Lymm is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the

Borough of Warrington (God giveth the increase) , image_skyline =Warrington from the Air - geograph.org.uk - 3153500.jpg , imagesize = 280px , image_caption = Aerial view of Warrington , image_flag = ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

, England, which incorporates the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

s of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and Statham. At the 2011 Census it had a population of 12,350.

History

The name Lymm, of Celtic origins, means a "place of running water" and is likely derived from an ancient stream that ran through the village centre. The village appears as "Limme" in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086. Lymm was an agricultural village until the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, which brought the

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was opened in 1761 from Worsl ...

and the Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway to the village. The village played a prominent role within the

cotton industry Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

, and many of its inhabitants were fustian cutters.
Lymm Heritage Centre
which opened in June 2017, is in the centre of the village on Legh Street. It hosts exhibitions related to local history as well as activities for schools and visitors. In 2017, Lymm was voted as one of the 'Best Places to Live' according to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' and ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'' list.

Governance

The village is split between the Lymm South

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

and the Lymm North and Thelwall ward of the Borough of Warrington. Lymm South has two councillors, one Liberal Democrat and one

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

following the 2021 local elections; while the Lymm North and Thelwall ward has three councillors, all Liberal Democrats as of the

2021 Warrington Borough Council election The 2021 Warrington Borough Council election took place on 6 May 2021 to elect members of Warrington Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. All 58 seats were up for election. These elections were originally ...

. There is also a 12-membe
Lymm Parish Council
Following the 2021 elections, there are 11 Liberal Democrats and 1 Conservative councillors. Lymm is twinned with

Meung-sur-Loire Meung-sur-Loire () is a commune in the Loiret department, north-central France. It was the site of the Battle of Meung-sur-Loire in 1429. Geography Meung-sur-Loire lies 15 km to the west of Orléans on the north bank of the river Loire ...

Education

Lymm is home to some outstanding schools. Lymm High School is located in the community. The school accepts students from Lymm and in the surrounding villages and hamlets. It was judged as 'Good' in its 2018 Ofsted inspection. There are four primary schools within Lymm. Three of the primary schools
Oughtrington Community Primary School
(''Ofsted Rating 'Outstanding', 2020'')
Ravenbank Community Primary School
(''Ofsted Rating 'Outstanding', 2008'') an
Statham Community Primary School
(''Ofsted Rating 'Good', 2018'') formed as an Academy
The Beam Education Trust
in May 2021. The fourth primary school i
Cherry Tree Primary School
located in the South area of Lymm and at its last Ofsted inspection was rated as 'Outstanding'. The

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Japanese School (マンチェスター日本人補習授業校 ''Manchesutā Nihonjin Hoshū Jugyō Kō''), a weekend Japanese educational programme, is held at the Language Centre at Lymm High School.

Landmarks

Lymm village centre is a designated

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

, notable for its historic buildings, both listed and unlisted. These include the French-style

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta i ...

former

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...

(currently unlisted); St Peter's Church, Oughtrington Hall and Lodge, formerly owned by a cadet branch of the

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Sta ...

family and now Lymm High School; and Lymm Hall, a former Domville family residence. Foxley Hall, home to a cadet branch of the ancient

Booth Booth may refer to: People * Booth (surname) * Booth (given name) Fictional characters * August Wayne Booth, from the television series ''Once Upon A Time'' *Cliff Booth, a supporting character of the 2019 film ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' ...

family before ownership passed to the

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

family, is no longer standing, but

fustian Fustian is a variety of heavy cloth woven from cotton, chiefly prepared for menswear. It is also used figuratively to refer to pompous, inflated or pretentious writing or speech, from at least the time of Shakespeare. This literary use is bec ...

-cutting cottages on Church Road and Arley Grove do survive. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activitie ...

of St Peter, Oughtrington, is an example of Gothic Revival architecture. St Mary's Church, Lymm, overlooking Lymm Dam, was in a state of disrepair by the mid-1800s so the Leigh family commissioned the noted Newcastle architect John Dobson to rebuild it. The 1521

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

was retained and raised, but the need for additional stonework meant the tower was rebuilt in 1887.

Lymm Cross Lymm Cross is in the village of Lymm, Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The cross dates from the early to mid-17th century and was restore ...

, usually known simply as "the Cross", is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

structure dating from the 17th century, restored in 1897. A full list of Listed Buildings within Lymm is available here.

Transport

The M56 (junctions 7 and 9) and M6 (junction 20) motorways are both within of Lymm. The conjunction of these motorways with the A50 is known as the Lymm Interchange, and hosts a service station known as the Poplar 2000 services, a well-used

truck stop A truck stop, known as a service station in the United Kingdom, and a travel center by major chains in the United States, is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made food and other services to motori ...

. The A56 also passes just south of the village, connecting the nearby towns of Warrington and

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

. The CAT5/5A buses to Lymm from Warrington and Altrincham are frequent on weekdays and Saturdays.

Waterways

The

passes through the centre of Lymm. The

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West England, North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follow ...

passes to the north, and beyond its route lies the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...

. To the east of Lymm the River Bollin flows along the village's border with Warburton and the borough of

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, ...

Railways

Lymm railway station was on Whitbarrow Road. It opened on 1 November 1853 as part of the Warrington and Altrincham Junction railway. There was a further station at Heatley, on Mill Lane, for salt and lead. The line closed to passengers on 10 September 1962; it was officially closed to all types of traffic on 7 July 1985, but lasted a few months. Then it became financially unviable, and the tracks and sleepers were rapidly lifted. Lymm today has no railway station; the closest stations are at

Glazebrook Rixton-with-Glazebrook is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies to the east of Warrington and borders Cadishead, and is largely farmland. It has a railway station at Glazebrook an ...

Birchwood Birchwood is a town in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England with a population of 11,395 (as at the 2001 census). Although physically and administratively part of Warrington, the civil parish council has named itself a town council. His ...

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...

Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town in the borough of Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England. Knutsford is south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and 12.5 miles (20 km) south-east of Warrington. The population at the 2011 Census was ...

and

Cycleways

Today the old Railway through Lymm forms a good stretch of the Trans Pennine Trail, with a ranger station at Statham, near the centre of the village. To the east, the track ran via Dunham into Broadheath and the Manchester network. To the west, the track used to run into Warrington, via

Latchford Latchford may refer to: Places Australia *Latchford Barracks, Australian Army base Canada *Latchford, Ontario, town United Kingdom *Latchford, Cheshire, a suburb of Warrington, England **Latchford railway station **Runcorn to Latchford Ca ...

, and the tar processing on Loushers Lane, then into Bank Quay Low Level. The entire section is now pathways, except for the high-level bridge crossing the ship canal, whose future is yet to be decided. In 2022
upgrade work
to certain sections of the trail commenced to provide updated all weather surfaces for users.

Demography

Population

''Note: statistics expressed as percentages may not add up to 100%. Census data is based on that of Lymm Ward.'' *Total population: 11,040 residents *Male:female ratio: 49.1%:50.9% *Average age of population: 40.3 years

Ethnicity breakdown

*98.2% White *0.7% Mixed *0.1% Black *0.6% Asian *0.4% Other

Housing and social situation

*Households: 4,431 **83.2% are owner occupied **9.5% are socially rented (i.e. council houses) **5.6% are privately rented **1.7% are rent free

Employment

*65.4% are employed. *2.0% are unemployed. *2.2% are full-time students (therefore classed as active). *30.4% are classed as "economically inactive".

Qualifications

*18.8% have no qualifications. *40.8% have level 1 or 2 qualifications only. *34.2% have level 3 or higher (i.e. non-compulsory) qualifications.

RAF Air Cadets

2137 (Lymm) Squadron formed in 1964 as part of the programme to reestablish units that had been closed following the Second World War. They formed at Park Road in Broomedge with a wooden spooner hut. In 2015 this was demolished to make way for a new £300,000 facility which was opened in 2016. In April 2018 the Squadron lead the

Royal Air Force Air Cadets The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) is a volunteer-military youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force that manages both the Air Training Corps and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force. The organisation is headed by a former serv ...

action to commemorate the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

centenary by travelling to the first RAF airfield at

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...

in France and parading on behalf of the RAF and

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

Sport

Association football is played at Lymm F.C. (three teams) Lymm Rovers F.C. and Lymm Piranhas J.F.C., whilst Lymm Rugby Union Club fields four teams on a regular basis. There is

angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...

at Lymm Dam and at Meadow View, Whitbarrow Road, Statham, where there are three-man-made lakes stocked with a variety of fish. Angling is represented by the Lymm Angling Club. Lymm has a number of other sports facilities, includin
Lymm Golf Club
and nearby High Legh Park Golf Club; Lymm

Lawn Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

and

Croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the W ...

Club; Lymm Oughtrington Park Cricket Club, whose home ground is in the former grounds of Oughtrington Hall, a former ancestral home of a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

branch of the

family; and Lymm Leisure Centre which is next door to the cricket club at Lymm High School. Burford Lane Farm is one of many

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

venues in north Cheshire. Crown green bowling takes place in Stage Lane, the Oughtrington club having been established over a hundred years. Lymm has a number of

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from tw ...

(Lymm Velo Club),

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the d ...

Cheshire CAT
and

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

clubs
Lymm Runners
.

Notable people

Elizabeth Pulman Elizabeth Pulman née Chadd (1 August 1836 – 3 February 1900) was a British-born New Zealand photographer. She was regarded as being the country's first female professional photographer. Biography Pulman was born in Lymm, Cheshire, England in ...

(1836 in Lymm – 1900), British-born New Zealand photographer, the country's first female professional photographer, emigrated 1861 * Gerard Dewhurst J.P. (1872–1956), English cotton merchant, banker and amateur footballer, earning one international cap for England in 1895; grew up at Oughtrington Hall in Lymm * Cicely Fox Smith (1882 in Lymm – 1954), English poet and writer * Kenneth Carlisle (1882 in Lymm – 1967), English cricketer active from 1903 to 1905 who played for Oxford University *

Robert Westall Robert Atkinson Westall (7 October 1929 – 15 April 1993) was an English author and teacher known for fiction aimed at children and young people. Some of the latter cover complex, dark, and adult themes. He has been called "the dean of B ...

(1929–1993), author, lived on Woodland Drive in Lymm until his death * Sir John Stalker (1939–2019), former Deputy Chief Constable of

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 mem ...

, lived in Lymm * Alex Timpson MBE (1946 in Lymm – 2016), British campaigner for children's rights * Andrew Murray (born 1956), English professional golfer, lives in Lymm * Aiden Byrne (born 1972), English chef who starred in ''

Great British Menu ''Great British Menu'' is a BBC television series in which top British chefs compete for the chance to cook one course of a four-course banquet. Format Series one and two were presented by Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, whe ...

'', owns The Church Green in Lymm * David Strettle (born 1983 in Lymm),

Saracens F.C. Saracens Rugby Club () are an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England. As of the current 2022–23 season, they compete in Premiership Rugby, the highest tier competition in English rugby, as well as the domestic P ...

rugby union player * Dan Logan (born 1985), English musician, brought up in Lymm *

Harry Worley Harry Jonathan Worley (born 25 November 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. Career Chelsea Born in Lymm, Cheshire, Worley began his football career at Stockport County from age eleven and left the clu ...

(born 1988 in Lymm), retired English professional footballer, 140 professional appearances * Tom Murray (born 1990), English professional golfer, lives in Lymm

In popular culture

The 2011 television series '' Candy Cabs'' was filmed in Lymm. The 2015 Sky 1 television series '' After Hours'' was filmed in Lymm in 2014. A scene from Paul Abbot's No Offence TV series was filmed in Lymm in 2014. Lymm has its ow
radio station
which was created in 2020. It broadcasts 24 hours a day and is run by volunteers.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Cheshire Warrington Civil parishes in Warrington