Difference between revisions of "Warrington"

Revision as of 08:12, May 2, 2025

Warrington
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Shire county	Lancashire Cheshire
Council	Warrington Borough Council
Population	211,000 (2021)

Warrington is a town in north-west England, located on the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal. Parts of the town north of the Mersey are in Lancashire, and those south of it are in Cheshire. It is noted for the manufacture of soap and has a vodka distillery. The town is 16 miles east of Liverpool and a similar distance west of Manchester. Wigan is 9 miles to the north, Chester is 18 miles to the south-west and Shrewsbury, Shropshire is 48 miles to the south.

An ancient crossing point of the Mersey, there was a Roman settlement at the modern suburb of Wilderspool in the 1st and 2nd centuries. During the English Civil War (1642-1651), the town was used as a base for Royalists by James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, and was the site of a battle against Scotland in 1651.^[1] In 1968, Warrington was designated a 'new town', with Elizabeth II touring its newly revamped main thoroughfare Bridge Street that May.^[2] Despite a decline in local heavy industry, the growth of the town in the 1970s and 1980s saw an increase in light industry, retail, distribution and technology.

The M6 motorway, the longest motorway in England, has junctions with the other major motorways M56 and M62 in the vicinity of Warrington, and is a major junction for traffic between the North of England and North Wales. The Warrington post town also includes other settlements including the Lancashire towns of Birchwood and Golborne, and many villages such as Appleton and Grappenhall in Cheshire.

Geography

Warrington within the West Derby Hundred of Lancashire as depicted by a 17th century map by the cartographer John Speed.

Warrington lies on the River Mersey around 16 miles east of the Mersey estuary at Liverpool. The parts of the town north of the Mersey are in the West Derby hundred of Lancashire, whereas those to the south are in the Bucklow hundred of Cheshire. The highest point in the Warrington area is High Warren at 351 ft above sea level, which is in the Appleton suburb in Warrington Golf Course.

History

The site of St Elphin's Church has been home to a place of Christian worship since at least 650 AD. Tradition has it that the first church was built by Saint Oswald for his companion Elphin, who remained as the first priest there until his death in 679 AD.

The town was first mentioned by name in 1086 in the Domesday Book, which came 20 years after the Norman conquest. It was mentioned as Walintune, a village near the ford over the Mersey at Latchford and Howley.^[3] Warrington had a recorded settlement of 8 households at the time of the Domesday Book, placing it within the smallest 40% of settlements in England at the time. The settlement's Domesday entry noted the presence of a church at Warrington.^[4] At this time, Warrington formed part of Inter Ripam et Mersam (meaning "(land) between the Ribble and Mersey") - effectively present-day south Lancashire - which may have been part of Cheshire at the time, but this view is not universal. Its tenant-in-chief at the time of survey was Roger of Poitou, with Inter Ripam et Mersam having been the principle part of his lordship.

St Wilfred's Church in the nearby village of Grappenhall, which lies south-east of the River Mersey from the town centre, was constructed in c. 1120 AD. St Wildred's Church is the oldest surviving building in the Warrington area.

In 1277, the market at Warrington was granted a Royal Charter.

The Battle of Warrington Bridge was fought on 13 August 1651 at a crossing of the Mersey in the vicinity of the present day town. The battle saw the victory of Royalist Scottish forces led by Charles II against the Parliamentary forces of John Lambert. At this time, England was under Parliamentary rule, with Oliver Cromwell as head of government.

In 1814, the then-21 year old Warringtonian Joseph Crosfield, who had not long since finished a 6 year apprenticeship in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, established his own soap manufacturing business in Warrington. At this time, the soap industry was growing rapidly in around the Mersey and the rise of canals and river navigation made transport of products easier. His business would become the firm Joseph Crosfield & Sons Ltd., housed at 4 Liverpool Road; the building is no longer in use for soap manufacture, but still prominently displays the company's name. 100 years after the business was established, Joseph Crosfield & Sons, Ltd. had been absorbed by Lever Brothers, which in turn would merge with Margarine Unie to form Unilever.

The Parliamentary constituency Warrington was established in 1832, having previously been represented in the House of Commons by the Member of Parliament for Lancashire. The constituency's first MP was Edmund George Hornby, a Whig, who was MP until 1835.

Starting in 1881, the Regimental Headquarters of the South Lancashire Regiment of the British Army would be at Peninsula Barracks in Warrington until 1958.

Warrington was made a 'new town' in April 1968,^[5] initially to deal with urban overspill with the Manchester built-up area to the east. This was shortly followed by Elizabeth II's first ever visit to Warrington, where she toured Bridge Street, a major commercial thoroughfare in the town, which had recently undergone significant redevelopment.

The parliamentary constituency of Warrington was abolished in 1983, with the constituencies of Warrington North and Warrington South taking its place. The inaugural MP for Warrington North was was Doug Hoyle (1926-1924) of the Labour Party who had previously been MP for Warrington between 1981 and 1983, and who held the seat until 1997. The inaugural MP for Warrington South was Mark Carlisle (1929-2005), a Conservative who held the seat until 1987.

Administration

Warrington is the administrative centre for Warrington Borough Council, which meets at Warrington Town Hall.

Transport

The M6 motorway, the longest motorway in England, passes to the east of Warrington. Linking the M1 to North West England via Birmingham and the Black Country, the nearest major destinations are Wigan and Preston to the north and Stoke-on-Trent to the south.

Notable Warringtonians

Arts and entertainment

• George Formby (1904-1961) - actor, singer-songwriter and comedian, lived in Warrington for many years
• Tim Curry (born 1946) - actor and singer, native of nearby Grappenhall, notable appeared in Rock Horror Picture Show (1975)
• Martin Roberts (born 1963) - television host and property expert
• Kerry Katona (born 1980) - television personality and Atomic Kitten singer

Business

• Joseph Crosfield (1792-1844) - Warrington-born businessman who established a soap manufacturing in the town, now Ineos Silicas, a subsidiary of Unilever

Politics

• Peter Brimelow (born 1947) - British-born American anti-immigration activist

References