Warrington, between Manchester and Liverpool

Warrington lies exactly halfway between Manchester and Liverpool, in the north of Cheshire, at the point where for centuries people crossed the River Mersey. With more than 210,000 inhabitants across its borough, it is one of the largest places in England without city status, and one of the fastest-growing in the last fifty years, after being designated a new town in 1968. It is a town of bridges, canals and industries, from steel wire to soap and beer, with an 18th-century town hall closed by splendid golden gates, the memory of an academy where the discoverer of oxygen taught and, a few kilometres away, the birthplace of Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Here, in 1987, the first IKEA store in the United Kingdom opened.

Trains from London Euston take under two hours, and from Manchester and Liverpool about twenty minutes. Manchester and Liverpool airports are both about half an hour away.

The town of the ford

Warrington grew up where the Mersey could be forded, the lowest point downstream where this was possible before the river widened into its estuary. Already in Roman times, at Wilderspool, there was a settlement of craftsmen working iron and glass. For centuries anyone travelling between the south and north of England along the west coast had to pass through here, so the town played a strategic role in many wars: in 1648, during the Civil War, Oliver Cromwell stayed here after his victory at Preston, and a statue near the bridge recalls his visit.

From the 18th century Warrington became an industrial centre: it produced sailcloth, nails, glass and above all wire, so much so that the town's rugby league team is still nicknamed The Wire. The chemical industry also grew, with the great Crosfield's soapworks, as did brewing, with the Greenall and Walker breweries. Three historic waterways pass close to the town: the Mersey, the Bridgewater Canal, one of England's first industrial canals, and the Manchester Ship Canal, opened in 1894 to bring ocean-going ships all the way to Manchester, crossed in Warrington by large swing bridges.

The Warrington Academy and Priestley

In 1757 an academy was founded in Warrington for young Protestant Dissenters, who were excluded from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge because they did not belong to the Church of England. The Warrington Academy soon became one of the most innovative schools in Europe, and among its teachers was Joseph Priestley, the chemist who discovered oxygen. For a time Warrington was called "the Athens of the North". The academy building still stands in the centre: in 1981, to widen a road, it was lifted and moved about twenty metres in one piece, on rails.

What to see in Warrington

The town hall and the Golden Gates

Warrington's Town Hall is a Palladian mansion built in 1750 by the architect James Gibbs for a merchant family, under the name of Bank Hall, and bought by the town in the 19th century. In front stand the Golden Gates, monumental gates of wrought and gilded iron about eight metres high, decorated with leaves, fruit and coats of arms: they were made at Coalbrookdale for London's great exhibition of 1862 and intended for the royal residence at Sandringham, but were bought by a benefactor and given to the town in 1895. Behind lies the large Bank Park, the town hall garden.

The museum and the centre

Warrington Museum & Art Gallery, opened in 1848, is one of the oldest public museums in the United Kingdom funded by local taxpayers. It holds natural history collections, Roman finds from Wilderspool, an Egyptian mummy, ceramics, paintings and ethnographic objects, displayed in Victorian cases. In the centre, the Cultural Quarter brings together the museum, the library and the Pyramid & Parr Hall venue, with a rare Victorian organ by Cavaillé-Coll, the great French organ builder. On Bridge Street stands the River of Life, a water and stone sculpture dedicated to the memory of the victims of the 1993 bombing.

The 1993 bombing and the Peace Foundation

On 20 March 1993 two IRA bombs exploded in Bridge Street, crowded with shoppers: two boys died, Johnathan Ball, aged three, and Tim Parry, aged twelve, and dozens of people were injured. The attack caused deep emotion in Britain and Ireland and contributed to the path towards peace in Northern Ireland. Tim Parry's parents founded a peace centre, now the Peace Foundation, which works with young people and victims of violence across the country. For more, see our page on the Irish question.

Walton Hall and the parks

South of the town, Walton Hall and Gardens is a Victorian house surrounded by gardens, lawns and woods, with a small children's zoo, a rock garden and golf courses. To the north-east, the Risley Moss reserve preserves one of the last lowland raised bogs in Lancashire and Cheshire, with an observation tower from which you can watch birds and roe deer. Paths and cycle routes run along the Bridgewater Canal and the Mersey.

The modern centre and the market

The town's commercial heart is Golden Square, a shopping centre built around the historic streets, while the new Time Square district, opened in 2020, brings together the covered market, a cinema, restaurants and council offices. Warrington market, with more than seven hundred years of history, is one of the oldest in the north-west and today offers street-food stalls, local produce and crafts.

Bridges and canals

Warrington is a small paradise for lovers of transport engineering. The Manchester Ship Canal crosses the town with the large Latchford locks and several swing bridges that pivot to let ships through, stopping the traffic for a few minutes. Near Bank Quay station you can still see Warrington's Transporter Bridge, a transporter bridge of 1916 built for Crosfield's soapworks: no longer in use, it is a protected historic monument and one of the few left in the world. Along the Bridgewater Canal, opened in the 18th century to carry coal to Manchester, a quiet towpath links the town with the villages of Cheshire among fields, stone bridges and painted boats.

Lewis Carroll at Daresbury

A few kilometres south-west of Warrington lies the village of Daresbury, where in 1832 Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was born, known all over the world as Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. His father was the village vicar. All Saints Church has a beautiful memorial window showing Carroll, Alice, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and other characters, and a centre dedicated to the writer tells the story of his childhood. On the site of the parsonage where he was born, the outline of the house has been marked out in the grass.

A day in Warrington

A possible itinerary: start at the town hall and the Golden Gates, then walk in Bank Park and visit the museum in the Cultural Quarter. After lunch go to Daresbury for Lewis Carroll's church, or to Walton Hall for the gardens. In the late afternoon you can walk along the Bridgewater Canal to the village of Lymm, with its stone houses, waterside cafés and ancient market cross.

Eating and drinking

Warrington's food is that of the north-west: meat pies, Sunday lunch in country pubs, and Cheshire cheese, one of England's oldest cheeses, crumbly and slightly salty. The town has a long brewing tradition, and the pubs of the centre and the villages serve beers from small local breweries. At Time Square market you can eat street food from many countries, while in Lymm and along the canals there are cafés and pubs with tables by the water, perfect on sunny days.

Events

The town's most original tradition is Warrington Walking Day, held every year in late June since the 19th century: congregations from the different churches parade through the centre with banners, brass bands and children in their best clothes, in a long procession watched by thousands of people. Lymm holds a summer music and arts festival on the canal and, in December, its Dickensian Day, when the village fills with stalls and performers in Victorian costume. During the year the centre hosts concerts at the Parr Hall, markets and community festivals.

Famous people

Warrington is the birthplace of the actor Pete Postlethwaite, who starred in films such as In the Name of the Father and The Usual Suspects, the radio and television presenter Chris Evans and Ian Brown, the singer of the Stone Roses, one of the defining bands of the Manchester music scene. Lewis Carroll, born a few kilometres away, is the most famous figure linked to the area.

Sport

Warrington is one of the capitals of rugby league: the Warrington Wolves, nicknamed The Wire, are one of the founding clubs of the Northern Union of 1895 and have won several Challenge Cups, playing at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. The town also has a football club, Warrington Town, and a strong following for rugby and cricket.

Around Warrington

• Lymm, a village on the Bridgewater Canal with a 17th-century market cross, and the great Dunham Massey house, owned by the National Trust, with a deer park.
• Arley Hall, with some of the finest gardens in England.
• Norton Priory, at Runcorn, with the remains of a medieval priory and a museum.
• Delamere Forest, with lakes and trails in the heart of Cheshire.
• Liverpool and Manchester, twenty minutes by train; Chester, with its Roman walls and timber-framed houses, about half an hour away.

Living in Warrington

Warrington is one of the most prosperous towns in the north of England: its position at the junction of the M6, M56 and M62 motorways, between Manchester and Liverpool, has made it a major centre for logistics, distribution, services and research, with the nearby Daresbury science laboratory. Homes cost less than in the south, the new town's residential districts are green and quiet, and the nearby big cities are a few minutes away. This is why Warrington is popular with families and young professionals who work in Manchester or Liverpool but prefer a quieter town, with good schools and the Cheshire countryside close at hand. The historic centre, however, is small and has suffered from competition with large out-of-town shopping centres, and is now the focus of a regeneration project.

Getting there and getting around

• By train: from London Euston in under two hours on the West Coast Main Line to Warrington Bank Quay; from Warrington Central frequent trains to Manchester and Liverpool. There are also direct services to Preston, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
• By air: Manchester and Liverpool airports are both about half an hour away by car.
• By car: the town is served by the M6, M56 and M62 motorways.
• In town: the centre is walkable; for Walton Hall, Daresbury and Lymm a car or bus is best.

For travel around the rest of the country see trains and transport, and for other cities British cities.

Tips for your visit

• How long: one day for the centre, Daresbury and the gardens; Warrington is also a convenient base for visiting Manchester, Liverpool and Chester.
• When to go: May to September for the gardens and canals.
• A tip: book your visit to the Lewis Carroll centre at Daresbury in advance, as it is not open every day.

Warrington on the map

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