Stapeley

Coordinates: 53°02′35″N 2°29′02″W / 53.043°N 2.484°W / 53.043; -2.484

Stapeley is a hamlet (at SJ675496) and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The hamlet lies 2¼ miles to the south east of Nantwich. The parish also includes the small settlements of Broad Lane and Butt Green, and parts of Artle Brook, Haymoor Green and Howbeck Bank, as well as a recent residential development north of the A5301 adjacent to Nantwich. In 2008, the total population was estimated to be a little under 3000. Nearby villages include Shavington, Willaston and Wybunbury.

History

Stapeley appears in the Domesday survey as Steple; it was then held by William Malbank, who held much of the land in the Nantwich hundred.

Stapeley Water Gardens garden centre at Butt Green (SJ664512) opened in 1965 and became a major tourist attraction, drawing 1.3 million annual visitors. It included a small zoo, the Palms Tropical Oasis. The zoo closed in 2010, and the remainder of the Water Gardens closed the following year.