Conservation Area: Walton Conservation Area (103)

The settlement of Walton is situated to the south of Warrington, and to the south of the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, with the Bridgewater Canal running through Higher and Lower Walton. Its origins almost certainly date back to Roman times and it has been in the estate of the barons of Halton and then of the Greenall / Brooke family, with Walton Hall and the Parish Church being founded in the 19th century by Gilbert Greenall. Until the 1960’s the village, known as Higher Walton / Walton Superior, consisted solely of Victorian and Edwardian buildings comprising a post office, 3 pairs of semi-detached cottages, the parish hall and attached cottage, a small works, the church and 3 detached houses. It owes much of its character however to the unity in architectural style of its buildings, a unity which is preserved in elements of the elevational treatment of all the buildings, despite some variation in building materials. The use of red sandstone blocks as a decorative feature is one of the most notable common elements. It is thus the combination of buildings of character, their grouping and the numerous belts of trees and the areas of open space which gives Walton its great charm.