When did Queen Elizabeth II visit Warrington?

The Queen died at Balmoral on September 8 last year at the age of 96, sparking 11 days of mourning.

The coronation of King Charles III was held earlier this year.

As the country marks one year since the loss of its longest-reigning monarch, we have gone back in our archives to find coverage from the four times she has visited Warrington as Queen.

May 17, 1968: Queen Elizabeth II toured Bridge Street

The street had been given a facelift and the Queen was invited to visit. It was her first official visit to Warrington, and it came on the exact same date as her most recent visit in 2012.

November 7, 1979: Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh made an official visit to Warrington

They toured the new Golden Square development as well as stopping in at the Town Hall.

August 3, 1998: Queen Elizabeth ll visited the town in 1998, going to the newly-opened Hollins Park Hospital in Winwick

During a tour of Cheshire she met nursing staff as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the NHS. The Duke of Edinburgh, meanwhile, went to the BT Call Centre in Westbrook and also Daresbury Laboratory.

May 17, 2012: The opening of the new Orford Park hub

Union flags were waved by more than a thousand people who had gathered to watch Her Majesty unveil the Olympic legacy project.

The Queen arrived at around 11.30am to a chorus of cheers, with people rushing towards the security fences to catch a glimpse as she was driven past.

Along with the Duke of Edinburgh, Her Majesty then met with council officials, MPs and excited schoolchildren outside the new £30 million community hub, where locals had congregated to provide entertainment for the Queen.

This included a series of sporting displays, dog agility sessions and music from Warrington Male Voice Choir and Cheshire Chord Company.

However, the choir’s serenade was disrupted as eager spectators clambered on speakers to catch a glimpse of the Queen.

Of particular note was some ‘old-time’ dancing performed by children from all over Warrington, who travelled in on buses from across the town to perform a series of dances.

Performers included hundreds of youngsters from St Phillip CE in Westbrook, Burtonwood Community Primary, St Stephen’s and Meadowside in Orford and many more, while crowds of spectators cheered them on.

There were also schoolchildren marking the royal visit by burying memorabilia to be dug up by future generations.

Students from primary schools in the area picked photographs, stories and predictions to bury in the time capsule as part of a project run by the then William Beamont High School.

The items were buried at Orford Park by the Duke of Edinburgh after the Queen officially unveiled the project.

Diane Lears, a Padgate resident, was given the opportunity to celebrate her 50th birthday in style – she was bestowed the honour of presenting the official posy to the monarch. Diane said: “There was an article in the Guardian asking for memories from the first time the Queen visited in 1968.

“I was telling my son how my grandmother got me out of school and got permission to take me along – he put me forward without me knowing!

“I knew nothing about my name being put forward until we were at hospital one day and my son said he had been sent an email saying I had been chosen as the town’s official posy hearer!

“When I met her she said ‘I’m pleased to meet you’ and then ‘thank you very much’ when I handed the posy over.

“I can’t believe I did it. It was surreal saying ‘I’m going to meet the Queen’.”

As the Queen returned to her Bentley and left Orford Park, residents chased the procession of cars to watch her depart.

Gordon Grundy, of Boulting Avenue, Dallam, said: “It was great for people to have that opportunity – the chance of a lifetime.”