Woolston is a settlement and
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 authorit ...
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 = ...
in the county of
Cheshire, England. Formerly a township called 'Woolston with Martinscroft' within the parish of
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 ...
, there are two main settlements: Woolston to the west and
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.
Martinscroft ...
to the east. The parish is on the north bank of the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is 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 has formed par ...
and takes in Paddington to the south-west. It is bounded by the River Mersey to the south,
Bruche and
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 ...
to the west,
Longbarn and
Birchwood to the north and
Rixton to the east.
Within the boundaries of the
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 Lancash ...
, the township remained an agricultural community on the furthest outskirts of Warrington until the 1970s, when the development of Warrington
New Town radically transformed its rural character. The parish is generally known as just Woolston.
Geography
A 1907 ''
Victoria County History
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...
'' description reads:
The area has two main natural areas:
Woolston Linear Park
Woolston may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington
* Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon
* Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Hamps ...
and the
Woolston Eyes Nature Reserve, a
Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Woolston is in the Mersey Valley and so there is a very slight lowering in height between it and the surrounding areas. The highest point is on the Woolston Eyes, formerly Thelwall Eyes, (four-man-made areas formed by large embankments for the dispersement of dredging waste). The lowest point is the marshland formed by the dereliction of the Woolston New Cut Canal and Woolston Old Canal. The Manchester Ship Canal denotes the southerly boundary of the Eyes reserve and can be crossed either via nearby Latchford locks or by the unique penny ferry crossing (11p each way as of October 2009). Woolston has plenty of
waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...
s including the aforementioned canals; the new cut of the River Mersey; and the
Manchester Ship Canal.
History
Woolston is part of the 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 Lancash ...
, but after local government reforms of 1974, administratively it became part of Cheshire. Up to the last decade of the nineteenth century, Woolston and its immediate area was a township called "Woolston with Martinscroft" in Warrington ancient parish, which was itself part of
West Derby Hundred
The West Derby Hundred (also known as West Derbyshire) is one of the six subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire, in northern England. Its name alludes to its judicial centre being the township of West Derby (the suffix ''-shire'' mea ...
.
Towards the middle to end of the nineteenth century, it was part of Warrington
rural sanitary district
Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures:
*Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies
*Rural sanitary dis ...
and Warrrington
poor law union.
In 1894, Woolston with Martinscroft joined the newly formed
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 ...
as a civil parish, where it remained until 1933. There was a boundary change to the civil parish in 1885 when the county boundary between Lancashire and Cheshire was adjusted: it gained part of
Thelwall
Thelwall is a suburban village in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, close to the Lymm junction of the M6 motorway.
History
A fortified village was established at Thelwall in 923, in the reign of King Edward the Elder, which is me ...
civil parish from Cheshire. A complex set of boundary changes occurred in 1933, involving the county boundary with Cheshire: the civil parish gained part of
Lymm
Lymm is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, which incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and ...
ancient parish; exchanged areas of land with
Grappenhall
Grappenhall is a suburb of Warrington in the civil parish of Grappenhall and Thelwall, which had a population of 9,377 at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census.
History
Grappenhall is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 with the name '' ...
ancient parish; and exchanged areas of land with Thelwall civil parish, all in Cheshire. Finally, and again in 1933, the civil parish of Woolston with Martinscroft was abolished and parts used to create the civil parishes of
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 ...
and the modern day civil parish of Woolston, both in Lancashire.
This new civil parish of Woolston was formed from parts of the old Woolston with Martinscroft civil parish, as explained above, and also part of
Culcheth
Culcheth is a village in the Borough of Warrington, ceremonial county of Cheshire and historic county of Lancashire, England, six miles (10 km) north-east of Warrington town centre; it is the principal settlement in Culcheth and Glazebury ci ...
civil parish. It remained in Warrington rural district until the local government reforms of 1974 which created the borough of
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 ...
which was located in Cheshire. In 1998, when Warrington borough became a
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 ...
, it remained in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, and continued to be served by
Cheshire Police
Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Borough of Halton and Borough of Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an are ...
and
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory 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 operates 28 fire stat ...
.
Throughout time its name has changed often. At time of the
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
s it was called Wulfiges Town (probably because of the wolves that occupied the land).
It is a civil parish which grew in the 20th century: the population in 1901 was just 484.
['Townships: Woolston with Martinscroft', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3 (1907), pp331-334. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41341 Date accessed: 19 September 2014]
Economy
A large area of the district is covered by warehousing districts. The largest by far is the "Grange" which is an area of modern warehousing and light manufacturing built next to the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at ...
. This area was home to a large
Safeway distribution depot that was taken over by
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqu ...
in January 2006, and subsequently taken over by
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
in mid-2006. In 2007, this was outsourced to
DHL, while still continuing to serve Iceland.
Woolston is home to a number of smaller businesses including Big Storage on the main A57 and Paragon Framing. There is also an industrial estate to the south called the "New Cut industrial estate", this features a large pipework fabrication business (WH Capper) and several small offices and small holdings. The estate gets its name from the canal which borders it and the "new cut" of the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is 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 has formed par ...
.
Education
Education is provided by Woolston
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
Primary School, St. Peters' Catholic Primary School and Woolston Community Primary School. Woolston Community Primary School has 238 pupils. The original school building was demolished in 2014 after a new school was built on the same site. There is a designated provision for children aged 7 to 11 with autism. The headteacher, Mr Toyne won the Warrington Guardian Teacher of the month in March 2015.
St. Peter's Catholic Primary School is in connection with one of many local Roman Catholic churches in the adjacent Martinscroft area, the highly rated St Peters & St Michaels Church
Despite the school being one of the newer schools in the area, they still boast the best results from both Keystage 1 and Keystage 2 in the Woolston area.
Secondary Education was provided by
Woolston Community High School which closed in 2012.
King's Leadership Academy Warrington (Warrington's first Free School) opened its doors to its first year 7 in 2012. The school is the brainchild of Sir Iain Hall (previous career in working with failing schools in the USA and the emergence of the Charter School system in the USA). Based on Seymour Drive at present, the school is set to move to its new purpose build school building soon which is set close to Woolston Park
Places of worship
Woolston remained a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
stronghold after the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, with
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
services being held in the chapel at Woolston Hall, until its demolition in the early 1800s.
St Peter's Church, served by secular clergy, was built on Weir Lane, Martinscroft, in 1835 and is now a Grade II listed building. It is part of the Arch-diocese of Liverpool.
A
Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built on Manchester Road, Martinscroft, in 1827 and demolished by the New Town Corporation in 1977. A modern replacement, St Martin's Church, was built on Gig Lane, Woolston in 1975.
The Church of the Ascension (
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
) on Warren Lane, Woolston, was built in 1968, from plans drawn up in 1959. It is part of the Diocese of Liverpool.
Leisure and community
A Leisure Centre was built in Hall Road in 1972, as part of the New Town Development, and refurbished in 2010 and 2011 to become Woolston Neighbourhood Hub. It has good disabled access.
Swimming
There are two pools at the Leisure Centre, both open seven days a week. The Main Pool is 25 m by 12 m with a depth of 1 m to 1,7m. The Teaching Pool is 13 m by 9 m with a depth of 0.8 m to 0.9 m.
There is a swimming club, Warriors of Warrington, which caters to Juniors, Beginners, Seniors, Veterans and Disabled.
Squash
There are three squash courts at the Leisure Centre, with glass fronts for viewing.
Gym
There is a Future Fitness gym at the Leisure Centre, with sauna and steam rooms.
Cycling
A linear footpath following the old tow path of the New Cut Canal completed in 1821 to bypass a large bend in the River Mersey and part of the Irwell and Mersey Navigation.
The path starts at Paddington Bank and runs for 3 kilometres to Weir Lane, Woolston. Along the way passing Paddington Locks, Paddington Meadows Nature Reserve, Larkfield Park, The Ecology Park, Woolston Park South, Grey Mist Mere, Nottingham Close Play area , the site of Woolston Locks and ends at Woolston Weir Pool.
A number of groups have meetings at the Mission Hall (the C of E church hall) on Warren Lane:
Pre-school Playgroup
Youth Club
WRVS affiliated Over-sixties Club
Woolston Slimming Club
Woolston Ladies' Group
Woolston WI
Sport
A
greyhound racing track was opened on 12 September 1934. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the
National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom.
History
The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the ...
) and was known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. The track was directly north of the Grey Mist Mere Lake and the Woolston New Cut Canal. The track described as being horseshoe shaped closed in 1937.
Demography
Woolston has a population of 7,156.
At the 2001 Census:
*Woolston had an average housing density of 2.66 residents per household.
Housing
Of 1783 households
*1574 (88.3%) were owner occupied
*203 (11.4%) were rented
*5 (0.3%) were of unknown status
Employment
*19.3% of 16- to 74-year-old residents had no qualifications
*2.1% are unemployed
Race and gender
*48.3% of residents are Male
*51.7% of residents are Female
of which
*98% are of white (all origins) race
*0.34% are of mixed race
*0.92% are of Asian or Asian British origin
*0.62% are of Chinese origin
*0.12% are of Black race
Sourc
Office for National Statistics Neighbourhood profiles for areas Warrington 014A,014B,014B
Transport
Woolston has no railway station of its own, the nearest ones are at the nineteenth-century
Padgate station and at the 1980s
Birchwood station, formerly Risley Halt. There are direct trains from these stations to
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 ...
,
Warrington Central,
Manchester Piccadilly,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, and
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
Passengers change at Warrington Central for
Warrington Bank Quay, for
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
services to
London Euston
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...
and Scotland.
Junction 21 of the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at ...
lies to the east of Martinscroft.
The
A57 to
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
runs directly through the district. There is also a road running from the motorway past the Grange to
Birchwood and
Longbarn, two areas built in the 1970s during the
New Town development.
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 ...
(3, 4, 4A) and Warrington Coachways (104) provide local bus services to Warrington Town Centre, whilst
First Greater Manchester operate an inter-urban service (100) to
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
via
Irlam
Irlam is a suburb in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, it had a population of 19,933. It lies on flat ground on the south side of the M62 motorway and the north bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Salfo ...
and the
Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space.
Originally developed by the Peel Group, the Trafford C ...
.
The Penny Ferry (now 11p) can be used to cross the
Manchester Ship Canal to
Thelwall
Thelwall is a suburban village in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, close to the Lymm junction of the M6 motorway.
History
A fortified village was established at Thelwall in 923, in the reign of King Edward the Elder, which is me ...
. This is a part-time service. If not available a detour can be made over the Latchford Locks.
Manchester Airport is the closest major airport to Woolston.
Public services
The area is served by an ante-natal clinic on Holes Lane and a GP doctors surgery located close by. There is also a new chiropractic clinic at Woolston Neighbourhood Hub.
Warrington's Direct Services are based in Woolston and provide services to the local community.
There are no local fire and police services. The nearest providers are at Risley Police Station and Birchwood Fire Station. Although there is a community police office located on the site of Dam lane shops.
Notable people
* It was the birthplace of
Old Billy, the oldest horse that ever lived (1760–1822).
* Michael Adrian Hankinson O.S.B, Bishop of Port Louis, Mauritius - born in Warrington 1817, of a Woolston family.
['The Parish of Warrington: Introduction, church and charities', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3 (1907), pp304-316. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41337 Date accessed: 19 September 2014]
See also
*
Listed buildings in Woolston, Cheshire
*
Woolston Park
{{Coord, 53.404, -2.542, display=title, region:GB_scale:10000
Woolston Park is a modern park that is situated in the civil parish of Woolston, Warrington, in the English county of Cheshire.
Woolston Park covers 56 acres (230,000 m²) and wa ...
*
Grange Industrial Estate
References
Bibliography
*
*''A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3'' (1907) URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=289 Date accessed: 19 September 2014
{{Cheshire
Warrington
Civil parishes in Warrington