Guilden Sutton

{{infobox UK place

|coordinates= {{coord|53.208127|-2.827048|display=inline,title}}

|official_name= Guilden Sutton

|static_image_name= St John's Church, Guilden Sutton.jpg

|static_image_caption= St John's Church, Guilden Sutton

|population= 1,467

|population_ref= (2011 census)

|civil_parish= Guilden Sutton

|unitary_england= Cheshire West and Chester

|lieutenancy_england= Cheshire

|region= North West England

|country= England

|constituency_westminster= Runcorn and Helsby

|post_town= CHESTER

|postcode_district= CH3

|postcode_area= CH

|dial_code= 01244

|os_grid_reference= SJ448682

}}

Guilden Sutton is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies approximately {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} to the east of Chester and is south of the village of Mickle Trafford. The community consists of a church, a primary school, a post office, a pub, a village hall and several local businesses.

The 2001 census recorded the population at 1,525,{{NOMIS2001|id=13UB056|title=Guilden Sutton CP|access-date=26 September 2020}} reducing to 1,467 at the 2011 census.{{NOMIS2011|id=E04011105|title=Guilden Sutton CP|access-date=26 September 2020}}

History

The likely meaning of the name Guilden Sutton is "golden south farm or settlement", derived from the Old English gylden (golden, rich) - sūð (south/southern) - tūn (a settlement, enclosure or farmstead).{{cite web|url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Cheshire/Guilden%20Sutton |title=Key to English Place-Names: Guilden Sutton|publisher=University of Nottingham|access-date=26 September 2020}}

This could perhaps be in reference to being at the southern extremity of the then Wilaveston Hundred.{{cite web|url=https://www.guildensutton.org.uk/Guilden%20Sutton/GS%20history/Guilden%20Sutton%20History%20Arthur.pdf|website=guildensutton.org.uk |title=The Growth of a Township|first=H|last=Arthur|date=1981|access-date=26 September 2020}}{{cite book|title=Place Names of Cheshire|first=J|last=Dodgson|date=1972}}

Since the twelfth century, across a period of five hundred years, the name of the village has been spelt in different ways; such as Guldesocton, Guyldenesutton, Sutton-Gelders and Gilen Sutton.

Guilden Sutton was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Sudtone, under the ownership of the Bishop of Chester and Robert FitzHugh.{{cite web|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SJ4468/guilden-sutton/ |title=[Guilden] Sutton|first=Anna|last=Powell-Smith|work=Open Domesday/University of Hull|access-date=26 September 2020}}

Several archaeological artefacts have been found in the vicinity of the village: a bronze coin of Licinius I (AD 307–324) was discovered behind the 'Bird in Hand' public house, a mediaeval lead spindle whorl, four 17th-century swords found in a house cellar, and a cannonball.

Always an agricultural community, the parish even employed the services of a man to prevent cattle straying in the eighteenth century. Although electricity was available from 1925, other essential utilities such as a piped water supply did not extend to the main part of the village until 1945 and gas did not arrive until as late as 1968.

The population of the parish grew considerably in the latter part of the twentieth century, from 442 in 1951 to 1,525 by 2001, due to boundary changes and significant residential development, such as the Oaklands estate by 1970. In the 1950s a large part of the neighbouring civil parish of Hoole was transferred to Guilden Sutton, adding another 209 inhabitants. More boundary changes occurred in 2015, further enlarging the Guilden Sutton civil parish.{{cite web|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CHS/GuildenSutton |title=Guilden Sutton|publisher=GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy|access-date=26 September 2020}}

Landmarks

The original St John the Baptist's Church was probably built circa 1105. The earliest register of births, marriages and deaths dates back to 1595. The church was damaged in a storm in 1802 and had been rebuilt by 1810. The present church is a designated Grade II listed building.{{NHLE |num=1229368|desc=Church of St John the Baptist, Guilden Sutton|access-date=26 September 2020}}

The former Methodist Chapel was built in 1873; it ceased use as a church in 2010{{Cite web|title=Guilden Sutton Primitive Methodist Chapel|url=https://www.myprimitivemethodists.org.uk/content/chapels/cheshire/e-h/guilden_sutton_primitive_methodist_chapel|access-date=2021-03-03|website=My Primitive Methodists|language=en}} and is now a house. The original village school was built in 1891 and the present church hall in 1916. The Bird in Hand public house has existed more or less in its present form since 1844, although it is believed to be much older.

Demography

class="wikitable"

|+ Historical census statistics

Year

1801

1841

1851

1871

1881

1901

1921

1931

1951

1961

2001

2011

Population

158

180

221

234

187

347

368

404

442

718

1,525

1,467

Governance

=Parish Council=

Guilden Sutton has an eight-member elected parish council. Elections were contested for the first time in recent history in May 2011 and most recently in May 2019.

class="wikitable" \|+Parish Councillors
colspan="2" \| Name ! Party
style="background-color: {{party color\|Independent}}" \| \| Dr. Imogen Brown \| align="right" \| No description
style="background-color: {{party color\|Independent}}" \| \| Alan Davis \| align="right" \| No description
style="background-color: {{party color\|Independent}}" \| \| Derek Hughes \| align="right" \| No description
style="background-color: {{party color\|Independent}}" \| \| Melanie Littlewood \| align="right" \| No description
style="background-color: {{party color\|Independent}}" \| \| Bill Moulton \| align="right" \| No description
style="background-color: {{party color\|Independent}}" \| \| Trisha Paterson (Vice-Chairman) \| align="right" \| No description
style="background-color: {{party color\|Independent}}" \| \| Sue Proctor \| align="right" \| No description
style="background-color: {{party color\|Independent}}" \| \| Sue Ringstead \| align="right" \| No description

class="wikitable"

|+Parish Councillors

colspan="2" | Name

! Party

style="background-color: {{party color|Independent}}" |

| Dr. Imogen Brown