Macefen

Macefen is a former civil parish, now in the parishes of Tushingham-cum-Grindley, Macefen and Bradley and No Man's Heath and District, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. 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] In 2001 the parish had a population of 81.^[2]

Key Information

Macefen
Minor road in Macefen
Macefen Location within Cheshire
Population	81 (2001 census)
OS grid reference	SJ514479
Civil parish	Tushingham-cum-Grindley, Macefen and Bradley No Man's Heath and District
Unitary authority	Cheshire West and Chester
Ceremonial county	Cheshire
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MALPAS
Postcode district	SY14
Dialling code	01948
Police	Cheshire
Fire	Cheshire
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Chester South and Eddisbury
List of places UK England Cheshire 53°01′34″N 2°43′26″W / 53.026°N 2.724°W / 53.026; -2.724
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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.^[3] Later it was a township of the ancient parish of Malpas,^[4] in 1866 Macefen became a separate civil parish.^[5] Kelly's Directory of Cheshire, 1914 lists Macefen under Tushingham cum Grindley thus:^[6] "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.^[2] The civil parish was abolished on 1 April 2015 to form "Tushingham-cum-Grindley, Macefen and Bradley" and "No Man's Heath and District".^[7]

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1. ^ Dodgson, J. M. (1972). The Place-names of Cheshire. English Place-Name Society. p. 37.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Macefen". GenUKI. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
3. ^ Hansall, John Hickson (1817). The History of the County Palatine of Chester. Chester: John Fletcher. p. 340.
4. ^ "History of Macefen, in Chester and Cheshire". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
5. ^ "Relationships and changes Macefen CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
6. ^ Kelly's Directory of Cheshire. London: Kelly's Directories. 1914. p. 663. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
7. ^ "Cheshire West and Chester Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 10 October 2025.