Topography and climate

Great Warford covers an area of 1,181 acres (4.78 km²), making it a medium-sized village. Its primary geographical feature is Mobberley Brook, an unnavigable stream which crosses the outskirts of the village from west to east. The valley that it runs through is a floodplain surrounded by gently undulating farmland such as Springfield and Pownall House Farm. These farms and other similar ones present the origins of Great Warford as an agricultural settlement. Therefore, Great Warford is of irregular shape.

Mobberley Brook is a tributary of the River Bollin. After flowing east through Chorley, it becomes the Whitehall Brook.

Built environment

Much of the local housing is Victorian in design. Council houses built during the early 20th century were occupied by local health workers from the 1950s onward and are now owned privately as semi-detached property. A new housing estate at Buttermere Drive now occupies the site were the hospital's administrative centre once stood. Other buildings of note include:

• Warford Hall, an old hall with a spire. Like many local buildings, it was formerly the property of the Mary Dendy Hospital.
• Great Warford Baptist Chapel. It is reputed to have been founded in 1640 by Parliamentary soldiers.^[2]
• Warford Park, the main centre of residences. It is a development of apartments and cottages built on the site of the former Mobberley Boys' School. The Park is home to some 300 people in 17 acres of parkland.
• Heathgate Farmhouse, a large, striking, white detached building with a showjumping course on its land.
• Highgrove, a listed apartment building and accompanying lodge house, formerly a rural convalescent home for Ancoats Hospital, financed by a donation from the Crossley family and land provided by the David Lewis Trust, opened in 1904.

Parks and gardens

Warford Green (lying next to Warford Crescent) is a large stomach-shaped green area populated by several large trees. The local residents used to hold an annual bonfire and fireworks party here every Guy Fawkes Night. The bonfire would be built during the preceding months relying entirely on contributions from the locals. This practice was halted by the Parish Council in the early 1990s due to health and safety concerns regarding its proximity to Merrimans Lane and its unregulated nature in general.

The course at Wilmslow Golf Club (in Great Warford, despite its name) doubles as a recreational park and a woodland area, with several public footpaths traversing it.

Early Great Warford

Great Warford is mentioned in the Domesday Book under its contemporary name of Warforde. Its entry dates from 1086 and contains a list of local families and landowners (including Ralph the Huntsman).

Role in Norman and Medieval Cheshire

The village did not expand much in the Medieval and Norman periods due to its boundaries being defined agriculturally. Little Warford, Marthall, Nether Alderley, Chelford, Mobberley and Chorley (as Alderley Edge was then known) all had their own land which meant that expansion beyond the existing borders was impossible.

Rise of modern Great Warford

Great Warford's contribution to agriculture continued through the 20th century to the modern day. However, for the last 60 years, other industries such as leisure and healthcare have begun to dominate Great Warford's identity.

Local government

Great Warford was a township of the Alderley ancient parish in the Macclesfiled Hundred of Cheshire. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1876 the township of Great Warford became a civil parish in its own right.^[3] One-hundred-and-two acres were transferred to Mobberley civil parish in 1936. Between 1894 and 1974, Great Warford was part of Macclesfield Rural District. From 1974 the civil parish was served by the Borough of Macclesfield, which was succeeded on 1 April 2009 by the new unitary authority of Cheshire East.^[4]

The Great Warford Parish Council has few major rights and/or obligations and is responsible to higher authorities. It does, however, manage local amenities and has a watching brief on local issues, its opinion being noted by those higher authorities in matters such as local planning issues.^[5]

Parliamentary elections

Great Warford is part of the Parliamentary Constituency of Tatton. The incumbent representative since 2017 is Esther McVey MP.

• Electoral districts: North Cheshire (1832–67); East Cheshire (1868–85); Knutsford (1885–1948); Macclesfield (1949–74)

Ethnicity

The 2001 Census showed the racial breakdown to be 98% white. Of the remaining 2%, the dominant ethnic background was Asian or Asian British.

Religion

The 2001 census showed:

• Christian 84%
• Other major religions 2%
• Other religion 0%
• No Religion 10%
• Religion not stated 4%

Rail

There is no national railway station in Warford, the population being serviced by the stations at Alderley Edge and Chelford. The stretch of line between these two stations runs under a road bridge and past the fields at Dean Green. This excellent vantage point has been used constantly by trainspotters and railway enthusiasts to photograph trains, particularly during special runs.

Bus

A regular bus once ran to and from Alderley Edge from the bus stop at Warford Crescent. Now, the only bus route that passes through Great Warford is the 88 service, running every 30 minutes from Knutsford to Altrincham and back, via Wilmslow.

Air

The village has good access to Manchester Airport but is situated away from the main flightpath.

Road

Access to the main national road network is provided by the A535 road which runs between Alderley Edge and Holmes Chapel. The B5085 also provides direct access to Knutsford, as well as a direct route to Wilmslow bypassing Alderley Edge.

Leisure and entertainment

There is one pub in Great Warford, the Frozen Mop. Wilmslow Golf Club has already been mentioned in this article. There is also an outdoor football pitch on Mill Lane which was once used by the Mary Dendy Football Team, a team originally made up of staff from the hospital which continues to play today although now open to all. The Cheshire Health Club & Spa, on the Warford Park development in Faulkners Lane, offers a full gymnasium, swimming, various exercise training, personal coaches, tennis courts and much more.

Literature and film

The Cheshire County Council published The Baptist Chapel, Great Warford, a guide to the aforementioned chapel in 1989. The author, David Wright, alluded to Great Warford's history of healthcare in his 1996 publication From Idiocy to Mental Deficiency: Historical Perspectives on People with Learning Disabilities, published by Routledge.

An episode of the television series Who Do You Think You Are?, which follows the attempts of celebrities to trace their family history, featured David Dickinson and revealed how his Turkish grandfather, Hrant Gulessarian, lived the life of an English country gentleman with his wife Marie-Adelaide, the daughter of a Moss Side baker, in Great Warford.^[7]