History of Birchwood

Before 1246 Risley belonged to Culcheth, a British name meaning "Backwood" or "a retreat in a wood". It was on the death of Gilbert de Culcheth in 1246 that his estate was divided between his four daughters, one daughter, Ellen, married one of the sons of Hugh De Hindley and took on the name of Risley. The couple took over that part of the Culcheth estate that was called Risley.

The Risley family lived on the estate until the beginning of the 18th century when it was sold to the Blackburne family in 1736. In May 1853 the Blackburne family sold the estate to Richard Watson Marshall who appears to have spent a lot of money on building, drainage and other improvements.

In 1872 following the death of Richard Watson, the estate was sold to H & R Ainscough, who were noted breeders of horses. It was shortly after this date that the British Moss Litter Company took over the tenancy of Risley Moss for extracting peat.

At the turn of the century Risley was a typical small farming community. The focal point of the area was the village situated approximately on the A574 near where it crosses the M62. There were 30 tenant farmers on the Risley estate, as well as a Blacksmith, a Wheelwright, a School and a Chapel.

The estate was again sold in 1907 to a Mr Thomas Jackson, who was a Corn Miller from Bolton. He didn't live on the estate, which was put up for auction in 1920 when Mr John Benson of Wigan purchased it and was the owner in 1938, just before the outbreak of World War II, when the War Ministry purchased it.

With the coming of World War II in 1939, new Royal Ordinance Filling factories (ROFs) were needed. Risley was chosen because it was a flat site and often covered by mist, which would help to hide it from enemy aeroplanes. Over 1,000,000 mines and 500,000 bombs were assembled here. The "Grand Slam", 22,000 lb bomb, which sank the German Battleship Tirpizt, was built at Risley.

The workforce was taken from a wide area. There were ex-miners from Leigh, women from many parts of the town and country. A Hostel was opened at "Newchurch Hall" for Irish women. This is now an industrial estate near Culcheth.

In 1946 the Admiralty took over the site and in 1956 the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority bought part of the site. In 1972 when the New Town was developed and the concrete bunkers were being demolished, the nearby universities' reactor created a problem; explosives could not be used.

Following the demolition of the Ordinance factory and the formation of the New Town, Birchwood Forest Park was created. The playing fields are about a metre higher than the surrounding land, because the bases of the 16 bunkers could not be demolished without using explosives, so they were covered with a layer of topsoil.

The site of the wartime ordnance factory became the launch pad for a new community bringing people from Greater Manchester, Merseyside and further a field to live in Warrington. Birchwood was created. Great care was taken by the Warrington and Runcorn Development Corporation to create "a healthy and interesting environment, which provides employment, good quality housing, shopping and community facilities; a place of character where things have been designed on a human scale".

Birchwood comprises of three villages, Locking Stumps, Oakwood and Gorse Covert, each of which has its own village square, pub, shop, primary school and community facility.

Today Birchwood is a thriving community at the intersection of two of the busiest motorways in the Country. The Birchwood Park has become one of the largest business centres in the North West and is continuing to expand.

The Birchwood Town Council, responsible for the administration of the area have just announced their plans for a major new Investment strategy for Birchwood in 2001, 2002 and 2003 to increase the level of Community Maintenance Resources, which are unique in the area, and to provide much needed additional play and recreation facilities for Locking Stumps, Oakwood and Gorse Covert.

Every quarter the Town Council publish the "Birchwood Community News" and you will soon be able to read this by downloading a copy from this web site.

The information for the history of Birchwood was extracted from "Look At Birchwood" written by the pupils of Birchwood C of E Primary School and "Risley - The Historical background" written by H.Henshaw. We are most grateful for the information provided.

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