Editing Congleton (section)

==History==
The first settlements in the Congleton area were [[Neolithic]]. [[Stone Age]] and [[Bronze Age]] artefacts have been found in the town.<ref name="Congleton Museum website">{{cite web |title=The History of Congleton |url=http://www.congletonmuseum.co.uk/9.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721162217/http://www.congletonmuseum.co.uk/9.html |archive-date=21 July 2011 |access-date=7 October 2010 |website=[[Congleton Museum]]}}</ref> Congleton was once thought to have been a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] settlement, although there is no archaeological or documentary evidence to support this. Congleton became a [[market town]] after [[Vikings]] destroyed nearby Davenport.

[[Godwin, Earl of Wessex]] held the town in the [[Saxon]] period. The town is mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/cheshire1.html |title=The Domesday Book Online|access-date=7 October 2010}}</ref> where it is listed as ''Cogeltone: Bigot de Loges''. [[William the Conqueror]] granted the whole of Cheshire to his nephew the [[Earl of Chester]] who constructed several fortifications including the town's castle in 1208. In the 13th century, Congleton belonged to the [[de Lacy]] family.<ref name="Congleton Museum website"/> [[Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln|Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln]] granted the [[Corporation of Congleton]] its first charter in 1272, enabling it to hold fairs and markets, elect a mayor and ale taster, have a [[merchant guild]] and [[Decapitation|behead]] known criminals.<ref name="Congleton Museum website"/>

In 1451, the River Dane flooded, destroying a number of buildings, the town's mill and a wooden bridge.<ref name="Congleton Museum website"/> The river was diverted, and the town was rebuilt on higher ground.

Congleton became known for [[bear-baiting]] and [[cockfighting]] in the 1620s, when they were popular sports.<ref name="Congleton Museum website"/><ref name="Bearwardsandtheirsocialstatus">{{Cite news |date=24 November 2022 |title=Bearwards and their social status |pages=4–5 |newspaper=[[Congleton Chronicle]]}}</ref> The town was unable to attract large crowds to its bear-baiting contests and lacked the money to pay for a new, more aggressive bear. A legend tells that Congleton spent the money they were going to spend on a bible on a bear; this legend is only partly true as only part of the fund to buy a new bible was used to buy a new bear.<ref name="Bearwardsandtheirsocialstatus"/> The legend earned Congleton the nickname Beartown. The chorus of 20th-century folk song "Congleton Bear",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.thorp/lyrcongl.htm|title=Congleton Bear Lyrics|access-date=9 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930183512/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.thorp/lyrcongl.htm|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> by folk artist [[John Tams]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.thorp/index.html|title=John Tams information|access-date=9 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819232558/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.thorp/index.html|archive-date=19 August 2007}}</ref> runs:
:Congleton Rare, Congleton Rare
:Sold the Bible to buy a bear.

During the [[English Civil War|Civil War]], former mayor and lawyer [[John Bradshaw (judge)|John Bradshaw]] became president of the court which sent [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] to his execution in 1649. His signature as [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] was the first on the king's death warrant.<ref name="Congleton Museum website"/> A plaque on Bradshaw House in Lawton Street commemorates him. Almost opposite the town hall, the White Lion public house bears a [[blue plaque]], placed by the Congleton Civic Society, which reads: "The White Lion, built 16–17th century. Said to have housed the attorney's office where John Bradshaw, regicide, served his articles."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/congleton.html|title=Photographs of Congleton, Cheshire, England, UK|website=thornber.net|access-date=12 October 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Old Mill (1753-1830) in 1902.png|thumb|The [[List of textile mills in Cheshire#Congleton|Old Mill]] and the town corn mill photographed in 1902; the mill became unstable and Roldane Mill was built on the site in 1923. The mill was demolished in 2003, and sheltered housing is being built here.]]
King [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] granted permission to build a mill. Congleton became an important centre of textile production, especially leather gloves and [[lace]].<ref name="Congleton Museum website"/> Congleton had an early [[silk throwing]] mill, the [[List of textile mills in Cheshire#Congleton|Old Mill]] built by John Clayton and Nathaniel Pattison in 1753.<ref name="Callandine">{{cite journal|last=Callandine|first=Anthony|year=1993|title=Lombe's Mill: An Exercise in reconstruction|journal=Industrial Archaeology Review|publisher=Maney Publishing|volume=XVI|issue=1|issn=0309-0728}}</ref> More mills followed, and cotton was also spun. The town's prosperity depended on [[tariff]]s imposed on imported silk. When tariffs were removed in the 1860s, the empty mills were converted to [[fustian]] cutting. A limited silk ribbon weaving industry survived into the 20th century, and woven labels were still produced in the 1990s. Many mills survive as industrial or residential units.<ref name=bdghs>[http://www.dmoore.org.uk/bdghs/2007.htm#24 Fustian Mills Talk] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403005943/http://www.dmoore.org.uk/bdghs/2007.htm |date=3 April 2015 }} Lyndon Murgatroyd 2007</ref>

[[File:Congleton water tower.jpg|thumb|upright|Congleton water tower built 1881]]
In 1881, in order to improve the water supply to the town, a pumping station was built on Forge Lane to draw water from the [[Spring (hydrology)|spring]]s in Forge Wood and pump it up to a [[water tower]] at the top of the hill. The red and yellow brick water tower was designed by the engineer William Blackshaw. A second adjacent tower was constructed later.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stephens |first1=W. B. |title=History of Congleton: Published to Celebrate the 700th Anniversary of the Granting of the Charter to the Town |date=1970 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-1245-7 |page=101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ydFRAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA101|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num=1130486|desc=WATER TOWER ON TOWER HILL TO NORTH OF WEST ROAD}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |last2=Hubbard |first2=Edward |title=Cheshire |date=1 March 1971 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-09588-3 |pages=184–5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kl99LwM8BYgC&pg=PA184|via=Google Books}}</ref>

[[Congleton Town Hall]] was designed in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] style by [[Edward William Godwin]]. It was completed in 1866.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.congleton-tc.gov.uk/town-hall/book-the-town-hall/|title=Book the Town Hall – Congleton Town Council|website=congleton-tc.gov.uk}}</ref>

The current hospital in Congleton was opened by the [[George VI|Duke of York]] on 22 May 1924.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Alcock |first=Joan P. |title=History and Guide Congleton |publisher=Tempus Publishing Ltd |date=30 June 2003 |isbn=0752429469 |location=Stroud |page=87}}</ref>

In 1920, the Marie Hall home for boys was established in West House, an 18th-century house on West Road, as a branch of the [[National Children’s Home]]. It became an [[approved school]] in 1935 and was renamed Danesford School. It was converted into a Community Home with Education in 1973, run jointly by NCH and Cheshire County Council. Danesford has since closed, and the Grade II listed buildings have been converted for residential use.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marie Hall Home / Danesford School, Congleton, Cheshire |url=https://www.childrenshomes.org.uk/CongletonNCH/ |website=www.childrenshomes.org.uk |access-date=6 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num=1130481|desc=DANESFORD SCHOOL (NATIONAL CHILDRENS HOMES)}}</ref>

Congleton elected its first Lady Mayor in November 1945.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 November 1945 |title=Congleton Elects Its First Lady Mayor |page=7 |newspaper=[[Congleton Chronicle]]}}</ref>

During the celebration marking 700 years of Congleton's Charter in 1972 Queen [[Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip]] visited Congleton in May, this was the first visit by a reigning monarch since the visit of King [[George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] in 1913.<ref name="Alcock">{{Cite book |last=Alcock |first=Joan P. |title=History and Guide Congleton |publisher=Tempus Publishing Ltd |date=30 June 2003 |isbn=0752429469 |location=Stroud |page=104}}</ref>

In 1983 [[Princess Michael of Kent]] visited Congleton.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 October 1983 |title=Princess happy to extend vist |page=13 |newspaper=[[Evening Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000525/19831006/013/0013 |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 June 2023 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref>

Between 2008 and 2010 Congleton broke 3 world records.<ref name="WorldRecords">{{Cite news |date=2010-10-04 |title=Congleton records a hat-trick |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/stoke/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9059000/9059967.stm |access-date=2025-04-07 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

During the celebration marking 700 years of Mayoralty in Congleton in 2018 the [[Charles III|Prince of Wales]] and the [[Duchess of Cornwall Camilla|Duchess of Cornwall]] visited the town.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-25 |title=Congleton Welcomes The Prince of Wales & The Duchess of Cornwall |url=https://www.congleton-tc.gov.uk/congleton-welcomes-the-prince-of-wales-the-duchess-of-cornwall/ |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Congleton Town Council}}</ref>

In 2019 the [[serial rapist]] [[Joseph McCann (criminal)|Joseph Mccann]] was arrested on a country lane in Congleton after a nationwide manhunt for him.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dodd |first=Vikram |date=2019-12-06 |title=Joseph McCann guilty of horrific rapes after being freed by mistake |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/06/joseph-mccann-convicted-horrific-rapes-after-being-let-out-of-jail-by-mistake |access-date=2024-03-23 |work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In 2022 a celebration marked the 750th anniversary of Congleton's first charter. An ale taster was appointed as part of the celebrations.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Watterson |first=Kaleigh |date=2022-03-31 |title=Town appoints ale taster as part of 750th celebrations |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-60935226 |access-date=2022-12-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Mark |date=31 March 2022 |title=Here for the beer: Congleton appoints ale taster for town anniversary |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/31/congleton-appoints-ale-taster-to-mark-the-towns-750th-anniversary |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref>

In 2023 part of the Congleton town centre was regenerated as part of the Congleton Market Quarter project.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rack |first=Susie |date=29 September 2023 |title=Market revival aims to redefine town centre |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-66948174 |access-date=2023-09-29 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> The regenerated part of Congleton town centre is named the "Congleton Market Quarter" and opened in November 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 April 2024 |title=Market Quarter plans for future expansion|page=4 |newspaper=[[Congleton Chronicle]]}}</ref> Another phase of expansion for the "Congleton Market Quarter" was announced in December 2024, and due for completion in March 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Porter |first=Gary |date=14 December 2024 |title=Plans for next phase of town's 'Market Quarter' regeneration unveiled |newspaper=[[Stoke Sentinel]]|url=https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/plans-next-phase-towns-market-9750601}}</ref>

On 28 September 2024 Congleton appointed its first female town crier.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 October 2024 |last=Walker|first=Melanie|title=Oyez! Town has a new (female) voice |page=Front Page |newspaper=[[Congleton Chronicle]]}}</ref>