Neston is a market town^[4][5] and civil parish in Cheshire, England. It is within the part of the Wirral Peninsula that belongs to the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The built up area (as defined by the Office for National Statistics) includes Parkgate to the north west, and Little Neston and Ness to the south. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 15,392 and the built up area had a population of 14,960.

The name is of Viking origin, deriving from the Old Norse Nes-tún, meaning 'farmstead or settlement at/near a promontory or headland'.^[6][7] Another Nesttun town can be found near Bergen, Norway. It is also mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Nestone under the ownership of a William Fitznigel, with a population of eight households.^[8][9]

A market charter was granted to Neston in 1728, allowing the right to hold weekly markets and annual fairs.^[10]

Neston was a major port before the River Dee silted up. The port was then shifted further downstream to the nearby village of Parkgate, although by early nineteenth century, most traffic had ultimately transferred to Liverpool.

Neston is also a former mining village with a small extension of the Flintshire Coalfield occurring on its southern edge. There were two periods during which coal seams within these coal measures rocks were mined.^[11]

Between 1759 and 1855 Ness Colliery worked using shafts largely clustered around the Harp Inn in today's Little Neston.^[12] It was opened by John Stanley Massey, a member of the leading Stanley family of Hooton, in partnership with four others.^[13] Because of the local geology most working was carried out under the Dee Estuary.^[14] The mine was remarkable in using canals deep underground for boats to haul coal.^[15] It was also remarkable for blatant acts of sabotage committed by the Stanleys against a rival, neighbouring mine established in about 1820 by the Cottingham family; their mine went out of business in the 1840s.^[16] Due to exhaustion of many of the coal seams, and difficulty in transporting coal, Ness Colliery was closed in 1855.^[17]

The later period of mining started in 1875 with the establishment of Neston Colliery (later becoming Wirral Colliery).^[18] By this time the Chester and Birkenhead Railway had come to nearby Parkgate; a branch line to the colliery enabled coal to be shifted in bulk. The mine worked seams further north than those worked by Ness Colliery.^[19] Wirral colliery was taken over by the British government during the First World War. The pit subsequently returned to private ownership after the war, but increasing competition from larger mines brought about its closure in 1927 with a loss of 180 jobs.^[20]

There are two tiers of local government covering Neston, at civil parish (town) and unitary authority level: Neston Town Council and Cheshire West and Chester Council. The town council is based at Neston Town Hall on High Street.^[21] Neston is part of the parliamentary constituency of Chester North and Neston,^[22] currently represented by Labour MP Samantha Dixon.

Neston was an ancient parish in the Wirral Hundred of Cheshire. The parish was subdivided into eight townships: Great Neston, Ledsham, Leighton, Little Neston, Ness, Raby, Thornton Hough, and Willaston.^[23][24] The town of Neston and the parish church of St Mary's and St Helen's were in the Great Neston township.^[25]

From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under the poor laws, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Neston, the civil functions were exercised by each township separately rather than the parish as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so the townships also became civil parishes.^[26]

A local government district called Neston and Parkgate was created in 1867, administered by an elected local board. It covered the three townships of Great Neston, Little Neston,^[a] and Leighton (the village of Parkgate straddled the Great Neston and Leighton townships).^[27][28] Neston Town Hall was completed in 1889 to provide a public hall for the town, and also incorporated the local board's offices.^[29][30]

Local government districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894.^[31][32] The three civil parishes within the Neston and Parkgate district were also united into a single parish called Neston-cum-Parkgate in 1894.^[33] The urban district was enlarged in 1933 to take in the parishes of Burton, Ness, and Willaston, and there was also some adjustment to the boundaries with other neighbouring areas. At the same time, the urban district was renamed from 'Neston and Parkgate' to just 'Neston'.^[34][35]

Neston Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The area became part of the borough of Ellesmere Port and Neston. No successor parish was created for the former urban district, and so it became unparished, being directly administered by Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council. In 2009, Cheshire West and Chester Council was created, taking over the functions of the borough council and Cheshire County Council, which were both abolished.^[36] A new civil parish of Neston was created in 2009 alongside the wider changes that year, with its parish council adopting the name Neston Town Council.^[37][38][39] The parish created in 2009 covers a smaller area than the pre-1974 urban district of Neston, notably excluding Burton and Willaston.^[22][35]

Neston is at the southern end of the Wirral Peninsula, on the eastern bank of the Dee Estuary.

The A540 road links Neston to Heswall and West Kirby to the north, and Cheshire, Chester and North Wales to the south. Neston is also close to the M53 and M56 motorways, giving it access to Liverpool, Manchester, and the larger M6 motorway.

Neston railway station is situated on the Borderlands Line, providing direct services southbound to Flintshire and Wrexham, and northbound to Bidston, with connecting services to the Merseyrail network between West Kirby and Liverpool. In 2008, Merseytravel investigated the possibility of linking up the Bidston – Wrexham line to the electrified Merseyrail system.^[41]

Neston is considered a desirable place to live, with its many independent shops, cafes and bars. It is also within walking distance to nearby Parkgate, as well as links to countryside walks and the Wirral Way.

One of the main local attractions is Ness Botanic Gardens, opened in 1898 and administered by the University of Liverpool.^[42]

Neston hosts a weekly market every Friday, offering local produce including fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, cheese and baked goods.

On the first Thursday of June, Neston annually celebrates Ladies Club Day (known colloquially as Ladies Club). This is a unique marching day that has links to the Neston Female Friendly Society during the Napoleonic War.

Neston High School serves the local secondary age students.^[43]

From 2006, Neston underwent an assessment to attract more income and tourists, in the form of the Neston Market Initiative (NMTI).^[44] The project also included the launch of a new community website.^[45] The NMTI involved improving the 'look' of the town centre (including new shop fronts) and controversial plans for a new supermarket^[46] on the site of Brook Street car park. Work for the new supermarket began in March 2009 with a full archaeological dig being carried out on the car park site before construction work began. Work to excavate the site began in August 2009, resulting in the removal of 28,000 cubic metres of earth to allow for the construction of a multi storey car park. The new Sainsbury's store was opened on 1 December 2010.

On 31 March 2008 the Neston Market Town Initiative project was officially completed. The community regeneration was to have been continued by CH64Inc, a new local community association, but it was not supported by Ellesmere Port and Neston Council or the successor authority, Cheshire West and Chester Council and was closed.^{[47][failed verification]}

The Neston Club is located in Parkgate and is home to Neston Cricket Club, who play in the Cheshire County Cricket ECB Premier League.^[48] Neston Hockey Club is also based on the same site.^[49] Club members have access to a clubhouse, tennis courts, bowls, squash, racketball and fitness classes including yoga and pilates.^[50]

Neston Nomads Football Club, established 1983, play their home games at the fields adjacent Neston High School that are part of the school premises. The first team currently play in the West Cheshire 3rd Division.^[51]

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter.^[52] With its close proximity to North Wales, BBC Wales and ITV Cymru Wales can also be received from the Moel-y-Parc TV transmitter.^[53]

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Merseyside on 95.8 FM, Capital North West & Wales on 97.1 FM, Heart North West on 105.4 FM, Smooth Radio North West on 100.4 FM, and Dee Radio on 106.3 FM.^[54]

The town is served by the local newspapers Wirral News^[55] and Chester and District Standard.^[56]

• Thomas Wilson (1663 in Burton and Ness – 1755), Bishop of Sodor and Man between 1697 and 1755. (Bishop Wilson School)
• Emma, Lady Hamilton (1765 in Swan Cottage, Ness – 1815), an English model and actress, mistress of Lord Nelson and muse of the portrait artist George Romney (Romney Close and Way)
• Sir Wilfred Grenfell (1865 in Neston – 1940), a medical missionary to Newfoundland
• Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Bushell (1888 in Neston – 1918 in Morlancourt, France), an English recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Billy Congreve (1891 in Neston – 1916 in Longueval, France), an English recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Rosalind Hill (1908–1997), historian
• George Ward Gunn (1912 in Neston – 1941 in Sidi Rezegh, Libya), an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (Gunn Grove)
• Ralph Millington (1930 in Neston – 1999), an English footballer who played 357 games for Tranmere Rovers F.C.
• Sir Tim Hunt (born 1943 in Neston), a British biochemist and molecular physiologist, jointly awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries about protein molecules
• Patrick Wormald (1947 in Neston – 2004), a British historian and academic

• Listed buildings in Neston
• St Mary's and St Helen's Church, Neston

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