Rudheath

{{Short description|Village in Cheshire, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{More citations needed|date=September 2014}}

{{Infobox UK place

|coordinates = {{coord|53.25|-2.483|display=inline,title}}

|official_name= Rudheath

|label_position= left

|population= 3,807

|population_ref= (2011)

|civil_parish= Rudheath

|unitary_england= Cheshire West and Chester

|lieutenancy_england= Cheshire

|region= North West England

|country= England

|constituency_westminster= Tatton

|post_town= NORTHWICH

|postcode_district= CW9

|postcode_area= CW

|dial_code= 01606

|os_grid_reference= SJ677726

|static_image= The Old Broken Cross Public House - geograph.org.uk - 87441.jpg

|static_image_caption= The Old Broken Cross public house, Rudheath

}}

Rudheath is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in the north west of England, approximately 2 miles east of Northwich. The civil parish also includes the area of Broken Cross. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 3,807.{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11128083&c=CW9+7JZ&d=16&e=62&g=6409019&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1433069563779&enc=1|title=Parish population 2011|access-date=31 May 2015}} Rudheath has a parish council, the lowest level of local government.{{cite web |title=Rudheath Parish Council |url=https://rudheath-pc.gov.uk/ |website=rudheath-pc.gov.uk |access-date=15 September 2024}}

Rudheath is the location of Rudheath Primary Academy,{{Cite web | title=Rudheath Primary Academy - Home | url=https://www.rudheathprimaryacademy.co.uk/ | access-date=2025-02-12 | website=www.rudheathprimaryacademy.co.uk}} and the Rudheath Senior Academy. Both schools provide education to school-age children from the village and the surrounding area.

Contemporary major local employers include Frank Roberts & Sons, a bakery that has been associated with the area since 1887. Two of Frank Roberts & Sons's three main business divisions, Roberts Bakery and The Little Treats Co, are based on the A556 in Rudheath and Aldred's The Bakers, is located in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.{{Cite web |url=http://www.frank-roberts.co.uk/ |title=Frank Roberts Home Page |access-date=7 May 2013 |archive-date=26 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726234026/http://www.frank-roberts.co.uk/ |url-status=dead }} Morrisons supermarket has a large distribution centre on the A530, while Orange, Barclays Bank and The Hut Group all have business centres at Gadbrook Park, off the A556.

Broken Cross was named for a wayside cross which formerly stood at the junction of King Street and Penny's Lane, and was probably broken by the 17th century. A farm and the Old Broken Cross public house were named for the former cross.{{cite web |title=Broken Cross |work=Survey of English Place-Names |url=https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53283646b47fc40856001586-Broken+Cross |publisher=The English Place-Name Society |access-date=18 February 2025}}