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Wavertree is a district of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, England. It is a
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
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 ...
, 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 Childwall () is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, located to the southeast of the city. It is bordered by Belle Vale, Bowring Park, Broadgreen, Gateacre, Mossley Hill, and Wavertree. In 2019, the population was 13,640. Overview The earli ...
, 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 w ...
.


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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
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 (Chin ...
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
urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
s 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 m ...
of
Childwall Childwall () is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, located to the southeast of the city. It is bordered by Belle Vale, Bowring Park, Broadgreen, Gateacre, Mossley Hill, and Wavertree. In 2019, the population was 13,640. Overview The earli ...
in the
West Derby hundred The West Derby Hundred (also known as West Derbyshire) is one of the six subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire, in northern England. Its name alludes to its judicial centre being the township of West Derby (the suffix ''-shire'' mea ...
. 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, whi ...
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 Irel ...
in 1952. A similar structure,
Everton Lock-Up 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 ...
sometimes called Prince Rupert's Tower, 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 fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...
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 Liverpool Reform Synagogue is a Reform Jewish synagogue in the Wavertree district of Liverpool, England. Overview Affiliated with the Movement for Reform Judaism, the synagogue was opened in the Wavertree district by the Liberal Jewish Congr ...
, 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 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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
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 Britain ...
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 u ...
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 G ...
, 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 b ...
, footballer *
Tony Bellew Anthony Lewis Bellew (born 30 November 1982) is an English former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2018, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held the WBC cruiserweight title from 2016 to 2017, and challeng ...
, boxer * Joan Benesh, 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 exte ...
, barrister, politician, and writer *
Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British-Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe A ...
, actress *
Kenneth Cope Kenneth Charles Cope (born 14 April 1931) is an English retired actor and scriptwriter. He is best known for his roles as Marty Hopkirk in ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'', Jed Stone in ''Coronation Street'' and Ray Hilton in ''Brookside (T ...
, 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 Cyril Edward Gourley VC MM (19 January 1893 – 31 January 1982) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forc ...
, soldier *
John Gregson Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles. He was cr ...
, actor *
Chelcee Grimes Chelcee Maria Grimes (born 8 May 1992) is an English singer, songwriter, television presenter, and footballer. She wrote songs for Kylie Minogue, Dua Lipa, Blackpink, Kesha, Olly Murs, Jonas Blue, Louisa, the Saturdays, and Tom Walker. 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 Stewart Duckworth Headlam (1847–1924) was an English Anglicanism, Anglican priest who was involved in frequent controversy in the final decades of the nineteenth century. Headlam was a pioneer and publicist of Christian socialism, on which he w ...
, priest *
Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he wa ...
, singer * Bill Kenwright, 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, Lancashire, ...
, actor *
Leonard Rossiter Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor. He had a long career in the theatre but achieved his highest profile for his television comedy roles starring as Rupert Rigsby in the ITV series ''Rising Damp'' from ...
, 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 James Valiant (17 July 1884 – 28 October 1917) was an English cricketer. Valiant's batting and bowling styles are unknown. He was born in Wavertree, Liverpool, Lancashire. The son of a Liverpool butcher, Valiant played Second XI cricke ...
, cricketer *
Dora Yates Dora Esther Yates (26 November 1879 – 12 January 1974) was a British bibliographer, linguist and Romani scholar. She understood every dialect of Romani and she became the de facto secretary of the Gypsy Lore Society in 1922. Life Yates was born ...
, linguist, Romani scholar, lived in Marmion Road1939 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 lines#Northern route (Chat Moss), Liverpool-Manchester line. The station opened on 13 Aug ...


References


External links


Wavertree Today

Liverpool City Council, Ward Profile: Wavertree



Liverpool Street Gallery – Liverpool 15

wavertree.org.uk – Photo Mapping the history of L15

Smithdown Ten Pub Crawl
{{Authority control Areas of Liverpool