Toxteth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Map sources for Toxteth at grid reference SJ355885
Map sources for Toxteth at grid reference SJ355885


Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool, Merseyside. It is located to the south of the city, bordered by Liverpool city centre, Wavertree and Dingle.

Contents

[edit] History

There is some ambiguity as to the origin of the name, the two theories are listed below.

  • Toki Staith is thought to be the Viking, 9th Century origin, meaning "landing place of Toki."[citation needed]
  • Toxteth is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, at this time, it appears as "Stochestede"[1] i.e. "the stockaded or enclosed place" - Anglo-Saxon stocc (German stock) "stake" - Anglo-Saxon 'stede' (German stadt) "place"

[edit] The Manor

Before the time of the Norman Conquest, Toxteth was divided into two manors of equal size. One was owned by Bernulf and the other by Stainulf. After the conquest part was granted by Count Roger of Poitou to the ancestor of the Earl of Sefton. From this time to about 1604 the land formed part of West Derby forest. The boundaries of the manor are described in the perambulation of 1228 as follows, "'Where Oskell's brook falls into the Mersey; up this brook to Haghou meadow, from this to Brummesho, following the syke to Brumlausie, and across by the old turbaries upon two meres as far as Lombethorn; from this point going down to the "waterfall" of the head of Otter pool, and down this pool into the Mersey[1]." In 1327 Toxteth was granted to Henry Plantagenet, brother of Thomas Plantagenet.

Over the years various leases and grants were made and the park was owned by Adam, son of William de Liverpool in 1338. In 1385 William de Liverpool had licence "to take two cartloads of gorse weekly from the park for 12d. a year rent." In 1383 a grant was made to William Bolton and Robert Baxter, in 1894 the lease was resigned and handed over to Richard de Molyneux. The park finally came into the hands of Sir Thomas Stanley in 1447. The parkland descended within the Stanley family until 1596 when the land was sold by William Stanley, Earl of Derby, to Edmund Smolte and Edward Aspinwall. In 1604 the Earl sold the same at a cost of £1,100 to Richard Molyneux of Sefton, the estate has descended from this time until 1972 with the death of the the 7th Earl[1].

[edit] Toxteth Park

The ancient township of Toxteth, contains the ancient village of Smeedon or Smithdown. It stretches over an area of three miles along the River Mersey and two miles inland, the highest point being on the corner of Smithdown Lane and Lodge Lane. An ancient brook ran from the northern end of the area towards the river, near the boundary of Parliament Street, where it was used to power a water wheel before it ran into the river. Along the river are two creeks, one near the middle is known as Knot's Hole and another further south called Dickinson's Dingle received a brook which ran past the east end of St Michael's Church[1].

At some time in history the creeks were filled in. The Dingle is now in the area where the old northern creek was situated, and St Michael's Hamlet is situated around the southern creek. Outside the southern boundary of the area lies the creek known as Otterspool, which formed the boundary between Wavertree and West Derby. The major road through the area was Park Lane, now Park Place, Park Road. The road ran from the Coffee House, which stood near Fairview Place, down towards the Dingle, and the old Toxteth Chapel[1].

In 1796 a pottery was established on the site of an old copper works, the site later became Herculaneum Dock, which was filled in during the 1980s. Toxteth has two parks within its bounds, Sefton Park and Princes Park. Sefton Park was formd in 1872 by the Corporation of Liverpool. The park has an aviary and a Palm House, which contains a statue of William Rathbone, which was presented in 1877. Princes Park was bought by Richard Vaughan Yates around 1840, intending it to be used as open space.

Toward the end of the 16th Century the Royal park ceased to be, and Puritan farmers from Bolton settled in the area. Setting up 25 farms on land outside Church of England control, which became Toxteth Village, they worshiped at the "Ancient Chapel" of Toxteth on Park Road. In 1611 they built a school at the Dingle, appointing Richard Mather as the master. Some years later he began preaching to the local farmers in the Ancient Chapel[2].

In the 18th and 19th Century, as Liverpool expanded the ancient park of Toxteth was gradually urbanised. Large Georgian and Victorian houses were built, especially along the tree-lined Princess Road/Avenue Boulevard area, and the district quickly became home to the wealthy merchants of Liverpool. Today, the Canning area, at the north of the Toxteth boundary, features many fine examples of Georgian architecture, including many fine examples of buildings constructed for ritual use. Due to all of the Georgian architecture in the Canning area it is known as "The Georgian Quarter."

Toxteth is the home of the last remaining significant part of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, the underground sections of the Park Road station at the end of the railway's south extension tunnel. Liverpool's post WWII decline took its toll on Toxteth, with the combination of successive immigrations during the 1950s and 1960s, continued rises in unemployment in the city, lack of government action, and general poverty, leading to the riots that took place in July 1981, for which the area is probably most famous.

[edit] Smithdown

Smithdown, referred to as Esmedune in the Domesday Book, and variously as Smededon, Smeddon, Smethesdune, Smethedon, Smethdon, Smethden[1], has been merged into Toxteth Park since the granting of the Liverpool Charter in 1207. The definite boundaries of Smithdown have never been fully recorded, but continued to be used from 1207 up until the 16th Century, although it is thought to have reached from Lodge Lane to the eastern boundary of Toxteth Park. In 1066 Smithdown was held as a separate manor, by Ethelmund. During the reign of King John the Manor of Smithdown was taken from its owner, and the king gave him Thingwall in its stead.

As the area began to develop and become more urbanised several buildings of worship were erected to serve the growing community. The first church to be built was St James' Church, in 1774. St Michael's was built in 1817 to the designs of Thomas Rickman, the church houses a monument to commemorate Jeremiah Horrocks. Other churches built during the 19th Century include St John the Baptist's, 1832; St Paul's, 1848; St Thomas's, 1840; St Barnabas's, 1841; St Clement's Windsor, 1841; St Matthew's, 1847; St Silas's, 1865; Holy Trinity, 1858; St Margaret's, 1869; St Cleopas's, 1866; Christ Church, 1870; St Philemon's, 1874; All Saints', 1884; St Gabriel's, 1884; St Bede's, 1886; St Agnes's, 1884; St Andrew's, 1893[1].

[edit] Description

The area starts approximately a mile south from the city centre. The area is roughly located in the pseudo triangle formed by Sefton Street (A5036, along the river), Upper Parliament Street eleading into Smithdown Road (A562) and Ullet Road (B5342). This "triangle" is known locally as the "Toxteth Triangle", although it also includes the Dingle district and parts of Wavertree. It is also known as "Liverpool 8" after the former postal district. However, the L8 post code also includes several other adjoining areas such as Canning.

Politically, the parliamentary constituency (Liverpool Riverside) is held by the Labour Party (although the MP, Louise Ellman, actually represents the Co-operative Party, a Labour Party affiliate whose candidates stand as "Labour and Co-operative"), whilst the council ward (Princes Park) has two Labour councillors and one Liberal Democrat councillor. The latter, (Ali Mohammed Mahmoud), is also the first local councillor of Somali origin[citation needed].

Although things are improving steadily, some of the area continues to suffer from poverty and urban degradation. House prices reflect this; in summer 2003, the average property price was just £45,929 (compared to the national average of £160,625).

Housing in Toxteth tends to be in terraces but there is a growing number of flats available as larger Victorian properties (particularly around the Princes Road/Avenue boulevard) are broken up into separate dwellings. Many of the examples round around Princes Park have enjoyed improvement work to create a neater appearance, to tie-in with the forthcoming European Capital of Culture 2008 title.

Toxteth famously has the postcode L8.

[edit] Regeneration

A picture of some derelict terraces in Toxteth.
A picture of some derelict terraces in Toxteth.

Extensive regeneration has taken place in Toxteth over the last few years, including demolition of many of the Victorian terraces in the area creating much new development, particularly aimed at middle class people. The most recent scheme, costing £54 million, will see the destruction of 11 streets near Princes Park, nicknamed the "Welsh Streets" due to the street names being of Welsh towns and villages. On one of these streets, Madryn Street, Ringo Starr had lived as a child. The threat of destroying one of The Beatles' childhood homes caused local uproar. The decision was made in September, 2005 to take down the house brick-by-brick and store it at the Museum of Liverpool Life. This has not been a successful decision, some suggesting demolition of the area surrounding Starr's home was unsatisfactory, claiming "People liked the city's character, not packaged replicas". [1]. The Welsh Streets had been one of Liverpool's popular landmarks.

[edit] Attractions

[edit] Transport

  • The closest railway station is Brunswick, located on the border of Toxteth and Dingle. Regular Northern Line trains depart for Liverpool city centre, Southport and Hunts Cross. The trains are operated by Merseyrail.

[edit] Famous people

[edit] Fictional people

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 'Townships: Toxteth Park', A History of the County of Lancashire: Volume 3 (1907), pp. 40-5. British History Online. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  2. ^ The Ancient Chapel of Toxteth. The Liverpolitan, August 1948. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.

[edit] Further reading

  • Liverpool District Placenames, Henry Harrison 1898

[edit] External links


City of Liverpool
Districts
Aigburth | Allerton | Anfield | Belle Vale | Broadgreen | Canning | Childwall | Clubmoor | Croxteth | Dingle | Dovecot | Edge Hill | Everton | Fairfield | Fazakerley | Garston | Gateacre | Grassendale | Hunts Cross | Kensington | Kirkdale | Knotty Ash | Mossley Hill | Netherley | Norris Green | Old Swan | St Michael's Hamlet | Speke | Stoneycroft | Toxteth | Tuebrook | Walton | Wavertree | West Derby | Woolton
City Council Wards

Allerton & Hunts Cross | Anfield | Belle Vale | Central | Childwall | Church | Clubmoor | County | Cressington | Croxteth | Everton | Fazakerley | Greenbank | Kensington & Fairfield | Kirkdale | Knotty Ash | Mossley Hill | Norris Green | Old Swan | Picton | Princes Park | Riverside | Speke Garston | St Michaels | Tuebrook and Stoneycroft | Warbreck | Wavertree | West Derby | Woolton | Yew Tree

Coordinates: 53.38938° N 2.97130° W

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/o/x/Toxteth.html"
In other languages