Halton is a county in the North West of England and borders on Cheshire and Merseyside with a population of over 119,000. The main towns in Halton are Widnes and Runcorn and the River Mersey runs through the North of the county.

Runcorn is the largest town in Halton with over 63,000 inhabitants on the South bank of the Mersey River 8 miles from Warrington. Runcorn was a small village until the Industrial Revolution made its coastal position sought after for trading and shipping goods. The ruins of Halton Castle are open for tourists during certain times of the year.

Widnes has over 53,000 inhabitants and is positioned on the North bank of the Mersey River. The town was inhabited during Saxon times and settlements were made there by the Romans and the Vikings who gave it the name, from the old Norse ‘Wid’ and ‘Noese’ meaning ‘wide’ ‘nose’..

The chemical industry is a major employer in Halton with ICI (now Ineos) producing Chlorine and salt in Runcorn and factories in Widness including John Hutchinson, John McClelland, William Gossage, Frederic Muspratt, Holbrook Gaskell and Henry Deacon. The local railway and canals allowed raw materials to be supplied easily to be transported elsewhere. During the Industrial Revolution the area also produced iron and copper. Halton suffered major pollution problems due to the chemicals pumped into the waterways and into the air.

Famous people from Halton are: author Lewis Carroll, captain of the Titanic Edward John Smith, designer of the Lancaster bomber Roy Chadwick and Nobel Prize winner for Physics Charles Glover Barkla.