Local History
Pulford is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the B5445 road, to the south west of Chester and on the border with Wales. It is believed that the name of the village is derived from the Welsh words Pwll "marsh" and Ffordd "crossing". According to the 2001 Census, the population of the entire parish was 395, increasing to 580 at the 2011 Census.
Pulford Castle, which no longer stands, was a small 12th century Norman motte-and-bailey defensive structure. Today, only the mound of the castle remains, just behind the church of S Mary, on the outskirts of the village. The castle was built at a strategic location, protecting a road at a river crossing. Although no firm date of construction is recorded, it is believed to have been built around 1100.The castle is mentioned as having a garrison stationed at it, during the revolt of Owain Glyndwr in 1403.
Pulford Parish Church is named after St. Mary. It was rebuilt in 1844, to a design by the architect John Douglas, the benefactor being Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster. Mention of a church on the site can be traced back the 12th century and the first rector is mentioned in ancient records[as one Hugo. The church's spire is 120 feet high. In the 1980s a fire completely destroyed the roof of the church tower, which was later restored.
The village is home to a large hotel, the Grosvenor Pulford Hotel. Grosvenor is the family name of the Duke of Westminster whose seat is at nearby Eaton Hall.
Poulton is a civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It has a population of 92. Poulton Chapel is an important archaeological site that dates back as far as the Mesolithic period (8,000 B.C.). Only ground level masonry survives. In mediaeval times it is thought to have been occupied by a monastic site, although the abbey has never been found. More than 800 skeletons have been exhumed within the chapel graveyard. Roman ditches, domestic ceramics and building materials relating to the Legio XX - Valeria Victrix have been found. In addition, Iron Age round house ditches, Briquetage and animal bone finds suggest that the site was once used as an industrial scale meat processing, preserving and trading site.
Poulton became the site of a World War Two RAF base - RAF Poulton. Much of the runway and perimeter track, along with hardstandings still exist. It was part of 12 Group and was used as a satellite of RAF Hawarden. It had 8 Blister and 1 Bessonneau hangars and was operational from 1 March 1943 until 1945. It was used as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) and Tactical Exercise Unit (TEU) for Hawker Hurricanes.
Poulton was described by John Marius Wilson, in his "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales" (1870-72), thus:
"POULTON, a township in Pulford parish, Cheshire; on an affluent of the river Dee, 4¼ miles S of Chester. Acres, 1, 391. Real property, £1, 723. Pop., 132. Houses, 22. A Cistertian abbey was founded here, in 1153, by Robert Pincerna; and was removed, in 1220, to Dieulacres in Staffordshire."