of Richard Grosvenor unveiled in Grosvenor Park.
4 July 1837: First trains crossed Dutton Viaduct.
4 July 1887: Queens Park, Crewe dedicated.
11 July 1910: Pulp author Hugh B. Cave born in Chester.
11 July 1978: Hybrid elephant Motty born at Chester Zoo.
14 July 1876: Chapel builder Thomas Hazlehurst born in Runcorn.
17 July 924: Edward the Elder (pictured) died at Farndon or Aldford.
17 July 1256: Edward, heir of Henry III and Lord of Chester, first visited Chester.
17 July 2015: An explosion at a wood-treatment mill in Bosley killed four employees.
20 July 1376: Charter of disafforestation of Wirral issued.
20 July 1816: Histologist and ophthalmologist William Bowman born in Nantwich.
21 July 1961: Silver Jubilee Bridge officially opened by Princess Alexandra.
23 July 1403: Sir Richard Venables and Richard de Vernon executed for supporting Henry "Hotspur" Percy in the Battle of Shrewsbury.
27 July 1962: Olympic gold medallist swimmer Neil Brooks born in Crewe.
29 July 1940: Crewe hit by first Cheshire air raid of Second World War.
August
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1 August 1984: Lindow Man bog body discovered.
2 August 1957: Lovell Telescope took its first image.
3 August 1952: Pianist Martin Roscoe born in Halton.
4 August 1643: Attack on Nantwich by Royalists led by Lord Capell during the Civil War.
4–6 August 1896: Princess Louise visited Crewe Hall and opened bazaar in aid of Crewe Memorial Hospital.
6 August 2012: Astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell died in Swettenham.
8 August 1953: First (private) motor race at Oulton Park.
9 August 1886: Grosvenor Museum officially opened by the First Duke of Westminster.
10 August 1933: Acton swing bridge over the Weaver opened.
11 August 1642: Confrontation between Sir William Brereton and Royalist forces near Ravensmoor during the Civil War.
13 August 1277: Foundation stones of Vale Royal Abbey laid by Edward I (pictured) and Eleanor of Castile.
15 August 1538: Dissolution of Chester's three friaries.
23–26 August 1617: James I visited Chester, Nantwich and Utkinton Hall, and hunted in Delamere Forest.
24 August 1538: Warrant issued for the dissolution of Vale Royal Abbey.
27 August 1781: First recorded game of cricket in the county.
29 August 1940: An air raid destroyed around fifty houses in Crewe.
September
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September 1707: Physician Nathan Alcock born at Aston.
1 September 1858: Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway opened.
1 September 1876: Activist and editor Harriet Shaw Weaver born in Frodsham.
1 September 2007: Cheshire Regiment merged into the Mercian Regiment.
7 September 1917: Pilot and charity founder Leonard Cheshire born in Chester.
8 September 1949: Bernard Lovell and Charles Husband first meet at Jodrell Bank to discuss the 250-ft radio telescope.
14 September 1804: Landowner and poet Rowland Egerton-Warburton born in Norley.
16 September 1947: Comedian Russ Abbot born in Chester.
21 September 1642: Charles I brought his army to Chester during the Civil War.
24 September 1645: Battle of Rowton Heath (memorial pictured).
29 September 1908: Cheshire County Cricket Club founded.
October
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1 October 1827: First stone laid of Grosvenor Bridge, Chester (pictured).
1 October 1905: Inventor John Dolphin born in Christleton.
3 October 1953: First public motor race at Oulton Park.
5 October 1963: Journalist Nick Robinson born in Macclesfield.
10 October 1654: Frodsham Castle destroyed by fire during the Civil War, after the death there of John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers.
10 October 1868: Runcorn Railway Bridge officially opened.
10 October 1960: Alan Garner's The Weirdstone of Brisingamen first published.
11 October 1678: Antiquarian Sir Peter Leycester died in Nether Tabley.
14 October 1869: Chester Town Hall officially opened by the future Edward VII.
14 October 2017: Mersey Gateway Bridge opened.
16 October 1643: Acton and Dorfold briefly captured by Royalists.
17 October 1832: Grosvenor Bridge, Chester, officially opened (still incomplete) by the future Queen Victoria.
17 October 1934: Novelist Alan Garner born in Congleton.
19 October 1359: A great storm destroyed the nave of Vale Royal Abbey.
19 October 1965: Train driver Wallace Oakes awarded the George Cross posthumously.
20 October 1891: Physicist and Nobel prize winner James Chadwick born in Bollington.
21 October 1650: First record of the Cheshire cheese trade with London.
22 October 1996: Helicopter crash near Middlewich killed five people, including Matthew Harding, vice-chair of Chelsea F.C., and journalist John Bauldie.
26 October 1865: Equestrian Statue of Viscount Combermere unveiled in Chester.
27 October 1874: Mill fire killed eight people at Over.
November
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November 1867: Grosvenor Park, Chester (pictured) opened.
1 November 1831: Harry Atkinson, Premier of New Zealand, born in Broxton.
4 November 1553: Lawyer Roger Wilbraham born in Nantwich.
7 November 1805: Railway builder Thomas Brassey born in Bulkeley.
11 November 1662: Lawyer John Chesshyre born in Halton.
14 November 1762: Tarporley Hunt Club first met.
15 November 1941: Author Heathcote Williams born in Helsby.
22 November 1961: Pianist Stephen Hough born in Heswall.
24 November 1935: Cyclist Vin Denson born in Chester.
24 November 1955: Cricketer Ian Botham born in Heswall.
26 November 1574: River Weaver in Nantwich flooded, affecting 40 dwellings and 24 salthouses.
29 November 1933: Musician John Mayall born in Macclesfield.
December
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1 December 1901: Artist and illustrator Charles Tunnicliffe born in Langley.
1 December 1906: Carnegie Library, Runcorn officially opened.
6 December 1891: Rowland Egerton-Warburton died at Arley Hall.
8 December 1665: Civil War diarist Edward Burghall died at Alpraham.
9 December 1836: Dutton Viaduct completed.
10 December 1583: Great Fire of Nantwich started.
13 December 1643: Siege of Nantwich started.
14 December 1979: Footballer Michael Owen born in Chester.
17 December 1925: Cricketer A. N. Hornby (gravestone pictured) died in Nantwich.
17 December 1973: Long-distance runner Paula Radcliffe born in Davenham.
19 December 1572: Landlord of Nantwich's Crown Inn murdered; the investigation involved many among the town's gentry.
22 December 1643: Royalist forces occupied Audlem, Brindley, Buerton, Hankelow, Hatherton, Hurleston, Stoke and Wrenbury during the Civil War.
23 December 1642: Bunbury Agreement drawn up.
24 December 1643: Twelve Parliamentarians massacred at St Bertoline's Church, Barthomley.
26 December 1643: Second Battle of Middlewich during the Civil War.
26 December 1962: Train crash at Coppenhall, between Crewe and Winsford, killed 18 people and injured 34.
29 December 1940: Air raid badly damaged the Crewe Rolls Royce works and killed 16 employees.