Audlem
Main square in Audlem, taken in 2011.
Audlem Location within Cheshire
Population	1,832 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SJ660436
Civil parish	Audlem
Unitary authority	Cheshire East
Ceremonial county	Cheshire
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CREWE
Postcode district	CW3
Dialling code	01270
Police	Cheshire
Fire	Cheshire
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Chester South and Eddisbury
List of places UK England Cheshire 52°59′21″N 2°30′28″W / 52.989187°N 2.507862°W / 52.989187; -2.507862

Audlem (/ʊərdləm/ ORD-ləm) is a village and civil parish located in Cheshire, North West England. In 2021, it had a population of 1,832.^[1]

The largest village in southern Cheshire, Audlem is approximately seven miles (11 km) south of Nantwich, just one mile (1.6 km) north of the border with the neighbouring county of Shropshire, the village is eight miles (13 km) east of Whitchurch and seven miles (11 km) north of Market Drayton. It is also approximately nine miles (14 km) from the border with Wales.

Audlem was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Aldelime. By the late 13th century, St James' Church had been founded and Edward I granted it a market charter in 1295.^[2]

The arrival of the Shropshire Union Canal in 1835 was a significant development for Audlem. The canal boosted the local economy by facilitating the transport of goods and materials, particularly agricultural produce and coal. During this period, many of the village's distinctive Georgian and Victorian buildings were constructed. Audlem’s flight of 15 locks, designed by Thomas Telford, are a notable engineering feature. Though commercial activity on the canal virtually ceased in the 1950s, it is now an important source of tourism for the village. The canal continues to draw visitors and leisure boaters alike along the waterway itself and to walk the picturesque path.^[3]

In 2008 village residents launched an online referendum on moving the village to Wales from England – in a protest over prescription charges in England.^[4][3]

There are many historic buildings including Moss Hall is an Elizabethan timber-framed hall from 1616 one-half mile (0.8 km) from Audlem village centre.

Audlem has clubs for tennis, badminton, football, cricket, golf, pigeon racing (or pigeon-fancying), caravanning, bell ringing and bowls. Cyclists meet informally at The Tearoom at No.11. Audlem has a website, AudlemOnline.^[5] Saint James' Primary School is the only school in the village.

Audlem is located at the junction of the A525 and A529 roads in south Cheshire. The A525 road runs from Newcastle under Lyme and Woore from the east and Whitchurch from the west. The A529 runs from Nantwich in the north and from Market Drayton in the south.

Audlem is approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of the M6 motorway. The closest junctions are junction 16 from the North and junctions 15 and 14 from the South.^[6]

Audlem is on the Shropshire Union Canal, which has a flight of 15 locks, to raise the canal 93 feet (28 m) from the Cheshire Plain to the Shropshire Plain. The River Weaver passes west of the village.

Audlem railway station closed along with the local railway line in 1963. The station was on the former Great Western Railway between Market Drayton and Nantwich, opened in 1863.^[7] The station was immortalised in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.

The closest railway stations are Nantwich and Whitchurch on the Welsh Marches line. Both stations are 7 miles (11 km) from Audlem. Crewe, on the West Coast Main Line, is 10 miles (16 km) away.

Audlem is served by the go-too bus.^[8] Other bus services were discontinued on 1 September 2024.^[9]

Notable residents and other people associated with Audlem include:

• Isabella Whitney (c.1546/48–after 1624), the first woman known to have published secular poetry in the English language, grew up in Ryle Green when her father took a lease of a farm there.^[10] Her brother, Geoffrey Whitney (c.1548–c.1601), is likewise believed to have been brought up there; also a poet, he is known for his collection Choice of Emblemes.^[11]
• William Baker (1705–1771), architect, surveyor and building contractor, lived at Highfields from the 1740s.^[12]
• Field Marshal Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere (1773–1865), soldier, associate of the Duke of Wellington, was educated at a grammar school then in Audlem for three years from age nine before entering Westminster School.^[13]
• Henry Lisle (1846 in Audlem – 1916), lawyer^[14] and political figure in Saskatchewan, Canada
• Alice Elizabeth Gillington (1863 in Audlem – 1934), author, poet and journalist;^[15] published books about Gypsies
• Mary Clarissa Gillington, later better known as May Byron (1861 in Audlem – 1936), author, poet, elder sister of Alice Gillington
• Herbert Broomfield (1878 in Audlem – unknown), football goalkeeper,^[16] 28 pro appearances for Bolton Wanderers F.C.
• Peter Ellson (1925 in Audlem – 2014), professional footballing goalkeeper,^[17] 219 pro appearances for Crewe Alexandra F.C.
• Peter McGarr (born 1953), classical composer and teacher; he has written several pieces inspired by Audlem ('Audlem Sonatas', 'Night-time' and 'Mourning Gamelan'), as homage to his mother, who lived in the village when she was a child.^[18]
• Margaret Canovan (1939–2018), political theorist, lived in Audlem from 1979 to 2003 while working at Keele University.^[19]

• St. James' Church, Audlem
• Audlem Baptist Church

• Audlem Online
• Audlem Special Events Team
• Audlem in the Domesday Book