Willaston | |
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Willaston Windmill |
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Willaston shown within Cheshire | |
Population | 4,913 (2001 Census) |
OS grid reference | SJ330777 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | NESTON |
Postcode district | CH64 |
Dialling code | 0151 |
Police | Cheshire |
Fire | Cheshire |
Ambulance | North West |
EU Parliament | North West England |
UK Parliament | |
Willaston is a large village situated on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England. It is within the part of the Wirral Peninsula that still remains within Cheshire. Centred on a village green, it is located in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester between Neston and Ellesmere Port, less than a mile south of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral boundary. It is located very closely to Eastham, Merseyside and Bromborough, Wirral and just a short distance away from Neston, Cheshire West and Chester.At the 2001 Census, the total population of Willaston and Thornton ward was 4,913.
Willaston (or Wilaveston) was the earlier name of the Wirral Hundred (Hundred of Wilaveston), the peninsula's former administrative division, and one of the Hundreds of Cheshire. The Hundredal name is often taken from the administrative area for the Hundred, suggesting Willaston was once of some importance in the post-Roman period as the meeting place of the hundred court.
Later the village became a township within the parish of Neston, the largest settlement on the Wirral until the early 19th century. Willaston included part of the hamlet of Badgers Rake, which became part of the civil parish of Ledsham in 1933. The population of Willaston was recorded at 196 in 1801, 317 in 1851, 597 in 1901 and 1,458 in 1951.
The half timbered building, the 'Red Lion' was an inn built in 1631, although possibly a significant enlargement of an earlier construction. Located opposite the village green, it remained a public house until 1928 and was eventually renovated as a private residence.