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Runcorn
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===Early history=== The earliest written reference to the town is in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', where it is spelled "Rumcofan", literally meaning "a wide cove or bay". This word is derived from the [[Old English language|Old English]] words "rúm" ("wide" or "broad") and "cofa" ("cave" or "cove"). Other historical spellings of Runcorn include "Rumcoven", "Ronchestorn", "Runckhorne", and "Runcorne".<ref>{{Harvnb|Nickson|1887|p=5.}} and {{Harvnb|Starkey|1990|p=4.}}</ref> Little is known about the early history of the settlement but isolated findings of objects from the [[Stone Age|Stone]], [[Bronze Age|Bronze]], and [[Iron Age]]s have been made and there is evidence of a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] presence in the area.<ref>{{Harvnb|Starkey|1990|pp=1–4.}}</ref> The first recorded event in its history is the building by [[Æthelflæd]] of a fortification at Runcorn to protect the northern frontier of her kingdom of [[Mercia]] against the [[Viking]]s in 915. The fort was built on Castle Rock overlooking the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap.<ref>{{Harvnb|Nickson|1887|pp=6–13.}} The foundations of the fort were discovered during the building of the railway bridge but were covered by an abutment of the bridge.</ref>
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