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| Helsby | |
|---|---|
| Village andcivil parish | |
 Helsby from Helsby Hill | |
  Helsby Location withinCheshire | |
| Population | 4,972 (2011 census) |
| OS grid reference | SJ491755 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FRODSHAM |
| Postcode district | WA6 |
| Dialling code | 01928 |
| Police | Cheshire |
| Fire | Cheshire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
| 53°16′23″N2°46′12″W / 53.273°N 2.770°W /53.273; -2.770 | |
Helsby is a village,civil parish andelectoral ward in the unitary authority ofCheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county ofCheshire, England. Overlooking theMersey estuary, it is approximately 9 miles (14 km) north east ofChester and 2.5 miles (4 km) south west ofFrodsham.
In the2001 census the civil parish of Helsby had a population of 4,701.[1] By the2011 census this had risen to 4,972.[2][3]
The village is situated on theA56 main road betweenChester andRuncorn. The neighbouring settlements areDunham-on-the-Hill,Frodsham,Elton andAlvanley. Helsby is a semi-rural village, with a fewdairy andarable farms, but is also in close proximity to a number of industrial plants around theMersey estuary including theEssarStanlow Oil Refinery, the Encirc glass bottle manufacturing plant, the Kemirafertiliser plant onInce Marshes and the Ineos Chlor chemical manufacturing site and power station atRocksavage. There are few jobs in Helsby itself. TheTesco supermarket is one of the biggest employers in Helsby. The village is popular withcommuters as a residential area, due to its links to theM56 motorway and rail networks.
On Helsby Hill, the remains of a promontory hillfort, 1.9ha in area, have been excavated. A buried soil was found under the hillfort containing fossilised pollen dating to the late Mesolithic to early Neolithic, between 7000 and 3001 BC.[4] Further evidence suggests a burning episode dating to the early Neolithic occupation or woodland clearance dating to 4000BC to 2351 BC.[5]
The bivallate hillfort is protected on the south and east by two parallel ramparts and an unusual type of inturned entrance 11 yards (10 m) wide. There were three phases of hillfort construction at Helsby. The first stone rampart was constructed in the middle to late Bronze Age (1250–1050 cal BC) and consisted of a bank with a well-dressed outer face of sandstone blocks and an irregular inner face, which was built on a slight batter; it was approximately 4 yards (3.5m) wide. A socketed bronze axe was found at Helsby in 1925.[6] This was followed by a series of colluvial deposits against the internal face of the stone rampart that formed the second phase of activity. The third and final phase was the re-building of the rampart in the post-Roman period, dating as late as 530 AD suggesting early Saxon re-occupation of the hillfort.[7]
Helsby was located on the strategically importantRoman road between Chester andWilderspool nearWarrington. The road existed between c. 79–410 AD to link the garrison of Deva to Wilderspool, which produced pottery that supplied the north west of England.[8] The Roman road passed at the foot of Helsby Hill probably following the route of Old Chester Road.[9] On the top of the hill a Roman bronze sestertius of the emperor Tiberius minted in Rome in AD22 was found and just off Vicarage Lane in 1958, an uninscribed Roman altar of red sandstone was discovered with a carved jug on one side and an axe and knife on the other.[10]
The first known settlers of Helsby were theVikings in the 10th century[citation needed]. In fact, the name 'Helsby' is likely to be derived from the Viking nameHjallr-by, meaning "the village on the edge" (placenames with thesuffix"by" often denote Viking/Danish origins, e.g. Derby, Grimsby, Whitby, etc.). However, Old Norse suggests that Hjalli means edge and Hjallr means constructed platform or scaffold.[11]
The village was recorded in theDomesday Book of 1086 under theNorman name ofHellesbe.[12] The Manor of Helsby was owned by a series ofaristocratic landowners, most recently theMarquess of Cholmondeley.
In the 13th century Helsby was deemed a demesne manor under the lordship of Dunham-on-the-Hill, by a family called Hellesby. Later it passed to Thornton and then to Frodsham. The earliest mention of the original, timber Old Hall, was in a contract for the construction of additional work in stone in the mid 15th century. The wooden part of the hall perished in a fire in the 16th century when it was leased to one of the Hatons of Helsby. The later hall probably derived its name from its proximity to the older site. It was built of brick at the end of the 18th century and was used as a farmhouse.[13]
Helsby Hill was the location of a rare public execution when William Henry Clarke was hung in chains on 21 April 1791 after being convicted of robbing the Warrington Mail.[14]
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A Methodist church was established in 1800, seventy years before theAnglican church was built in 1870. Helsby is home to two primary schools (Helsby Hillside and Hornsmill) that serve the east and west of the village respectively, with the former being in close proximity to one of the most successful secondary schools in Cheshire for the 2018/2019 academic year:Helsby High School.[15]
The village was once home to manypubs, the majority of which were adjacent to theA56 road.
A community Christmas event, Ho Ho Helsby, was held for the second time on 2 December 2017, with an estimated attendance of 2,500 people. It features artisan stalls, ice skating, reindeer, live music from local musicians and a twilight procession of floats featuring local schools, community groups and businesses. Knitted angels are hidden around the village in the run up to Christmas Day. The village also has its own craft beer, Ho Ho Helsbeer, brewed in a brewery less than two miles away. The event is organised entirely by volunteers.[16][17]
The railway came to Helsby in 1850, with the construction of the line between Chester andWarrington.Helsby railway station has won awards as one of the best kept unmanned stations in the UK. Thesignal box at Helsby Junction is still operated manually. Services are operated at approximately hourly intervals byTransport for Wales toManchester Piccadilly and in the other direction toChester andLlandudno. There is also a regular Transport For Wales service connecting Helsby from Chester toLiverpool Lime Street during the day and early evening as of 2024. The village had another railway station,Helsby and Alvanley railway station, which is closed.
There is also a minimal (parliamentary) service operated byNorthern to neighbouringInce & Elton andStanlow & Thornton with trains terminating atEllesmere Port where a connection is made with theMerseyrail electric service to Liverpool.
There are frequent bus links: X30 (Warrington to Chester), and X2 (Runcorn to Ellesmere Port). All these run Monday to Saturday only.
The factory site at the western end of the village has been for many years the main source of employment in the village. Originally built in 1884 by the Telegraph Manufacturing Company as the Britannia Telegraph Works, it manufactured telegraph and telephone cables. Early advertisements for cable hands specified that he "must be a good cricketer"! The company was taken over by theAutomatic Telephone Manufacturing Company and the telephone equipment and instrument manufacturing sections moved toLiverpool in 1892.[18] The cable works was more recently owned byBICC to make electronic cables. At peak employing 5,000 people, the number of workers declined from the Second World War. The decline continued following a series ofredundancy initiatives started in 1970, and the site eventually closed in 2002. The site was then redeveloped for retail, light industrial and residential purposes. The first completed development on the site was aTesco supermarket, which opened in September 2005. In 2005 cable manufacturing returned to Helsby when Heat Trace Limited, a British specialist cable manufacturer, took over one of the last remaining industrial buildings on the site to expand their operations, taking advantage of the existence of the electron beaming unit on the site for the irradiation of their specialist heating cables.
North west of Helsby, near the village ofInce, landownersThe Peel Group are developing a 54 hectares (130 acres)industrial site on marshland. In 2009 a public inquiry gave permission to build abiomass power station,[19] which opened in 2018[20] as part of the Protos "energy and resource hub".[21] The site also houses a timber recycling plant and designated "nature areas".[22] The construction of a facility to recover energy from non-recyclable waste began in 2020.[23]
The village sits at the foot of a woodedsandstone hill 463 feet (141 m)above sea level. Helsby Hill has steep cliffs on the northern and western sides and is a prominent landmark rising above theCheshire Plain and overlooking theMersey estuary. Much of the hill is owned and managed by theNational Trust. It is the site ofHelsby hill fort, an ancient Britishhillfort, and more recently acquired a concrete pillartrig point on its summit. The top of the hill also has a formerRoyal Observer Corps post, which was abandoned in 1992.[citation needed] Visitors who see Helsby Hill from the M56 or on the train can sometimes see a man's face within the cliff face from east, west and sometimes from the north. This is referred to as the "Old Man of Helsby".
Numerous footpaths, running from the public roads encircling the hill, give ready access for walkers. One such path, known as Hill Road, runs through a large sandstone cutting, which was the route of a railway in the Second World War. The hilltop offers views of the Welsh hills and, on exceptionally clear days,Snowdon. The landmarks ofLiverpool can clearly be seen beyond the Helsby marshes,Stanlow Oil Refinery, theKemirafertiliser plant and theManchester Ship Canal. Also on very clear days, visitors can see acrossLancashire, pastBolton, toWinter Hill with itsTV Mast. The view looking back is not as diverse, but thePeckforton Hills andBeeston Castle can be discerned.
The craggy face of the hill provides many routes for rock climbers at a range of grades from easy climbs suitable for beginners (some of which do not require ropes), to challenging climbs up to a grade 6c. The cliff is also split into two lateral sections. The main face is easily accessible from the ground. At the top is a large grassy area, followed by an easily accessible 10-foot (or thereabouts) cliff to the summit, which is excellent forbouldering. Despite its often slimy appearance, the cliff's sandstone composition means it dries out quickly after rain, and, after several accidents, several large metal spikes were placed at the top of the main cliff for top-rope climbing that offer extra safety for climbers worried about the sandstone's crumbly nature.[citation needed] Two quarries inHarmers Wood, southwest of Helsby Hill, feature over sixty climbs of varying difficulty.[24]
Sandstone was extracted from a working quarry from the early 19th century until the 1920s. Much of the stone was transported by ferry toLiverpool andBirkenhead, where several buildings, including the Customs House nearCanning Dock, were built of Helsby stone. The quarry originally had its own dedicated horse-drawn tramway link toInce Pier. After stone production ceased, it was not until the late 1980s that an alternative use was found for the site and in the intervening decades the derelict site was used as a tip by local residents. The site was acquired by the formerVale Royal Borough Council in 1988 and transformed into a woodland park, which was opened in 1990. 'Helsby Quarry Woodland Park' is now managed byCheshire West and Chester Council. It contains a range of trees includingoak,sycamore,rowan,silver birch,willow andbeech—some of which grew naturally during the site's period of dereliction, and some of which were planted specifically in preparing the woodland park.[citation needed] Thewoodland andgrassland are inhabited by many animal and bird species.[citation needed] Aside from thewildlife, the geology of the site is one of its most significant features and it is designated aRegionally Important Geological Site. The site features exposed rock walls and a tunnel, which enable sandstone formations from theTriassic period (251–199 million years ago) to be viewed.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Helsby Hill and Woodhouse Hillfort 2010
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