Alsager
Encyclopedia
Alsager is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
, England, to the north-west of the city of Stoke-on-Trent
, and east of the railway town
of Crewe
. The town has a population of 12,578,
Going clockwise, starting from the north, the civil parish is bordered by the parishes of Betchton
to the north, Church Lawton
to the north-east and east, Kidsgrove
in Staffordshire
to the south-east, Audley Rural
, in Staffordshire
to the south, Barthomley
to the south-west, Haslington
to the west, and Hassall
to the north-west.
In the centre of Alsager is the lake, Alsager Mere. This isolated pool, once the focal point of the town, is only accessible by two fenced public viewing areas and by local residents who have gardens adjoining the waters.
Alsager hosts an annual Summer Carnival.
In the summer of 2007 Alsager was awarded Fairtrade Town
status by the Fairtrade Foundation.
The Church Lawton Barrows form part of a significant Bronze Age
site near the town, though in the neighbouring civil parish and village of Church Lawton
. Alsager ('Eleacier' in the Domesday Book
) was a small farming village until the 19th century when due to its rail connections and rural character, it became a home of choice for pottery
works managers from the nearby Federation of Six Towns which later became the city of Stoke-on-Trent
. During the Second World War, a large armaments factory was built outside the town at Radway Green
, and it was expanded dramatically to house the influx of factory workers.
The churches are Christ Church
(1789), and St. Mary Magdalene (1898). Until December 2009 there were also two Methodist churches, but just one remains.
The Roman Catholic community is served from St Gabriel's Church. The parish is located in the Diocese of Shrewsbury
(Central Cheshire Region – Local Pastoral Area 9).
campus, as its Alsager site is closing.
In August 2010 Alsager hosted the first annual Alsager Arts Festival.
Artist James Lloyd
was born in the town.
, and is served by Alsager railway station
on the Crewe to Derby line. Buses (the number 20) run to Crewe
twice an hour and Hanley every 20 minutes. Regional Route 70 passes to the west of the town. The 78 bus service links Alsager with Sandbach
, Congleton
and Rode Heath
.
The Trent and Mersey Canal
runs just to the north-east to the town, forming part of the Cheshire Ring Canal Walk and the South Cheshire Way
footpath. The canal's towpath and the nearby 'Salt Line' are also routes of the National Cycle Network
.
in the nearby village of Radway Green, producing small arms
ammunition for the British armed forces.
, Alsager Bank Corner FC, Alsager Cricket Club, the Alsager Golf and Country Club, the Alsager Institute Bowling Club, the Alsager Company of Archers and Triton Hockey Club.
It also has a number of youth teams in the 'lads'n'dads' league. The English Cycling Team is based on the MMU campus. There is a thriving pool league. There is a swimming club. The MMU Sport Science Department is highly regarded and the Italian and Portuguese Football Teams trained there during the 1996 European Football Championship.
There is a leisure centre within Alsager, this is managed by Cheshire East Council.
Alsager also hosts the UK's biggest 5 Mile Road Race each year in February. The event attracts many of the UK's top endurance athletes.
holding in the village, administered by the Alsager Gardens Association.
It is also home to Alsager Community Theatre (ACT), an amateur drama group founded in 1973. ACT puts its productions on in the Civic Centre and at nearby Little Moreton Hall
.
Alsager was home to the Contemporary Arts and Sports Science Departments of the Manchester Metropolitan University
. The University absorbed the former Crewe & Alsager College of Higher Education, forming the Crewe and Alsager Faculty, now renamed MMU Cheshire. The Alsager Arts Centre was also on campus, and promoted touring contemporary dance, music, theatre, live art, performance writing and visual art events to the public as well as members of the University community.
The university has been transferring staff and departments from Alsager to the Crewe campus since 2006 and with the entire Alsager site due to close before 2011. The Arts Centre has also moved to the MMU campus in Crewe, and has been renamed the Axis Arts Centre.
The campus on Hassall Road has been earmarked for a total of 300 houses, office space and a retail development, including shops, restaurants and financial services. Under current proposals, no more than 150 houses would be built before 2011, with the remaining 150 built between 2011 and 2014.
and the Alsager Community Trust. The Alsager Community Trust is a Co-Operative trust, in which all the schools in the town are members. Secondary education is provided by Alsager School
, a foundation school
, that is situated opposite the Manchester Metropolitan University campus. It is attended by over 1,300 pupils between the ages of 11 and 18. Alsager School is a Business and Enterprise College
.
Six primary schools feed into Alsager School: Alsager Highfields, Cranberry Primary School, Excalibur Primary School, Pikemere School, Rode Heath School and St Gabriel's R.C. Primary School.
Cheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England, to the north-west of the city of Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, and east of the railway town
Railway town
A railway town is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site.In Victorian Britain, the spread of railways greatly affected the fate of many small towns...
of Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
. The town has a population of 12,578,
Going clockwise, starting from the north, the civil parish is bordered by the parishes of Betchton
Betchton
Betchton is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 620...
to the north, Church Lawton
Church Lawton
Church Lawton is a small village and civil parish located in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England...
to the north-east and east, Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, near the border with Cheshire. It forms part of The Potteries Urban Area in North Staffordshire, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 24,112...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
to the south-east, Audley Rural
Audley Rural
Audley Rural is a parish of Staffordshire, England, located four miles to the north-west of the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is predominantly a rural area, of which Audley is the centre....
, in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
to the south, Barthomley
Barthomley
Barthomley is a village and ancient parish, and is now a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 202. The village is situated near junction 16 of the M6 motorway and by the...
to the south-west, Haslington
Haslington
Haslington is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies about 2 miles north-east of the much larger railway town of Crewe and approximately 4 miles south of Sandbach...
to the west, and Hassall
Hassall
Hassall is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains the very small hamlet of Day Green. According to the 2001 Official UK Census, the population was 281....
to the north-west.
In the centre of Alsager is the lake, Alsager Mere. This isolated pool, once the focal point of the town, is only accessible by two fenced public viewing areas and by local residents who have gardens adjoining the waters.
Alsager hosts an annual Summer Carnival.
In the summer of 2007 Alsager was awarded Fairtrade Town
Fairtrade Town
Fairtrade Town is a status awarded by a recognized Fairtrade certification body describing an area which is committed to the promotion of Fairtrade certified goods...
status by the Fairtrade Foundation.
History
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
site near the town, though in the neighbouring civil parish and village of Church Lawton
Church Lawton
Church Lawton is a small village and civil parish located in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England...
. Alsager ('Eleacier' in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
) was a small farming village until the 19th century when due to its rail connections and rural character, it became a home of choice for pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
works managers from the nearby Federation of Six Towns which later became the city of Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
. During the Second World War, a large armaments factory was built outside the town at Radway Green
ROF Radway Green
The former Royal Ordnance Factory , Radway Green, now part of BAE Systems Global Combat Systems, manufactures small arms ammunition for the British armed forces...
, and it was expanded dramatically to house the influx of factory workers.
The churches are Christ Church
Christ Church, Alsager
Christ Church, Alsager is a historic church in the town of Alsager, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...
(1789), and St. Mary Magdalene (1898). Until December 2009 there were also two Methodist churches, but just one remains.
The Roman Catholic community is served from St Gabriel's Church. The parish is located in the Diocese of Shrewsbury
Diocese of Shrewsbury
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The diocese encompasses parts of the North West of England and parts of the West Midlands...
(Central Cheshire Region – Local Pastoral Area 9).
Art and architecture
Formerly housed on the Manchester Metropolitan University's campus, Alsager Arts Centre had an acclaimed public programme of touring new performance and visual art work presented in two intensive seasons – September to November and January to March. But the centre has now moved to the university's CreweCrewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
campus, as its Alsager site is closing.
In August 2010 Alsager hosted the first annual Alsager Arts Festival.
Artist James Lloyd
James Lloyd (artist)
Frederick James Lloyd , more commonly known as James Lloyd, was an artist. He became famous for his paintings, mostly of animals and country landscapes....
was born in the town.
Transport
Alsager is close to junction 16 of the M6 motorwayM6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
, and is served by Alsager railway station
Alsager railway station
Alsager railway station serves the town of Alsager in Cheshire, England. It stands next to a level crossing and is approximately 600 yards from the town centre. The station is east of on the Crewe to Derby Line which is also a Community rail line known as the North Staffordshire line...
on the Crewe to Derby line. Buses (the number 20) run to Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
twice an hour and Hanley every 20 minutes. Regional Route 70 passes to the west of the town. The 78 bus service links Alsager with Sandbach
Sandbach
Sandbach is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements; Sandbach itself, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock....
, Congleton
Congleton
Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Dane, to the west of the Macclesfield Canal and 21 miles south of Manchester. It has a population of 25,750.-History:The first settlements in...
and Rode Heath
Rode Heath
Rode Heath is a small village in the civil parish of Odd Rode, within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of in Cheshire, England near Alsager. According to the 2001 census, Rode Heath had a population of 2,150. The village was previously two villages, Rode Heath and...
.
The Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
runs just to the north-east to the town, forming part of the Cheshire Ring Canal Walk and the South Cheshire Way
South Cheshire Way
The South Cheshire Way is a long-distance footpath running east–west mainly through Cheshire, England, though parts lie in Shropshire and Staffordshire. The western section from Grindley Brook, near Whitchurch, runs through farmland; the eastern section from Mow Cop, near Biddulph, runs through...
footpath. The canal's towpath and the nearby 'Salt Line' are also routes of the National Cycle Network
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
.
Economy
There is a BAE Systems Global Combat Systems factoryROF Radway Green
The former Royal Ordnance Factory , Radway Green, now part of BAE Systems Global Combat Systems, manufactures small arms ammunition for the British armed forces...
in the nearby village of Radway Green, producing small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
ammunition for the British armed forces.
Sport
Alsager is home to Alsager Town F.C.Alsager Town F.C.
Alsager Town F.C. is an English association football club, based in Alsager, Cheshire. They currently play in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division and are members of the Cheshire County Football Association. The club have gone through a number of name changes since they were...
, Alsager Bank Corner FC, Alsager Cricket Club, the Alsager Golf and Country Club, the Alsager Institute Bowling Club, the Alsager Company of Archers and Triton Hockey Club.
It also has a number of youth teams in the 'lads'n'dads' league. The English Cycling Team is based on the MMU campus. There is a thriving pool league. There is a swimming club. The MMU Sport Science Department is highly regarded and the Italian and Portuguese Football Teams trained there during the 1996 European Football Championship.
There is a leisure centre within Alsager, this is managed by Cheshire East Council.
Alsager also hosts the UK's biggest 5 Mile Road Race each year in February. The event attracts many of the UK's top endurance athletes.
Pastimes and leisure pursuits
There is a strong tradition of allotmentAllotment (gardening)
An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...
holding in the village, administered by the Alsager Gardens Association.
It is also home to Alsager Community Theatre (ACT), an amateur drama group founded in 1973. ACT puts its productions on in the Civic Centre and at nearby Little Moreton Hall
Little Moreton Hall
Little Moreton Hall is a moated 15th and 16th-century half-timbered manor house southwest of Congleton, Cheshire. It is one of the finest examples of timber-framed domestic architecture in England. The house is today owned by the National Trust. It has been designated by English Heritage as a...
.
Parks
Alsager has several parks. The town's main park is Milton Garden, which has an ornamental sunken garden, a skatepark and a play area.Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
. The University absorbed the former Crewe & Alsager College of Higher Education, forming the Crewe and Alsager Faculty, now renamed MMU Cheshire. The Alsager Arts Centre was also on campus, and promoted touring contemporary dance, music, theatre, live art, performance writing and visual art events to the public as well as members of the University community.
The university has been transferring staff and departments from Alsager to the Crewe campus since 2006 and with the entire Alsager site due to close before 2011. The Arts Centre has also moved to the MMU campus in Crewe, and has been renamed the Axis Arts Centre.
The campus on Hassall Road has been earmarked for a total of 300 houses, office space and a retail development, including shops, restaurants and financial services. Under current proposals, no more than 150 houses would be built before 2011, with the remaining 150 built between 2011 and 2014.
Schools
Public education, at primary and secondary school level, is managed by Cheshire East CouncilCheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...
and the Alsager Community Trust. The Alsager Community Trust is a Co-Operative trust, in which all the schools in the town are members. Secondary education is provided by Alsager School
Alsager School
Alsager School is a Business and Enterprise College. In September 2009 Alsager School became a Foundation School as it joined the Alsager Community Trust...
, a foundation school
Foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....
, that is situated opposite the Manchester Metropolitan University campus. It is attended by over 1,300 pupils between the ages of 11 and 18. Alsager School is a Business and Enterprise College
Business and Enterprise College
Business and Enterprise Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields...
.
Six primary schools feed into Alsager School: Alsager Highfields, Cranberry Primary School, Excalibur Primary School, Pikemere School, Rode Heath School and St Gabriel's R.C. Primary School.