page_title: Runcorn
section_title: Topography
hierarchical_section_title: Runcorn / Geography / Topography
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial shot of the Mersey showing the two bridges at Runcorn
context_page_description: Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. To the north across the River Mersey is Widnes, with Warrington 7 miles to the northeast and Liverpool 11 miles to the northwest.
  Runcorn was founded by Ethelfleda in 915 AD as a fortification to guard against Viking invasion at a narrowing of the River Mersey. Under Norman rule, Runcorn fell under the Barony of Halton and an Augustinian abbey was established here in 1115. It remained a small, isolated settlement until the Industrial Revolution when the extension of the Bridgewater Canal to Runcorn in 1776 established it as a port which would link Liverpool with inland Manchester and Staffordshire. The docks enabled the growth of industry, initially shipwrights and sandstone quarries. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was a spa and health resort but this ended with the growth of polluting industries, especially soap and chemical works.
context_section_description: Runcorn is situated on a spur projecting into the River Mersey, which flows to the north and then to the west of the town. On the north bank of the river is another spur forming the West Bank area of Widnes; together these form Runcorn Gap, a narrowing of the River Mersey. The town is bounded to the southwest by the Weaver Navigation; to the south by the Chester–Manchester and Crewe–Liverpool railway lines; and to the east by the West Coast Main Line until the village of Moore. A series of valleys is formed by high points at Runcorn Hill (75m AOD), Halton Castle (75m AOD) and Windmill Hill (70m AOD).
  Runcorn Gap is crossed by three bridges: Runcorn Railway Bridge (which carries the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line), the Silver Jubilee Bridge and the Mersey Gateway which carries the A533. A system of dual carriageways called 'expressways' form a figure of 8 around the town. The Central Expressway runs through the centre of the town in a north–south direction and is the main through-road. It connects to the M56 motorway which cuts into the south of the town.
  To the west of the Central Expressway lies the Old Town of Runcorn, Higher Runcorn, Weston, Weston Point and Clifton (formerly Rocksavage), and the new town estates of Halton Brook and Halton Lodge. To the east are the formerly separate villages of Halton and Norton, and the new town estates of Castlefields, Palacefields, Windmill Hill, Murdishaw, Brookvale, Hallwood Park, Beechwood and Sandymoor. The density of housing is generally high, but there are open green areas, in particular heathland on Runcorn Hill and the extensive Town Park created as part of the new town. Housing is typically situated within the expressways and industry outside.
caption: Aerial view of the Runcorn Gap
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