Welcome to the Pulford & Poulton Local History Group

From its beginning in 2000 the History Group has maintained a programme of monthly talks from guest speakers on a host of local history topics.

Visits to local places of interest also feature in the group’s programme.

The group manages an archive available to members of local historical documents and photographs that have been donated by local people.

Cheshire Day - 30th March

30th March marks Cheshire Day which is being celebrated, virtually, for the first time in 2021. This is the first of what is hoped will become an annual event, with this year’s Cheshire Day focusing on social media activity to share what is special about Cheshire.

30th March has been selected as it was on this date in 1300 that the earliest surviving full text of the Cheshire Magna Carta was issued by Edward I.

Cheshire is the only county in England to have its own Magna Carta in which the Earl of Chester, Ranulf III, granted concessions to his barons shortly after King John was forced to consent to the Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. While not one of the senior Cheshire barons and major land-holders, Ralph Fitz Simon, the fifth 'baron' of Pulford would have been constantly in attendance on the Earl and acted as a witness to a number of his charters. He was a great grandson of Hugh Fitz Osbern, who was granted the manor of Pulford by Hugh d'Avranches, the first Norman Earl of Chester, after the Norman Conquest (see The Domesday Book ).

By 1300, the 'barony' of Pulford had ceased and the earldom had reverted to the crown after Ranulf's nephew and successor, John le Scot, the seventh earl, died without an heir in 1237. In 1254 the earldom was granted to the king's son (the future Edward I) and since then it has been held by the eldest son of the monarch. The Cheshire Magna Carta had been reconfirmed several times, including by Edward in 1265 when he held the earldom but was not yet king. It reflected the independent position Cheshire had held since the 11th century with the earl being granted an unusually powerful position. It contained just thirteen clauses compared to Runnymede's sixty-three and while several were modelled on Runnymede others were concerned with the maintenance of practices and barons' privileges specific to Cheshire. For more information see 'The Magna Carta of Cheshire' by Graeme White and Jonathan Pepler (Cheshire Local History Association, 2015).

Recognising and celebrating the history, make up and traditions of a local area is an important part of understanding and enhancing community pride which in turn can deliver real benefits for economic development and communities. Many counties in England now have a County Day, such as Cornwall, Yorkshire and Lancashire, and they have grown in prominence in recent years.

The local history group is involved in encouraging research into the history of Cheshire, and spreading the enjoyment of knowing about it, especially as it applies to Pulford and Poulton. This website gives an introduction to this history from the earliest days to the present.