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Halewood is a town 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough in Merseyside, North West England. It covers several towns and villages, including Kirkby, Prescot, Huyton, Whiston, Halewood, Cronton and Stockbridge Village; Kirkby, Huyton, a ...
,
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, near the city of
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
's southeastern boundary, bordered by the suburbs of Netherley,
Hunt's Cross Hunt's Cross is a suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located on the southern edge of the city, bordered by the suburbs of Woolton, Allerton, Speke and the town of Halewood in the neighbouring Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. History Hunt ...
and
Woolton Woolton (; ) is a suburb of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England. It is an area located southeast of the city and bordered by Allerton, Gateacre, Halewood, and Hunt's Cross. At the 2011 Census, the population was 12,921. Overview Originally a ...
. Historically part of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, Halewood was originally a small village, but later developed into an overspill area of Liverpool. At the 2001 census, the population was 20,309,


History

The township of Halewood lies between the old course of Ditton Brook in the north and Rams Brook in the south. Disputes over the manor lands of Halewood between the Ireland and Holland families began in the 13th century and were to be ongoing for some time. The Ireland family had Hale, most of Halebank and part of North End, while the Holland family who were the superior lords, controlled most of North End and a portion of Halebank. However, the Hollands were based at a Hall in Halebank, while the Irelands' main residence was the 'Hutt' within Halewood. By the 15th century, Halewood was a separate township from Hale and in 1682, the manor of Halewood became part of the dower of Charlotte, Countess of Derby. Halewood once had a workhouse for the township's poor that opened in 1723. The workhouse was housed in a cottage rented from the Earl of Derby in 1722. It was run at a cost of 6d per annum, and had space for 40 people. It worked with other parts of the community to give aid to the homeless ('vagrants') and gave the poor a coal allowance and schooling. In 1839, the Chapel of St Nicholas was built. It was later enlarged in 1847 and in 1868, St Nicholas' Chapel become a rectory and a true Parish Church. A tower and bells were added to the church around 1883. St Nicholas' Church is Grade II listed and has 17 historically significant stained glass windows designed by
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...
(1834–1896), the English
textile design Textile design, also known as textile geometry, is the creative and technical process by which thread or yarn fibers are interlaced to form a piece of Textile, cloth or Textile, fabric, which is subsequently printed upon or otherwise adorned. Texti ...
er,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
,
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
ist,
translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...
, and socialist activist, and
Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...
. The church also has a Henry Willis organ installed in 1889. William Imrie,
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
shipowner A shipowner, ship owner or ship-owner is the owner of a ship. They can be merchant vessels involved in the shipping industry or non commercially owned. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, us ...
who owned the
White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...
is buried in Halewood. Imrie died in 1906. A service was held at St Margaret's Church and his body was laid with that of his wife in the family plot in the graveyard of St Nicholas Church. The church also has war memorial, erected in 1921. Halewood railway station opened in 1988. An earlier station, a few hundred metres further east, on Baileys Lane had closed in 1951. The original Halewood station opened 1874 and first appeared in the timetable in May that year. The railway line in Halewood passed on a three-arched sandstone viaduct. The station was high up on an embankment, and for this reason it was constructed from timber (unlike nearly all of the other CLC stations which were palatial brick structures). There are a few pubs in Halewood, with the oldest being The Eagle & Child (c.1750). It was renamed The Reverend Plummer in late 2018, but restored back to its original name in mid-2020. Reverend Canon F B Plummer was the vicar of St Nicholas Church from 1902 to 1926, and lost three of his seven sons during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. His sons are memorialised on the cenotaph in St Nicholas' churchyard. Halewood is home to the first war horse grave to be awarded heritage protection. Blackie was a war horse buried at the RSPCA Liverpool Animal Centre, Higher Road, Halewood in 1942. He served with the 275th Brigade Royal Field Artillery 'A' Battery – 55th West Lancashire Division in most of the major battles of the First World War, including Arras, the Somme Offensive and Ypres. Recognising the contribution Blackie made as a horse in service with the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, his grave in Halewood became a
grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
monument in 2017. Halewood was one of the sites of the
Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before local differe ...
. Despite being close to Liverpool, the speech of Halewood at the time was still traditional
Lancashire dialect The Lancashire dialect (or colloquially, Lanky) refers to the Northern English vernacular speech of the English county of Lancashire. The region is notable for its tradition of poetry written in the dialect. Scope of Lancashire dialect ...
and not
Scouse Scouse ( ), more formally known as Liverpool English or Merseyside English, is an Accent (dialect), accent and dialect of English language, English associated with the city of Liverpool and the surrounding Merseyside. The Scouse accent is h ...
.


Car factory

Halewood body and assembly facility was originally opened by
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
in 1963, to build the then small-saloon
Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Angli ...
, reflecting pressure on Ford of Britain's principal plant at
Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...
. In March 1963, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Alderman David John Lewis, drove the first car, an Anglia de Luxe, off the production line at the £30 million plant. The first Ford Anglia to roll of the production line at Halewood was featured as the prize in a competition in the Liverpool Echo newspaper, which was won by a Mr Taylor. Mr Taylor could not drive and sold the car on. Ford bought the car back three years later and donated it to Liverpool City Museum, as World Museum was then known. The car is now housed at the
Museum of Liverpool The Museum of Liverpool in Liverpool, England, tells the story of Liverpool and its people, and reflects the city's global significance. It opened in 2011 as newest addition to the National Museums Liverpool group replacing the former Museum o ...
. Production of the Anglia ceased in 1967 and the Ford factory began work on the Escort, a car it would produce until the turn of the millennium. The Halewood plant was also used for assembling the Ford Corsair between the model's 1964 launch and 1969. Female machinists at Ford, Halewood downed tools and walked out in solidarity with their southern colleagues in Dagenham in 1968. In the 1960s, the female machinists at Ford were classified within the company pay structure as grade B. That meant they were officially unskilled, despite having to pass tests in order to gain their employment. After years battling for recognition as skilled workers, they finally walked out, bringing car production to halt and becoming the focus of national news stories.


Education

Halewood contains many primary schools and one secondary school, Halewood Academy.


Economy

The Halewood plant, which is in Speke, L24 9BJ, is now home to the
Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover, also known as JLR, and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and SUVs and has its head office in Whitley, Coventry, Unite ...
Body & Assembly facility, which produces the Land Rover Discovery Sport, Range Rover Evoque and until 2009, the
Jaguar X-Type The Jaguar X-Type is a front-engine, all-wheel/front-wheel drive compact executive car manufactured and marketed by Jaguar Cars from 2001 to 2009 under the internal designation ''X400'', for a single generation, in sedan/saloon and wagon/est ...
. On the same site is a large factory owned by
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
which produces gearboxes for amongst other the
Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a panel van, cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford ...
,
Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car that was marketed by Ford from 1976 to 2023 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and had been positioned below the ...
and the
Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1998 until 2025. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worl ...
. There is also the Eli Lilly Factory which produces pharmaceuticals.
Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous ...
have built a new training ground and youth academy for Everton Football Club on the edge of Halewood called Finch Farm.


Regeneration efforts

Following significant regeneration efforts since 2004, Halewood has turned a corner. Crime has reduced, the performance of local schools has drastically improved (with Halewood Centre for Learning topping the local authority league tables). New housing developments have created high quality housing which has resulted in an influx of professionals. The old sports centre, Bridgefield Forum, has been knocked down and replaced with the state of the art Halewood Leisure Centre. Other housing communities such as Okell Drive and surrounding areas and housing close to the original Halewood village are also thriving. Halewood's largest employer is the
Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover, also known as JLR, and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and SUVs and has its head office in Whitley, Coventry, Unite ...
factory. In 2012 Halewood's old Raven Court shopping centre was replaced with a 7 million pound shopping centre with new shops including Aldi, Iceland, Card Factory, Tesco Express, Barnardos, Ladbrokes and a newsagent. Halewood Park Triangle is Halewood's main public park, securing Green Flag Award in 2011. Consisting largely of mature woodland, with ponds, meadow habitat and heathland remnants, the park is a designated Local Wildlife Site. Its layout is closely linked to its railway history. It formed part of the Liverpool Loop Line and the Transpennine Trail now follows the route leading southwards to Halewood Doorstep Green. On the abolition of the
administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...
of Lancashire in 1974, the urban district was also abolished and its former area was transferred to Merseyside to be combined with that of other districts to form the present-day
metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...
of Knowsley. The Knowsley borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of, Huyton-with-Roby Urban District, Kirkby Urban District and Prescot Urban District, along with most of
Whiston Rural District Whiston Rural District was a rural district of the administrative county of Lancashire, England. It was created in 1895 by renaming the Prescot Rural District when the parish of Prescot was removed from that rural district and created a separate ...
(of which Halewood was part) and a small part of West Lancashire Rural District, all from the
administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...
of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
. The Garston and Halewood
constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
was created in 2010 represented in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
of the
UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
since 2010 by
Maria Eagle Maria Eagle (born 17 February 1961) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Garston, previously Garston and Halewood, since 1997 Unit ...
of the Labour Party.


Notable people

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
, who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, lived in Halewood with his family between 1962 and 1965.
Steve McMahon Stephen Joseph McMahon (born 20 August 1961) is an English football manager, former professional footballer and current television pundit. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1979 to 1998, most notably playing for Liverpool in the late 1980s. ...
, the former Everton and
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
, was born in Halewood. Aaron Cresswell, an English professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays as a
left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...
for
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
club
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
and the English national team was born and raised in Halewood. Halewood born
Katarina Johnson-Thompson Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson, (born 9 January 1993) is an English athlete. A multi-eventer, she is primarily known as both a heptathlete and an indoor pentathlete. In heptathlon she is a double world champion, double Commonwealth Games c ...
is an English
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
athlete specialising in the
heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...
and
pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...
. Mary Peters was born in Halewood. In the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
in Munich, Peters competing for Great Britain and Northern Ireland won the gold medal in the women's
pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...
. Christine Mcguinness, wife of
Paddy McGuinness Patrick Joseph McGuinness (born 14 August 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He rose to fame with the help of fellow comedian Peter Kay, who invited him to appear on the television comedy series '' That Peter ...
, model, former Miss Liverpool, and guest star on the reality TV show The Real Housewives of Cheshire, based on ''
The Real Housewives ''The Real Housewives'' is an American reality television franchise that began on March 21, 2006, with '' The Real Housewives of Orange County''. Each installment of the franchise documents the personal and professional lives of a group of afflu ...
'' franchise is from Halewood. Playwright Fred Lawless spent most of his childhood in Halewood and attended St. Mark's Primary School in Leathers Lane. Edward Whitley was a solicitor and
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
politician who resided at The Grange, Halewood. Whitley was major of Liverpool in 1868. He sat in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
from 1880 to 1892. In 1880 Whitley was elected as one of three Members of Parliament (MPs) for
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. He was then elected MP for Everton between 1885 and 1892. There is a statue of Whitley St George's Hall, Liverpool. In the sciences, one Halewood family produced two Fellows of the Royal Society: John Hilton Grace, a mathematician; and his nephew, Alan Robertson, an animal geneticist. The Grace family lived at Okells Farm and Court Farm.


See also

* Listed buildings in Halewood


References


External links


Halewood Town Council Halewood Local History PagesHalewood College
{{authority control Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley Towns in Merseyside Civil parishes in Merseyside