England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Tattenhall St Alban

The Parish

The parish of Tattenhall lies in western Cheshire about 8 miles southeast of the city of Chester. Tattenhall is a large village which sits just under 2 miles east of the A41 road which connects Chester with the Shropshire market town of Whitchurch. Tattenhall has an oval shape elongated on a southwest/northeast axis and is largely built around extensive green spaces along the course of the Golborne Brook. Modern developments have come to the area, the former branch rail line from Chester to Whitchurch is no more but the line to Crewe still passes to the north of Tattenhall. The rich clay soils of this area of the county lent themselves to a largely pastoral farming regime albeit today with heavy machinery some arable is now grown. The Golborne Brook heads westwards merging with the Aldford Brook and then the Dee to reach the Irish Sea through the latter's estuary. Tattenhall is sited at around 30 metres above the sea land is at this or similar height until one strikes the Sandstone Ridge to the east and southeast where on the Peckforton Hills it reaches to almost 230 metres. Cheshire parishes in this part of the county tend to cover large areas, being split into chapelries on occasion; Tattenhall parish, however, is modest by comparison, covering a little under 2,800 acres it would have supported a population of close to 1,100 parishioners most of whom lived in Tattenhall itself. In Domesday times Tattenhall was a much more modest place, held by one William Malbank it could offer just 3 ploughs and a league of woodland and was amongst the smallest 20% of settlements recorded in that book.

The Church

St Alban's church sits at the heart of the village on the western side of Chester Road. The church shows a curious set of ages with the middle portion of the church having been rebuilt whilst opposite ends retain earlier dates. The eastern and western ends are late Perpendicular and date from the early to mid 16th century. The tower is dated by documentary evidence to the 1510s and whilst the outer walls of the nave also appear 16th century they have been much modified during the extensive rebuild. In 1869 the arcades, clerestory and chancel were all removed and rebuilt in a Perpendicular style leaving the original nave walls enclosing a completely new interior. Subsequently the timber framed porch was added in 1893 to complete today's church. Parking can be found at the southern end of Church Bank, a short walk to the church gates being necessary. The churchyard is part of a vast area of public open space crisscrossed by footpaths and has few obstacles to photography.