Christleton 2000 years of History is one of the most significant publications, researched, written and published by the Local History Group. 1,000 copies were printed and sold in the first year. Known as the “green book” it has been much sought after since, and just occasionally a copy becomes available after the death of a friend from the village. The aim was to produce a book that truly reflected the history and heritage of the village to commemorate the Millennium, and I think we achieved that with the colourful “coffee table” book that emerged. The efforts of local authors, many experts in their field, and writing their own chapters, brought the incredible story of the parish and village in particular to the majority of people. Set between the green covers, this A4 sized book, beautifully illustrated with a painting by Phil Hodges, and a backpiece of a photograph of the village in 2000, seemed to capture the mood of the village at the Millennium.

“The aim was to tell the story of Christleton, a picturesque village two miles south-east of the City of Chester. It has existed since long before the Domesday Book was written, and was built on a sandstone ridge overlooking both the city and the fertile Cheshire plain. Early Christian settled here and their presence gave the village its name, the place of the Christians, or the town ship of Christ. The history and natural history of the village is fully explored, and the life of the village is illustrated with photographs from the extensive village collection and original drawings.”

The book had over 250 subscribers, which enabled the printing to go ahead, and the book launch was held in the hall of the College of Law* with permission of the Principal. The foreword was written by The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Chester Councillor Eric Plenderleath, who gave us active encouragement. The first pamphlet about the village history had been printed to commemorate the Coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth. This had been written by Canon Alyn Arthur Guest Williams, rector between 1924-1968, who had the most extensive collection of papers about the village and his family history. We also had access to P28 the collection of papers about the Parish of Christleton which is kept in the Cheshire County Archives, including a collection of Parish Magazines published between 1871-2000. The second publication, “Christleton. The History of a Cheshire Village”, had been a collaboration between Frank Latham (Cheshire Workers Education Movement) and villagers, which led to the formation of the Christleton Local History Group.

The shape and outline of the book, including many colourful photographs, can be seen in the illustrations for this article, and I hope you enjoy looking at the achievements of the team who compiled it.

Contents Introduction
Chapter 1 The Shaping of the Parish
Chapter 2 The Churches of Christleton
Chapter 3 Times Past & Present
Chapter 4 Personalities and Memories
Chapter 5 Education
Chapter 6 Social & Sporting Life
Chapter 7 Natural History
Acknowledgements and Bibliography

This publication is a great resource for anyone wishing to learn more about the village and surrounding parishes. It is now rare to see copies of the book, but there are copies in the local and city libraries and in the County Archives.