Westbrook is a ward and suburb in north-west Warrington. It forms part of the civil parish of Burtonwood and there are two councillors. The main part of Westbrook was built in the early 1980s.
The original estate (around Westbrook Crescent and Cromwell Avenue) has a shopping area known as Westbrook Centre, which includes a large Asda supermarket and many smaller specialist stores.
In the days of common sense (before health and safety), and when some of the tarmac roads were in place, I was able to walk along the whole length of Cromwell Avenue as it was under construction from Callands right through to Sankey Way. That would be around 1980.
Westbrook features an Odeon cinema, adjacent to the shopping centre. The 10-screen multiplex began as AMC on 25 March 1988. In December 1988, it was taken over by UCI and rebranded. In October 2004, UCI were taken over by Terra Firma, who operated the Odeon Theatres chain, and it was rebranded again as the Odeon, and known as Odeon Luxe from 2021.
Films at the cinema on 14 September 2011 and the prices for seats. I didn’t watch any of them, still haven’t and don’t have any of them in my collection.
Odeon cinema (14 Sep 2011)
The district has a church (St Philip’s Church of England), which at the time of my photos in 2011 was a joint Church of England and Methodist church. Nowadays it promotes itself as Church of England only. Knowledgeable readers will know that the Methodist Church was a non-conformist church which broke away from the Church of England in 1795. The Plan of Pacification in 1795 allowed Methodist chapels to hold services like Holy Communion, baptism, and burial, effectively making them a separate church. So because of that I was surprised to see a joint church in Westbrook in 2011. The church runs a primary school under its own banner. Both are located close to Westbrook Centre. See the St Philip’s Church website for current activities.
St Philip’s Church (14 Sep 2011)
Westbrook Medical Centre is located between the school and the shopping centre.
Mary Ann Plantation is a woodland area managed by the Woodland Trust and is located next to Mary Ann Meadows. The plantation is on land that was known as Mary Anne Site, which was developed for the Burtonwood Repair Depot (BRD) during the days of RAF Burtonwood, on which the district of Westbrook is built.
The Fairey Aviation Company Limited, a British aircraft manufacturer founded in 1915, with bases in Hayes in Greater London and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Greater Manchester, was appointed the parent company of the BRD in September 1940, and Mary Anne Site was developed for the BRD.
Mary Ann site was named after a local wood called Mary Ann Wood, today called Mary Ann Meadows. The wood was named after a local lady, Mary Ann Perks, who lived in Rose Cottage on Cow lane (now Burtonwood Road) in the late 1800s. The site was located to the east, close to Burtonwood Road near gate number 13. Before RAF Burtonwood, the whole area was farmland. Read a detailed account of Mary Ann Site here.
Mary Ann Plantation (3 May 2012)
In 2015 work began on a cycleway between Dallam and Westbrook as part of a wider cycle and walking network going east to west through the town. The photos here show the Westbrook end of the route.
Where do you buy your drinks? Supermarket or pub?
Let’s finish off with a walkabout.
There are two footbridges in the district, one I call the Red Cross Bridge (because it is painted red and shaped like a cross) and the other I call the Single Span Red Bridge. Work that one out for yourself. Here are views of the bridges and the roads from the top of them.
mywarrington 