Frodsham is a market town, civil parish and also selecting ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and also the ceremonial region of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, raising to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is roughly 3 miles (5 km) south of Runcorn, 16 miles (26 kilometres) south of Liverpool, and 28 miles (45 kilometres) southwest of Manchester. The River Weaver goes to its northeast and also on the west it ignores the estuary of the River Mersey. The A56 roadway and the Chester-- Manchester railway line pass through the town, as well as the M56 freeway passes to the northwest. In medieval times Frodsham was an essential borough and also port belonging to the Earls of Chester. Its parish church, St. Laurence's, still shows evidence of a structure existing in the 12th century in its nave and also is referenced in Domesday Book. A market is held each Thursday, and Frodsham's viability as a trading centre was emphasised by the existence of the "big five" clearing financial institutions and a number of building societies, though the branches of HSBC and NatWest have recently shut. Development in the community's shops as well as facilities with alcohol licences appears via the recent (post-2002) opening or modernisation of contemporary-style bar/restaurants, take-away food stores and hostelries, and also in the continued presence of small, specialist, companies operating from town-centre shops.