Church Lawton
| Church Lawton | |
|---|---|
 All Saints Church, Church Lawton |
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 Church Lawton
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| Church Lawton shown within Cheshire | |
| Population | 2,201 |
| OS grid reference | SJ821557 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STOKE ON TRENT |
| Postcode district | ST7 |
| Dialling code | 01270 |
| Police | Cheshire |
| Fire | Cheshire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Church Lawton is a small village and located in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. Its location is such that its eastern boundary forms part of the county boundary between Cheshire and Staffordshire and, because of its close proximity to Stoke-on-Trent, the parish has a Stoke postcode. In addition to ribbon development connecting Kidsgrove (in Staffordshire) with Scholar Green (in Odd Rode parish), the parish also contains the hamlets of Lawton Gate, Lawton Heath and Lawton Heath End, and the Lawton Hall estate. According to the 2001 census, the population of the entire parish was 2,201.
There is evidence of human activity within the parish stretching back to the Neolithic period: a polished axe was found in the parish that was possibly made in Cornwall.
The collection of Church Lawton Barrows, also known as the Church Lawton Complex, is a significant Bronze Age site in the parish. The Complex consists of three Bronze Age mounds of which only two (Church Lawton II and Church Lawton III) survive. Church Lawton III is the more important of the two, having been excavated in the early 1980s. It seems to have been built in two phases; the first phase consisted of one of the few stone circles found in Cheshire, which was roughly 22.5 metres (73 ft 9 in) in diameter, with a turf and daub platform in the centre, on which dead bodies were probably placed as part of an excarnation ritual prior to burial. There were gaps to the north and south of the circle serving as entrances, with two of the stones standing upright, with the remainder deliberately placed on their side. The second phase covered the central part with sandy subsoil and surrounded it with a low turf wall.
Church Lawton II was also built in two phases. In the first, a low mound made from sand and gravel subsoil surrounded by a ditch was constructed. It was about 16 metres (52 ft) in diameter and 1.5 metres (5 ft) high. In the centre of the mound was a sand-filled boat-shaped hollow with a wooden lid. It was found to be empty of any bones, possibly because any bones had rotted away in the acidic soil environment. Eighteen pits, most likely cremation pits, were found on the mound, and four outside the surrounding ditch. Most of the contents of these were adults, but a few were children or foetuses. Two food vessels and two "Collared Urns" were also found. In the second phase, the diameter increased to 30 metres (98 ft), but there were only a number of fire pits and pyres discovered along with one actual cremation. A number of pottery shards were also recovered, though they had been badly damaged by ploughing. Some pottery associated with the Beaker culture was also recovered from what would have been the soil surface at the time of construction, showing that this area had human habitation for an extended period.
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