Audlem

Infobox UK place
official_name= Audlem
static_

static_image_caption= St James' Church, Audlem
map_type= Cheshire
population= 1,790 (2001 Census)
os_grid_reference= SJ660436
latitude= 52.989187
longitude= -2.507862
post_town= CREWE
postcode_area= CW
postcode_district= CW3
dial_code= 01270
constituency_westminster= Eddisbury
civil_parish= Audlem
shire_district= Crewe and Nantwich
shire_county= Cheshire
region= North West England
country= England
website= Audlem is a large village and civil parish located in the Borough of Crewe and Nantwich, Cheshire in the north west of England, approximately 11 km (7 miles) south of Nantwich. Close to the border with the neighbouring county of Shropshire, the village is eight miles east of Whitchurch and seven miles north of Market Drayton. According to the 2001 census, the population of the entire civil parish was 1,790.citeweb|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=792552&c=Audlem&d=16&e=15&g=428110&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 |title=2001 Census: Audlem|work=Office for National Statistics|accessdate=14 May|accessyear=2007]

It is situated on the Shropshire Union Canal which has a run of 15 locks, designed by Thomas Telford, to raise the canal from the Cheshire Plain to the 93 feet higher Shropshire Plain. The River Weaver passes west of the village. Audlem railway station closed along with the local railway line in the 1960s.

Audlem was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Aldelime", and Edward I granted it a market charter in 1295.Scholes, R. (2000). pages 24–25.]

In 2005 it was voted Cheshire's 'Village of the Year' and the North of England 'Village of the Year' also the 'Most Vibrant Village in Cheshire'. After also winning the county's 'Building Community Life' award, Audlem went on to win England's 'Building Community Life' award.Audlem has clubs for tennis, badminton, football, cricket, golf, pigeon racing (or pigeon-fancying), caravanning and bowls. Cyclists meet informally at The Old Priest-House Cafe.

Moss Hall is an Elizabethan timber-framed hall from 1616 which is convert|0.5|mi|km|0 from Audlem village centre.

Vote to become part of Wales controversy

In 2008, after what began as an April Fools' Day spoof, 63% of the people of Audlem who took part in an online community website poll voted to become part of Wales.citeweb|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7364464.stm |title=English village votes to be Welsh|work=BBC News|date=25 April 2008|accessdate=24 April|accessyear=2008] [citeweb|url=http://www.audlem.org/ |title=The serious point behind the 'Welsh' vote|work=Audlem Online|date=1 May 2008|accessdate=14 July|accessyear=2008] According to the reports in local newspapers which were repeated by ITV Wales many of the people living in the village wish to return to the land of their fathers mainly because of better local funding arrangements provided since Welsh devolution and also because many of the people living in the village assert they are culturally Welsh with some able to speak the language:

"I know of at least four Welsh-speakers in Audlem - that's probably more than Newport and Cardiff can muster between them. So Audlem is already ahead in the bilingual stakes."

Another said:

"We're so close to Wales, we get more response from Wales, we get a lot of tourists from Wales and we feel we should be part of Wales. My husband is really keen because he can wear his Grand Slam T-shirt and feel safe."

It was reported on the community website that the local parish council was "considering" making an application to administratively join Wales.Historically, Audlem has not been considered a part of Wales since about the middle of the 7th century when the Kingdom of Powys lost the area to the Anglo Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria.

Notes and references

Notes

Bibliography

*cite book|last=Scholes|first=R.|date=2000|title=Towns and villages of Britain: Cheshire|publisher=Sigma Press|location=Wilmslow, Cheshire|isbn=1850586373

ee also

* St. James' Church, Audlem

External links

* [http://www.audlem.org/ Audlem Online]