| Appleton Thorn | |
  Appleton Thorn shown within Cheshire |
|
| Population | 10,477 (2001) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Parish | Appleton |
| Unitary authority | Warrington |
| Ceremonial county | Cheshire |
| Region | North West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WARRINGTON |
| Postcode district | WA4 |
| Dialling code | 01925 |
| Police | Cheshire |
| Fire | Cheshire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | Warrington South |
| European Parliament | North West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Cheshire | |
Appleton Thorn is a village and, as "Appleton", a civil parish within the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Each June, the village hosts the ceremony of "Bawming the Thorn". The current form of the ceremony dates from the Nineteenth Century, when it was part of the village’s "Walking Day". It involved children from Appleton Thorn Primary School walking through the village and holding sports and games at the school. This now takes place at the Village Hall. The ceremony stopped in the 1930’s, but was later revived by the then headmaster, Mr. Bob Jones in 1967. "Bawming the Thorn" occurs on the Saturday nearest to Midsummer’s Day. Local schoolchildren dance around the tree. "Bawming" means "decorating" - during the ceremony the thorn tree is decorated with ribbons and garlands. According to legend, the hawthorn at Appleton Thorn grew from a cutting of the Holy Thorn at Glastonbury, which was itself said to have sprung from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, the man who arranged for Jesus's burial after the Crucifixion. Appleton appeared in the Domesday survey as "Epeltune" and means "the tun where the apples grew". The Appleton Cross near Pepper Street, is a reminder a Warrington friar, Richard de Apulton who was ordained as the sub-deacon at Colwich in 1365.
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Principal Settlements | Warrington |
| Civil Parishes | Appleton • Birchwood • Burtonwood and Westbrook • Croft • Cuerdley • Culcheth and Glazebury • Grappenhall and Thelwall • Great Sankey • Hatton • Lymm • Penketh • Poulton-with-Fearnhead • Rixton-with-Glazebrook • Stockton Heath • Stretton • Walton • Winwick • Woolston |
| Unparished Areas | Warrington |
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Cheshire Portal | |
| Unitary authorities | Halton • Warrington |
| Boroughs or districts | Chester • Congleton • Crewe and Nantwich • Ellesmere Port and Neston • Macclesfield • Vale Royal |
| Cities and towns | Alsager • Bollington • Birchwood • Chester • Congleton • Crewe • Ellesmere Port • Frodsham • Knutsford • Macclesfield • Middlewich • Nantwich • Neston • Northwich • Runcorn • Sandbach • Warrington • Widnes • Wilmslow • Winsford See also: List of civil parishes in Cheshire |
