Runcorn

53.3352777778-2.72527777778Coordinates: 53° 20′ N, 2° 44′ W

Runcorn is an industrial town in the Halton Unitary Authority in England, located on the south side of the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal running alongside it, about 20 kilometers east of Liverpool. It has 61,330 inhabitants (as of 2001).

The name of the town derives from the Saxon period; the settlement was called Rumcofan. The ruler of the kingdom of Mercia, Aethelflead (872-918), built a fortress in Runcorn to protect the northern border of the kingdom from the Vikings. The first recorded mention of Runcorn refers to Aethelflead's visit in 915. Nevertheless, Runcorn is not listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, although the neighboring villages of Halton, Weston, Aston, Sutton, and Stockham are mentioned. Either Runcorn counted as part of Halton at the time or it was considered too insignificant to be included in the Domesday Book.

At the time of the Normans, Hugh d'Avranches, the Earl of Chester, divided his domain into baronies. The barony of Halton was given dominion over the other baronies. The first Baron of Runcorn, Nigel, built a motte (tower hill castle) on Halton Hill in 1071. Today, only a ruin of Halton Castle remains.

In 1115, Baron Nigel's son, William Fitznigel, founded an Augustinian priory at Runcorn. This was moved to Norton, about 6 km from Runcorn, in 1134. The barons of Halton supported the priory financially until 1200. In 1391 it was raised to the status of an abbey. In 1536 the monastery was abandoned and sold a few years later. Today, the abbey is one of Runcorn's most important sights, along with Halton Castle.

Also part of Runcorn today are the ruins of the Elizabethan country estate of Rocksavage.

During the English Civil War the castle was in the hands of the monarchists, led by Earl Rivers, the Steward of Halton. It fell into the hands of the Parliamentarians twice (1643 and 1644).

During the Second World War, Runcorn was a center of British chemical weapons production. The country's most important mustard gas factory was located here, where hundreds of tons of the warfare agent were stored. Phosgene was produced at the nearby Rocksavage works. Since there was a danger that poison gas could have escaped from damaged storage containers during German air raids, gas masks were issued to the population.

Today Runcorn consists of the old town, built during the industrial revolution, and the new town, built in the 1970s and 1980s.

Runcorn is located at Runcorn Gap, a narrows of the River Mersey that was used for crossing by the Runcorn Railway Bridge as well as the defunct Runcorn Suspension Ferry and the Silver Jubilee Bridge that replaced it. Since 2017, the Mersey Gateway Bridge has been in the path of a bypass avoiding town centers.

Near Runcorn is the village of Daresbury, where Lewis Carroll was born. In the church there is a window that shows some characters from Alice in Wonderland.