Editing Grappenhall (section)

==History==
Grappenhall is first mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 with the name ''Gropenhale'' and with a valuation of five [[shillings]].
[[File:Sandstone carving of  'Cheshire Cat', St Wilfrid's Church, Grappenhall.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|left|[[Sandstone]] carving of a 'Cheshire Cat', [[St Wilfrid's Church, Grappenhall|St Wilfrid's Church]]]]
[[St Wilfrid's Church, Grappenhall|St Wilfrid's Church]] has a carving of a cat on the west face of the tower. This may have been [[Lewis Carroll]]'s inspiration for the grinning [[Cheshire Cat]] in ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]''.<ref name="wilf">{{citation  |url=https://www.stwilfridschurch.org.uk/home/history/ |title=History |accessdate=9 January 2021 |publisher=St Wilfrid's Church, Grappenhall}}</ref> The church itself was first constructed in 1120, though was rebuilt 400 years later. The church was also, at a time, in the possession of the Boidelle (Boydell) family.{{cn|date=January 2023}}

Along with the church, the centre of the village contains two pubs, the Parr Arms and the Ram's Head, and Grappenhall Hall Residential School (closed down) and St Wilfrid's Primary School. Bradshaw Community Primary School is located north of the village centre.

On 1 April 1936 the parish of [[Thelwall]] was abolished and merged with Grappenhall,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10211402|title=Relationships and changes Thelwall CP/Ch through time|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=2 May 2024}}</ref> on 1 April 1974 the merged parish was renamed "Grappenhall and Thelwall".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/warrington.html|title=Warringtin Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|accessdate=2 May 2024}}</ref> In 1931 the parish of Grappenhall (prior to the merge) had a population of 2449.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10007320/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Grappenhall AP/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=2 May 2024}}</ref>