There has long been a settlement in what we now know as Audlem. Some kind of community certainly existed at the time of the Norman conquest, as Aldelime gets a mention in the Domesday Book (1086). But its origins may be even earlier, as there is evidence to suggest a Celtic or possibly even Roman settlement. By 1278 Audlem was important enough to have a church built and in 1296 it was granted a Market Charter.

The Domesday Book recorded 4 identified persons, probably meaning the local population was then somewhere between 50 and 100. The next available estimate comes from 1591, when the village is thought to have had between 300 and 400 inhabitants. In 1669 the Hearth Tax returns suggested a population of about 600. The first official census in 1801 recorded 965 persons. By 1901 this figure had risen to 1,455, and by 2001 to 1,900.

For much of its history Audlem will have been a small, self-reliant agricultural community, centred around its own market. During the nineteenth century its horizons will have broadened through the arrival of the canal in 1835, and the railway in 1863. These will have opened new opportunities for both trade and travel which, in the twentieth century, were then further developed with the arrival of the motor car. Shops and businesses developed following the demise of the market, some of which still remain.

Audlem's community facilities have developed steadily throughout its history. There have been inns and alehouses from the earliest days. There has been a school in the village since the sixteenth century. During the nineteenth century a police house was built, a fire brigade started and various non-conformist chapels added. The twentieth century began with the building of the Public Hall.

In 1997 the Audlem Local History Group published 'Audlem: The history of a Cheshire Parish and its five townships'. (ISBN 0952228432). This tells a fascinating story in much detail.