Widnes

Bed and Breakfast Widnes Cheshire

Approximate Population: 53,410

Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn. Upstream and 8 miles (13 km) to the east is the town of Warrington, and downstream to the west is the neighbouring area of Speke, of the city of Liverpool.

Historically part of Lancashire, prior to the Industrial Revolution Widnes consisted of a small number of separate settlements on land which was mainly marsh or moorland. In 1847 the first chemical factory was established and the town rapidly became a major centre of the chemical industry. The demand for labour was met by the immigration of large numbers of workers from Ireland, Poland, Lithuania and Wales. The town continues to be a major manufacturer of chemicals and there has been a degree of diversification of the town’s industries.

The most usual explanation for the origin of the name Widnes is that it comes from the Danish words vid, meaning wide, and noese, meaning nose and that it refers to the promontory projecting into the River Mersey. However the Widnes promontory is not particularly wide and another possible explanation is the first part derives from the Danish ved, meaning a wood and possibly referring to a tree-covered promontory. Earlier spellings of the name have been Vidnes, Wydnes and Wydness.

There are nineteen primary schools in the town and three nursery schools. The four secondary schools are Fairfield High School, Saints Peter & Paul Catholic College, The Bankfield School and Wade Deacon High School. As part of the Building Schools for the Future program, there are plans to close down Fairfield High School and merge with Wade Deacon High School. The former colleges, Halton College and Widnes and Runcorn Sixth Form College, merged in 2006 to form the single Riverside College Halton. There are three special schools. Also in Widnes are the Saints Peter and Pauls City Learning Centre in Highfield Road, which is on the same site as Saints Peter & Paul Catholic College, and Woodview Child Development Centre in Crow Wood Lane. Kingsway Learning Centre offers opportunities for Adult Learning, Basic Skills and Skills for Success.

Bed and Breakfast Widnes Cheshire

Macclesfield

Bed and Breakfast Macclesfield Cheshire

Approximate Population: 50,688

Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, with a population of about 50,688. A person from Macclesfield is sometimes referred to as a “Maxonian”.

Situated in the ancient Domesday Hundred of Hamestan, the Domesday Book lists Macclesfield as “Maclesfeld”, whilst in 1183 it was referred to as “Makeslesfeld”. It is thought that Macclesfield got its name from “Michael’s field” - referring to St. Michael, as in St. Michael’s church.

Later, Macclesfield was granted a borough charter by the Lord Edward, the future King Edward I, in 1261. There is evidence that the borough had originally been founded by Ranulf III, Earl of Chester, early in the thirteenth century. The parish church of St Michael was built in 1278, an extension of a chapel built in approximately 1220.

Macclesfield is served by four state high schools; Macclesfield High School (formerly Henbury High School), Fallibroome High School, Tytherington High School and All Hallows Catholic College.

There are also two independent schools, The King’s School and Beech Hall School.

Macclesfield High School is made up of students from the former school Henbury High School, and also took in the students left over when the secondary school Ryles Park closed 2004. It is on the site as Macclesfield College and Park Lane Special School as part of the Macclesfield ‘Learning Zone’, which was opened in 2007.

Bed and Breakfast Macclesfield Cheshire

Chester

Bed and Breakfast Chester Cheshire

Approximate Population: 77,040

Chester is the county town of Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the 2001 Census. Chester was granted city status in 1541.

A considerable amount of land in Chester is owned by the Duke of Westminster who owns an estate – Eaton Hall – near the village of Eccleston. He also has vast London properties in Mayfair.   Indeed, the clock tower which houses Big Ben was copied on the Duke’s estate home of Eaton Hall and can be seen from the road from Aldford to Chester today.

Grosvenor is the Duke’s family name, which explains such features in the City such as the Grosvenor Bridge, the Grosvenor Hotel, and Grosvenor Park. Much of Chester’s architecture dates from the Victorian era, many of the buildings being modelled on the Jacobean half-timbered style and designed by John Douglas, who was employed by the Duke as his principal architect. He had a trademark of twisted chimney stacks, many of which can be seen on the buildings in the city centre.

Douglas designed amongst other buildings the Grosvenor Hotel and the City Baths.   In 1911, Douglas’ protégé and city architect James Strong designed the then active fire station on the west side of Northgate Street.   Another feature of all buildings belonging to the estate of Westminster is the ‘Grey Diamonds’ – a weaving pattern of grey bricks in the red brickwork laid out in a diamond formation.

Bed and Breakfast Chester Cheshire

Crewe

Bed and Breakfast Crewe Cheshire

Approximate Population: 67,683

Crewe is a town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683. It is twinned with Mâcon in France and Bischofsheim, near Mainz, Germany.

Crewe is perhaps best known as a large railway junction and former home to a major railway works. From 1946 until 2002 it was also the home of Rolls-Royce motor car production. The Pyms Lane factory on the west of the town now produces Bentley motor cars exclusively.

Until the Grand Junction Railway (GJR) company chose Crewe as the site for its locomotive works and railway station in the late 1830s, Crewe was a village with a population (c. 1831) of just 70 residents. Winsford, seven miles to the north, had rejected an earlier proposal, as had local landowners in neighbouring Nantwich, four miles away. Crewe railway station was built in fields near to Crewe Hall and was completed in 1837.

A planned redevelopment of Crewe’s town centre and main shopping area has been delayed until 2010 because of “difficult economic conditions”, according to developers Modus. There are also plans to revamp the railway station. This is pending a public consultation by Network Rail scheduled for autumn 2008. Any scheme to shift Crewe station to Basford would not start until around 2014. Plans to revamp Queens Park are already underway, with railings to be replaced by November 2008 and bridge/perimeter work on course to be completed by Wrekin by Spring 2009.

Bed and Breakfast Crewe Cheshire

Runcorn

Bed and Breakfast Runcorn Cheshire

Approximate Population: 61,252

Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In mid-2004 its population was estimated to be 61,252. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north across the Mersey is the town of Widnes. Upstream and 8 miles (12.9 km) to the northeast is the town of Warrington, and downstream 16 miles (26 km) to the west is the city of Liverpool.

Runcorn railway station is on a branch of the West Coast Main Line. It provides frequent services to London (Euston), Liverpool, and Birmingham. The A533 road passes through the town from the south, crossing the Runcorn Gap over the Silver Jubilee Bridge, the lowest bridge crossing of the River Mersey. The Manchester Ship Canal runs between the town and the River Mersey, and the Bridgewater Canal passes through and ends in the town at its junction with the Manchester Ship Canal.

Runcorn was a small, isolated village until the coming of the Industrial Revolution. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries it was a health resort. Towards the end of the 18th century, a port began to develop on the south bank of the River Mersey. During the 19th century industries developed, in particular the manufacture of soap and alkali, quarrying, shipbuilding, engineering, and tanning. In the early 20th century, the prime industries were chemicals and tanning. The original village has grown to include what were outlying villages.

Except for chemicals, all the old industries have disappeared, and there has been diversification, in particular because of the close links to the motorway system, and the development of warehousing and distribution centres. A new town was built to the east of the existing town in the 1960s and 1970s, and farther to the east, areas of private housing have been established; this has resulted in a doubling of the population from around 30,000 to its present level.

Bed and Breakfast Runcorn Cheshire

Warrington

Bed and Breakfast Warrington Cheshire

Approximate Population: 195,200

Warrington is a large town, borough and unitary authority area in Cheshire, England.   It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley.   The population of the borough of Warrington, including its 18 civil parishes, is around 194,000.   Its population has more than doubled since its designation as a New Town in 1968.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Warrington was founded by the Romans at an important crossing place on the River Mersey.   A new settlement was established by the Saxons and by the Middle Ages, Warrington had emerged as a market town at an important bridging point.   A local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time.

The expansion and urbanisation of Warrington largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution, particularly after the Mersey was made navigable in the 18th century.   The West Coast Mainline runs north to south through the town, and the Liverpool to Manchester railway (the Cheshire Lines route) west to east.   The Manchester Ship Canal cuts through the south of the borough (west to east).   The M6, M56 and M62 motorways form a partial box around the town.

The town has two main railway stations. Bank Quay is on the main West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Glasgow Central and the Manchester Piccadilly to North Wales via Chester line. Central is on the Liverpool to Manchester (via Widnes and Warrington) line with through services to the North East and to East Anglia. Bank Quay is much altered, but Central (built 1873) is of some architectural merit, featuring polychromatic brickwork. Both have undergone some refurbishment. There are also railway stations in the suburbs at Padgate, Sankey and Birchwood.

Bed and Breakfast Warrington Cheshire

Warrington

Bed Breakfast

Warrington Cheshire

Approximate Population: 195,200

Warrington is a large town, borough and unitary authority area in Cheshire, England.   It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley.   The population of the borough of Warrington, including its 18 civil parishes, is around 194,000.   Its population has more than doubled since its designation as a New Town in 1968.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Warrington was founded by the Romans at an important crossing place on the River Mersey.   A new settlement was established by the Saxons and by the Middle Ages, Warrington had emerged as a market town at an important bridging point.   A local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time.

The expansion and urbanisation of Warrington largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution, particularly after the Mersey was made navigable in the 18th century.   The West Coast Mainline runs north to south through the town, and the Liverpool to Manchester railway (the Cheshire Lines route) west to east.   The Manchester Ship Canal cuts through the south of the borough (west to east).   The M6, M56 and M62 motorways form a partial box around the town.

Bed Breakfast Warrington Cheshire

Ellesmere Port

Bed and Breakfast Ellesmere Port Cheshire

Approximate Population: 64,100

Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and cargo port in the the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated in the south of the Wirral Peninsula on the estuary of the River Mersey, and to the north of the city of Chester. The town had a population of 64,100 as of the 2001 Census.

The town is primarily industrial, being dominated by a Shell oil refinery at Stanlow and a former ICI chemical works. The town is also home to the Vauxhall Motors car factory, noted for producing the Astra range of cars in the United Kingdom. There are a number of tourist attractions: the National Waterways Museum, the Blue Planet Aquarium and the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet which is owned by McArthurGlen Group.

The town of Ellesmere Port was founded as an outlet to the sea from Ellesmere, Shropshire and the Welsh border area around Llangollen via a canal initially called the Ellesmere Canal. The canal was designed and engineered by William Jessop and Thomas Telford as part of a project to connect the rivers Severn, Mersey and Dee. The canal connected to the Mersey in the village of Netherpool, and the basin was known as Whitby Locks. The section between Whitby Locks and Chester was opened in 1795, connecting two of the rivers; but the connection to the Severn was never completed.

The town continues to grow and expand, and more housing estates and shops are being built. The industrial sector is still a major employer in the town although in recent years, a number of factories have been closed and jobs lost.

The Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port is now Vauxhall’s only factory in Britain since the closure of the Luton plant in 2004, and currently produces the Astra and Vectra models for the British market. Doubts over the plant’s future were ended in 2007 when General Motors confirmed that the next generation Astra will be built at the plant when it is launched in 2010. 

Bed and Breakfast Ellesmere Port Cheshire