Malpas

From Chester Wiki

Contents 1 Location 2 Data 3 History 4 Local facilities 5 Things to do 6 External Links

[edit] Location

[edit] Data

[edit] History

The Roman Road from the cattle market at Tilston (Bovium) to Whitchurch (Mediolanium) passed through here, but there is no real evidence of anything happening until (according to Wiki) Æthelræd II (879-911) and the Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia (911-918) started to encourage the cult of St Oswald. This all seems a bit odd, because the better known Oswald was born during this period and still alive at the end of it. He died on February 29, 992 in the act of washing the feet of the poor, as was his daily custom during Lent. The lesser known Oswald is probably the one meant.

Malpas is recorded as being called Depenbech after the Norman Conquest, and Robert FitzHugh was created Baron of Malpas for his services at the battle of Hastings. The Cholmondeley family are possibly the result of Robert's marriage to the half-sister of William the Conqueror (William the Bastard), but are also related to Hugh Kevelioc, Earl of Chester. In Plantagenet times (1154-1485) Malpas became a market town (but markets are no longer held). The present St Oswalds was built in the second half of the 14th century on the site of the previous one, or on the site of the castle, depending on the website you read. By then, St Oswald was definitely dead.

Sir William Brereton of Malpas became chamberlain of Chester, and groom of the privy chamber to Henry VIII. Things went downhill after that - he was beheaded on the 17 May 1536 for 'a romantic affair with Anne Boleyn' (four others were arrested and tortured on the same charge - but this may have been politically motivated by Essex - also later beheaded- in the case of Essex, Henry intentionally chose a rather inept executioner, so this took a while).

Henry VIII had done this sort of thing before.

Another Sir William Brereton of Malpas and Shocklach was a Parliamentarian major general at the Battle of Nantwich in January 1644 and later the siege of Chester in February 1646. Perhaps he had a grudge against the Royalists, but equally well he should have had a grudge against the Roundheads as Cromwell - also later beheaded (but he was dead at the time) - was descended from the same Essex as is mentioned above.

After that, not much happened in Malpas.

The name 'Malpas' means 'bad passage' from the Old French 'mal passe'. It is mentioned by the mostly inaccurate Gerald of Wales in Chapter VIII of his "Baldwins Passage through Wales":

• From Shrewsbury, we continued our journey towards Wenloch, by a narrow and rugged way, called Evil-street, where, in our time, a Jew, travelling with the archdeacon of the place, whose name was Peccatum (Sin), and the dean, whose name was DeVille, towards Shrewsbury, hearing the archdeacon say, that his archdeaconry began at a place called Evil-street, and extended as far as Mal-pas, towards Chester, pleasantly told them, "It would be a miracle, if his fate brought him safe out of a country, whose archdeacon was Sin, whose dean the devil; the entrance to the archdeaconry Evil-street, and its exit Bad-pass.

[edit] Local facilities

[edit] Things to do

• Visit Malpas Castle - which is a mound rather than one of those large stone things.

• There are several listed buildings in Malpas

[edit] External Links

Malpas ward information

Malpas on Wikipaedia

More on Malpas - including photos.