Latchford
| Latchford | |
| Cheshire | |
|---|---|
 St James's Church, Latchford | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SJ624871 |
| Location: | 53°22’47"N, 2°33’52"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 7,856 (2001) |
| Post town: | Warrington |
| Postcode: | WA4 |
| Dialling code: | 01925 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Warrington |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Warrington South |
Latchford is a township in Cheshire that forms a suburb of Warrington, otherwise in Lancashire. It is around one mile south-east of Warrington town centre and has a total resident population of 7,856.[1]
It is a predominantly residential area, lying between the River Mersey, which forms the border with Lancashire, and the Manchester Ship Canal. It broadly consists of 19th-century terraced housing and some open space. The canal is crossed here by a swing bridge, a high-level road bridge and the now disused Latchford railway viaduct.
Latchford originates as the township of the ancient parish of Grappenhall, in Bucklow Hundred.[2][3] Its name comes from from Anglo-Saxon Læccford = "Boggy-stream ford".
Latchford Railway Viaduct
Latchford viaduct was opened on 8 July 1893 to carry the London and North Western Railway's Stockport to Warrington line over the Manchester Ship Canal. The wrought-iron viaduct, with a span of 250 ft, weighed more than 1,200 tons. The last passengers service ran in 1962, but the line continued to carry freight. It finally closed to all traffic in July 1985, when it was deemed too expensive to make extensive repairs to keep Latchford viaduct operational.
Latchford Locks
Latchford was chosen as the location of intermediate locks on the Manchester Ship Canal. These comprise a larger lock for ocean-going vessels and a smaller lock to its south for coasters, tugs and barges. A ship mooring area was provided on the canal's south bank and enabled two large vessels to pass each other at this point. The locks are still used, but less often than before, as hardly any ships now go to the terminal docks at Manchester and Salford.
Geography
Latchford is bounded to the south by the Manchester Ship Canal and Stockton Heath and to the north by the River Mersey and Howley.
Communal facilities
Victoria Park
Victoria Park is an open space beside the present course of the Mersey, with a modern sports stadium and a skateboard park. It contains a large Georgian manor house, previously the Old Warps maternity hospital, subsequently converted into flats. Nearby is a narrow Victorian suspension bridge, Howley Bridge, which provides pedestrian access between Howley and Latchford.
The park lies on the original course of the Mersey, in an area that was considered dangerous by even the most experienced seamen. In 1724 various new weirs were built along the course of the River Mersey due to its often treacherous nature. The course of the Mersey was then altered and the land was converted into the Old Warps Estate. A weir was built and is still monitored 24 hours a day by a "weir man" from a wooden building situated about the weir, which is the tidal limit of the Mersey. The Mersey is so improved now that salmon and trout are often seen, as are herons, kingfishers and cormorants, especially in the wide pool on the river bend below the weir.
In 1897 the local council bought the Old Warps Estate from the owners and converted it into a park to provide an amenity for the local working-class people of the terraced housing of industrial Latchford. To mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria the park was named "Victoria Park". The Georgian manor house "Old Warps" still stands and has been converted to a restaurant.
Victoria Park has a large running track which is the home of Warrington Athletic Club, and has bowling greens, a skate-park and various other leisure facilities. A 5 km run against the clock is organised by the Parkrun group most Saturday mornings.[4] Old Manor Lock marks the northern end of the park.
Black Bear Park
Black Bear Canal, now infilled and used as Black Bear Park, once ran from docks on the Manchester Ship Canal near Wilderspool Causeway (to the west of Latchford) to the Mersey at Manor Lock in Howley, providing a shortcut for shipping, avoiding a large river bend and weir.
In 1804, an eight-mile long canal was built between Latchford and Runcorn. It was named the Old Quay Canal. Once the Manchester Ship Canal was dug, in the 1890s, it was shortened to one mile, from Stockton Heath to the River Mersey, at Manor Lock. It was renamed the Black Bear Canal. The Black Bear Canal remained in use for the transport of South American hides to tanneries, until the 1960s, when it fell into disuse.
Warrington Council bought the land. After a local boy drowned in the late 1960s, it was converted in 1981 into a parkland forming a line from Victoria Park and the banks of the River Mersey, through to Stockton Heath. The park also forms a part of the Trans Pennine Trail.
References
- ↑ United Kingdom Census 2001. "Latchford (Ward)". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadDomainList.do?a=7&c=latchford&d=14&i=1001x1002&m=0&enc=1&areaId=545517&OAAreaId=388314. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
- ↑ A vision of Britain through time. "A vision of Latchford CP/Ch". http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10084295. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
- ↑ GENUKI. "Latchford". http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/latchford.html. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
- ↑ "Warrington Parkrun". Parkrun information. Prkrun Warrington. http://www.parkrun.org.uk/warrington/. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Latchford) |