[5] Alsager was recorded as 'Eleacier' in the Domesday Book of 1086, and was a small farming village until the 19th century when, due to its rail connections and rural character, it became a home of choice for pottery works managers from the nearby Federation of Six Towns which later became the city of Stoke-on-Trent.
This bore the name of HMS Excalibur and was situated at the top of Fields Road by the side of the Stoke to Crewe railway line.
In 1948 it became a displaced persons camp for refugees from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the former Polish Ukraine, countries which had been forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union.
The parish is located in the Diocese of Shrewsbury (Central Cheshire Region – Local Pastoral Area 9).There are two tiers of local government covering Alsager, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Alsager Town Council and Cheshire East Council.
[10] Alsager was historically a township within the ancient parish of Barthomley, which formed part of the Nantwich hundred of Cheshire.
In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so Alsager became a civil parish.
[12] Alsager subsequently also became a separate ecclesiastical parish from Barthomley in 1898 following the completion of St Mary Magdalene's Church.
[19] The town is home to Alsager Community Theatre (ACT),[20] an amateur drama group founded in 1973.
[22] The Arts Centre hosted performance companies such as Forced Entertainment and artists such as Bobby Baker.
[25] Public education, at primary and secondary school level, is managed by Cheshire East Council and the Alsager Community Trust.
During the Second World War a hostel built of wooden army huts was constructed on the site of the MMU to house workers at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Radway Green, and was called "Heathside".
The MMU Alsager was home to the Contemporary Arts and Sports Science Departments of the Manchester Metropolitan University.
Soon afterwards, construction of a new housing estate named "Scholar's Place" commenced on the site of the former Alsager campus.
The town is served by Alsager railway station, with East Midlands Railway services on the Crewe to Derby line[30] and West Midlands Trains services from Crewe to Stafford;[31] both operate hourly during weekday off-peak times.
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada.
Between 2012 and 2021 Alsager town centre has been redeveloped somewhat:The Co-operative Food store was rebuilt and enlarged in 2012, but it was sold off and converted to an Asda supermarket in 2015.
In April 2014 Cheshire East Council gave planning permission for the development of a new Sainsbury's store on the former Twyfords site off Lawton Road.
The club competes in the North West Counties Football League and plays its home matches at Wood Park.
[46] The Mere is a lake in the centre of Alsager; this isolated pool, once the focal point of the town, is only accessible by two fenced public viewing areas and by local residents who have gardens adjoining the waters.
[51] Alsager is home to Borrow Pit Meadows, a local beauty spot situated in the north of the town, which leads on to the Salt Line.