Farnworth | |
---|---|
Location within Cheshire | |
Population | 6,300 |
OS grid reference | SJ516877 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | WIDNES |
Postcode district | WA8 |
Dialling code | 0151 |
Police | Cheshire |
Fire | Cheshire |
Ambulance | North West |
UK Parliament | |
Farnworth is part of the town of Widnes which is in the Borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire and historic county of Lancashire, England. A village between Prescot and Penketh, its name is now that of an electoral ward in the Borough of Halton with a population in 2004 of 6,300. [1]
The name Farnworth derives from the Anglo-Saxon word fearn or fern and weorthig, meaning farm or estate, and it therefore means "fern-farm". [2]
The village was established on higher ground 2 miles (3 km) to the north of the River Mersey and was for many years an isolated community. [3] The earliest documentary evidence relating to the village is a charter dated 1352 when Henry, Duke of Lancaster established a halmote court for the manor of Widnes. [2] The origins of the village are unknown. A chapel had been founded in the village about 1180 which was dedicated to St Wilfrid. [4] At this time the village was part of the parish of Prescot. [5] A grammar school was established in the village in 1507 by Bishop William Smyth who had been born in the village. [6] Bishop Smyth also founded a chapel in the church for the use of his tenants in the village of Cuerdley and a footpath across the fields from Cuerdley to Farnworth; this was to allow the tenants to go to the church without passing along the main street of Farnworth when the plague was present. [7]
From around 1714 annual 3-day wakes were held in October. [8] Stalls were set up in the village street. On the first day, usually a Monday, there was bear-baiting and bull-baiting, and on the Tuesday horse and cattle sales were held. There were horse races and races for human participants. Each evening there was music and dancing in the Ring 'o Bells, the village public house. [9] The wakes ended in 1863 to be followed by an annual show organised by the Farnworth Agricultural Society. This came to an end with the onset of World War I in 1914. [10]
In 1827 a bridewell was built near the church replacing the one formerly on the site from the 14th century. [8] A Sunday school was held in the church from 1780 and a separate building to house it was built in 1831. [11] Farnworth Church Day School was founded in the late 18th century and this was initially held in the Cuerdley chapel of the church. In 1842 it shared accommodation in the grammar school but moved into its own premises in Pit Lane in 1844–45 becoming Farnworth National School. [12] Farnworth Methodist Chapel was opened in 1849. [13]
The legend states that the village was threatened by a griffin which was killed by the village blacksmith. He was named "Bold" and the tradition states that this is the origin of the local noble family of that name. [6] The griffin is incorporated in the coat of arms of the Bold family.
Three men born in or near the village of Farnworth achieved prominent positions in the English church. They were William Smyth (c.1460–1514) who became Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, then Bishop of Lincoln and who built the grammar school in the village, Richard Barnes (1532–1587) who became Bishop of Carlisle, then Bishop of Durham and Richard Bancroft (1544–1610) who became Bishop of London and then Archbishop of Canterbury. [14] Also born in the village was Roy Chadwick (1893–1947), the designer of the Avro Lancaster bomber.
Richard Bancroft was an English churchman, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1604 to 1610 and "chief overseer" of the King James Bible.
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Its population in 2021 was 62,100. Runcorn is on the southern bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap.
The St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway was an early railway line owned by a company of the same name in Lancashire, England, which opened in 1833. It was later known as St Helens Railway. It ran originally from the town of St Helens to the area which would later develop into the town of Widnes. Branches were opened to Garston, Warrington and Rainford. The company was taken over by the London and North Western Railway in 1864. The line from St Helens to Widnes and the branch to Rainford are now closed, the latter terminating at the Pilkington Glass' Cowley Hill works siding near Gerard's Bridge, but part of the lines to Garston and to Warrington are still in operation.
Cronton is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, in England. The village is surrounded by green belt land. Over the county border in Cheshire, Widnes town centre is 2.3 miles (3.7 km) to the south-southeast.
William Smyth was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1493 to 1496 and then Bishop of Lincoln until his death. He held political offices, the most important being Lord President of the Council of Wales and the Marches. He became very wealthy and was a benefactor of a number of institutions. He was a co-founder of Brasenose College, Oxford and endowed a grammar school in the village of his birth in Lancashire.
The Barony of Halton, in Cheshire, England, comprised a succession of 15 barons and hereditary Constables of Chester under the overlordship of the Earl of Chester. It was not an English feudal barony granted by the king but a separate class of barony within the County Palatine of Chester.
Halton Castle is a castle in the village of Halton, part of the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. The castle is on the top of Halton Hill, a sandstone prominence overlooking the village. The original building, a motte-and-bailey castle began in 1071, was replaced with the current sandstone castle in the 13th century. Building alterations continued until at least 1609, when the structure is recorded as in disrepair. The castle is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and a scheduled ancient monument.
Widnes is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021 census had a population of 62,400.
St Luke's Church, Farnworth, Widnes, is a church in Farnworth, which was once a separate village but is now part of the town of Widnes, Cheshire, England. The church dates back to the 12th century and contains several items of historical interest, particularly hatchments and memorials. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Warrington and the deanery of Widnes.
Thomas Hazlehurst was known nationally as "the Chapel Builder" and more locally as "the Prince of Methodism" or "the Prince of the Wesleyans". He was given these titles because of his generosity in paying wholly or largely for the building of some 12 chapels and three schools in the area of Runcorn, Widnes and the villages in north Cheshire. His father, also called Thomas, had founded a profitable soap and alkali manufacturing business, Hazlehurst & Sons, in Runcorn in 1816.
John Hutchinson was a chemist and industrialist who established the first chemical factory in Widnes, Lancashire, England. He moved from working in a chemical factory in St Helens and built his own chemical factory in 1847 in the Woodend area of Widnes near to Widnes Dock by the junction of the Sankey Canal and the River Mersey. In this factory he manufactured alkali by the Leblanc process.
Widnes is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey where it narrows at Runcorn Gap. The town contains 24 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, 5 are classified at Grade II*, and the rest are at Grade II; Widnes has no Grade I listed buildings. In the United Kingdom, the term "listed building" refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance. Listed buildings are categorised in three grades: Grade I consists of buildings of outstanding architectural or historical interest; Grade II* includes particularly significant buildings of more than local interest; Grade II consists of buildings of special architectural or historical interest. Buildings in England are listed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on recommendations provided by English Heritage, which also determines the grading.
Wade Deacon High School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status in Widnes, Cheshire, England.
St Michael's Church is in St Michael's Road, Ditton, Widnes, Halton, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Roman Catholic church.
St Mary's Church is in the West Bank area of Widnes, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Warrington and the deanery of Widnes. Together with the churches of St Paul, Widnes, and St Mary, Hale, it forms the South Widnes Team. It has been described as "the last great church masterpiece" created by the Lancaster architects Austin and Paley.
The 2004 Halton Borough Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Halton Unitary Council in Cheshire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2002. The Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The Borough of Warrington is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The borough is centred around the town of Warrington, and extends out into outlying villages of Lymm and Great Sankey and the town of Birchwood.
There are over 9,000 Grade I listed buildings and 20,000 Grade II* listed buildings in England. This page is a list of these buildings in the borough of Halton in Cheshire.
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