Macefen is a former civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its area is now part of the civil parishes of Tushingham-cum-Grindley, Macefen and Bradley and No Man's Heath and District. Macefen lies 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the village of Malpas and 5 miles (8.0 km) north west of Whitchurch, Salop. Part of the village of No Man's Heath was within the northern boundary of Macefen. Its name is thought to possibly be an anglicisation of an older Welsh placename Maes-y-ffin, "the open field (maes) at the boundary (ffin)".[1]

Macefen
Minor road in Macefen
Macefen is located in Cheshire
Macefen
Macefen
Location within Cheshire
OS grid referenceSJ514479
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMALPAS
Postcode districtSY14
Dialling code01948
PoliceCheshire
FireCheshire
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cheshire
53°01′34″N 2°43′26″W / 53.026°N 2.724°W / 53.026; -2.724

Macefen was a slightly curious parish in that it scarcely appears in gazetteers. Under the manorial system Macefen was a manor of the Barony of Malpas, and was for many years part of the estates of the Grosvenor family.[2] Later it was a township of the ancient parish of Malpas, and later still its boundaries became those of a civil parish. Kelly's Directory of Cheshire, 1914 lists Macefen under Tushingham cum Grindley thus:[3] "Macefen (or Maesfen) is a small township in the Whitchurch union, 2 miles south from Malpas station. The Hon. Mrs. Algernon R. Parker, who has a residence here [at grid reference SJ518466 on the north side of Bradley Lane], is lady of the manor and sole landowner." It never had its own church but was served by adjacent churches.[4] The civil parish was abolished in 2015 to form Tushingham-cum-Grindley, Macefen and Bradley and No Man's Heath and District.[4]

References