Vauxhall, Merseyside

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Vauxhall
Vauxhall, Merseyside (Merseyside)
Vauxhall, Merseyside

Vauxhall shown within Merseyside
Population 6,699
(2001 Census)
OS grid reference SJ345915
Metropolitan borough Liverpool
Metropolitan county Merseyside
Region North West
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LIVERPOOL
Postcode district L3, L5
Dialling code 0151
Police Merseyside
Fire Merseyside
Ambulance North West
European Parliament North West England
UK Parliament Liverpool Riverside
List of places: UK • England • Merseyside

Coordinates: 53°24′59″N 2°59′06″W / 53.41643, -2.984869

Vauxhall is an inner city district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is located north of Liverpool city centre, and is bounded by Kirkdale in the north, and Everton in the east, with the docks and River Mersey running along the west side.

Vauxhall is in the Liverpool City Council Ward of Kirkdale and the edge of the Central, Liverpool ward, although previously it was a ward itself.[1]. In the 1841 Liverpool Census [2] the area was covered by two wards Scotland and Vauxhall. According to the 2001 Census, Vauxhall had a population of 6,699.[3]

The area is more famously known as the "Scottie Road area" due to the history of Scotland Road running through it. The Scottie Press is a well known local newspaper for the Vauxhall area and is recognised as Britain's longest running community newspaper.[citation needed]. In 2008 Liverpool celebrates being European Capital of Culture, and in June 2008 to make a point of the area's contribution to Liverpool is not forgotten amid all the cultural celebrations, the Scottie Roaders, old and new, held their own 08 party.[4]

Despite the area being widely known and historical, the Vauxhall area is often misrepresented by the media as Kirkdale or Everton. Liverpool City Council's haste to update district signs around 2005 has also meant the entire area is formally misrepresented by signs saying "Everton". The city council, in their wisdom, refuse to change them.

The south end of Vauxhall near the city centre is home to Liverpool John Moores University at Byrom Street. This location like so much of Liverpool's inner city is much changed compared to yesteryear. Also nearby is Atlantic Point and Marybone halls of residence.

Contents

[edit] History

Scotland Road was created in the 1770s as a turnpike road to Preston via Walton and Burscough. It became part of a stagecoach route to Scotland, hence its name. It was partly widened in 1803 and streets of working-class housing laid out either side as Liverpool expanded. Many were demolished as slums in the 1930s, to be replaced with corporation flats. In the mid-1800s the area had become densely overcrowded, with people living in courts and cellars in appalling conditions with poverty and sickness worse than anywhere in the country.

In Victorian times the area had over 200 public houses, mostly now gone. What is now Vauxhall was historically within the boundaries of old Liverpool before further expansion took in the nearby townships of Everton (1835) and Kirkdale (1860's).

Scotland Road was the epicentre of working class life in north Liverpool. Home to most of Liverpool's migrant communities, Scotland Road was almost "a city within a city". Scotland Road had four main migrant communities; Irish, Welsh, Scottish and Italian [5] — not to mention the native Lancastarian community and pockets of German and Polish — making Scotland Road a cultural melting pot. It was a place close to both the back end of the city centre and the docks. It could be both a place of romantic nostalgia and brutal hardship. Community was at the centre of Scotland Road and one's faith often dictated which community one belonged to.

Urban clearance and the construction of the Wallasey Tunnel in the 1960s and '70's led to a shift in population of the area to various parts of the city such as Kirkby, Croxteth, Norris Green, Huyton, Stockbridge Village to new modern housing, leaving Scotland Road in a state of steady decline. Demolition particularly around the north end of Scotland Road continued in the 1980s and beyond.

In recent years new housing has followed the flagship Eldonian Village [6] such as Athol Village alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal plus flats and student accommodation around the Leeds Street and Marybone end to improve the Vauxhall area, however little of Scotland Road itself remains.

[edit] Political history

[edit] Landmarks in Vauxhall

Much of the area's landmarks have long since been demolished or closed. Three existing landmarks are:

The North Liverpool Community Justice Centre (CJC) [3] is based in Boundary Street.

For the future, Peel Holdings have proposed a plan for the docks in Vauxhall called Liverpool Waters. However it is reported this development would take decades to complete.

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] References

  1. ^ Liverpool City Council ward changes 2003
  2. ^ [1] 1841 Liverpool Census map
  3. ^ 2001 Census: Vauxhall (Ward). Office for National Statistics. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  4. ^ The Scottie 08 Reunion
  5. ^ Old Italian community
  6. ^ [2] model of tranquility

[edit] External links

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City of Liverpool
Districts
City Council Wards