View source for Upton-by-Chester

{{Short description|Civil parish in Cheshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox UK place
| coordinates = {{coord|53.214|-2.884|display=inline,title}}
| official_name = Upton-by-Chester
| static_image_name = Holy Ascension Church, Upton by Chester (2).jpg
| static_image_caption = [[Holy Ascension Church, Upton by Chester]]
| population = 7,956
| population_ref = ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]])<ref name="2011 census"/>
| civil_parish = Upton-by-Chester<ref name=parishcouncil/>
| unitary_england = [[Cheshire West and Chester]]
| lieutenancy_england = [[Cheshire]]
| region = North West England
| country = England
| constituency_westminster = [[Chester North and Neston (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester North and Neston]]
| post_town = CHESTER
| postcode_district = CH2
| postcode_area = CH
| dial_code = 01244
| os_grid_reference = SJ405665
}}
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'''Upton-by-Chester''' is a [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] and a large suburb on the outskirts of [[Chester]], in the unitary authority area of [[Cheshire West and Chester]] and the ceremonial county of [[Cheshire]], England. It includes the village '''Upton Heath'''. 

==History==
The name Upton is from the [[Old English]] ''upp'', meaning up, higher or upon, and ''tūn'', meaning a farmstead or settlement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Cheshire/Upton%20by%20Chester |title=Key to English Place-Names: Upton by Chester|publisher=University of Nottingham|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>

Listed in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as ''Optone'' and being in the possession of [[Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester|Earl Hugh of Chester]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/cheshire2.html#uptonbychester|title=Cheshire L-Z: Upton by Chester|publisher=Domesday Book Online|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref> 
its entry reads:

{{Quote|"In Wilaveston/Wirral Hundred. Upton. Earl Edwin held it.41/2 hides paying tax. Land for 12 ploughs. In lordship 1; 2 ploughmen; 12 villagers and 2 riders with 5 ploughs. Of this land, Hamo holds 2 parts of 1 hide of this manor; Herbert 1⁄2 hide; Mundret 1 hide. In lordship 4 ploughs; 8 ploughmen. 2 villagers and 2 smallholders with 1 plough. Meadow, 1 acre. Value of the whole manor before 1066, 60s; now the Earl’s lordship 45s, his men’s 40s."<ref>
{{cite book|title=Upton-by-Chester: A People's History|publisher=historyofuptonbychester.org.uk|date=2005|isbn=0-9548854-0-6|chapter-url=http://www.historyofuptonbychester.org.uk/Chapter%203.pdf|chapter=3: Early History (The Medieval Period)|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>}}

Including the [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] of Upton Heath, Upton-by-Chester was formerly a [[Township (England)|township]] within the parishes of St. Mary on the Hill and St. Oswald, [[Hundreds of Cheshire|Broxton Hundred]].<ref name=GENUKI>{{cite web|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CHS/UptonByChester|title=Upton by Chester|publisher=GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>

Upton-by-Chester as we know it today started when the railway was built in the mid-1800s. Gentlemen's country houses were built and provided employment other than traditional rural jobs. Initially ribbon development but then housing estates were built as more people moved out of the overcrowded city. Following the post-[[World War II]] building boom there is now little development land left.

A permanent military presence was established with the completion of [[Dale Barracks]] in 1938 at nearby [[Moston, Cheshire West and Chester|Moston]].<ref name=history>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofuptonbychester.org.uk/wip17.htm|title=Moston Hall|publisher=History of Upton by Chester|access-date=24 May 2014}}</ref>

==Landmarks==
[[File:Old Mill House Upton by Chester - geograph.org.uk - 33809.jpg|thumb|right|Upton Mill]]
[[File:The Old Water Pump, Upton, Chester - geograph.org.uk - 667516.jpg|thumb|The old water pump]]
One building of particular interest is Upton Mill, a five storeyed brick [[windmill]] which is a Grade II [[Listed building#England and Wales|listed building]]. Built circa 1775 this was a full working flour mill with outhouses, yard and orchard. The wind sails were removed in the early 1920s when electricity was installed. The mill closed in 1953 and remained uninhabited until 1979 when it was sold and converted as a private residence.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1278738|desc=Upton Mill, Upton-by-Chester|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref> Renovation was completed in 1988.

[[Oakfield Manor]] and its stable block, now in the grounds of [[Chester Zoo]], are both designated Grade II listed buildings.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1230120|desc=Oakfield (headquarters of Chester Zoo)|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num=1229357|desc=Range of former stables at Oakfield, Chester Zoo|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>

Estimated to be over two hundred years old, the last remaining communal water pump in Upton-by-Chester is on Heath Road. The pump was used up to the end of the nineteenth century, but in the early years of World War II was temporarily brought back into use. The well has since been covered over.<ref>{{cite book|title=Upton-by-Chester: A People's History|publisher=historyofuptonbychester.org.uk|date=2005|isbn=0-9548854-0-6|chapter-url=http://www.historyofuptonbychester.org.uk/Chapter%204.pdf|chapter=4: Historic Upton (The Water Pump – Heath Road)|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>

==Religion==
Upton has four churches; one [[Baptist]], one [[United Reformed Church]], one [[Catholicism|Catholic]] (St Columba's), and the [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] [[Holy Ascension Church, Upton by Chester|Church of the Holy Ascension]].

==Governance==
Upton-by-Chester is within the [[Chester North and Neston (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester North and Neston]] parliamentary constituency.

An [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral ward]] in the name of Upton exists, within the borough of [[Cheshire West and Chester]]. This unitary authority replaced both [[Chester City Council]] and [[Cheshire County Council]] on 1 April 2009.

Upton-by-Chester is a civil parish, combining with nearby [[Bache, Cheshire|Bache]] and [[Moston, Cheshire West and Chester|Moston]] to form a joint [[Parish councils in England|parish council]].<ref name=parishcouncil>{{cite web|url=http://www.uptonbychester.org.uk/ |title=Upton-by-Chester & District Parish Council|access-date=19 March 2019}}</ref>

Upton-by-Chester is [[Sister city|twinned]] with [[Arradon]].

==Demography==
The population was 173 in 1801, 555 in 1851, 1,769 in 1901 and increasing significantly to 6,343 by 1951.<ref name=GENUKI/> 
At the time of the [[2001 United Kingdom Census|2001 census]] it was recorded as 7,806.<ref>{{NOMIS2001|id=13UB111|title=Upton-by-Chester Parish|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>  

According to the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] the population of the civil parish stood at 7,956,<ref name="2011 census">{{NOMIS2011|id=1170220291|title=Upton-by-Chester Parish|access-date=14 October 2018}}</ref> 
whilst the figure for the local government ward was 8,905.<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=1237327132|title=Upton Ward (as of 2011)|access-date=14 October 2018}}</ref>

==Education==
There are four primary schools in Upton-by-Chester; namely Acresfield Academy, Mill View Primary School, Upton Heath Church of England Primary School (formerly known as Upton Manor) and Upton Westlea Primary School. [[Upton-by-Chester High School]] is a co-educational state secondary school established in 1968. There is a school for children with special educational needs or disabilities, [[Dorin Park School|Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College |url=https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/111511 |website=Get Information about Schools |publisher=Gov.UK |access-date=23 January 2025}}</ref>

==Community==
[[File:Upton-by-Chester (10).JPG|thumb|The Wheatsheaf Inn]]
The [[Countess of Chester Hospital]] is the principal NHS general hospital and accident & emergency department for the city of Chester and the surrounding area.

[[Chester Zoo]] opened in 1931 and is now one of the largest zoos in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite book|title=Upton-by-Chester: A People's History|publisher=historyofuptonbychester.org.uk|date=2005|isbn=0-9548854-0-6|chapter-url=http://www.historyofuptonbychester.org.uk/Chapter%2011.pdf|chapter=11: Business & Employment (George Mottershead’s Zoo)|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>

In and around Upton-by-Chester there are several shopping areas, including Bache, Upton-Heath and Weston Grove. In the vicinity there are at least four pubs, including the Oak Tree, the Brewers Arms, the Mill@Upton (formerly the Egerton Arms Hotel) and The Wheatsheaf Inn.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Wheatsheaf Inn|url=http://www.sizzlingpubs.co.uk/findapub/northwest/thewheatsheafinnupton/findus|website=Sizzling Pubs|access-date=28 March 2017}}</ref> 

Other local amenities include a [[Royal British Legion]] Club, the Upton-by-Chester Golf Club, a bowling green and a village hall.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uptonbychestervillagehall.org.uk|title=Upton-by-Chester Village Hall|access-date=15 November 2014}}</ref>

==Transport==
[[Bache railway station]], less than a mile from Upton village centre at Bache, is on the [[Wirral line]] of the [[Merseyrail]] network. It opened in January 1984, replacing [[Upton-by-Chester railway station]] on Liverpool Road.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/u/upton_by_chester/index.shtml|title=Upton-by-Chester|publisher=Disused Stations|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>

The Chester to [[Ellesmere Port]] section of the [[A41 road|A41 trunk road]] passes through the area, separating the areas of Upton and Upton Heath. Further west is the A5116 (Liverpool Road), which joins the A41 at Moston, immediately to the north of Upton-by-Chester.

==Notable people==
[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] former Deputy Prime Minister [[John Prescott]] lived with his parents in Upton after moving from Yorkshire, and married his wife Pauline (''nee'' Tilston) at [[Church of the Holy Ascension, Upton by Chester|Church of the Holy Ascension]] in 1961.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/pauline-prescott-wounded-party-476073.html | title=Pauline Prescott: Wounded party | work=The Independent | location=London | first=Colin | last=Brown | date=29 April 2006 | access-date=17 November 2009}}</ref>

[[Samantha Dixon]], who became the local Labour [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Chester (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester]] in [[2022 City of Chester by-election|2022]], lived in Upon-by-Chester in her early life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ferguson |first=Angela |date=2022-11-30 |title=From herding sheep to a pint at The Brewery Tap - meet the candidates |url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/herding-sheep-pint-brewery-tap-25628754 |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=CheshireLive |language=en}}</ref>

The actor [[Tom Hughes (actor)|Tom Hughes]] grew up in Upton-by-Chester.<ref>{{cite episode | url = http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/9861469/soccer-am-tom-hughes | title = Soccer AM - Tom Hughes | series = [[Soccer AM]] | first = Tom | last = Hughes | network = [[Sky Sports]] | date = 23 May 2015  | quote="It was 1997. My birthday's 18th April. I was 12." | access-date = 20 July 2017 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Cheshire}}
* [[Listed buildings in Upton-by-Chester]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=Upton-by-Chester: A People's History|publisher=historyofuptonbychester.org.uk|date=2005|isbn=0-9548854-0-6}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Upton by Chester}}
* [http://www.uptonurc.org.uk/ Upton-by-Chester United Reformed Church]

{{Cheshire, Cheshire West and Chester}}
{{Cheshire}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Cheshire West and Chester]]