South Liverpool: Childwall and Gateacre

	Childwall Village A view from the Trans-Pennine Trail (the disused Cheshire Lines railway known nowadays as the Liverpool Loop Line) showing All Saints church against the backdrop of Childwall Woods. Childwall is an ancient settlement, mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086.
Childwall by Samuel Derrick (1760) The roads from Liverpool are deep and sandy; consequently rather unpleasant; but the views are rather extensive, particularly from a summerhouse on Childwall Hill, about three miles distant, where you have a prospect of fifteen counties and a good view of the sea. In the skirts of this hill are several small villages with gentlemen's seats scattered about, well covered and for the most part delightfully situated.
*Childwall in Fragments (1817)* by Matthew Gregson** The views from the neighbourhood of the church, from the hall, Gateacre, and as far as Woolton Hall […] are extensive and particularly fine. On the west are seen with more distant eminences, Aughton Hills, near Ormskirk, traversing a line of country to the north-east. The prospect from Prescot to Farnworth terminates on the south-east with a distant view of the ruins of Halton Castle - now fast mouldering away - a range of hills beyond, and Norton Priory. […] A large portion of the Mersey water forms one of the features of this scene, and gives great interest to a landscape that extends nearly fifteen miles. [ …] This highly cultivated vale is interspersed with more churches than are usually seen at one view in Lancashire.
Childwall in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) Childwall Hall [...] is in the castellated style, after a design by Nash; the park and grounds are in beautiful taste, and the scenery forms a panorama almost unrivalled in beauty and extent. The church has some early English piers and decorated windows, but the greater portion is of modern date: the tower is handsome, surmounted by a spire, and of neater stonework than the rest of the edifice.
Childwall in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) Childow is the local pronunciation [not any more!]. The township of Childwall is principally situated on the slope of a low hill, the highest point of which is 223 ft. above sea-level, commanding an extensive panorama of a wide, flat plain lying to the east. The district has an agreeable park-like appearance, with plantations and pastures, diversified with cultivated fields, where crops of corn, turnips, and potatoes are raised. There are but few dwellings, besides the hall and the houses which cluster about the church. [...] The Cheshire Lines Committee's Railway from Manchester to Southport passes through the centre of the township, and there is a station in Well Lane, about a quarter of a mile east of the church. [...] Well Acre is the name of a field in Well Lane just below the church. Another well or pool at the bottom of the slope to the north-east of the church was known as Monk's Bath; it was well protected by an interior four-sided wall of masonry, and a stream from it used to flow into the Childwall Brook a short distance away.
	All Saints Church, Childwall Parts of this beautiful church in Childwall Village date back to the 14th century, though some of the building materials have Norman or even Anglo-Saxon origins, and there has been ongoing building work down to the present day. There was probably a chapel here in the 11th century. The current name is probably of relatively recent origin; a document from the 14th century suggests that the church was dedicated to St. Peter at that time. It is Liverpool's oldest parish church and the only one with mediaeval origins.
	All Saints Churchyard, Childwall The churchyard at All Saints is a profoundly peaceful and atmospheric place. It was first mentioned in a document of 1386. The oldest of the present gravestones is dated 1620.
	All Saints Churchyard, Childwall A fine view to the east towards Prescot.
	The Childwall Abbey, Childwall This pub originated as a coach house dating back to 1484. Childwall Hall used to stand nearby. A mock-mediaeval castle that was demolished in the mid-20th century, it also sported the local penchant for turrets. What we have now is a fine pub, atmospheric and original. Have a look for the mediaeval, high backed, elaborately carved, oak chair - it makes up in grandeur for what it lacks in comfort.
	Childwall Woods The woods were originally part of the grounds of Childwall Hall and are ornamental in origin with a mix of species including English Oak, Sweet Chestnut and Beech and an extensive native Bluebell population. The adjacent Childwall Fields area is a noted butterfly habitat and 16 species have been recorded. Within the woods, the old carriage drive up to the hall (no longer extant) is designated as a Regionally Important Geological Site for its exposed sandstone faces.
	Gateacre Village Although Gateacre is not an ancient township, the area now known as Gateacre Village is historic. This crossroads at the centre of the village is shown on 18th century maps and the nearby pubs, such as the Black Bull opposite, would have been around in some form in those days. The road from left to right is the old packhorse trail from Hale to West Derby, which predates Liverpool itself. The oldest buildings now are partially 17th century. Gateacre chapel, just up the road opposite, is dated 1700. On the right is a drinking fountain and memorial to John Hays Wilson, chairman of the Liverpool Water Committee. An attractive spot, where 18th century sandstone blends felicitously with 19th century mock-Tudor. Present day Gateacre was partly included in the earlier districts of Little Woolton (along with parts of Childwall) and Much Woolton.
Gateacre in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) This place is beautifully situated in a well-wooded vale, and is adorned with several gentlemen's residences. In the village is a Unitarian place of worship, built in 1698, which has an endowment of 20 acres of land, with a house for the minister. The accomplished William Roscoe attended the chapel.
Little Woolton and Gateacre in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) The greater part [of Little Woolton] consists of level country under mixed cultivation, having an open and pleasant aspect. A smaller portion on the west lies on the slope of a ridge, which rises to 285 ft. above sea-level. The village of Gateacre, which lies partly in Much Woolton, occupies the south-west side, and is nicely situated in the midst of trees and gardens. The roads are good, and hedged with hawthorn trimly kept. Altogether the township wears the prosperous, respectable look of a district removed from the smoke and murk of the city, with its feet set on the edge of the country. [...] Gateacre gives its name to a station on the Southport branch of the Cheshire Lines Committee's railway, which crosses the centre of the township. Netherley lies on the eastern border, and gives a name to the brook which bounds the township at that side, and to the bridge on the Tarbock Road crossing this brook. [...] In the extreme western corner of the township, serving as mere stones, are the ancient Calderstones, with 'ring and cup' marks. In the map of Elizabeth's time, made to illustrate the dispute as to Wavertree and Allerton boundary, these stones are called Caldway stones, Roger stones, or dojer stones; a Roger stone is marked separately to the south-west of the Calder stones.
Thingwall in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) This township [...] consists of the estate known as Thingwall Hall, standing on a hill, rising to an elevation of 166 ft. above mean sea-level, in the centre of the township, with the old manor house, now a farm house, and a few other dwellings.