'Warrington' is a large town and
borough within the
ceremonial county of
Cheshire,
England. It sits beside the
West Coast Mainline, the
M6,
M56 and
M62 motorways, and alongside the
Manchester Ship Canal.
Historically part of
Lancashire up to 1974, and now a
Unitary Authority, the population of the Warrington borough, including its 18
civil parishes, is 191,084 (
2001 Census). 158,195 of these live in the Warrington Urban Area, defined by the ONS, and of these, 80,661 live in the core area.
People born (or living) in Warrington are known as ''Warringtonians''.
[2]
Geography
The Borough of Warrington is bordered by
Halton,
Vale Royal, and
Macclesfield boroughs in the Ceremonial County of
Cheshire. It is also bordered by
Trafford,
Salford,
Wigan and
St. Helens boroughs, which are not part of Cheshire.
[3]
'Neighbouring Districts and Boroughs' |
Subdivisions, suburbs, and civil parishes of Warrington
The Borough of Warrington is subdivided into 18
civil parishes and various suburbs of the central town of Warrington, which is an
unparished area:
Civil Parishes
Appleton,
Birchwood,
Burtonwood and Westbrook,
Croft,
Cuerdley,
Culcheth and Glazebury,
Grappenhall and Thelwall,
Great Sankey,
Hatton,
Lymm,
Penketh,
Poulton-with-Fearnhead,
Rixton-with-Glazebrook,
Stockton Heath,
Stretton,
Walton,
Winwick,
Woolston
Other areas
★
Appleton Thorn
★
Barracks
★
Bewsey
★
Blackbrook
★
Blakely
★
Bruche
★
Cinnamon Brow
★
Cobbs
★
Dallam
★
Fairfield
★
Gemini
★
Gorse Covert
★
Grange
★
Hermitage Green
★
Hollins Green
★
Howley
★
Hulme
★
Kenyon
★
Lane End
★
Latchford
★
Little Town
★
Locking Stumps
★
Martinscroft
★
Omega
★
Orford
★
Padgate
★
Risley
★
Sankey Bridges
★
Statham
★
Thelwall
★
Westbrook
★
Westy
★
Wilderspool
★
Wright's Green
Climate
History
Warrington has been a major crossing point on the River Mersey since ancient times and there was a
Roman settlement at Wilderspool.
[4] In medieval times Warrington's importance was as a bridging point on the
River Mersey, and it was a fulcrum in the
English Civil War. The armies of
Oliver Cromwell and the
Earl of Derby both stayed near the old town centre (the parish church area). Popular legend has it that Cromwell lodged in the building which survives on Church Street as The Cottage Restaurant, though it is likely that the actual place was nearby, possibly next door. The Marquis of Granby public house bears a plaque stating that the Earl of Derby 'had his quarters near this site'. Dents in the walls of the parish church are rumoured to be have been caused by the cannons used in the Civil War.
Industrial history
Warrington was a centre of
steel (particularly
wire),
textiles,
brewing,
tanning and
chemical industries.
[5]
Heavy industry declined in the 1970s and 1980s but the growth of the new town around Warrington led to a great increase in employment in light industry, distribution and technology. Travel-to-work patterns are unusual, with many residents working outside the borough and many employees living elsewhere.
IRA bombing
Main articles: Warrington bomb attacks
On
20 March 1993, the
IRA exploded two
bombs in Warrington town centre. The blasts killed two children: three year old Jonathan Ball died instantly, and twelve year old Tim Parry died five days later in hospital. Their deaths provoked widespread condemnation of the organisation responsible. The blast followed a bomb attack a few weeks earlier on a gas storage plant in Warrington.
Tim Parry's father founded The Peace Centre (formerly the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Peace Centre) as part of a campaign to reconcile communities in conflict. The centre opened on the seventh anniversary of the bombing in 2000.
Other history
Warrington is notable in political history for being the first place to field a candidate for the then newly-formed
SDP-Liberal Alliance; former Home Secretary
Roy Jenkins stood for Parliament in 1981 but lost to
Labour candidate
Doug Hoyle by a small number of votes.
However, many people, particularly Americans, will remember Warrington best as the location of
Burtonwood RAF base, one of (if not the) largest RAF bases in England and the largest US Air Force base outside the United States. During
World War II,
Burtonwood was visited by major celebrities like
Humphrey Bogart and
Bob Hope who arrived to entertain the GIs. The base was closed in 1993.
There was a further RAF training camp at
Padgate, a Royal Naval air base at Stretton and an army base at the Peninsula Barracks in O'Leary Street, now used by the
Territorial Army.
Politics and administration
Historically part of Lancashire, Warrington was incorporated as a
municipal borough in 1847 under the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Warrington acquired
county borough status on reaching a population of 50,000 in 1900. Between then and 1974, Warrington formed the
County Borough of Warrington. As part of proposed local government reforms in England, in 1969 the
Redcliffe-Maud Report suggested merging Warrington with either the
Merseyside or
Greater Manchester metropolitan counties. Lobbying by the borough council prevented this. Because Warrington would have been non-contiguous with Lancashire, under the
local government reforms of 1974, Warrington, incorporating
Lymm Urban District and part of
Runcorn Rural District from Cheshire, and part of
Warrington Rural District, was made a borough within
Cheshire County Council.
On
April 1,
1998 Warrington became an independent
unitary authority, though it is still served by
Cheshire Police and
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, and forms part of Cheshire for
ceremonial purposes. The current borders of Warrington Borough cover the former
County Borough of Warrington,
Lymm Urban District,
Warrington Rural District and part of
Golborne Urban District, part of
Runcorn Rural District and part of
Whiston Rural District.
Warrington has applied unsuccessfully for
city status, the most recent attempt being after the opening of the Peace Centre as a "City for Peace".
The political makeup of the borough council is as follows:
★ 6 Labour Wards: Birchwood, Burtonwood and Winwick, Latchford East, Orford, Poplars & Hulme, and Rixton & Woolston.
★ 9 Liberal Democrat Wards: Appleton, Grappenhall and Thelwall, Sankey North, Sankey South, Hatton/Stretton & Walton, Latchford West, Poulton North, Stockton Heath & Westbrook.
★ 1 Conservative ward: Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft
★ 6 "split" wards: Bewsey and Whitecross (2 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat), Fairfield & Howley (2 Labour, 1 independent), Lymm (2 Liberal Democrat, 1 Conservative), Penketh & Cuerdley (1 Conservative, 2 Labour), Poulton South (1 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat), and Whittle Hall (2 Liberal Democrat, 1 Labour)
At
Westminster, Warrington is represented by two
Labour Party MPs.
Helen Jones representents
Warrington North, and
Helen Southworth represents
Warrington South.
Demographics
Based on ONS statistics
Population and Ethnicity
Warrington has a total population of 191,080, of which 49.1% are male and 50.9% are female. The average age of the population is 38.06 years, which is slightly below the regional and national averages. In the borough, the majority of people are of white ethnicity (97.9%). The key minorities are mixed race (0.6%), black ethnicity (0.2%), and Asian origin (0.8%), other racial origins account for 0.5% of the population.
Housing and social situation
As at the 2001 census (the last available data), the borough of Warrington had 80,593 households. Of this 80,593 households, 76% are owner occupied, 17.6% are rented from the council, 4.8% are rented from other sources and 1.6% of houses have residents who live rent free. Warrington has a population density of 10.7 residents per hectare, and 31.9% of residents describe the borough is a comfortably well off area, 4.3% of households are deemed overcrowded. Of the total population, 5.8% of residents are on some form of benefits.
Employment and education
At 2005, the borough of Warrington had 63.6% employment, with only 2.9% of all economically active people unemployed. 2.3% of the population are students in full-time higher education. 31.1% of the total population are economically inactive (due to retirement, ill health, or full-time carer status). According to borough statistics, of the population (in the Borough of Warrington in 2005). 26.9% are unqualified (either due to leaving school early or failing the end of school examinations). 46.4% have level 1 or 2 qualifications (level 1 being 1+ GCSE (A
★ -G)or "O" Level or equivalent, level 2 being 5+ GCSEs (grades A-C), 1+'A' levels/ AS levels (A-E) or equivalent). 19.7% have received level 3+ qualifications (meaning 2+ A-levels (A-E), 4+ AS-levels (A-E) or equivalent minimum).
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Halton and Warrington at current basic prices
published (pp.240-253) by ''Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added[6] | Agriculture[7] | Industry[8] | Services[9] |
|---|
| 1995 | '3,636' | 14 | 1,361 | 2,261 |
| 2000 | '4,768' | 10 | 1,433 | 3,324 |
| 2003 | '5,774' | 18 | 1,399 | 4,356 |
In spite of its proximity to significant retail areas in Manchester, Liverpool, Chester and the out-of-town Trafford Centre, Warrington continues to have one of the larger shopping centres in North West England. Despite this competition, Warrington has seen an increase in its customer trade, due in part to the modernisation of the town centre. It has a shopping mall (Golden Square) first opened in 1974, which has been extended to include a
Debenhams store, and a new bus station. The old Cockhedge Textile Mill was demolished and replaced by another shopping mall. The main shopping streets are Buttermarket Street, Horsemarket Street, Sankey Street and Bridge Street. Where these four streets intersect at Market Gate, there is an award-winning redevelopment with a large fountain and "guardians" (known locally as "the skittles") designed by
Howard Ben Tré. The town also has a large indoor market, and several other small shopping malls, such as Hatters Row. In the surrounding modern suburbs, there are several shopping areas, from small groups of shops to malls such as Birchwood Mall.
IKEA chose Warrington as the location for their first store when they came to the UK, which is located next to the large out-of-town shopping area of Gemini, which has a large
Marks and Spencer (the biggest outside
London) ,
Toys "R" Us, and
Next outlets.
Transport
Warrington after the coming of the railway, 1851
The town has two main railway stations:
Bank Quay on the London to Glasgow and Chester - Warrington -
Newton-le-Willows -
Manchester lines, and
Central on the Liverpool - Widnes - Manchester line and the Transpennine route. Bank Quay is much altered, but Central (built 1873) is of some architectural merit, featuring polychromatic brickwork. Both main railway stations have suffered from years of underinvestment but have undergone some refurbishment. There are also railway stations in the suburbs at Padgate, Sankey and Birchwood.
The town lies close to the M62, M6 and M56 motorways and midway between
Liverpool and
Manchester airports.
Warrington Borough Transport, one of the few
municipal bus companies to survive in public ownership, runs most bus services within the town.
First Group and
Arriva Northwestern provide bus links to surrounding towns and cities such as Manchester, the Trafford Centre, Liverpool, St Helens, Runcorn, Widnes and Chester. A new real-time passenger information system has been installed. A new bus station known as
Warrington Interchange opened in 2006 at the Golden Square Shopping Centre.
The River Mersey runs through the heart of the town dividing it in two. There are only two main thoroughfares crossing the Mersey in Warrington: at Bridge Foot and at the Kingsway Bridge. The
Manchester Ship Canal runs through the south of the town; three swing bridges and a high-level cantilever bridge provide crossing points, and another high-level crossing is planned downstream nearer to
Runcorn. Although shipping movements on the ship canal are far less frequent than in years past, they can cause severe delay to local road traffic. The picturesque
Bridgewater Canal runs through the borough from the scenic village of
Lymm to Walton Hall and Gardens, a local park/leisure area.
Culture
Warrington has a concert hall (the
Parr Hall), an arts centre (the
Pyramid), a museum, an art gallery, and various public libraries throughout the borough. Warrington Central Library was the first rate-supported library in the UK. The Victorian swimming baths closed in July 2003. There is a cinema at Westbrook, and another is being considered as part of a town centre redevelopment. There are several parks (see also
Parks in Warrington) and designated nature reserves at
Woolston Eyes,
Risley Moss,
Rixton Claypits, and
Paddington Meadows.
There is also
ten-pin bowling located at Winwick Quay, and indoor paintball. An indoor karting centre is located near to Bank Quay. A Laser Quest arena and a snooker club can also be found in Warrington, both located close to the town centre. Gulliver's Theme Park is located off the M62 near Westbrook.
A number of festivals, carnivals, and
walking days are held annually in the Warrington area. Warrington Walking Day - originally a Sunday School festival - is held on the closest Friday to the last day of June, and the town centre is closed to traffic as churches walk together through the streets.
[10]
Other festivals, besides the many walking days, include:
★ Glazebury Gala
★
Appleton Bawming of the Thorn
★
Croft Carnival
★
Culcheth Community Day
★
Howley Carnival
★
Lymm May Queen
★
Lymm Dickensian Festival
★
Penketh Carnival
★
St George's Day Parade
★
Thelwall Rose Queen
★
Winwick Carnival
★
Westy Carnival
Warrington also has many musical groups, including
Warrington Male Voice Choir and the
North Cheshire Wind Orchestra.
Sports
The town's premier sports team is the
Warrington Wolves[1] Rugby League club, nicknamed "The Wire" because of Warrington's history of wire making. The club moved in 2003 to the
Halliwell Jones Stadium, leaving its home for over a century,
Wilderspool.
Football is represented by Warrington Town FC
[2] at
Cantilever Park, next to the
Manchester Ship Canal.
Warrington Athletic Club are based at
Victoria Park, where a new eight-lane synthetic track was built in 1998, after the original track was destroyed in a fire the previous year. Warrington Wasps are the representative Basketball team for the 12 Secondary Schools in Warrington.
[3]
Speedway racing, then known as Dirt Track racing was staged in Warrington in the pioneer era from 1928 to 1930. The track entered a team in the 1929 English Dirt Track League and the 1930 Northern league. Efforts to revive the venue in 1947 failed to materialise.
Education
Sir Thomas Boteler High School
Warrington is home to two colleges:
Priestley College, and
Warrington Collegiate. The
University of Chester has a campus at
Padgate that was formerly part of Warrington Collegiate. Most of the high schools have their own post-16 provision (
sixth-form).
There are high schools throughout the borough. They are located in:
Birchwood,
Culcheth,
Appleton (known as
Bridgewater High School Warrington), two in
Latchford (Sir Thomas Boteler
Church of England High School and Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic High School),
Sankey,
Lymm,
Padgate,
Penketh,
Westbrook (
St. Gregory's Roman Catholic High School),
Orford (
William Beamont High School), and
Woolston[11]. There are also 74 primary schools in the borough, all of which feed into at least one of the above.
[12].
Warrington is also home to the
Peace Centre, built after the IRA bombings which occurred in the town centre in 1993.
Landmarks
Warrington town hall and gates
Sites of interest in Warrington include:
★ The
Town Hall (and its golden gates), formerly a private residence, Bank Hall (built 1750).
[13]
★ The
Academy, a
dissenters' institute where
Joseph Priestley taught and which is now, after being moved from its original location, the offices of a local newspaper.
★ "Cromwell's Cottage" (17th century), which
Oliver Cromwell is said to have visited.
★ The 14th century Parish Church of St Elphin, largely a Victorian rebuild with a 281-foot spire, the sixth largest in the UK.
★ St Wilfrid's Church,
Grappenhall, Grade I listed medieval church.
★ Holy Trinity Church, 1758, at Market Gate.
★ The row of late Victorian terracotta shops on Bridge Street.
[14]
★ The
Woolworth's Building in Sankey Street (at least the upper storeys).
★ The
Art Deco style Mr Smith's nightclub which was originally a large
cinema.
★ The industrial modernist
Unilever Soapworks.
★ The
Cheshire Lines railway warehouse, currently (2007) being redeveloped as apartments.
★ The
Warrington Transporter Bridge, a
listed building and a
Scheduled Ancient Monument.
[15].
★ The Barley Mow, established in 1561, the oldest
pub in Warrington.
★ The
Parr Hall, home to one of the few remaining
Cavaillé-Coll organs.
★
Fiddlers Ferry Power Station
★
Bewsey Old Hall, a rebuilt medieval manor.
★
IKEA store which is located near the Gemini retail park. The first of the IKEA chain to be built in the UK.
[16]
Notable residents
★ Actor
Steven Arnold was born and still lives in Warrington, he his best known for his role as
Ashley Peacock in
Coronation Street.
★
William Beamont was a Victorian solicitor and local philanthropist, and founded several churches and the municipal library, the first rate-aided library in the UK
★
Peter Brimelow, financial journalist and former senior editor with ''
Forbes'' magazine in the
United States, was born in Warrington.
★ Singer
Ian Brown - lead singer of the
Stone Roses - was born in Forster Street, Warrington, and lived there up to the age of six (approximately). He has now settled in
Lymm.
★ Tennis player
Nick Brown was born in Warrington
★ Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Care Services
Liam Byrne was born in Warrington
★ 1960s Fashion Designer
Ossie Clark went to Beamont Secondary Technical School in Warrington
★ Actor and singer
Tim Curry was born in
Grappenhall
★ Radio and television broadcaster
Chris Evans was born and lived in the town for much of his life.
★ Artist
Luke Fildes (1843-1927) studied at Warrington School of Art
★ Performer
George Formby lived in Warrington for several years and is now buried in the town's main cemetery.
★ Geneticist Neil Jackson of the
University of San Francisco grew up in Warrington.
★ Author
Robin Jarvis grew up in Warrington.
★
Hollyoaks actor
Darren Jeffries grew up in Warrington and attended school in the town.
★ Author/illustrator and designer of Bob the Builder,
Curtis Jobling grew up in Warrington.
★ Actress
Sue Johnston formerly lived in
Birchwood.
★ Footballer
Stephen Jordan was born and grew up in Warrington.
★ Singer
Kerry Katona was born and grew up in Warrington.
★ Watchmaker and inventor
Peter Litherland was born and grew up in Warrington.
★ Broadcaster
Pete McCarthy was born in Warrington
★ Filmmaker and animator Ian Mackinnon was born in Warrington.
★
William Norman VC, was a local war hero.
★ Actor
Pete Postlethwaite was born and raised in the town.
★ 18th century free-thinker and scientist
Joseph Priestley lived and taught in Warrington, at the Academy
★ Singer
Edna Savage was born in Warrington.
★
Alfred Edward Sephton VC, was a local war hero.
★ Professional wrestler
Davey Boy Smith ('The British Bulldog') was born in Golborne (previously part of Warrington), trained in Winwick, and was resident in Warrington at the time of his matches in Britain.
★ Comedy writer
Miles Tredinnick was born in Warrington.
★ DJ
David "Comedy Dave" Vitty spent much of his youth in Warrington living in Leicester Street and attended North Cheshire College.
★ Actress
Polly Walker was born in Warrington.
★
Pete Waterman of
Stock,Aitken & Waterman and
PWL lives near to Warrington.
★ Pop group
5ive come from Warrington, and band
Starsailor are made up of members from Warrington and surrounding areas. Chris Evans, Kerry Katona, Darren Jeffries and David Vitty all attended Padgate High School.
★ Robin Jarvis, Curtis Jobling, and Ian Mackinnon all attended
Penketh High School.
Twin towns
★
Lake County, Illinois,
USA
★
Hilden,
Germany
★
Nachod,
Czech Republic
See also
★
Parks in Warrington
★
Warrington Dock
References
1. Warrington Borough Council. Retrieval Date: 16 August, 2007.
2. "Tribute to famous Warringtonian Joseph Priestley" Gary Jenkins (Senior Communications Officer, Warrington Borough Council)
3. ''A-Z Warrington and Districts''
4. .Hinchcliffe J & Williams J H, ROMAN WARRINGTON: Excavations at Wilderspool 1966 - 9 & 1976,Brigantia Monograph No 2, Manchester University 1992
5. Rylands, Rylands of Warrington, 1805-1955: The Story of Rylands Brothers Limited, Harley Publishing, 1956
6. includes hunting and forestry
7. includes energy and construction
8. includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
9. Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
10. Forrest David, Warrington Walking Day: A Brief History
11. from Warrington Borough Council's Community Information Resource
12. Count from Warrington Borough Council's community Information resource
13. Town Hall Guide
14. Bridge Street
Conservation Area
15. English Heritage
16. Ikea: The History
External links
★
Warrington Guardian
★
Warrington Worldwide Online Newspaper
★
View Warrington
★
Golden Gates Housing
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