Coordinates: 53°19′41″N 2°42′43″W / 53.328°N 2.712°W / 53.328; -2.712

Runcorn
Runcorn Silver Jubilee Bridge
Runcorn  Runcorn shown within Cheshire
Population	61,000 [1]
OS grid reference	SJ525815
- London	167 miles (269 km) SE
Unitary authority	Halton
Ceremonial county	Cheshire
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	RUNCORN
Postcode district	WA7
Dialling code	01928
Police	Cheshire
Fire	Cheshire
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Halton
List of places: UK • England • Cheshire

Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 61,000.^[1] 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. It was a health resort in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. 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 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 of 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 1960–'70s and areas of private housing have been established, farther to the east; this has resulted in the population more than doubling from around 30,000 to its present level.

History[link]

The earliest written reference to the town is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it is spelled Rumcofan, literally “a wide cove or bay”. This word is derived from the Old English words rúm (“wide” or “broad”) and cofa (“cave” or “cove”). Other historical spellings of Runcorn include Rumcoven, Ronchestorn, Runckhorne, and Runcorne.^[2]

Little is known about the early history of the settlement but isolated findings of objects from the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages have been made and there is evidence of a Roman presence in the area.^[3] The earliest recorded event in its history is the building by Ethelfleda of a fortification at Runcorn to protect the northern frontier of her kingdom of Mercia against the Vikings in 915. The fort was built on Castle Rock overlooking the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap.^[4]

Halton Castle in the 18th century

Following the Norman conquest, Runcorn was not mentioned in the 1086 Domesday survey, although surrounding settlements were. William the Conqueror granted the earldom of Chester to Hugh d'Avranches who granted the barony of Halton to Nigel. It is likely that Nigel erected a motte and bailey castle on Halton Hill in the 1070s.^[5] In 1115, Nigel's son, William Fitznigel, founded an Augustinian Priory at Runcorn. In 1134 the priory was moved to Norton, about 3.5 miles (6 km) away. In 1391 the priory was raised to the higher status of abbey.^[6] In 1536 the monastery was dissolved, and around nine years later the buildings and some of the monastic lands were sold to Sir Richard Brooke who converted the habitable part of the abbey into a house.^[7]

During the Civil War Halton Castle was held for the Royalists by John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers, the Steward of Halton. It fell twice to Parliamentarian Roundheads. The first siege was led by Sir William Brereton in 1643; the second was during the following year. Following this, a "Council of War" was held in Warrington in 1646 at which it was decided that the castle should be slighted.^[8] In 1656, Runcorn was described as being "nothing but a fair parish church, a parsonage and a few scattered tenements".^[9] And so it remained for over a century, an isolated and poor hamlet. The only through traffic used the ferry which crossed from Runcorn to the north bank of the River Mersey. Towards the end of the 18th century and in the early years of the 19th century the town was a health resort.^[10]

Soap and alkali works on the Bridgewater canal during the 19th century

During the 18th century water transport had been improved in the area by the Mersey and Irwell Navigation, the Bridgewater Canal and the Trent and Mersey Canal. This gave Runcorn waterway connections with most of the interior of England through the canal system and with the sea along the River Mersey, thus forming the basis for the development of the Port of Runcorn.^[11] Later came the Runcorn to Latchford Canal linking with the Mersey and Irwell Navigation, and the Weston canal which gave better access to the Weaver Navigation system.^[12] Industries began to develop within and around the town, in particular quarrying for Runcorn sandstone, shipbuilding, engineering, the manufacture of soap and chemicals and tanning. Runcorn was becoming an industrialised and highly polluted town. During the later 19th century the town became increasingly dominated by the chemical and tanning industries.

In 1868 the Runcorn Railway Bridge was opened across the Mersey, giving Runcorn direct rail links with Liverpool and the rest of the country.^[13] In the 1880s a pipeline was opened between Northwich and Weston Point, supplying brine to the salt and chemical works.^[14] In 1894 the Manchester Ship Canal was opened throughout its length.^[15] This allowed ocean-going ships to travel inland as far as Salford, some of them calling at the port of Runcorn. The rise in population between 1881 and 1891 and the drop by 1901 is explained by the number of people involved in constructing the ship canal. In 1905 the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge opened, giving a direct link for vehicular traffic for the first time between the two towns.^[16]

During the first half of the 20th century the industry of the town continued to be dominated by chemicals and tanning. This growth was largely due to government fixed-priced cost contracts for tanned hides. In 1926 four chemical companies merged to form Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). As the century progressed there was diversification of industry. In 1961 the Transporter Bridge was replaced by Runcorn Road Bridge (since named the Silver Jubilee Bridge) which allowed a more efficient means of road traffic across Runcorn Gap. The designation of Runcorn as a new town in 1964 brought major changes and more than doubled the population. Much of the architecture of the new town was innovative, especially the Southgate development designed by Sir James Stirling and built between 1970 and 1977. Stirling's housing development was beset with problems and it was demolished in the early 1990s.^[17] During the second half of the 20th century the tanneries closed (the last to close was the Highfield Tannery in the late 1960s) and the chemical industry declined. At the same time, light industry developed together with warehouses and distribution centres.^[18]

Governance[link]

Civic history[link]

Runcorn Town Hall, formerly Halton Grange

At the time of the Domesday survey, Runcorn was in the hundred of Tunendune,^[19] but later, and until the early 19th century, Runcorn was part of the Bucklow hundred.^[20] Under the Runcorn Improvement Act 1852, a board of Improvement Commissioners was established to administer the civil government of the town.^[21] By the Local Government Act 1894, the administration of the town and the surrounding areas was divided into Runcorn Urban District and Runcorn Rural District. Initially the urban district consisted of only the built-up area of Runcorn itself. By 1937, this area had been extended to include the communities of Weston and Weston Point to the south. By 1971 it had been further extended to the east to incorporate the village of Halton.^[22]

In 1964, Runcorn was designated as a new town. In 1974, as part of the Local Government Act 1972, Runcorn Urban District was abolished and its territory amalgamated with Widnes to form the borough of Halton. In 1998, this borough became a unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Cheshire.^[23]

Political representation[link]

Before the Reform Act 1832, Runcorn was in the parliamentary constituency of Cheshire which was represented by two Members of Parliament.^[24] Following the Reform Act, the town was placed in the North Cheshire constituency and from 1868 in the Mid Cheshire constituency. From 1885 to 1950 the town was in the constituency of Northwich.^[25] By an act of Parliament in 1948, the constituency of Runcorn was created, and in 1950 Runcorn's first Member of Parliament, Dennis Vosper, was elected.^[26] He continued to represent the constituency until 1964, when he was succeeded by Mark Carlisle.^[27]

Runcorn is part of two parliamentary constituencies. The western part of the town, which includes the old town area and part of the new town, is in the constituency of Halton and the eastern part, containing the rest of the new town and private housing to the east of this, is in the Weaver Vale constituency. Since the 1997 general election the Member of Parliament for the Halton constituency has been Derek Twigg of the Labour party,^[28] and he continued to hold the seat in the 2010 general election.^[29] In the 2007 election the Weaver Vale constituency was won by Mike Hall, also the Labour candidate.^[30] Hall retired at the 2010 election when the seat was won by Graham Evans, the Conservative candidate.^[31]

The local authority is the borough of Halton. The town is divided into ten electoral wards,^[32] with elections to the council being held in 3 out of every 4 years.^[33] There are 56 local councillors: 37 represent the Labour party, 12 the Liberal Democrat party, 6 the Conservative party and there is one independent councillor.^[34] Runcorn is in the European parliamentary constituency of North West England.^[35]

Geography[link]

Sketch map of Runcorn and its surrounding area

Runcorn is situated on a spur projecting into the River Mersey, which flows to the north and then to the west of the town. On the north bank of the river is another spur forming the West Bank area of Widnes; together these form Runcorn Gap, a narrowing of the River Mersey. Runcorn Gap is crossed by the Runcorn Railway Bridge, which carries the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line, and the Silver Jubilee Bridge, which carries the A533. To the south of the town is the River Weaver and the Weston Canal. Both open into the ship canal. To the southeast of the town run the M56 motorway, the Chester–Manchester railway line, and the main branch of the West Coast Main Line. The town has a system of "expressways", roads designed to divert traffic away from the residential areas.^[36] The Central Expressway runs through the centre of the town in a north-south direction. To the west of it lie most of the former settlements which formed the older part of the town, namely Runcorn, Higher Runcorn, Weston, Weston Point and Clifton (formerly Rocksavage), and the new town areas of Halton Brook and Halton Lodge. To the east are the village of Halton, the old settlements of Norton and Stockham, and the new town areas of Castlefields, Palacefields, Windmill Hill, Murdishaw, Brookvale, and Hallwood Park.^[37]

The density of housing is generally high, but there are open green areas, in particular heathland on Runcorn Hill and the extensive Town Park created as part of the new town. The older industries, particularly the remaining chemical factories, are concentrated mainly to the southwest of the town bordering the Mersey, while newer industries, including warehousing, are to the northeast and southeast.^[18]

Runcorn Hill, showing cutting through sandstone

Geology[link]

The Runcorn area drains into the River Mersey to the north and the River Weaver to the south. The bedrock of the western and northeastern parts of the town is made up of rock from the Sherwood sandstone group; in the other areas the bedrock is from the Mercia mudstone group. In places there are prominent outcrops of sandstone, particularly at Runcorn Hill and Halton Hill. Elsewhere the bedrock is covered by drift. At the northwestern periphery of the town the drift consists of recently blown sand. Farther to the east and bordering the River Mersey is recent alluvium. Elsewhere the drift consists of till.^[38]

Climate[link]

Being close to the west coast and the Irish Sea, the climate is generally temperate with few extremes of temperature or weather. The mean average temperature in the years 1971 to 2000 was 9.4 to 9.7 °C, which was slightly above the average for the United Kingdom^[39] as was the average amount of annual sunshine at 1,391 to 1,470 hours.^[40] The average annual rainfall was 741 to 870 mm, which was slightly below the average for the UK.^[41] The average number of days in the year when snow is on the ground is 0 to 6, which is low for the United Kingdom.^[42] The average number of days of air frost is 2 to 39, which is also low.^[43]

Demography[link]

Housing in Castlefields, Runcorn New Town

Since the borough of Halton became a unitary authority in 1998, demographic statistics have been collated for the authority as a whole, rather than separately for the towns of Runcorn and Widnes. While the two towns have different histories and come from different historic counties, their demographic features are similar.

The population of Halton in 2004 was 118,915. It is the most densely populated district in Cheshire at 14.9 persons per hectare.^[44] The change in population during the 20th century is shown in the following table.

In 2003 Halton had the largest proportion of the population in Cheshire in the age groups under 5, 5 to 15, and 16 to pension age and, at 16.1% the lowest proportion of people at pension age or older. At 1.2% the proportion of non-white ethnic groups in 2001 equalled the lowest in all local authorities in Cheshire. At 11.5 per 1,000 population, the live birth rate in Halton and Warrington is the highest in the county. At 121 the standardised mortality ratio is the highest in Cheshire, as is the percentage of persons with limiting long-term illness (21.5%).^[46]

There has been an increase in the number of households from 47,214 in 1991 to 52,501 in 2006. The average household size has fallen from 2.70 in 1991 to 2.44 in 2001. In 1991, 75.8% of houses were centrally heated, compared with 89.8% in 2001. The type of housing has also changed, with an increase from 15.5% to 19.2% in detached houses from 1991 to 2001, an increase over the same years in semi-detached houses from 30.0% to 33.0%, and a corresponding decrease in terraced houses from 44.0% to 37.5%.^[47] The percentage of dwellings in council tax bands A–B is, at 69%, the highest in any Cheshire local authority. The percentages in bands E–F (8%) and G–H (1%) are the lowest.^[48]

Economy[link]

Chemical works at Weston Point, Runcorn

Of Runcorn's former industries, all but the chemical industry have disappeared. The industry was dominated for many years by ICI's Chlor Chemical division; since divested and taken over by Ineos.^[49] In Runcorn, Ineos manufactures chemicals including chlorine, chlorine-containing compounds including vinyl chloride, heavy chemicals including alkalis, and fluorine-containing compounds. A separate business within the same company manufactures salt from brine transported by pipeline from the saltfields of central Cheshire.^[50] The former ICI offices and laboratories now comprise the Heath Business and Technical Park, which provides office, laboratory, conference, and leisure facilities.^[51] To the east of the town, diverse industries have been developed including, because of the proximity to the motorway system, warehouses and distribution centres.^[18] The town continues to act as a port on the Manchester Ship Canal. There are two adjacent ports. Runcorn Docks is owned by the Manchester Ship Canal Company, which is part of the Peel Ports Group.^[52] The Port of Weston is owned by the Stobart Group.^[53][54]

There has been a shift in employment from manufacturing to service industries. In 1991, 34% worked in the manufacturing sector and 61% were in the service sector. By 2004 17% were in manufacturing jobs and 78% were in service jobs.^[47] This trend in the local region is demonstrated in this chart which shows the regional "gross value added" of Halton and Warrington at current basic prices, with figures in millions of British pounds.^[55]