Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap, and is located approximately southeast of Liverpool and southwest of Manchester. The Runcorn built-up area had a population of 61,145 at the 2021 census.
Runcorn was founded by Æthelflæd of Mercia in 915 AD as a fortification against the Viking invasion at a narrowing of the River Mersey. Under Norman rule, Runcorn fell under the Barony of Halton and an Augustinian abbey was established there in 1115. It remained a small and isolated settlement until the Industrial Revolution, when the 1776 extension of the Bridgewater Canal to Runcorn established it as a port linking coastal Liverpool with inland Manchester and Staffordshire. The docks enabled the growth of industry, initially shipwrights and sandstone quarries; in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was a spa and health resort, but this ended with the growth of polluting industries, especially soap and chemical works. In 1964, Runcorn was designated a new town and expanded eastward, absorbing neighbouring settlements and more than doubling its population.
The Silver Jubilee Bridge, Mersey Gateway, and Runcorn Railway Bridge span the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal in Runcorn. Its location between Liverpool and Manchester and its links to the rail, motorway, and canal networks have made it a major centre for the manufacturing, logistics, and wholesale and retail industries.
History
Early history
The earliest written reference to the town is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it is spelled "Rumcofan", literally meaning "a wide cove or bay". This word is derived from the Old English words "rúm" and "cofa". Other historical spellings of Runcorn include "Rumcoven", "Ronchestorn", "Runckhorne", and "Runcorne".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.
The first recorded event in its history is the building by Æthelflæd 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.
Medieval
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 of Cotentin. It is likely that Nigel erected a motte and bailey castle on Halton Hill in the 1070s.In 1115, Nigel's son, William fitz Nigel, founded an Augustinian priory at Runcorn. In 1134, the priory was moved to Norton, about away. In 1391, the priory was raised to the higher status of abbey. 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.
In 1565, Rocksavage, an Elizabethan Hall, was constructed for Sir John Savage in Clifton, now part of Runcorn.
English Civil War
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 in 1644. Following this, a "Council of War" was held in Warrington in 1646 at which it was decided that the castle should be slighted.In 1656, Runcorn was described as "nothing but a fair parish church, a parsonage and a few scattered tenements". 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.
Industrialisation
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.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.
Industries began to develop within and around the town, in particular shipbuilding, engineering, chemical manufacturing, tanning, and sandstone quarrying. Towards the end of the 18th century and in the early years of the 19th century, the town was a health resort.
The growth of industry did not diminish Runcorn's late 18th and early 19th century reputation as a health resort and the "Montpelier of England". In 1822 the town's first Saltwater Baths opened followed by new visitor accommodation in Belvedere Terrace in 1831.
In the middle of the century, the growing wealth of the town and its industrialists saw the construction of several new landmarks, including Halton Grange, St Paul's Methodist Chapel and All Saints' Church.
For hundreds of years, the only means of crossing the River Mersey at this point had been by the Runcorn ferry. Thomas Telford proposed a single span suspension bridge as early as 1817, but not until 1868 did the first bridge, Runcorn Railway Bridge, open across the Mersey at Runcorn. This gave the town direct rail links with Liverpool and the rest of the country.
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 the 1880s a pipeline was opened between Northwich and Weston Point, supplying brine to the salt works and in 1896 the Castner Kellner chemical works was established.
In 1894 the Manchester Ship Canal was opened throughout its length. 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. This would not be replaced until 1961 with the construction of Runcorn Road Bridge which allowed a more efficient means of road traffic across Runcorn Gap.
During the first half of the 20th century, the town's industry 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.
During the second half of the 20th century, the tanneries closed and the chemical industry declined. At the same time, light industry developed together with warehouses and distribution centres.
Second World War
In 1937, ICI began to build a new factory for mustard gas production at their Randle plant on Wigg Island. The ICI chemical plants at Runcorn featured in the Gestapo Black Book as a company of special interest but although the works at Weston Point were discussed at Luftwaffe briefings in 1940, the town was never deliberately targeted and was subject only to very limited bombing.New Town development
In September 1963, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government published a draft of the Runcorn New Town Order that allocated in and around Runcorn for development of a new town under the New Towns Act 1946. The ministry cited the urgent need for more housing to reduce overcrowding in Liverpool and to increase the rate of slum clearance there. Runcorn was chosen because of its strong road, rail and canal connections, ample water supply, convenient location on the Mersey Estuary for the disposal of effluent, established industry and the availability of land for more.Following objections to the draft order, a public Local Inquiry was held at Runcorn from 10 to 12 December 1963. The subsequent report accepted the location in principle and the proposed population of 90,000. But it recommended that around the village of Sutton Weaver to the south of the Chester–Manchester and Crewe–Liverpool railway lines be excluded from the designated area, partly to preserve its highly productive agricultural land. The minister, Keith Joseph, accepted the report's recommendations and the designation order was made on 10 April 1964.
The New Town masterplan of 1967 more than doubled the population as it encompassed neighbouring settlements and created new housing estates to the south and east. The new town's key features were its unique housing and estate designs, segregated pedestrian pathways, Busway, extensive landscaped green space, separate industrial areas, and new town centre.
The new town centre was designated at the geographical heart of the expanded town with Shopping City, an American-style enclosed mall, as its focus. This was a source of conflict between Arthur Ling, the new town Master Planner, and Fred Roche, Chief Architect. Ling envisaged a centre reminiscent of a citadel or acropolis at the base of Halton Castle, but Roche preferred to expand the existing town centre, partly to placate the Urban District Council and existing traders. The new Halton site was favoured and Shopping City opened in 1972.
However, the Urban District Council secured a commitment from the Development Corporation to continue a programme of regeneration the council had already begun. In 1971, the Development Corporation published Master Plan Amendment No.1, which focused on the urban renewal of the Old Town centre, now designated a smaller 'district centre'. The plan sought to increase public open space, reduce shopping provision, rationalise roads, and renew housing stock. It also included plans to widen the Runcorn-Widnes Bridge from two to four lanes and create a new system of junctions between the bridge and the expressway.
The masterplan was amended for the second and final time in 1975. Amendment No.2 extended the expressway further to the east and redesignated land at Sandymoor intended for industrial use to residential. The Runcorn Development Corporation merged with Warrington Development Corporation on 1 April 1981 and was wound up on 30 September 1989.
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. In 2002, the Castlefields Partnership was created to comprehensively redevelop the Castlefields estate, including the demolition of over 700 deck access flats.