Moreton is a town in 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 (), and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebingt ...

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. Located on the north coast of the

Wirral Peninsula The Wirral Peninsula (), 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 Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpo ...

, it is approximately to the west of

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...

Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

part of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and now within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, 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

. In the 2001 census, it had a population of 17,670.

Toponymy

The name ''Moreton'' was first recorded in 1278, as Meretun; it derives from Anglo-Saxon words meaning a settlement (''tun'') beside a lake (''mere'').

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 Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, the Lingham area of Moreton was a possible location for Dingesmere, mentioned with regard to the

Battle of Brunanburh The Battle of Brunanburh was fought in 937 between Æthelstan, King of Kingdom of England, England, and an alliance of Olaf Guthfrithson, King of Kingdom of Dublin, Dublin; Constantine II of Scotland, Constantine II, King of Scotland; and O ...

, in

Egil's Saga ''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's 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 years c. 850–1000 a ...

. It was in 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, Cheshire West, Willaston, which was an important asse ...

, the ancient administrative area for the Wirral Peninsula. In the twelfth century, it formed part of the estates of Hamo de Mascy. The village joined with neighbouring Lingham to form the parish of Moreton-cum-Lingham in the late nineteenth century. Moreton was formerly a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

and

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...

in the parish of

Bidston Bidston is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. Administratively, it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of th ...

; in 1866, Moreton became a separate

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 ...

. On 1 April 1928, the parish was abolished and merged with Wallasey, becaming part of the

County Borough of Wallasey Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...

Geography

The town is located between Great Meols to the west, and

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, Merseyside, England. Located on the north coast of the Wirral Peninsula, it is approximately to the west of Wallasey. Historically within Cheshire, Leasowe was part of the old Cou ...

; it is known as ''Mockbeggar Wharf'', named after Mockbeggar Hall, otherwise known as Leasowe Castle. ''Mockbeggar Hall'' is also the name of Moreton's former

Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a British pub company operating in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim ...

pub; the name ''Mockbeggar'' 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 or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

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 poin ...

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 and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

, the

Great Orme The Great Orme () 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 Norse word for ...

and

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

. 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 district of Cumberland and more specifically, in the ancient district of Millom ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

can also be seen.

Arrowe Brook The Birket is a tributary of the River Mersey, on the Wirral, Merseyside. The watercourse starts as lowland field drainage south of Hoylake and flows along to the south of Meols. Arrowe Brook joins at Moreton, and the Fender joins at Leasow ...

merges with

the Birket The Birket is a tributary of the River Mersey, on the Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside. The watercourse starts as lowland field drainage south of Hoylake and flows along to the south of Meols. Arrowe Brook joins at Moreton, Merseyside, More ...

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 syst ...

Demography

The population was 210 in 1801, 350 in 1851, 597 in 1901 and 4029 in 1921. At the 2001 census, the population was 12,532 (5,980 males, 6,552 females), although sharing split wards of the

, 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, 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

, in the

metropolitan county Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were originally used for Local government in England, local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyn ...

of Merseyside. Moreton is also part of the parliamentary constituency of

. The current Member of Parliament is Angela Eagle, a Labour representative who has held the seat since 1992. The previous incumbent of the post was Lynda Chalker of the a

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 ...

. The area is also split amongst two of the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

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 Council, or Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is a metropolitan district council with borough status, thus providing the majority of local governm ...

by six councillors: three from the Labour Party (Moreton East) and three from the Conservative Party (Moreton West).

Economy

Food manufacturing

Moreton is also known for being the home of the Burton's factory, which is now owned by

Duke Street Capital Duke Street Capital is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in middle-market companies in Western Europe, particularly the UK and France. Duke Street invests across four sectors: consumer, healthcare, ...

. This factory was also the producer of

Cadbury's Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods, Inc., Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest c ...

biscuits. Manor Bakeries is located in the town at Reeds Lane, near to Leasowe railway station; it was formerly Cadbury's cakes department, which now owned by Premier Foods Group, Moreton is also home to Typhoo Tea, with the factory located next to the Burton's factory.

Pharmaceuticals

Bristol-Myers-Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute-by-Sue-Adair

Until the 1990s,

Bristol-Myers Squibb The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, doing business as Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consist ...

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 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 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 The Della Robbia Pottery was a ceramic factory founded in 1894 in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, England. It closed in 1906. Initially it mostly made large pieces with high artistic aspirations, especially relief panels for architectural use, bu ...

used local red clay from Moreton. Barker and Briscoe Brickworks was situated on Carr Lane, west of the centre of the village.

Transport

Railway

Two stations serve the town: these are Moreton and

; both are on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line.

Merseyrail Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire in the North West England, North West of England. Merseyrail serves 69 Railway station, stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lin ...

operates frequent electric services between

West Kirby West Kirby () is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. In the north west of the Wirral Peninsula and at the mouth of the River Dee, the town is contiguous with Hoylake. It lies within the historic county bo ...

and , via . 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 transport, r ...

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 in England. Its jurisdiction includes the City of Liverpool local authority area, the Metropolitan Boroughs of Knowsley, St Helens, S ...

Roads

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, Merseyside and the Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough of Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It is also referred to as the Mid Wirral ...

, known as Moreton Spur, to the south of Moreton.

Water

Moreton witnessed the world's first commercial passenger and mail

hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

service. A Vickers-Armstrong VA-3 hovercraft was operated by

British United Airways British United Airways (BUA) was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline in the United Kingdom formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services#Origins, Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport ...

and ran from Leasowe embankment to

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, 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 Snowdon ...

. The service commenced on 20 July 1962; however, due to bad weather and technical difficulties, the service was cancelled after its final journey on 14 September 1962.

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 A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

denominations. The most substantial building is the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

's Christ Church on Upton Road, which was built in 1863; it replaced an earlier building known as a chapel-of-ease which 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, Merseyside, Upton, Wirral Peninsula, Wirral) was the owner of the Liverpool, New York and Philadelphia Steamship Company. Also known as the Inman Line, it ran services from Liverp ...

, 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 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, Hi ...

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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Church and the Moreton

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Church. The smaller establishments include the Moreton

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Church, the Moreton Christian Assembly, the Moreton

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and 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, v ...

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 was a branch of

JD Wetherspoon J D Wetherspoon (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a British pub company operating in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based ...

, ''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; 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, funga, or features of geologic ...

is sited towards the coast. 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 ...

, 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. Moreton is also home to New Brighton Rugby Club.

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. *

Helen Forrester Helen Forrester was the pen name of June Huband Bhatia (6 June 1919 – 24 November 2011), who was an Anglo-Canadian author known for her books about her youth in Liverpool, England, during the Great Depression and World War II, as well as ...

, English author, lived in Moreton during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. *

Daniel Ilabaca Daniel Marcus Ilabaca is a free runner and traceur. He along with Ryan Doyle, are the founders of the World Freerunning and Parkour Federation. Personal life Ilabaca was born on 23 January 1988 in Moreton, England. Career Daniel first not ...

, founder of World Freerunning and Parkour Federation, born in Moreton. *

, English industrialist, buried in Moreton. * Frank 'Titch' Mason, prize winning jockey, died in 1969. He used his prize money to help build many shops in the area. * Paul Rutherford, English footballer, born in Moreton. *

Earnie Shavers Earnie Dee Shaver (August 31, 1944 – September 1, 2022), best known as Earnie Shavers, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1969 and 1995. A two-time world heavyweight championship challenger, he is known as one of the hard ...

(1944-2022) boxer, lived in Moreton between 1998-2008 when working in Liverpool. *

Jonathan Walters Jonathan Ronald Walters (born 20 September 1983) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. He is sporting director of Stoke City F.C., Stoke City. Walters started his seni ...

, Irish international footballer, born in Moreton.

References

External links

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral: North Wirral Coastal Park

Merseytravel

{{Authority control Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Former civil parishes in Merseyside Beaches of Merseyside