Saughall Massie () is a village on the
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to t ...
,
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. It is part of the
Moreton West & Saughall Massie Ward of the
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 321,238, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Be ...
and the parliamentary constituency of
Wallasey
Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...
. A small village primarily made up of large fields owned by local farmers, it is bordered by
Greasby
Greasby () is a large village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. A predominantly residential area, it is contiguous with Upton to the east and Saughall Massie to the north. The small village of Frankby is to the immediate west. Hist ...
,
Meols
Meols (sometimes known as Great Meols) is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the town of Hoylake immediately to the west. Historically in Cheshire, since 1 April 1974 it has been part of th ...
,
Moreton Moreton may refer to:
People Given name
* Moreton John Wheatley (1837–1916), British Army officer and Bailiff of the Royal Parks
Surname
* Alice Bertha Moreton (1901–1977), English sculptor, draughtsman and artist
* Andrew Moreton, a ps ...
and
Upton. At the
2001 census Saughall Massie had a population of 1,260.
History
The ''Saughall'' part of the name has been recorded as deriving from ''salh'' and ''halh'', meaning a place where sallows or willow shrubs grew or "Willow tree nook of land".
[
][
]
Over the years the name has been spelt as: ''Saligh'' (1249); ''Salghale'' (1309); ''Salgham'' (1385); ''Saughoughe'' (1546).
[
The name de Massie, de Massey or de Mascy has been connected to the Wirral since the time of the ]Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
. Baron Hamon de Mascey, whose family came from the settlement of Mascey near Avranches
Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''.
History
By the end of the Roman period, t ...
, Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, established Birkenhead Priory
Birkenhead Priory is in Priory Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the oldest standing building on Merseyside.
The site comprises the medieval remains of the priory itself, the priory chapter house, and the remains of St Marys chu ...
in 1150. His relations, the Masseys of Sale, settled on the Wirral during the reign of King John were supposed to have given their name to the village.
Formerly a township in the Bidston
Bidston is a village, a parish and a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, in the modern county of Merseyside. The area is a mixture of the well-preserved Bidston Village, Bidston Hill, a modern housing estate, and the Bidston Moss nat ...
Parish of the Wirral Hundred
The Hundred of Wirral is the ancient administrative area for the Wirral Peninsula. Its name is believed to have originated from the ''Hundred of Wilaveston'', the historic name for Willaston, which was an important assembly point in the Wirral ...
, Saughall Massie became a 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 1866. The population of Saughall Massie and the nearby hamlet of Carr Houses was 98 in 1801, 176 in 1851 and 186 in 1901. The parish was abolished in 1933 and divided between the County Borough of Wallasey and Grange
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austral ...
, near West Kirby
West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, to th ...
. On 1 April 1974, local government reorganisation in England and Wales resulted in most of Wirral, including Saughall Massie, transfer from the county of Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
to Merseyside.
As with several other agricultural settlements on the Wirral Peninsula, a timber peg mill once existed nearby. Saughall Massie's windmill was built circa 1580 to grind grain. It was demolished by 1875.[
]
USAAF plane crash
On January 9, 1944 Lieutenant Jay Frederick Simpson, an American pilot from Gillett, Wisconsin
Gillett is a city in Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,386 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is adjacent to the Town of Gillett.
History
A post office called G ...
was killed whilst test flying a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
(serial no. 42-75584) over Moreton Moreton may refer to:
People Given name
* Moreton John Wheatley (1837–1916), British Army officer and Bailiff of the Royal Parks
Surname
* Alice Bertha Moreton (1901–1977), English sculptor, draughtsman and artist
* Andrew Moreton, a ps ...
. The plane had taken off from the US Burtonwood Airbase in Lancashire earlier. It flew out to sea and on its return over Hoylake he reported that the plane was on fire.[ It circled over the ]RAF West Kirby
RAF West Kirby was a Royal Air Force basic training camp near West Kirby, Cheshire, later Merseyside, England.
Location
The camp at Larton, then in Cheshire, was actually located from West Kirby village, from which it took its name. The camp ...
and was seen to lose height and flip over, and crash in a field near the Arrowe Brook
The Birket is a tributary of the River Mersey, on the Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside. The watercourse starts as lowland field drainage south of Hoylake and flows along to the south of Meols. Arrowe Brook joins at Moreton, Merseyside, More ...
south of the village. Pieces were dug up in 1974 and now reside in the museum of the War Plane Wreck Investigation Group at Fort Perch Rock
Fort Perch Rock is a former defence installation situated at the mouth of Liverpool Bay in New Brighton. Built in the 1820s to defend the Port of Liverpool, its function has changed from defensive, to tourist attraction and museum. It has bee ...
, New Brighton. A small memorial plaque was unveiled on 21 March 2005 on the bridge across the Arrowe Brook on Saughall Massie Road overlooking the crash site.
Geography
Saughall Massie is in the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula, approximately south-east of the Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
at Meols
Meols (sometimes known as Great Meols) is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the town of Hoylake immediately to the west. Historically in Cheshire, since 1 April 1974 it has been part of th ...
, about east of the Dee Estuary
The Dee Estuary ( cy, Aber Dyfrdwy) is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five-mile (8 km) 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several miles ...
at West Kirby
West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, to th ...
and about west of the River Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
at Seacombe
Seacombe () is a district of the town of Wallasey, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively, Seacombe is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part o ...
. The hamlet is situated at an elevation of around above sea level.
Greasby Brook
Greasby Brook is a tributary of Arrowe Brook, in Wirral, Merseyside. The brook starts near to Dawlish Road in Thurstaston. The brook flows through Thurstaston Common and around the western side of Greasby, before converging, firstly, with Newt ...
converges with Arrowe Brook
The Birket is a tributary of the River Mersey, on the Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside. The watercourse starts as lowland field drainage south of Hoylake and flows along to the south of Meols. Arrowe Brook joins at Moreton, Merseyside, More ...
to the south-west of Saughall Massie.
Governance
Saughall Massie is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 321,238, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Be ...
, in the metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...
of Merseyside. The settlement is part of the parliamentary constituency of Wallasey
Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...
. The current Member of Parliament is Angela Eagle
Dame Angela Eagle DBE (born 17 February 1961) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wallasey since 1992. Eagle was born in Yorkshire and studied PPE at the University of Oxford, before working for t ...
, a Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
representative, who has been the MP since 1992.
The area is also part of a local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, this being Moreton West and Saughall Massie Ward. Saughall Massie is represented on Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, or simply Wirral Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in Merseyside and one of 36 in the metropolit ...
by three Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
councillors. The most recent local elections
In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
took place on 6 May 2021.
Landmarks
The village consists of a number of historic buildings dating from the seventeenth century. In order to help preserve its historic and agricultural characteristics, Saughall Massie was designated a conservation area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
in January 1974.
Saughall Massie Bridge is a single span, single carriageway bridge over Arrowe Brook
The Birket is a tributary of the River Mersey, on the Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside. The watercourse starts as lowland field drainage south of Hoylake and flows along to the south of Meols. Arrowe Brook joins at Moreton, Merseyside, More ...
. It was built from sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
for £200 in 1829. This was the first bridge constructed by notable Victorian civil engineer Sir Thomas Brassey at the beginning of his career.
The bridge was awarded Grade II listed
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 ...
status by English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
in 2006.[
]
Transport
Road
The B5192 Saughall Massie Road, which heads west to Grange
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austral ...
, is the main thoroughfare through Saughall Massie. The B5192 also connects to the A5027 Upton Bypass bordering to the east, the latter joining Junction 2 of the M53 motorway
The M53 is an motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It is also referred to as the Mid Wirral Motorway. It runs between the Kingsway Tunnel, at Wallasey in the north, and the A55 at ...
just to the north-east of Saughall Massie.
Rail
Saughall Massie is equidistant to both Moreton Moreton may refer to:
People Given name
* Moreton John Wheatley (1837–1916), British Army officer and Bailiff of the Royal Parks
Surname
* Alice Bertha Moreton (1901–1977), English sculptor, draughtsman and artist
* Andrew Moreton, a ps ...
and Meols
Meols (sometimes known as Great Meols) is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the town of Hoylake immediately to the west. Historically in Cheshire, since 1 April 1974 it has been part of th ...
railway stations on the Wirral Line
The Wirral line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern line.
The Wirral line connects Liverpool to the Wirral Peninsula via the Mersey Railway Tunnel, with b ...
of the Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a commuter rail network serving the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail operates 66 railway stations across two lines – the Northern Line and Wirral Line, which are dedicated electri ...
network. Saughall Massie is also a similar distance from Upton railway station
Upton railway station serves the village of Upton and the Noctorum area of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The station is situated on the Borderlands line. Transport for Wales operates the station and all trains serving it.
His ...
on the Borderlands Line, operated by Transport for Wales
Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consi ...
.
See also
* Saughall
Saughall is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Located between Shotwick and Blacon, it is approximately north west of Chester and from Sealan ...
, a village in the Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 str ...
area of Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
.
* Listed buildings in Saughall Massie
References
Bibliography
*
External links
BBC News: 'Villagers win pub hours campaign' (5 April 2006)
{{Populated Places in Wirral Borough
Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral