By the 1950s the town had 45 major chemical factories. [5], There is little evidence of any early human occupation of the area although a flint arrowhead was discovered at Pex Hill, suggesting there was some human presence in the Stone Age. At 11.5 per 1,000 population, the live birth rate in Halton and Warrington, is the highest in the county. It was a venue for music and live performance but closed in 2004. On 1 April 2014 Halton became part of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, joining the local authorities of Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, Knowsley and St Helens, the five metropolitan district councils which constitute the county of Merseyside. It is a Beacon facility and has many links with schools, the local authority and the LTA to promote and develop tennis in the area. Sir John Tomlinson Brunner, 1st Baronet PC DL (1842–1919) was also a British chemical industrialist at Hutchinson's alkali works in Widnes where he rose to the position of general manager. Gordon Rintoul (born 1955) CBE FRSE was Director of the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes between 1987 and 1998. The type of housing has also changed with an increase from 15.5% to 19.2% in detached houses from 1991 to 2001, an increase over the same years in semi-detached houses from 30.0% to 33.0% and a corresponding decrease in terraced houses from 44.0% to 37.5%. [68] There is a Baptist[74] church in Deacon Road and Evangelical Christian churches at the Foundry[75] in Lugsdale Road and in Ditton. [10] The current St. Luke's, a Norman church, was built in Farnworth. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries -- England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so unsurprisingly, this area has one of the largest populations in the world. The Silver Jubilee Bridge is a Grade II listed structure with Historic England. "[88] Warrington Chester Crewe Ellesmere Port Runcorn Widnes Macclesfield Winsford Wilmslow Northwich Notable places in Cheshire District centres in yellow. [45] The average number of days in the year when snow is on the ground is 0 to 6, which is low for the United Kingdom. Neil Mathieson (1823-1906) was a Scottish chemist, he set up his own business, Matheison and Company in 1870 with Frederick Herbert Gossage, son of William Gossage. Other businesses included in the development are Wilko, Costa Coffee, Halfords, Gala Bingo and KFC. Jack Ashley (1922–2012) was born in Widnes and was a local councillor there. Since the borough of Halton became a unitary authority in 1998, which resulted in its having one level of local government, demographic statistics have been collated for the authority as a whole, rather than separately for the towns of Runcorn and Widnes. [19] The town became heavily polluted with smoke and the by-products of the chemical processes. [54] In the Simms Cross area a large Asda superstore opened in 2004, replacing its old store in nearby Ditton. [80] The Widnes Vikings are in the Betfred Championship. [31] In the 1920s, and 1930s there was further diversification of the chemical industry and the products it manufactured. [65], The 2001 census showed that of the people living in the borough of Halton, 83.8% declared themselves to be Christian, 8.7% stated that they had "no religion" and for 7.0% their religion was not stated. [76] Cup kings of the 1970s, and 1980s, they were World Club Champions in 1989, after defeating Australian side Canberra Raiders at Old Trafford. Widnes and Hough Green railway stations are on the Liverpool to Manchester line. [69] There are eight churches in Widnes, namely St Bede's in Appleton, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Mayfield Avenue, St John Fisher in Moorfield Road, St Marie's in Lugsdale Road, St Michael's in St Michael's Road, St Pius X in Sefton Avenue and St Raphael's in Liverpool Road. During the late 19th century a number of prominent chemists and industrialists lived in Widnes. Since then the academy has trained MMA fighters including current UFC Middleweight champion Michael Bisping and former Light-Heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson.[83]. [39] The local authority is the borough of Halton and the town is divided into nine electoral wards. The Catalyst Science Discovery Centre is the United Kingdom's only museum dedicated solely to the Chemical Industry and is inside Hutchinson's former administrative building. [55] A new shopping development, known as Widnes Shopping Park, opened on 18 March 2010, the flagship store being a Marks and Spencer shop. At Highfield Road there is a private golf club.