Culcheth

Culcheth is a very large village approximately 6 miles (10km) north-east of Warrington, England. It is the principal settlement in Culcheth and Glazebury civil parish. The village has many amenities which make it a popular place to live. It is well provided with schools; Culcheth High School (which also has a sixth form) has been selected as one of the new secondary schools in Warrington which is due to open in 2010. The village also has 3 primary schools. Other amenities include a library, a village hall, sports facilities, 3 churches, 2 supermarkets, and a wide range of smaller specialist shops clustered in and around its centre. It has a burgeoning dining scene with several restaurants (Italian, Thai, Indian and upmarket English), a wine bar, 2 cafes, 4 pubs and 2 takeaways. It is primarily residential, with a large village green at its heart where the annual Community Day is held. Pleasant walks are to be found along the old railway line, now known as Culcheth Linear Park.

History

On Saxon maps showing south Lancashire the village is marked as "Calchuth" or "Celchyth." On these very early maps and deeds the name is also written as "Kilcheth," "Kylchith," and "Kilshaw." It is believed to derive from the Cumbric, 'at the edge of a wood,' 'black wood' or 'retreat in a wood.', although the less likely Anglo-Saxon alternative, 'shoe-shaped heath' has also been suggested.

Another suggestion is that the name is Norman, from one of the families who settled in the area. Four families settled in the region, including the de Culcheths, de Risleys and de Holcrofts, and each contributed part of their crest to the crest of Culcheth. The area is known to have been established before or around the time of the Norman invasion, from its mention in the Domesday Book.

Until 1974, Culcheth was in Lancashire but was moved into Cheshire by the local government reorganisation.

Transport

One of the reasons for Culcheth's popularity as a place to live is its proximity to the main road links into Warrington (A574), and the M62 into Liverpool and Manchester.

Warrington Borough Transport operate two bus services between Warrington Town Centre and Leigh via the village centre. A combined 15 minute frequency is provided by services 19 and 28/28A on Monday to Saturday daytimes, with a combined 30 minute frequency on evenings and Sundays. The two services operate via the same route to Leigh, but the route to Warrington alternates between Croft/Winwick (service 19) and Birchwood/Padgate (service 386/586)

Culcheth used to have 2 railway stations on the line between Glazebrook and Wigan, Newchurch Halt and Culcheth Station. These closed to passengers in 1964 The former trackbed has been turned into Culcheth Linear Park. The nearest operating train stations are Birchwood and Glazebrook.