Moreton is a town on the north coast of 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 th ...
,
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral ...
, England. It is located approximately to the west 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 ...
.
Historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
part 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 coun ...
, it is now within 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, B ...
. The town was divided in 2004 between the local government wards of
Leasowe & Moreton East and
Moreton West & Saughall Massie. Moreton is also 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 ...
.
In the
2001 census it had a population of 17,670.
History
Prior to 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 Conq ...
, the Lingham area of Moreton was a possible location for
Dingesmere
Dingesmere is a place known only from the Old English poem of the Battle of Brunanburh. The name is found in versions of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the h ...
, mentioned with regard to the
Battle of Brunanburh
The Battle of Brunanburh was fought in 937 between Æthelstan, King of England, and an alliance of Olaf Guthfrithson, King of Dublin, Constantine II, King of Scotland, and Owain, King of Strathclyde. The battle is often cited as the poin ...
, in
Egil's Saga
''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's saga'' ( non, Egils saga ; ) is an Icelandic saga (family saga) on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicised as Egill Skallagrimsson), an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the year ...
.
At the time of 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 ...
, the area was a township in the parish of
Bidston, within 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 ...
. In the twelfth century, it formed part of the estates of
Hamo de Mascy. The name Moreton was first recorded in 1278, as Meretun, and derives from Anglo-Saxon words meaning a settlement (''tun'') beside a lake (''mere'').
The village joined with neighbouring Lingham to form the parish of Moreton-cum-Lingham in the late nineteenth century. It was absorbed into the County Borough 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 ...
in 1928.
Geography
The area is located between
Great Meols to the west and
Bidston and
Upton to the south and east. Before the sea embankment was constructed, the area included 3000 acres of tidal lagoon, at between one and two metres below sea level, with most of the remainder little more than one metre above.
The coast at Moreton is part of a stretch of sand that runs from Meols to
Leasowe
Leasowe () is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. Historically within Cheshire (ceased to be in 1974), Leasowe was part of the old County Borough of Wallasey. It is now within the Leasowe and Moreton East War ...
known as Mockbeggar Wharf, named after Mockbeggar Hall, otherwise known as
Leasowe Castle. 'Mockbeggar Hall' is also the name of Moreton's
Wetherspoons
J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It o ...
pub (The name Mockbeggar apparently being an old sailors' term for a lone house). The
North Wirral Coastal Park also runs for four miles along this coast, including public open space, common land, natural foreshore and sand dunes. The park provides a wide variety of recreational activities; some of the more popular being sailing, sea angling, swimming, cycling, picnicking, walking, jogging, ball games, bird watching and horse riding.
The low-lying land behind the coast is protected by a large concrete embankment. Some of the coastal land is in the Moreton
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 ...
and provides important natural habitat. The embankment gives a good view at low tide to see a variety of wading birds. There are also good views of
Bidston Hill
Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland containing historic buildings and ancient rock carvings, on the Wirral Peninsula, near the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston, in Merseyside, England. With a peak of , Bidston Hill is one of the highest ...
and
Caldy Hill. Further afield,
Winter Hill is often visible beyond Liverpool and, in the opposite direction, much of North Wales can be seen from the embankment, including
Moel Famau
Moel Famau is the highest hill in the Clwydian Range and the highest point ( county top) of the county of Flintshire in Wales (both the historic county and the current council area). It lies on the boundary between Denbighshire and Flintshire ...
,
Snowdonia
Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.
Name and extent
It was a commonly held belief that the na ...
, the
Great Orme
The Great Orme ( cy, Y Gogarth) is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old ...
and
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a Local government in Wales, principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strai ...
. On clear days,
Black Combe
Black Combe is a fell in the south-west corner of the Lake District National Park, England, just from the Irish Sea. It lies near the west coast of Cumbria in the borough of Copeland and more specifically, in the ancient district of Millom. ...
in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...
can also be seen.
Arrowe Brook merges with
the Birket at Moreton. The Birket then continues towards
West Float at the site of the former
Wallasey Pool
Wallasey Pool was a natural tidal inlet of water that separated the towns of Wallasey and Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Originally flowing directly into the River Mersey, it was converted into the sophisticated Birkenhead Dock sys ...
.
Demography
The population was 210 in 1801, 350 in 1851 and 597 in 1901.
[
At the 2001 census, the population was 12,532 (5,980 males, 6,552 females), although sharing split wards 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, B ...
, encompassing a larger area, it was recorded as 13,735 (6,442 males, 7,293 females) for Leasowe and Moreton East, and 14,423 (6,879 males, 7,544 females) for Moreton West and Saughall Massie. At the 2011 Census, the population is solely recorded as sharing split wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, encompassing the larger area, being recorded as 14,640 (7,005 males, 7,635 females) for Leasowe and Moreton East, and 13,988 (6,732 males, 7,256 females) for Moreton West and Saughall Massie.
Governance
Moreton 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, B ...
, 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. Moreton is also 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
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
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 ...
, a Labour representative who has held the seat since 1992. The previous incumbent of the post was Lynda Chalker
Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, , (; born 29 April 1942) is a British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament for Wallasey from 1974 to 1992. She served as Minister of State for Overseas Development and Africa at ...
, a 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 in ...
MP.
The area is also split amongst two of the 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-lo ...
wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. These being Leasowe & Moreton East and Moreton West & Saughall Massie. Moreton 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 metropoli ...
by six councillors: three from the Labour Party (Moreton East) and three from the Conservative Party (Moreton West). 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.
Economy
Food manufacturing
Moreton is also known for being the home of the Burton's factory, and now owned by Duke Street Capital. This factory was also the producer of Cadbury's
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...
biscuits. Manor Bakeries, the former Cadbury's cakes department, (now owned by Premier Foods Group) is located in the town at Reeds Lane, near to Leasowe railway station
Leasowe railway station is a station serving the village of Leasowe, in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.
Location
The station is in Reeds Lane, on the edge of Moreton and ...
.
Moreton is also home to Typhoo Tea, with the factory which manufactures Typhoo, being located next to the Burton's factory.
Pharmaceuticals
Until the 1990s, Bristol-Myers Squibb
The Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS) is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in New York City, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consistently ranks on the ''Fortune'' 500 list of the l ...
was also a major employer to the local workforce, with a large factory located on the opposite side of Reeds Lane to Burton's, next to Leasowe Station. However, in the mid-90s, manufacturing was moved out of Moreton which led to the closure of the factory. At the same time, there was actually heavy investment into modern drug development and research labs on the site, which are still operated by Bristol-Myers Squibb. In 2009, the company provided further investment into the site.
Tarran Way Industrial Estate
The Tarran Way Industrial Estate is mainly home to various car repair facilities, and other light industry businesses.
Dantec is the UK's biggest manufacturer of composite hoses, which are used in the transfer of petrochemicals. The company was established in 1969, and the business is situated on Tarran Way.
Former brickworks
Della Robbia Pottery used local red clay from Moreton. Barker and Briscoe Brickworks was situated on Carr Lane, west of the centre of the village.
Community
Schools
Moreton Christ Church CofE Primary School, located on Upton Road, is a Church of England school that educates around 400 pupils in ages 4–11. It was opened, as the 'Moreton Church of England School'in 1861, in the centre of Moreton. It was established in its current location in 1974.
Other schools include Sacred Heart Primary School, Lingham Primary School, Eastway Primary School, Sandbrook Primary School, Foxfield School (formerly St Thomas Becket Catholic School demolished around 2012/13), Orrets Meadow Special School and Clare Mount Specialist Sports College (formerly Moreton Middle School).
Churches
Moreton has various religious establishments, though all of Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
denominations. The most substantial building is the 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 Britai ...
's Christ Church on Upton Road, which was built in 1863 and replaced an earlier building known as a chapel-of-ease. This earlier building had been pulled down by 1690, and was then within the parish of Bidston. The church, vicarage and school were built at a cost of £8,000, paid for by a donation from William Inman
William Inman (6 April 1825 in Leicester – 3 July 1881 in Upton, Wirral) was the owner of the Liverpool, New York and Philadelphia Steamship Company. Also known as the Inman Line, it ran services from Liverpool to New York
New York most co ...
, with the church being designed by Cunningham
Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham.
Notable people sharing this surname
A–C
* Aaron Cunningham (born 1986), American baseball player
* Abe Cunningham, American drummer
*Adrian Cunningham (born 1960), Australian ...
and Audsley. The church has a spire, and used to have a rectory which was demolished in 1922. Christ Church became a Grade II 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 1987.
The other significant churches include Sacred Heart Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
Church and the Moreton Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
Church. The smaller establishments include the Moreton Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...
Church, the Moreton Christian Assembly, the Moreton Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...
Church and a building belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...
.
Leisure
Moreton Library is situated on Pasture Road, with a nearby youth club
A youth center or youth centre, often called youth club, is a place where young people can meet and participate in a variety of activities, for example table football, association football (US soccer, UK football), basketball, table tennis, vi ...
and boxing club. A dance club is further along Pasture Road, near to Moreton Shore and the lighthouse. The 4th Moreton Scout Group is situated on Upton Road.
Public Houses
Public houses include the ''Coach & Horses Inn'' which opened in 1928, ''The Grange'', ''The Mockbeggar Hall'', which is a branch of JD Wetherspoon
J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It op ...
, ''The Farmers Arms'', ''The Sandbrook'' and ''The Armchair''. Former pubs included the ''Morton Arms'', noted for its incorrect spelling, although it is thought to be an external source and not intended as Moreton, the ''Millhouse'' (demolished 2018) and the ''Plough Inn'' (demolished).
Parks and Commons
Parks include Lingham Park and Upton Park. Meanwhile, Ditton Lane Nature Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
is towards the coast, along with the North Wirral Coastal Park. In the North Wirral Coastal Park, Leasowe Lighthouse was built in 1763 and is the oldest brick-built lighthouse in Britain. The lighthouse was built because of the sandbanks just offshore.
It has been restored and is open to the public at times.
Sport
The Moreton Hills Golf Centre has a driving range
A driving range is a facility or area where golfers can practice their golf swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range att ...
which is situated adjacent to the Tarran Way Industrial Estate. Moreton Football Club was on Upton Road, and is now based at Sandbrook Lane, as Sandbrook FC.
Transport
Road
Moreton is situated at the roundabout junction of roads from Bidston (the A553), Leasowe (the A551), Meols (the A553) and Upton (the A551). The A5027 Upton bypass continues into Junction 2a 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 ...
, known as Moreton Spur, to the south of Moreton.
Boat
Moreton witnessed the world's first commercial passenger and mail hovercraft
A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces.
Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, ...
service. A Vickers-Armstrong VA-3
Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...
hovercraft was operated by British United Airways
British United Airways (BUA) was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest who ...
and ran from Leasowe embankment to Rhyl
Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd'').
To the west ...
in North Wales
North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...
. The service commenced on 20 July 1962.[ However, due to varying reasons including bad weather and technical difficulties the service was cancelled after its final journey on 14 September 1962.]
Rail
There are two stations serving Moreton, these are Moreton and Leasowe
Leasowe () is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. Historically within Cheshire (ceased to be in 1974), Leasowe was part of the old County Borough of Wallasey. It is now within the Leasowe and Moreton East War ...
. Both stations are on the West Kirby branch of 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 ...
and have direct electric services, operated by 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 elect ...
, to 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. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, to the north-east lies Hoylake, to the east Grange ...
and via Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; Historic counties of England, historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the R ...
. Both Leasowe and Moreton offer park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ...
facilities.
A third station has been proposed to serve the Town Meadow / Millhouse areas but this is currently seen as a long term project by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) is the combined authority of the Liverpool City Region. The Liverpool City Region includes the City of Liverpool local authority area plus the Metropolitan Boroughs of Knowsley, St Helens, ...
.
Notable people
*Lottie Dod
Charlotte Dod (24 September 1871 – 27 June 1960) was an English multi-sport athlete, best known as a tennis player. She won the Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Championship five times, the first one when she was only 15 in the summer of 1887. She ...
, English sportswoman, established a ladies' golf club in Moreton, in 1894.
* Daniel Ilabaca, Founder of World Freerunning and Parkour Federation, born in Moreton.
*William Inman
William Inman (6 April 1825 in Leicester – 3 July 1881 in Upton, Wirral) was the owner of the Liverpool, New York and Philadelphia Steamship Company. Also known as the Inman Line, it ran services from Liverpool to New York
New York most co ...
, English industrialist, buried in Moreton.
* Paul Rutherford, English footballer, born in Moreton.
*Jonathan Walters
Jonathan Ronald Walters (born 20 September 1983) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Walters started his career at Blackburn Rovers but failed to break into the first team and joined Bolton Wanderers. He then went out ...
, Irish international footballer, born in Moreton.
* Helen Forrester, English author, lived in Moreton during World War 2.
* Frank 'Titch' Mason, prize winning jockey, died in 1969. He used his prize money to help build many shops in the area.
References
Further reading
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External links
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral: North Wirral Coastal Park
Merseytravel
{{Authority control
Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
Beaches of Merseyside