Latchford is a suburb and electoral ward of Warrington, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is around one mile south-east of Warrington town centre and has a total resident population of 7,856.

Latchford is a predominantly residential area, Latchford lies between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, and broadly consists of 19th-century terraced housing and some open space. The canal is crossed here by a swing bridge, a high-level road bridge and the now disused Latchford railway viaduct.

Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Læccford meaning "boggy-stream ford".

History

Latchford was originally a township and chapelry in the ancient parish of Grappenhall, in Cheshire. It was also part of Bucklow Hundred, and was close to the border with Lancashire.

In 1866 Latchford became a separate civil parish, on 30 September 1898 the parish was abolished and merged with Warrington. In 1891 the parish had a population of 6225. Between 1894 and 1974, part of Latchford was placed within the County Borough of Warrington, and the registration county of Lancashire, whilst the rest of Latchford became a civil parish named Latchford Without and was transferred to Lancashire. Old Manor Lock marks the northern end of the park.

Victoria Park has also been used for the past 2 years for a new festival called Neighbourhood Weekender, which is an extended, larger version of the Neighbourhood inner-city festival in Manchester, and has taken place on May bank holiday, in 2018 and 2019.

Black Bear Park

Black Bear Canal, now infilled and used as Black Bear Park, once ran from docks on the Manchester Ship Canal near Wilderspool Causeway (to the west of Latchford) to the Mersey at Manor Lock in Howley, providing a shortcut for shipping, avoiding a large river bend and weir.

In 1804, an eight-mile long canal was built between Latchford and Runcorn. It was named the Old Quay Canal. Once the Manchester Ship Canal was dug, in the 1890s, it was shortened to one mile, from Stockton Heath to the River Mersey, at Manor Lock. It was renamed the Black Bear Canal. The Black Bear Canal remained in use for the transport of South American hides to tanneries, until the 1960s, when it fell into disuse.

Warrington Borough Council bought the land. After a local boy drowned in the late 1960s, it was converted in 1981 into a parkland forming a line from Victoria Park and the banks of the River Mersey, through to Stockton Heath. The park also forms a part of the Trans Pennine Trail.

References

  • Latchford History Group