Culcheth

Culcheth is a village in the Borough of Warrington, England, six miles (10 km) north-east of Warrington town centre; it is the principal settlement in Culcheth and Glazebury civil parish. Culcheth is primarily residential, with a large village green at its heart where the annual Community Day is held. The old railway line is now known as Culcheth Linear Park. 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 derived from the Brittonic "cil" and "coed", 'at the edge of a wood,' 'black wood' or 'retreat in a wood'. There are a few examples of this name-formation today, such as the Welsh name for Caldicot, Monmouthshire, Wales is "Cil-y-coed", and possibly Culgaith, Cumbria. The first element in the name might also be *cǖl, meaning 'narrow'. However, another claim is that the name is of Norman origin, but all four families of French descent which settled in the area took local names, such as de Culcheth, de Kenyon, de Risley and de Holcroft. The area is known to have been established before or around the time of the Norman conquest, from its mention in the Domesday Book. Culcheth Hall was latterly owned by the Withington family until its demolition after the Second World War. The infamous Colonel Thomas Blood, who nearly succeeded in stealing the Crown Jewels, was married at Winwick, and lived for a while at Holcroft Hall (on Holcroft Lane, Culcheth). The Culcheth Laboratories were established in 1950, in the south-west of the village. Local Government in Culcheth has been administered by Lancashire County Council (1889-1974), Leigh Rural District Council (1894-1933), Culcheth Parish Council (1894-1933) and Golborne Urban District (1933-1974). Today, Culcheth is administered by Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council, as well as by Warrington Borough Council (both since 1974). On 1 April 1998, the Warrington Unitary Authority was created, of which Culcheth is a part.