Hunt's Cross is a suburb 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 ...

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 ...

. 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's Cross was the name given to the ancient cross-roads at Speke Road, Hillfoot Avenue and Woodend Avenue, which formed the southern boundary of Much Woolton. The available evidence indicates that the cross-roads was called Hunt's Cross because of fox hunts meeting there before setting off. There was also a nearby monument called 'Hunt's Folly', shown on historical maps along with Honey Hall, Woodend Farm and Rose Farm.Looking through old maps and plotting the history of Hunts Cross, Garston & Woolton
/ref> The 'Liverpool Hunt' is commemorated by a collection of fine china tableware by Booths. In the 1960s the medieval stone pedestal of the village cross had to be moved a short distance, to the corner of Hillfoot Road and Speke Road, to allow Hillfoot Avenue to be widened. There are similar crosses in the nearby villages of Cronton, Woolton, and Garston. Local folklore says that whoever takes the stone shall be possessed with the power of the Hunt.

Description

Hunt's Cross is a typical affluent suburban area, the housing being almost entirely semi-detached or detached, much being late Victorian or Edwardian in origin, with a number of 1930s developments. Hunt's Cross Village is located at the ancient cross-roads of Speke Road, Hillfoot Avenue and Woodend Avenue. It is one of the most complete villages in Liverpool, boasting: a Grade II listed 19th century railway station; village green; a village market square; Post Office; churches; pubs and restaurants; several banks; various and numerous shops and businesses. Hunts Cross JMI primary school is also nearby. A large Asda supermarket can be found in the western part of the suburb, with a cafe, travel agents, fast food restaurants and other businesses in the complex. This complex is located on the site of the former Triumph Speke car factory where the TR7

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

was produced. Located opposite the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

was a large house where the actress Rita Tushingham grew up, on farmland originally owned by the Tushingham family. Some of the houses built with bricks from the since-demolished house are still in existence today along Ashton Drive. The Tushinghams gave the land, where the house had stood, to the council, with the proviso that it was to be used to build a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

for the community. A mobile library came here once a week up until the late 1990s when the nearby school opened up its library to the public. Subsequently, Merseytravel wanted to use this land as a bus turning circle but was stopped by Tushingham, and the Hunts Cross Residents Association, as this was in breach of contract for the land's usage. There are two places of worship locally: St Columba's URC and St Hilda's CoE. St Andrew's RC has now been demolished and sold for housing. The 28th Allerton

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Troop was based at St Columba's URC. It started in 1955, but has since been merged with the 33rd Allerton

Troop. A local drama group previously existed at St Columba's, where Rita Tushingham once performed.

Transport

The area is served by Hunts Cross station, the southern terminus of the Merseyrail

Northern Line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

to Liverpool city centre,

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

, Kirkby and

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...

. Northern and East Midlands Railway services also run to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. Regular buses run along Speke Road, Hillfoot Avenue and Mackets Lane connecting with most of Liverpool, including routes into the city centre, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Speke, and also round the ring road to East and North Liverpool.

Notable residents

* Josh Bolt, actor best known for his role as Rob Dawson in '' Benidorm (British TV series)'', grew up here. * George Harrison, composer/musician/activist and co-founder of The Beatles, lived here from 1962 to 1965. * John Reppion, writer, husband of Leah Moore * Rita Tushingham, actress best known for her roles in '' The Bed-Sitting Room'' and Carla Lane's ''

Bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

'' * Jonathan Harvey, writer, grew up here

References

External links

Liverpool Street Gallery – Liverpool 25
{{Liverpool Areas of Liverpool