Warrington

:Alternate uses: see Warrington (disambiguation).

History

In Roman times, Warrington was a centre of industry and was founded as a crossing place of the River Mersey for Roman soldiers to go north from their base at Deva (modern Chester) some remains have been found at Wilderspool.

Related Topics:
River Mersey - Chester

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In medieval times Warrington's importance was as a bridging point on the River Mersey, and it was a fulcrum in the English Civil War. The armies of Oliver Cromwell and the Earl of Derby both stayed near the old town centre (the parish church area) at Cromwells Lodgings (now a restaurant) and the Marquis of Granby public house. Dents in the walls of the Parish church are rumoured to be have been caused by the cannons used in the Civil War.

Related Topics:
River Mersey - English Civil War - Oliver Cromwell - Earl of Derby

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The bridging point at Warrington was vital to the town's future growth. The Red Lion Inn on Bridge Street is an example of a building built exclusively for people using the bridge.

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By the 1890s when it acquired county borough status on reaching a population of 75,000, it was a centre of steel (particularly wire), textiles, brewing, tanning and chemical industries.

Related Topics:
County borough - Steel - Wire - Textiles - Brewing - Tanning - Chemical

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Heavy industry declined in the 1970s and 1980s but the growth of the new town around Warrington led to a great increase in employment in light industry, distribution, and technology. Travel-to-work patterns are unusual, with many residents working outside the borough and many employees living elsewhere.

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The town was historically in Lancashire, and when local government was reformed in the 1970s, it was originally proposed to attach it to either Merseyside or Greater Manchester. Lobbying by the borough council prevented this, but since it would have been left with no geographic connection to Lancashire; it was made into a district of Cheshire instead. Due to a change in composition, the council changed its mind at the last minute, but to no avail. The borough eventually had its previous county borough status restored in another local government reform in the 1990s, when it became a unitary authority.

Related Topics:
Lancashire - 1970s - Merseyside - Greater Manchester - Cheshire - 1990s - Unitary authority

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On the 20th March 1993, the IRA exploded two bombs in Warrington town centre. The blasts killed two children: three year old Jonathan Ball died instantly, and twelve year old Tim Parry died five days later in hospital. Their deaths provoked widespread condemnation of the Irish terrorist organisation responsible. The blast followed a bomb attack a few weeks earlier on a gas storage plant in Warrington.

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Tim Parry's father founded The Peace Centre (formerly the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Peace Centre) as part of a campaign to reconcile communities in conflict. The Centre opened in 1993.

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Warrington is notable in political history for being the first place to field a candidate for the newly-formed SDP-Liberal Alliance. Former Home Secretary Roy Jenkins stood for MP in 1981 but lost to Labour candidate Doug Hoyle by a small number of votes.

Related Topics:
SDP-Liberal Alliance - Roy Jenkins - Labour

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However, many people, particularly Americans, will remember Warrington best as the location of Burtonwood RAF base, one of (if not the) largest RAF bases in England and the largest US Air Force base in the world, outside the United States. During the war, Burtonwood was visited by major celebrities like Humphrey Bogart and Bob Hope who arrived to entertain troops. The base was closed in 1993.

Related Topics:
Burtonwood RAF base - Burtonwood - Humphrey Bogart - Bob Hope

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There was a further RAF base at Padgate, a Royal Naval air base at Stretton and an army base at the Peninsula Barracks in O'Leary Street.

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Warrington still remains a major transport centre, sitting at the intersection of three of Britain?s biggest motorways, the M56, the M6 and the M62. It also sits on the west coast mainline, one of Britain's busiest railway lines.

Related Topics:
M56 - M6 - M62 - West coast mainline

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