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Huyton

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See also Huyton (UK Parliament constituency)
Huyton
PopulationExpression error: "54,766 (with Roby) (1991 census)" must be numeric
OS grid referenceSJ4692
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLIVERPOOL
Postcode districtL36 and L14
Dialling code0151
PoliceMerseyside
FireMerseyside
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Merseyside

Huyton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, England. It has close associations with its neighbour, Roby having both formerly been part of the Huyton with Roby Urban District. Huyton is also known as a suburb of Liverpool, it is on the eastern fringes of the city.

Geography and administration

File:Huyton roby.jpg
Huyton-with-Roby Urban District Council crest

Huyton was an Ancient Parish in the county of Lancashire which, in the mid 19th century, contained Croxteth Park, Knowsley and Tarbock, in addition to the township of Huyton-with-Roby. It was part of West Derby (hundred), an ancient subdivision of Lancashire, covering the south-west of the county.

In 1894, the township was included in the Huyton with Roby Urban District. "Since the First World War, Huyton-with-Roby has been transformed into a residential suburb of Liverpool, while agriculture, formerly the area's main occupation, has almost disappeared". [1] In 1932 Liverpool City Council purchased a large area of the Earl of Derby's Knowsley estate. Thereafter, throughout the 1930s, the city built four large housing estates in the north-west of Huyton-with-Roby. These Liverpool ‘overspill’ housing estates were Fincham, Huyton Farm, Longview and Woolfall Heath. Other smaller developments were commissioned by the Urban District Council or privately commissioned. By 1950 the population was over 55,000, the vast majority of whom had moved to the area from the city of Liverpool.

After the Second World War, the district had succesfully fought off absorption into the Liverpool City Council boundaries. However, its own application for borough status failed in 1952. [2] On 1 April 1974, Huyton-with-Roby became part of the new metropolitan borough of Knowsley.

Huyton-with-Roby is traditionally understood to contain Huyton Park, Roby, Longview, Huyton Quarry, Page Moss, Woolfall Heath, Bowring Park, Fincham, and Court Hey.

Today this area is divided into seven local government wards: Longview, Page Moss, Roby, St. Bartholomews, St. Gabriel's, St. Michael's, and Swanside.

History

Medieval

Huyton was first settled about 600 - 650 by Angles. [3] The settlement was founded on a low hill surrounded by inaccessible marshy land. The name Huyton gives a clue as to its origins. The first part of the name may suggest a landing-place, probably on the banks of River Alt. [4] (The Hag Plantation in eastern part of Huyton is the source of the River).

Both Huyton and Roby are mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, Huyton being spelt Hitune.

Industrial development

Huyton-with-Roby is situated near to the south western extremity of the former Lancashire coalfield. In the 19th century Welsh immigrants settled in the area to work in nearby colleries. A Welsh-speaking Non-conformist chapel (Calvinistic Methodists) was founded in Wood Lane, Huyton Quarry. Nearby Cronton Colliery finally ceased production in March 1984, shortly before the Great UK miners' strike (1984–1985). Both Huyton and Roby have stations on the famous Liverpool and Manchester Railway. (The station at Huyton Quarry closed in 1958 and today only the main station building remains). The railway’s construction was supervised by George Stephenson and, when it opened in 1830, it became the world’s first regular passenger train service. On the day of the Railway's official opening, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington alighted the train at Roby station. [5]

Second World War

During the Second World War, Huyton suffered bombing from the Luftwaffe. Some Huytonians were killed or injured but the scale of destruction was nowhere close to that experienced by Liverpool, Bootle and Birkenhead. Unlike Liverpool, school children were not evacuated from Huyton but schools and homes were provided with air-raid shelters.

Huyton was also host to three wartime camps: an internment camp, a prisoner of war camp and a base for American service men (G.I.s).

File:Huytoninterncamp.jpg

The internment camp, one of the biggest in the country, was created to accommodate those 'enemy aliens' deemed a potential threat to national security. Churchill's demand to 'collar the lot' meant that around 27,000 people ended up being interned in the UK. Unfortunately, many internees were refugees from the Nazis, including socialists such as Kurt Hager and a large number of artists attacked for their 'degeneracy' in an infamous Nazi art exhibition in 1937 (see Degenerate art). Huyton internees included artists Martin Bloch, Hugo Dachinger, and Walter Nessler,[6] dancer Kurt Jooss, musicians, and composer Hans Gál.[7] More than 40 per cent of Huyton's internees were over 50 years old.

The camp, first occupied in May 1940, was formed around several streets of new, empty council houses and flats, and then made secure with high barbed wire fencing. Twelve internees were allocated to each house, but overcrowding resulted in many sleeping in tents. Initially the camp was only meant to hold the internees until they could be shipped to the Isle of Man. However, largely in response to the torpedoing of the transport ship 'The Arandora Star', with the loss of nearly 700 people, the deportations ended. Most of the internees were released long before the camp closed in 1942. The camp was sited in and around what became known as the 'Bluebell estate' and many of the streets were given names of the great battles of the 1939 - 45 War.

File:1121740379 l.jpg

The Prisoner of War camp only closed in 1948. Many of its inmates 'went native', stayed in Britain and married local women. Among those in the Huyton camp was Bert Trautmann who later went on to be goalkeeper for Manchester City F.C.

From 1944, American servicemen were temporarily stationed in Huyton. Older Huytonians still recall the tensions between black and white G.I.s which resulted in a night known as ‘the shoot out at the Eagle and Child’ (local public house)[8]

Beatles connection

Huyton-with-Roby has several Beatles connections. As The Quarrymen, the Fab Four played the MPTE Social Club in Finch Lane.[9] The Beatles also played 15 times in a hall in Page Moss (Hambleton Hall, St David Road - later became a Probation Office) between January 1961 and January 1962.[10] On 21 March 1961, The Swinging Blue Jeans, fronted by Huyton-born Ray Ennis (born Raymond Vincent Ennis, 26 May 1942), introduced the Beatles to their first ever Cavern Club evening slot.[11] Paul McCartney’s auntie Jin lived in Dinas Lane. In 1963, this was the site of Paul’s eventful 21st birthday party, at which John Lennon got drunk and beat up a local DJ for intimating he was a homosexual.[12] Paul’s mother is buried at Yew Street Cemetery in Finch Lane[13] and Huyton Parish Church graveyard is the final resting place of the Beatles’ original bass guitarist, Huytonian Stuart Sutcliffe.[14] In late 1999, George Harrison survived a knife attack by an intruder in his home, which mirrored John Lennon's murder. On the evening of 30 December 1999 Michael Abram, a Huyton resident, broke into the Harrison's Friar Park home in Henley-on-Thames, and stabbed George multiple times, ultimately puncturing his lung. Harrison and his wife, Olivia, fought the intruder and detained him for the police. 35-year-old Abram, who believed he was possessed by Harrison and was on a "mission from God" to kill him, was later acquitted on grounds of insanity.

Notable music

  • Black - 7 UK Top 70 singles between 1986 and 1991 including 'Wonderful Life' (No.8).[15]
  • The Crescent - 3 UK Top 70 singles between May 2002 and Sept. 2002 including 'On The Run' (No.49).[16]
  • The La's - 4 UK Top 70 singles between 1990 and 1997 including 'There She Goes' (No.13).[17]
  • Space - 8 UK Top 30 hit singles between 1996 and 1998 including 'Avenging Angels' (No.6).[18]

Recent Events

Huyton was brought to national attention in 2005 after the racist murder of Anthony Walker in McGoldrick Park.[19]

Transport

Huyton is just located to the west of the M57 motorway which marks its border. Liverpool city centre is six miles to the west via the M62 motorway. Huyton railway station, formerly called Huyton Gate, is served by regular City Line services to and from Liverpool, St Helens, Wigan and further afield. Huyton Bus Station is situated in Huyton Hey Road, adjacent to the shopping centre and approximately 150 metres from Huyton rail station.

Education

Huyton has one college, Knowsley Community College, four secondary schools and seventeen primary schools.

Amenities

The shopping centre of Huyton is still referred to by its people as "the village" or "the villie", which dates back to the days when the centre was a rural village community. The area recently had a new Asda Walmart complex built close to "the village", which is one of the largest in Europe. There are also around 100 other independent shops and an indoor market.

The area has two libraries: Huyton (Civic Way) and Page Moss (Stockbridge Lane). There is also a contemporary art gallery at Huyton Library.

Huyton is home to the National Wildflower Centre, which is set in Court Hey Park. There are also another seven parks: Bowring Park (situated on Roby Road. It is the oldest public park in Knowsley. It opened in 1907), Huyton Lane Wetland, Jubilee Park (Twig Lane / Dinas Lane), McGoldrick Park (Rydal Road), Sawpit Park (Hall Lane / Sawpit Lane), Stadt Moers Park (covers more than 220 acres of land between Whiston and Huyton), and St John's Millennium Green (Manor Farm Road). There are also nine children's playgrounds.

Huyton has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V. It also has one of the biggest dog homes in Merseyside, Dogs Trust, located on Whiston Lane.

Huyton is also home to the 55th (Merseyside) HQ Squadron of the 33rd (Lancashire and Cheshire) Signal Regiment, British Territorial Army, Royal Corps of Signals, as well as an Air Training Corps, the 1982 (Huyton) Squadron.

Sport

The area is served by Huyton Leisure Centre (Roby Road) and King George V Sports Centre(Longview Drive).

Huyton-with-Roby boasts two 18 hole golf courses: Huyton & Prescot Golf Club (Founded in 1905, it can be found at Hurst Park, Huyton Lane) and Bowring Golf Club (According to a sign at the course, it is the oldest municipal golf course in England and can be found at Bowring Park, Roby Road).

Huyton has a registered cricket club, located off Huyton Lane which was founded in the mis 1860's by the stone family, and the town has produced at least one first class cricketer: Reginald Moss.

Huyton also had a professional rugby league club from 1968 to 1985. It was formed from Liverpool Stanley (1934-1951) and Liverpool City (rugby league) (1906-1907,1951-1968). Huyton struggled in the second division of the Rugby Football League until 1985, when they were replaced by Runcorn Highfield. This team, later renamed Highfield, struggled on near the bottom of the pro game - in 1995-1996 they gained just 1 point all season and changed their name to Prescot Panthers. Prescot finally disappeared at the end of the 1997 season (see List of defunct rugby league clubs). (Huytonians still interested in supporting pro rugby league have the choice of either St Helens RFC and Widnes Vikings, both of whom are 6 miles away from Huyton).

Huyton has been much more successful in producing professional footballers. In recent years the town has produced two outstanding, combative and skilful, midfield England internationals: Peter Reid (Everton FC) and Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC). Other footballers include: Joey Barton, Craig Hignett, Tony Hibbert, David Nugent, Leon Osman, John Relish, Greg Tansey and Lee Trundle. Notably on 28 March 2007, two of Huyton's most prominent footballers starred for England in a 3-nil away win in Andorra. Goals came from Steven Gerrard (2) and David Nugent in a proud night for Huyton. Both players were educated at Cardinal Heenan High School, who have a track record as one of the country's top schools for sport.

Huyton contains many amateur football teams at both junior and senior level, but only one FA Charter Standard Club, which is Paramount Community Football Club.

Despite producing so many pro footballers, Huyton has never been able to sustain a semi-pro club for long. Nearby Kirkby Town changed their name to Knowsley United F.C. in 1988 and re-located to Alt Park, the former home of Huyton Rugby League Club. In United's first five seasons they were hugely successful. In 1988-89 they finished runners-up in the North West Counties Football League. The following season they were champions and won promotion to the Northern Premier League Division One. They were accordingly promoted to the Premier Division. The following season they fought their way to the first round proper of the F.A. Cup, only to be beaten by Carlisle United at home. Unfortunately the momentum did not last and Knowsley United ceased to be a senior semi-pro side in 1998.

(Huytonians wanting to support a local semi-pro outfit have Prescot Cables F.C. located at Valerie Park in the Northern Premier League (Premier Division) less than 2 miles away).

Notable people

Huyton does not have its own hospital, therefore most of its famous sons and daughters will have been born elsewhere, usually in Liverpool or Whiston. As well as the aforementioned footballers, the following people have links with Huyton:

References

  1. ^ King, Alan (1984). 'Huyton & Roby: A History of Two Townships'. Knowsley: Metro. Borough of Knowsley. p. 55. ISBN 0 947739 01 7.;
  2. ^ King, Alan (1984). 'Huyton & Roby: A History of Two Townships'. Metro Borough of Knowsley. p. 66. ISBN 0 947739 01 7.;
  3. ^ King, Alan (1984). 'Huyton & Roby: A History of Two Townships'. Knowsley: Metro. Borough of Knowsley. p. 3. ISBN 0 947739 01 7.;
  4. ^ King, Alan (1984). 'Huyton & Roby: A History of Two Townships'. Knowsley: Metro. Borough of Knowsley. p. 5. ISBN 0 947739 01 7.;
  5. ^ King, Alan (1984). 'Huyton & Roby: A History of Two Townships'. Knowsley: Metro. Borough of Knowsley. p. 45. ISBN 0 947739 01 7.;
  6. ^ "Obituary: Walter Nessler". The Independent (London). 12 January 2002. [Caution: page contains popups]
  7. ^ "Hans Gál's Internment in Huyton". Anthony Fox & Eva Fox-Gál.
  8. ^ "Wartime camps in Huyton". BBC Liverpool. Retrieved 1 February 2008
  9. ^ Harry, Bill (2000) The Beatles Encyclodedia, Virgin Publishing, London, p.782;
  10. ^ Harry, Bill (2000) The Beatles Encyclodedia, Virgin Publishing, London, p.474;
  11. ^ Harry, Bill (2000) The Beatles Encyclodedia, Virgin Publishing, London, p.1055;
  12. ^ Harry, Bill (2000) The Beatles Encyclodedia, Virgin Publishing, London, p.340;
  13. ^ Harry, Bill (2000) The Beatles Encyclodedia, Virgin Publishing, London, p.746;
  14. ^ Harry, Bill (2000) The Beatles Encyclodedia, Virgin Publishing, London, p.536;
  15. ^ Strong, M.C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, Edinburgh, p. 229;
  16. ^ Strong, M.C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, Edinburgh, p.692;
  17. ^ Strong, M.C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, Edinburgh, p.393;
  18. ^ Strong, M.C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, Edinburgh, p.989;
  19. ^ "Man held over student axe murder". BBC News. 31 July 2005.
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