Upton, Merseyside

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Upton
Upton, Merseyside (Merseyside)
Upton, Merseyside

Upton shown within Merseyside
Population 15,731 (2001 Census)[1]
OS grid reference SJ270881
Metropolitan borough Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
Metropolitan county Merseyside
Region North West
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town WIRRAL
Postcode district CH49
Dialling code 0151 6**
Police Merseyside
Fire Merseyside
Ambulance North West
European Parliament North West England
UK Parliament Wirral West
List of places: UK • England • Merseyside

Coordinates: 53°23′06″N 3°05′56″W / 53.385, -3.099

Upton is a large village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England, situated close to Birkenhead. At the 2001 Census, the population was 15,731 (7,268 males, 8,463 females),[1] although as a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, encompassing a larger area, it was recorded as 16,200.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

Upton was originally settled as a farming community, during the Anglo-Saxon period. In Norman times, Upton was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Optone and was written as being in the possession of William Mallbank.[3] Upton was the primary economic centre of northern Wirral until the industrial development of Birkenhead during the mid-19th century. The main thoroughfare, of the village, was also the place of a weekly market. Fairs were also held in the village at Michaelmas and Easter.

A Runestone was discovered in the ruins of Upton's Norman Parish church in Overchurch. The stone is now kept at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester.

In 1847, William Williams Mortimer said of Upton in his History of the Hundred of Wirral:[4]

"..though now only a small village, Upton was formerly considered the metropolis of the lower mediety of Wirral, and had two annual fairs of considerable importance, and also a weekly market that was discontinued in 1620, the village having been recently almost entirely rebuilt, contains several good houses, among which may be particularly mentioned Upton Hall..."

A major contributor to the village was William Inman, owner of the Inman Line, who donated money for the construction of St. Mary's Church.

Upton was a township and parish in the Wirral Hundred, which included the nearby hamlet of Overchurch. Its population was 141 in 1801, 227 in 1851 and 788 in 1901.[5]

[edit] Community

Upton has a number of schools: Overchurch Primary School, St. Joseph's Primary School, St. Benedict's High School, Upton Hall School FCJ, a grammar school for girls and Hayfield School on Manor Drive.

St. Mary's Church is Upton's Church of England parish church. It is a large church, which was consecrated on 28 April 1868.[6] St. Joseph's Church, the local Roman Catholic parish church, was opened on 31 August 1954.[6]

Victory Hall, a community hall rebuilt in 1963, was originally sited in a large Victorian villa, which had been purchased by public subscription.[6] Upton Library was opened in 1936 and built in the Art Deco style of architecture. The village's war memorial is located within its grounds.

The Village Youth Project, known as 'The Bank', is a youth club set up in 1999. It provides a range of activities for the youth of Upton as an alternative to anti-social behaviour. It runs various events for the community, including a popular annual fair, situated at Overchurch Primary School each summer.

The village is represented in sport by Upton Cricket Club, which was established in 1901, and Upton Victory Hall Lawn Tennis & Badminton Club. Upton Park is an area of recreational open space and woodland situated near to the M53 motorway (Moreton Spur).

[edit] Transport

Upton today is most notable for its central location between Birkenhead and West Kirby. The consequence of this is that road transport through Upton is uncharacteristically efficient for the rural suburban area of Wirral. Upton is situated at the junction of roads from Birkenhead, Moreton, Greasby, Saughall Massie and Arrowe Park. The road network was further enhanced with the building of a bypass in the early 1980s. The M53 motorway, at Junction 2, is situated less than a mile from the centre of the village and connects directly to the bypass.

The exception to this is rail transport, as Upton is not a part of the major rail link from Birkenhead to West Kirby, which instead passes around the more densely populated coast. Upton railway station exists as part of the Borderlands Line between Bidston and Wrexham. Due to its location, the station is more of service to the Noctorum community, rather than Upton. This is not considered a problem however, as the locality is well served by regular bus services.

[edit] Upton in Literature

  • Set Upon a Hill - Robert A. Pullan and Kenneth J. Burnley, (1993).

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b 2001 Census: Upton. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved on 20 February 2007.
  2. ^ Wirral 2001 Census: Upton (Ward). Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Retrieved on 2 April 2008.
  3. ^ Cheshire (L-Z). Domesday Book Online. Retrieved on 14 January 2008.
  4. ^ W.W. Mortimer (1972 (republished)). The History of the Hundred of Wirral. E.J. Morten. ISBN 0-901598-57-7. 
  5. ^ Cheshire Towns & Parishes: Upton by Birkenhead. GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy. Retrieved on 2 April 2008.
  6. ^ a b c Upton in the Hundred of Wirral: History. Retrieved on 15 January 2008.

[edit] Bibliography

  • pp53-64, Yesterday's Wirral No.7, Ian & Marilyn Boumphrey, (1992). ISBN 0-9507255-7-9
  • pp111-113, The Wirral ~ Photographic Memories, Jim Rubery, (2003). ISBN 1-85937-517-0
  • pp49-53, Wirral Champion Journal, Vol.12, No.2, (Summer 2004). ISSN 1470-2746-18

[edit] External links