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 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 d ...

located on Everton Brow in

Everton, Liverpool Everton is a suburb of north Liverpool, in Merseyside, England, and part of the Liverpool Walton (UK Parliament constituency), Liverpool Walton constituency. It is bordered by Vauxhall, Liverpool, Vauxhall to the west, Kirkdale, Liverpool, Kir ...

. The 18th-century structure is one of two Georgian lock-ups that still survive in

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 ...

; the other is in

Wavertree Wavertree is a district and suburb of Liverpool, in the county of Merseyside, England. It is a Ward (country subdivision), ward of Liverpool City Council, and its population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 14,772. Located to ...

. It is famous for being the centre-piece of the crest of

Everton F.C. Everton Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1878, the club was a founding member of the Football Lea ...

Liverpool History Society
The Grade II-listed building, which was opened in 1787, was originally an overnight holding place where local drunks and criminals were taken by

parish constable A parish constable, also known as a petty constable, was a Law enforcement agency, law enforcement Police officer, officer, usually unpaid and part-time, serving a Civil parishes in England, parish. The position evolved from the ancient ''headboroug ...

s. Prisoners would then be brought before local Justice of the peace for trial. Punishments would usually be similar to community service such as clearing ditches, unblocking drains or removing rubbish. The Friends of Everton Park have included the lock-up in their Everton Park Heritage Trail with information boards displayed near the building. It is sometimes called Prince Rupert's Tower, though it was in fact erected 143 years after

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

's Royalist Army camped in the area during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

Siege of Liverpool in 1644. It is likely the name arose because Everton Brow was historically where preparations were made to attack the Parliamentarian garrison holding

Liverpool Castle Liverpool Castle was a castle in Liverpool, Liverpool, England, that stood from the early 13th century to the early 18th century (1237–1726). Construction The castle was probably erected in the 1230s, between 1232 and 1235, under the orders o ...

. Prince Rupert, as commander of the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

is said to have looked down on the fortress and dismissed it with the words: "It is a crow’s nest that any party of schoolboys could take!". It eventually fell after a week of heavy fighting and the loss of 1,500 of his men.

Use by Everton F.C.

A depiction of the Everton Lock-Up has appeared on the crest of professional football club

since 1938. In 2003, a plaque was added to the building stating the importance of its sporting association. In May 1997, Everton gave £15,000 for renovating the structure and in February 2014 Everton Lock-Up was permanently illuminated blue.

References

External links

* {{commonscat-inline, Everton Lock up, Everton Lock-Up Grade II listed buildings in Liverpool Everton F.C. Defunct prisons in England