Culcheth is a village in the

Borough of Warrington (God giveth the increase) , image_skyline =Warrington from the Air - geograph.org.uk - 3153500.jpg , imagesize = 280px , image_caption = Aerial view of Warrington , image_flag = ...

, ceremonial county of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

and historic county of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England, six miles (10 km) north-east of Warrington town centre; it is the principal settlement in

Culcheth and Glazebury Culcheth and Glazebury is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 8,534. Culcheth Historic counties of England, Historically part of Lancashire, the are ...

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

. Culcheth is primarily residential, with a large

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

at its heart where the annual Community Day is held. The old railway line is now known as Culcheth Linear Park.

History

On Saxon maps showing South

the village is marked as "Calchuth" or "Celchyth." On these very early maps and deeds the name is also written as "Kilcheth", "Kylchith" and "Kilshaw." It is derived from the

Brittonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

"cil" and "coed", 'at the edge of a wood,' 'black wood' or 'retreat in a wood'. There are a few examples of this name-formation today, such as the Welsh name for Caldicot,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, Wales is "Cil-y-coed", and possibly

Culgaith Culgaith is a village and civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria, England. It is located on the River Eden, between Temple Sowerby and Langwathby. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 721, increasing to 826 at the 2011 Cens ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

. The first element in the name might also be ''*cǖl'', meaning 'narrow'. However, another claim is that the name is of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

origin, but all four families of French descent which settled in the area took local names, such as de Culcheth, de Kenyon, de Risley and de Holcroft. The area is known to have been established before or around the time of the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, from its mention in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. Culcheth Hall was latterly owned by the

Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just ...

family until its demolition after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The infamous Colonel Thomas Blood, who nearly succeeded in stealing the Crown Jewels, was married at Winwick, and lived for a while at

Holcroft Hall Holcroft Hall is a Grade II* listed privately owned historic house in Holcroft, Culcheth, Cheshire. History The manor of Holcroft was the product of a division of the manor of Culcheth in the mid-13th century, and the Holcrofts may have b ...

(on Holcroft Lane, Culcheth). The

Culcheth Laboratories Culcheth Laboratories was a British metallurgical and nuclear research institute that researched the structural design of nuclear reactors and reactor pressure vessels in Culcheth, Cheshire, then in south Lancashire and now in the borough of Warr ...

were established in 1950, in the south-west of the village.

Governance and politics

Local Government in Culcheth has been administered by

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...

(1889-1974),

Leigh Rural District Leigh Rural District was, from 1894 to 1933, a rural district of the administrative county of Lancashire, in northwest England. It spanned a rural area outlying from the town Leigh. It was created based on the rural sanitary district and consis ...

Council (1894-1933), Culcheth Parish Council (1894-1933) and

Golborne Urban District Golborne (pronounced or ) is a town in 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. Combined with the village of Lowt ...

(1933-1974). Today, Culcheth is administered by Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council, as well as by Warrington Borough Council (both since 1974). On 1 April 1998, the

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

Unitary Authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

was created, of which Culcheth is a part. Culcheth (along with its neighbouring villages Glazebury and Croft) form the

Warrington Borough Council Warrington Borough Council is the local authority of Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services in ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft. Although the Labour Party took all three seats in this ward in the local elections of 2016, in 2021 they all changed hands to the Conservatives. The ward forms part of the Warrington North parliamentary constituency, which has been represented by Labour MP Charlotte Nichols since 2019. Nichols replaced

Helen Jones Helen Mary Jones (born 24 December 1954) is a British Labour politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Warrington North from 1997 to 2019. Jones has served as Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government and Shadow Home Of ...

as MP, who lives in the village centre with her family. At the 2012 municipal elections, Chris Vobe (son of Helen Jones MP) became the first Labour Party Councillor for Culcheth since the mid-1990s, taking his seat on Warrington Borough Council at the Town Hall on 14 May 2012, with Culcheth having been represented on Warrington Borough Council by three

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

councillors from 1996 to 2012. Chris Vobe stood down from his position in 2016. Cheshire Constabulary has established a police community base in Culcheth Scout Centre in agreement with the local scout group. This innovation allows local police officers to spend more time in the community and makes it easier for people to contact them. Without this arrangement police officers would have to be based at Warrington Police Station, which is several miles away from their 'beat'.

Transport

Road

One of the reasons for Culcheth's popularity as a place to live is its proximity to the main road links into

( A574), and the

M62 motorway The M62 is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of ...

into Liverpool and Manchester. It is also accessible via Common Lane (the B5207 from Lowton), linking to the A580 East Lancashire Road, and Holcroft Lane (the B5212) which meets the A57 Warrington-Manchester road near Warburton Toll Bridge.

Bus

Warrington's Own Buses Warrington's Own Buses is a municipal bus company which operates a network of services within the Borough of Warrington and the surrounding area, including Altrincham, Leigh, Earlestown, Wigan, Halton, Bolton and Northwich. The company previou ...

operate two bus services between

town centre and

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

via the village centre. A combined 30-minute frequency is provided by services 19 and 28/28A on Monday to Saturday daytimes, with a combined 30-minute frequency on Sundays and an hourly 28E service Monday to Saturday evening. The two services operate via the same route to Leigh, but the route to Warrington alternates between

Croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...

/ Winwick (service 19) and

Birchwood Birchwood is a town in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England with a population of 11,395 (as at the 2001 census). Although physically and administratively part of Warrington, the civil parish council has named itself a town council. Hi ...

Padgate Padgate is a suburb of Warrington, in the civil parish of Poulton-with-Fearnhead, in the Warrington district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. History Overview Historically part of Lancashire, until 1838 Padgate was an area of far ...

(service 28/28A).

Rail

Between 1884 and 1964, Culcheth was served by two railway stations on the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

(GCR) line from Manchester Central between

Glazebrook Rixton-with-Glazebrook is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies to the east of Warrington and borders Cadishead, and is largely farmland. It has a railway station at Glazebrook ...

and

Wigan Central railway station Wigan Central railway station was a railway station near the centre of Wigan, Lancashire, England. Location and construction Wigan Central station was on Station Road, some way from the two main stations ( North Western and Wallgate) which a ...

. These have been turned into Culcheth Linear Park, with the park's HQ situated on top of Culcheth station's foundations. The nearest operating railway stations are at

and

, both on the line from

Liverpool Lime Street Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast ...

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

Economy

The science and business parks at nearby Birchwood employ around 5,000 people. The Taylor Industrial Estate / Taylor Business Park provides rented premises and facilities to many small and medium-sized businesses on the outskirts of the village on the road between Culcheth and Risley. There are two supermarkets in the village centre, the

Co-Op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

and

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

, as well as a wide range of smaller specialist shops. There is also CPS shopping centre which is located in the centre of Culcheth village, and has been home to a wide variety of small independent shops for more than 50 years. There are three

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s in Culcheth: the Cherry Tree, the Culcheth Arms (formerly Harrow Inn) and the Pack Horse. Nearby Glazebury also has several pubs: the Raven Inn (now closed), the Glazebury (formerly Chat Moss Hotel), the Grey Horse, the Comfortable Gill and the George and Dragon. Partridge Lakes Fishery on Glaziers Lane is a recreational coarse fishery with a lakeside dog friendly cafe. Bent's Garden Centre, located on the outskirts of Glazebury in the grounds of the former Hurst Hall, is a large upmarket enterprise which also has a restaurant. Black Sheep Wools is located on Glaziers Lane, the Uk's largest yarn and stitching store.

Religion

Culcheth has four churches: Newchurch Parish Church, Culcheth Methodist Church, Culcheth Christian Fellowship, Hob Hey Lane and the Grace Fellowship Church which meets at Culcheth High School. The nearest

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church is St Lewis's, which is in the nearby village of

Education

The village is well provided with

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

s. Culcheth High School opened in 1931, and received a 'good' rating by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

(2014), with 'The Class of 2013' attaining the best results the school has produced so far, with 79% of pupils attaining 5 A*-C GCSEs including English and Maths. The school also had a successful sixth form which closed in 2014. The school was picked as Warrington's 'Pathfinder' school under the now-defunct '

Building Schools for the Future Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the name given to the British government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England in the 2000s. The programme was ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicia ...

' scheme, and the brand new school buildings opened in July 2010. The old school buildings were demolished to make way for the new school playing fields. The village also has three primary schools: Twiss Green Community Primary School (rated "outstanding" by OFSTED), Culcheth Community Primary School and Newchurch Community Primary School.

Sport

Golf Club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Wood (golf), Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; iron (golf), irons, the most versatile class ...

is located to the north of Culcheth. The Culcheth Sports Club (formerly the Daten) provides a wide range of sports facilities such as table tennis, cricket, tennis, croquet and bowls. The Sports Club also has teams in various leagues in different sports, including numerous table tennis teams, a football team, a tennis league and a croquet team. Culcheth Eagles ARLFC is a successful rugby league team, which runs many youth teams and an open age team, which all compete in the

North West Counties The North West Counties A.R.L. were a series of rugby league regional leagues in the North West of England. Most clubs at open age level joined the North West Men's League in 2011 and 2012 but it carried on until folding part way through the 2014 ...

leagues. FC Culcheth Sports is a newly established football club in the village with teams in the Wigan and District Amateur League and th
Warrington Sunday League

Culture and community

The Culcheth and Glazebury Christmas Market (formerly Victorian Day) is a village event held in late November each year with gazebos and market stalls complementing the Gift and Craft Fayres taking place in the Parish and Methodist Halls. The whole event is crowned by carols and the Christmas light switch-on at the

Notable people

* Sir

Thomas Holcroft Thomas Holcroft (10 December 174523 March 1809) was an English dramatist, miscellanist, poet and translator. He was sympathetic to the early ideas of the French Revolution and helped Thomas Paine to publish the first part of ''The Rights of Man ...

(1505 in

, Culcheth – 1558) was an English courtier, soldier, politician and landowner. * Colonel

Thomas Blood Colonel Thomas Blood (1618 – 24 August 1680) was an Anglo-Irish officer and self-styled colonel best known for his attempt to steal the Crown Jewels of England from the Tower of London in 1671. Described in an American source as a "no ...

(1618–1680) adventurer, made a failed attempt to steal the Crown Jewels, may have lived in Culcheth. *

Walton Newbold John Turner Walton Newbold (8 May 1888 – 20 February 1943), generally known as Walton Newbold, was the first of the four Communist Party of Great Britain members to be elected as MPs in the United Kingdom. Biography Early years John Turner ...

(1888 in Culcheth – 1943) the first of the four Communist Party of Great Britain members to be elected as MPs in the United Kingdom *

Roger Hunt Roger Hunt (20 July 1938 – 27 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Eleven years with Liverpool, he was the club's record goalscorer with 286 goals until being overtaken by Ian Rush. Nonetheless, ...

MBE (born 1938 in Glazebury) an English former footballer, 404 appearances for

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

with 286 goals, member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning team *

Donald Adamson Donald Adamson (born 30 March 1939), is a British literary scholar, author and historian. Books which he has written include ''Blaise Pascal: Mathematician, Physicist, and Thinker about God'' and '' The Curriers' Company: A Modern History''. H ...

(born 1939 in Culcheth) a British literary scholar, author and historian *

(born 1954), former MP for Warrington North, lives in Culcheth. * Daniel Ryan (born 1968 ) an English actor IMDb Database
retrieved 9 July 2018 and writer. *

Andy Burnham Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 2008 ...

(born 1970) is a British Labour politician, Mayor of Greater Manchester since May 2017, previously the MP for

from 2001 to 2017. He was brought up in Culcheth.

Twin town

* Saint-Leu-la-Foret near Paris

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

{{authority control Warrington Geography of Warrington Villages in Cheshire