M62 motorway
The M62 is a 107-mile-long west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road is part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22; the motorway, first proposed in the 1930s, conceived as two separate routes, was opened in stages between 1971 and 1976, with construction beginning at Pole Moor and finishing at that time in Tarbock on the outskirts of Liverpool. The motorway absorbed the northern end of the Stretford-Eccles bypass, built between 1957 and 1960. Adjusted for inflation to 2007, its construction cost £765 million; the motorway has an average daily traffic flow of 144,000 vehicles in West Yorkshire, has several areas prone to gridlock, in particular, between Leeds and Huddersfield and the M60 section around Eccles. The M62 coach bombing of 1974 and the Great Heck rail crash of 2001 are the largest incidents to have occurred on the M62. Stott Hall Farm, situated between the carriageways on the Pennine section has become one of the best-known sights on the motorway.
The M62 has no junctions numbered 1, 2 or 3, or an numbered 4, because it was intended to start in Liverpool proper, not in its outskirts. Between Liverpool and Manchester, east of Leeds, the terrain along which the road passes is flat. Between Manchester and Leeds it traverses the Pennines and its foothills, rising to 1,221 feet above sea level east of junction 22 in Calderdale, not far from the boundary between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire; the motorway's origins are found in the 1930s, when the need for a route between Lancashire and Yorkshire had been agreed after discussion by their county highway authorities. At the same time, it was envisaged that a route between Liverpool and Hull was needed to connect the ports to industrial Yorkshire. After the Second World War, the Minister of Transport appointed engineers to inspect road standards between the A580 road in Swinton and the A1 road near Selby; the 1949 Road Plan for South Lancashire identified the need to upgrade the A580 to dual carriageway with grade separation and provide bypasses at Huyton and Cadishead.
In 1952, the route for a trans-Pennine motorway, the Lancashire–Yorkshire Motorway, was laid down, with Ferrybridge at the eastern terminus rather than Selby. By the 1960s, the proposed A580 upgrade to dual carriageway was considered inadequate, there was an urgent need to link Liverpool to the motorway network; the route of the Lancashire-Yorkshire motorway was considered inadequate as it failed to cater for several industrial towns in Yorkshire. When James Drake visited the United States in 1962, his experience of the Interstate Highway System led him to conclude that the Merseyside Expressway, planned to run between Liverpool and the M6, would need to be extended to the Stretford-Eccles Bypass and beyond, to create a continuous motorway between Liverpool and Ferrybridge; the plans were unpopular and not supported by the Ministry of Transport, but the scheme was added to the Road Plan in 1963. It was the intention to build an urban motorway in Liverpool; the M62 was intended to terminate at Liverpool's Inner Motorway, not built.
The proposed route would have followed the railway into Liverpool as far as Edge Hill, with junctions at Rathbone Road and Durning Road where it would drop to two lanes before terminating at the Islington Radial. Difficulties arose building the Liverpool urban motorway resulting in delays, with the section between Tarbock and Liverpool the last to be completed in 1976. In total, two viaducts, ten bridges and seven underpasses were constructed to secure the structural integrity of the surrounding residential areas; the motorway was constructed only as far as the Queens Drive inner ring road, junction 4. The section west of Manchester was intended to be a separate motorway, the M52 to link Liverpool and Salford, but a continuous motorway between Leeds and Liverpool was deemed more feasible, Construction between Liverpool and Manchester started in 1971, with the construction of a link between the M57 and M6 motorways. A contract to link the M6 with Manchester was underway, which required land drainage and the removal of unsuitable earth.
This section was completed in August 1974, creating a continuous link between Ferrybridge and Tarbock. Two motorways were planned, the M52 from Liverpool to Salford and the M62 to link Pole Moor with the Stretford–Eccles Bypass; the first part of the M62 to be built was the Stretford–Eccles Bypass, now the section between Junctions 7 to 13 of the M60. Construction started in 1957, the motorway opened in 1960, it was built as a 2-lane motorway only. It was re-numbered M63; the section between the interchange with the Stretford-Eccles Bypass and Salford is now occupied by the M602 motorway. The Eccles–Pole Moor section opened in 1971. Between Eccles and Pole Moor, 67 motorway crossings were required, including seven viaducts and eight junctions. Much of the Worsley Braided Interchange was built on undeveloped mossland where deep peat deposits had been covered with waste. Between Worsley and Milnrow, some underlying coal seams were still worked when the motorway was constructed and allowances had to be made to counteract possible future subsidence.
The motorway crosses the Irwell Valley and the Pendleton Fault on a 200-foot single-span bridge 65 feet above the river. Surveying for the Pennine section began in November 1961 and its route was determined in July 1963. Construction between Windy Hill and Pole Moor w
Richard Seddon
Richard John Seddon was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th Premier of New Zealand from 1893 until his death in office in 1906. First active in local politics, Seddon entered the House of Representatives as the member for Hokitika in 1879. Seddon became a key member of the nascent Liberal Party under the leadership of John Ballance; when the Liberal Government came to power in 1891 Seddon was appointed to several portfolios, including Minister of Public Works. Seddon succeeded to the leadership of the Liberal Party following Ballance's death in 1893, inheriting a bill for women's suffrage, passed the same year. Seddon's government achieved many social and economic changes, such as the introduction of old age pensions. An imperialist in foreign policy, his attempt to incorporate Fiji into New Zealand failed, but he annexed the Cook Islands in 1901, he purchased vast amounts of land from the Māori. Seddon's government supported Britain with troops in the Second Boer War and supported preferential trade between British colonies.
In office for thirteen years, Seddon is to date New Zealand's longest-serving head of government. Sometimes derisively known as "King Dick" for his autocratic style, he has nonetheless been lauded as one of the greatest, most influential, most known politicians in New Zealand history. Seddon was born in Eccleston near St Helens, England in 1845, his father Thomas Seddon was a school headmaster, his mother Jane Lindsay was a teacher. They married on 8 February 1842 at Christ Church, Eccleston. Richard was the third of their eight children. Despite this background, Seddon did not perform well at school, was described as unruly. Despite his parents' attempt to give him a classical education, Seddon developed an interest in engineering, but was removed from school at age 12. After working on his grandfather Richard's farm at Barrow Nook Hall for two years, Seddon was an apprentice at Daglish's Foundry in St Helens, he worked at Vauxhall foundry in Liverpool, where he attained a Board of Trade Certificate as a mechanical engineer.
On 15 June 1862, at the age of 16, Seddon decided to emigrate to Australia, on the SS Great Britain. He provided his reasoning: "A restlessness to get away to see new, broad lands seized me: My work was irksome. I felt cramped." He entered the railway workshops at Melbourne, Victoria. He was caught by the gold fever and went to Bendigo, where he spent some time in the diggings, he did not meet with any great success. In either 1865 or 1866, he became engaged to Louisa Jane Spotswood, but her family would not permit marriage until Seddon was more financially secure. In 1866, Seddon moved to New Zealand's West Coast, he worked the goldfields in Waimea. He is believed to have prospered here, he returned to Melbourne to marry Louisa, he established a store, expanded his business to include the sale of alcohol, becoming a publican. He was followed to the West Coast by his older sister Phoebe, younger brothers Edward and Jim and younger sister Mary. Phoebe married William Cunliffe on 9 May 1863 at Holy Trinity Church Eccleston.
Their son Bill was Labour MP David Cunliffe's grandfather, making Richard Seddon David Cunliffe's great-great-uncle. Seddon's first real involvement with politics was with various local bodies, such as the Arahura Road Board. In 1874 elected to the council of Westland Province, representing Arahura, he lost this position with the abolition of the provinces in 1876. Seddon became known along the West Coast as an advocate for miners' rights and interests, he was consulted over various political issues. In 1877, Seddon was elected as the first Mayor of Kumara, to become a prominent goldmining town, he had staked a claim in Kumara the previous year, had shortly afterwards moved his business there. Despite occasional financial troubles, his political career prospered. Seddon first sought election to the New Zealand House of Representatives in the 1876 election, standing for the Hokitika electorate. In the two-member electorate, he came fourth out of five candidates. In the 1879 election, he tried again, was elected.
He represented Hokitika to 1881 Kumara from 1881 to 1890 Westland from 1890 to his death in 1906. His son Tom Seddon succeeded him as MP for Westland. In Parliament, Seddon aligned himself with George Grey, a former Governor turned Premier. Seddon claimed to be close to Grey, although some historians believe that this was an invention for political purposes. Seddon was derided by many members of Parliament, who mocked his "provincial" accent and his lack of formal education, he proved quite effective in Parliament, being good at "stonewalling" certain legislation. His political focus was on issues of concern to his West Coast constituents, he specialised on mining issues, became a recognised authority on the topic, chaired the goldfields committee in 1887 and 1888. He aggressively proclaimed a populist anti-elitist philosophy in many speeches and toast. "It is the rich and the poor. Seddon joined the Liberal Party, led by John Ballance, following the December 1890 general election, their platform was for reform in the areas of land and labour.
They were helped by the abolition of plural voting, which allowed landowners in each district they owned land in to vote in them. Seddon was sworn into his first ministerial positions when the Liberals came to power in January 1891, he became minister of public works, mines and marine
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving North West England. On the outbreak of World War II, the airport was known as RAF Speke; the airport is within the City of Liverpool on the banks of the estuary of the River Mersey some 6.5 nautical miles south east of the city centre. Called Speke Airport, in 2001 the airport was renamed after Liverpudlian musician John Lennon of The Beatles. Scheduled domestic and North African services are operated from the airport. Between 1997-2007, the facility was one of Europe's fastest growing airports, increasing annual passenger numbers from 689,468 in 1997 to 5,470,000 in 2007. Despite passenger numbers having decreased to just over 4,800,000 in 2016, this was an 11.1% increase on the 2015 total, making it the twelfth busiest airport in the UK. In 2017 the airport served 4.95 million passengers an increase of 3% over 2016. The CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence Number is P735, that allows flights for the public transport of passengers and flying instruction.
The airport handled just over 5 million passengers 2018. Built in part of the grounds of Speke Hall, Liverpool Airport, as the airport was known, started scheduled flights in 1930 with a service by Imperial Airways via Barton Aerodrome near Eccles and Castle Bromwich Aerodrome, Birmingham to Croydon Airport near London; the airport was opened in mid-1933. By the late 1930s, air traffic from Liverpool was beginning to take off with increasing demand for Irish Sea crossings, a distinctive passenger terminal, control tower and two large aircraft hangars were built. At the beginning of 1937 Liverpool City Council leased between 70 and 110 acres of their Speke Estate on a 999-year lease to the Air Ministry; the price included at all times the use of Speke Airport next to the shadow factory site. The LMS Railway provided a siding. Erection of the building was planned to take 30 weeks and when complete it would provide employment for more than 5,000 people, it was to be managed by Rootes Securities on behalf of the Air Ministry.
Work started Monday 15 February 1937. During World War II, Speke was known as RAF Speke. Rootes built in a "shadow factory" by the airport Bristol Blenheims and 1,070 Handley Page Halifax bombers. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation assembled many types of planes at the airport, including Hudsons and Mustang fighters, shipped from the United States in parts to Liverpool Docks; the airport was home to the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit. On 8 October 1940, Speke was witness to what is thought to be the fastest air-to-air combat "kill" in the Battle of Britain and of all time. Flight Lieutenant Denys Gillam took off in his Hawker Hurricane from Speke to be confronted by a Junkers 88 passing across him, he shot the Junkers down while his undercarriage was still retracting, along with Alois Vašátko and Josef Stehlík, all of 312 Squadron, was credited with the kill. The moment has been caught in a painting by Robert Taylor called Fastest Victory. Normal civil airline operations resumed after VE-day and passengers increased from 50,000 in 1945 to 75,000 in 1948, remaining ahead of Manchester Airport.
Ownership by the Ministry of Aviation proved to be a drag on the airport's progress thereafter and Manchester gained the lead from 1949, resulting in Liverpool's loss of the only ground-controlled radar approach unit available to North West airports, further hampering operation. During the post war years, Speke Airport hosted an annual air display in aid of the Soldiers and Air Force Association, a charity for veterans; the displays attracted a huge crowd. On one such occasion on 21 May 1956 sadly tragedy struck with the death of Léon Alfred Nicolas "Léo" Valentin billed as the Birdman when his balsa wood wings struck the opening of the aircraft from which he was exiting and he was hurtled into an uncontrollable spin, he attempted to deploy his emergency parachute but it became entangled and'roman candled' leaving Leo to fall to his death. The local newspaper headlined the story with "The world has been robbed of a daring personality". A few years earlier Valentin had been attributed with discovering the free-fall stable position still used by sports parachutists today for safe deployment.
The city prepared development plans. In 1966, a new 7,500 ft runway was opened by Prince Philip on a new site to the southeast of the existing airfield, it is in use to this day. Control of the airport transferred to Merseyside County Council from Liverpool Corporation in the mid-1970s and ten years to the five Merseyside councils following the abolition of Merseyside County Council. In 1982, Pope John Paul II met crowds at the old Liverpool airport. A modern passenger terminal adjacent to the new runway opened in 1986 followed by the closure of the original 1930s building; the original terminal building dating from the late 1930s, famously seen on early television footage with its terraces packed with Beatles fans, was left derelict until converted into a hotel, opening in 2001, preserving its Grade II listed Art Deco style. It was part of the Marriott chain of hotels, but is the Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport Hotel after a renovation in August 2008; the former apron of the terminal is listed and retained in its original condition, although it is no longer connected to the airport or subject to airside access control.
It is the home of several aircraft, including BAe Jetstream 41 prototype G-JMAC and Bristol Britannia G-ANCF, preserv
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are areas that were established for administration by the Normans, in many cases based on earlier kingdoms and shires created by the Anglo-Saxons and others. They are alternatively known as ancient counties, traditional counties, former counties or as counties. In the centuries that followed their establishment, as well as their administrative function, the counties helped define local culture and identity; this role continued after the counties ceased to be used for administration after the creation of administrative counties in 1889, which were themselves amended by further local government reforms in the years following. Unlike the self-governing boroughs that covered urban areas, the counties of medieval England existed as a means of enforcing central government power, enabling monarchs to exercise control over local areas through their chosen representatives – sheriffs and the Lord-Lieutenants – and their subordinate justices of the peace. Counties were used for the administration of justice, collection of taxes and organisation of the military, for local government and electing parliamentary representation.
They continue to form the basis of modern local government in many parts of the country away from the main urban areas, although sometimes with altered boundaries. The name of a county gives a clue to how it was formed, either as a division that took its name from a centre of administration, an ancient kingdom, or an area occupied by an ethnic group; the majority of English counties are in the first category, with the name formed by combining the central town with the suffix "-shire", for example Yorkshire. Former kingdoms, which became earldoms in the united England did not feature this formulation. Counties ending in the suffix "-sex", the former Saxon kingdoms, are in this category. Many of these names are formed from compass directions; the third category includes counties such as Cornwall and Devon where the name corresponds to the tribes who inhabited the area. County Durham is anomalous in terms of naming and origin, not falling into any of the three categories. Instead, it was a diocese, turned into the County Palatine of Durham, ruled by the Bishop of Durham.
The expected form would otherwise be "Durhamshire", but it was used. There are customary abbreviations for many of the counties. In most cases, these consist of simple truncation with an "s" at the end signifying "shire", such as "Berks" for Berkshire or "Bucks" for Buckinghamshire; some abbreviations are not obvious, such as "Salop" for Shropshire, from the Norman-derived word for its county town Shrewsbury. Counties were prefixed with "County of" in official contexts, such as "County of Kent"; those counties named after central towns lost the -"shire" suffix, for example Yorkshire would be known as "County of York". This usage was sometimes followed where there was no town by that name, such as the "County of Berks"; the "-shire" suffix was appended for some counties, such as "Devonshire", "Dorsetshire" and "Somersetshire", despite their origin. There is still a Duke of Devonshire. Great Britain was first divided into administrative areas by the Romans, most following major geographical features such as rivers.
Before their arrival there were distinct tribal areas, but they were in a constant state of flux as territory was gained and lost. After the demise of Roman Britain around 410 these first divisions of land were abandoned, although traditional divisions taking the form of petty kingdoms such as Powys and Elmet, remained in those areas which remained British, such as south west England; the areas that would form the English counties started to take shape soon afterwards, with the Kingdom of Kent founded by settlers around 445. In southern England more shires emerged from earlier sub-kingdoms as part of the administrative structure of Wessex, which imposed its system of shires and ealdormen on Mercia after it came under West Saxon control during the 9th century. Once the Kingdom of England was united as a whole in 927 it became necessary to subdivide it for administrative convenience and to this end, earldoms were created out of the earlier kingdoms; the whole kingdom was divided into shires by the time of the Norman conquest.
Robert of Gloucester accounts for thirty-five shires and William of Malmesbury thirty-two, Henry of Huntingdon, thirty-seven. In most cases the counties or shires in medieval times were administered by a sheriff on behalf of the monarch. After the Norman conquest the sheriff was replaced and the shires became counties, or "areas under the control of a count", in the French manner. Although all of England was divided into shires by the time of the Norman conquest, some counties were formed later, up to the 16th century; because of their differing origins the counties varied in size. The county boundaries were static between the 16th century Laws in Wales acts and the Local Government Act 1888; each shire was responsible for gathering taxes for the central government. In southern England the counties were subdivisions of the Kingdom of Wessex, in many areas represented annexed independent, kingdoms or other tribal territories. Kent derives from the Kingdom of Kent, Essex and Middlesex come from the East Saxons, South Saxons and Middle Saxons.
Norfolk and Suffolk were subdivis
Metropolitan Borough of St Helens
The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It is named after its largest town St Helens, covers an area which includes the settlements of Sutton, St Helens, Rainhill, Clock Face, Billinge and Newton-le-Willows; the Metropolitan Borough Council is made up of 48 councillors, with three representing each of the 16 wards of the borough. The Metropolitan Borough was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the former County Borough of St Helens, along with the urban districts of Haydock, Newton-le-Willows and Rainford, parts of Billinge-and-Winstanley and Ashton-in-Makerfield urban districts, along with part of Whiston Rural District, all from the administrative county of Lancashire. Between 1974 and 1986 the borough council shared functions with Merseyside County Council; the functions of this body were in part devolved to the boroughs and in part transferred to ad hoc agencies. Elections to St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council are held in three out of every four years, with one-third of the 48 seats on the council being elected at each election.
The Labour party has had a majority on the council since the first election in 1973, except for a period between the 2004 election and the 2010 election when no party had a majority. This allowed an alliance between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives to take control after the 2006 election until Labour regained control in 2010. Since Labour has strengthened its position on the council and as of the 2014 election the council is composed of the following councillors:- St Helens North St Helens South and Whiston The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is one of the six constituent local government districts of the Liverpool City Region. Since 1 April 2014, some of the borough's responsibilities have been pooled with neighbouring authorities and subsumed into the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority; the combined authority has become the top-tier administrative body for the local governance of the city region and the leader of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council, along with the five other leaders from neighbouring local government districts, take strategic decisions over economic development, transport and skills, culture and physical infrastructure.
The borough borders the borough of Knowsley, within Merseyside, in the south-west, the Lancashire district of West Lancashire in the north, the Greater Manchester Borough of Wigan in the north-east, to the south the boroughs of Warrington and Halton in Cheshire. The St Helens Borough covers 30 km² over an area of soft rolling hills used for agricultural purposes arable; the highest point in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, the whole of Merseyside, is Billinge Hill, 4.5 miles north from St. Helens centre; the borough is landlocked with a stream running through, Mill Brook/Windle Brook running through Eccleston and connecting with the St. Helens Branch/Section of the Sankey Canal in the town centre; the centre of St Helens is around 160 feet above sea level. From the top of Billinge Hill the cities of Manchester and Liverpool are visible on a clear day as well as the towns of, Bolton and Warrington. Carr Mill Dam is Merseyside's largest body of inland water, offering picturesque lakeside trails and walks as well as national competitive powerboating and angling events.
The Burgies are two tailings on the site of the old Rushy Park coal mine. They were created by the dumping of toxic chemical waste from the manufacture of glass, they have since been covered with tall grass and woodland. St Helens is twinned with: Stuttgart, Germany St. Helens Metropolitan Borough Council Earlestown Historical Website Newton-le-Willows Historical Website
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government, they are a territorial designation, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of ecclesiastical parishes which played a role in both civil and ecclesiastical administration; the unit rolled out across England in the 1860s. A civil parish can range in size from a large town with a population of about 75,000 to a single village with fewer than a hundred inhabitants. Eight parishes have city status. A civil parish may be known as and confirmed as a town, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council, a right reserved not conferred on other units of English local government. 35% of the English population live in a civil parish. As of 31 December 2015 there were 10,449 parishes in England; the most populous is Weston super Mare and those with cathedral city status are Chichester, Hereford, Ripon, Salisbury and Wells.
On 1 April 2014, Queen's Park became the first civil parish in Greater London. Before 2008 their creation was not permitted within a London borough. Wales was divided into civil parishes until 1974, when they were replaced by communities, which are similar to English parishes in the way they operate. Civil parishes in Scotland were abolished for local government purposes by the Local Government Act 1929, the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are community council areas, which were established by the Local Government Act 1973; the Parish system in Europe was established between the 8th and 12th centuries and in England was old by the time of the Conquest. These areas were based on the territory of one or more manors, areas which in some cases derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates. Parish boundaries were conservative, changing little, after 1180'froze' so that boundaries could no longer be changed at all, despite changes to manorial landholdings - though there were some examples of sub-division.
The consistency of these boundaries, up until the 19th century is useful to historians, is of cultural significance in terms of shaping local identities, a factor reinforced by the adoption of parish boundaries unchanged, by successor local government units. There was huge variation in size between parishes, for instance Writtle in Essex was 13,568 acres while neighbouring Shellow Bowells was just 469 acres, Chignall Smealy 476 acres; until the break with Rome, parishes managed ecclesiastical matters, while the manor was the principal unit of local administration and justice. The church replaced the manor court as the rural administrative centre, levied a local tax on produce known as a tithe. In the medieval period, responsibilities such as relief of the poor passed from the Lord of the Manor to the parish's rector, who in practice would delegate tasks among his vestry or the monasteries. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the power to levy a rate to fund relief of the poor was conferred on the parish authorities by the Act for the Relief of the Poor 1601.
Both before and after this optional social change, local charities are well-documented. The parish authorities were consisted of all the ratepayers of the parish; as the number of ratepayers of some parishes grew, it became difficult to convene meetings as an open vestry. In some built up, areas the select vestry took over responsibility from the entire body of ratepayers; this innovation allowed governance by a self-perpetuating elite. The administration of the parish system relied on the monopoly of the established English Church, which for a few years after Henry VIII alternated between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, before settling on the latter on the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558. By the 18th century, religious membership was becoming more fractured in some places, due for instance to the progress of Methodism; the legitimacy of the parish vestry came into question and the perceived inefficiency and corruption inherent in the system became a source for concern in some places.
For this reason, during the early 19th century the parish progressively lost its powers to ad hoc boards and other organisations, for example the loss of responsibility for poor relief through the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. Sanitary districts covered England in Ireland three years later; the replacement boards were each entitled to levy their own rate in the parish. The church rate ceased to be levied in many parishes and became voluntary from 1868; the ancient parishes diverged into two distinct, nearly overlapping, systems of parishes during the 19th century. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 declared all areas that levied a separate rate: C of E ecclesiastical parishes, extra-parochial areas and their analogue, chapelries, to be "civil parishes". To have collected rates this means these beforehand had their own vestries, boards or equivalent bodies; the Church of England parishes, which cover more than 99% of England, became termed "ecclesiastical parishes" and the boundaries of these soon diverged from those of the Ancient Parishes in order to reflect modern circumstances.
After 1921 each ecclesiastical parish has been the responsibility of the parochial church councils. In the late 19th century, most of the ancient irregularities inheri
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, with a population of 102,629. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, which had a population of 176,843 at the 2001 Census. St Helens is in the south west of the historic county of Lancashire, 6 miles north of the River Mersey; the town lay within the ancient Lancashire division of West Derby known as a "hundred". Incorporated as a municipal borough in 1868, responsible for the administration of the townships of Eccleston, Parr and Windle, it became a county borough in 1887 and a metropolitan borough in 1974; the area developed in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries into a significant centre for coal mining and glassmaking. It was home to a cotton and linen industry that lasted until the mid-19th century as well as salt and alkali pits, copper smelting, brewing. Glass producer Pilkington is the town's only remaining large industrial employer, it was home to Beechams, the Gamble Alkali Works, Ravenhead glass, United Glass Bottles, Daglish Foundry, Greenall's brewery.
The southern part of what became the traditional county of Lancashire was at least settled by the Brigantes, a Celtic tribe, who were subjugated by the Romans during their 1st Century conquest, with nearby Wigan suggested as a location for the Roman settlement of Coccium. Eccleston in St Helens appears to derive its name from either the Latin ecclesia or the Welsh eglwys, both meaning "church", suggesting a common link to a place of worship although none is known in that township until the 19th century; the first recorded settlements are the Manors and Titled Lands listed in the Domesday Book in the 11th century. The titled lands would have encompassed the modern townships of Sutton and Parr as part of their fiefdoms, though it may be inferred from the listed tithes that the land was populated before then. St Helens did not exist as a town in its own right until as late as the middle of the 19th century; the development of the town has a complex history: it was spurred on by the rapid population growth in the region during the Industrial Revolution.
Between 1629 and 1839 St Helens grew from a small collection of houses surrounding an old chapel, to a village, before becoming the significant urban centre of the four primary manors and surrounding townships that make up the modern town. The Domesday Book of 1086 reveals that several manors existed at that time, although there are no specific references to "St Elyn", or mentions of the particular "vill" or villages. Windle is first recorded on some maps as "Windhull" in 1201, Bold in 1212 and Parr in 1246, whilst Sutton and Ecclestone composed part of the Widnes "fee" under a Knight or Earl, it is known that the Hospitallers held lands in the area of Hardshaw as early as 1292, known as Crossgate and many of the original parishes and local areas are named after the families that owned the land between the 11th and 18th centuries. The Ecclestone family owned the Eccleston township, their ancestral home dates to 1100. The family is referred to throughout the period until the 18th century when they departed for nearby SouthportThe manor of Parr remained in control of the Parr family and their descendants from the 13th to the early 15th century, when a distant relative of the original family line, William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton sold the manor to the Byroms of Lowton.
The family supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, Henry Byrom died at the Battle of Edgehill. The extensive lands of Sutton Manor stretched across the open and flat land leading towards the Mersey; the manor's name is of unknown origin, but the land within the estate referred to several leading families, including Eltonhead and Sherdley. In 1212 William de Daresbury was the title holder of the manors; the Sherdley family can be traced back to the Northales, settled in the area since at least 1276, when they are referred to as plaintiffs in a boundary dispute with the Lords of Rainhill. Windle contained the smaller Hardshaw, described as a Berewick in the Domesday Book, it was in Hardshaw. The Windle Family were Lords of the Manor and Township from the Norman period onward, before ceding control to the Gerards of Bryn. In 1139, the "earldom of Derby", in the Peerage of England, was created: Norman descendent Robert De Ferrers was the first Earl. Subsequently, the region passed to John of Gaunt, the Stanley family.
Their ancestral home was established in the nearby Knowsley area, with the foundation of a hunting lodge in the 15th century and subsequently Knowsley Hall in the 18th century. The Earl of Derby's lands encompassed a region from Liverpool to Manchester, to the north beyond Lancaster and were turned to meeting the pastoral needs of the people. Throughout this period the area was predominantly arable land and was noted for its large swathes of moss and bog land while elsewhere in parts it was covered by the greater Mersey Forest; the origin of the name "St Helens" stretches back at least to a chapel of ease dedicated to St Elyn, the earliest documented reference to, in 1552. The first time the Chapel was formally referred to appears to be 1558, when Thomas Parr of Parr bequeathed a sum of money "to
