Map of civil parish of Whitley within the former borough of Vale Royal
The civil parish was created on 1 April 1936 based on Whitley Inferior and Whitley Superior, now known as Lower Whitley and Higher Whitley.[2]
Whitley lies mostly in the northern part of a triangle of land bounded by the A49 (Warrington to Whitchurch) to the west, the A559 (Warrington to Northwich) to the east and the A533
(Runcorn to Northwich) to the south.
Transport
Roads
All public roads in the village are maintained by Cheshire West and Chester council. The A49 Tarporley Road is a single carriageway primary road (formerly a trunk road). Between the world wars the Lower Whitley By-Pass was constructed, the old route being called Street Lane. The A559 Northwich Road has always been a county road and is generally a narrower road. Just half a mile to the north of the parish is the M56 North Cheshire Motorway.
Buses
Buses run through the village from Warrington to Northwich and vice versa. These are operated by Warrington Borough Transport, although Cheshire West and Chester Council do subsidise the service. In 2006 the services running through Weaverham and Little Leigh were discontinued. This means no bus services now run along the A49 through Whitley, though they still run on the A559.
Public houses
Whitley has two public houses, the Chetwode Arms on Street Lane (the old A49) and the Birch and Bottle on Northwich Road. Both were owned by Greenall Whitley & Co until it moved away from pubs in the 1990s, as was a third pub, The Millstone on Grimsditch Lane, now closed.
