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| Warrington |
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| Arms of Warrington Borough Council |
Warrington is a town and borough in North West England. It was traditionally in Lancashire, but was moved to Cheshire in 1974. Since April 1, 1998 it has been an independent administrative county. At the last census count the population was 192,100.
It is main town situated between Manchester and Liverpool. Landmarks of the town are Fiddlers Ferry Power Station, the Alice in Wonderland statue commemorating writer Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) born in nearby Daresbury, and the Old Market Gate.
History
In Roman times, Warrington was a centre of industry and was founded as a crossing place of the River Mersey for Roman soldiers to go north from their base at Deva (modern Chester) some remains have been found at Wilderspool.
In medieval times Warrington's importance was as a bridging point on the River Mersey, and it was a fulcrum in the English Civil War. The armies of Oliver Cromwell and the Early of Derby both stayed near the old town centre (the parish church area) at Cromwells Lodgings (now a restaurant) and the Marquis of Granby public house. Dents in the walls of Parish church are rumoured to be caused by the cannons used in the English Civil War.
The bridging point at Warrington was vital to the towns future growth. The Red Lion Inn on Bridge Street is an example of a building built exclusivley for people using the bridge.
By the 1890s when it acquired County Borough status on reaching a population of 75,000, it was a centre of steel, textiles, chemical and wire industries.
In the second world war the town was filled with Amercian servicemen serving at R.A.F Burtonwood which led to the marrying of several "G.I Brides". The runway was converted into the M62 motoway and the remained was closed in 1993. It is now being converted into a major business park area called "Omega".
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.
On the 20th March 1993, the IRA exploded 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. Their deaths provoked widespread condemnation of the Irish terrorist organisation responsible. The blast followed an unsuccessful bomb attack on the gas storage plants in Warrington.
Tim Parry's father founded The Peace Centre (formerly the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Peace Centre) as part of a campaign to reconcile communities in conflict.. The Centre opened in 1993, particularly on Saturday March 20, the day before Mother's Day, when an IRA bomb killed two boys, Johnathan Ball (3) and Tim Parry (12).
Warrington is notable in political history for being the first place to field a candidate for the newly-formed SDP-Liberal Alliance. Former Home Secretary Roy Jenkins stood for MP in 1981 but lost to Labour candidate Doug Hoyle by a small number of votes.
However, many people, particularly Americans, will remember Warrington best as the location of Burtonwood RAF base, one of (if not the) largest RAF bases in England. During the war, Burtonwood was visited by major celebrities like Humphrey Bogart and Bob Hope who arrived to entertain troops
Arts and entertainment
Warrington has a theatre (the Parr Hall), a new arts centre (the Pyramid), a museum and public library (the first rate-supported library in the UK), and a Victorian swimming bath (closed in July 2003, its future uncertain). There is only one Cinema at Westbrook but one is being considered for Winwick Street. There are several parks (see also Parks in Warrington) and one nature reserve area (Risley Moss). An indoor karting centre is located near to Bank Quay.
Shopping
It has a shopping mall (Golden Square) built in the 1970s, with a bus station attached. The mall is to be extended, and a new bus station provided. There is an indoor market. The old Cockhedge textile mill has been converted to another shopping mall. The main shopping streets are Buttermarket Street , Horsemarket Street , Sankey Street and Bridge Street. Where these 4 streets meet there is an attractive modern redevelopment with "skittles" and a large fountain. In the surrounding modern suburbs there are several shopping areas from small groups of shops to malls such as Birchwood Mall.
Buildings
The most interesting buildings are the Town Hall (formerly Bank Hall), the Academy, the so-called "Cromwell's Cottage" (17th century), and the 14th Century Parish Church of St Elphin, largely a Victorian rebuild, with its 280-foot spire. The impressive Cheshire Lines railway warehouse is currently derelict but may be restored.
Transport
The town has two railway stations, Bank Quay on the London to Glasgow line, and Central on the Liverpool-Widnes-Manchester line and the Transpennine Route. There are regional stations in the surrounding suburbs at Padgate, Sankey and Birchwood. The town is close to the M62, M6 and M56 motorways and midway between Liverpool and Manchester airports.
Warrington Borough Transport run most bus services within the town , the First group and Arriva Northwestern provide bus links to surrounding towns and cities such as Altrincham , Manchester , The Trafford Centre , Liverpool , Runcorn and Chester. A new real-time passenger information system has now been installed but in some areas it remains to be activated.
The Manchester Ship Canal runs through the heart of the town dividing it into two and the Bridgewater Canal runs from the scenic village of Lymm through to Walton Lea Gardens, a local park/lesiure area.
Sports
The town's premier sports team is the Warrington Wolves Rugby League club. It has recently moved to the Halliwell Jones stadium, leaving its home for over a century, Wilderspool. Football is represented by Warrington Town at Cantilever Park, next to the Manchester Ship Canal.
Districts
- Appleton Thorn
- Bewsey, Birchwood, Broomedge, Bruche, Burtonwood
- Cadishead, Collins Green, Culcheth, Cuerdly Cross, Croft
- Dallam, Doe Green
- Fearnhead, Fowley Common
- Grappenhall, Gorse Covert, Great Sankey
- Hatton
- Higher Walton
- Latchford
- Lately Common, Lower Stretton, Lymm
- Martinscroft
- New Lane End
- Orford
- Padgate, Penketh
- Stockton Heath, Stretton
- Thelwall, Twiss Green
- Warrington, Westy, Winwick, Woolston
See Also
External links
| Districts of North West England | ||
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| Cheshire |  | |
| Cumbria | ||
| Greater Manchester | ||
| Lancashire | ||
| Merseyside | ||
 North West England portal | ||