 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2017) |
| Padgate | |
|---|---|
 Christ Church | |
  Padgate Location within Cheshire | |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WARRINGTON |
| Postcode district | WA1, WA2 |
| Dialling code | 01925 |
| UK Parliament | |
Padgate is a suburb of the town of Warrington, in the civil parish of Poulton-with-Fearnhead, in the Warrington district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.
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Historically part of Lancashire, until 1838 Padgate was an area of farmland in the Fearnhead district. It was only with the establishment of a parish and the building of Christ Church Padgate that a recognisable community arose.
Following boundary changes in 1974, Padgate, along with the rest of Warrington, became part of the county of Cheshire. It is now a largely residential, suburban district. It was the site of an R.A.F training camp and home of a teacher training college, now the Padgate Campus of the University of Chester.
Padgate has a railway station, three churches, a number of schools, a community centre and, next to the railway line, a large area of land and playing fields known as Bennett's Recreation Ground. This was the home of the Woolston Rovers rugby league side and also the Cheshire Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps with their headquarters Kennedy Hall. This is also home to Greenall's Padgate St Oswald's reserves football team of the Mid Cheshire Football League reserve division. Greenall's Padgate St Oswald's first team play at Tetley Walker's Club, Long Lane, Warrington.
The centre of Padgate (the area around the railway station, Christ Church and the community centre) is separated from the main commercial centre by Padgate Lane, which connects the two, approximately three quarters of a mile apart.
Padgate is in the parliamentary constituency of Warrington North.
Geographically the area is on the east side of Warrington. It is north of the River Mersey and enclosed to the east by the M6 motorway. Topographically the land in the area is flat, being in the Mersey valley.
Padgate Brook, a tributary of the Mersey, runs to the western edge of Padgate, and is in turn fed by numerous smaller waterways (Spittle Brook, Blackbrook, Spa Brook, Cinnamon Brook, Cross Brook, Cockshot Burn) originating in Peel Hall Meadows and other outlying rural stretches of land to the north. To the east, Birchwood Brook also feeds the Mersey.
During the Second World War, Padgate had a small RAF Station. It was used as a training camp for National Servicemen after the war. The camp was built on the site of a former Quaker Farm, the entrance to which was situated on Station Road.
The site of the former RAF station was demolished in the mid-to-late 1970s, and has since been largely covered by a housing estate, bordered by Bennett's Rec and the railway line to the south, Fearnhead to the north-east, and Blackbrook and Cinnamon Brow to the north. Padgate Academy is also sited on this land.
The main entrance to the RAF camp was on what is now Station Road North. Although the RAF site is now largely invisible its legacy lives on in local place names – Insall Road running east–west in parallel to the A574 is named after the one-time commanding officer of the site, and the local high school was known from 2009 to 2013 as Lysander Community High, the Westland Lysander being one of the aircraft linked to the former RAF base.
Remnants of the camp's presence can still be seen in some parts of the land, for example the brickwork from the rifle range can still be seen close to the railway footbridge in the south-west corner of the former site.
The university campus (which despite being known as the Padgate Campus is in fact in the neighbouring village of Fearnhead) belonging to the University of Chester was used as a camp for Canadian servicemen during the Second World War. In 1946, it became a teacher training college and in the late 1960s was re-named to Padgate College of Education. In honour of the historical usage, part of the site was named Canada Hall.
The campus is now home to 384 students. A variety of degree courses are on offer, including degrees in journalism and sport-related subjects. The campus houses an SU bar named bar twenty ten. There are 8 halls of residence and also a residential cul-de-sac called College Close.
The University of Chester announced the closure of the campus on 22 January 2021 outlining intentions to relocate teaching to buildings in Warrington town centre.
Five kilometres (3 mi) east of Warrington town centre, Padgate lies between the Liverpool and Greater Manchester urban areas. It is 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Liverpool, 26 kilometres (16 mi) west of Manchester, and 47 kilometres (29 mi) northeast of Chester. [1] The suburb is crossed to the south by the river Mersey and is close to the Manchester Ship Canal. A small tributary of the Mersey, Padgate Brook, runs through it roughly north–south, joining the Mersey to the south.
Its parish church, Christ Church (1838), is a listed building, the former rectory (built approximately 2 years later) associated with the church is locally listed. Christ Church has an affiliated Church of England Primary School nearby which also dates, in its present form, from around the same time. In 2016, work commenced on the building of a new vicarage in the grounds adjacent to the church. This new vicarage became the residence of the vicar in early 2017, and the old rectory is now a private residence.[ citation needed ]
There are two other churches in the area: Padgate Methodist Church and St. Oswald's Roman Catholic Church. [2]
Padgate has an unstaffed railway station on the Manchester-Liverpool line served by the local stopping service. [3] Up until the mid-1970s, the station was fully staffed and a row of cottages (still extant) next to the station were designed as residences for the station staff.
The M6 motorway is located some km east, and nearest exit is "Warrington-Irlam-A57". The A roads serving Padgate are the A50, A57 and A574. [1]
Cheshire is a 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 Shropshire to the south; to the west it is bordered by the Welsh counties of Flintshire and Wrexham, and has a short coastline on the Dee Estuary. Warrington is the largest settlement, and the city of Chester is the county town.
The River Mersey is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.
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The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with the A6 road just south of Bamber Bridge, near the junction of the M6, M65 and M61 motorways.
Helsby is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Overlooking the Mersey estuary, it is approximately 9 miles (14 km) north east of Chester and 2.5 miles (4 km) south west of Frodsham.
Culcheth is a village in the civil parish of Culcheth and Glazebury, in the Warrington district, in Cheshire, England, six miles (10 km) north-east of Warrington.
There are various modes of transport available in Warrington.
Hollins Green is a village on the eastern edge of Warrington, in the Warrington district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire and formerly in the historic county of Lancashire, England. The village is in the civil parish of Rixton-with-Glazebrook; the ecclesiastical parish is Hollinfare.
Rixton-with-Glazebrook is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England. Formerly within the historic county of Lancashire, it lies to the east of Warrington and is largely farmland. At the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1,960. Its main settlements are the villages of Glazebrook and Hollins Green, and Rixton hamlet.
All Saints' Church is in the village of Daresbury, Cheshire, England. It is known for its association with Lewis Carroll who is commemorated in its stained glass windows depicting characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The church is an active Church of England parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth. The author Lewis Carroll was born in All Saints' Vicarage in 1832 when his father, Charles Dodgson, was perpetual curate at the church. This was commemorated in March 2012 when the Lewis Carroll Centre, attached to the church, was opened.
Cheshire West and Chester is a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. It superseded the boroughs of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Vale Royal and the City of Chester; its council is a unitary authority, having also assumed the functions and responsibilities of the former Cheshire County Council within its area. The remainder of ceremonial Cheshire is composed of Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington. Cheshire West and Chester has three key urban areas: Chester, Ellesmere Port and Northwich/Winsford.
Preston on the Hill is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Preston Brook and the unitary authority area of Halton, in Cheshire, England. It is between the villages of Daresbury 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north and Dutton 1.1 miles (1.8 km) to the south. The village comprises the hamlets of Windmill Lane, Waterfront, Cotton's Bridge, Tunnel End North, Tunnel Top and Barker's Hollow as well as several farms including White House, Little Manor, New Manor, Windmill Farm and Humble Bee House.
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.
Poulton-with-Fearnhead is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England, containing suburbs to the north and east of the town of Warrington. It contains nine buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings, all of which are at Grade II. This is the lowest of the three gradings given to listed buildings, applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". The parish is almost entirely residential, and includes the Warrington suburbs of Padgate, Fearnhead, Cinnamon Brow, Blackbrook, Longbarn, Bruche and Paddington. The listed buildings are all residential, or related to former farms, other than a church and a milestone.
Warrington is an industrial town in the borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and is historically part of Lancashire. It is 19 miles (31 km) east of Liverpool, and 18 miles (29 km) west of Manchester.
The history of Warrington began when it was founded by the Romans at an important crossing place on the River Mersey. The Roman name for the settlement is not known but there is speculation that it could have been Veratinum which is listed as a Roman habitation in the area during the occupation period. A new settlement was established by the Saxon Wærings. By the Middle Ages, Warrington had emerged as a market town at the lowest bridging point of the river. A local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time. The expansion and urbanisation of Warrington coincided with the Industrial Revolution, particularly after the Mersey was made navigable in the 18th century. Warrington became a manufacturing town and a centre of steel, textiles, brewing, tanning and chemical industries.
Media related to Padgate at Wikimedia Commons