Outlying Areas: Hale to Cronton

	Hale High Street
Hale in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) Among the families connected with this place have been the Waltons, Hollands, Irelands, and Blackburnes: Sir John de Hibernia, ancestor of the Irelands, came over with the Conqueror, and was buried at Hale chapel in 1088. The township is beautifully situated on the northern bank of the river Mersey; it forms the most southern point of land in Lancashire, and comprises 1626 acres. The village is a delightful spot, and one of the most ancient villages in the county: it received a charter from John, of a market and a fair. The Hall, the seat of John Ireland Blackburne, Esq., who is lord of the manor, is a very ancient mansion of brick, with stone ornaments, and a great part of it is covered with ivy: the north front was built in 1674 by Sir Gilbert Ireland; the south front was rebuilt in 1809, from designs by Nash.
Hale in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) Hale is a riverside township, the southern and eastern limits being washed by the Mersey, which curves round Hale Point, the most southerly land in the county, whereon stands a lighthouse. The northern boundary is mainly formed by Rams Brook. The land is flat, interspersed with plantations and farms; rows of straight, tall Lombardy poplars being noticeable features of the open landscape. The park and grounds of Hale Hall occupy a large portion of the river frontage. The village of Hale is a straggling one, with some pretty cottages set in flowery gardens. The surrounding country is entirely agricultural. Crops of barley, wheat, and turnips are grown, on loamy and sandy soil with a mixture of clay. It is said to be one of the best wheat-growing districts in Lancashire. To the north is the hamlet of Ciss Green [what hamlet and where?], and at the western corner, on the banks of the Mersey, is [the] Dungeon, where a century ago there were considerable salt works, long since discontinued. The village is much frequented in summer by pleasure parties. [...] The highest ground is but little over 80 ft.; the lowest is in the Decoy Marsh, so called from a decoy for wild fowl formed near Hale Point. [...] A ferry from Hale to Runcorn was established at an early period. It had been discontinued for want of a boat for two years in the time of King John [...]. Formerly there was a ford in general use. John Walley of Runcorn in 1423, in attempting to ride across to Weston by it with two horses laden with fish from Formby, was drowned, though the fish-laden horses crossed safely. In 1465 the court rolls record that a certain John Jackson of the north country and some companions crossed by it with horses, cattle, and sheep, and were stopped by the bailiff until they paid the toll called 'stallage'. The ford was in constant use in the Civil War period and later, being mentioned in the deeds of the Halsall charity bequest in 1734. In the early part of the last [19th] century a fair for toys and pedlery was held on 19 November, when a large number of persons called freemen, chosen by the manor court, appointed a mayor. A wake was held on the Sunday next to 15 August. [...] he lord had a toll (4d [pence]) from every vessel casting anchor within the bounds. It was the duty of the water bailiff to collect this due or to make distraint for it. From the old court rolls it appears that money found on a drowned man brought ashore at Hale, like other things cast up by the river, went to the lord as 'dower of the sea'.
	St. Mary's Church, Hale The village of Hale dates from Saxon times. It is still an attractive and tranquil place with many old whitewashed cottages. St. Mary's church stands on the site of an earlier church dating back to 1081. The present church dates from 1754, though the tower is 14th century. It was rebuilt internally in 1981 following a fire in 1977.
	Tree Carving of John Middleton, the Childe of Hale The graveyard of St. Mary's contains the tomb of local celebrity John Middleton (1578-1623), the Childe of Hale, easily spotted by being surrounded by railings. We are informed on the tomb that he was 9 ft 3 in (2.8 m) tall. If you look up over his tomb, you will see him as in the picture, serenely and surreally gazing back, carved life-size from a tree trunk and holding a lighthouse. The local lord, Gilbert Ireland, is said to have employed him as a minder. On being awarded a knighthood, he took Middleton to London with him where he trounced King James' favourite wrestler. Evidently not being one to bear grudges, the King gave him a prize of £20 but, being a simple soul, Middleton allowed himself to be separated from his cash by his more streetwise travelling companions. His portrait, wearing his posh London gear, is in Speke Hall.
	John Middleton's Cottage, Hale This lovely old cottage is where John Middleton is thought to have lived, though you may be left wondering how he managed to get in through the door.
	The Manor House, Hale
	Church End, Hale
	Cottage, Hale
	Hale Head Lighthouse This disused lighthouse at Hale Head to the south east of Liverpool was built on the site of an earlier lighthouse dating from 1838 and was completed in 1907. It is now a private residence and the lenses are in the Merseyside Maritime Museum. The widest part of the Mersey estuary is around here. The water is deserted now, though only a 100 years ago it was busy with shipping supplying the industries up-river. There are sandstone outcrops and a small sandy beach. It is a wonderfully isolated spot for walkers, cyclists and bird watchers; also for killer whale watchers, as one was stranded near here in October 2001. The Frodsham and Helsby Hills are across the water.
	The Old Dungeon Quay, near Hale The Dungeon is a tiny bay on the bank of the Mersey near Hale, where there are the remains of a late 17th Century salt refinery. There is also a substantial sandstone quay, which probably served a ferry at one time.
	The Beehive Inn, near Hale This 300 year old inn on Halebank Road retains much of its old character.
Tarbock in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) The township [...] is flat, and the soil a strong clay, with some parts sandy. There is a redsandstone quarry; coal is abundant, and many of the inhabitants are employed in the collieries. A brewery, established about eighty years ago, is conducted by Mr. George Fleetwood.
Tarbock in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) The south-western boundary of Tarbock is formed principally by the old course of the Ditton Brook and its affluent the Netherley Brook. The northern boundary is in a great measure formed by two little brooks which divide it from Whiston, running one east and the other west, and uniting about the centre to form the Ochre Brook, which flows south and south-west through the township. Tarbock Green is near the centre of the township; Coney Green is a hamlet in the northern corner. [...] The flat country is divided into pastures and cultivated fields, where crops of potatoes, turnips, oats and wheat thrive in a loamy soil. It is not at all picturesque owing to its level nature and the absence of woods, excepting those of Halsnead Park, which fringe the township on the north. A little relief is given to the otherwise uninteresting landscape by the Ditton Brook, which is rather a pretty stream. [...] The principal industry is agriculture. There is also a brewery. In 1824 there were several collieries at the northern end of the township, but they have now been worked out. [...] A little hoard of silver and copper coins was discovered at a farm called the Old Sprink in 1838.
Ditton in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) On the south, Ditton Brook and the low-lying marshy ground along it must once have formed a definite physical boundary for the township. In the east-central portion is Ditton village, with Ditchfield [no longer extant] to the west and Hough Green to the north. The eastern and northern boundaries are formed in great measure by two small brooks, Moss Brook dividing Ditton from Widnes, and what was formerly called Halliwell Brook from Cronton. The country is flat and divided into pastures and arable fields where wheat and oats are generally grown on a clay soil. There are but few trees and scanty hedges, for the locality is too close to the manufacturing town of Widnes to escape the inevitable effects of smoke and chemical fumes.
	The Unicorn Inn, Cronton The old village of Cronton near Widnes was first recorded in Norman times as Crohinton. The Unicorn Inn on Cronton Road (A5080) dates from 1752. The village is documented as far back as Norman times and was once known for watchmaking. Conveniently situated near the pub are the old village stocks, along with the remains of St. Anne's Well, whose waters were once said to be good for rheumatism (curing it, presumably), but which was filled-in in the late 19th century.
Cronton in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) The surface is principally flat; but on the east side is Pex Hill, the residence of Thomas Brancker, Esq., from which a most extensive view is obtained, embracing the Cheshire hills and the Welsh mountains. There is an excellent redstone quarry.
Cronton in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) Cronton [...] is situated on ground undulating in the north, and gradually sloping to quite a flat surface in the south. The village is situated about the centre of the township, and is a favourite resort for cyclists and picnic parties, both from Liverpool and Widnes, on account of a public recreation ground on Pexhill. This hill, rising to only 200 ft. above sea level, is covered with heather and gorse, and on the top are the Widnes Corporation reservoirs, formed in 1868. There are but few plantations, but the most part of the country is occupied by arable fields, where good crops of turnips, wheat, oats, and barley are grown in a loamy soil. There are decidedly fine views of the surrounding country to be had from Pexhill. [...] Watchmakers' tools are made here. The remains of a cross - pedestal and part of the shaft - may be seen near the hall; the stocks remain, being in the village. Formerly there was a well close by dedicated to St. Anne, but known as the Stocks Well; it is now filled up.
	Pex Hill Quarry, near Cronton The old quarry is an interesting and atmospheric place. Sandstone had been quarried here since the 16th century, though it has been disused for over 100 years.