The town of Winsford is in the centre of the county on the river Weaver.
Winsford
Information
County:
Cheshire
District:
Cheshire West & Chester
Population:
34,100 (2021 estimate)
The name Winsford may derive from Wynne's Ford though this is still up for debate. Winsford consists of three ancient parishes, St Chads, Over and Wharton which were combined to form the town in 1894.
The three parishes have much older histories. In the early Norman period the Earls of Chester kept a hunting lodge in Over. Henry III later took over the land and handed it over to the order of Cistercians to built an abbey at Darnhall in 1274, however the site was found to be unsuitable for a large scale stone building and the monks relocated North to Vale Royal Abbey. Over was granted a market charter in 1280 by Edward I.
The expansion of Winsford dates to 1721 when permission to make improvements to the river Weaver were granted by Parliament. This allowed sea going vessels to reach the town and, until the building of the canals, it was the closest boats carrying clay could reach the Potteries (and take back finished goods to Liverpool and beyond). Winsford was bypassed by this trade in 1780 when the Trent & Mersey Canal opened. The salt industry was also important to Winsford from the 1830s onwards.
Winsford railway station opened in 1837, it now a stop on the West Coast Main Line. In the 20th century the salt trade declined (though Winsford is one of three places in the country where rock salt is still mined) but Winsford expanded after the Second World War with people leaving Liverpool.
