Warrington
Encyclopedia
Warrington is a town, borough
and unitary authority area
of Cheshire
, England
. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey
, which is tidal to the west of the weir
at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool
, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens
. The population of the town is 80,661, and the Borough of Warrington, including its 18 civil parishes, is around 200,000. Its population has more than doubled since its designation as a New Town
in 1968.
Historically
a part of Lancashire
, Warrington was founded by the Romans
at an important crossing place on the River Mersey. A new settlement was established by the Saxons
and by the Middle Ages
, Warrington had emerged as a market town
at a bridging point of the river. A local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time.
The expansion and urbanisation of Warrington largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution
, particularly after the Mersey was made navigable in the 18th century. The West Coast Mainline runs north to south through the town, and the Liverpool
to Manchester
railway (the Cheshire Lines
route) west to east. The Manchester Ship Canal
cuts through the south of the borough (west to east). The M6
, M56
and M62 motorway
s form a partial box around the town.
People born (or living) in Warrington are known as Warringtonians. The modern Borough of Warrington was formed in 1974 with the amalgamation of the former County Borough of Warrington
, part of the Golborne Urban District, the Lymm Urban District
, part of the Runcorn Rural District
, the Warrington Rural District
and part of the Whiston Rural District
.
since ancient times and there was a Roman
settlement at Wilderspool. In medieval times Warrington's importance was as a bridging point of 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 near the building which survives on Church Street as The Cottage Restaurant. 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 have been caused by the cannon
s from the time of the Civil War. On the 13 August 1651 Warrington was the scene of the last Royalist victory of the Civil War when Scots troops under Charles II
and David Leslie, Lord Newark, fought Parliamentarians under John Lambert
at The Battle of Warrington Bridge
.
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.
(IRA) detonated two bombs
in Warrington town centre. The blasts killed two children: three-year-old Johnathan Ball died instantly, and twelve-year-old Tim Parry died five days later in hospital. Around 56 other people were injured, four seriously. 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 Colin Parry founded The Peace Centre (formerly the Tim Parry Johnathan 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. He and his family still live in the town.
; former Home Secretary Roy Jenkins
stood for Parliament but lost to Labour Party
candidate Doug Hoyle by a small number of votes.
Many people, particularly Americans, remember Warrington best as the location of Burtonwood RAF base. During World War II, it served as the largest US Army Air Force base outside the United States, and was visited by major celebrities like Humphrey Bogart
and Bob Hope
who entertained the G.I.s. It continued in use by the USAAF and subsequently USAF as a staging post for men and materiel until 1993.
There was a further RAF training camp at Padgate
, a Royal Naval
air base at Appleton Thorn (RNAS Stretton) and an army base at the Peninsula Barracks in O'Leary Street, now used by the Territorial Army.
In October 1987, Swedish home products retailer IKEA
opened its first British store in the Great Sankey area of the town, bringing more than 200 retail jobs to the area.
part of Lancashire, Warrington was incorporated as a municipal borough
in 1847 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
. Warrington acquired county borough
status upon reaching a population of 50,000 in 1900 and until 1974 was known as the County Borough of Warrington
. As part of proposed local government reforms of England, in 1969 the Redcliffe-Maud Report
suggested merging Warrington with either Merseyside
or Greater Manchester
metropolitan counties
. Lobbying by the borough council averted this. But, since these County boundary changes were to make Warrington 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, such as the Lord Lieutenancy
. 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".
As of 6 May 2011 the political makeup of the borough council is as follows:
Current councillor party composition:
By consequence, the council is run by Labour.
At Westminster
, Warrington is represented by two MPs
. Helen Jones
(Labour) represents Warrington North
, and David Mowat
(Conservative) represents Warrington South
.
, Cheshire West and Chester
, and Cheshire East
boroughs in the Ceremonial County of Cheshire
and by the metropolitan boroughs of Trafford
, Salford
and Wigan
in Greater Manchester
and St. Helens
in Merseyside
.
:
, 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
, Blackbrook, Bruche
, Callands, Cinnamon Brow
, Cobbs, Dallam
, Fairfield, Gemini, Gorse Covert, Grange, Hermitage Green
, Hollins Green
, Howley, Hulme, Kenyon
, Latchford
, Locking Stumps, Martinscroft
, Old Hall, Omega
, Longford
, Orford
, Paddington, Padgate
, Risley, Sankey Bridges
, Statham, Thelwall
, Westbrook
, Westy
, Wilderspool
, Woolston, Wright's Green
. 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).
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 the 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; the store is located in 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.
close to the M62
on the northern edge of Warrington is a major business park to be developed in stages over the next 30 years. The site for this is the 575 acres (2.3 km²) of space on the former Burtonwood Airbase
.
Other developments in Warrington include the Wire Works on Winwick Street which is set to transform the gateway into the town centre with a mixture of retail, cafes, bars, apartments, and an 8-screen cinema.
These and other developments have been delayed by the economic climate.
The town has two main railway stations. Bank Quay
is on the main West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Glasgow Central and the Manchester Piccadilly
to North Wales
via Chester
line. Central
is on the Liverpool to Manchester (via Widnes
and Warrington) line with through services to the North East and to East Anglia. Bank Quay is much altered, but Central (built 1873) is of some architectural merit, featuring polychromatic brickwork. Both have undergone some refurbishment including new entrances. There are also railway stations in the suburbs at Padgate, Sankey, Glazebrook and Birchwood.
The town lies close to the M62
, M6
and M56 motorway
s and midway between Liverpool
and Manchester airports. It also has four Primary A roads A49, A50, A56 and A57. The A580 (East Lancs Road)
runs along the north of the town.
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 real-time passenger information system
is installed but is not entirely reliable. 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. Before the M6 was built, these routes were very busy with through traffic.
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.
Warrington has a concert hall (the Parr Hall
), an arts centre (the Pyramid), a museum (Warrington Museum & 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. Alongside the karting centre is a golf driving range, with an American golf shop attached. Pitch and putt and crazy golf are available at Walton Hall and Gardens. A Laser Quest arena and a snooker club can also be found in Warrington, both located close to the town centre. Gulliver's World Theme Park is located in Old Hall, Apple Jacks Farm Theme Park is situated in Stretton.
A number of festivals, carnivals, and walking day
s 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.
Other festivals, besides the many walking days, include:
Warrington also has many musical groups, including Warrington Male Voice Choir
, Warrington Youth Orchestra, North Cheshire Wind Orchestra
, Centenary Theatre Company
(Centenary website link).
The first MMR vaccine
to be administered in the UK was given by Dr Benjamin Paterson at Warrington General Hospital in 1971.
is the town's premier sports in the form of Warrington Wolves
who are 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 Stadium
. Warrington Wolves
are the only team to have played every season in the top flight of rugby league. The town is also home to Warrington Wizards
who also play their home matches at Wilderspool Stadium
. The Wizards are currently in the Rugby League Conference
. Warrington is represented in the British Amateur Rugby League Association
leagues by;
Football
is represented by Warrington Town
at Cantilever Park, next to the Manchester Ship Canal
. The club has several nicknames including Town, Yellows, Wire and Warriors. Warrington Town are currently in the Northern Premier League Division One North
.
Rowing in Warrington may well have been taking place for nearly 200 years. It is known that Warrington Regatta is well over 150 years old, often attracting large crowds on the riverbank.
The modern Warrington rowing club started in the mid-1980s and is based near Kingsway Bridge. Warrington is home to both recreational and competitive rowers with some of these athletes now winning National Standard events and will be pulling on international vests, Olivia Whitlam
along with Richard Egington
, were the first rowers from Warrington at the Olympics. The club is now bigger than ever with a large number of juniors, seniors and veterans and is just about to embark on its next project - a new boathouse with state-of-the-art facilities for both the club and local community. Warrington Rowing Club is an accredited Explore Rowing club, which is part of a national strategy led by British Rowing. The purpose of this scheme is to introduce rowing to as many people as possible irrespective of whether they want to take up the sport competitively or on a recreational basis.
Warrington Athletic Club is 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.
Speedway
racing, formerly known as Dirt Track racing was staged in Warrington in its pioneering era between 1928 and 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.
Warrington Wolves Basketball team was set up in 2009 and competes in the English Basketball League Division Four.
Warrington has four predominant Rugby Union teams; Warrington RUFC, Lymm RFC, Gentlemen of Moore RUFC and Eagle RUFC, who are based at Thornton Road.
Warrington Thai Boxing Club was established in 1986 and is situated in one of the towns oldest industrial buildings Evans House on Norman Street and has a history of producing top class fighters that compete throughout the world.
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).
The high schools throughout the borough are located at: 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
(Lymm High School
), Padgate
(Lysander Community High School), Penketh
, Westbrook
(St Gregory's Catholic High School
), Orford
(William Beamont
High School), and Woolston. Woolston High School is to be closed in 2012.
There are also 74 primary schools in the borough, all of which feed into at least one of the above.
Sites of interest in Warrington include:
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
and unitary authority area
Unitary authorities of England
Unitary authorities of England are areas where a single local authority is responsible for a variety of services for a district that elsewhere are administered separately by two councils...
of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
, which is tidal to the west of the weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
. The population of the town is 80,661, and the Borough of Warrington, including its 18 civil parishes, is around 200,000. Its population has more than doubled since its designation as a New Town
New towns in the United Kingdom
Below is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century. Some earlier towns were developed as Garden Cities or overspill estates early in the twentieth century. The New Towns proper were planned to disperse population following the...
in 1968.
Historically
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
a part of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, Warrington was founded by the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
at an important crossing place on the River Mersey. A new settlement was established by the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
and by the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Warrington had emerged as a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
at a bridging point of the river. A local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time.
The expansion and urbanisation of Warrington largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, particularly after the Mersey was made navigable in the 18th century. The West Coast Mainline runs north to south through the town, and the Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
railway (the Cheshire Lines
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
route) west to east. The Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
cuts through the south of the borough (west to east). The M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
, M56
M56 motorway
The M56 Motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, is in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England. It runs from Junction 4 of the M60 to Dunkirk, Cheshire and is in length. It is often busy with long-distance commuter traffic towards North Wales...
and M62 motorway
M62 motorway
The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
s form a partial box around the town.
People born (or living) in Warrington are known as Warringtonians. The modern Borough of Warrington was formed in 1974 with the amalgamation of the former County Borough of Warrington
County Borough of Warrington
The County Borough of Warrington was, from 1900 to 1974, a local government district centred on Warrington in the northwest of England. It was alternatively known as Warrington County Borough and the County of Warrington....
, part of the Golborne Urban District, the Lymm Urban District
Lymm
Lymm is a large village and civil parish within the Warrington borough of Cheshire, in North West England. Lymm was an urban district of Cheshire from 1894 to 1974. The civil parish of Lymm incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little...
, part of the Runcorn Rural District
Runcorn Rural District
Runcorn was a rural district in Cheshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after but did not include Runcorn, a town on the River Mersey to the north-west of the district, which formed its own urban district....
, the Warrington Rural District
Warrington Rural District
Warrington Rural District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire.It was formed a rural district under the Local Government Act 1894 from the Warrington rural sanitary district, and was centred on territory north of the town of Warrington...
and part of the Whiston Rural District
Whiston Rural District
Whiston Rural District was a rural district of the administrative county of Lancashire, England. It was created in 1895 by renaming the Prescot Rural District when the parish of Prescot was removed from that rural district and created a separate urban district. Later the parish of Speke was...
.
History
Warrington has been a major crossing point on the River MerseyRiver Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
since ancient times and there was a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
settlement at Wilderspool. In medieval times Warrington's importance was as a bridging point of the River Mersey, and it was a fulcrum in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. The armies of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and the Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby KG was a supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.Born at Knowsley, he is sometimes styled the Great Earl of Derby, eldest son of William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby and Lady Elizabeth de Vere. During his father's life he was known as Lord Strange...
both stayed near the old town centre (the parish church
St Elphin's Church, Warrington
St Elphin's Church, Warrington is the parish church of the town of Warrington, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Warrington and the...
area). Popular legend has it that Cromwell lodged near the building which survives on Church Street as The Cottage Restaurant. The Marquis of Granby public house bears a plaque stating that the Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby KG was a supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.Born at Knowsley, he is sometimes styled the Great Earl of Derby, eldest son of William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby and Lady Elizabeth de Vere. During his father's life he was known as Lord Strange...
'had his quarters near this site'. Dents in the walls of the parish church are rumoured to have been caused by the cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s from the time of the Civil War. On the 13 August 1651 Warrington was the scene of the last Royalist victory of the Civil War when Scots troops under Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and David Leslie, Lord Newark, fought Parliamentarians under John Lambert
John Lambert
John Lambert may refer to:*John Lambert , English Protestant martyred during the reign of Henry VIII*John Lambert , Parliamentary general in the English Civil War...
at The Battle of Warrington Bridge
Battle of Warrington Bridge (1651)
The Battle of Warrington Bridge was a skirmish fought on 13 August 1651 between the invading Royalist Scottish army of Charles II and Parliamentary forces under the command of Major-General John Lambert....
.
Industrial history
The expansion and urbanisation of Warrington largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution, particularly after the Mersey was made navigable in the 18th Century. As Britain became industrialised, Warrington embraced the industrial revolution becoming a manufacturing town and a centre of steel (particularly wire), textiles, brewing, tanning and chemical industries. The navigational properties of the river Mersey were improved, canals were built, and the town grew yet more prosperous and popular. When the age of steam came, Warrington naturally welcomed it, both as a means of transport and as a source of power for its mills.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.
IRA bombing
On 20 March 1993, the Provisional Irish Republican ArmyProvisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(IRA) detonated two bombs
Warrington bomb attacks
The Warrington bombings were two separate bombing attacks that happened during early 1993 in Warrington, England. The first attack happened in February when a bomb exploded at a district pressure gas storage facility. It caused extensive damage but no injuries; however, a police officer was shot...
in Warrington town centre. The blasts killed two children: three-year-old Johnathan Ball died instantly, and twelve-year-old Tim Parry died five days later in hospital. Around 56 other people were injured, four seriously. 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 Colin Parry founded The Peace Centre (formerly the Tim Parry Johnathan 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. He and his family still live in the town.
Other history
In 1981, Warrington was the first place to field a candidate for the then newly formed Social Democratic PartySocial Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
; former Home Secretary Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
stood for Parliament but lost to Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate Doug Hoyle by a small number of votes.
Many people, particularly Americans, remember Warrington best as the location of Burtonwood RAF base. During World War II, it served as the largest US Army Air Force base outside the United States, and was visited by major celebrities like Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
who entertained the G.I.s. It continued in use by the USAAF and subsequently USAF as a staging post for men and materiel until 1993.
There was a further RAF training camp at Padgate
Padgate
Padgate was a village on the edge of Warrington, England, and today it is a large residential part of the town. During World War II it had a small RAF Station. RAF Padgate will be well-remembered by thousands of young men who were selected for RAF national service and on this site received their...
, a Royal Naval
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
air base at Appleton Thorn (RNAS Stretton) and an army base at the Peninsula Barracks in O'Leary Street, now used by the Territorial Army.
In October 1987, Swedish home products retailer IKEA
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
opened its first British store in the Great Sankey area of the town, bringing more than 200 retail jobs to the area.
Governance
HistoricallyHistoric counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
part of Lancashire, Warrington was incorporated as a municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
in 1847 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...
. Warrington acquired county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
status upon reaching a population of 50,000 in 1900 and until 1974 was known as the County Borough of Warrington
County Borough of Warrington
The County Borough of Warrington was, from 1900 to 1974, a local government district centred on Warrington in the northwest of England. It was alternatively known as Warrington County Borough and the County of Warrington....
. As part of proposed local government reforms of England, in 1969 the Redcliffe-Maud Report
Redcliffe-Maud Report
The Redcliffe–Maud Report is the name generally given to the report published by the Royal Commission on Local Government in England 1966–1969 under the chairmanship of Lord Redcliffe-Maud.-Terms of reference and membership:...
suggested merging Warrington with either Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
or Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
metropolitan counties
Metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...
. Lobbying by the borough council averted this. But, since these County boundary changes were to make Warrington non-contiguous with Lancashire, under the local government reforms
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
of 1974, Warrington, incorporating Lymm
Lymm
Lymm is a large village and civil parish within the Warrington borough of Cheshire, in North West England. Lymm was an urban district of Cheshire from 1894 to 1974. The civil parish of Lymm incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little...
Urban District and part of Runcorn Rural District
Runcorn Rural District
Runcorn was a rural district in Cheshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after but did not include Runcorn, a town on the River Mersey to the north-west of the district, which formed its own urban district....
from Cheshire, and part of Warrington Rural District
Warrington Rural District
Warrington Rural District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire.It was formed a rural district under the Local Government Act 1894 from the Warrington rural sanitary district, and was centred on territory north of the town of Warrington...
, was made a borough within Cheshire County Council
Cheshire County Council
Cheshire County Council was a County Council, of the second highest level of United Kingdom Government for the residents of Cheshire. Founded in 1889, it ceased to exist on 1 April 2009, when it and the district councils in Cheshire were replaced by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and...
.
On April 1, 1998, Warrington became an independent unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
, though it is still served by Cheshire Police and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statuory fire and rescue service for the English county of Cheshire, consisting of the unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington. It has 24 fire stations...
, and forms part of Cheshire for ceremonial
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
purposes, such as the Lord Lieutenancy
Lord Lieutenant
The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...
. The current borders of Warrington Borough cover the former County Borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
of Warrington, Lymm Urban District, Warrington Rural District
Warrington Rural District
Warrington Rural District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire.It was formed a rural district under the Local Government Act 1894 from the Warrington rural sanitary district, and was centred on territory north of the town of Warrington...
and part of Golborne
Golborne
Golborne is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.It lies south-southeast of Wigan, northeast of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester. It has a population of 23,119....
Urban District, part of Runcorn Rural District
Runcorn Rural District
Runcorn was a rural district in Cheshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after but did not include Runcorn, a town on the River Mersey to the north-west of the district, which formed its own urban district....
and part of Whiston Rural District
Whiston Rural District
Whiston Rural District was a rural district of the administrative county of Lancashire, England. It was created in 1895 by renaming the Prescot Rural District when the parish of Prescot was removed from that rural district and created a separate urban district. Later the parish of Speke was...
.
Warrington has applied unsuccessfully for city status
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
, the most recent attempt being after the opening of the Peace Centre as a "City for Peace".
As of 6 May 2011 the political makeup of the borough council is as follows:
- 3 Liberal DemocratLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
Wards: AppletonAppleton, WarringtonAppleton is a civil parish within the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England.-Geography and landmarks:The A49 runs from neighbouring Stockton Heath up the hill into Appleton and links Warrington Town Centre with the M56 motorway....
, GrappenhallGrappenhallGrappenhall is a suburban village in Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is situated along the Bridgewater Canal, and forms one of the principal settlements of Grappenhall and Thelwall civil parish...
and ThelwallThelwallThelwall is a suburban village in Warrington, North Cheshire, England, close to the Lymm junction of the M6.-Geography:Thelwall nowadays borders the villages of Lymm and Grappenhall, and , Latchford. It is also one of the two principal settlements of Grappenhall and Thelwall civil parish...
, and Stockton HeathStockton HeathStockton Heath is a civil parish and suburban area of the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is located to the north of the Bridgewater Canal and to the south of the Manchester Ship Canal, which divides Stockton Heath from Latchford and north Warrington...
. - 9 LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Wards: BirchwoodBirchwoodBirchwood is a civil parish in the north-eastern part of Warrington, Cheshire, England with a population of 11,395 . Historically a part of Lancashire, it is the easternmost part of the Warrington urban area. It was built during the time of much expansion in Warrington as it became a "new town"...
, BurtonwoodBurtonwoodBurtonwood and Westbrook is a civil parish in the outermost suburbs of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Historically within Lancashire, the name Burtonwood is known worldwide as the location of the former RAF Station Burtonwood military camp. Burtonwood village itself is a few miles away from the...
and WinwickWinwick, CheshireWinwick is a village and civil parish in the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Historically within Lancashire, until 1 April 1974, Winwick was administered as part of Lancashire with the rest of north Warrington. It is situated about three miles north of Warrington town centre, near...
, Fairfield & Howley, LatchfordLatchfordLatchford is a suburban district and electoral ward of the unitary borough of Warrington, in Cheshire, England. It is around one mile south of Warrington town centre and has a total resident population of 7,856....
East, Orford, BewseyBewseyBewsey and Whitecross is a ward to the west of the town centre of Warrington, England . The town's General Hospital is within the ward. The area is served by the 16/16A bus route from Dallam to Warrington. In terms of other facilities the Sankey Valley Park runs through Bewsey, and there is a...
and Whitecross, Poplars & Hulme, Poulton South, and Rixton & Woolston. - 2 ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Wards: CulchethCulchethCulcheth is a large village approximately 6 miles north-east of Warrington, England. It is the principal settlement in Culcheth and Glazebury civil parish. The village has many amenities which make it a popular place to live. These include a library, a village hall, sports facilities, two...
, GlazeburyCulcheth and GlazeburyCulcheth and Glazebury is a civil parish within the Unitary Authority of Warrington Borough in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.-Culcheth:...
& CroftCroft, CheshireCroft is a village and civil parish in Warrington, Cheshire, England, about five miles north of Warrington town centre. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,920. It is a rural, residential district....
, and HattonHatton, WarringtonHatton is a small village some 6 km south of Warrington, Cheshire .It lies on the B5356 road between the villages of Daresbury and Stretton. It has one public house, The Hatton Arms. This is a Grade II listed building which formerly incorporated a post office and a village store.-External...
, StrettonStretton, CheshireStretton is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England not far from Warrington. The parish includes the village of Lower Stretton. It is at the very southern tip of Warrington, about seven miles south of the town centre. It has a large hotel and is the site of Warrington's private hospital,...
& WaltonWalton, CheshireWalton is a civil parish within the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, northern England.Walton is at the southwest edge of the borough, next to the parish of Stockton Heath. It is also close to Daresbury and Moore, although these are in the neighbouring borough of Halton.Walton is divided into... - 8 "split" Wards:Great SankeyGreat SankeyGreat Sankey is a civil parish and suburban area of the Borough of Warrington and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It is west of Warrington town centre. It has a population of 24,211.-History:...
South (2 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat), LymmLymmLymm is a large village and civil parish within the Warrington borough of Cheshire, in North West England. Lymm was an urban district of Cheshire from 1894 to 1974. The civil parish of Lymm incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little...
(2 Liberal Democrat, 1 Conservative), PenkethPenkethPenketh is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is about west of Warrington town centre. It has a population of 8,699.The emblem/badge of Penketh is three kingfishers.-History:...
& Cuerdley (2 Labour, 1 Conservative), Poulton North (2 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat), Westbrook (1 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat), Great SankeyGreat SankeyGreat Sankey is a civil parish and suburban area of the Borough of Warrington and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It is west of Warrington town centre. It has a population of 24,211.-History:...
North (1 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat), LatchfordLatchfordLatchford is a suburban district and electoral ward of the unitary borough of Warrington, in Cheshire, England. It is around one mile south of Warrington town centre and has a total resident population of 7,856....
West (1 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat), and Whittle HallWhittle HallWhittle Hall is housing estate within the parish of Great Sankey in the town of Warrington, North West England. Its more exact location is in-between the old centre of Great Sankey, the new built Chapleford, and the Omega Development Site . The area falls under the WA5 postal code...
(2 Liberal Democrat, 1 Labour).
Current councillor party composition:
| Party | Councillors | |
| Liberal Democrat | 17 | |
| Labour | 34 | |
| Conservative | 6 | |
By consequence, the council is run by Labour.
At Westminster
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, Warrington is represented by two MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. Helen Jones
Helen Jones
Helen Mary Jones is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Warrington North since 1997...
(Labour) represents Warrington North
Warrington North (UK Parliament constituency)
Warrington North is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, and David Mowat
David Mowat
David John Mowat is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Warrington South, and was first elected at the 2010 general election.- Early life :...
(Conservative) represents Warrington South
Warrington South (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:In 2006 Paul Kennedy joined the Conservative Party, becoming a Conservative Councillor on Warrington Borough Council in May 2008, representing the Hatton, Stretton & Walton Ward.-Elections in the 1990s:...
.
Geography
The Borough of Warrington is bordered by HaltonHalton (borough)
Halton is a local government district in North West England, with borough status and administered by a unitary authority. It was created in 1974 as a district of Cheshire, and became a unitary authority area on 1 April 1998. It consists of the towns of Widnes and Runcorn and the civil parishes of...
, Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health...
, and Cheshire East
Cheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...
boroughs in the Ceremonial County of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
and by the metropolitan boroughs of Trafford
Trafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...
, Salford
City of Salford
The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...
and Wigan
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...
in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
and St. Helens
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
in Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
.
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 areaUnparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish. Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparished. Many towns and some cities in otherwise rural districts are also unparished areas and therefore no longer have a town council or city...
:
Civil parishes
AppletonAppleton, Warrington
Appleton is a civil parish within the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England.-Geography and landmarks:The A49 runs from neighbouring Stockton Heath up the hill into Appleton and links Warrington Town Centre with the M56 motorway....
, Birchwood
Birchwood
Birchwood is a civil parish in the north-eastern part of Warrington, Cheshire, England with a population of 11,395 . Historically a part of Lancashire, it is the easternmost part of the Warrington urban area. It was built during the time of much expansion in Warrington as it became a "new town"...
, Burtonwood and Westbrook, Croft
Croft, Cheshire
Croft is a village and civil parish in Warrington, Cheshire, England, about five miles north of Warrington town centre. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,920. It is a rural, residential district....
, Cuerdley
Cuerdley
Cuerdley is a civil parish in Warrington, Cheshire, England. It has a population of 107 and much of its area is farmland. A large part of Cuerdley is occupied by the Fiddlers Ferry Power Station....
, Culcheth and Glazebury
Culcheth and Glazebury
Culcheth and Glazebury is a civil parish within the Unitary Authority of Warrington Borough in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.-Culcheth:...
, Grappenhall and Thelwall
Grappenhall and Thelwall
Grappenhall and Thelwall is a civil parish within the Borough of Warrington and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It has a population of 9,377....
, Great Sankey
Great Sankey
Great Sankey is a civil parish and suburban area of the Borough of Warrington and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It is west of Warrington town centre. It has a population of 24,211.-History:...
, Hatton
Hatton, Warrington
Hatton is a small village some 6 km south of Warrington, Cheshire .It lies on the B5356 road between the villages of Daresbury and Stretton. It has one public house, The Hatton Arms. This is a Grade II listed building which formerly incorporated a post office and a village store.-External...
, Lymm
Lymm
Lymm is a large village and civil parish within the Warrington borough of Cheshire, in North West England. Lymm was an urban district of Cheshire from 1894 to 1974. The civil parish of Lymm incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little...
, Penketh
Penketh
Penketh is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is about west of Warrington town centre. It has a population of 8,699.The emblem/badge of Penketh is three kingfishers.-History:...
,
Poulton-with-Fearnhead
Poulton-with-Fearnhead
Poulton-with-Fearnhead is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 17,019...
, Rixton-with-Glazebrook
Rixton-with-Glazebrook
Rixton-with-Glazebrook is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Warrington, Cheshire, England. It lies to the east of Warrington and borders Irlam, and is largely farmland. It has a railway station at Glazebrook and is served by buses along the A57 road. The parish was originally a township...
, Stockton Heath
Stockton Heath
Stockton Heath is a civil parish and suburban area of the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is located to the north of the Bridgewater Canal and to the south of the Manchester Ship Canal, which divides Stockton Heath from Latchford and north Warrington...
, Stretton,
Walton
Walton, Cheshire
Walton is a civil parish within the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, northern England.Walton is at the southwest edge of the borough, next to the parish of Stockton Heath. It is also close to Daresbury and Moore, although these are in the neighbouring borough of Halton.Walton is divided into...
, Winwick
Winwick, Cheshire
Winwick is a village and civil parish in the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Historically within Lancashire, until 1 April 1974, Winwick was administered as part of Lancashire with the rest of north Warrington. It is situated about three miles north of Warrington town centre, near...
, Woolston
Other areas
Appleton Thorn, BewseyBewsey
Bewsey and Whitecross is a ward to the west of the town centre of Warrington, England . The town's General Hospital is within the ward. The area is served by the 16/16A bus route from Dallam to Warrington. In terms of other facilities the Sankey Valley Park runs through Bewsey, and there is a...
, Blackbrook, Bruche
Bruche
Bruche is a large suburb of Warrington, England.It forms the old border of Poulton and Warrington.As of 2005 it is home to the Bruche Police Training Centre, a national police training centre.- See also :...
, Callands, Cinnamon Brow
Cinnamon Brow
Cinnamon Brow is an area on the east side of Warrington, England, between Orford and Birchwood. It has a population of around 12,000 residents living in approximately 3,600 houses .-Facilities:...
, Cobbs, Dallam
Dallam, Warrington
Dallam is a suburb of Warrington, England. It is home to a Royal Mail rail terminus on the main West Coast Main Line railway, opposite a large Eddie Stobart distribution centre. Considerably smaller than most suburbs of Warrington, Dallam alongside its slightly larger neighbour Bewsey...
, Fairfield, Gemini, Gorse Covert, Grange, Hermitage Green
Hermitage Green
Hermitage Green is a hamlet near the village of Winwick in Cheshire. It is also the location of St Oswald's Well .During 2006 the series Eleventh Hour, episode Resurrection was filmed in Hermitage Green Lane....
, Hollins Green
Hollins Green
Hollins Green is a village located on the eastern edge of Warrington, England close to the border of the City of Salford, as designated by the River Glaze...
, Howley, Hulme, Kenyon
Kenyon, Warrington
Kenyon is a village in the civil parish of Croft in the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England.-History:Kenyon was recorded as Kenien in 1212...
, Latchford
Latchford
Latchford is a suburban district and electoral ward of the unitary borough of Warrington, in Cheshire, England. It is around one mile south of Warrington town centre and has a total resident population of 7,856....
, Locking Stumps, Martinscroft
Martinscroft
Martinscroft is a part of the civil parish of Woolston in Warrington, Cheshire, England.It is rumoured that Battery Lane in the village got its name from where Oliver Cromwell stored his weapons during his visit in the civil war....
, Old Hall, Omega
Omega Development Site
Omega, comprising 226 hectares straddling the M62 Motorway in Warrington, Cheshire is a property development site. The site comprises a large part of the former RAF/USAF Burtonwood airbase...
, Longford
Longford, Warrington
Longford is a district to the north-east of Warrington, a unitary authority in the north-west of England. Precise boundaries are hard to determine, as the Longford Brook is some way south of the area usually thought of now as Longford, between Winwick Road to the west, Long Lane to the south, and...
, Orford
Orford, Warrington
Orford is a suburb of Warrington, England. The "hamlet of Orford" was originally a small area north of the township of Warrington, centred on Orford Green. Orford now describes a large area between the town centre and the M62, incorporating other small communities, such as Longford...
, Paddington, Padgate
Padgate
Padgate was a village on the edge of Warrington, England, and today it is a large residential part of the town. During World War II it had a small RAF Station. RAF Padgate will be well-remembered by thousands of young men who were selected for RAF national service and on this site received their...
, Risley, Sankey Bridges
Sankey Bridges
Sankey Bridges is part of the parish of great sankey in Warrington, a unitary authority in the north-west of England. Located around the crossing of the main turnpike road between Warrington, Prescot and Liverpool over the Sankey Brook, it became home to many industries after the opening of the...
, Statham, Thelwall
Thelwall
Thelwall is a suburban village in Warrington, North Cheshire, England, close to the Lymm junction of the M6.-Geography:Thelwall nowadays borders the villages of Lymm and Grappenhall, and , Latchford. It is also one of the two principal settlements of Grappenhall and Thelwall civil parish...
, Westbrook
Westbrook, Warrington
Westbrook is a ward and suburb in the North West area of Warrington. It forms part of the civil parish of Burtonwood, to part of which it gives its name. It is part of the "new-town" of Warrington. The main part of Westbrook was built in the early 1980s...
, Westy
Westy
Westy is a suburban district in Warrington, England.The village of Westy is a suburban area, itself unofficially a suburb of Latchford. The area features mainly inter-war council housing, however some of these homes are now privately owned...
, Wilderspool
Wilderspool
Wilderspool is a district of Warrington, England, located near to the town centre. Its area is basically Wilderspool Causeway and the streets coming off it; the limits being the River Mersey into the Stockton Heath Area of Warrington , Bridgefoot , and Centre Park...
, Woolston, Wright's Green
Climate
Warrington has a temperate maritime climate with warm summers and cool winters. Rain is spread across the year with thunderstorms occurring only in the summer months. Summer heat waves are rare but can cause temperatures to exceed 30'c. Summers are always snow and frost free and rarely experience high winds. Winters are generally mild with most days recording above o'c and free of lying snow. However during occasional lengthy cold snaps night-time temperatures can fall to -12'c with lying snow lasting for weeks. Winter frost regually occurs from late October until late May High winds are not uncommon in winter although rarely above gale force 7. Fog is also a frequent occurrence during settled winter periods.Population and ethnicity
Warrington has a total population of around 200,000, 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. Warrington has a small North Indian Sikh community, there is a Temple called Guru Nanak Gurdwara which is the only Sikh place of worship in Cheshire.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 - although a substantial rise began in 2008 due to the recessionLate 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
. 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 | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 the 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
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
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
Howard Ben Tré
Howard Ben Tré is an American glass artist. He works with poured glass, creating small sculptures and large scale public artworks. Glass magazine has called Ben Tré a pioneer in the technique of using hot glass casting in fine art....
. 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
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
chose Warrington as the location for their first store when they came to the UK; the store is located in 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
Next (retailer)
Next plc is a British retailer marketing clothing, footwear, accessories and home products with its headquarters in Enderby, Leicestershire, England. The company has over 550 stores throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and 50 franchise branches in Europe, Asia and the Middle East...
outlets.
Developments
The Omega Development SiteOmega Development Site
Omega, comprising 226 hectares straddling the M62 Motorway in Warrington, Cheshire is a property development site. The site comprises a large part of the former RAF/USAF Burtonwood airbase...
close to the M62
M62 motorway
The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
on the northern edge of Warrington is a major business park to be developed in stages over the next 30 years. The site for this is the 575 acres (2.3 km²) of space on the former Burtonwood Airbase
RAF Burtonwood
RAF Burtonwood was a Royal Air Force station in England, 2 miles north-west of Warrington, Lancashire. During World War II and the Cold War it was used by the United States Air Force and was also known as USAAF station 590.- Overview :...
.
Other developments in Warrington include the Wire Works on Winwick Street which is set to transform the gateway into the town centre with a mixture of retail, cafes, bars, apartments, and an 8-screen cinema.
These and other developments have been delayed by the economic climate.
Transport
The town has two main railway stations. Bank Quay
Warrington Bank Quay railway station
Warrington Bank Quay railway station is a mainline railway station serving the UK town of Warrington. The town centre has two stations on opposite sides of the main shopping area, Warrington Central operating a more frequent service to the neighbouring cities Liverpool and Manchester...
is on the main West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Glasgow Central and the Manchester Piccadilly
Manchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
to North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
via Chester
Chester railway station
Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...
line. Central
Warrington Central railway station
Warrington Central railway station is one of two main railway stations serving the town of Warrington in the north-west of England. It is located on the southern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Line , and is situated around halfway between the two cities...
is on the Liverpool to Manchester (via Widnes
Widnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
and Warrington) line with through services to the North East and to East Anglia. Bank Quay is much altered, but Central (built 1873) is of some architectural merit, featuring polychromatic brickwork. Both have undergone some refurbishment including new entrances. There are also railway stations in the suburbs at Padgate, Sankey, Glazebrook and Birchwood.
The town lies close to the M62
M62 motorway
The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
, M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
and M56 motorway
M56 motorway
The M56 Motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, is in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England. It runs from Junction 4 of the M60 to Dunkirk, Cheshire and is in length. It is often busy with long-distance commuter traffic towards North Wales...
s and midway between Liverpool
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving the city of Liverpool and the North West of England. Formerly known as Speke Airport, RAF Speke, and Liverpool Airport the airport is located within the City of Liverpool adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast...
and Manchester airports. It also has four Primary A roads A49, A50, A56 and A57. The A580 (East Lancs Road)
A580 road
The A580 is a primary A road in England that connects Walton, near Liverpool and Salford, near Manchester and known officially as Liverpool-East Lancashire Road. Locally, the road is shortened to the "East Lancs". The road was designed and built to provide better access to the Port of Liverpool for...
runs along the north of the town.
Warrington Borough Transport
Warrington Borough Transport
Warrington Borough Transport is a bus operator running a network of services within the Borough of Warrington, England and into the surrounding area, including Altrincham, Leigh, Earlestown and Northwich. The network of services is marketed under the Network Warrington name, with both names...
, one of the few municipal bus companies
Municipal bus companies
A municipal bus company is an operator of bus services owned by the local government authority. This article lists all current municipal bus companies in the United Kingdom....
to survive in public ownership, runs most bus services within the town. First Group and Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
Northwestern provide bus links to surrounding towns and cities such as Manchester, the Trafford Centre, Liverpool, St Helens, Runcorn, Widnes and Chester. A real-time passenger information system
Passenger information system
A passenger information [display] system is an electronic information system which provides real-time passenger information. It may include both predictions about arrival and departure times, as well as information about the nature and causes of disruptions...
is installed but is not entirely reliable. A new bus station known as Warrington Interchange
Warrington Bus Interchange
Warrington Bus Interchange is a bus station in the town of Warrington, Cheshire, England.The building opened on 21 August 2006, next to the site of a temporary terminus that had been in use for the past thirteen months...
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. Before the M6 was built, these routes were very busy with through traffic.
The Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
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
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
. 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
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
runs through the borough from the scenic village of Lymm to Walton Hall and Gardens, a local park/leisure area.
Culture
Parr Hall
The Parr Hall is the only surviving professional concert hall/theatre venue in Warrington, England.-Location:The Parr Hall and Pyramid Arts Centre are located in the Cultural quarter of Warrington town centre, in Palmyra Square.-History:...
), an arts centre (the Pyramid), a museum (Warrington Museum & Art Gallery
Warrington Museum & Art Gallery
Warrington Museum & Art Gallery is located on Bold Street in the Cultural Quarter of Warrington, in a Grade II listed building which it shares with the town's Central Library. The Museum and the Library originally opened in 1848 as the first rate-supported library in the UK, before moving to their...
), and various public libraries throughout the borough. Warrington Central Library was the first rate-supported library in the UK. The Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
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
Parks in Warrington
Here is a list of parks and areas of natural interest in Warrington, England.* Bank Park* Birchwood Forest Park* Black Bear Park* * Burtonwood* Culcheth Linear Park* Lumb Brook Valley* Lymm Dam* Orford Park* Peel Hall Park* Risley Moss* Rixton Claypits...
) and designated nature reserves at Woolston Eyes
Woolston Eyes
Woolston Eyes is a Site of Special Scientific Interest located in the town of Warrington, England, alongside the Manchester Ship Canal. The eyes themselves are used for the dumping of dredgings from the canal....
, Risley Moss
Risley Moss
Risley Moss is an area of peat bog situated near Birchwood in Warrington, England. It covers an area of and is one of the last remaining fragments of the raised bogs that once covered large areas of South Lancashire and North Cheshire...
, Rixton Claypits
Rixton Claypits
ReferenceRixton Clay Pits is a former clay extraction point situated in Rixton near Hollins Green.-Fishing:The big lake is owned by Warrington Anglers Association A Fishing Club established in the 19th Century, The Big Lake is very good for good roachRutilus and large tench and carp There are even...
, and Paddington Meadows
Paddington Meadows
Paddington Meadows is a nature reserve in Warrington, England. The land was donated to Warrington Borough council in 1995. It was designated in November 2005....
.
There is also ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a competitive sport in which a player rolls a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.-Summary:The lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels Ten-pin bowling (commonly just...
located at Winwick Quay, and indoor paintball. An indoor karting centre is located near to Bank Quay. Alongside the karting centre is a golf driving range, with an American golf shop attached. Pitch and putt and crazy golf are available at Walton Hall and Gardens. A Laser Quest arena and a snooker club can also be found in Warrington, both located close to the town centre. Gulliver's World Theme Park is located in Old Hall, Apple Jacks Farm Theme Park is situated in Stretton.
A number of festivals, carnivals, and walking day
Walking day
A walking day is a type of church parade. Walking days are most common in the North West region of England, where they are an annual event for many towns and villages...
s 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.
Other festivals, besides the many walking days, include:
- Appleton Thorn Bawming of the Thorn
- BirchwoodBirchwoodBirchwood is a civil parish in the north-eastern part of Warrington, Cheshire, England with a population of 11,395 . Historically a part of Lancashire, it is the easternmost part of the Warrington urban area. It was built during the time of much expansion in Warrington as it became a "new town"...
Carnival and Safari Day - CroftCroft, CheshireCroft is a village and civil parish in Warrington, Cheshire, England, about five miles north of Warrington town centre. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,920. It is a rural, residential district....
Carnival - CulchethCulchethCulcheth is a large village approximately 6 miles north-east of Warrington, England. It is the principal settlement in Culcheth and Glazebury civil parish. The village has many amenities which make it a popular place to live. These include a library, a village hall, sports facilities, two...
Community Day - GlazeburyCulcheth and GlazeburyCulcheth and Glazebury is a civil parish within the Unitary Authority of Warrington Borough in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.-Culcheth:...
Gala - Howley Carnival
- LymmLymmLymm is a large village and civil parish within the Warrington borough of Cheshire, in North West England. Lymm was an urban district of Cheshire from 1894 to 1974. The civil parish of Lymm incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little...
May Queen - LymmLymmLymm is a large village and civil parish within the Warrington borough of Cheshire, in North West England. Lymm was an urban district of Cheshire from 1894 to 1974. The civil parish of Lymm incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little...
Dickensian Festival - PenkethPenkethPenketh is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is about west of Warrington town centre. It has a population of 8,699.The emblem/badge of Penketh is three kingfishers.-History:...
Carnival - ThelwallThelwallThelwall is a suburban village in Warrington, North Cheshire, England, close to the Lymm junction of the M6.-Geography:Thelwall nowadays borders the villages of Lymm and Grappenhall, and , Latchford. It is also one of the two principal settlements of Grappenhall and Thelwall civil parish...
Rose Queen - WinwickWinwick, CheshireWinwick is a village and civil parish in the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Historically within Lancashire, until 1 April 1974, Winwick was administered as part of Lancashire with the rest of north Warrington. It is situated about three miles north of Warrington town centre, near...
Carnival - WestyWestyWesty is a suburban district in Warrington, England.The village of Westy is a suburban area, itself unofficially a suburb of Latchford. The area features mainly inter-war council housing, however some of these homes are now privately owned...
Carnival
Warrington also has many musical groups, including Warrington Male Voice Choir
Warrington Male Voice Choir
Warrington Male Voice Choir is one of Great Britain’s oldest choirs, tracing its formation to 1898. During its long history the choir has travelled widely and has performed in many famous concert halls and cathedrals throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe and Canada...
, Warrington Youth Orchestra, North Cheshire Wind Orchestra
North Cheshire Wind Orchestra
The North Cheshire Wind Orchestra is a symphonic wind orchestra based in Warrington, England.The membership of around 40 players is drawn from throughout the North West of England, many of whom travel considerable distances to rehearsals...
, Centenary Theatre Company
Centenary Theatre Company
Centenary Theatre Company is an award winning theatre company based in Warrington, Cheshire and are one of the longest established theatre companies in North West England. The name of the Company has changed several times over the years, with the original company being established in 1901.Centenary...
(Centenary website link).
The first MMR vaccine
MMR vaccine
The MMR vaccine is an immunization shot against measles, mumps, and rubella . It was first developed by Maurice Hilleman while at Merck in the late 1960s....
to be administered in the UK was given by Dr Benjamin Paterson at Warrington General Hospital in 1971.
Sports
Rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
is the town's premier sports in the form of Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
who are nicknamed "The Wire" because of Warrington's history of wire making. The club moved in 2003 to the Halliwell Jones Stadium
Halliwell Jones Stadium
Halliwell Jones Stadium is a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England that is the home ground of Warrington Wolves. It has also staged Challenge Cup semi-finals, the European Nations Final and the National League Grand Finals' Day....
, leaving its home for over a century, Wilderspool Stadium
Wilderspool Stadium
Wilderspool Stadium is a rugby league stadium located in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. It holds just over 9,000, after substantial decreases for crowd safety...
. Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
are the only team to have played every season in the top flight of rugby league. The town is also home to Warrington Wizards
Warrington Wizards
Warrington Wizards are a British rugby league team. They play in the National Division of the Rugby League Conference.-History:Warrington Woolston Rovers, a National Conference League team were invited to be founder members of the new National League Three, the 4th tier of British rugby league in...
who also play their home matches at Wilderspool Stadium
Wilderspool Stadium
Wilderspool Stadium is a rugby league stadium located in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. It holds just over 9,000, after substantial decreases for crowd safety...
. The Wizards are currently in the Rugby League Conference
Rugby League Conference
The Rugby League Conference , was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales.The RLC was founded as the 10-team Southern Conference League in 1997, with teams from the southern midlands and the...
. Warrington is represented in the British Amateur Rugby League Association
British Amateur Rugby League Association
The British Amateur Rugby League Association is the governing body for social and recreational rugby league in the United Kingdom...
leagues by;
- Bank Quay Bulls ARLFC
- Burtonwood Bulldogs ARLFC
- Crosfields ARLFC
- Culcheth Eagles ARLFC
- Latchford Albion ARLFC
- Rylands ARFLC
- Woolston Rovers ARLFC
Football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
is represented by Warrington Town
Warrington Town F.C.
Warrington Town F.C. are a football club based in Warrington, Cheshire, England. They were established in 1949 under the name of Stockton Heath Albion. In 1961, they changed to their present name...
at Cantilever Park, next to the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
. The club has several nicknames including Town, Yellows, Wire and Warriors. Warrington Town are currently in the Northern Premier League Division One North
Northern Premier League Division One North
Division One North is one of the two second-tier divisions of the Northern Premier League. It is at tier 4 of the National League System, tier 8 of the English football league system...
.
Rowing in Warrington may well have been taking place for nearly 200 years. It is known that Warrington Regatta is well over 150 years old, often attracting large crowds on the riverbank.
The modern Warrington rowing club started in the mid-1980s and is based near Kingsway Bridge. Warrington is home to both recreational and competitive rowers with some of these athletes now winning National Standard events and will be pulling on international vests, Olivia Whitlam
Olivia Whitlam
Olivia Rose Whitlam is a female rower from Daresbury, near Warrington, England. She became the Under-23 World Champion in 2007 in the pair with partner Heather Stanning. She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics with new partner Louisa Reeve who were paired together only 3 months before the games...
along with Richard Egington
Richard Egington
Richard Phillip Egington is a British rower. He won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics for Great Britain in the Men's eight.-References:...
, were the first rowers from Warrington at the Olympics. The club is now bigger than ever with a large number of juniors, seniors and veterans and is just about to embark on its next project - a new boathouse with state-of-the-art facilities for both the club and local community. Warrington Rowing Club is an accredited Explore Rowing club, which is part of a national strategy led by British Rowing. The purpose of this scheme is to introduce rowing to as many people as possible irrespective of whether they want to take up the sport competitively or on a recreational basis.
Warrington Athletic Club is 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.
Speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
racing, formerly known as Dirt Track racing was staged in Warrington in its pioneering era between 1928 and 1930. The track entered a team in the 1929 English Dirt Track League
Speedway English Dirt Track League
The English Dirt Track League was created in 1929 and was the inaugural season of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Northern English teams. The season was littered with mid-season withdrawals but eventually the Leeds Lions were crowned champions. In 1930, the league was renamed the Northern...
and the 1930 Northern League
Northern League
Northern League may refer to:In baseball & cricket:* Northern League , the name of the five 'northern' baseball leagues* Northern League , an independent baseball league in the United States...
. Efforts to revive the venue in 1947 failed to materialise.
Warrington Wolves Basketball team was set up in 2009 and competes in the English Basketball League Division Four.
Warrington has four predominant Rugby Union teams; Warrington RUFC, Lymm RFC, Gentlemen of Moore RUFC and Eagle RUFC, who are based at Thornton Road.
Warrington Thai Boxing Club was established in 1986 and is situated in one of the towns oldest industrial buildings Evans House on Norman Street and has a history of producing top class fighters that compete throughout the world.
Education
Warrington is home to two colleges: Priestley Sixth Form and Community CollegePriestley College
Priestley Sixth Form and Community College is a sixth form college located on Loushers Lane, Warrington, England. It also offers adult courses, professional training on another site, and is an associate college of the University of Salford.- Pass Rates :...
and Warrington Collegiate. The University of Chester
University of Chester
The University of Chester is a public research university located in Chester, United Kingdom. The University, based on a main campus in Chester and a smaller campus in Warrington, offers a range of foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as undertaking academic research.Chester...
has a campus at Padgate
Padgate
Padgate was a village on the edge of Warrington, England, and today it is a large residential part of the town. During World War II it had a small RAF Station. RAF Padgate will be well-remembered by thousands of young men who were selected for RAF national service and on this site received their...
that was formerly part of Warrington Collegiate. Most of the high schools have their own post-16 provision (sixth-form).
The high schools throughout the borough are located at: Birchwood
Birchwood
Birchwood is a civil parish in the north-eastern part of Warrington, Cheshire, England with a population of 11,395 . Historically a part of Lancashire, it is the easternmost part of the Warrington urban area. It was built during the time of much expansion in Warrington as it became a "new town"...
, Culcheth
Culcheth
Culcheth is a large village approximately 6 miles north-east of Warrington, England. It is the principal settlement in Culcheth and Glazebury civil parish. The village has many amenities which make it a popular place to live. These include a library, a village hall, sports facilities, two...
, Appleton
Appleton, Warrington
Appleton is a civil parish within the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England.-Geography and landmarks:The A49 runs from neighbouring Stockton Heath up the hill into Appleton and links Warrington Town Centre with the M56 motorway....
(known as Bridgewater High School Warrington), two in Latchford
Latchford
Latchford is a suburban district and electoral ward of the unitary borough of Warrington, in Cheshire, England. It is around one mile south of Warrington town centre and has a total resident population of 7,856....
(Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School
Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School
Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School is a comprehensive school in Warrington, Cheshire.-Grammar school:It was founded in 1526 by Sir Thomas Boteler, later to be the High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1535. He left a legacy to pay for the education of six "poor boyes of the parishe" and it...
and Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic High School), Sankey
Great Sankey
Great Sankey is a civil parish and suburban area of the Borough of Warrington and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It is west of Warrington town centre. It has a population of 24,211.-History:...
, Lymm
Lymm
Lymm is a large village and civil parish within the Warrington borough of Cheshire, in North West England. Lymm was an urban district of Cheshire from 1894 to 1974. The civil parish of Lymm incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little...
(Lymm High School
Lymm High School
Lymm High School is an English comprehensive school, located in Lymm, Warrington, Cheshire, of which the grammar school part had a history stretching back to the late 16th century...
), Padgate
Padgate
Padgate was a village on the edge of Warrington, England, and today it is a large residential part of the town. During World War II it had a small RAF Station. RAF Padgate will be well-remembered by thousands of young men who were selected for RAF national service and on this site received their...
(Lysander Community High School), Penketh
Penketh
Penketh is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is about west of Warrington town centre. It has a population of 8,699.The emblem/badge of Penketh is three kingfishers.-History:...
, Westbrook
Westbrook, Warrington
Westbrook is a ward and suburb in the North West area of Warrington. It forms part of the civil parish of Burtonwood, to part of which it gives its name. It is part of the "new-town" of Warrington. The main part of Westbrook was built in the early 1980s...
(St Gregory's Catholic High School
St Gregory's Catholic High School
St Gregory's Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic co-educational voluntary aided comprehensive school that educates approximately 970 children between 11 and 16 years of age. It is located in the town of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is now a specialist Humanities College...
), Orford
Orford, Warrington
Orford is a suburb of Warrington, England. The "hamlet of Orford" was originally a small area north of the township of Warrington, centred on Orford Green. Orford now describes a large area between the town centre and the M62, incorporating other small communities, such as Longford...
(William Beamont
William Beamont
William Beamont was a Victorian solicitor and local philanthropist, living in the town of Warrington, in the north-west of England....
High School), and Woolston. Woolston High School is to be closed in 2012.
There are also 74 primary schools in the borough, all of which feed into at least one of the above.
Landmarks
- The Town HallWarrington Town HallWarrington Town Hall is in the town of Warrington, Cheshire, England. It consists of a house, originally called Bank Hall, flanked by two detached service wings at right angles to the house, one on each side. The house and the service wings have each been designated by English Heritage as...
(and its golden gates), formerly Bank Hall (built 1750), the home of the Philips family and their scion the artist Nathaniel George Philips. - The AcademyWarrington AcademyWarrington Academy, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by those who dissented from the state church in England...
, a dissenterDissenterThe term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...
s' institute where Joseph PriestleyJoseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
once taught. After being moved from their original location, the building now houses the offices of the local newspaper "The Warrington Guardian". A statue of Oliver CromwellOliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
stands in front. - "Cromwell's Cottage" (17th century), which Cromwell is said to have visited.
- The 14th century Parish Church of St ElphinSt Elphin's Church, WarringtonSt Elphin's Church, Warrington is the parish church of the town of Warrington, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Warrington and the...
, largely a VictorianVictorian architectureThe term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
rebuild with a 281 feet (85.6 m) spireSpireA spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
, the sixth tallest in the UK. - St Wilfrid's Church, GrappenhallSt Wilfrid's Church, GrappenhallSt Wilfrid's Church, Grappenhall, is in Church Lane, Grappenhall, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building...
, Grade I listed medieval church. - St Oswald's Church, WinwickSt Oswald's Church, WinwickSt Oswald's Church, Winwick, is in the village of Winwick to the north of Warrington, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Warrington and the...
, Grade I listed medieval church. - Holy Trinity ChurchHoly Trinity Church, WarringtonHoly Trinity Church, Warrington is in the centre of the town of Warrington, Cheshire, England). The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...
, 1758, Grade II* listed GeorgianGeorgian architectureGeorgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
church at Market Gate. - Old St Ann's Church, 1869, Grade II* church designed by John DouglasJohn Douglas (architect)John Douglas was an English architect who designed about 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, and northwest England, in particular in the estate of Eaton Hall. He was trained in Lancaster and practised throughout his career from an office in Chester, Cheshire...
, now a rock climbing centre. - St Mary's ChurchSt Mary's Church, WarringtonSt Mary's Church, Warrington is in the town centre of Warrington, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and is an active Roman Catholic church. The parish was established from St Alban's Church, Warrington by Benedictine monks from...
, Grade II church designed by E. W. PuginE. W. PuginEdward Welby Pugin was the eldest son of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton. His father, A. W. N. Pugin, was a famous architect and designer of Neo-Gothic architecture, and after his death in 1852 Edward took up his successful practice...
and Peter Paul PuginPeter Paul PuginPeter Paul Pugin was an English architect, son of Augustus Welby Pugin by his third wife Jane Knill. He was the half-brother of architect and designer Edward Welby Pugin....
in Buttermarket. - Warrington Museum & Art GalleryWarrington Museum & Art GalleryWarrington Museum & Art Gallery is located on Bold Street in the Cultural Quarter of Warrington, in a Grade II listed building which it shares with the town's Central Library. The Museum and the Library originally opened in 1848 as the first rate-supported library in the UK, before moving to their...
, Grade II listed building and one of the oldest municipal museums in the UK. - The row of late Victorian terracotta shops on Bridge Street.
- The former Woolworth'sWoolworths GroupWoolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
Building in Sankey Street (originally Garnett's furniture showroom and currently Poundland). - The Art DecoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style Mr Smiths nightclub (formerly the ABC cinemaMovie theaterA movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
and before this The Ritz). - The industrial modernist UnileverUnileverUnilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
Soapworks. - The Cheshire LinesCheshire Lines CommitteeThe Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
railway warehouse, now redeveloped as apartments. - The Warrington Transporter BridgeWarrington Transporter BridgeThe Warrington Transporter Bridge across the River Mersey is a structural steel transporter bridge with a span of 200 feet. It is 30 feet wide, and 76 feet above high water level, with an overall length of 339 feet...
, a listed building and a Scheduled Ancient MonumentScheduled Ancient MonumentIn the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
. - The Barley Mow, established in 1561, the oldest pubPublic houseA public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Warrington. - The Parr HallParr HallThe Parr Hall is the only surviving professional concert hall/theatre venue in Warrington, England.-Location:The Parr Hall and Pyramid Arts Centre are located in the Cultural quarter of Warrington town centre, in Palmyra Square.-History:...
, home to one of the few remaining Cavaillé-Coll organs. - Fiddlers Ferry Power StationFiddlers Ferry Power StationFiddlers Ferry Power Station is a coal fired power station located in Cheshire in North West England, which is capable of co-firing biomass. It is situated on the north bank of the River Mersey between the towns of Widnes and Warrington. Opened in 1971, the station has a generating capacity of...
- The Halliwell Jones StadiumHalliwell Jones StadiumHalliwell Jones Stadium is a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England that is the home ground of Warrington Wolves. It has also staged Challenge Cup semi-finals, the European Nations Final and the National League Grand Finals' Day....
home of Warrington WolvesWarrington WolvesWarrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003.... - Bewsey Old Hall, a rebuilt medieval manor house.
- IKEAIKEAIKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
store which is located near the Gemini retail park. The first of the IKEA chain to be built in the UK.
Notable residents
- Joseph PriestleyJoseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
, 18th century free-thinker and scientist, who lived in Warrington and taught at the Academy. - William BeamontWilliam BeamontWilliam Beamont was a Victorian solicitor and local philanthropist, living in the town of Warrington, in the north-west of England....
, Victorian solicitor and local philanthropist, who founded several churches and the municipal library (the first rate-aided library in the country}. - Tim BownessTim BownessTim Bowness is a singer/songwriter primarily known for his work as part of the band No-Man, a long-term project formed in 1987 with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson.-Music career:...
, singer-songwriter (best known as singer for the band No-ManNo-ManNo-Man are a British art-pop duo formed in 1987 as No Man Is An Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson . The band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections...
) was born in Stockton HeathStockton HeathStockton Heath is a civil parish and suburban area of the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is located to the north of the Bridgewater Canal and to the south of the Manchester Ship Canal, which divides Stockton Heath from Latchford and north Warrington...
, Warrington on 29 November 1963 and spent both his childhood and his early twenties in the town. - John BramwellJohn BramwellJohn Harold Arnold Bramwell is an English singer-songwriter. He is the frontman for the three-piece alternative rock band I Am Kloot, and has previously issued solo material under the guise of Johnny Dangerously....
, singer-songwriter (frontman for the band I Am KlootI Am KlootI Am Kloot are an English band formed in Manchester, in 1999 by John Bramwell , Peter Jobson and Andy Hargreaves .-History:...
) was born in Warrington on 27 November 1964. - Luke FildesLuke FildesSir Samuel Luke Fildes RA was an English painter and illustrator born at Liverpool and trained in the South Kensington and Royal Academy schools....
(1843–1927), artist, studied at Warrington School of Art. - George Formby (Junior), entertainer, lived for many years in Warrington and is buried in Warrington Cemetery, with his father George Formby (Senior)George Formby, Sr.George Formby , born James Booth, was an English comedian and musician. He was a star in Edwardian music halls, singing and clowning in a sardonic style that influenced the young Charlie Chaplin. Formby was plagued by ill-health and suffered from tuberculosis, but despite this was one of the...
, also an entertainer. - George DuckworthGeorge DuckworthGeorge Duckworth was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and England....
, first class cricketer, who played Test cricketTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
for England, was born in Warrington. He played first class cricket for LancashireLancashire County Cricket ClubLancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
between 1923 and 1947. - Neil FairbrotherNeil FairbrotherNeil Fairbrother is a former English cricket player, named by his mother after her favourite player, the Australian cricketer Neil Harvey. He was educated at Lymm High School....
, first class cricketer, who played Test cricket for England, was born in Warrington. - Matt Fullerty, aurthor, was born in Warrington and lived in Appleton. He now lives in Washington, DC.
- William NormanWilliam NormanWilliam Norman VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
, VCVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(1832–1896), a local war hero, was born in Warrington. - George SampsonGeorge SampsonGeorge Jennifer Sampson is a street dancer and actor from Warrington, England. He won the second series of Britain's Got Talent on 31 May 2008 at the age of 14.-2007 series:...
, dancer and winner of Britain's Got TalentBritain's Got TalentBritain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
in 2008. - Chris Evans, DJ and TV presenter, was born and grew up in Warrington.
- Ossie ClarkOssie ClarkRaymond "Ossie" Clark was an English fashion designer who was a major figure in the Swinging Sixties scene in London and the fashion industry in that era...
(1942–1996), fashion designer, grew up in Warrington where he attended William Beamont Secondary Technical School. - Pete PostlethwaitePete PostlethwaitePeter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE, was an English stage, film and television actor.After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr...
(1946–2011), actor, was born in Warrington. A studio in the Pyramid Arts Centre has been named after him. - Pete McCarthyPete McCarthyPete McCarthy , was a British broadcaster and successful travel writer, noted for his books McCarthy's Bar and The Road to McCarthy.-Biography:...
, actor, was born in Warrington and is honoured in a plaque on the wall of the Pyramid Arts Centre. - Tim CurryTim CurryTimothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....
, actor, singer and composer, was born in Warrington and lived in Grappenhall. - Chris BraideChris BraideChristopher Braide is an English singer, songwriter, record producer published by Sony/ATV worldwide based in Los Angeles.Producer, Songwriter and Ivor Novello ASCAP and Billboard award winner Christopher Braide has achieved considerable success as a songwriter in the UK and the US. His songs have...
, songwriter and record producer, was born in Warrington and lived in Padgate. - Ian BrownIan BrownIan George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
, rock musician, was born in Warrington and lived in Forster Street. He now lives in Lymm. - Sue JohnstonSue JohnstonSusan "Sue" Johnston, OBE is a BAFTA nominated English actress best known for playing Sheila Grant in the long-running soap opera Brookside , Grace Foley in Waking the Dead from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009,...
, actress and star of Brookside and The Royle Family. - Darren JeffriesDarren JeffriesDarren Jeffries is a British actor best known for his portrayal of Sam "O.B." O'Brien in Channel 4 soap-opera Hollyoaks. In 2007, after ten years of playing O.B., Darren announced that he was leaving the soap...
, actor, best known for his role as OB in HollyoaksHollyoaksHollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
. - Steven ArnoldSteven ArnoldSteven Arnold is an English actor best known for his role as Ashley Peacock in the long running hit show Coronation Street.- Early life :...
, actor, best known for his role as Ashley Peacock in Coronation Street, was born in Warrington. - Pete WatermanPete WatermanPeter Alan Waterman OBE is an English record producer, occasional songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team he wrote and produced many hit singles...
, record producer, lives in Warrington, in the village of Winwick. - Warren BrownWarren Brown (actor)Warren Brown is an English actor and former professional Thaiboxer, well known for his roles as Andy Holt in teen soap opera Hollyoaks and Lee Hibbs in the three-part BBC drama series Occupation written by Peter Bowker...
(actor) Regular BBC actor, born and lives in Warrington. - Kerry KatonaKerry KatonaKerry Jayne Elizabeth Katona is an English media personality and singer best known for her television work, predominantly in light entertainment and reality shows. She has also been a pop singer with girl group Atomic Kitten, a magazine columnist, an actress, and the author of ghostwritten books...
, singer/actress, lived in Warrington. - Jan LintonJan LintonJan Linton is a singer, musician and producer from Warrington, England, who helped internationalize the music scene in Tokyo, Japan.-Biography:...
, singer/songwriter, was born in Warrington, but re-located to Japan. - Stephen FosterStephen FosterStephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
, defender and captain of Barnsley F.C.Barnsley F.C.Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
, was born here. - Garry NewloveGarry NewloveGarry Newlove was an English man beaten to death in August 2007 in the UK. His murder launched an upset in the UK over the two offenders who had been drinking underage. Former Chief Constable Peter Fahy called for the legal age of buying alcohol to increase to the age of 21 as a result of the...
, victim of high profile murder in August 2007, died after being attacked outside his house in the Fearnhead area of the town. - Comedy Dave Vitty, D.J Sidekick and Dancing on Ice (Series 6)Dancing on Ice (series 6)The sixth series of Dancing on Ice started on 9 January 2011 and ended on 27 March 2011 on ITV. Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby return as hosts whilst Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean return to mentor the celebrities...
Contestant), relocated from Hong Kong and spent much of his childhood in Warrington. - Rebekah Brooks, journalist, newspaper editor and former chief executive of News InternationalNews InternationalNews International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
) attended Appleton Hall County Grammar School in Warrington. - James ChesterJames ChesterJames Grant Chester is an English footballer who plays for Hull City as a centre back. He has also played on loan for Peterborough United, Plymouth Argyle and Carlisle United.-Career:...
, Hull rugby league player (formerly reserve captain of Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
) - Bob FultonBob FultonRobert "Bob" Fulton AM is an Australian rugby league football identity. Fulton played, coached, selected for and has commentated on the game with great success at the highest levels and has been named amongst Australia's greatest rugby league players of the 20th century.As a player Fulton won...
, Australian Rugby League player and selector, was born in Warrington. - Neil McGrathNeil McGrathNeil McGrath is a British former auto racing driver. He regularly competed in the British Touring Car Championship. In 1981 he finished third in Class A and repeated this achievement again in 1985, finishing seventh overall....
(born 4 December 1942, former British racing driver.