Garston, Liverpool

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Garston
St Michael's Church, Garston (2).jpg
St Michael's Church, Garston
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Garston
Location within Merseyside
OS grid reference SJ405842
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LIVERPOOL
Postcode district L19
Dialling code 0151
Police Merseyside
Fire Merseyside
Ambulance North West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Merseyside
53°21′04″N2°53′38″W / 53.351°N 2.894°W / 53.351; -2.894

Garston is a district of Liverpool, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is bordered by the suburbs of Grassendale, Allerton, and Speke. It lies on the Eastern banks of the River Mersey.

Contents

History

In medieval times, Garston was home to a group of Benedictine monks. The first recorded mention of settlement in Garston is of the Church of St Michael in 1235. By the 19th century, the area had become a small village, one of the eight townships forming the parish of Childwall.

A small dock was first built at Garston in 1793 for Blackburne's Saltworks, which still stands today.

Garston's growth accelerated rapidly in the 1840s, when in 1846, the area's first dock was constructed and opened, under the auspices of the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway Company. The "Old Dock" was followed twenty years later by a second, the "North Dock." The third and final dock, Stalbridge, was opened in 1907. In 1903, Garston was incorporated into the City of Liverpool. [1] The population expanded as migrants flooded in to work on the docks, especially from Ireland.

Description

Today, Garston is a shipping and container port, with the Port of Garston second only to Liverpool Docks in the North-West. Although inside the city of Liverpool, Garston Docks are not a part of the Port of Liverpool and is regarded as a separate port. Much of the area is also residential, housing being mainly in Victorian terraces with semi-detached homes around Liverpool South Parkway.

Garston is partnered with the nearby district of Speke in a series of redevelopment and regeneration schemes, [2] which have succeeded in reversing trends in dereliction and unemployment, and house prices have continued to rise.

Etymology

Grazing settlement root

Gaerstun, meaning 'grazing settlement' or 'grazing farm' in Old English, is one possible root of the name. [3]

Garston as a name of a place may have its etymology informed by both Old English and Norse. The area that Garston was part of during the Viking Danelaw period would have been influenced by Norse speech. When Vikings settled they would sometimes change names because of speech difficulties. For example, the Saxon name for the city Eoforwic was changed to Jorvik. Shelton, was altered to Skelton, though the old English of 'ton' meaning settlement was retained attesting to the development of language over time. [4]

Spear root

Gar', from Old English (spear, dart, javelin, shaft, arrow, weapon) from Norwegian and Icelandic (spear) and Old Norse geirr (spear, arrow), may suggest that the name of Garston is a combination of Viking and Old English. Another meaning of the name has been suggested as being Gar' (Great) ston' (stone). Therefore meaning "Great Stone". A name possibly meaning the place where spears or arrows were made. In the Anglo Saxon period the forests belong to landowners and their subjects. It wasn't until the coming of William in 1066 that the 'Forest Law' was introduced which claimed woodland as the hunting grounds for kings. Woodland covered approximately 15% of England in 1086 (this had dwindled to just 5.3% in 1905). [5]

Neither of these names may be exclusive and whilst they may have a different etymological ancestry they may simply because of the way language develops have a common history. The etymology of 'garden' is the same as yard and garth and derives from the Old English 'geard', meaning enclosure or hedge. So a hedged enclosure is the exact definition of a garden just as it is of a field. [6]

Etymological conclusions

Geardton (Old English field) or Geirrton (Old Norse spear) or Garton (Old English spear, weapon), all omit the S. S is used in Modern English to suggest plural and possessive. Nouns, noun phrases and some pronouns generally form a possessive with the suffix 's'. [7] This form, is sometimes called the Saxon genitive, reflecting the suffix's derivation from a genitive case ending in Old English (Anglo-Saxon; a clitic).

This suggests at least two possible roots. Firstly one based on grazing as not geographically specific, unlikely to be fenced in, within the periods we are dealing with and secondly one based on specific activity or activities at a given point in a general location spear or arrow or weapon making, which is linked to a settlement, So a settlement where arrows were made is Geirr(s)ton or as it is now known, Garston, e.g. "the place of the arrows".

Transport

Garston is home to Liverpool South Parkway railway station, a major interchange station opened in 2006 replacing Garston (1874–2006). [8] Trains operate at regular intervals to the city centre, Southport, Manchester and Birmingham, and other locations. The 86 and 86A bus routes provide regular bus services from Liverpool South Parkway to the surrounding districts and the city centre. A regular bus shuttle to Liverpool John Lennon Airport is available from Liverpool South Parkway railway station.

Attractions

Garston was home to the 'New Slaughterhouse Gallery' on St. Mary's Road, which aimed to promote local artists as well as community regeneration in partnership with the Garston Embassy on Wellington Street but is now closed. Cressington and Grassendale Parks are nearby, and there is a public swimming pool on Long Lane. [9]

A former venue, the Winter Gardens (since demolished), opposite the police station in Heald Street, hosted concerts, dances and other public events. [10] [11]

Football

In 1935, when Garston and indeed much of the south of Liverpool was expanding due to the mass development of council housing to replace inner city slums, as well as the significant development of private housing, the new South Liverpool F.C. was formed in 1935 to serve the area and set up base at the Holly Park stadium in Garston. The club went on to win the Welsh Cup in 1939 (despite being an English side and playing in the English non-league systems) and won a host of non-league football competitions over the next 50 years. However, they were forced to sell Holly Park after a fire in 1989 and folded in 1991, only to reform as a junior side in various locations in and around the city before settling at a site in Otterspool in 2000. [12]

Although South Liverpool were never successful in their many applications to join the Football League, many of their players went on to play for Football League sides; most notably striker John Aldridge [13] and midfielder Jimmy Case, [14] who won major trophies in the great Liverpool sides of the 1970s and 1980s. Aldridge, locally born but of Irish descent, was also a Republic of Ireland international regular in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s, representing his adopted country at two World Cups.

Cultural references

A house in Garston was used in creating the artwork for the Arctic Monkeys album Favourite Worst Nightmare . [15] The house and estate have been demolished and new houses occupy the site. [16]

Notable residents

See also

Related Research Articles

The toponymy of England derives from a variety of linguistic origins. Many English toponyms have been corrupted and broken down over the years, due to language changes which have caused the original meanings to be lost. In some cases, words used in these place-names are derived from languages that are extinct, and of which there are no known definitions. Place-names may also be compounds composed of elements derived from two or more languages from different periods. The majority of the toponyms predate the radical changes in the English language triggered by the Norman Conquest, and some Celtic names even predate the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in the first millennium AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aigburth</span> Human settlement in England

Aigburth is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allerton, Liverpool</span> Suburb of Liverpool city in England

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In much of the "Old World" the names of many places cannot easily be interpreted or understood; they do not convey any apparent meaning in the modern language of the area. This is due to a general set of processes through which place names evolve over time, until their obvious meaning is lost. In contrast, in the "New World", many place names' origins are known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grassendale</span> Human settlement in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garston railway station (Merseyside)</span> Railway station in Liverpool, England

Garston railway station was a railway station in the Garston district of Liverpool, England. The station was located on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail suburban rail network. The station was closed in 2006 when it was replaced by Liverpool South Parkway, which is a combined bus and rail interchange. The proximity of the stations was so close the platforms of South Parkway nearly merged onto the Garston station's platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool South Parkway railway station</span> Railway station in Merseyside, England

Liverpool South Parkway station, is a railway station and bus interchange in the Garston district of Liverpool, England. It serves, via a bus link, Liverpool John Lennon Airport in the neighbouring suburb of Speke, as well as providing an interchange between main line services and the Merseyrail rapid transit/commuter rail network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garston and Liverpool Railway</span>

The Garston and Liverpool Railway line ran from the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway line at Garston Docks to Brunswick railway station, later to central Liverpool. The company was formed on 17 May 1861 and the line opened on 1 June 1864.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Liverpool</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gargrave</span> Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Gargrave is a large village and civil parish in the Craven district located along the A65, 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Skipton in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the very edge of the Yorkshire Dales. The River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal pass through the village. It had a population of 1,764 in 2001 reducing slightly to 1,755 at the 2011 census.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Liverpool</span> Overview of architecture of Liverpool, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cressington railway station</span> Grade II listed train station in Liverpool, United kingdom

Cressington railway station serves the Grassendale district of Liverpool, England. It is situated on the Southport-Hunts Cross route of the Northern Line of the Merseyrail suburban system. The station takes its name from the Cressington Park area inside of Cressington.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Liverpool, England.

References

  1. ↑ "Townships: Garston | British History Online".
  2. ↑ "New vision for Garston". 19 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Local History - Liverpool Villages, BBC, retrieved 19 September 2007
  4. ↑ "Jorvik Name Change" . Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  5. ↑ van der Zee, Bibi (27 July 2013). "England's forests: a brief history of trees". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  6. ↑ Don, Monty (27 August 2000). "Cuts to the boundary". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Etymology of Grass" . Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Disused Stations: Garston Station".
  9. ↑ "Lifestyles Garston - Liverpool City Council". Liverpool.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "Scuffling Skifflers". There Are Places I Remember. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  11. ↑ Winter Gardens: 53°21′18″N2°53′58″W / 53.35513°N 2.89931°W
  12. ↑ "History - South Liverpool Football Club". Southliverpoolfc.com. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  13. ↑ "John Aldridge - Liverpool FC". Liverpoolfc.tv. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  14. ↑ "Jimmy Case - Liverpool FC". Liverpoolfc.tv. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  15. ↑ Arctic Monkeys Reveal Album Artwork, Gigwise, 16 March 2007, archived from the original on 27 May 2011, retrieved 19 September 2007
  16. ↑ Ltd, Flint Studios. "SLH home is the star of Arctic Monkeys' 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' album cover". www.southliverpoolhomes.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2022.

Further reading

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