Croft is a village and civil parish in Borough of Warrington,

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, about four miles north of

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

town centre. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,920. It is a semi-rural, residential district.

Geography

Within the boundaries of 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 ...

, the village is on the northern edge of the borough of Warrington, north of the interchange of the M6 and M62 motorways, known as the Croft Interchange. It is close to the border with

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

and

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

. It borders Culcheth to the east, Lowton to the north, Winwick to the west and Risley to the south. Croft was struck by an F1/T3 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day. The tornado later moved over Warrington town centre.

Community

There are two churches, two primary schools, and a large playing field with children's play equipment area on the village green. Other facilities include a youth centre, horse riding, a golf range, and a bowling green. Croft Village Football team produced three players that went on to remarkable professional careers. Roger Hunt played for Croft and later went on to play for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and was part of England's World Cup winning team in 1966. Tommy Lawrence played for Liverpool and Scotland. Johnny Green played alongside Jimmy Armfield at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Transport

The 19 bus serves Croft, on a route between

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, Staffor ...

via Culcheth and Warrington via Winwick. There is also a service to Birchwood. Government plans to build the S2high speed rail line through Croft have been withdrawn.

Demography

At the 2001 census, Croft had the following demographics: *871 households *2,920 residents **61.7% are male **38.3% are female **Average age of residents: 40.26 years (mean) **2,014 residents describe their health as good

Events

Croft Carnival is held annually, usually on the first Saturday of July, and features local talent, business and exhibitions. The event ends with an athletics competition, followed by an egg-throwing competition. In 2020 and 2021 this event was cancelled due to the risk of COVID-19. They also have a Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) Squadron across the road from the primary school.

References