Cheshire

Cheshire
Ceremonial county
The Cheshire Plain from Beeston Castle, Eastgate Clock in Chester, and Little Moreton Hall
Cheshire shown within England
Coordinates: 53°10′N 2°35′W / 53.167°N 2.583°W / 53.167; -2.583
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	North West
Established	Ancient
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
UK Parliament	12 MPs
Police	Cheshire Constabulary
Largest town	Warrington
Ceremonial county
Lord Lieutenant	Alexis, Lady Redmond
High Sheriff	Nicholas Hopkinson[1]
Area [2]	2,346 km2 (906 sq mi)
• Rank	25th of 48
Population  (2022)[2]	1,108,765
• Rank	18th of 48
• Density	473/km2 (1,230/sq mi)
Districts
Districts of Cheshire   Unitary
Districts	Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire East Warrington Halton

Cheshire (/ˈtʃɛʃər, -ɪər/ CHESH-ər, -⁠eer)^[3] is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shropshire to the south; to the west it is bordered by the Welsh counties of Flintshire and Wrexham, and has a short coastline on the Dee Estuary. The largest settlement is Warrington.

The county has an area of 905 square miles (2,344 km²) and had a population of 1,095,500 at the 2021 census.^[a] The areas around the River Mersey in the north of the county are the most densely populated, with Warrington, Runcorn, Widnes, and Ellesmere Port located on the river. The city of Chester lies in the west of the county, Crewe in the south, and Macclesfield in the east. For local government purposes Cheshire comprises four unitary authority areas: Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, and Warrington. The county historically included all of the Wirral Peninsula and parts of southern Greater Manchester and northern Derbyshire, but excluded Widnes and Warrington.

The landscape of the county is dominated by the Cheshire Plain, an area of relatively flat land divided by the Mid-Cheshire Ridge. To the west, Cheshire contains the south of the Wirral Peninsula, and to the east the landscape rises to the Pennines, where the county contains part of the Peak District. The River Mersey runs through the north of Cheshire before broadening into its wide estuary; the River Dee forms part of the county's border with Wales, then fully enters England and flows through Chester before re-entering Wales upstream of its estuary. Red Triassic sandstone forms the bedrock of much of the county, and was used in the construction of many of its buildings.

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