Widnes Town Hall

Widnes ( WID-nəss) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021 census had a population of 62,400.Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn. Upstream 8 miles (13 km) to the east is Warrington, and 4 miles downstream to the west is Speke, a suburb of Liverpool. Before the Industrial Revolution, Widnes was a small settlement on marsh and moorland. In 1847, the chemist and industrialist John Hutchinson established a chemical factory at Spike Island. The town grew in population and rapidly became a major centre of the chemical industry. The demand for labour was met by large-scale immigration from Ireland, Poland, Lithuania and Wales. The town continues to be a major manufacturer of chemicals, although many of the chemical factories have closed and the economy is predominantly based upon service industries.Widnes and Hough Green railway stations are on the Liverpool–Manchester line. The main roads through the town are the A557 in a north–south direction and the A562 east–west. The disused Sankey Canal terminates at Spike Island. The Silver Jubilee Bridge crosses the River Mersey west of Warrington. In 2017, the Mersey Gateway Bridge opened to relieve congestion at the older bridge. The Catalyst Science Discovery Centre is the United Kingdom's only museum dedicated solely to the Chemical Industry and is inside Hutchinson's former administrative building. The town's sport stadium hosts Widnes Vikings rugby league club. The motto of Widnes is the Latin phrase Industria Ditat ("Industry Enriches").

Riverside College (formerly known as Halton College) is a further education college based over two sites in Widnes, Cheshire, England. It was rated "Outstanding" by Ofsted following an inspection in 2020, and received its second “Outstanding” rating from Ofsted in 2024. The college was established from the merger of Halton College and Widnes & Runcorn Sixth Form College in 2006. Today, Riverside College has two campuses in Widnes: one, the more academically focused Cronton Sixth Form College, situated on Cronton Lane in the north of the town; and the more vocationally focused Riverside Campus, situated on Kingsway nearer to the town centre. The college provides a range of courses, including GCSEs, A Levels, BTECs, T Levels, Apprenticeships and Access courses. In addition, the college offers some higher education courses, in conjunction with Pearson Education and Staffordshire University.

The Municipal Borough of Widnes was a municipal borough centred around the town of Widnes in Lancashire, England from 1892 until 1974.The district was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 when it merged with Runcorn Urban District and parts of Runcorn Rural District and Whiston Rural District to form the Borough of Halton in Cheshire.

Widnes South railway station was located in the town of Widnes in Cheshire, England on the east side of Victoria Road. It was built by the London and North Western Railway and situated on their Widnes Deviation Line, opening to passengers and goods in March 1870. This route was constructed by the LNWR to improve traffic flow on the busy Ditton Junction to Warrington Bank Quay Low Level and Manchester (the former Garston and Warrington Railway, later renamed as the St Helens Railway). It replaced an earlier station on the G&WR line located slightly further south and also had a connection to the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway, providing access towards the north. Passenger services were primarily local in nature and provided by Liverpool Lime Street to Warrington Bank Quay & Manchester Oxford Road stopping trains and the Ditton Dodger between Ditton and St Helens Central - this pattern continued after the 1923 Grouping brought the route under the control of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway and the subsequent nationalisation of the UK railway network in January 1948. The line was also heavily used by freight, with the LNWR treating it as a key artery for through east–west traffic.St Helens trains were withdrawn by the British Transport Commission in June 1951 – service levels on the route having been cut prior to World War II and never fully restored afterwards. The station was subsequently renamed as Widnes South by BR in January 1959 to differentiate it from the neighbouring Widnes Central station on the former Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway & Midland Railway Joint Widnes Loop line and "North" (now known simply as Widnes) on the Cheshire Lines Committee main line. It then closed to regular passenger traffic on 10 September 1962 with the withdrawal of services on the Ditton to Manchester via Warrington route. Special excursions run in conjunction with Widnes rugby league club home matches continued to call until 1965, whilst the goods depot remained open until 1969.By December 2015 the route through the station was still used by freight traffic, the main flow being block coal trains to and from the power station at Fiddlers Ferry. The station buildings and one platform had been demolished, though the westbound platform still remained intact, albeit overgrown. The connection towards St Helens was closed in 1982 (along with the station signal box), whilst the main line now terminates at Arpley yard, near Warrington Bank Quay station. The section east of Warrington towards Manchester and Stockport was closed in 1985. In January 2016 the last remains of the station were demolished. Contractors began work at the beginning of the month; they demolished the remains of the platforms, filled in the subway and landscaped the resulting embankment sides.

St Marie's Church is a redundant Roman Catholic church in Lugsdale Road, Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Ann Street Halt railway station served the centre of Widnes in Cheshire, England. It was located on the southern section of the former St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway.

Widnes Central railway station served the town of Widnes, England from 1879 to 1964.

The Widnes Laboratory was a research institute in northern Cheshire, run by Imperial Chemical Industries.

The DCBL Stadium (historically known as Lowerhouse Lane and Naughton Park) is a multi-purpose rugby league, football and American football stadium in Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is the home of Rugby League side Widnes Vikings of the Betfred Championship, football team Widnes Football Club of the Northern Premier League who play their home games at the stadium, and also the American football side Halton Spartans of the BAFA National Leagues, the Halton Spartans having competed in the BAFANL national American football league since 2015. The stadium is all seater and has a total capacity of 13,350. During the 2011 Super League Season, St. Helens played their home games at the stadium. From 2013 to 2018 the Stadium was home to Everton Ladies and Liverpool Ladies. Since 2013 the stadium has also been used as the venue for the Drum Corps United Kingdom "British Drum Corps Championships".

Spike Island is a park in Widnes, Halton, North-West England. It is an artificial island between the Sankey Canal and the estuary of the River Mersey containing parkland, woodland, wetlands and footpaths. It is next to the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre, an interactive science and technology museum. Spike Island was at the centre of the British chemical industry during the industrial revolution. In 1833, Widnes Dock, the world's first rail-to-ship dock, was built on the island. In 1848, John Hutchinson built the first chemical factory in Widnes on the island. The chemical industry in Widnes grew rapidly thereafter. By the 1970s no working chemical factories remained, and from 1975 onwards the island was cleaned up and turned over to public recreation. A famous concert by The Stone Roses, subsequently the subject of an eponymous film, took place on the island in May 1990.

Widnes Dock was the first rail-to-ship facility in the world. It was built in 1833 between the end of the Sankey Canal and the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway in Widnes.

St Bede's Church is in Appleton Village, Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is an active Roman Catholic parish church in the Archdiocese of Liverpool. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.