Our Brand
The stories behind the logo
It all began with a canal
The Ellesmere canal was built in 1795 connecting the Mersey to Ellesmere in Shropshire. The plan had been to carry on and connect the River Severn to the River Mersey, but that never happened.
The docks at the junction of the canal and river were designed by the famous engineer Thomas Telford and remained a busy port, linking canal, rail and river until the 1950s. Ellesmere Port began to grow as a town from the docks outwards, starting on Dock Road.
The Lighthouse
The lighthouse was built at the entrance to the canal in 1880 and had a short life because just 14 years later it become un-necessary because the building of the Manchester Ship Canal separated it from the river.
The lighthouse, on the docks, at the confluence of the Mersey and the canal is a great symbol of the dockside origins of Ellesmere Port. The lighthouse beacon is also symbolic, shining a light from the market as the hub of our community.
You can visit the real Ellesmere Port lighthouse, it is part of the National Waterways Museum at the old docks.
Horses, planes and cars
Hooton Hall was a grand country house, growing in size over 600years. The construction of the Manchester Ship Canal separated the owner of the Hall, a Liverpool banker, from his yacht mooring on the Mersey! The family moved out, the hall was abandoned and Hooton Park racecourse was established in the grounds.
In 1917, during the Great War, the racecourse was converted to an airfield and used to train pilots. The airfield boomed between the wars becoming Liverpool’s official airport for a short time. In WW2, the RAF took over and the City of Chester Squadron was formed, with its’ Spitfires defending Liverpool and the North West.
After the second world war, the airfield was little used and after it closed in 1957, was sold to Vauxhall Motors. The newly built factory produced the first Viva car in 1964 and went on to produce the Chevette and Astra. Now the plant is part of the Stellantis Group and produces electric vehicles.
Our brand colours and those used throughout Ellesmere Port market have been chosen from a Vauxhall cars colour swatch from 1974. Their exotic names include Aqua Starmist, Tasman Orange, Sunspot and Crystal Green. The house and racecourse are long gone, with just one gate remaining.
Today the Hooton Park Trust hold open days for the public to visit the aircraft hangers and exhibits, including the first Vauxhall Viva.
Photos courtesy of Vauxhall and Cheshire Archives.