Halton, Runcorn, and Widnes Records
now available on Deceased Online

Records for three cemeteries in the Borough of Halton are now available to view on www.deceasedonline.com. The records are from Halton Cemetery, Widnes Cemetery, and Runcorn Cemetery, and cover from 1860 to 2020.

Above: a view of Widnes Cemetery

Halton Borough as an authority has existed since 1974, and its formation incorporated Runcorn Rural and Urban Districts (Cheshire), Whiston Rural District, and Widnes Municipal Borough (Lancashire). In 1998 Halton became independent of Cheshire County Council and become a Unitary Authority. This became part of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in 2014. The River Mersey flows through the borough, separating Widnes to the north and Runcorn to the south. The area currently has a population of over 120,000. Halton Borough is named after the Barony of Halton, established in the 11th century. The remains of the ancient seat, Halton Castle, are still standing and are currently owned by the Duchy of Lancaster.

Above: a view of Halton Castle ruins

Runcorn Cemetery provides the final resting place of Thomas Hazlehurst, a prominent figure in the Runcorn, Widnes, and Halton areas. Born in 1816 and living in Runcorn until his death in 1876, he was known as 'The Chapel Builder' for his donations and building of twelve Methodist chapels and three schools in the area. His brothers led the family business, Hazlehurst and Sons, which made soaps in Runcorn, so Thomas could concentrate on his religious endeavours. He acquired part of the funding for these buildings from his family business, and his wife died at the age of 28 and left him a substantial amount of money in her will, which he also used to fund the building of the chapels. He donated approximately £70,000 to the construction of these buildings, which is over £6,000,000 in today's money (2024). Of the chapels and schools built, one currently active is the Halton Trinity Methodist Church in Halton village. The Halton Road Chapel in Runcorn is now sadly demolished. Thomas was buried in Runcorn Cemetery next to his two brothers. Discover Thomas Hazlehurst's grave and many others on Deceased Online.

Above left: a public domain drawing of Halton Road Chapel

The images in today's bulletin have been gratefully sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Author Bill Boaden (Widnes Cemetery photograph) and Rept0n1x (castle ruins photograph) kindly shared them under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. The drawing of Halton Road Chapel is now public domain, but we're grateful that Peter I Vardy shared it online.

Further information:

Other records from Cheshire and the North West available on Deceased Online include Cheshire East Council, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Trafford Council, and Salford Council.

Other records in the North are available courtesy of the National Archives