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Widnes Pubs And Bars
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About Widnes - show infohide info
Widnes is a town in the unitary authority of Halton, in the county of Cheshire, though it was in Lancashire until 1974. Widnes has a town of approximately 60,000 The town was originally a small village, and even by 1800 was just a small collection of houses. The name Widnes comes from the Danish for 'Wide Nose', a name which refers to the land which juts into the River Mersey near to the town, creating a narrowing in the channel called Runcorn Gap. It has been sugested that the name is infact Norwegian, as there is a similar peninsula named Vidnes in in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. Some place name books suggest the Etymology is from the old English wid-naess "wide promontory"; in common with a number of place names in the area such as Speke. Runcorn gap was originally traversed by a ferry service from 1178, though this is long gone, as in 1868, a combined railway bridge and toll footbridge was opened across the gap. In 1905, a transporter bridge was opened across the Runcorn Gap, this transported cars and pedestrians across the river on a suspended cable car, which allowed ships to pass beneath it. The railway bridge became known as 'the Old Bridge', and the footpath remained open for days when the transporter bridge was closed. In 1961, a new steel arched road bridge was completed, and so the transporter bridge was closed, as was the footpath across the Old Bridge, though the railway is still in situ. The town of Widnes expanded rapidly during the 19th century thanks to the chemical industry which still dominates the town today. The 'Catalyst' museum in the town is dedicated to the industry, and can be found in the West Bank region of the town. A number of the towns are still employed at the chemical plants, though due to increased automation, the demand for labour has declined. Many inhabitants of Widnes now work in Manchester or Liverpool, or in service jobs in Widnes. There are several districts in the town, including West Bank, a trnedy area to live close to the site of the old transporter bridge; Simm's Cross, with the 'Green Oaks' shopping centre and an Asda megastore; Appleton, and Farnworth, both villages absorbed into the town of Widnes, but retaining some features of a village. Farnworth is also home of the Widnes railway station. There are more residential areas, including Hough Green, Ditton, Halebank and Cronton Widnes is served by rail, though its main station, Widnes Central, was shut by Dr Beeching in the 1960's. The site is now covered by the Ashley Way expresway. Widnes station is now in the district of Farnham; the station sees services every 30 minutes between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Oxford Road, operated by Northern Rail, and hourly between Liverpool Lime Street and Norwich, operated by Central Trains. Hough Green station, in the district of the same name, is called at by the Liverpool-Manchester services. Nearby towns to Widnes include Runcorn, Liverpool, Birkenhead, Warrington, Huyon, Lymm, Prescot, St Helens, Bootle, Crosby, Wallasey, Ellesmere Port, Chester, Northwich and Garston.
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