a market-town and municipal borough of Cheshire, parish of Astbury and hundred of Northwich, 33 miles east from Chester. It stands in a deep valley on the banks of the Dane, and derives a considerable trade from the manufacture of silk ribbons, cotton, and leather, and from extensive coal mines in the vicinity. In its western suburb are numerous mansions with ornamental shruberies. The principal buildings in the town are the guild-hall, the market-hall, and the three parish churches. Congleton is the seat of a county court and petty sessions. Its municipal corporation consists of 6 aldermen and 18 councillors, of whom one is mayor. It is a station on the North Staffordshire railway, and communicates with Macclesfield by a canal. Pop. (1851) 10,520.