Editing Middlewich (section)

===Administrative history===
Middlewich was an [[ancient parish]]. It was subdivided into fifteen [[Township (England)|townships]]:<ref>{{cite web |title=Middlewich Ancient Parish / Township / Civil Parish |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10045460 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref>{{efn|The parish also included some fields and a couple of houses in the township of Leese, the majority of which was in the parish of [[Sandbach]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Parish of Middlewich (Detached No. 3) |date=1875 |publisher=Ordnance Survey |location=London |pages=2–3 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Book_of_Reference_to_the_Plan_of_the_Par/hNMHAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA7-PP12&printsec=frontcover&dq=leese |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Youngs |first1=Frederic |title=Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume II, Northern England |date=1991 |publisher=Royal Historical Society |location=London |isbn=0861931270 |page=26}}</ref>}}
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
*[[Byley|Byley cum Yatehouse]]
*Clive
*Croxton
*[[Kinderton|Kinderton cum Hulme]]
*Middlewich
*[[Minshull Vernon]]
*Mooresbarrow cum Parme
*Newton
*[[Occlestone Green|Occlestone]]
*Ravenscroft
*[[Sproston]]
*Stublach
*Sutton
*[[Weaver Hall, Darnhall|Weaver]]
*[[Wimboldsley]]
{{div col end}}
Weaver was in [[Hundreds of Cheshire|Eddisbury Hundred]], and the rest of the parish was in Northwich Hundred.<ref>{{cite book |title=Book of Reference to the Plan of the Parish of Middlewich |date=1876 |publisher=Ordnance Survey |location=London |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Book_of_Reference_to_the_Plan_of_the_Par/hNMHAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA6-PP13&printsec=frontcover |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Victoria History of the County of Chester. Volume 1: Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Ango-Saxon, and Domesday|last=Harris|first=B. E.|author2=A. T. Thacker|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=1987|isbn=0-19-722761-9|pages=340–341}}</ref> The Middlewich township covered just {{convert|37|acres|ha|0}} around the parish church and adjoining streets in the town centre; by the 19th century, the urban area extended into the adjoining townships of Kinderton cum Hulme to the north and east and Newton to the south and west.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cheshire Sheet XLI |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/102341080 |website=National Library of Scotland |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=23 February 2025 |date=1882}}</ref>

From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under the [[poor laws]], in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Middlewich, the civil functions were exercised by each township separately rather than the parish as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so the townships also became [[civil parish]]es.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Youngs |first1=Frederic |title=Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume II, Northern England |date=1991 |publisher=Royal Historical Society |location=London |isbn=0861931270 |page=xv}}</ref>

In 1869, a Middlewich [[Local Government Act 1858|local government district]] administered by an elected local board was established, covering a newly defined area which encompassed the township of Middlewich and parts of the neighbouring townships of Kinderton cum Hulme and Newton.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23526|page=4569|date=13 August 1869}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23561|page=6715|date=30 November 1869}}</ref> The district was enlarged in 1893 to take in further parts of Kinderton cum Hulme and Newton, plus part of Byley.<ref>{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Local Government Board |date=1893 |page=234 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Annual_Report_of_the_Local_Government_Bo/6xEMAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA234&printsec=frontcover |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref> Such districts were reconstituted as [[Urban district (England and Wales)|urban districts]] under the [[Local Government Act 1894]].<ref name=Kelly>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of Cheshire |date=1914 |pages=469–471 |url=https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/235666/rec/3 |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref> The 1894 Act also directed that civil parishes could no longer straddle district boundaries, and so Middlewich parish was enlarged to match the urban district, and the parts of Kinderton cum Hulme and Newton outside the urban district were merged into a parish called Kinderton.<ref>{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Local Government Board |date=1895 |page=238 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Annual_Report_of_the_Local_Government_Bo/gFIwAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA238&printsec=frontcover |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref> The urban district was enlarged in 1936, notably gaining a large area from the parish of Kinderton, which was abolished.<ref>{{cite web |title=Middlewich Urban District |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10221171 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref>

The urban district council was initially based at the old Town Hall on Hightown, which had been built in 1844 and was gifted to the local board by its private owners in 1887.<ref name=hurley>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXmIAwAAQBAJ  |title=Middlewich and Holmes Chapel Through Time|first=Paul|last=Hurley|publisher=Amberley Publishing|year=2010|isbn= 978-1445601991}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Middlewich Town Hall |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001975%2F18870625&page=9 |access-date=23 February 2025 |work=Northwich Guardian |date=25 June 1887 |page=9}}</ref><ref name=Kelly/> The rear part of that building, including the council's offices, was demolished in 1930 to allow for street widening, at which point the council moved to the Victoria Buildings on Lewin Street, which had been built as a technical school and library in 1898.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vast improvement scheme for Cheshire: Modernising Middlewich |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000525%2F19300818&page=6 |access-date=23 February 2025 |work=Evening Sentinel |date=18 August 1930 |location=Stoke-on-Trent |page=6}}</ref> The remainder of the old Town Hall was demolished in the early 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hightown and Middlewich Town Hall 1960s |url=https://www.middlewichdiary.co.uk/2018/ |website=Middlewich Diary |access-date=23 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421234435/https://www.middlewichdiary.co.uk/2018/ |archive-date=21 April 2020 |date=2018}}</ref>

Middlewich Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the [[Local Government Act 1972]]. A [[successor parish]] called Middlewich was established covering the area of the abolished urban district, with its parish council taking the name Middlewich Town Council.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973|year=1973|number=1110|access-date=1 November 2024}}</ref> District-level functions passed to [[Congleton Borough Council]]. In 2009, Cheshire East Council was created, taking over the functions of the borough council and [[Cheshire County Council]], which were both abolished.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008|year=2008|number=634|access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref> In 2013, Middlewich Town Council was transferred the ownership of Victoria Buildings and the adjoining Civic Hall from Cheshire East Council, and renamed them the Town Hall and Victoria Hall respectively.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=Dave |title=Memories of Middlewich Civic Hall |url=https://www.middlewichdiary.co.uk/2011/12/memories-of-middlewich-civic-hall-by.html |website=The Middlewich Diary |publisher=Salt Town Productions |access-date=23 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510010721/https://www.middlewichdiary.co.uk/2011/12/memories-of-middlewich-civic-hall-by.html |archive-date=10 May 2021 |date=2019}}</ref>