Stockton Heath is a

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 suburb 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 ...

, in the

Borough of Warrington The Borough of Warrington is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The borough is centred around the town 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. It is located to the north of the

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...

and to the south 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 ...

, which divides Stockton Heath from Latchford and north Warrington. It has a total resident population of 6,396. Victoria Square is at the centre of Stockton Heath and is on the crossroads of the A49 and A56. Until the 1970s, the Victoria Hotel stood on this square but its location has been redeveloped. North of the square is the main shopping area which includes the Forge Shopping Centre, developed on the site of the old forge (Caldwell's). Stockton Heath is home to a number of modern bars and restaurants, as well as traditional public houses. The Red Lion Inn dates back to the early 19th century and the Mulberry Tree on Victoria Square, opened in its present building (replacing earlier premises dating from 1725) in March 190

Since 1988, much of the centre of Stockton Heath has been designated a conservation area to preserve its character but, at the same time, there has been redevelopment work with several new bars and restaurants moving into the centre of Stockton Heath. Stocktonheath

History

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

ran through Stockton Heath, along the route now known (appropriately) as Roman Road. There have been some excavations; more information is available at Warrington Museum. Excavations of the large Roman industrial settlement in the suburbs of modern-day Wilderspool and Stockton Heath have unearthed a Roman mask, one of only a handful found in Europe, and the first evidence of this settlement was unearthed during the early excavation of the

in Stockton Heath in 1770. Primary evidence points to a probable temple to

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

on the site, a strong focus on pottery and glass bead paste making industries, and a trapezoidal building of unidentified purpose. that one author suggests may have been an auxiliary fort. Although the name Stockton Heath appears to have been conferred on the village at a later date (indeed the area itself has been described rather as "a hamlet of little consequence and no development until the 19th century"), many secondary references state that a family bearing the name Stockton lived in the area from the end of the 13th century until at least the end of the 15th. In 1643, parliamentarian forces under the command of Sir William Brereton advanced from

Northwich Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane, east of Chester, south of Warrington and south of Ma ...

to launch an attack on Warrington, the

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 ...

headquarters of the

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

leader

James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby (31 January 160715 October 1651) was an English nobleman, politician, and supporter of the Cavalier, Royalist cause in the English Civil War. Before inheriting the title in 1642 he was known as Lord Strange. He ...

. Sir William's troops were routed at the "Battle of Stockton Heath". Unverified local legend has it that many of the parliamentarian soldiers were buried at Hill Cliffe and Budworth. The battle is referred to in the 1859 novel Hollywood Hall by James Grant: "A priory, situated in a wooded hollow, ruined and battered as the Royalists had left it in 1643, next caught my eye, when, riding rapidly on, I approached a wide waste common called Stockton Heath, past which the

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 ...

rolled amid swamps and morasses filled with rushes and willows." The same novel frequently refers to Stockton Heath as a "waste" and makes numerous references to swamps nearby. This description contrasts sharply with the variants of "fashionable shopping village" frequently encountered in the literature of estate agents today. Early maps refer to a hamlet by the name of Stoken (or Stocken) where the present village of Stockton Heath now stands. However, more detailed old maps of the area of Acton Grange show a sparsely populated hamlet and refers only to the old buildings and bridges recognisable today in street names in the area, such as Whitefield Cottage. The Bridgewater Canal, one of two canals that pass through the village, reached Stockton Heath in 1772, the year of the death of its designer, James Brindley In the 1900s George Formby Senior moved his young family to Stockton Heath and it was from here that George Formby Junior began his entertainment career. Their house, Hillcrest, is a listed building. George Formby Senior died in Stockton Heath in 1921. In 1974, Stockton Heath, historically part of

, became incorporated into the borough of Warrington 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 ...

. Warrington, historically part of

, became a Cheshire borough under the act. 2008 saw the first ever Stockton Heath Festival, which is now going into its twelfth year. It is situated on Mill Lane Field in Stockton Heath, although it takes place over many venues throughout Grappenhall, Appleton and Stockton Heath. In 2011, the Stockton Heath Festival attracted 12,000 visitors.

Schools

The original LEA primary school of 1910 was demolished in October 2008, despite a strong campaign to retain it, after a new school had been built adjacent. There is also St Thomas C of E Primary School now located next to Alexandra Park. This was opened in 1974 and moved from its original site opposite St Thomas' Church. The original St Thomas' school was opened in 1833 and the building was eventually demolished (along with a late Victorian extension) in the late 1970s. On its site now stands a modern health centre.

Geography and administration

On the south side of the

, Stockton Heath adjoins Appleton, Grappenhall and Walton. It typically takes between seven and ten minutes on the bus and about twenty-five to thirty-five minutes on foot to reach Warrington town centre.

Political representation

Stockton Heath forms part of the Warrington South parliamentary constituency which is represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

by Sarah Hall ( Labour) since July 2024. Stockton Heath is a multi-member ward within Warrington borough. As of May 2024 it is served by two Liberal Democrat councillors, Sharon Harris and Judith Wheeler. Stockton Heath is also served by a parish council, comprising seventeen members, including the two borough councillors. Part of its responsibility is to facilitate dialogue with Warrington Borough Council.

Demographics

Data is based on that of Stockton Heath Ward

Population

*Total population: 6,420 residents *Male:Female ratio: 48.9%:51.1% *Average age of population: 39.9 years

Ethnicity breakdown

*99.1% White *0.5% Mixed *0.1% Black *0.3% Asian *0.1% Other

Housing and social situation

Housing situation

*Households: 2,700 **84.9% are owner occupied houses **6.9% are rented council houses **6.7% are privately rented houses **1.4% are rent free houses

Social situation

*Population density: 45.2 residents per hectare *46.4% of residents say this ward is a "comfortably well-off" area (based on ACORN index) *2.9% of residents are on some form of benefits. *3.0% of households are classed as overcrowded.

Employment and education

Employment

*67.9% are employed. *2.2% are unemployed. *1.7% are students. *28.2% are classed as "economically inactive".

Education

*16.9% have no qualifications. *42.9% have only level 1 or 2 qualifications. *33.0% have level 3 qualifications or higher.

Notable people

* George Formby Sr (1875–1921), British music hall comedian and father of

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

, owned a house on London Road known as Hillcrest *

(1904–1961), British film and stage comedian and recording artist, famed for playing the ukulele and songs such as " When I'm Cleaning Windows", lived also at Hillcrest * Bob Fulton (1947–2021), Australian rugby league footballer and coach, was born in Stockton Heath before moving to Australia at the age of four. *

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story " Light of Other Da ...

(1931–1996), science fiction writer, lived in the village at 98 London Road. His funeral wake was held at the Red Lion pub. * Martin Roberts (born 1963), television presenter, grew up in the village.

Freedom of the Parish

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Parish of Stockton Heath.

Individuals

* Sonia Boggan: 30 September 2021. * Dorothy Robb: 30 September 2021. * Mrs. Celia Jordan MBE: 25 September 2024. (Awarded Posthumously)

References

External links

A Website about Stockton Heath
{{authority control Warrington Villages in Cheshire Civil parishes in Warrington