Ditton, Cheshire
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Ditton is a residential area of the town of
Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...
, in the borough of Halton, in the ceremonial county of
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, England. It borders Halebank to the south and west,
Hough Green Hough Green is a residential area of the town of Widnes, within the borough of Halton, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in 2014 Hough Green became a part of the Liverpoo ...
to the north and north west and an area just outside Widnes town centre (the Ball o'Ditton) to the east. Formerly within the historic county of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, Ditton is a local government
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 ...
, with a population of 6,249 at the time of the 2001 Census. It has three small areas of shops ("Alexander Drive", "St Michaels" and "Queens Avenue") and the
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
St Michael's Church – a local example of
Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
. The area also houses two medium-sized industrial estates. There are three public-houses in Ditton; the Blundell Arms, the Yew Tree (now demolished, with apartments built on the land) and the New Inn. To the south east of Ditton runs Ditton Road, which connects the
A562 The A562 is a road in England which runs from Liverpool to Warrington. Route Parliament Street At Liverpool, the road is known at first as Parliament Street. Upper Parliament Street to Speke Boulevard It then becomes Upper Parliament Street ...
Ashley Way Central Widnes
By-pass Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart by ...
to the Halebank area of the town. This an industrial stretch of road containing remnants of Widnes' manufacturing and trade, including a chemical plant and large timber yard which sit on an expanse of land which leads to the
River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...
. The area also once contained a popular golf course – St Michaels Municipal, however it closed due to arsenic contamination, which is a reminder of the
industrial waste Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and ...
that lies beneath.
Ditton railway station Ditton railway station, originally Ditton Junction, was a railway station which served the Ditton, Cheshire, Ditton area of Widnes in Cheshire, England. It was located on Hale Road on the border between Ditton and Halebank. History The station ...
, situated on Hale Road between Ditton and Halebank, closed to passengers on 27 May 1994. The site is now a railway junction with concrete remnants of platforms. Near to the former station is Ditton Brook, which runs from the eastern part of Liverpool to Ditton, where it flows into the River Mersey. The River Ditton, runs through the area also flowing into the River Mersey. The area has recently benefited from new-build housing developments (such as Redrow's Chapel Gate development) with units primarily being purchased by first time buyer
owner-occupier Owner-occupancy or home-ownership is a form of housing tenure in which a person, called the owner-occupier, owner-occupant, or home owner, owns the home in which they live. The home can be a house, such as a single-family house, an apartment, co ...
s, many of whom are indigenous to the area.


History

Ditton was formerly a
township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
in the parish of
Prescot Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 femal ...
. In 1866, Ditton became a separate
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
, and on 9 November 1920, the parish was abolished and merged with Widnes and
Tarbock Tarbock is a village and former civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, England. It is situated to the south east of Huyton and to the east of Netherley. The village itself is from Liverpool city centre, from ...
. In 1911, the parish had a population of 2,900. Until the late 1990s, Ditton was the site of a large purpose built Golden Wonder factory, where they manufactured crisps. Some years after the Senior Management buy-out of the company from Dalgety, the Widnes site was closed and production transferred to Scunthorpe. A large part of the workforce were Widnes-based, so the decline of the factory exacerbated the problem of unemployment for unskilled and semi-skilled workers in the area. The site of the factory was used as the police station in the
BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios ...
drama ''
Merseybeat Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed around Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from British and American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle, tradit ...
'', which was filmed on location in Ditton.


References

{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Former civil parishes in Cheshire Widnes