Willaston is a village situated on 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 ...

, in the unitary authority of

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 ...

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. Centred on a

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

, it is located between

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 ...

and

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south-eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. In the 2021 Unite ...

, less than a mile south of the

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of (), and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebingt ...

boundary. It is located very closely to Eastham and

Bromborough Bromborough ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England, on the Wirral Peninsula south-east of Bebington and north of Eastham. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, and became part of Merseysi ...

and just a short distance away from

History

Willaston (or ''Wilaveston'') was the earlier name 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 ...

(''Hundred of Wilaveston''), the peninsula's former administrative division, and one of the

Hundreds of Cheshire The Hundreds of Cheshire, as with other Hundreds in England, were the geographic divisions of Cheshire for administrative, military and judicial purposes. They were introduced in Cheshire some time before the Norman Conquest. Later on, both the ...

. The Hundredal name is often taken from the administrative area for the Hundred, suggesting Willaston was once of some importance in the post-Roman period as the meeting place of the hundred court. Later the village became 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 ...

and

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...

within the parish of Neston, the largest settlement on the Wirral until the early 19th century. In 1866 Willaston became 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 ...

, on 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished. Willaston included part of the hamlet of Badgers Rake, which became part of the civil parish of Ledsham in 1933. The population of Willaston was recorded at 196 in 1801, 317 in 1851, 597 in 1901 and 1,458 in 1951. The

half timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the struc ...

building, the 'Red Lion' was an inn built in 1631, although possibly a significant enlargement of an earlier construction. Located opposite the village green, it remained a public house until 1928 and was eventually renovated as a private residence. Willaston Windmill, built in 1800, was the largest windmill in Wirral. During the early 20th century it was used for the production of flour and to grind cattle food. It remained working until about 1930, when its sails were destroyed in a storm. The windmill has also since been converted into a private dwelling.

Community

Hadlow Road railway station, which served the village until its closure in 1955, became part of Wirral Country Park in 1973. The station building, signal box and eastbound platform have been renovated to their former 1950's condition. The former trackbed has become a public pathway, known as the 'Wirral Way'. The local school, Willaston Church of England Primary School, is the only educational establishment in the village, though there are several playgroups in the area. Although there are no secondary schools in the area,

Wirral Grammar School for Girls Wirral Grammar School for Girls is an all-girls grammar school on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England. Admissions It is located in Bebington, next door to Wirral Grammar School for Boys. The school consists of lower school (ages 11– ...

and

Wirral Grammar School for Boys Wirral Grammar School for Boys is an 11–18 boys State school, maintained Selective school, selective grammar school founded in 1931. It is situated on a site to the west of Port Sunlight at Cross Lane, Bebington, on the Wirral Peninsula in En ...

are situated nearby, as well as Neston High School and South Wirral High School - both a short car journey from the village. Willaston's local football club plays in the West Cheshire Amateur Football League Division 2.

Transport

The nearest railway station is Hooton, part 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. Als Coaches serves the village with the 2-hourly bus service 22 to

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 ...

Heswall Heswall () is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was historically part of Cheshire and became part of Merseyside in 1974. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 202 ...

and

West Kirby West Kirby () is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. In the north west of the Wirral Peninsula and at the mouth of the River Dee, the town is contiguous with Hoylake. It lies within the historic county bo ...

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Former civil parishes in Cheshire Unparished areas in Cheshire Cheshire West and Chester

History

Community

Transport

See also

References

External links