Runcorn | |
---|---|
Town | |
Runcorn's Silver Jubilee Bridge | |
Coat of arms | |
Location within Cheshire | |
Population | 62,100 (2021)[1] |
Demonym | Runcornian |
OS grid reference | SJ 5140 8300 |
• London | 167 mi (269 km)[2] SE |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | RUNCORN |
Postcode district | WA7 |
Dialling code | 01928 |
Police | Cheshire |
Fire | Cheshire |
Ambulance | North West |
UK Parliament | |
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Its population in 2021 was 62,100.[1] Runcorn is on the southern bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap.
Runcorn was founded by Æthelflæd of Mercia in 915 AD as a fortification to guard against Viking invasion at a narrowing of the River Mersey.[3] Under Norman rule, Runcorn fell under the Barony of Halton and an Augustinian abbey was established here in 1115.[4] It remained a small, isolated settlement until the Industrial Revolution when the extension of the Bridgewater Canal to Runcorn in 1776 established it as a port which would link Liverpool with inland Manchester and Staffordshire.[5] 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.[6] In 1964, Runcorn was designated a new town and expanded eastward, swallowing neighbouring settlements and more than doubling its population.[7]
Three bridges span the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal at Runcorn: the Silver Jubilee Bridge, Mersey Gateway, and Runcorn Railway Bridge. Its location between Liverpool and Manchester and its links to the rail, motorway and canal networks have made it a centre for manufacturing, logistics, and wholesale and retail.[8] The town's motto is Navem Mercibus Implere (Latin for "fill the ship with goods"), a classical quotation from Juvenal.[9]
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search