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Ellesmere Port

Ellesmere Port

Overview
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health...

 and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire ; also known, archaically, as the County of Chester) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The traditional county town is the city of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, Runcorn, Macclesfield,...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated in the south of the Wirral Peninsula
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded to the west by the River Dee, which forms the boundary with Wales, and to the east by the River Mersey. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the merits of each form are the subject of local...

 on the estuary of the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....

, and to the north of the city of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

. The town had a population of 64,100 as of the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, commonly known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census....

.

The town is primarily industrial, being dominated by a Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc, commonly known simply as Shell, is a multinational petroleum company of Dutch and British origins. One of the six "supermajors" , Shell was listed as the world's largest corporation for 2009 by Fortune...

 oil refinery at Stanlow
Stanlow Refinery
Stanlow Refinery is part of Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England.-History:The refinery occupies nearly near the River Mersey and dates back to 1924, when a small bitumen plant was established....

 and a former ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries is a British chemical subsidiary of a Dutch conglomerate and one of the largest chemical producers in the world. It is based in Slough, UK. It produces paints and speciality products...

 chemical works.
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Encyclopedia
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health...

 and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire ; also known, archaically, as the County of Chester) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The traditional county town is the city of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, Runcorn, Macclesfield,...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated in the south of the Wirral Peninsula
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded to the west by the River Dee, which forms the boundary with Wales, and to the east by the River Mersey. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the merits of each form are the subject of local...

 on the estuary of the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....

, and to the north of the city of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

. The town had a population of 64,100 as of the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, commonly known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census....

.

The town is primarily industrial, being dominated by a Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc, commonly known simply as Shell, is a multinational petroleum company of Dutch and British origins. One of the six "supermajors" , Shell was listed as the world's largest corporation for 2009 by Fortune...

 oil refinery at Stanlow
Stanlow Refinery
Stanlow Refinery is part of Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England.-History:The refinery occupies nearly near the River Mersey and dates back to 1924, when a small bitumen plant was established....

 and a former ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries is a British chemical subsidiary of a Dutch conglomerate and one of the largest chemical producers in the world. It is based in Slough, UK. It produces paints and speciality products...

 chemical works. The town is also home to the Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automobile company owned by Magna International and General Motors. Most current Vauxhall models are right-hand drive derivatives of Magna's Opel brand; however, production of left hand vehicles also takes place for export to other parts of Europe and certain marginal...

 car factory, noted for producing the Astra range of cars in the United Kingdom. There are a number of tourist attractions: the National Waterways Museum
National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port
The Ellesmere Port site of the National Waterways Museum is situated at the northern extremity of the Shropshire Union Canal where it enters the Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England...

, the Blue Planet Aquarium and the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet which is owned by McArthurGlen Group.

History


The town of Ellesmere Port was founded as an outlet to the sea from Ellesmere
Ellesmere, Shropshire
Ellesmere is a small market town near Oswestry in north Shropshire, England, notable for its proximity to a number of prominent lakes, the Meres.-History:...

, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire , alternatively known as Salop or abbreviated, in print only, Shrops, is a county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Wales to the west. Shropshire is one of England's most rural and sparsely populated counties with a population density of 91/km²...

 and the Welsh border area around Llangollen
Llangollen
Llangollen is a small town in Denbighshire, north-east Wales, situated on the River Dee and on the edge of the Berwyn mountains.- History :...

 via a canal
Canal
Canals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canal: aqueduct canals are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterway canals are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans.The word...

 initially called the Ellesmere Canal
Ellesmere Canal
The Ellesmere Canal was a canal in England and Wales, originally planned to link the Rivers Mersey, Dee, and Severn, by running from Netherpool to Shrewsbury. The canal that was eventually constructed was very different from what was originally envisioned...

. The canal was designed and engineered by William Jessop
William Jessop
William Jessop was a noted English civil engineer, particularly famed for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-Early life:...

 and Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...

 as part of a project to connect the rivers Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at . It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales. It then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, with the county towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester, and Gloucester...

, Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....

 and Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between them....

. The canal connected to the Mersey in the village of Netherpool, and the basin was known as Whitby Locks. The section between Whitby Locks and Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

 was opened in 1795, connecting two of the rivers; but the connection to the Severn was never completed.

The village of Netherpool gradually changed its name to the 'Port of Ellesmere', and by the early 19th century, to Ellesmere Port. Settlements had existed in the area since the writing of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
The Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror...

(the suburbs of Great Sutton
Great Sutton
Great Sutton is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England...

, Little Sutton
Little Sutton
Little Sutton is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England, located between Childer Thornton and Great Sutton. It is a suburb of the town of Ellesmere Port and part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester....

 and Hooton
Hooton, Cheshire
Hooton is a village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England in the south of the Wirral Peninsula near Ellesmere Port.- History :...

 are all mentioned). Many of the village names are derived from Old Norse, in common with much of the rest of the Wirral Peninsula, which had been an extensive Viking
Viking
A Viking is one of the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century. These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far...

 settlement. The first houses in Ellesmere Port itself, however, grew up around the docks and the first main street was Dock Street, which now houses the National Waterways Museum. Station Road, which connected the docks with the village of Whitby, also gradually developed and as more shops were needed, some of the houses became retail premises. As the expanding industrial areas growing up around the canal and its docks attracted more workers to the area, the town itself continued to expand.
By the mid-20th century, thanks to the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a long river navigation in North West England. Designed to give the city of Manchester direct access to the sea, it was built between 1887 and 1894 at a cost of about £15 million , and in its day was the largest navigation canal in the world.The canal generally...

 in 1894 and the Stanlow Oil Refinery in the 1920s, the town had expanded so that it now incorporated the villages of Great and Little Sutton, Hooton, Whitby, Overpool and Rivacre as suburbs. The town centre itself had moved from the Station Road/Dock Street area (now part of the Westminster housing estate) to an area that had once been home to a stud farm
Stud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry, is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding" Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the...

 (indeed, Ellesmere Port and Neston
Ellesmere Port and Neston
Ellesmere Port and Neston was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It covered the southern part of the Wirral Peninsula, namely that part which is not included in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral....

 Borough Council officially refer to the town centre as 'Stud Farm' for housing allocation purposes) around the crossroads of Sutton Way/Stanney Lane and Whitby Road. Demand for housing was further increased with the opening of the Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automobile company owned by Magna International and General Motors. Most current Vauxhall models are right-hand drive derivatives of Magna's Opel brand; however, production of left hand vehicles also takes place for export to other parts of Europe and certain marginal...

 car plant in 1962. Between the 1950s and 1980s, a number of new housing estates were developed, many of them on the sites of former farms such as Hope Farm and Grange Farm. Most of these estates consisted of both council housing and privately-owned homes and flats. In the mid-1980s, the Port Arcades, a covered shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre or shopping center is a building or multiple buildings consisting of a complex of shops representing leading merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a convenient parking area – a modern,...

 was built in the town centre, which complemented the erection of Lewis's
Lewis's
Lewis's is a large department store in Liverpool city centre. Lewis's Ltd was a department store group operating in the United Kingdom from 1856 to the 1990s. Only the original Liverpool store continues to trade under the Lewis's name and is owned and operated by Vergo Retail Ltd...

 store which was bought out by Asda
Asda
Asda is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, toys and general merchandise. They also have a mobile network, called Asda Mobile....

 prior to the completion of the Port Arcades. By the 1990s, it was the retail sector rather than the industrial that was attracting workers and their families to the town. This was boosted with the building of the Cheshire Oaks outlet village and the Coliseum shopping park, which also included a multiplex
Multiplex (movie theater)
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with more than three screens. The largest of these complexes are sometimes referred to as a megaplex. Definitions of what constitutes a multiplex vs a megaplex is related to the number of screens. Often the comparison is arbitrary...

 cinema; prior to this, following the demolition of the King's Cinema in Little Sutton, the town's only cinema had been a single screen in the EPIC Leisure Centre.

The town continues to grow and expand, and more housing estates and shops are being built. The industrial sector is still a major employer in the town although in recent years, a number of factories have been closed and jobs lost.

The Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port is now Vauxhall's only car factory in Britain since the closure of the Luton plant in 2004, and currently produces the Astra
Vauxhall Astra
Astra is a model name which has been used by Vauxhall, the British subsidiary of General Motors , on their small family car ranges since 1979. Astras are technically essentially identical with similar vehicles offered by GM's German subsidiary Opel in most other European countries...

 and Vectra models for the British market. Doubts over the plant's future were ended in 2007 when General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company, often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker as ranked by 2008 revenues on the Fortune Global 500. Ranked by global unit sales for 2008, it...

 confirmed that the next generation Astra will be built at the plant when it is launched in 2010. The Vectra's replacement is also expected to be built at the plant from 2008.

Governance


Ellesmere Port was nearly included into the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, North West England, which occupies the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula....

, in Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, Merseyside came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan...

, when that was formed on 1 April 1974. It was removed from the proposals before the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

 had its first reading, and instead remained in Cheshire as part of the borough of Ellesmere Port and Neston
Ellesmere Port and Neston
Ellesmere Port and Neston was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It covered the southern part of the Wirral Peninsula, namely that part which is not included in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral....

. The two towns, and the other villages that comprised the borough, are places on the Wirral Peninsula
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded to the west by the River Dee, which forms the boundary with Wales, and to the east by the River Mersey. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the merits of each form are the subject of local...

 that are not part of Merseyside.

Ellesmere Port is part of the Ellesmere Port and Neston
Ellesmere Port and Neston (UK Parliament constituency)
Ellesmere Port and Neston is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

 parliament constituency. The current MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...

 is Andrew Miller
Andrew Miller (politician)
Andrew Peter Miller is a politician in the United Kingdom, and is Labour Member of Parliament for Ellesmere Port and Neston...

 (Labour).

In 2007, plans were announced which proposed combining the borough of Ellesmere Port and Neston with the Chester
Chester (district)
Chester was a non-metropolitan local government district of Cheshire, England, with the status of a city and a borough.Apart from Chester itself, which was the principal settlement, the district covered a large rural area...

 and Vale Royal
Vale Royal
Vale Royal was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It contained the towns of Northwich, Winsford and Frodsham.-Creation:...

 districts to form a new "West Cheshire" unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...

. On 25 July 2007, following a consultation period, the name of the new unitary authority was officially announced to be City of Chester and West Cheshire. This was the subsequently renamed Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health...

 and the Conservatives won control of this council in elections in May 2008, including winning a majority of seats in the Ellesmere Port area for the first time. The new unitary authority came into being on 1 April 2009.

Geography


Suburban localities of Ellesmere Port include:
  • Whitby
  • Great Sutton
    Great Sutton
    Great Sutton is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England...

    , including Hope Farm and Grange.
  • Little Sutton
  • Westminster
  • Rivacre
    Rivacre
    Rivacre is an area of Ellesmere Port in the North West of England. The Rivacre is so named because of the Rivacre brook which runs through the area and it is known locally as Rivacre Valley because of the beautiful valley through which the stream runs....

  • Overpool
    Overpool
    Overpool is a village on the Wirral Peninsula in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is a suburb of Ellesmere Port, and part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester.-History:...

  • Hooton
    Hooton, Cheshire
    Hooton is a village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England in the south of the Wirral Peninsula near Ellesmere Port.- History :...

  • Great Stanney (locally called Stanney Grange) including Cheshire Oaks and Wolverham.
  • Little Stanney
    Little Stanney
    Little Stanney is a village and civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is an outersuburb of the town of Chester.-History:...


Transport


Ellesmere Port is located near the interchange of the M56
M56 motorway
The M56 is a motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England. It runs from Junction 4 of the M60 to Dunkirk, Cheshire and is 35 miles in length...

 and the M53
M53 motorway
The M53 is a 20 mile motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It can also be referred to as the Mid Wirral Motorway...

 motorways. The A41 road
A41 road
The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although as stated below it has now largely been superseded by motorways...

 between Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

 and Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

, also passes through the area. There is a bus station in the town centre with frequent services to Liverpool, Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In mid-2004 its population was estimated to be 61,252. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...

, Elton
Elton, Cheshire
Elton is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated approximately 13 km to the northeast of Chester, between Helsby and Ellesmere Port, near to the River Mersey...

, Ince
Ince
Ince is a village and the only civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated immediately to the east of the Stanlow Oil Refinery. It shares Ince and Elton railway station with the village of Elton, which it runs into...

, Chester and Neston. There are some services to Mold, North Wales. Occasional National Express coaches serve the bus station. Most services are operated by Arriva North West & Wales, First Chester & The Wirral
First Chester & The Wirral
First Chester & The Wirral is a division of bus operator First Potteries Ltd., running local bus services in and around Chester and the Wirral, north west England. The company is a subsidiary of FirstGroup plc, the largest bus operator in Britain....

 or GHA Coaches
GHA Coaches
GHA Coaches is a bus and coach operator serving North East Wales and surrounding areas in the United Kingdom. Their current total of bus operations has increased dramatically in recent years after purchases of other local bus operators such as Bryn Melyn, Hanmers Coaches, M & H Coaches Vale Travel...

.

Ellesmere Port railway station
Ellesmere Port railway station
Ellesmere Port railway station is located in the town of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. It is one of the termini of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network, and is also served by Northern Rail trains to Helsby and Warrington Bank Quay....

 has frequent electric trains to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 via the Wirral Line
Wirral Line
The Wirral Line is one of the two commuter lines operated by Merseyrail on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line . It connects Liverpool with the Wirral Peninsula, with branches to New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port...

 of the Merseyrail
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is the name given to the electric commuter rail network, centred on Liverpool in the metropolitan county of Merseyside in England. The system has 67 stations spread across 75 miles of track, and runs underground and overground, carrying over 100,000 passengers each day...

 network. There is also an infrequent service to Helsby
Helsby
Helsby is a large village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. At the 2001 Census, Helsby had a population of 4,701-Geography:...

, with the route passing through Stanlow
Stanlow Refinery
Stanlow Refinery is part of Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England.-History:The refinery occupies nearly near the River Mersey and dates back to 1924, when a small bitumen plant was established....

 and Elton.

The Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a long river navigation in North West England. Designed to give the city of Manchester direct access to the sea, it was built between 1887 and 1894 at a cost of about £15 million , and in its day was the largest navigation canal in the world.The canal generally...

 joins the Mersey estuary north-west of Ellesmere Port at Eastham
Eastham, Merseyside
Eastham is a small town and an electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bromborough and north of Ellesmere Port...

, but the town is also the northern terminus of the Shropshire Union Canal
Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the SU system and lie partially in Wales....

 (which used to exchange goods with sea-going boats at what is now the National Waterways Museum).

Sports


Speedway racing operated at the stadium in Thornton Road in the mid to late 1970s and in the 1980s. Ellesmere Port Gunners raced in the lower tier Leagues. Vauxhall Motors F.C.
Vauxhall Motors F.C.
Vauxhall Motors Football Club is an English football club based in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, who play in the Conference North. It was originally the works team of the car manufacturer Vauxhall...

 are the local football team.

Notable residents



The following people are natives of Ellesmere Port, or have lived there for a period of time.
  • Comedian Russ Abbott grew up in the town's Wolverham district.
  • Lillian Beckwith
    Lillian Beckwith
    Lillian Comber, author was born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England, and wrote under the name Lillian Beckwith. Her most notable works are a series of semi-autobiographical books that chronicle her years living in Elgol, Isle of Skye, and later on the nearby and smaller Isle of Soay...

    , author, grew up in Ellesmere Port the daughter of a grocer as chronicled in her book About My Father's Business.

  • Horror author Ramsey Campbell
    Ramsey Campbell
    John Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction author.Since he first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, critics have cited Campbell as one of the leading writers in his field: T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today", while S. T...

     has used the local library in the town when working on his novels.
  • Sam Chedgzoy
    Sam Chedgzoy
    Sam Chedgzoy was an English football player who changed the laws of the game. He played professionally for Everton F.C., the New Bedford Whalers and Montreal Carsteel. He also earned eight caps with the English national team.-Everton:Chedgzoy began his professional career with Everton F.C...

    , footballer who played for Everton
    Everton F.C.
    Everton Football Club are an English professional football club from the city of Liverpool. Having competed in the top division for a record 107 seasons, they have played more top-flight league games than any other English team and have won the League Championship 9 times — the fourth highest...

     between 1910-1926.
  • Stan Cullis
    Stan Cullis
    Stan Cullis was a professional footballer and manager, most notably for Wolverhampton Wanderers.-Playing career:...

    , former Wolverhampton Wanderers
    Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
    Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is a professional football club representing the city of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands region of England, and currently playing in the Premier League. Commonly referred to by their nickname Wolves, the club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 have played...

     player and manager was born in Ellesmere Port on 25 October 1916. Like his friend Joe Mercer he played football for Cambridge Road School and Ellesmere Port Boys.
  • Anastasia Dobromyslova
    Anastasia Dobromyslova
    Anastasia Dobromyslova-Martin is a professional darts player. She is a former winner of the Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation, winning it in 2008. She, however, decided to join the PDC to play in the their World Championship in 2009, and never defended...

    , 2008 Ladies World Darts Champion currently resides in Ellesmere Port with her husband Tony Martin
    Tony Martin (darts player)
    Tony Martin is a darts player with the British Darts Organisation .Martin started his darts career playing in British Darts Organisation tournaments and was a runner-up in the British Classic to Mervyn King in 2002...

    .
  • Dave Hickson
    Dave Hickson
    David "Dave" Hickson is an ex-football player, who played for Everton, Aston Villa, Huddersfield Town, Liverpool and Tranmere Rovers....

    , footballer who played for Everton, Liverpool
    Liverpool F.C.
    Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club plays in the Premier League, and has won more trophies than any other English club...

     and Tranmere Rovers
    Tranmere Rovers F.C.
    Tranmere Rovers Football Club is an English football club located in the Prenton area of Birkenhead. The nicknames of the club are The Rovers or Super Whites....

    . Born in Ellesmere Port in 1929. He worked for Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council before returning to Everton, where he works as an ambassador for the club.
  • Beverley Hughes
    Beverley Hughes
    Beverley June Hughes is a British politician, and member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston . She is a member of the governing Labour Party and a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom since 2004...

    , Labour MP and former government minister, born and educated in the town and still has family connections locally.
  • Lee Latchford Evans from pop group Steps grew up here.
  • Joe Mercer
    Joe Mercer
    Joseph 'Joe' Mercer, OBE was an English football player and manager.-Playing career:Mercer was born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, the son of a former Nottingham Forest and Tranmere Rovers footballer, also named Joe. Joe Mercer senior died, following health problems resulting from a gas attack...

    , England football international and manager was born in Ellesmere Port on 9 August 1914. He played football for Cambridge Road School and was selected to play for Ellesmere Port Boys against Chester Boys in January 1929. Mercer led Manchester City to the 1968 First Division championship, and went on to win the FA Cup (1969), League Cup (1970) and European Cup Winners' Cup (1970).
  • John Prescott
    John Prescott
    John Leslie Prescott is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Hull East since 1970; from 1997 to 2007, he was the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, also serving as First Secretary of State from 2001...

    , The Ex-Deputy Prime Minister attended the Grange Secondary Modern School in 1948.
  • Ian Prowse
    Ian Prowse
    Ian Prowse is a singer/songwriter from Merseyside who has formed two well known bands.Pele were formed on Merseyside in 1990 with keyboard player Andrew Roberts. Pele released 3 albums on Polydor/M&G Records...

    , singer songwriter who has worked with Elvis Costello
    Elvis Costello
    Elvis Costello is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres...

    , Christy Moore
    Christy Moore
    Christopher Andrew 'Christy' Moore is a popular Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is well known as one of the founding members of Planxty. His first album, Paddy on the Road was recorded with Dominic Behan in 1969...

     and was a favourite of John Peel
    John Peel
    John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004. He was known for his eclectic taste in music and...

    .

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