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Towns & Villages



Tarporley



Tarporley is virtually a one street village which straddles the road, the buildings which line the main street back onto green Cheshire pastures. A system of alleys and courtyards links the buildings not actually situated on the high street. Much of the high street has now been designated a conservation area. The village boasts an excellent shopping centre with antique, craft, household and fashion shops.

Tarporley's characterful main street

Tarporley

. The earliest record of the village dates to 1279, when "Torpelei" received a Royal Charter from King Edward I and was recorded to be a Borough with a mayor and a market. The name Tarporley is thought by some to derive from the pear tree on the tor.

The Rising Sun Inn

Tarporley

There are some fine Georgian and Victorian buildings in the village. The Old Manor House dates back to 1585 and was built by Ralph Done in 1586, whose family also built a small hall, known as "The Done Room", which dates back to 1636. The Done Family of Utkinton were the Kings Master Foresters of Delamere Forest.

Tarporley

The village was once a staging post for the London to Chester coach, the old milestone can be seen in the high street. The Swan Hotel is an old coaching inn which dates back to the sixteenth century, it has a cobbled courtyard, now enclosed by modern mews cottages. The building incorporates older portions of the Market House which is the home of the famous Cheshire Hunt, England's oldest Hunt Club, since 1762.


St Helen's Church

The parish church, St. Helen's, is a grade II listed building and dates back to the fifteenth century. A church has occupied the site since at least the thirteenth century. An attractive red sandstone building, the tower has a small pyramidal spire. The chapels are Perpendicular in style while the rest of the church is Decorated. The nave has four bays with arcades which date back to the fifteenth century, the piers on the north side are octagonal and those on the south hexagonal.

St Helens, Tarporley

The chancel screen has Italian gates which were made in the sixteenth century and brought from Siena by the Countess of Haddington in 1889. Also of interest in the church are two sanctuary chairs, an old vestment chest and a fifteenth century octagonal font which spent some years in a farmyard. A collection of Cromwellian helmets and pieces of armour are also displayed.

The Done Room in the churchyard

Old school Tarporley

In the churchyard stands a sandstone cross base and shaft dating from from the 15th or 16th century.

Tarporley Carnival is held every year during July.

Nearby places of interest

The Cheshire Ice Cream Farm where visitors can see the animals and sample the ice cream in the Country Kitchen is located to the east of Tarporley. There are also children's outdoor play areas, quad bikes and mini golf.

Cotebrook Shire Horse Centre and Countryside Park, run by Alistair and Janet King, offers everything for the perfect day out. Home of the internationally renowned Cotebrook Shire Horse Stud, the centre have been breeding prize winning Shires for over 35 years.

Bunbury Locks, a working wharf with staircase locks is situated close to the nearby village of Bunbury. The locks were once an important stopping place on the Chester Canal, which was constructed in in the 1770's to link Chester and Nantwich. The canal warehouse stands beside the locks. Canal Cruisers were once built in the long building beside the locks.



Towns and Villages