The first crossing point of the River Mersey was at Latchford, by way of a ford.
The Botelers made a better access to the town (at the above coordinates) by erecting a wooden bridge to take the place of the ford. In 1322 William le Boteler was enabled by charter to levy tolls towards paving the town and in the time of Henry VIII Leland mentions as a peculiarity of Warrington that it was a paved town and had a better market than Manchester.
The bridge over the Mersey having perished in 1364 – it is said to have been swept away by flood – a new and substantial structure was completed five years later. This had disappeared by 1465 and not until 1495 was its successor erected. This was a strong stone bridge built by the first Earl of Derby as a compliment to his royal relative Henry VII who was the first to pass over it with Queen Elizabeth of York on his way to London.
In the Rebellion of 1745, the middle arch of Warrington Bridge was destroyed by the Liverpool Blues to prevent the Young Pretender crossing the Mersey. It was rebuilt with a watch house and dungeon in the middle at the expense of Parliament and served till 1812 when a temporary wooden bridge resting on stone piers was substituted.
Warrington celebrated the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 with the opening of a new bridge over the Mersey, named in her honour.
In 1913, King George V unveiled the first section of the present Warrington Bridge, again emphasising the importance of the river crossing.
Visit the four plaques situated at the four corners of the bridge to find the values of A, B, C & D.
At stage 1 (see waypoint) A = what day in July the current bridge was opened by King George V?
At stage 2 (see waypoint) B = which Earl of Derby defended the bridge in 1643 before crossing the same bridge to his execution in 1651
At stage 3 (see waypoint) C = how many arches in the stone bridge built by the Earl of Derby in 1495?
At stage 4 (see waypoint) D = which bridge is this?
The cache is hidden at
N53 23. (B - D) (A - B) C
W002 35. (A - D) B C