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Warrington - The Town of Many Industries |
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In time, these photos will be moved to the Events page.
Oliver Cromwell Returns To Warrington
I don't know what the ticket price was, but Creative Remedies members suggested we should have clubbed together to buy one ticket to make it stop at Warrington Bank Quay! Still, it was an experience. If you want to read the profile of the man Oliver Cromwell, go to the Warrington People page and see why he gets a listing in that section. And for more on the history of the railways through the town, see Making Tracks. I will be updating the railway section of the website in the near future, with this photo of Oliver Cromwell becoming part of it. There is a Black 5 steam train in Making Tracks too, with more steam train photos at Dallam Shed for your viewing pleasure.
Forthcoming Events... 2012 Jun 3 The Oughtrington XI will take on stars from Hollyoaks and Coronation Street in a charity 20-20 cricket match at Oughtrington Park Cricket Club in Lymm to raise funds for Help For Heroes. The event also features a 20-minute set from former Blue singer Anthony Costa during the interval. Tickets are priced £5 adults, £3 children and £12 for a family ticket. mywarrington cannot offer any assistance with these events. Please find more information online. Information reproduced in good faith and I therefore accept no responsibility for accuracy, changes or cancellations of these events. I will add more events as time goes by. Meanwhile, visit the Radio Warrington What's On page. Memories of Hamilton Street School added to Hamilton Street page. Posted 23.4.12. Information on saving Cartwright's Field in Stockton Heath has now been moved to the Community page. Posted 22.4.12 New photos have been added to RAF Burtonwood page listing the names on the war memorials. Posted 8.4.12. New photos have been added to my Flickr photostream. Posted 6.3.12. A reader poses a question about the photo below. See Cockhedge Mill Fire section of Memory Lane to see what he is puzzled about. Posted 6.3.12. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I OFTEN RECEIVE REQUESTS FROM READERS ASKING TO TRACE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC FOR FAMILY TREES OR SIMILAR. PLEASE NOTE THAT I DO NOT HAVE THE FACILITIES NOR THE INTEREST IN PROVIDING THIS KIND OF SERVICE. DESPITE THIS NOTICE, I STILL RECEIVING REQUESTS TO LOCATE PEOPLE IN PHONE BOOKS, ETC. PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL NOT RESPOND TO FUTURE EMAIL REQUESTS OF THIS NATURE. THANK YOU. 11.2.2011. |
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The
town's Coat of Arms. The motto Deus Dat Incrementum, translates as "God giveth the increase". |
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Here are some more facts about Warrington:
 | Warrington is the biggest town in Cheshire. |
| Warrington experienced an earthquake on 2 April 1750. |
| Entertainer George Formby is buried at Warrington cemetery. And something you won't know: his song The Window Cleaner was about a real-life window cleaner John Edwin Marlow. His (John's) grandson was my late friend, Myles Crozier. Read George's biography in Warrington People. |
| The centre of the town used to be on Church Street. |
| Warrington became the first paved town in Lancashire in 1321. |
| The Glaze Brook and the Sankey Brook were formally the eastern and western boundaries respectively of the ancient Parish of Warrington. |
| Sailcloth for Nelson's fleet was made here in the 19th century. |
| Salmon used to swim in the River Mersey. |
| The first newspaper in Lancashire, the Warrington Advertiser, was published by Eyre's Press in 1757. |
| Warrington had a castle at Mote Hill, close to the Parish Church. |
| The former Warrington Housing Association office building on Buttermarket Street opposite St Mary's Church was originally a residence for nuns. |
| St James' Church Sunday School opened in 1779, believed to be the first in the county. |
| Warrington Wolves (The Wire) have never been out of the top flight since the Rugby League was formed in 1895. |
| The first Boulton & Watt steam engine used in Lancashire was installed in a Latchford cotton mill in 1787. |
| The town's first MP was E.G. Hornby (Liberal) in 1832. |
| The first ever Lancashire county cricket match was played in Warrington in 1864. |
| World light-heavyweight boxing champion Freddie Mills was based at RAF Padgate during the Second World War. |
| Jim Hancock (ex-BBC northwest political editor), former Liverpool footballer Roger Hunt and Matthew Corbett (of Sooty Show fame) all live in the town. |
| Former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott originally planned to propose to his wife at the Patten Arms hotel opposite Bank Quay station in 1959 where he had worked as a commis chef some years before. He eventually got nervous and proposed in the train toilet instead! So says his wife in her autobiography. |
| Errol Flynn, Clark Gable and Johnny Weissmuller were stationed in the town during the Second World War. |
| There are currently no street names in Warrington beginning with either X or Z (unless you know different!). |
And that's just for starters. Delve into the site for more fascinating stuff on this important gateway to the north west, from ships in the old days to the modern rail and motorway network of today.
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Throughout the website you will see my two assistants - Email and Femail. They have been part of the mywarrington team from the beginning, working away tirelessly in the background answering all your emails. So if you want to keep in touch, email me (or femail me) with your memories of the town, comments and suggestions by clicking on their images wherever they appear. You can, of course, click my pen at the top and bottom of each page too or on other email links throughout the site. Images Copyright © Fletcher 1999-2011 |
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| The £30 million Orford Park Project will regenerate the Orford Park area using sport, leisure, health, education and lifelong learning. A community sports building will include library, community activity and meeting rooms, cafe, swimming pools, health and fitness facilities, dance studios, squash courts, sports hall and crèche facilities. NHS Warrington will provide three GP practices and a pharmacy. The Diploma Centre will provide areas for five health/science related courses. In the grounds around the centre there will be cycle paths, skateboard and BMX facilities, new floodlighting on the bowling green and a new pavilion. The main vehicle access will be from Winwick Road with a bus stop outside the building. Work on the access road has already started and the main hub will open on 1 May 2012. Keep up to date with progress here. Information reproduced in good faith and based on promotional literature. mywarrington is not responsible for external websites. |  |
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Access from Winwick Road. |
The Inchicore Pressed Glass Works Private Museum website gives information on Orford Lane Glass Works (see Edward Bolton section under English Glass). If you can help fill in any of the history of the works, the author would be extremely grateful. He is particularly interested in the date the works finally closed down before the site was used for Alliance Box Works from 1900. Contact him via his website, rather than here at mywarrington. Page 9 of the October 2010 edition of Warrington-Worldwide gives more on the story. Posted 27 Sep 2010.
Read about policemen Jock Hay and Bobby Dooley in Memory Lane.
An account of the Warrington and Stockport Railway by a local resident. Click here.
Read about The Bridgewater Players drama group in Community.
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RAF
BURTONWOOD, a section covering Europe's largest air base from World
War Two until its closure in 1993. |
IF YOU WISH TO CONTACT ME, CLICK HERE, OR ON THE BLUE PEN EMAIL LOGO AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE
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CLICK ON EMAIL OR FEMAIL TO CONTACT ME | |
Also check the two other newspaper organisations in the town: Warrington Worldwide and the Warrington Guardian.
 www.radiowarrington.co.uk |
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The online radio station for |
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Broadcasting 24 hours a day, from Warrington, for Warrington - only on the internet. |
Here we see presenter, DJKenny, at Warrington Market's Classic Transport Show on 27 June, 2009. |
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They have applied for an FM radio licence. News is provided by Warrington
Worldwide. |
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DJKenny has his own website www.djkennylive.me.uk. |
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Wire FM for music, news and sport, 24 hours a day since 1 September, 1998. Although they broadcast to Warrington, Runcorn and Widnes and originally from a site off Long Lane, Warrington, they are now part of UTV media (GB) and based in Wigan.
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On Top Of The World is a section featuring images of the town centre taken from the top of the Big Wheel which visited Warrington at Christmas 2007. |
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I rode it in its first week. My special thanks go to the ride's owners, Jan de Koning Fun Fairs for their assistance.
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Warrington Wolves successfully defended their 2009 Challenge Cup win over Huddersfield by beating Leeds Rhinos 30-6 at Wembley on Saturday 28 August 2010. They became Super League Champions 2011 after beating Hull FC 34-12 on Friday 9 September 2011. Their nearest rival Wigan also won, but Warrington Wolves were one point ahead in the table. |
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Read about their history-making games and other events in the club's history in Warrington Wolves. |
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Occasionally readers ask me for information on events, happenings, things they remember, etc in the town. I don't always know the answers, so visit the Community page to see if you can help with some of those questions.
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PHOTOS
FROM THE 4TH ANNUAL FIDDLER'S FERRY CLASSIC VEHICLE SHOW |
Read
the |
Warrington Borough Council have announced a new plan for the Time Square and market areas, along with the areas around the River Mersey at Bridge Foot. Work is expected to begin in 2013. Warrington Partnership was formed in 2001 and "is the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) for Warrington. It is a collection of key public, private and third sector organisations from across Warrington that develop plans and work together to help improve and shape Warrington's future". It has produced a document entitled 'One Warrington: One Future'. The document sets out their vision for the future of Warrington from 2009 to 2030. Read more at www.warringtonpartnership.org.uk
A group called Theatre 4 Warrington wished to convert the former Mr Smiths nightclub into a theatre. However, Mr Smiths reopened as a nightclub in the spring of 2008. The nightclub has since been renamed: Synergy first, and now Halo from November 2008 until it closed down in 2010. Mr Smiths reopened in October 2011 after new management purchased the venue by auction. Theatre 4 Warrington are still looking for a venue. And in conversation with one of the construction workers at Golden Square on 1st June 2006 he complimented the improved nightlife in the town. He says he goes to Liverpool one weekend and comes to Warrington the next, staying overnight at a local guesthouse. Praise indeed! |
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The Parr Hall, seen right in this photo from 4 November, 2005, opened in 1895 and still attracts major artists to the town. But some residents felt it was due for an upgrade. This has now happened with a £1.2 million investment.
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A JOURNEY ALONG THE RIVERS AND CANALS OF WARRINGTON complementing Warrington Green. Click here for On The Waterfront |
GOLDEN SQUARE |
If
you are in Warrington Market, have a look at the video screens. The
traders have made their own adverts which show throughout the
day. They were featured on BBC Northwest Tonight on Wednesday 14 March
2007, going live the next day. |
LYMM MARKET |
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The extension to Golden Square shopping centre opened to the public on Thursday 24 May 2007, celebrating the arrival of Debenhams department store, along with new names like H&M, Oasis, Jane Norman, La Senza and Bank. Boots moved into the centre from Bridge Street on 20 June 2007. See the official Golden Square website for details. My thanks to Bovis Lend Lease for permission to use the image of Golden Square |
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Keep up to date with events and happenings at Warrington Museum
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© P Spilsbury |
© G Gandy |
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See more pictures like these in On The Buses and Peter's Gallery. |
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Did you know: the Captain of the Titanic, Edward John
Smith, married his sweetheart Sarah
Eleanor Pennington at St Oswald's Church Winwick in 1887? Read his profile in Warrington
People.
Burtonwood Air Base |
Warrington
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Click here
for the story The photo above is a Douglas |
The
Transporter Bridge over It has
not been used since |
A
history of Bewsey |
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Warrington
People profiles famous people with a Warrington connection. |
Have a look at Warrington in the smoky 70s! My Warrington page
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TRANSPORT IN WARRINGTON |
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On The Buses - my history of buses in Warrington |
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and street scenes old and new |
Looking at the railways Click the image |
The
Cycle Museum at Walton Gardens Click the image for the Events page |
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Also in Peter's Gallery: Incidentally, a
photo by Peter of Crossville's old bus garage on Chester Road can be
viewed in the |
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BAWMING OF THE THORNRead about this event, unique to
Warrington. |
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CLICK ON EMAIL OR FEMAIL TO CONTACT ME | |
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Updated for 2009 |
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Some
of the information in the Tours was reproduced from a series of books
on Warrington |
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Take a stroll through Sankey Valley Park from Callands to Fiddlers Ferry. Click the image above |
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Occasionally, I will feature items with a Warrington connection from other areas. At Bridge Foot you might notice a large telephone box. It is a K4 "Vermillion Giant". You can read more about it on the Tour 2 page. On my travels in January 2006, I located another one (it is believed there are only 4 remaining examples in the country). You can see it outside The Cholmondeley Arms pub on Church Street in Frodsham. |
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The Cholmondeley Arms near the railway station approach, with the K4 "Vermillion Giant" (31 Jan 2006), left, and Warrington's version at Bridge Foot. |
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The pub itself is very interesting. It received its present name around 1900. Previously it had been a beer house with a wine licence, known as the Albert Inn, and received a full licence in 1960. Previous owners include a Mrs Farrell (1872), the Atlas Brewery (1890) and Burtonwood Brewery from 1923. It is believed the pub opened in 1841. If you are passing through Frodsham, don't forget to call in. You will be made very welcome by the licensee! |
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Check out some history of Fiddler's Ferry on My Warrington page
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Warrington's association with the wire-weaving industry came to an end in 2005 when Carrington Wire closed its Battersby Lane works. Take a last look at the factory through photos of the site and eventual demolition on the My Warrington page. |
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The squirrel, left, was pointed out to me in Walton Gardens by a small child. I was taking some pictures in the grounds and he shouted across to me. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime shots. He hasn't got a name yet. Any ideas? |
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The caricature, right, is meant to look like me - the one standing up, not the panda! |
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So why this website? Well, I, Gordon Gandy, have lived in Warrington all my life (you know, where the M6 is cobbled), and taken literally thousands of images of the town and thought it time to do something useful with them! So I have decided to share some of them with you on the web. Your comments are very welcome. It's not just about the town centre though. I will feature many aspects of the town's history in words and pictures, plus some of my personal memories of life in the town. If you would like to send in your own memories, please use the feedback link and indicate if you wish to share it with others. I will only add your name if you want me to. |
Welcome to mywarrington
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My thanks to all readers who have helped to make the site such a great success since I launched it in May 2005. Many contributors are ex-pats from all over the world - Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada, Europe, Africa and Hong Kong, making the site truly a worldwide event! And it has all been achieved by word of mouth and by handing out cards like the one here. Click on it and print it out to pass on to your friends - tell them what they've been missing! I'm still waiting for contact from Russia - but they are probably busy preparing for the football World Cup Finals in 2018! |
How many of us remember these town centre shops from many
years ago?
BARLOWS...animal & pet feeds
HODGKINSONS TIMOTHY WHITES LIPTONS ...did
you do your weekly shop here?
Do you have any memories of life in Warrington? Would you like to share them on mywarrington? I am always on the lookout for any stories from residents of the town or from those who have moved away. You might remember the war period, or the Teddy Boy 50s. Flower Power 60s or Glam Rock 70s? 3-day weeks? Power cuts, strikes? The Yuppie 80s? What about the cinema - or is that the flicks? Sport? Down the pub? Factory life? Summer days? Winter nights? Tin baths? Sleeping top and tail? Coal in the bunker? Oil cloth for carpets? Parking lights on your car? Did you work at Burtonwood base? What about your first telly? Or the wireless? Or the Gramophone? Were any of your relatives around at the turn of the 20th Century? Was it better or are we better off today? Do you have photographs to illustrate your story? You can attach them to email address (click here). Please make sure you are the copyright owner or have the owner's permission. I cannot reproduce work without it, or from books or newspapers (unless it's yours, of course). If you do make contact, it would be nice to know where in the world you are emailing from, especially if you are an ex-pat. In the meantime, see what others have shared on the Memory Lane page.
Back in 1999 when I did my City & Guilds in computers, my mobile office always had something in there that somebody wanted, to which one group member asked if I had the kitchen sink in there as well. So I said yes, and created this photo for my file. It was then a case of not whether I had something, but can I borrow... So hopefully regarding the town's history, I will have the answer to your questions. And if not, I will go to the DIY store archive and try to locate it... So don't be afraid to contact me by email. |
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This site is best viewed
with a screen resolution of 1024x768.
Apologies to non-broadband visitors if images take a little while to load.
Please be patient.
(I've been there - for the first two years of this site being online I struggled
with dial-up to upload the pages!)
| Disclaimer.
This website, www.mywarrington.me.uk,
is a personal collection of photographs and stories about my home town of
Warrington (Lancashire), Cheshire, England, past and present. It also
features written and photographic contributions from readers and official
sources, used with permission and credited as appropriate. I am not
employed by, nor is this website connected to, nor endorsed by, any
charitable or non-profit group, Warrington Borough Council, Warrington
Borough Transport (Network Warrington), Golden Square shopping centre,
Bovis Lend Lease, Warrington Wolves, Galliford Try, or any other companies or agents
mentioned, whether public or private, commercial or non-commercial,
including any other website or online service. All content is edited and
controlled by myself. Unless otherwise stated, all text and images are
Copyright © Gordon I Gandy and may not be reproduced without permission,
including other websites. The views and comments expressed are my own,
unless otherwise stated. I will not publish locations or email addresses
of respondents online (unless you specifically request me to - some
readers have asked for that so old friends can contact them. PLEASE
NOTE THAT I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR SPAM or other
problems occurring due to a reader requesting their email address to be
being displaying on this website. Inclusion is entirely at your own
risk. mywarrington is not responsible for the content of
external websites or online services. I do not provide a research or
search facility for family trees or similar and email requests of this
nature will be ignored. Any errors on the website will be corrected as
soon as possible. Gordon
I Gandy, Thursday 12 May 2005, as updated Thursday 25 August 2011.
Website created by Gordon I Gandy. Copyright © 2005-2012 Gordon I Gandy (mywarrington). |
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