Farnworth, Cheshire

Coordinates: 53°23′02″N 2°43′41″W / 53.384°N 2.728°W / 53.384; -2.728

Farnworth is part of the town of Widnes which is in the Borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was a village in south Lancashire between Prescot and Penketh. Its name is now that of an electoral ward in the Borough of Halton with a population in 2004 of 6,300.

History

The name Farnworth derives from the Anglo-Saxon word fearn or fern and weorthig, meaning farm or estate, and it therefore means "fern-farm".

The village was established on higher ground 2 miles (3 km) to the north of the River Mersey and was for many years an isolated community. The earliest documentary evidence relating to the village is a charter dated 1352 when Henry, Duke of Lancaster established a halmote court for the manor of Widnes. The origins of the village are unknown. A chapel had been founded in the village about 1180 which was dedicated to St Wilfrid. At this time the village was part of the parish of Prescot. A grammar school was established in the village in 1507 by Bishop William Smyth who had been born in the village. Bishop Smyth also founded a chapel in the church for the use of his tenants in the village of Cuerdley and a footpath across the fields from Cuerdley to Farnworth; this was to allow the tenants to go to the church without passing along the main street of Farnworth when the plague was present.

Farnworth

Coordinates: 53°32′43″N 2°24′00″W / 53.5452°N 2.3999°W / 53.5452; -2.3999

Farnworth is a town and an unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) southeast of Bolton, 5 miles south-west of Bury (7 km), and 9 miles (14.5 km) northwest of Manchester.

Historically in Lancashire, Farnworth lies on the River Irwell and the River Croal, and, according to the United Kingdom Census 2001, it has a population of 25,264 people. reducing to 15,793 at the 2011 Census.

History

Toponymy

Farnworth derives from the Old English fearn, fern and worth an enclosure. Farnworth was recorded as Farneworth and Farnewrth in 1278 and 1279 and Ffornword in a land survey of 1282.

Middle Ages

Farnworth was originally a hamlet in Barton. In the 13th century it was held by the Lords of Barton and Manchester. By 1320 Adam Lever, Richard Hulton and Richard Redford held the manor as tenants. Later the manor was acquired by the Hultons of Over Hulton. In 1666 there were 91 hearths in Farnworth liable to pay tax. The commons were enclosed in 1798. There was a watermill on the River Croal.

Farnworth (surname)

Farnworth is a surname of English origin. It is of connected origin to the surname Farnsworth, but has been dated back further than that of the latter. The oldest known record for the name, appeared in Lancashire in 1185, in modern day Farnworth, known then as Farnworth with Kearsley. The first chief for the Farnworth family clan, was a nobleman named Leinsig de Farnworth, who came from Germany and was granted land by King Henry II of England.

The word Farnworth is a combination of two words; fearn and worth, where the old-English word fearn means fern, such as bracken and worth means a settlement. The full meaning of the surname is described as settlers from a place where ferns are abundant.

At the time of the British Census of 1881, its occurrence was high in Lancashire, Cumbria, Cheshire and Northumberland. In all other British counties, its frequency was, and still is very low .

People

Farnworth (UK Parliament constituency)

Farnworth was a county constituency in Lancashire which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.

Boundaries

From 1885 to 1918 the Farnworth area had been included in the Radcliffe-cum-Farnworth constituency.

The Farnworth constituency included Farnworth, Walkden and Little Hulton.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1920s

References

External links

Cheshire

Cheshire (/ˈtʃɛʃər/ or /ˈtʃɛʃɪər/; archaically the County Palatine of Chester; abbreviated Ches.) is a county in North West England, bordering Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south and Wales to the west (bordering Wrexham and Flintshire). Cheshire's county town is Chester; the largest town is Warrington.

Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Macclesfield, Northwich, Runcorn, Widnes, Wilmslow, and Winsford. The county covers 2,343 square kilometres (905 sq mi) and has a population of around 1 million. It is mostly rural, with a number of small towns and villages supporting the agricultural and other industries which produce Cheshire cheese, salt, chemicals and silk.

History

Toponymy

Cheshire's name was originally derived from an early name for Chester, and was first recorded as Legeceasterscir in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, meaning the shire of the city of legions. Although the name first appears in 980, it is thought that the county was created by Edward the Elder around 920. In the Domesday Book, Chester was recorded as having the name Cestrescir (Chestershire), derived from the name for Chester at the time. A series of changes that occurred as English itself changed, together with some simplifications and elision, resulted in the name Cheshire, as it occurs today.

Cheshire (comics)

Cheshire is a fictional DC Comics supervillain that first appeared in New Teen Titans Annual #2 (1983).

Fictional character biography

Post-Crisis

Born (allegedly, see below) to a French father and a Vietnamese mother, Jade Nguyen had an unhappy childhood and was sold into slavery. As a young adult, after killing her master, Jade was informally adopted by Chinese freedom fighter Weng Chan, who taught her all he knew about guerrilla fighting. She acquired knowledge of poisons from Kruen Musenda, a famed African assassin known as the "Spitting Cobra", whom she was married to for the two years prior to his death.

She is a long-standing rival of the superhero team the Teen Titans. However, when Roy Harper, a.k.a. the archer Speedy, went undercover for the government in a mission to get her confidence and turn her over, the two fell passionately in love. Knowing he would not be able to turn her in, he walked out; Cheshire would not learn his true identity until later. The result of their romance was a daughter, Lian, whom Roy raised.

Cheshire (disambiguation)

Cheshire (/ˈtʃɛʃə/ CHESH-ə) is a county in England.

Cheshire may also refer to:

Places in the United States

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