Ledsham, Cheshire

infobox UK place
country= England
official_name= Ledsham
map_type= Cheshire
latitude= 53.264
longitude= -2.9633
population=
shire_district= Chester District
shire_county= Cheshire
region= North West England
constituency_westminster= Ellesmere Port and Neston
post_town= ELLESMERE PORT
postcode_district= CH66
postcode_area= CH
dial_code= 0151
os_grid_reference= SJ358745

Ledsham is a village and civil parish in Chester District, Cheshire, England. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula, to the north of Capenhurst and to the west of Ellesmere Port. The village includes the hamlets of Badger's Rake (part) and Two Mills (part).

History

Formerly a township in Neston civil parish, Wirral Hundred.The population was 56 in 1801, 94 in 1851, 82 in 1901 and 116 in 1951. [citeweb|url=http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/ledsham.html|work=GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy|title=Cheshire Parishes: Ledsham ]

The village was served by a railway station on the former Chester and Birkenhead Railway. Originally, a local cottage was used as the station building, until the provision of more substantial facilities.citebook|title=The Birkenhead Railway|first=T.B.|last=Maund|publisher=The Railway Correspondence & Travel Society|date=2000|isbn=090-1115-878] At its height, Ledsham station had four platforms and was situated at the southern end of the railway's quadrupled section. The station never achieved the commercial potential expected by its owners, primarily due to its remote rural location.citebook|title=Railway Stations of Wirral|last=Merseyside Railway History Group|publisher=Ian & Marilyn Boumphrey|date=c1994|isbn=1-899241-02-7] Ledsham station closed completely on 20 July 1959. ] However, two tracks of the line are still extant as part of the Merseyrail network, with stations at Hooton and Capenhurst.

References