Six of the best things people love about Warrington

LOCAL journalist Helen Bennicke takes a look at six of the best things people love about Warrington from the town’s Golden Gates to the Statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the old Academy.

The Pink Eye Island

It’s distinctive, painted the colour of hospital corridor walls and on first glance can appear to be a little ugly. What it lacks in traditional artistic value, the mural makes up for in terms of a distinctive landmark.
Ask any Warringtonian for directions and if they’re heading into the town centre or Sankey near the A57, you can guarantee the Pink Island will feature in the mix. And if you are local, you will know exactly where they mean.
More than a quarter of a century after the giant eye, with a heavy eyelid and one single tear plopping down appeared on the former mill building, it does beg the question: ‘Why?’ The once pale pink has faded somewhat recently.
The mystery of why someone first started daubing the mysterious eye and why it stayed has intrigued many. Banksy isn’t exactly shaking in his boots over its artistic merit, but it has a value that makes its staying power more tangible than mere graffiti.
Artist Anthony Turk, who lived in Westbrook, spontaneously began painting it one Warrington Walking Day in 1999. In previous interviews, he explained he’d been motivated to paint an aquatic mural, but it morphed into a pink eye.
And for me, it summarises Warrington. Bold, brave and unique.

The Golden Gates in front of the Town Hall
I was walking through the town centre on a rare sunny day in August this year and the Golden Gates in front of the Grade I Listed Warrington Town Hall looked at their finest. The sunlight was bouncing off its golden structure and the sky was cloudless and blue. People stopped to have their pictures taken by the gates.
Years back, someone was caught scraping the gold off the gates, thinking mistakenly that they had a financial value which could earn them some illicit cash. They were wrong.
But how did the gates get to Warrington? They were made for the Great Exhibition 162 years ago and they were supposed to go to Norfolk for the then Queen, Victoria, at the estate in Sandringham.
The gates never made it as they were sited at the exhibition in front of the statue of Oliver Cromwell – who notoriously wanted to overthrow the monarchy hundreds of years ago. So, they were rejected by the royal courtiers and stayed in Warrington.
They were unveiled on Warrington Walking Day in 1895 when a golden key ceremoniously unlocked the gates. The gilded gates have mesmerised visitors to the town – and many residents – ever since.

St Elphin’s Church spire

Visible for miles around, the church spire at Grade II-listed St Elphin’s in Howley is an instantly recognisable Warrington landmark. The spire – which is England’s eighth largest – is visible from high up in Hill Cliffe and it looms on the horizon as you approach the town centre from the A57 or via Howley.
The traditional historic black and white Ring O’Bells pub next to the church adds to its charm with the cobbled courtyard in front – the perfect backdrop for weddings and christenings.
It may appear to be older than it is, but St Elphin’s spire was only constructed in 1867, by architects Frederick Francis and Horace Francis. The spire rises 86 metres above ground level.
Churchgoers were saddened earlier this year, when the current vicar, the Rev Jane Steventon, died peacefully in July.

Statue of Oliver Cromwell

In front of the old Academy building at the end of Bridge Street, the statue was once a target for Warrington rugby fans who would put a matchday pie in his hand as they passed. Now thousands of motorists pass it every day at Bridge Foot as they wait for the traffic lights to change, watched over by an effigy of a man who wanted to overthrow the monarchy.
Like the Golden Gates, it was sculpted in 1862 for the Great Exhibition. It is one of only four statues in England commemorating Cromwell. Made out of iron, Cromwell is standing on a plinth with a sword and Bible.
Councillor Frederick Monks presented it to Warrington in 1899 which marked the 300th anniversary of Cromwell’s birth.
At the time there was opposition to the statue from the local Irish community in the town.
At the other side of the town centre is Cromwell’s cottage on Church Street, which has been the Cottage curry house for many years. A plaque outside the black framed building marks Cromwell’s stay there in August 1648.
He had joined the Parliamentary Army six years earlier during the first civil war.
The juxtaposition of the statue of Cromwell behind the Golden Gates at the International Exhibition meant both works ended up in Warrington. The statue is brassy in appearance and is a reminder of Cromwell’s links with the town – almost 400 years on.

Cantilever Bridge at sunset

There are some great places high above the town to glimpse a view of the setting sun on a summer’s day. Hill Cliffe is one such place. And so is the Cantilever Bridge.
It offers splendid views of the Manchester Ship Canal and the greenery sounding the Cheshire countryside, along with the swing bridges of Stockton Heath and Walton in the distance in one direction.
In the other direction, Latchford locks and the swing bridge are in the far distance. You can watch the tallest ships passing beneath you without being disturbed by the swing bridges going off. Popular with walkers, runners and cyclists as a stop off point, it helps motorists avoid the traffic chaos as it is always open.
Warrington certainly doesn’t lack bridges. Its rusting swing bridges are a cause for much controversy as Manchester Ship Canal owners Peel Holdings promise to maintain them.
Some residents claim they are an eyesore. But high above the rusting swing bridges, the Cantilever Bridge offers splendid views of Warrington from a different angle.
When the sun does set on a cloudless summer evening turning the sky a rich pink and orange, it’s worth watching it from the Cantilever.

IKEA

When it first opened its doors, just off the M62 in 1987, it was the first Swedish modular furniture of its kind in the whole country.
The company had only been founded in 1953 as a mail order catalogue business and was in its infancy when Warrington was chosen as the UK’s first location with a huge blue and yellow monolith of a superstore.
In the early years, you could hear Birmingham and Yorkshire accents as people had travelled far and wide to get their hands on budget and trendy furniture.
So popular was the concept, that when the first staff members arrived early in the morning on the opening day in October 1987, the car park was already teeming with customers eager to get inside.
Some had even camped outside as they were lured by the chance to be one of the first 50 customers to have a sofa for £25. Thousands of people visited the store on the first day and it has remained popular ever since.
The company has stores dotted around the UK from Edinburgh to London and Milton Keynes in between, but the pioneer of the minimalist interior was here in Warrington.