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Alsager

Coordinates: 53°05′46″N 2°18′18″W / 53.096°N 2.305°W / 53.096; -2.305
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Not to be confused with Alsagers Bank.

Alsager
Town centre
Arms of Alsager
Alsager is located in Cheshire
Alsager
Alsager
Location within Cheshire
Population13,389 (2021 Census)
OS grid referenceSJ796554
• London144 mi (231 km) SE
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSTOKE-ON-TRENT
Postcode districtST7
Dialling code01270
PoliceCheshire
FireCheshire
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cheshire
53°05′46″N 2°18′18″W / 53.096°N 2.305°W / 53.096; -2.305

Alsager (/ˈɔːlseɪdʒər/ AWL-say-jər) is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located to the north-west of Stoke-on-Trent and east of Crewe. The town's population was 13,389 at the 2021 census.[citation needed]

The civil parish is bordered by the parishes of Betchton to the north, Church Lawton to the north-east and east, Kidsgrove to the south-east, Audley Rural to the south, Barthomley to the south-west, Haslington to the west, and Hassall to the north-west.

Alsager has hosted an annual summer carnival since 1998; it was located in Milton Park until June 2009 and moved temporarily to the Alsager School playing fields to increase capacity, before returning in 2017.[2] In 2008, Alsager was awarded Fairtrade Town status by the Fairtrade Foundation.

History

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Christ Church, Alsager

In the village of Church Lawton are the Church Lawton Barrows, which form part of a significant Bronze Age site near the town.[3]

The town's name means 'the arable land of a person named Ælle (Old English: Ælles æċer).[4]

Alsager was recorded as 'Eleacier' in the Domesday Book of 1086, and was a small farming village until the 19th century when, due to its rail connections and rural character, it became a home of choice for pottery works managers from the nearby Federation of Six Towns which later became the city of Stoke-on-Trent.[5]

During the Second World War, a large armaments factory was built outside Alsager at Radway Green, and the town expanded dramatically to house the influx of factory workers. Also during the war a camp was constructed for the training of Royal Marines. This bore the name of HMS Excalibur and was situated at the top of Fields Road by the side of the Stoke to Crewe railway line. In 1948 it became a displaced persons camp for refugees from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the former Polish Ukraine, countries which had been forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union. Many men from these countries had fought on the side of the Germans to try to regain independence, and they were afraid to return to their countries of origin, as many who had returned were executed by the Russians. A school was set up for the education of their children whose only common language when they arrived was German. The school continued to exist for many years in the same set of wooden huts under the name "Excalibur School". The first Roman Catholic church in Alsager was one of the wooden huts and was attended mainly by the Lithuanians, most of whom were Roman Catholic. The Anglican churches are Christ Church (1789),[6] and St Mary Magdalene (1898).[7]

Alsager previously had three Methodist churches at Hassall Road (Wesleyan), Wesley Place (Wesleyan) and Crewe Road (Primitive Methodist). By December 2009 two Methodist churches remained, but today there is just one.[8]

The Roman Catholic community is served from St Gabriel's Church. The parish is located in the Diocese of Shrewsbury (Central Cheshire Region – Local Pastoral Area 9).

Culture

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Alsager Civic Centre

The town is home to Alsager Community Theatre (ACT),[9] an amateur drama group founded in 1973. ACT puts on its productions at Alsager Civic Centre and at nearby Little Moreton Hall.

Alsager Arts Centre, formerly housed on Manchester Metropolitan University's Alsager campus, had a public programme of touring new performances and visual art work presented in two seasons (September–November and January–March). The centre moved to the university's Crewe campus when the Alsager campus closed[10] under the title of the Axis Arts Centre but it was closed in spring 2019 because of the planned withdrawal of the university from Crewe.[11] The Arts Centre hosted performance companies such as Forced Entertainment and artists such as Bobby Baker.[citation needed]

Alsager hosts the annual Alsager Music Festival which takes place in Milton Gardens.[12][13] In August 2010, Alsager hosted the first annual Alsager Arts Festival.[14]

Education

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Schools

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Public education, at primary and secondary school level, is managed by Cheshire East Council and the Alsager Community Trust. The Alsager Community Trust is a co-operative trust, in which all the schools in the town are members. Secondary education is provided by Alsager School, an Academy school, that is situated opposite the former Manchester Metropolitan University campus. It is attended by over 1,300 pupils[15] between the ages of 11 and 18. Alsager School is a Business and Enterprise College.[15]

Six primary schools feed into Alsager School: Alsager Highfields, Cranberry Academy, Excalibur Primary School, Pikemere School, Rode Heath School and St Gabriel's R.C. Primary School.

Former Manchester Metropolitan University

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The former Alsager campus of Manchester Metropolitan University, long since closed and demolished

During the Second World War a hostel built of wooden army huts was constructed on the site of the MMU to house workers at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Radway Green, and was called "Heathside". In 1945 it became "Alsager Training College" for the training of teachers which were in short supply at that time. The wooden huts were still in use for housing of students until the early 1960s. The MMU Alsager was home to the Contemporary Arts and Sports Science Departments of the Manchester Metropolitan University. The University absorbed the former Crewe & Alsager College of Higher Education, forming the Crewe and Alsager Faculty, subsequently renamed MMU Cheshire. The Alsager Arts Centre was also on campus, and promoted touring contemporary dance, music, theatre, live art, performance writing and visual art events to the public as well as members of the University community.

In 2006 the university started transferring staff and departments from Alsager to the Crewe campus, as part of plans for closure of the Alsager site.[16] The Arts Centre also moved to the MMU campus in Crewe, and was renamed the Axis Arts Centre.[17] As of 2012 the entire Alsager campus had long since closed and fallen into disrepair.

In 2015 the former campus on Hassall Road was earmarked for a total of 408 new houses.[18] By early 2018 all of the campus buildings had been demolished and the site cleared. Soon afterwards, construction of a new housing estate named "Scholar's Place" commenced on the site of the former Alsager campus.[citation needed]

Transport

[edit]
Alsager station

Alsager is close to junction 16 of the M6 motorway.

The town is served by Alsager railway station, with East Midlands Railway services on the Crewe to Derby line[19] and West Midlands Trains services from Crewe to Stafford;[20] both operate hourly during weekday off-peak times.

Local bus services are provided by First Potteries and D&G Bus. Key routes include:[21]

The Trent and Mersey Canal runs just to the north-east to the town, forming part of the Cheshire Ring canal walk and the South Cheshire Way footpath. The canal's towpath and the nearby Salt Line are also routes of the National Cycle Network.

Media

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Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter.[22] Local radio stations are BBC Radio Stoke, Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire, Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire, HitMix Radio, and Silk 106.9. The town's local newspapers are the Alsager Chronicle[23] and The Sentinel.[24]

Economy

[edit]
Asda supermarket in Alsager

Alsager town centre is characterised by independent and charity shops. The only national chain supermarkets in the town are a medium-sized Asda supermarket and Sainsbury's Local.

There is a BAE Systems Global Combat Systems factory in the nearby village of Radway Green, producing small arms ammunition for the British armed forces.

Developments

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Between 2012 and 2021 Alsager town centre has been redeveloped somewhat:The Co-operative Food store was rebuilt and enlarged in 2012, but it was sold off and converted to an Asda supermarket in 2015. A Town Square has been created, Fairview park has been rebuilt and capacity at Fairview Car park has been increased. In April 2014 Cheshire East Council gave planning permission for the development of a new Sainsbury's store on the former Twyfords site off Lawton Road.[25] Sainsbury's are currently reviewing their plans for a large store in the town due to changing patterns in the way people shop, which is currently away from large stores to online shopping and top up shopping at smaller stores. The company along with its rivals have scrapped many major new store schemes throughout the UK.

There were proposals to build 1267 new build houses, a new supermarket and petrol station in Alsager.[26]

Sport

[edit]

Alsager is home to Alsager Town F.C. The club competes in the North West Counties Football League and plays its home matches at Wood Park.[27] AFC Alsager is a more recent addition to the town's sporting teams. Established in 2012, the club has over 26 different teams, including a first team at Step 7 in the FA Pyramid System.[28] The Alsager Football Group is a community sports group. Its purpose is to provide local residents with the opportunity to play casual football matches. Alsager is also home to Alsager Old Boys FC and Linley Tavern FC.[29][30]

Alsager also has Alsager Cricket Club, the Alsager Golf and Country Club, the Alsager Institute Bowling Club, the Alsager Company of Archers, Triton Hockey Club, Alsager Lawn Tennis Club, The Wood Park Wulruds, a pool league and a swimming club.[31][32][33]

There is a leisure centre in Alsager, managed by Cheshire East Council. On 25 October 2019, the new Alsager Sports Hub opened on the former MMU campus on Dunnocksfold Road. The hub contains a pavilion, five grass football pitches, a 3G football pitch and a 2G hockey pitch.[34] It is home to Triton Hockey Club and AFC Alsager.

Alsager hosts the UK's biggest 5-mile road race, each year in February. The event attracts many of the UK's top endurance athletes.[citation needed]

Parks

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Alsager has several parks. The town's main park is Milton Garden, which has an ornamental sunken garden, a skatepark, a small children's football pitch and a play area.

Pastimes and leisure pursuits

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There is a strong tradition of allotment holding in the town, administered by the Alsager Gardens Association.[35]

Notable people

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Nature

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The Mere is a lake in the centre of Alsager; this isolated pool, once the focal point of the town, is only accessible by two fenced public viewing areas and by local residents who have gardens adjoining the waters.[40]

Alsager is home to Borrow Pit Meadows, a local beauty spot situated in the north of the town, which leads on to the Salt Line.

The town has woodlands leading to Church Lawton.

Near to the railway station, there is another walkway called Merelake Way; this runs mostly alongside Alsager Golf Course.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Alsager Town Council". Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Alsager Carnival". Alsager.com. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  3. ^ Church Lawton Barrows. Archived 15 November 2004 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 10 August 2007.
  4. ^ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  5. ^ Scholes, R. (2000) Towns and villages of Britain: Cheshire. Sigma Press: Wilmslow, Cheshire. ISBN 1-85058-637-3.
  6. ^ Christ Church. Archived 18 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 10 August 2007.
  7. ^ St Mary Magdalene – A Church Near You – website. Archived 23 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 19 January 2009.
  8. ^ Wesley Place Methodist Church Alsager website. Archived 27 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 10 August 2007.
  9. ^ Alsager Community Theatre. Archived 6 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 20 April 2011.
  10. ^ Alsager Arts Centre website. Archived 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 10 August 2007.
  11. ^ Neil Mackenzie (Spring 2019). "Spring Season 2019 – Welcome and goodbye!". Axis Arts Centre. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  12. ^ Alsager Music Festival website. Archived 16 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 10 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Town's annual music festival". Congleton Chronicle. 19 July 2024. p. 17.
  14. ^ Alsager Festival website. Archived 24 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 3 June 2010.
  15. ^ a b Alsager School website. Archived 9 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 10 August 2007.
  16. ^ "Job cuts planned at MMU Cheshire". The Sentinel. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2010.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ Axis Arts Centre website Archived 22 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Ryan, Belinda (17 November 2015). "Application to build 408 homes on former MMU campus in Alsager". crewechronicle. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Timetables". East Midlands Railway. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Train Timetables and Schedules". West Midlands Railway. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Stops in Alsager". Bus Times. 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. May 2004. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Alsager Chronicle". British Papers. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  24. ^ "The Sentinel". British Papers. 22 September 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  25. ^ The Sentinel. Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 4 April 2014.
  26. ^ Alsager Residents Action Group website. Archived 7 July 2013 at archive.today Retrieval Date: 10 May 2013.
  27. ^ "Home page". Alsager Town F.C. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  28. ^ "Home page". AFC Alsager. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  29. ^ "Facebook - Alsager Old Boys (Formerly Bank Corner FC)". Facebook. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  30. ^ "Coors Sunday Football League - Linley Tavern FC". Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Alsager CC". Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  32. ^ "Triton Hockey Club". Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  33. ^ "England Hockey - Triton Hockey Club". Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  34. ^ "Alsager Sports Hub - Everybody Health & Leisure". Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  35. ^ .Alsager Gardens Association website. Archived 5 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 10 August 2007.
  36. ^ "James Lloyd, Milwaukee Art Museum". Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  37. ^ SoccerBase Database Archived 25 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine retrieved December 2017
  38. ^ SoccerBase Database Archived 25 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine retrieved December 2017
  39. ^ SoccerBase Database Archived 25 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine retrieved December 2017
  40. ^ Alsager Mere Archived 2017-06-22 at the Wayback Machine Retrieval Date: 21 November 2023
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