Brindley - History

History

The name Brindley means "a burnt clearing". The township does not appear in the Domesday survey, the first mention of Brindley being in 1288. Brindley fell within the ancient parish of Acton and was once part of the manor of Baddiley. Landowners included Willis Allen in 1656, Sir Thomas Mainwaring and Sir Thomas Brereton in 1671, and the Wilbraham and Tomkinson families from 1798.

Medieval landowners

In medieval times Brindley township and the Norman landowners that took its name were called: Burndelegh, Birnedelegh, Burendeleg, Brundelegh, Brundeley, Brundylegh and later in Tudor times until the 18th century, 'Brundley', eventually evolving to the modern Brindley.

Earlier, in c1272 a marriage was arranged to unite two Norman families. Gilbert de Stoke, son of Randle (Ranulphus) de Praers, was betrothed to Isolda de Brereton, daughter of Sir Ralph Brereton. As part of Isolda's marriage settlement, land at Brundelegh (Brindley), was given to Gilbert. Their first son decided to call himself Brundelegh de Brundeley (Brindley) after the land that he had inherited.

In 1288 a trespass case in which Philip Russell sued William de Bulkelegh and Richard de Burndelegh and William son of Matilda de Stok. Also 'Birndelegh' when Richard the clerk of that place failed to prosecute William de Spurstow that same year. The same source - The County Court Rolls - also state that the Burland family had lands in Burndelegh.

On 10 November 1361, Edward, Earl of Chester, granted to John de Brundelegh the office of Constable of Beeston Castle. Salary: £4 a year and receiver of St. Pierre lands of which, Brindley was a part, and also turf from Peckforton Moss (income from a valuable fuel). Orders: To reside in the castle. Beeston Castle is less than 6 miles from Brindley. Edward, Earl of Chester in 1361, was son of Edward III and was also Prince of Wales, famously known as the Black Prince.

In common with much of the surrounding area, the village was occupied by Royalist forces as they advanced on Nantwich in December 1643 during the Civil War.

The civil parish was enlarged from 1,090 acres (4.4 km2) to 1,250 acres (5.1 km2) in a series of boundary changes between 1871 and 1891.