Cronton
| Cronton | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
.JPG) Holy Family Church, Cronton |
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 Cronton
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| Cronton shown within Merseyside | |
| Population | 1,379 |
| OS grid reference | SJ495885 |
| • London | 171 mi (275 km)SE |
| Civil parish |
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| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Widnes |
| Postcode district | WA8 |
| Dialling code | 0151 |
| Police | Merseyside |
| Fire | Merseyside |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Cronton is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, in England. The village is surrounded by green belt land. Over the county border in Cheshire, Widnes town centre is 2.3 miles (3.7 km) to the south-southeast.
Historically a part of Lancashire, Cronton is an ancient village and was once a centre for the makers of watch parts and movements. There is an ancient cross, now no more than a column of stone on ruined steps. This was one of many stopping places on the way to the parish church at Farnworth. The five-holed stocks next to the war memorial in Coronation Gardens are almost unique to Cronton with few other specimens found anywhere. Many of the 19th Century residents of Cronton were farmers. There was a blacksmith in Cronton Lane (opposite what is now the Black Horse pub). Family names common in Cronton during the 19th Century census returns: Leather, Haughton, Critchley, Dwerryhouse, Atherton, Glover and Lister. The Catholic Church, Holy Family, was opened at the start of the 20th Century. There is also Holy Family Primary school. Prior to this, many Cronton Catholics were carried to St Bartholomew's Church, Rainhill for burial.
In the early twentieth century, Cronton was "a favourite resort for cyclists and picnic parties, both from Liverpool and Widnes, on account of a public recreation ground on Pexhill. This hill, rising to only 200 ft (61 m) above sea level, is covered with heather and gorse, and on the top are the Widnes Corporation reservoirs, formed in 1868". Today the Liverpool Astronomical Society has an Observatory - Leighton Observatory - at Pex Hill. It was formerly known as Pex Hill Observatory and Visitors' Centre.
The village has grown since the 1950s but in recent years has slowed with very little new housing development as it is surrounded by Green Belt. The village has two primary schools and just over the border in Widnes is Riverside College (formerly Widnes sixth-form college and then renamed Widnes and Runcorn sixth-form college with the advent of another campus being added in Runcorn), and locally referred to as "Cronton College" as the site directly borders Cronton.
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Wikipedia