Is Warrington Cheshire or Lancashire? Calls for clarity 50 years on

Warrington itself has historically straddled the county lines between Lancashire and Cheshire, with the River Mersey acting as the county boundary.

In 1889, the town became part of Lancashire, as boroughs that were split across county lines were placed entirely in the county which had the majority of the population.

However, in 1974 Warrington was transferred to Cheshire when the local government adopted a two-tier system, splitting the responsibilities between a county council and borough council.

Despite the fact the change was initially only supposed to affect administrative counties and local government responsibilities, postal addresses, maps and road signage slowly changed.

Over the years, this has cause debate among many residents, with some saying those born pre or post 1974 ‘can consider themselves Lancastrians’.

Philip Walsh is the chairman of Real Friends of Lancashire (Image: Philip Walsh)

Friends of Real Lancashire, a group of volunteers who believe that the county lines between Cheshire and Lancashire should not have been altered as a result of the Local Government Act in 1972, is now calling on the Government to resolve ‘county confusion’.

This act saw local governments reformed in England and Wales as the two-tier system was introduced – creating county councils and district councils in many areas.

“The historic counties are an important part of our history, geography and culture,” said Peter Boyce, Chairman of the Association of British Counties.

“Their identities have been seriously undermined by the ill-conceived way in which the local government change in 1974 was handled.”

“It was a huge mistake to call local government areas ‘counties’ and to give any council an historic county name when it had an area radically different to that county.

“The geography of a thousand years was swept away and replaced by an administrative geography that only lasted 20 years before it started to fall apart.”

Friends of Real Lancashire is appealing to the Government to resolve any confusion caused by the change and establish a set of terminology and local authority names that draw a clear distinction between historic county lines and local government.

“For hundreds of years, the Mersey has always been a natural boundary for Lancashire and Cheshire and it’s a great shame that in 1974 the areas of administration confused matters,” said Philip Walsh, Chairman of Friends of Real Lancashire.

“Warrington is the gateway to Lancashire, and anyone born pre or post 1974 can consider themselves Lancastrians.”