Cheshire West and Chester in the context of "Ellesmere Port"

Cheshire (/ˈtʃɛʃər, -ɪər/ CHESH-ər, -⁠eer) 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 km) and had a population of 1,139,884 in 2024. 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.

Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West and Chester. It is also the historic county town of Cheshire and the second-largest settlement in Cheshire after Warrington.

Chester was founded in 79 AD as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix during the reign of Emperor Vespasian. One of the main army camps in Roman Britain, Deva later became a major civilian settlement. In 689, King Æthelred of Mercia founded the Minster Church of West Mercia, which later became Chester's first cathedral, and the Angles extended and strengthened the walls to protect the city against the Danes. Chester was one of the last cities in England to fall to the Normans, and William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle to dominate the town and the nearby Welsh border. Chester was granted city status in 1541.

The Dee Estuary (Welsh: Aber Dyfrdwy) is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five-mile (8 km) 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several miles wide forming the boundary between the Wirral Peninsula in north-west England and Flintshire in north-east Wales. The Dee Estuary's largest towns along it include Holywell, Flint, Connah's Quay, Shotton, Queensferry, Saltney Ferry, Heswall, West Kirby and Neston as well as other villages and towns alongside it. The A548 also passes along the estuary in Wales and parts of Cheshire West and Chester and Merseyside in England. The North Wales Coast Line follows the course of the Dee Estuary between Prestatyn and Chester.

The Borough of Halton (/hɒltən/) is a local authority district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, North West England. It is administered by Halton Borough Council, a unitary authority since 1998. The borough contains the towns of Runcorn and Widnes and the civil parishes of Daresbury, Hale, Halebank, Moore, Preston Brook, and Sandymoor. Since 2014, it has been part of the Liverpool City Region and the council is a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

The neighbouring districts (clockwise from west) are Liverpool, Knowsley and St Helens, which are fellow boroughs of the Liverpool City Region, and Warrington and Cheshire West and Chester in Cheshire.

The Borough of Warrington is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The borough is centred around the town of Warrington, and extends out into outlying villages of Lymm and Great Sankey and the town of Birchwood.

The borough is geographically located to the north and northeast of the Cheshire West and Chester and Halton districts in Cheshire, the metropolitan borough of St Helens in Merseyside to the northwest and north and the metropolitan boroughs of Wigan and Trafford in Greater Manchester to the northeast, east, and southeast. Additionally, to the south-east, the borough borders Cheshire East. The borough is also located between the cities of Liverpool, Salford, Manchester, Chester and Preston. The district straddles the historic counties of Cheshire (the southern part of the district includes Lymm and Stockton Heath) and Lancashire (the northern part including Warrington itself and Latchford).

Poulton is a settlement and former civil parish, now in the parish of Poulton and Pulford, in the Cheshire West and Chester, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2001 census the parish had a recorded population of 92.

Since 1995, significant archaeological activity has been conducted in the area, first by the University of Liverpool and later by the independent group known as the Poulton Research Project.