Croft
The Horse Shoe public house, Croft
Croft Location within Cheshire
Population	2,920 (2001 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	SJ634935
Civil parish	Croft
Unitary authority	Warrington
Ceremonial county	Cheshire
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WARRINGTON
Postcode district	WA2, WA3
Dialling code	01925
Police	Cheshire
Fire	Cheshire
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Warrington North
List of places UK England Cheshire 53°26′13″N 2°33′07″W / 53.437°N 2.552°W / 53.437; -2.552

Croft is a village and civil parish in Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, about four miles north of Warrington town centre. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,920.^[1] It is a semi-rural, residential district.

Geography

Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the village is on the northern edge of the borough of Warrington, north of the interchange of the M6 and M62 motorways, known as the Croft Interchange. It is close to the border with Merseyside and Greater Manchester. It borders Culcheth to the east, Lowton to the north, Winwick to the west and Risley to the south.

Croft was struck by an F1/T3 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day.^[2] The tornado later moved over Warrington town centre.

Community

There are two churches, two primary schools, and a large playing field with children's play equipment area on the village green. Other facilities include a youth centre, horse riding, a golf range, and a bowling green, however there is no village shop.

Croft Village Football team produced three players that went on to remarkable professional careers. Roger Hunt played for Croft and later went on to play for Liverpool, and was part of England's World Cup winning team in 1966. Tommy Lawrence played for Liverpool and Scotland. Johnny Green played alongside Jimmy Armfield at Blackpool.

Transport

The 19 bus serves Croft, on a route between Leigh via Culcheth and Warrington via Winwick. There is also a service to Birchwood. Government plans to build the [HS2] high speed rail line through Croft have been withdrawn.

Demography

At the 2001 census, Croft had the following demographics:^[3]

• 871 households
• 2,920 residents
  • 61.7% are male
  • 38.3% are female
  • Average age of residents: 40.26 years (mean)
  • 2,014 residents describe their health as good

Events

Croft Carnival is held annually, usually on the first Saturday of July, and features local talent, business and exhibitions. The event ends with an athletics competition, followed by an egg-throwing competition. In 2020 and 2021 this event was cancelled due to the risk of COVID-19.