Malpas Road, Runcorn

Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in
the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its
population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the
southeast of the Liverpool City Region on the
southern bank of the River Mersey where the
estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. To the
north across the River Mersey is Widnes, with
Warrington 7 miles (11 km) to the northeast and
Liverpool 11 miles (18 km) to the northwest.
Runcorn was founded by Ethelfleda in 915 AD as a
fortification to guard against 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 here in 1115.
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. 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, swallowing neighbouring settlements
and more than doubling its population. 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 logistics, manufacturing, energy, and wholesale and retail. The town's motto is Navem Mercibus Implere (Latin for "fill the ship
with goods"), a classical quotation from Juvenal.
Location Runcorn is situated on a spur projecting into the River Mersey, which flows to the north and then to the west of the town. On the north
bank of the river is another spur forming the West Bank area of Widnes; together these form Runcorn Gap, a narrowing of the River Mersey. Runcorn
Gap is crossed by three bridges: Runcorn Railway Bridge (which carries the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line), the Silver Jubilee
Bridge and the Mersey Gateway which carries the A533. To the south of the town is the River Weaver and the Weston Canal. Both open into the
Manchester Ship Canal. To the southeast of the town runs the M56 motorway, the Chester–Manchester railway line, and the main branch of the West
Coast Main Line. The town has a system of "expressways", roads designed to divert traffic away from the residential areas, which form a figure of 8
around the town. The Central Expressway runs through the centre of the town in a north-south direction and is the main through-road. To the west
of the Central Expressway lie most of the former settlements which formed the older part of the town, namely Runcorn, Higher Runcorn, Weston,
Weston Point and Clifton (formerly Rocksavage), and the new town areas of Halton Brook and Halton Lodge. To the east are the village of Halton,
the old settlements of Norton and Stockham, and the new town areas of Castlefields, Palacefields, Windmill Hill, Murdishaw, Brookvale, Hallwood
Park and Sandymoor.