Backford (St. Oswald), a parish, in the union of Great Boughton, partly in the Higher division of the hundred of Wirral, and partly in the Lower division of that of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester; comprising the townships of Caughall, Chorlton, Lea, and Mollington-Tarrant; and containing 556 inhabitants, of whom 200 are in the township of Backford, 4 miles (N.) from Chester. The parish consists by measurement of 3006 acres, and is situated on the great road from Chester to Liverpool; it is skirted on the south by the Ellesmere canal, and its vicinity to the city of Chester renders it a cheerful and desirable place of residence. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £5. 0. 5.; net income, £230; patron and appropriator, Bishop of Chester. Two schools are supported by private subscription.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis Fifth Edition Published London; by S. Lewis and Co., 13, Finsbury Place, South. M. DCCC. XLV.
