Lydiate is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
Metropolitan Borough of Sefton
The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on Local Government Act 1972, 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, the municipal borough of Crosby, ...
on
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
, England but
historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. It is located north of
Maghull
Maghull ( ) is a town and civil parish in Sefton, Merseyside (historically a part of Lancashire). The town is north of Liverpool and west of Kirkby. The area also contains Ashworth Hospital.
Maghull had a population of 20,444 at the 2011 Cens ...
, with which it has a common history. At the
2001 Census the civil parish of Lydiate had a population of 6,672,
reducing to 6,308 at the
2011 Census.
History
There is evidence that the settlement of the area dates back to at least the middle of the 10th century. Indeed, one possible root of the name is the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''hlid-geat'' meaning 'swing gate', which would have an association with animal farming. Lydiate is mentioned in the ''
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
'', and is described as having a "wood a mile long", and there is evidence of the existence of extensive forests at that time, particularly of
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
and
elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
.
The
Scotch Piper Inn
The Scotch Piper Inn in Lydiate, North West, England is the oldest pub in the historic county of Lancashire. The building dates from 1320 and is a Grade II* listed building.
It is located on the A5147, from Liverpool and from Southport in the ...
, located today on the
A5147
The A5147 is a road in northern England that runs from Maghull in Merseyside to Scarisbrick in Lancashire.
Route Merseyside
It begins off the A59 road in Maghull, where it is called Liverpool Road North. After leaving the town, it crosses ov ...
, Southport Road, is reputed to be the oldest inn in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
and dates from the 14th century. For many years the pub was owned and run by the Moorcroft family. Originally called the "Royal Oak", the inn was built around an oak tree which can be seen in both the tap room and the front bar to the left of the fireplace. The inn is now a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
The Ireland family were very influential in the area in the early 15th century, and
Lydiate Hall
Lydiate Hall was a 16th-century hall in Lydiate, Merseyside, England. The hall was a black-and-white half-timbered house, and was similar in design to Speke Hall. The hall was accompanied by a private chapel. It was a known Catholic house during t ...
was built by Lawrence Ireland sometime around 1470. The eastern part of the hall was destroyed about 1780, and the hall was abandoned completely by the late 19th century. Only ruins exist today.
The nearby
St Catherine's Chapel, commonly known as Lydiate Abbey, appears to date from the same period, with the initials of Lawrence Ireland and his wife, Catherine Blundell, located on the porch. The abbey appears to have been abandoned when the practice of the Catholic religion was
prohibited. The graveyard within the curtilage of the chapel was used by local Catholic families into the later 19th century.
Local legend holds that a tunnel exists between the abbey and the hall to allow the escape of a priest. Another local legend states that the tunnel was between the abbey and the Scotch Piper in order to allow monks to escape the public house. However, there is no documented evidence of this.
Governance
From 1997 until 2010 the village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of Lydiate was part of the
Knowsley North and Sefton East constituency represented by
George Howarth
Sir George Edward Howarth (born 29 June 1949) is a British Labour Party politician who serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Knowsley. He also served the seat's predecessors since being elected in a by-election in 1986, firstly as the ...
, a
Labour Party MP.
As a result of boundary revisions for the
2010 general election the Knowsley North and Sefton East constituency was abolished with Sefton East, including Lydiate, being merged with the northern parts of the former
Crosby Crosby may refer to:
Places
;Canada
*Crosby, Ontario, part of the township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario
*Crosby, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the city of Markham, Ontario
;England
*Crosby, Cumbria
*Crosby, Lincolnshire
*Crosby, Merseyside
**Crosby (UK ...
constituency, which was also abolished, to form the new
Sefton Central constituency which is represented by the
Labour Party MP Bill Esterson
William Roffen Esterson (born 27 October 1966) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sefton Central since 2010. He has been Shadow Minister for International Trade since 2016. He was Shadow Min ...
.
Geography
The south of the village is suburban in nature with residences and some light industry. The remainder of the village, especially to the north and west, is more rural, consisting largely of flat
arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...
.
The parish church of St Thomas and the
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Church of Our Lady are situated at the very north of Lydiate. The Catholic Church of St Gregory the Great is situated further south, off Liverpool Road. St Thomas CE Primary School, St Gregory's Catholic Primary School and Lydiate Primary School, formerly Lydiate Country Primary, often know because of its location as Lambshear Lane Primary School, also lie within the village.
The Weld Blundell (pronounced "Well Blundell")
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
is opposite Lydiate's
village green
A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...
, which is little more than a few square metres in area and has a bus stop. The Weld Blundell in Lydiate shares its name with an establishment of the same name in
Ince Blundell
Ince Blundell is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in the ceremonial county of Merseyside and historic county of Lancashire, England. It is situated to the north of Liverpool on the A565 road and to the east of th ...
, now demolished and the site developed into a petrol station and coffee shop.
The Running Horses in Bells Lane was owned and run for many years by three generations of the Walton Family. It lies right beside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. There was a coal business at the side, also run by the Walton family. At one time the coal was delivered by barge along the canal.
The
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
runs through the village on its way to the Liverpool
Pier Head
The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in ...
. The
A59 road
The A59 is a major road in England which is around long and runs from Wallasey, Merseyside to York, North Yorkshire. The alignment formed part of the Trunk Roads Act 1936, being then designated as the A59. It is a key route connecting Merseysi ...
(Northway) and
A5147 road
The A5147 is a road in northern England that runs from Maghull in Merseyside to Scarisbrick in Lancashire.
Route Merseyside
It begins off the A59 road in Maghull, where it is called Liverpool Road North. After leaving the town, it crosses ov ...
(Southport Road) also run through the village. Until 1952 Lydiate was served by the
Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway
The Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway was an early British railway company operating in the then county of Lancashire. It was constructed to link the Cheshire Lines Committee railway at Aintree to Southport. It operated from 1884 to 19 ...
, with a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
on Station Road in the far north of the village. The former railway is now part of the
Trans Pennine Trail
The Trans Pennine Trail is a long-distance path running from coast to coast across Northern England entirely on surfaced paths and using only gentle gradients (it runs largely along disused railway lines and canal towpaths). It forms part of ...
.
Development
In 2009 planning permission was sought to be a marina on the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
by Bells Lane. The marina proposals were rejected at appeal in 2011.
Notable residents
*
Oscar Gnosspelius
Major Oscar Theodor Gnosspelius (10 March 1878 – 17 February 1953) was an English civil engineer and pioneer seaplane builder.
Gnosspelius was born at Brookfield House, Lydiate on 18 March 1878 the only son of Adolf Jonathan Gnosspelius. He was ...
, engineer.
*
Ian Callaghan
Ian Robert Callaghan MBE (born 10 April 1942) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He holds the record for most appearances for Liverpool. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) ...
, former professional footballer, owned an insurance agency near the Weld Blundell.
*
Bill Hartley, a British athlete, was raised in Lydiate and now runs a local
floriculture
Floriculture, or flower farming, is a branch of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry. The development of new varieties by plant breeding is ...
business.
*
Brian Labone
Brian Leslie Labone (23 January 1940 – 24 April 2006) was an English footballer who played for and captained Everton. A one-club man, Labone's professional career lasted from 1958 to 1971, during which he won the Football League championship ...
, former professional footballer, lived in Lydiate.
*
Terry Darracott, former professional footballer, lived in Lydiate.
*
Gemma Merna
Gemma Merna (born 6 February 1984) is an English actress and model. She is best known for portraying the role of Carmel McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera, ''Hollyoaks'' from 2006 to 2014.
Career
Merna joined the cast of the Channel 4 soap op ...
, a British actress known as Carmel McQueen in TV soap ''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...
'' lives in Lydiate.
Notable visitors
*
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innovato ...
, poet and Jesuit priest, stayed in Lydiate at Rose Hill House, Pygons Hill Lane, between 1880 and 1881. Rose Hill House was the home of prominent local Catholic, Randall Lightbound and Hopkins was visiting to say Mass in the private chapel there. During his stay there he wrote the poem "
Spring and Fall
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...
" and corresponded with poet
Robert Bridges
Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was an English poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...
.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Lydiate
Lydiate is a civil parish and a village in Sefton, Merseyside, England. It contains 14 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, two are listed at Grade II*, the ...
References
External links
British History OnlineSt Gregory the Great Church
{{Metropolitan Borough of Sefton
Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton
Civil parishes in Merseyside
Maghull