Bridge Trafford
History
It is believed that the Roman road from Chester to Wilderspool (now part of Warrington) passed through the parish. In 1991 a Roman bronze brooch was found in the parish.
Immediately to the south of the hamlet the River Gowy is crossed by Trafford Bridge. A stone bridge was first built here in 1410 and there was probably a wooden bridge before that. After the Civil War the bridge needed repairs and these were carried out in 1648.
Governance
There are two tiers of local government covering Bridge Trafford, at parish and unitary authority level: Mickle Trafford and District Parish Council, and Cheshire West and Chester Council. The parish council generally meets at the village hall in Mickle Trafford.
Administrative history
Bridge Trafford was historically a township in the ancient parish of Plemstall, which formed part of the Broxton Hundred of Cheshire. From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under the poor laws, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Plemstall, the civil functions were exercised by each township separately rather than the parish as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so Bridge Trafford became a civil parish, whilst remaining part of the ecclesiastical parish of Plemstall.
Bridge Trafford was too small to have a parish council, having a parish meeting instead. In 1960, the parish was placed under a grouped parish council with Hoole Village and Mickle Trafford, called the Mickle Trafford and District Parish Council. By 2015, the group of parishes had been enlarged to also include Picton and Wimbolds Trafford. On 1 April 2015 the five parishes within the group were merged into a single civil parish called Mickle Trafford and District, subject to some minor adjustments to boundaries with neighbouring parishes.
At the 2001 census (the last census which published statistics for the parish of Bridge Trafford) it had a population of 33. From 1974 to 2009 it was in Chester district.
References
- ^ Latham 2005, pp. 12–14.
- ^ Latham 2005, p. 25.
- ^ "Agendas". Mickle Trafford and District Parish Council. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Youngs, Frederic (1991). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume II, Northern England. London: Royal Historical Society. p. xv. ISBN 0861931270.
- ^ "Bridge Trafford Township / Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ "Three villages, one council". Cheshire Observer. Chester. 30 July 1960. p. 17. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ "The Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council (Reorganisation of Community Governance) (Bridge Trafford, Hoole Village, Mickle Trafford, Picton and Wimbolds Trafford) Order 2015" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for England. The National Archives. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ "Mickle Trafford". GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "Cheshire West and Chester Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Chester Archived 13 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2009-12-12
Bibliography
- Latham, Frank A., ed. (2005), Mickle Trafford, The Local History Group, ISBN 0-9551470-1-8
External links