In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Halton like this:
HALTON, a village, a township, and a chapelry in Runcorn parish, Cheshire. The village stands on an eminence near the Bridgewater canal, the Northwestern railway, and the river Mersey, 1½ mile SE of Runcorn, and 3 NNE of Frodsham; commands an extensive view along the Mersey; was once a market town; and has a post office under Preston Brook, a r. ...
station, and an inn with bowling green.-The township comprises 779 acres. Real property, £, 607. Pop., 1, 505. Houses, 317. An ancient barony of Halton, having its seat at the village, was, with the constableship of Chester, given by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, to his cousin Nigel; continued, for several centuries, to be held by Nigel's descendants; and passed, through John of Gaunt, to the duchy of Lancaster. A castle here, on the brow of a hill, was built about the time of the Conquest; was a favourite hunting seat of John of Gaunt; was dismantled in the civil war of Charles I.; and is now represented by inconsiderable ruins; but includes a habitable portion, rebuilt after the Restoration. The manor now belongs to Sir Richard Brooke, Bart. Stone is quarried. -The chapelry is rather larger than the township, and was constituted in 1860. Pop., 1, 541. Houses, 290. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Chester. Value, £157.* Patron, Sir R. Brooke, Bart. The church is an edifice of red stone, with a turret. There are chapels for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists, an endowed grammar school, and alms houses with £55.
Halton through time
Click here for graphs and data of how Halton has changed over two centuries. For statistics for historical units named after Halton go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Halton in Cheshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/2114
Date accessed: 19th April 2024
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