Halton, formerly a separate village, is now part of the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. The name Halton has been assumed by the Borough of Halton, which includes Runcorn, Widnes and some outlying parishes.
There is evidence of human occupation in the Stone Age and during the Roman era. [1] The village [2] is recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) in the hundred of Tunendune [3] and towards the end of the 11th century the first castle, which became the seat of the Barons of Halton, was built on the hill. [4] The Tunendune hundred court was absorbed into Bucklow hundred by 1260 so government statistics for Halton over many later centuries are indexed by Bucklow hundred.
During the medieval period, a deer park measuring 100 acres (40 ha) lay to the south and the west of the village. At this time Halton had a weekly market and annual fair. [5] The village held a court leet and the castle was used as a prison. [6] During the Civil War, the castle was held by the Royalists and twice besieged by Parliamentary forces. Following this the castle fell into ruin. [7] The importance of Halton declined with the coming of the Industrial Revolution and the development of the chemical and other industries in Runcorn. [8]
The village stands in an elevated position at 240 feet (73 m) compared with the surrounding area which lies at about 100 feet (30 m). At its centre is an outcrop of sandstone which rises to a height of 252.6 feet (77 m). [9] On the summit of the outcrop are the ruins of Halton Castle. The major road, Main Street, passes below the castle, to its west and south, and Castle Road leads up to the castle.
Population statistics were recorded separately for the parish of Halton until the village was incorporated into its larger neighbour under the Runcorn New Town (Designation) Order 1964.
The population of Halton Village in 1664 has been estimated as 375. [10]
1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1961 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
628 | 894 | 1,066 | 1,322 | 1,397 | 1,570 | 1,505 | 1,620 | 1,439 | 1,555 | 1,238 | 1,294 | 1,508 | 1,694 | 1,490 | 1,467 |
The village is now entirely residential. It is surrounded to the west and north by the estates of Runcorn New Town. To the south is Halton Lea, a shopping mall, and other retail and entertainment outlets. To the east is Town Park. The castle is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled ancient monument, and there are a number of other listed buildings in the village. There are two public houses, the Castle Hotel, which is incorporated into the structure of the castle and which contains the former courthouse, and the Norton Arms. In the village are two active churches, the Anglican Church of St Mary and Trinity Methodist Church. The Village has a Millennium Green, one of a series of 245 charity-run public Greenspaces created at the Turn of the Millennium.
Cheshire is an ancient and ceremonial county in northwest England. It is bordered by the counties of Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south, while the western boundary consists mostly of the England–Wales border with smaller sections leading into the Irish Sea via Liverpool Bay. Cheshire's county town is the cathedral city of Chester and its most populated town is Warrington, while other towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Nantwich, Runcorn, Widnes, Wilmslow, and Winsford. The county is split into four administrative districts: the Borough of Halton, the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire West and Chester, and Cheshire East.
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. Runcorn is on the southern bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap.
Daresbury is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Halton and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 216, increasing to 246 by the 2011 census.
The history of Cheshire can be traced back to the Hoxnian Interglacial, between 400,000 and 380,000 years BP. Primitive tools that date to that period have been found. Stone Age remains have been found showing more permanent habitation during the Neolithic period, and by the Iron Age the area is known to have been occupied by the Celtic Cornovii tribe and possibly the Deceangli.
The Silver Jubilee Bridge crosses the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal at Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Halton, England. It is a through arch bridge with a main arch span of 361 yards. It was opened in 1961 as a replacement for the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge. In 1975–77 the carriageway was widened, after which the bridge was given its official name in honour of the Queen's Silver Jubilee. It carries the A533 road and a cantilevered footway. The bridge is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The bridge was closed to vehicles for refurbishment upon the opening of the new Mersey Gateway Bridge, but reopened as a toll bridge in February 2021.
The Runcorn Railway Bridge, Ethelfleda Bridge or Britannia Bridge crosses the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Cheshire, England. It is alongside the Silver Jubilee Bridge. The bridge is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* Listed building.
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.
Runcorn is an industrial town in Halton, Cheshire, England, on the south bank of the River Mersey where it narrows at Runcorn Gap. In the town are the 61 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings in the current urban area of Runcorn, including the districts of Runcorn, Halton, Weston, Weston Point, and Norton. Two of these are classified as being in Grade I, nine in Grade II*, and fifty in Grade II.
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.
St John the Evangelist's Church is in Weston, once a separate village and now part of the town of Runcorn, 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 Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Frodsham. Its design has been described as "bold and original".
St Mary's Church is in Halton, which was formerly a separate village, but is now part of the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Frodsham. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
All Saints' Church is the parish church of Runcorn, Cheshire, England, sited on the south bank of the River Mersey overlooking Runcorn Gap. There is a tradition that the first church on the site was founded by Ethelfleda in 915. That was replaced, probably in about 1250, by a medieval church that was altered and extended in the 14th and 15th centuries. By the 19th century the building's structure had deteriorated and become dangerous, and it was replaced by a new church, built between 1847 and 1849 to the designs of Anthony Salvin.
Runcorn Town Hall is in Heath Road, Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It was originally built as Halton Grange, a mansion for Thomas Johnson, a local industrialist. After passing through the ownership of two other industrialists, it was purchased in the 1930s by Runcorn Urban District Council and converted into their offices. Since 1974, it has been the meeting place for Halton Borough Council.
Hallwood is a former mansion house in Runcorn, Cheshire, England. One wing of the house remains and was a public house called the Tricorn until its closure in 2017. Its former stables were converted into a function room for the public house. The remaining wing of Hallwood is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building; the former stables are listed at Grade II.
Halton Old Hall is a house in the village of Halton in Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The house dates from 1693, and is built in sandstone with a slate roof. It has two storeys and an attic; a two-storey wing has been added to the back. The windows have mullions and the gables have corbels and copings. Both Starkey and Nikolaus Pevsner note that its style is older than its date.
Halton Vicarage is in Castle Road, Halton in the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
The Castle, formerly known as The Castle Hotel, is a public house and former Georgian courthouse on Halton Hill in Halton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England. Its side walls are continuous with the curtain walls of the ruins of Halton Castle. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
Norton is an area in the eastern part of the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It was originally a separate community some 3 miles (5 km) to the east of Runcorn, but in the 1970s and 1980s became absorbed within Runcorn by the expansion of its new town.
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.