This year Alton Castle celebrates its 30th anniversary as a residential retreat and to and to mark the occasion a huge lantern has been commissioned. Constructed by local blacksmith, Jim Plant of Cheadle, the lantern has been built in his workshop over a number of years. It's so large (about 8ft in diameter) that he could hardly move around his workshop during assembly! A local electrician wired the unit up to the British safety standard, and the unit now sits in an area wher

Presented by our Town Historian Mike Plant Cheadle: A Market Town Since 1250 A market has been held in Cheadle since the Lord of the Manor, Ralph Basset, was granted a charter for a market and fair during the reign of Henry III. The granting of the charter meant that Cheadle was forever a town, rather than a village. Research by the late historian George Short in the 1970s found that the earliest reference to the market charter is 30th May 1250. Cheadle High Street - Image Su