Wavertree is a district of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, England. It is a
ward of
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards.
The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor J ...
, and its population at the
2011 census was 14,772. Located to the south and east of
the city centre, it is bordered by various districts and suburbs such as
Childwall,
Edge Hill,
Fairfield,
Mossley Hill
Mossley Hill is a suburb of Liverpool and a Liverpool City Council ward. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, Childwall, and Wavertree. At the 2001 Census, the population was 12,650, increasing to 13,816 a ...
,
Old Swan
Old Swan is an eastern neighbourhood of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, bordered by Knotty Ash, Stoneycroft, Broadgreen, Fairfield and Wavertree. At the 2011 Census, the population was 16,461.
Description
Old Swan is centred on the road ju ...
, and
Toxteth
Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside.
Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill.
The area ...
.
History
The name derives from 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 settlers in the mid-5th ...
words ''wæfre'' and ''treow'', meaning "wavering tree", possibly in reference to
aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (C ...
trees common locally.
It has also been variously described as "a clearing in a wood" or "the place by the common pond".
In the past, the name has been spelt ''Watry'', ''Wartre'', ''Waurtree'', ''Wavertre'' and ''Wavertree''. The earliest settlement of Wavertree is attested to by the discovery of
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
burial
urns in Victoria Park in the mid −1860s
while digging the footings for houses, two of which were built for Patrick O Connor, patentee, ironmonger, merchant and Chair to the Wavertree Local Board of Health.
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 ...
'' reference is "Leving held ''Wauretreu''. There are 2
carucate
The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...
s of land. It was worth 64 pence". Wavertree was part of the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
of
Childwall in the
West Derby hundred.
Wavertree also boasts a
village lock-up
A village lock-up is a historic building once used for the temporary detention of people in England and Wales, mostly where official prisons or criminal courts were beyond easy walking distance. Lockups were often used for the confinement of dru ...
, commonly known as The Roundhouse, despite being
octagon
In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, w ...
al in shape. Built in 1796, and later modified by prominent local resident and architect
Sir James Picton, it was once used to detain local drunks. The lock-up was made a
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 I ...
in 1952.
A similar structure,
Everton Lock-Up sometimes called
Prince Rupert's Tower
Everton Lock-Up, sometimes referenced by one of its nicknames such as Prince Rupert's Tower or Prince Rupert's Castle is a village lock-up located on Everton Brow in Everton, Liverpool. The 18th-century structure is one of two Georgian lock-up ...
, survives in
Everton. The village green, on which Wavertree's lock-up was built, is officially the only surviving piece of
common land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person who has ...
in Liverpool.
In 1895, the village of Wavertree was incorporated into the city of Liverpool. Buildings of interest include
Holy Trinity Church,
Liverpool Reform Synagogue, the
Blue Coat School
A bluecoat school is a type of charity school in England, the first of which was founded in the 16th century. Most of them have closed; some remain open as schools, often on different sites, and some of the original buildings have been adapted ...
, and the
Royal School for the Blind, all of which are situated on the same road.
King David High School, a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
-affiliated school that also accepts students of other faiths and backgrounds, is situated in Wavertree and has a primary school attached to it.
Wavertree Town Hall was built in 1872 as the headquarters of the Wavertree Local Board of Health. Rescued from demolition in 1979, the town hall is now a restaurant.
Wavertree is one of the areas in south Liverpool populated by students of Liverpool's three universities, especially the
Smithdown Road area. This road is known for "The Smithdown Ten"
pub crawl
A pub crawl (sometimes called a bar tour, bar crawl or bar-hopping) is the act of visiting multiple pubs or bars in a single session.
Background
Many European cities have public pub crawls that serve as social gatherings for local expatriates a ...
, although the number of pubs in business varies from year to year. Wavertree is also home to the annual Smithdown Road Festival, with local bars and cafes hosting almost 200 bands every year. The community is ethnically diverse, with significant South Asian and black populations.
Governance
The elected councillors for Wavertree are Angela Coleman, Clare McIntyre and Dave Cummings, all of whom are members of the
Labour Party. It has been represented since 2019 by
Paula Barker
Paula Barker (born 9 May 1972) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Wavertree since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as the Shadow Minister for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping sin ...
, also of the Labour Party, in the parliamentary constituency of
Liverpool Wavertree
Liverpool Wavertree is a borough constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1997 and every election since has been won by a Labour Party candidate.
An earlier constituency of the same name existed between 1918 and ...
.
Education
There are a number of both
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
...
and
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
s in this densely populated area of Liverpool. In addition to the aforementioned
Blue Coat School
A bluecoat school is a type of charity school in England, the first of which was founded in the 16th century. Most of them have closed; some remain open as schools, often on different sites, and some of the original buildings have been adapted ...
,
Royal School for the Blind, and
King David High School, there is also Wavertree
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
School, which was renamed from Trinity District in the 1990s. The school celebrated its 150th birthday in September 2017. There is another primary school on South Drive called Our Lady of Good Help. This used to be located in Chestnut Grove next to our Lady's Roman Catholic Church, which is now facing re-development. St Clare's Roman Catholic Primary School is also situated off Smithdown Road.
Wavertree Playground (The Mystery)
Wavertree Playground, known locally as The Mystery, was one of the first purpose-built public playgrounds in the UK. Opened in 1895, it is based on land donated to Liverpool Corporation by an anonymous donor (hence its nickname) to be a venue for organised sports, and a place for children from the city's schools to run about in, not a park for "promenading" in the Victorian tradition.
The donor expressed the hope that the City Council "might approve of giving it a fair trial for this purpose ... before appropriating it for any other use".
The land is currently home to Wavertree Athletics Centre, which boasts many sports facilities including
tennis court
A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be ...
s, an all-weather pitch, a
bowling green
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
, and an athletic track with grandstand. It also houses Liverpool Aquatics Centre, with two swimming pools, a sports hall, and a lifestyles fitness centre. The athletics centre has produced Olympic athletes such as
Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson (born 9 January 1993) is an English athlete primarily known as an elite multi-eventer, both as a heptathlete and an indoor pentathlete. She has been World Champion in both disciplines, and a double Commonwealth ...
, who trains with the Liverpool Harriers team that has made its headquarters at the centre since 1990.
Notable current or former residents
*
Ross Barkley
Ross Barkley (born 5 December 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nice.
Barkley began his professional career at Everton in 2010. After loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United he ...
, footballer
*
Tony Bellew, boxer
*
Joan Benesh
Joan Benesh (née Rothwell; 24 March 1920 – 27 September 2014) was a British ballet dancer who, with her husband Rudolf, created the Benesh Movement Notation, which is the leading British system of dance notation.
Early life, education, and ma ...
, choreographer and dancer
*
Augustine Birrell
Augustine Birrell KC (19 January 185020 November 1933) was a British Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers to own their property, and for exten ...
, barrister, politician, and writer
*
Kim Cattrall, actress
*
Kenneth Cope, actor
*
Paul Dawber
Paul Dawber is a British born-Australian stage, film and television actor. He attended drama school at National Theatre, Melbourne and graduated in 1987. That same year, he played the role of Todd Buckley in '' Sons and Daughters''. He has ap ...
, actor
*
Paul Draper, musician
*
Georgia May Foote
Georgia May Foote (born 11 February 1991) is an English actress and model. She is best known for playing Alison Simmons in the BBC school drama series ''Grange Hill'' from 2005 to 2008 and Katy Armstrong in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation St ...
, actress
*
Cyril Edward Gourley, soldier
*
John Gregson, actor
*
Chelcee Grimes, singer and songwriter
*
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
, musician
*
Stewart Duckworth Headlam, priest
*
Holly Johnson, singer
*
Bill Kenwright
William Kenwright, CBE (born 4 September 1945) is an English West End theatre producer and film producer. He has also been the chairman of Everton Football Club since 2004.
Kenwright was born in Liverpool and attended Booker Avenue County Pri ...
, theatre director
*
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, musician
*
Norman Rossington
Norman Rossington (24 December 1928 – 21 May 1999) was an English actor best remembered for his roles in ''The Army Game'', the ''Carry On'' films and the Beatles' film '' A Hard Day's Night''.
Early life
Born in Liverpool, Lancashi ...
, actor
*
Leonard Rossiter, actor
*
Bertram Peel, cricketer
*
Denis Peel, cricketer
*
Jimmy Tarbuck
James Joseph Tarbuck (born 6 February 1940) is an English comedian, singer, actor, entertainer and game show host.
He was a host of ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' in the mid-1960s, and hosted numerous game shows and quiz shows on ITV ...
, comedian
*
James Valiant, cricketer
*
Dora Yates, linguist, Romani scholar, lived in Marmion Road
[1939 register]
Transport
*
Wavertree Technology Park railway station
Wavertree Technology Park railway station is in the suburbs of Liverpool, at the western end of Olive Mount cutting, on the original Liverpool-Manchester line. The station opened on 13 August 2000, at a cost of £2 million. Train services ...
References
External links
Wavertree TodayLiverpool City Council, Ward Profile: WavertreeLiverpool Street Gallery – Liverpool 15wavertree.org.uk – Photo Mapping the history of L15Smithdown Ten Pub Crawl
{{Authority control
Areas of Liverpool