Cronton

Cronton is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, in England. The village is surrounded by green belt land. Over the county border in Cheshire, Widnes town centre is to the south-southeast.

==History== Historically a part of Lancashire, Cronton is an ancient village and was once a centre for the makers of watch parts and movements. There is an ancient cross, now no more than a column of stone on ruined steps. This was one of many stopping places on the way to the parish church at Farnworth. The five-holed stocks next to the war memorial in Coronation Gardens are almost unique to Cronton with few other specimens found anywhere. Many of the 19th Century residents of Cronton were farmers. There was a blacksmith in Cronton Lane (opposite what is now The Dandelion Tavern, formerly The Black Horse pub). Family names common in Cronton during the 19th Century census returns: Leather, Haughton, Pitt, Coughlin, Critchley, Dwerryhouse, Atherton, Hillyer, Glover and Lister. The Catholic Church, Holy Family, was opened at the start of the 20th century. There is also Holy Family Primary school. Prior to this, many Cronton Catholics were carried to St Bartholomew's Church, Rainhill for burial.