Widnes
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Template:Infobox England place with map UA Image:Arms-widnes.jpg Widnes is a town in the unitary authority of Halton, Cheshire, England. It was a municipal borough in the traditional county of Lancashire until 1974. It owes its existence to the chemical industry. In 1800 it was a mere collection of houses but by 1900 had a population of around 50,000.
The town's continued growth is mainly due to its location in the middle the large urban areas of Manchester and Liverpool.
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Etymology of the name Widnes
According to local history books, the name Widnes comes from the old Danish vidnes, meaning "wide nose", and refers to the promontory of land that juts south into the River Mersey, creating a narrowing in the channel called the Runcorn Gap. Some correspondents have suggested that the name is Norwegian, and there is a similar peninsula named Vidnes in Møre og Romsdal, Norway.
Place-name books suggest the etymology is from Old English wid-naess "wide promontory"; this would make sense as most of the place-names in the region are from Old English; Speke is one of them.
The Widnes Vikings
The area's Norse history is celebrated in the name of the local Rugby League Football Club the Widnes Vikings. The Widnes Vikings were previously know as the "Chemics". Once world champions (1989), subsequently spent time in the Northern Ford Premiership, and have last season again been relegated to the National League One from Super League.
Crossing the Mersey
Widnes and Runcorn are divided by the River Mersey. In the West Bank area of the town the Mersey happens to narrow and so for many centuries this made it a natural place to cross the river. At first this was by boat but later a ferry service was set-up to provide this service. In middle of the 19th century (1868 to be exact) a rail bridge was opened between Widnes and Runcorn. This bridge also had a footpath which allowed you to walk between Widnes and Runcorn for the first time, provided you could pay the small fee. This bridge still carries trains today.
In 1905 a second crossing was opened in the form of the Transporter Bridge and it was the largest of its type in the world. This ferried people across the Mersey in a large gondolier that hung beneath the bridge. This gondolier moved between Runcorn and Widnes carrying a large number of people at once.
On the 21st of July 1961 a road bridge was opened that connected Widnes and Runcorn by road for the first time. After this the Transport Bridge was demolished and the foot path was closed on the rail bridge. In its place, a new footpath was opened on the road-bridge which you can cross for free.
Plans are currently before Parliment for a new road, rail and foot bridge, which is scheduled to be built in 2007.
'Homeward bound'
Widnes is also known for the railway station where Paul Simon wrote the song Homeward Bound. However, the original station called Widnes Central was one of those stations closed by Dr Beeching in the early 1960s. It was demolished and its site is now forms part of the the local expressway, Ashley Way.
Despite the fact that the original station no longer exists, there is a plaque in the only remaining Widnes railway station to celebrate the writing of the song.
Education
The major centres of education in the town are in the table below. Also included are the attainment and absenteeism rates for each school. All figures are taken from the 2004-2005 academic year. [1]
| School Name | Five or more A-C grades (%) | Unauthorised Attendence (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Bankfield High School | 48 | 2.8 |
| Fairfield County High School | 39 | 3.3 |
| Halton College | N/A | N/A |
| St Peter & Paul Cathloic College | 46 | 2.1 |
| Wade Deacon County High School | 80 | 0.8 |
| Widnes Sixth Form College | N/A | N/A |
Wade Deacon High School
Wade Deacon High School is located in the town of Widnes it is believed that it is haunted by the ghost of the founder of the school Mr.Wade Deacon. in the school they are constantly telling there pupils that they are well privileged being at there school because of its results but after doing research into the school and studying there myself i have found that the pupils are not well behaved in comparison with other local schools and that the school contains the highest number of "chavs" especially in the years 7 and 8 (2006).
The school has also been described as a Prison due to:
*****Its set of not only one but two sets of iron railing around the front of the school; (keeping pupils in.) ***** Its sets of iron bars on all windows on the bottom floor. ***** Its sets of black metal shutters covering all of the upstairs windows.
Points of interest
The "Catalyst" museum is devoted to the chemical industry which still dominates the town. The museum can be found at the heart of 'West Bank', one of the oldest areas of the town. The chemical industry in Widnes was set up by Sir Alfred Mond and John Brunner in the early 19th century. The Catalyst museum was the main offices for the Vine Chemicals Works and sits on the Spike Island estate.
Widnes includes a number of distinct areas of varying character:
- West Bank, close to the old ferry and transporter bridge. This is the old heart of the town with Victorian terraced houses for the chemical workers. During the period of time following the construction of the current road bridge, the 'Silver Jubilee Bridge' the area experienced a decline in popularity, however in recent years it has once again become a 'trendy' place to live, pushing up property prices and improving the health of the local economy.
- The old civic centre around Victoria square with some impressive pubic buildings.
- Simm's Cross - main shopping district. Includes the "Green Oaks" shopping complex, the windmill shopping centre and the new ASDA megastore.
- Appleton and Farnworth - former villages, still with some "village" character but mainly 20th century semi detached housing. Widnes railway station is in Farnworth.
- Ditton - real, 20th century.
- Hough Green - agricultural, 20th century. Railway station.
- Halebank - an industrial area with a residential area to the south.
- Cronton - although actually located in the borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, Cronton village is situated to the north of the town and is regarded locally as an area of Widnes.
Nightspots
The table below lists the notable venues in Widnes.
- Vue Bar and Grill (Bar)
- The Albion (Pub)
- The Derby (Pub)
- The Tavern (Pub)
- The Appleton Arms (Pub)
- The Four Topped Oak (Pub)
- Tha Barratt (park)
Barratt Park
The Barratt park is a purpose-built recreational area within the Upton Rocks housing development in northern Widnes. There is a playground, a football/basketball "cage", and a heavily vandalised skatepark. It is a popular place to go amongst the youth of Widnes, but has been plagued by crime perpetrated by youths from the surrounding area. A popular game played on the "cage" is " One And Off", where there are two people on the court and have to score in the opposite net, usually by lobbing their opponent.Each player must remain in their own half, but can touch the ball with their hands.It is called "One And Off" because if you score, your opponent is replaced by whoever has bagsyed to go next , and the winner stays on. If you kick the ball over the cage walls, you are off! Day W is the reigning champ because he is great at football. In the winter, after visiting the "Barratt", it is a popular pastime to visit the Cronton Fish Bar 2, for chips and maybe a donner wrap! "Leggers" are also a popular Barratt pastime, meaning being chased by someone or a group of people, usually after performing a minor crime such as "Budding" windows, meaning throwing a small object such as a piece of gravel at a window, provoking an angry pursuit from the resident(s) or the "5-0".