Cheadle, Greater Manchester

There has been human occupation in the area that is now Cheadle since prehistoric times. The earliest evidence of civilisation is of burial mounds dating from the Iron Age, belonging to Celts who occupied Britain. Later, the area was occupied by Brigantes, whose activity was discovered in the form of axe fragments. In the first millennium, Romans occupied the area and some of their coins have been discovered since. During the seventh century, St. Chad preached in the area. A stone cross dedicated to him was found close to the confluence of the river Mersey and Micker Brook in 1873. It was held by Gamel, a free Saxon under Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester; it was about three miles long…