Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the

Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to l ...

borough in

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. Ellesmere Port is on the south-eastern edge of the

Wirral Peninsula The Wirral Peninsula (), known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpo ...

, north of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. In the 2021 census, the built up area had a population of 65,430. The town was originally established on 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 ...

at the entrance to the

Ellesmere Canal The Ellesmere Canal was a waterway in England and Wales that was planned to carry boat traffic between the rivers Mersey and Severn. The proposal would create a link between the Port of Liverpool and the mineral industries in north east Wales an ...

. As well as a service sector economy, it has retained large industries including

Stanlow oil refinery Stanlow Refinery is an oil refinery owned by Essar Energy in Ellesmere Port, North West England. Until 2011, it was owned by Royal Dutch Shell, Shell UK. The refinery is situated on the south bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, which is used to ...

, a chemical works and the

Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors Limited , ;Company No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. is a British Automoti ...

car factory. There are also a number of tourist attractions including the

National Waterways Museum The National Waterways Museum (NWM) is a transport museum, at Ellesmere Port in the English county of Cheshire, which concentrates on the history of Britain's navigable inland waterways. Until 2010, the Waterways Trust operated three sites, incl ...

, the Blue Planet Aquarium and

Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet is an outlet centre in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. Located off Junction 10 of the M53, it is the largest outlet centre in the United Kingdom, with 145 stores and the first designer outlet village in Europe, ...

History

The town of Ellesmere Port was founded at the outlet of the never-completed

, named after the town of

Ellesmere, Shropshire Ellesmere ( ) is a town in the civil parish of Ellesmere Urban, in Shropshire, England; it is located near to the Welsh border, the towns of Oswestry and Whitchurch, Shropshire, Whitchurch, and the Welsh city of Wrexham. It is notable for its ...

. The canal (now renamed) was designed and engineered by

William Jessop William Jessop (23 January 1745 – 18 November 1814) was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Jessop was born in Devonport, Devon, the ...

and

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

as part of a project to connect the rivers

Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

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 ...

and

Dee Dee or DEE may refer to: People Surname * Dee, an alternate spelling of the Welsh surname Day * Dee, a romanization of several Chinese surnames, including: ** Those listed at Di (surname) ** Some Hokkien pronunciations of the surname Li () ...

. The canal was intended to be completed in sections. In 1795 the section between the River Mersey and the River Dee at

was opened. However the canal was not finished as first intended; it never reached the River Severn. Upon re-evaluation, it was decided that the costs to complete the project were not projected to be repaid because of a decrease in expected commercial traffic. There had been a loss of competitive advantage caused by steam engine-related economic advances (nationally, regionally and locally) during the first decade of the canal's construction. The 1793 act authorising the canal's construction referred to its connection to the Mersey being "at or near Netherpool". In the event, the canal's northern end was not built in the

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 ...

of Netherpool, but in the neighbouring township of Whitby to the east. The settlement which grew up at the canal basin was known both as 'Ellesmere Port' and 'Whitby Locks' at first. Settlements had existed in the area since the writing of 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

in the 11th century, which mentions

Great Sutton Great Sutton is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is a suburb of Ellesmere Port and, as with Little Sutton to the north, was once a s ...

, Little Sutton, Pool (now

Overpool Overpool is a village on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire, England. It is a suburb of Ellesmere Port, and part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. History The name means "upper pool" and derives from the Old English words '' ...

) and Hooton. The first houses in Ellesmere Port itself, however, grew up around the docks and the first main street was Dock Street, which now houses the National Waterways Museum. Station Road, which connected the docks with the village of Whitby, also gradually developed and as more shops were needed, some of the houses became retail premises. The main employer at this time was Burnell's Iron Works which had been set up at the end of the nineteenth century. This was followed by the setting up of the Mersey Ironworks factory by the Wolverhampton Corrugated Iron Company In 1905 who settled on Ellesmere Port as a way of exploiting the company's international trade through the nearby ports of Birkenhead and Liverpool. Initially 300 workers and their families came from

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

and the surrounding areas to work in the factory, settling in a specially built worker's village named “Wolverham”. As the expanding industrial areas growing up around the canal and its docks attracted more workers to the area, the town itself continued to expand. Ellesmere-port-lighthouse-1

By the mid-20th century, thanks to the opening of the

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West England, North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary at Eastham, Merseyside, Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it ...

in 1894 and the Stanlow Oil Refinery in the 1920s, Ellesmere Port had expanded so that it now incorporated the villages of Great and Little Sutton, Hooton, Whitby, Overpool and Rivacre as suburbs. The town centre itself had moved from the Station Road/Dock Street area, to an area that had once been home to a

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud (animal), stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, ...

(indeed, the former

Ellesmere Port and Neston Ellesmere Port and Neston was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It covered the southern part of the Wirral Peninsula, namely that part which is not included in the Metropolitan Borou ...

Borough Council officially referred to the town centre as Stud Farm for housing allocation purposes) around the crossroads of Sutton Way/Stanney Lane and Whitby Road. The foundation stone for Ellesmere Port Civic Hall was laid by the Chairman of Ellesmere Port Borough Council, Horace Black, on 2 May 1953. It was designed in the

modernist style Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architecture wa ...

and completed in 1955. The

Ellesmere Port Council Offices Ellesmere Port Council Offices is a municipal building in Civic Way in Ellesmere Port, a town in Cheshire, in England. The building served as the headquarters of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council but is now dis ...

were constructed just to the southwest of the civic hall and completed in 1969. In the 20th century, a number of new housing estates were developed, many of them on the sites of former farms such as Hope Farm and Grange Farm. Many estates consisted of both

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

and privately owned houses and flats. Ellesmere Port, in more recent times has had an influx of immigrants from

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 ...

. Thus demand for housing increased with the opening of the

car plant in 1962. Opened as a components supplier to the

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

plant, passenger car production began in 1964 with the

Vauxhall Viva The Vauxhall Viva is a small family car that was produced by Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were designated the HA, HB and HC series. The Viva was introduced a year after Vauxhall's fe ...

. The plant is now Vauxhall's only car factory in Britain, since the end of passenger car production at the Luton plant in 2004 (where commercial vehicles are still made). Ellesmere Port currently produces the

Vauxhall Astra The Vauxhall Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) that has been sold by Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall since 1980. Over its eight generations, it has been made at several GM/Opel/Stellantis plants around Europe - however most versio ...

model on two shifts, employing 2,500 people. In the mid-1980s, the Port Arcades, a covered

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

was built in the town centre. By the 1990s, it was the retail sector rather than the industrial that was attracting workers and their families to the town. This was boosted with the building of the Cheshire Oaks outlet village and the Coliseum shopping park, which also included a

multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...

cinema; prior to this since the closure of the cinema in Station Road, Little Sutton (King's cinema) and the Queen's cinema adjacent to Ellesmere Port railway station in the 1960s the town's only cinema had been a single screen in the EPIC Leisure Centre. In August 2012,

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

opened their largest store (apart from Marble Arch in London) on a site near the Coliseum shopping park.

Governance

There is one main tier of local government covering Ellesmere Port, at

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

level, being

Cheshire West and Chester Council Cheshire West and Chester Council is the local authority for Cheshire West and Chester, a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council w ...

. Most of the Ellesmere Port built up area is unparished, with the exception of the

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 ...

of Little Stanney on the south-eastern edge of the urban area. Cheshire West and Chester Council has its main offices in the town, at the Portal on Wellington Road.

Parliamentary representation

At national level, Ellesmere Port is part of the Ellesmere Port and Bromborough constituency. , the constituency is represented by Labour Member of Parliament (MP)

Justin Madders Justin Piers Richard Madders (born 22 November 1972) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough, previously Ellesmere Port and Neston, since 2015. He has served as Pa ...

Administrative history

The site where Ellesmere Port was developed from the 1790s onwards lay within the

of Whitby. The township was mostly in the

ancient 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 ...

of Eastham but partly in the parish of Stoke (now called Stoak). Both parishes formed part of the

Wirral Hundred The Hundred of Wirral is the ancient administrative area for the Wirral Peninsula. Its name is believed to have originated from the ''Hundred of Wilaveston'', the historic name for Willaston, Cheshire West, Willaston, which was an important asse ...

of Cheshire. Whitby village lay about inland from the port, close to where the modern town centre later developed. From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under the

poor laws The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief in England and Wales that developed out of the codification of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws in 1587–1598. The system continued until the modern welfare state emerged in the late 1940s. E ...

, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Whitby, the civil functions were exercised by each township separately rather than the parishes as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so Whitby became a

. The parish of Whitby was converted into an

urban district An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...

called Ellesmere Port and Whitby in 1902. The urban district was enlarged in 1910 to absorb the parishes of Netherpool,

, Great Stanney, and Stanlow. In 1911, the civil parishes within the urban district were reorganised into two

urban 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 ...

es: Ellesmere Port (covering the area of the abolished parishes of Netherpool, Overpool and Whitby), and Great Stanney, which absorbed the area of the abolished parish of Stanlow. The urban district was enlarged again in 1933 to take in the parishes of Childer Thornton, Hooton, Ince,

, and Little Sutton, with some adjustments to the boundaries with neighbouring parishes. The enlarged urban district was renamed from Ellesmere Port and Whitby to just Ellesmere Port at the same time. The parish of Ellesmere Port was enlarged to cover the whole urban district in 1950, and in 1955 the urban district was raised to the status of a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

The borough of Ellesmere Port was abolished in 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. The area had been considered for inclusion in the new county of

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 ...

, but it was decided instead to leave it in Cheshire as part of the new borough of

. Ellesmere Port was the largest town in the new borough, and was where the new borough council established its headquarters, using the former borough council's offices on Civic Way as its headquarters. Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council was abolished in 2009, when local government across Cheshire was reorganised;

Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities: Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...

was also abolished, and the three districts of

, Ellesmere Port and Neston, and

Vale Royal Vale Royal was, from 1974 to 2009, a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It contained the towns of Northwich, Winsford and Frodsham. History The ...

merged to become Cheshire West and Chester. The Cheshire West and Chester councillors representing the wards which cover Ellesmere Port act as

charter trustees In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a civil parish council or in larger settle ...

to preserve the town's civic traditions, including choosing one of their number to serve as the town's mayor.

Demography

The 2011 census records 27,134 households in Ellesmere Port, with 40.9% of the population aged between 30 and 59. It lists the

ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...

of the town as 95.2% White British, 0.8% White Irish, 1.6% White Other, 0.8% mixed ethnicity, 1.1% Asian, 0.2% Black and 0.1% other. 97.8% speak English as a first language.

Religion

According to the 2011 census, the main religion of Ellesmere Port is Christianity with 72.1% of the population. 20% have no religion, 6% are unspecified, 0.4% are Muslim, 0.2% are Buddhist, 0.1% Hindu and 0.2% other.

Landmarks

* Blue Planet Aquarium, largest aquarium in the UK 1998–1999 *

, largest outlet village in the UK 1995–present, largest outlet village in Europe 1995–1998. It is the location of the UK's largest artificial Christmas tree, tall and wide *The Coliseum Retail Park, retail outlet located next to Cheshire Oaks Outlet *Ellesmere Port Hospital, located in Whitby * Ellesmere Port Sports Village, a £15 million sports village opened in late 2015 *

, second largest store in the UK *

, largest canal boat collection in the world *

Stanlow Oil Refinery Stanlow Refinery is an oil refinery owned by Essar Energy in Ellesmere Port, North West England. Until 2011, it was owned by Royal Dutch Shell, Shell UK. The refinery is situated on the south bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, which is used to ...

, second largest industrial space in the UK *Whitby Hall, listed Victorian building in

Whitby Park Whitby Park is the main urban park in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. It is managed by Cheshire West and Chester Council. History The park was formerly the grounds of Whitby Hall, a Victorian house built in the 1860s by the Grace family, unti ...

and home of Theatre Porto, formerly Action Transport Theatre company

Geography

Ellesmere Port is located at the southern end of the

, in the county of Cheshire. Its suburbs include

to the north west,

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

to the north, Rossmore to the north east, with Whitby and Wolverham to the south.

Parks and green spaces

* Rivacre Valley Local Nature Reserve * Stanney Woods Nature Reserve

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC North West BBC North West is the BBC English Regions, BBC English Region serving Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, as well as parts of North Yorkshire (western Craven District, Craven), Derbyshire (western High Peak, Derbyshire, High ...

and

ITV Granada ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter. With its close proximity with

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

and

ITV Cymru Wales ITV Cymru Wales is the ITV franchise for Wales. The new separate licence began on 1 January 2014, replacing the long-serving dual franchise region ITV Wales & West serving Wales and the West of England, which had previously used the branding " ...

can also be received from the Moel-y-Parc TV transmitter. Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Merseyside BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC's local radio station serving Merseyside, North and West Cheshire and West Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds, from studios on Hanover Street in Liverpool. According to RAJAR, t ...

on 95.8 FM, Capital North West & Wales on 97.1 FM,

Heart North West Heart North West is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to North West England. Overview Century Radio (1998–2009) The station opened as Century Radio on 8 September 1998 as the se ...

on 105.4 FM, Smooth Radio North West on 100.4 FM, and Dee Radio on 106.3 FM. The town is served by the local newspaper, Chester and District Standard (formerly The Ellesmere Port Standard).

Transport

Road

Ellesmere Port is located near the interchange of the M56 and the M53 motorways. The

A41 road The A41 is a trunk road between London and Birkenhead, England. Now in parts replaced by motorways, it passes through or near Watford, Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Bicester, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, New ...

between

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

and

, also passes through the area. The M56 carries the

European Route E22 European route E22 is one of the longest European routes. It has a length of about . Many of the E-roads have been extended into Asia since the year 2000; the E22 was extended on 24 June 2002. Route United Kingdom Port of Holyhead () * ...

in this area.

Buses

There is a bus station in the town centre with frequent services to Chester,

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

Elton Elton may refer to: Places England * Elton, Cambridgeshire (formerly Huntingdonshire), a village ** Elton Hall, a baronial hall * Elton, Cheshire, a village and civil parish * Elton, County Durham, a village and civil parish in the Borough of ...

Helsby Helsby is a village, Civil parishes in England, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Overlook ...

Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population in 2021 was 9,300. It is south of Liverpool and southwest of Man ...

, Birkenhead and

Neston Neston is a market town and civil parish in Cheshire, England. It is within the part of the Wirral Peninsula that belongs to the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The built up area (as defined by the Office for National Statistic ...

. There are also services to

Mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...

operated by Stagecoach. Occasional National Express coaches serve the bus station. Most services are operated by

Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire is a major operator of bus services in North West England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered in Liverpool. History Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire can trace i ...

with one service operated by Helms of Eastham and another by Arrowebrook Coaches.

Rail

Ellesmere Port railway station Ellesmere Port railway station is located in the town of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. The station was an intermediate through station on the Hooton–Helsby line. Now all passenger services terminate at the station from both directions. I ...

is on the Wirral line of the

Merseyrail Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire in the North West England, North West of England. Merseyrail serves 69 Railway station, stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lin ...

network and has a train service to Chester via Hooton and also Liverpool via Birkenhead. The line was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

from Hooton to Ellesmere Port by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

in 1994. There is also an infrequent service to Warrington.

Canal

The

joins the Mersey estuary north-west of Ellesmere Port at Eastham, but the town is also the northern terminus of the

Shropshire Union Canal The Shropshire Union Canal, sometimes nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. It is the modern name for a part of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company network. In the leisure age, two of the branches of that netwo ...

(which used to exchange goods with seagoing boats at what is now the National Waterways Museum).

Sports

Speedway racing operated at Ellesmere Port Stadium in Thornton Road in the mid to late 1970s and in the 1980s; from March 2013 to spring 2014, the stadium was back in use for greyhound racing.

Ellesmere Port Gunners Ellesmere Port Gunners were an English speedway team in Ellesmere Port, Wirral, which operated at the Ellesmere Port Stadium from 1972 until their closure in 1985. History The inaugural league season for the team was during the 1972 British ...

raced in the lower tier Leagues. The Gunners' best season was their last, 1985, when they won the National League championship. The campaign was marred by a career-ending injury sustained by inspirational captain Joe Owen. Owen was hurt in a track crash at Birmingham. Ellesmere Port Town F.C. was once of town's main football team before the founding of Vauxhall Motors F.C. in 1963. Ellesmere Port Town F.C. was founded in 1948 and folded in 1973. The club's main achievements were playing in the Northern Premier League (The 7th tier in the English Football Pyramid) and reaching the F.A. Cup First Round in the 1971–1972 season, losing 3–0 to Boston United. Vauxhall Motors F.C. are the local football team. In 2009

Eddie Izzard Suzy Eddie Izzard ( ; born Edward John Izzard, 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomi ...

and his run around the UK for

Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a wikt:biennial, biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Dire ...

saw him pass through Little Sutton village centre and Hooton. The footage is only minutes long however. In 2012 Ellesmere Port played host to the Paralympic Flame as part of the Paralympic Torch Relay celebrations.

West Cheshire College West Cheshire College was a further education, vocational college in the North West of England. It had over 20,000 students at its two main campuses in Ellesmere Port and Chester as well as in workplaces and community venues. In March 2017 it ...

s campus in Ellesmere Port was one of the drop off points for the flame as well as the EPIC leisure centre and the David Lloyd Leisure Centre. Events included sporting demonstrations and the parade of the Paralympic flame. Construction began in January 2014 for the new multimillion-pound Sports Village in Stanney Grange which initially was to incorporate an Olympic sized swimming venue (now smaller), tennis courts, football pitches and other sport halls, and will be the new home of

Cheshire Phoenix The Cheshire Phoenix are an English professional basketball team based in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Founded in 1984, they are members of the Super League Basketball and play their home games at the Cheshire Oaks Arena. From 1993 until 2015 the ...

, the local professional

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) was a men's professional basketball sports league, league in Great Britain. Since its establishment in 1987 the BBL represented the highest level of basketball competition within the United Kingdom. The orga ...

team from the start of the 2015/16 BBL Championship season. The village is situated on site of the old Stanney High School by Cheshire Oaks, the Coliseum and M&S.

Notable people

The following people are natives of Ellesmere Port, or have lived there for a period of time. * Arthur Goddard (1921–2022) was in charge of the Land Rovers engineering development from 1947 to 1957, went to the Little Sutton Primary School *

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in ...

(born 1952) also known as ''Charles Salvador'', is an English criminal and ''"most violent prisoner in Britain"'' lived in Ellesmere Port in his early teens

Politics

Sir Herbert Williams, 1st Baronet Sir Herbert Geraint Williams, 1st Baronet, (2 December 1884 – 25 July 1954) was a British politician and Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). Biography Herbert Williams was born in Hooton, Cheshire, on 2 December 1884. He was educated at ...

(1884 in Hooton – 1954) Conservative MP for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

1924 to 1929, for Croydon South 1932 to 1945 and for Croydon East 1950 to 1954 *

John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (31 May 1938 – 20 November 2024) was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the ...

(1938–2024) ex-Deputy Prime Minister attended the Grange Secondary Modern School in 1948. *

Tony Woodley, Baron Woodley Anthony Woodley, Baron Woodley (born 2 January 1948) is a British trade unionist who was the Joint- General Secretary of Unite, a union formed through the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union, from 2007 to 2011. Despite ...

(born 1948), was Joint-General Secretary of Unite, lives locally * Andrew Miller (1949–2019) former Labour MP for

from 1992 to 2015. *

Beverley Hughes Beverley June Hughes, Baroness Hughes of Stretford (born 30 March 1950) is a British politician who most recently served as Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime between 2017 and 2023. A member of the Labour Party, Hughes ...

(born 1950 in Ellesmere Port) Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston and former government minister

Creative arts

* Edgar Foxall (1906 in Ellesmere Port – 1990) was an English poet whose work features in one of the Penguin poetry anthologies, ''Poetry of the Thirties'' (1964). * Lillian Beckwith (1916–2004) author, born and grew up in Ellesmere Port the daughter of a grocer as chronicled in her book ''About My Father's Business'' *

Russ Abbot Russell Allan Abbot (born Russell Allan Roberts; 18 September 1947) is an English musician, actor and comedian. Born in Chester, he first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with British comedy showband the Black A ...

(born 1947), musician, actor and comedian. *

Mike Singleton Mike Singleton (21 February 1951 – 10 October 2012) was an influential British video game designer who wrote a number of well-regarded titles in the 1980s, as well as being a contributor to games in the 21st century. His titles include ...

(1951–2012) an English teacher in Ellesmere Port, then a British video game designer * Ian Prowse (born 1964) singer, songwriter formerly of Pele and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

grew up in Little Sutton * Mark Leckey (born 1964), artist, makes items incorporating themes of nostalgia and anxiety, went to school locally *

Stevie Riks Stevie Riks (born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England) is a comedian, impressionist, comedy writer and performer, artist who paints acrylic on canvas artwork of the artists he impersonates, voice-over artist and musician. Career Stevie Riks ...

(born 1967 in Ellesmere Port) an English comedian and impressionist, comedy writer, voice-over artist and multi-instrumentalist musician. * Stove King (born 1974 in Ellesmere Port) an English musician, formerly the bassist for the rock band

Mansun Mansun were an English alternative rock band, formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper (musician), Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rath ...

* Lee Latchford Evans (born 1975) an English singer, dancer, stage actor, kickboxer and personal trainer, member of pop group Steps grew up here. * Joshua Leary (born 1989), electronic musician and hip-hop producer known by his stage name

Evian Christ Joshua Leary (born 11 June 1989), better known by the stage name Evian Christ, is an English electronic music producer, DJ, songwriter and performance artist from Ellesmere Port, UK. He is signed to Tri Angle Records, Warp and Kanye West’s ...

. * Pele (active 1990 to 1996) were an English indie rock band, formed in Ellesmere Port * Hooton Tennis Club (formed 2013) a four-piece indie-rock band including James Madden and Callum McFadden who grew up in the area.

Sport

20150502 Lattes-Montpellier vs Bourges 001

Sam Chedgzoy Samuel Chedgzoy (27 January 1889 – 7 January 1967) was an English footballer who changed the laws of the game. He played professionally for Everton, the New Bedford Whalers and Montréal Carsteel FC. He also earned eight caps with the Eng ...

(1889 in Ellesmere Port – 1967) footballer, played 279 times for Everton between 1910/1926. *

Joe Mercer Joseph Mercer (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an English footballer and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa and Manchester City, and was the ...

(1914 in Ellesmere Port – 1990)

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

football player and manager, led

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

as 1968 First Division champions, won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

(1969), League Cup (1970) and

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

(1970). *

Stan Cullis Stanley Cullis (25 October 1916 – 28 February 2001) was an English professional footballer and manager, primarily for Wolverhampton Wanderers. During his term as manager between 1948 and 1964, Wolves became one of the strongest teams in the En ...

(1916 in Ellesmere Port – 2001) former

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

player and manager, he played football for Cambridge Road School and Ellesmere Port Boys. *

Michael Ainsworth Michael Lionel Yeoward Ainsworth (13 May 1922 – 28 August 1978) was an English cricketer: a right-handed batsman who played his county cricket for Worcestershire County Cricket Club, Worcestershire but also appeared on a number of occasions fo ...

(1922 in Hooton – 1978) an English cricketer who played his county cricket for Worcestershire * Sir

Doug Ellis Sir Herbert Douglas Ellis, (3 January 1924 – 11 October 2018) was an English entrepreneur. He was the chairman of Aston Villa Football Club from 1968 to 1975, and again from 1982 until 2006. Ellis was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours ...

(1924–2018), business entrepreneur and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

chairman. * Dave Hickson (1929–2013) footballer, played for Everton and

, and was ambassador for Everton * Ralph Gubbins (1932 in Ellesmere Port – 2011) footballer who played 279 games *

OBE (1934–2021) known as ''Smokin' Joe'', a race horse jockey, rode 2,810 winners * Brian Maxine (1938–2024), known as ''Goldbelt'', a professional wrestler and cabaret artist * Tony Coleman (born 1945 in Ellesmere Port) an English former footballer who made 250 pro appearances * Mick Wright (born 1946 in Ellesmere Port) former footballer, played 282 games for

* Geoff Davies (born 1947 in Ellesmere Port) former footballer, played 305 pro games *

Graham Turner Graham John Turner (born 5 October 1947) is an English former footballer who became a manager. His son Mark was also a professional footballer. He is fourth behind only Alex Ferguson, Neil Warnock and Arsène Wenger in terms of most games man ...

(born 1947 in Ellesmere Port) is former

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

and

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

manager *

Ian Bowyer Ian Bowyer (born 6 June 1951) is an English former footballer who played mostly as a midfielder, best known for many honours in his career at Nottingham Forest. At Nottingham Forest he won the 1977–78 Football League and 1977–78 Football L ...

(born 1951 in Little Sutton) footballer, played 628 games, mainly for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

* Paul Jones (born 1953 in Ellesmere Port) footballer played 626 games including 445 for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

Barry Siddall Barry Alfred Siddall (born 12 September 1954) is an English former professional football goalkeeper. When he retired from the game he had 614 appearances over a 21-year career in the Football League, playing for numerous clubs. He played for 1 ...

(born 1954 in Ellesmere Port) former football goalkeeper, played 640 games *

Neil Whatmore Neil Whatmore (born 17 May 1955) is an English former association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He made 449 appearances in the Football League and scored 150 goals, playing for Bolton Wanderers F.C ...

(born 1955 in Ellesmere Port) footballer played 440 games including 277 for

* Colin Woodthorpe (born 1969) footballer, grew up and went to school locally, played 693 games. * Rob Jones (born 1971) former footballer played 260 games, mainly for

, grew up in the town. * Phil Hardy (born 1973), footballer who played 349 games for

Wrexham A.F.C. Wrexham Association Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. Formed in 1864, it is the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world. The club compe ...

Chris McCready Christopher James McCready (born 5 September 1981, Ellesmere Port, England) is an English former footballer. He played in right, left and central defence. Career Prior to joining Tranmere in 2006, McCready had spent his entire professional c ...

(born 1981 in Ellesmere Port), former footballer who played 327 games * Tony Martin (born 1981 in Ellesmere Port) Professional darts player and Team GB soft tips darts captain. *

Anastasia Dobromyslova Anastasia Petrovna Dobromyslova-Martin (; born 26 September 1984) is a professional darts player. She is a three-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation (BDO). After winning her first title in 2008, Dobr ...

(born 1984) former Women's World Professional Darts Champion, lives in the town. * Johannah Leedham (born 1987 in Ellesmere Port) Team GB women's basketball captain for London 2012 * Paul Butler (born 1988 in Ellesmere Port) an English professional Bantamweight boxer and a former IBF Bantamweight champion

References

External links

Local Newspaper
{{Authority control Towns in Cheshire Port cities and towns of the Irish Sea Former civil parishes in Cheshire Unparished areas in Cheshire Populated places established in 1795