Orford, Cheshire

Orford is a suburb of Warrington, in the Warrington district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Originally a small area north of the township of Warrington, it is now a large area between the town centre and the M62, incorporating other small communities, such as Longford. Orford area had a population of 10,950 at the 2001 census. Orford Hall was demolished in the 1930s after the grounds were given to the town for Orford Park. Jubilee Park, a £30m project providing community and sporting facilities on former waste land between the park and Winwick Road, opened May 2012. William Beamont, a Victorian solicitor and philanthropist, lived at Orford Hall, which had previously been the seat of the Blackburne family. He founded Warrington's municipal library, the first rate-aided library in England, in 1848. His diaries are a valuable source of social history. Another notable local family were the Booths, who built Orford House in the late 18th century, ancestors of Charles Booth of the Liverpool shipowning family. There is one high school, Beamont Collegiate Academy, and several primary schools, including St Margaret's CoE Primary School, which was the primary school of former-Manchester United footballer, Jesse Lingard.