North Liverpool: Everton to Aintree

	St. George's Church, Everton St. George's church, on the highest point of Everton Hill, was designed by Thomas Rickman (based upon the preliminary work of Joseph Gandy) and built by John Cragg. Cragg made his money as the owner of the Mersey Iron Foundry in Tithebarn Street, Liverpool, and was keen to exploit his business in the construction of churches. He was a founder member of the Liverpool Athenaeum, where he probably met Rickman. Rickman was self-taught as an architect, but became an authority on Gothic architecture (he is credited with introducing the term perpendicular in this context) and was a key figure in the Gothic revival in church design in the 19th century. St. George's itself marks the definitive transition to this style. Cragg was by all accounts a difficult character who was at odds with the more conciliatory Rickman throughout their collaboration, constantly plagiarising his work and interfering with his designs. St. George's was completed in 1814 and was probably the first building where standardised prefabricated cast iron parts (patented by Cragg) were used on a large scale for building frames and windows with a view to re-using the moulds elsewhere and achieving large cost savings. In fact, many of the casts were reused for St. Michael's in the Hamlet, Toxteth, and St. Philip's, Hardman Street (demolished).
	St George's Church Interior, Everton The use of cast iron in the interior of St. George's has allowed the supporting structures to form a delicate tracery with a feeling of light and space. The roof panels are large sheets of slate from North Wales. Stained glass windows were not part of the original building, being added in the second half of the 19th century. Many of these were destroyed by bombing in 1940 (only one remains undamaged) and have been since restored. The new East Window (shown here) was dedicated in 1952 to the memory of air-raid victims.
Everton in Baines's Lancashire Directory (1824) This village has become a very favourite residence of the gentry of Liverpool, and for the salubrity of its air and its vicinity to the sea, may not inaptly be called the Montpellier of the county.
Everton in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) This place [...] claims a more remote history than Liverpool, to which it now forms an elegant suburb. We find it exempt from the imposition of Danegelt instituted by Ethelred, and it is mentioned in 1066 as having been then given by the Conqueror to his cousin, Roger de Poictiers. An ancient fire-beacon, coeval with the Tower at Liverpool, stood here for many centuries; but it has now disappeared, and the site is occupied by St. George's church. During the siege of Liverpool, Prince Rupert occupied a cottage here, which was held in great veneration, until it was at length pulled down in 1845 [...]. The agreeable village or suburb of Everton, denominated, from the salubrity of its air and the pleasantness of its situation, the Montpelier of Lancashire, is seated on a bold eminence opposite to the bay of Bootle [...]. The prospects are very beautiful; and from the western parts of Everton Hill may be seen the fertile lands of Cheshire, the mountains of Wales, the river Mersey, and the expanding Irish Sea with its numberless vessels. From its proximity to Liverpool, it has become the residence of many respectable and wealthy families; numerous streets and crescents have been formed, and the township is studded with handsome detached mansions and villas. [...] The district church of St. George was erected in 1813, at an expense of £11,500, on a site given by James Atherton, Esq.; it is an elegant structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower crowned by pinnacles. The framework and tracery of the windows and doors, the groinings of the roof, the pulpit, and all the ornamental parts, are of cast-iron; and the east window, of which the iron tracery is exceedingly rich, is embellished with stained glass.
Everton in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) This township lies on the hill to the north-east of Liverpool, the highest point being at St. George's Church. From that point there is a very rapid slope to the north and to the west, the elevated ridge continuing southward to Low Hill and Edge Hill. The height allows an extensive panorama of the city of Liverpool, including a distant view of the Cheshire side of the River Mersey. At sunset the windows of the houses on Everton Brow flash back the glowing radiance, showing that nothing impedes the wide prospect westwards. The foot of this ridge is the western boundary. [...] The commanding situation of the village occasioned its earliest prominent connexion with the general history of the county, for here Prince Rupert fixed his head quarters when attacking Liverpool in 1644. In more peaceful times the wealthier merchants of Liverpool chose it for their country mansions [...]. The roads were shaded with fine trees, and a walk to the top of the hill was a pleasant exercise for dwellers in the town. The growth of Liverpool northwards, with the erection of chemical works and other factories by the riverside, destroyed the amenities of the situation, and within the last fifty years the great houses in their spacious grounds have been replaced by closely packed streets of small dwellings. There was a large sandstone quarry on the northern slope of the hill.
	Liverpool Collegiate Institution, Everton The Liverpool Collegiate Institution, opened in 1843, was the first of the great English Victorian public schools. It was designed by Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, of St. George's Hall fame, and built of Woolton Quarry sandstone. The facade is just about all that remains of the original building following a fire that gutted it in 1994. The rear has been redeveloped as elegant modern apartments.
	Everton Water Works The 85ft (26 m) high water tower was built in 1857. The adjoining Italianate pump house was built at the same time, with a second one being added in the 1860s. Liverpool Corporation assumed responsibility for water supply in 1847, replacing an increasingly inadequate service based upon piping local well water or selling it from carts. They began the construction of out of town reservoirs 25 miles (40 km) away at Rivington in the Pennines in 1852 with delivery beginning in 1857. The Corporation Water Engineer Thomas Duncan began the construction of imposing reservoirs in the highest parts of Liverpool. With increasing demand, the damming of Lake Vyrnwy in Wales was begun in 1881 with delivery from 1891 (for more information see Woolton Reservoir).
	St. Francis Xavier's Church, Everton St. Francis Xavier is the largest catholic church in the city and opened in 1848. Together with the adjoining former college (1876-7) and schools (1853-7), it was the 19th century's most extensive group of religious buildings in the city. The poet and priest Gerard Manley Hopkins preached here.
	St. Francis Xavier's Church from Shaw Street, Everton
	Everton Park and St George's Church St George's Church was built on the site of Everton Beacon, a large, two-storey, square stone tower that has been associated with the Spanish Armada but may originally have dated back to the 1220s. It was the home of a watchmaker in 1770 and a cobbler in 1778. It was gutted by fire in 1782 (probably arson) and finally blew down in a storm in 1803. During the Napoleonic wars in 1804 there was a signalling station on the site. Until the late 18th century, Everton was a rather wild place associated with quarrying and millstone making. In 1770, one writer notes: 'Heath, gorse and weeds are its general crop and unsightly patches of barren, ill-enclosed land displease the eye at every glance'. As late as 1812, highwaymen were still active in the district. Even so, by 1800 it was becoming a much more desirable place to live, with its fabulous views and clean air, and the wealthy began to establish villas here. It was also a popular destination for those out for a stroll from Liverpool. Already by 1830 though, the town had begun to encroach from the south and by 1875 Everton Road had become 'a dense thoroughfare of a somewhat shabby and second rate character'. By 1896, Everton 'had long been deserted by the rich and influential residents'. Everton is fondly associated among those of a certain age with the Everton Mint, a delicious and unique black and white striped confection created by Molly Bushell (d. 1818) in the mid-18th century, whose original manufactory was in Village Street.
	Liverpool's 'Dreaming Spires' from Everton Park Well, not all spires exactly but the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Anglican Cathedral and St. Francis Xavier's Church.
*The View from Everton in Recollections of Old Liverpool (1863), an anonymous author recalling the mid-18th century* In the summer it was the delight of holiday-makers. A day's "out" to the Beacon, at Everton, was a very favourite excursion. The hill-side on Sundays used to be thronged with merry people, old and young. The view obtained from Everton Beacon-hill was a view indeed. And what a prospect! What a noble panoramic scene! I never saw its like. I do not think, in its way, such an one existed anywhere to be compared with it. At your feet the heather commenced the landscape, then came golden corn-fields and green pasture-lands, far and wide, until they reached the yellow undulating sand-hills that fringed the margin of the broad estuary, the sparkling waters of which, in the glow and fullness of the rich sunshine, gave life and animation to the scene, the interest of which was deeply enhanced, when on a day of high-tide, numbers of vessels might be seen spreading their snowy canvas in the wind as they set out on their distant and perilous voyages. In the middle ground of the picture was the peninsula of Wirral, while the river Dee might be seen shimmering like a silver thread under the blue hills of Wales, which occupied the back ground of the landscape. Westward was the ocean, next, the Formby shore attracted the eye. The sand-hills about Birkdale and Meols were visible. At certain seasons, and in peculiar states of the atmosphere, the hummocks of the Isle of Man were to be seen, while further north Black Combe, in Cumberland, was discernible. Bleasdale Scar, and the hills in Westmoreland, [were to be] dimly made out the extreme distance. [...] The eye moved then along the Welsh hills until it rested on the Ormeshead and travelled out upon the North sea. Below us, to our left, was the town of Liverpool, the young giant just springing into vigorous life and preparing to put forth its might, majesty and strength in Trade, Commerce and Enterprise. [...] I ought not to forget mentioning that, as time went on and Liverpool became prosperous, and its merchants desired to get away from the dull town-houses and imbibe healthy, fresh air, this same Everton became quite the fashionable suburb and court-end of Liverpool. Noble mansions sprung up, surrounded by well-kept gardens. Gradually the gorse-bush and the heather disappeared, and the best sites on the hill became occupied. The Everton gentry for their wealth and their pride were called "Nobles" and highly and proudly did they hold up their heads, and great state did many of the merchants who dwelt there keep up.
	Panorama of Liverpool from Everton Park With the burst of industrialisation in the 19th century and the resultant influx of impoverished workers, much of this area was covered with densely packed rows of back to back houses. World War II left in its wake many derelict bomb sites, and the old housing was cleared to be replaced in the 1960s by notorious tower blocks that broke up the old communities. Few of the latter remain and the area is once again an attractive place to live, with modern houses and the huge green space of Everton Park. The panoramic view of Liverpool city centre from Everton Park with the Welsh hills behind is once again one of the best in the area.
*Rural Everton in Recollections of Old Liverpool (1863), an anonymous author recalling the mid-18th century* In 1801, my wife being out of health, I was advised to take her from town. As Everton was recommended by Dr. Parks, I looked about in that neighbourhood, and after some difficulty obtained accommodation in a neat farm-house which stood on the rise of the hill. I say it was with difficulty that I could meet with the rooms I required, or any rooms at all, for there were so few houses at Everton, and the occupants of them so independent, that they seemed loth to receive lodgers on any terms. It must appear strange to find Everton spoken of as being "out of town", but it was literally so then. It was, comparatively speaking, as much so as West Derby, or any of the neighbouring villages round Liverpool, are at present. The farm-house in which we resided has long since been swept away, with its barns, its piggery, and its shippon. Never more will its cornricks gladden the eye - never more will busy agricultural life be carried on in its precincts. Streets and courts full of houses cumber the ground. No more will the lark be heard over the cornfield, the brook seen running its silvery course, or the apple in the orchard reddening on the bending bough. The lark is represented by a canary in a gilded cage hanging out of a first-floor window, the corn-field by the baker's shop, with flour at eight pounds for a shilling, the brook is a sewer and the apple is only seen at the greengrocer's shop at the corner, in company with American cheese, eggs, finnon-haddies and lucifer matches. Ditch and hedge, the one with waving sedges and "Forget-me-nots", the other with the May blossom loading the evening air with its balmy breath, were as prevalent, at the time I speak about, in Everton, as you will now find in any country district. It was a pleasant place in summer and autumn time. The neighbourhood of the Beacon was our favourite resort. Many a pleasant day we have spent at the top of it. The hill was covered with heather and gorse bushes. In winter it was as wild, bleak, and cold a place as any you could meet with.
	Snowdonia from Everton Park Central to this view are the twin ventilation towers of the Kingsway road tunnel; the vast Waterloo grain warehouse is to the left. Everton Park is the best place in Liverpool to view the Snowdonia mountain range when conditions are exceptionally clear. The Snowdon group, 52 miles (84 km) away, is to the left of the towers with Snowdon (3,560 ft - 1,085 m) in the centre and the adjoining peaks Lliwedd (left) and Carnedd Ugain (right). The massive bulk of the Carneddau Range stretches to the right of the towers with the highest point Carnedd Llewelyn (3,491 ft - 1,064 m), 45 miles (73 km) away, nearest the left-hand end.
	Wallasey from Everton Park Here the prominent buiilding in the centre is the massive Tobacco Bonded Warehouse with the Stanley Dock buildings to the right and St. Anthony's Church in the left foreground. Prominent across the river on the left is Wallasey Town Hall. In this direction, the Welsh skyline extends from the foothills of the Carneddau to Great Orme's Head and the Isle of Anglesey.
*Walks around Everton in Recollections of Old Liverpool (1863), an anonymous author recalling the mid-18th century* There were several very pleasant country walks which went up to Low Hill through Brownlow Street, and by Love Lane. I recollect going along Love Lane many a time with my dear wife, when we were sweethearting. We used to go to Low Hill and thence along Everton Road, on each side of which was a row of large trees, and we returned by Loggerhead's Lane, and so home by Richmond Row. I recollect very well the brook that ran along the present Byrom Street [one of the streams feeding the Pool], whence the tannery on the right-hand side was supplied with water.
	New Brighton from Everton Park
	Village Lock-Up, Everton Everton village lock-up was built in 1787 near Molly Bushell's toffee shop. It was known as the Stone Jug (or sometimes the Stewbum's Palace) and was used for minor offenders who would be released the next day or detained awaiting appearance before the local magistrate. It became associated with the containment of disorderly drunks, many of whom would have been day trippers out from Liverpool to sample the offerings of the local pubs.
	The Lake, Stanley Park, Anfield The original design of 1866 of Stanley Park was by Edward Kemp, a pioneer of public park design, and extensive restoration work completed in 2009 has followed his plans. The major features of the park are the conservatory, the sandstone terraces and the lakes, each complementing and providing a contrast with each other.
	The Formal Gardens, Stanley Park, Anfield The highest part of Stanley Park is the most formal, with sandstone pavilions, flower beds and a rose garden. Kemp's design created an open area below the terraces, with the effect of creating space around them and adding to their splendour, opening up the view and leading the eye to the lakes and the suburbs beyond.
	The Conservatory, Stanley Park, Anfield The conservatory in Stanley Park, originally named the Gladstone Conservatory in honour William Gladstone, was completed in 1900 and constructed of cast and wrought iron by Mackenzie and Moncur of Edinburgh (who also built Sefton Park Palm House). It fell into disrepair in the 1950s and was re-built in 2009, when it was renamed the Isla Gladstone Conservatory as a tribute to the turn of the 20th century textile designer, gardener and artist of the Arts & Crafts movement.
	St. Mary's Church, Walton The ancient area of Walton was much larger than the present one. Childwall was detached before the Norman Conquest and Sefton before 1200. Liverpool was relatively insignificant at that time and only separated in 1699. The site and foundations of the church are ancient and a church is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Before 1699, it was the principal church of Liverpool, St Nicholas's having been a chapel of Walton up to that time. Parts of the present church date from 1743, when the nave was rebuilt, but the north side was remodelled in 1840. The chancel dates from 1843 and the tower from 1832. The atmospheric churchyard features an early 18th century sundial.
Walton in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) This locality presents an extremely pleasing appearance, and abounds in handsome mansions and villas; from Walton Hill are most extensive views, including the town of Liverpool, the Welsh hills, and the mountains of Cumberland. Among the best houses are Walton Hall, the residence of Richard Naylor, Esq.; Walton Priory, that of Robert Ellison Harvey, Esq.; and several detached mansions on Breeze Hill. On the side of the Ormskirk road is the unique establishment of Charles Whitfield Harvey, Esq., the successful rearer of prize-cattle; and Spellow House, an ancient mansion of stone, is surrounded by a large tract of land, appropriated by Mr. William Skirving to the rearing of foresttrees and nursery-plants in general, including those of the most rare description. [...] The church, which, up to 1698, was the mother church of Liverpool, was mostly rebuilt in 1829, at a cost of £5000; and is a noble structure in the early English style, with decorated portions, and a tower and pinnacles. From its great elevation, it is a conspicuous object in the surrounding scenery, and serves as a landmark. The interior is very beautiful, with a stained-wood roof, and east and west windows of painted glass.
Walton in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) The natural features of the township have long since been obscured or entirely swept away by bricks and mortar, and thronged streets of small houses and busy shops and electric-car standards occupy the site of country lanes, gardens, and trees. [...] The old village lay near the church, in a street bending round its northern side. The workhouse of the West Derby Union lies about a mile to the north; close by is a cemetery belonging to the parish of Liverpool. Farther north still is the county prison; here executions take place.
	The Old School House, Walton Tucked away at the side of St Mary's church, the old grammar school is dated 1613 and replaces an earlier school of 1548.
	The Lake, Walton Hall Park, Walton The 130 acre (52 ha) Walton Hall Park dates back to 1199, when Henry de Walton was steward of the West Derby Hundred. The last Walton Hall was demolished in the early years of the 20th century. The Estate was opened as a public park in 1934 by King George V on the same day as he opened the Mersey Tunnel (Queensway). The lake existed at least as far back as the 18th century. It shown on a map of 1768 as being called Dig Lake, at that time lying on the course of Tue Brook.
Netherton in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) This township was originally a hamlet of Sefton, but appears to have been recognized as a distinct township as early as 1624, when the county lay was fixed. [...] It is in the heart of flat, agricultural country. The land is principally arable, producing crops of potatoes, wheat, barley, oats, and rye, in a soil which is a mixture of clay and sand. The country is not interesting, for there is nothing picturesque about the scattered farmsteads, and the trees are only large enough to give a slight protection to the buildings around which they cluster.
	Cookson's Bridge, Litherland The Leeds and Liverpool Canal here runs past Rimrose Valley Country Park, a wedge of open grassland, copses and wetland dividing Great Crosby and Litherland.
Litherland in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) Litherland forms an uninteresting [hang on a minute - I was born there after all!] link between the busy environs of Bootle and the more open country towards Sefton township, since there are both dwelling-houses and warehouses, streets, and shops, as well as open spaces. The ancient township, from which Seaforth has now been carved out, [..] was formerly called Down Litherland to distinguish it from the hamlet of Up-Litherland in Aughton. The Diamond Match Factory is the most prominent industry in Litherland. [...] The field names in a map of 1769 show that the Marsh was the district between Rimrose Brook and the shore [...]. The moss occupied the north-eastern part of the township; the moor adjoined it on the borders of Orrell.
Orrell with Ford in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) This township is formed of two detached portions, Orrell to the south and Ford to the north. [...] Orrell occurs comparatively early as a well-defined part of Litherland, [...] called a 'vill' as early as 1310. [...] It is described as a hamlet of Litherland in 1345. Ford [...] touches upon the open country and shares the refreshing sea-breezes which come from the west. [...] The ford from which the place takes its name was perhaps one over the Rimrose Brook, which divides it from Great Crosby.
Orrell with Ford in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) The township comprises 470 acres, of a light soil, with a red-sandstone substratum; it stands elevated, and has fine views of the sea and the Welsh hills. [...] The air is very salubrious and healthy.
Fazakerley in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) In the thirteenth century Fazakerley was one of the Walton town fields, adjoining which, as the woodlands were cleared, there grew up a hamlet and ultimately a township. It is separated from Walton by the brook called Fazakerley or Tue Brook, and from West Derby partly by Sugar Brook up to the point where it is spanned by Stone bridge. [...] The country is extremely flat and treeless, with nothing to recommend it to the passer-by, for it seems to be a district of straight lines, devoid of any beauty. Rather bare fields on the south and east under mixed cultivation give some variety to the pasture land. [...] Agriculture is the chief occupation, but the jam works established here have attained considerable magnitude, and on the Aintree border have given name to a little town known as Hartley's Village.
Aintree in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) The country is extremely flat, and in the northern portion of the township the level of the landscape is scarcely broken by even the smallest trees, and the hedges are but scanty. The surface, occupied by cultivated fields, where corn and potatoes find a congenial soil, is a mixture of clay and sand. A few farms are dotted about the district. [...] The great racecourse, was opened 8 July, 1829. The old village is in the centre of the township, about two miles south-east of Sefton church; but houses are multiplying on the Walton border, owing to the growth of Liverpool and the rise of industries in the neighbourhood.