Malpas, The Cross c.1955

Photo ref: M281021

More about this scene

This small town is unusual in that its name derives totally from French. 'Mal pas' means 'bad step or way' or 'difficult passage'. Perhaps early Normans were set upon as they travelled here, or perhaps they just found the terrain difficult. Whatever its failings as a route in the past, it was later to become an important stop for stagecoaches travelling between Chester and London.