Widnes

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Widnes
Image:dot4gb.svg
Statistics
Population: 53,410 (2001)
Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference: SJ5185
Administration
District: Halton
Region: North West England
Constituent country: England
Sovereign state: United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county: Cheshire
Historic county: Lancashire
Services
Police force: Cheshire
Fire and rescue: Cheshire
Ambulance: North West
Post office and telephone
Post town: WIDNES
Postal district: WA8
Dialling code: 0151
Politics
UK Parliament: Halton
European Parliament: North West England
Arms of the former Widnes Municipal Borough Council
Enlarge
Arms of the former Widnes Municipal Borough Council

Widnes is a town in the borough of Halton and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was a municipal borough in the traditional county of Lancashire until 1974. It owes its existence to the chemical industry. In 1800 it was a mere collection of houses but by 1900 had a population of around 50,000.

The town's continued growth is mainly due to its location in between the large urban areas of Manchester and Liverpool.

Contents

[edit] Place-name meaning

Based on evidence from place-name books, Widnes derives from the Danish wid "wide" and Old English næss "ness", referring to the promontory of land now known as West Bank that juts south into the River Mersey, creating a narrowing in the channel called the Runcorn Gap. Other books suggest the etymology is from Old English wid-næss "wide promontory"; this would make sense as most of the place-names in the region are from Old English; Speke is one of them.

However, a third suggestion for the place-name meaning is the Old English wið "willow, withy" + næss "ness, promontory, suggesting "cliff/promontory where willow trees grow", making Widnes a contraction of "Withingness", similar to Withington in Greater Manchester.

The name was recorded as Widdnasin 1182 and Widense in 1194, suggesting "wide sea", from Old English sæ "sea"; however this etymology is doubtful.

[edit] History

It is likely that there had been some occupation of the high ground in the area now occupied by the town of Widnes from the time of the Stone Age. There is however no evidence of any occupation during the Roman era or that any Roman roads passed through the district. There is a tradition but no evidence that the Vikings had a camp nearby on Cuerdley Marsh.

Until the 19th century the area consisted of the separate small villages of Farnworth, Appleton, Ditton, Upton and Woodend. Nearby were the villages of Cronton and Cuerdley. A Norman church was built in Farnworth in the 11th century and it is likely that a church or chapel was present on the site during the previous century. Following the Norman conquest a barony was established. This passed to William FitzNigel, the 2nd Baron of Halton, when he married the daughter of Yorfrid, the last Baron of Widnes. In 1507 a grammar school was estabished in Farnworth. Widnes continued to be the name for a group of villages rather than a discrete township.

In the 1770s the Sankey Canal was constructed. This linked the area of St Helens with the River Mersey at Sankey Bridges, near Warrington. It was extended to Fiddler's Ferry in 1761 and then in 1833 a further extension to Woodend was opened. In the same year the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway was opened. Among the original subscribers were James Muspratt who had a stake in the company, and Peter Greenall who had brewing, coal and glass manufacturing interests. The railway connected St Helens with an area in Woodend which was to become known as Spike Island. Here the world's first railway dock was established. Despite these transport links and the emergence of the chemical industry at nearby Runcorn and elsewhere in the Mersey valley, the Industrial Revolution did not arrive at Widnes until 14 years later.

The chemical industry in Widnes started with the arrival of John Hutchinson (1825-1865) from St Helens in 1847. He constructed the first chemical factory at Spike Island which made alkali by the Leblanc process. Further chemical factories were soon built nearby by entrepreneurs including William Gossage (1799-1877), John McClelland, Frederick Muspratt (son of James), Holbrook Gaskell (1813-1909) and Henry Deacon. The town grew rapidly as housing and social provision was made for the factory workers. Soon the villages of Farnworth, Appleton, Ditton and Upton were subsumed within the developing town of Widnes. Woodend became known as West Bank. By 1862 the town was producing more alkali than any other centre in the world. The substances produced included soap, borax, soda ash, salt cake and bleaching powder. Other industries developed including iron and copper works. The town became heavily polluted with smoke and the by-products of the chemical processes. Later prominent businessmen and chemists who worked in Widnes include John Brunner (1842-1919) and Ludwig Mond (1839-1909).

The demand for workers meant that, in addition to people from other areas of the United Kingdom, large numbers of workers came from other countries. Initially these were Irish but in the 1880s significant numbers arrived from Poland and Lithuania who were fleeing from persecution in their home countries. In 1890 the chemical companies making alkali by the Leblanc process combined to form the United Alkali Company. Widnes was considered to be the principal centre of this company. In 1905 the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge was opened which gave the first direct vehicular link to Runcorn.

During the 20th century the manufacture of chemicals has continued to be the major industry although in recent years there has been some diversification of industry. In 1961 the Transporter Bridge was closed with the opening of the road bridge which came to be named the Silver Jubilee Bridge. In 1974 due to local government reorganisation, Widnes became part of the county of Cheshire when it combined with Runcorn Urban District Council to form the Borough of Halton.

[edit] The Widnes Vikings

The area's traditional Norse history is celebrated in the name of the local Rugby League Football Club the Widnes Vikings. The Widnes Vikings were previously know as the "Chemics". Once world champions (1989), subsequently spent time in the Northern Ford Premiership, and (2006) narrowly missed out on promotion to Super League.

[edit] Crossing the Mersey

Widnes and Runcorn are divided by the River Mersey. In the West Bank area of the town the Mersey happens to narrow and so for many centuries this made it a natural place to cross the river. At first this was by boat but later a ferry service was set-up to provide this service. In middle of the 19th century (1868 to be exact) a rail bridge was opened between Widnes and Runcorn. This bridge also had a footpath which allowed you to walk between Widnes and Runcorn for the first time, provided you could pay the small fee. This bridge still carries trains today.

In 1905 a second crossing was opened in the form of the Transporter Bridge and it was the largest of its type in the world. This ferried people across the Mersey in a large gondola that hung beneath the bridge. This gondola moved between Runcorn and Widnes carrying a large number of people at once.

While a road bridge was possible at this time, it was too expensive. This is because a cheap low-level bridge would have obstructed ships on the Manchester Ship Canal. The only way to avoid this problem was to build a high-level road bridge, similar to the rail bridge. This option would have cost nearly £400,000. This is three times the £130,000 it cost to build the Transporter Bridge. [1]

Widnes and Runcorn had to wait until the sixties for a road bridge. On the 21st of July 1961 a new bridge, called the Runcorn Widnes Bridge was opened and after this the old Runcorn Widnes Transporter Bridge was demolished and the foot path was closed on the rail bridge. Later a new footpath was opened on the road-bridge which you can still cross for free.

This bridge is still in use today although plans for the Mersey Gateway have been approved by Parliament and it is scheduled to be built by 2014.

[edit] 'Homeward Bound'

Widnes is also known for the railway station where Paul Simon wrote the song Homeward Bound [2]. However, the original station called Widnes Central was one of those stations closed by Dr Beeching in the early 1960s. It was demolished and its site now forms part of the local dual carriageway, Ashley Way.

Despite the fact that Widnes Central no longer exists, there is a plaque commemorating this event in Widnes Station (formally Widnes North or earlier Widnes Farnworth) which is the sole remaining 'Widnes' station (NB. the town is also served by Hough Green Station, one stop further along the same Warrington-Liverpool line, towards Liverpool).

[edit] Education

The major centres of education in the town are as listed below:-

  • Bankfield High School
  • Fairfield County High School
  • St Peter & Paul Catholic High School & College
  • Wade Deacon County High School
  • Riverside College

[edit] Famous people

The above three men were born in or near the village of Farnworth.

[edit] References

  • Whimperley, Arthur, Widnes through the Ages, Halton Borough Council, 1991.
  • Morris, Jean M., Into the Crucible, Countryvise Limited, 2005.
  • Greatbatch, M. L. and Mercer, P. J., Spike Island, Halton Borough Council.

[edit] Further reading

  • Diggle, Rev. G. E., A History of Widnes, Corporation of Widnes, 1961.
  • The Bridging of Runcorn Gap, Halton Borough Council, 1978
  • Cowan, C. A. Crossing the Runcorn Gap, Vol. 1: Runcorn Ferry and Hale Ford, Halton Borough Council, 1990.
  • Cowan, C. A. Crossing the Runcorn Gap, Vol. 2: Early Bridging Proposals, Halton Borough Council, 1992.
  • Cowan, C. A. Crossing the Runcorn Gap, Vol. 3: Runcorn Railway Bridge, Halton Borough Council, 1990.
  • Hardie, David W.F. (1950). A history of the chemical industry in Widnes. ICI Limited, General Chemicals Division.

[edit] External links

Debate on the Second Crossing (2004 - HMSO)

Widnes World (local newspaper)

H2G2 article on Widnes - Sections of this article were included in this entry with permission from the copyright holder.

[edit] See also


Ceremonial county of Cheshire [[Image:|40px]]
Unitary authorities: Halton • Warrington
Boroughs/Districts: City of Chester • Congleton • Crewe and Nantwich • Ellesmere Port and Neston • Macclesfield • Vale Royal
Cities/Towns: Alderley Edge • Alsager • Bollington • Chester • Congleton • Crewe • Ellesmere Port • Frodsham • Knutsford • Lymm • Macclesfield • Middlewich • Nantwich • Neston • Northwich • Poynton • Runcorn • Sandbach • Warrington • Widnes • Wilmslow • Winsford
See also: List of civil parishes in Cheshire
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