ALDERLEY, a parish in the hundred of MACCLESFIELD,
county palatine of CHESTER, comprising the
townships of Upper Alderley, Lower Alderley, and
Great Warford, and containing 1477 inhabitants, of
which number, 473 are in the township of Upper
Alderley, and 668 in that of Lower Alderley, 4 miles
(W. N. W.) from Macclesfield. The living is a rectory,
in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester, rated in the
king's books at £14. 10. 10., and in the patronage of
Sir J. T. Stanley, Bart. The church is dedicated to St.
Mary. There is a place of worship for Baptists at
Great Warford. Mines of lead, copper, and cobalt,
have been worked in the neighbourhood, but the produce
of ore has not been sufficient to encourage perseverance.
A few of the inhabitants are engaged in weaving
for the manufacturers of the neighbouring towns.
A school-house, originally built in 1628 by the Rev.
Hugh Shaw, curate of the parish, and since endowed
with benefactions to the amount of £300, was rebuilt
near the church a few years ago: there is also a small
endowed free school in Lower Alderley. In Alderley
park there is a large sheet of water, called Radnor mere,
a wood near which contains some of the finest beech
trees in England; and on the high ground of Aldersey
Edge is a fine spring, called the Holy Well.