Vauxhall, Liverpool

Last updated

Vauxhall
St Anthony's and The Throstles Nest, Scotland Rd - geograph.org.uk - 72852.jpg
St Anthony's Church and The Throstles Nest public house, Scotland Road
Merseyside UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Vauxhall
Location within Merseyside
Population6,699 (2001 Census) [1]
OS grid reference SJ345915
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LIVERPOOL
Postcode district L3, L5
Dialling code 0151
Police Merseyside
Fire Merseyside
Ambulance North West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Merseyside
53°24′59″N2°59′06″W / 53.41643°N 2.984869°W / 53.41643; -2.984869

Vauxhall is an inner city district of Liverpool, England, north of the city centre, bounded by Kirkdale to the north and Everton to the east, with the docks and River Mersey running along the west side.

Contents

Vauxhall is in the Liverpool City Council ward of Kirkdale and the edge of the Central, Liverpool ward, although previously it was a ward itself. [2] In the 1841 Liverpool Census [3] the area was covered by two wards Scotland and Vauxhall. According to the 2001 Census, Vauxhall had a population of 6,699. [1]

Description

The Vauxhall area is more famously known as the "Scottie Road area" due to the history of Scotland Road running through it.[ citation needed ] The Scottie Press is a well known local newspaper for the Vauxhall area and is recognised as "Britain's longest running community newspaper". [4] In 2008 Liverpool celebrated being European Capital of Culture, and in June 2008 to make a point of the area's contribution to Liverpool is not forgotten amid all the cultural celebrations, the Scottie Roaders, old and new, held their own 08 party. [5]

Despite the area being widely known and historical, the Vauxhall area is often misrepresented by the media as Kirkdale or Everton. Liverpool City Council's haste to update district signs around 2005 has also meant the entire area was formally misrepresented by signs saying "Everton", although these signs no longer remain around Vauxhall.

The south end of Vauxhall near the city centre is home to Liverpool John Moores University at Byrom Street. This location like so much of Liverpool's inner city is much changed compared to yesteryear. Also nearby is Atlantic Point and Marybone halls of residence.

History

Scotland Road was created in the 1770s as a turnpike road to Preston via Walton and Burscough. It became part of a stagecoach route to Scotland, hence its name. It was partly widened in 1803 and streets of working-class housing laid out either side as Liverpool expanded. Many were demolished as slums in the 1930s, to be replaced with corporation flats. In the mid-19th century as destitute, starving Irish immigrants flooded into the area particularly during the Great Famine, Scotland Road had become densely overcrowded, this with people living in courts and cellars in appalling conditions with poverty and sickness worse than anywhere in the country. Eldon Grove (now Grade II listed) was built as model housing as part of a labourers' village and was officially opened by the Countess of Derby in 1912. [6]

In Victorian times the area had over 200 public houses, mostly now gone. What is now Vauxhall was historically within the boundaries of old Liverpool before further expansion took in the nearby townships of Everton (1835) and Kirkdale (1860s).

Scotland Road was the centre of working class life in north Liverpool. Home to most of Liverpool's migrant communities, Scotland Road was almost "a city within a city but by far the largest community was Irish Catholic following a massive influx of refugees fleeing the famine of 1847/48 It was a place close to both the back end of the city centre and the docks. It could be a place of both romantic nostalgia and brutal hardship. Community was at the centre of Scotland Road and a shared distinctly Liverpool -Irish identity evolved through the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Urban clearance and the construction of the Wallasey Tunnel in the 1960s and '70s led to a shift in population of the area to various parts of the city such as Kirkby, Croxteth, Norris Green, Fazakerley, Huyton, Stockbridge Village to new modern housing, leaving Scotland Road in a state of steady decline. Demolition particularly around the north end of Scotland Road continued in the 1980s and beyond.

New housing

2008 marked 30 years since a new housing estate breathed life into derelict land to the west of Vauxhall Road [7] called Eldonian Village. In recent years new housing has followed this flagship Eldonian Village, [8] such as Athol Village alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal plus flats and student accommodation around the Leeds Street and Marybone end to improve the Vauxhall area, however little of Scotland Road itself remains.

Plans were unveiled in March 2018 to restore the three blocks of Eldon Grove back into use as housing after them being derelict for over 16 years. The plans also include the creation of a new block of flats on adjacent land. [9]

Political history

The area has been contained in the following parliamentary constituencies:

The Members of Parliament (MPs) for the area since 1885 have been as follows:

ElectionMemberParty
1885 T.P. O'Connor Irish Nationalist
1929 by-election David Logan Labour
1964 by-election Walter Alldritt Labour
1971 by-election Frank Marsden Labour
Feb 1974 Robert Parry Labour
1997 Louise Ellman Labour Co-op
2019 Kim Johnson Labour

The election results for the Vauxhall ward of Liverpool City Council can be found via:

Landmarks in Vauxhall

Much of the area's landmarks have long since been demolished or closed. Some existing landmarks are:

The North Liverpool Community Justice Centre (CJC) [10] was based in Boundary Street in a former school.

For the future, Peel Holdings have proposed a plan for the docks in Vauxhall called Liverpool Waters. However it is reported this development would take decades to complete.

Education

There were many schools in the "Scottie Road" area, however with a decline in population, and rather like pubs and churches, few remain:

Notable residents

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool</span> City in England

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, northwest England. It had a population of 496,770 in 2022. The city is located on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, adjacent to the Irish Sea, and is approximately 178 miles (286 km) from London. Liverpool is the fifth largest city in the United Kingdom, the largest settlement in Merseyside and part of the Liverpool City Region, a combined authority with a population of over 1.5 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellesmere Port</span> Town in Cheshire, England

Ellesmere Port is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, six miles north of Chester, on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. The town had a population of 61,090 in the 2011 census. Ellesmere Port also forms part of the wider Birkenhead urban area, which had a population of 325,264 in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bootle</span> Town in Merseyside, England

Bootle is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everton, Liverpool</span> District of Liverpool, England

Everton is a district of north Liverpool, England, and part of the Liverpool Walton constituency. It is bordered by Vauxhall to the west, Kirkdale to the north, and Anfield to the north-east. Historically in Lancashire, at the 2011 Census the population was 14,782.

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

Croxteth is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and a Liverpool City Council Ward. Although housing in the area is predominantly modern, the suburb has some notable history. At the United Kingdom 2011 Census it had a population of 14,561. Croxteth is within the boundaries of the traditional county Lancashire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingle, Liverpool</span> Area of Liverpool in Merseyside, England

Dingle is an inner city area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is located to the south of the city, bordered by the adjoining districts of Toxteth and Aigburth. At the 2001 Census, the population was recorded at 13,246.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotland Road</span> Road in Vauxhall, Liverpool, England

Scotland Road, known locally as Scottie Road, is the section of the A59 road situated near the docks in the Vauxhall district of north Liverpool, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool Riverside (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Liverpool Riverside is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Kim Johnson, who is a member of the Labour Party.

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

Kirkdale is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and a Liverpool City Council ward that covers both Kirkdale and Vauxhall. At the 2011 Census, the population was 16,115.

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

The history of Liverpool can be traced back to 1190 when the place was known as 'Liuerpul', possibly meaning a pool or creek with muddy water, though other origins of the name have been suggested. The borough was founded by royal charter in 1207 by King John, made up of only seven streets in the shape of the letter 'H'. Liverpool remained a small settlement until its trade with Ireland and coastal parts of England and Wales was overtaken by trade with Africa and the West Indies, which included the slave trade. The world's first commercial wet dock was opened in 1715 and Liverpool's expansion to become a major city continued over the next two centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central (Liverpool ward)</span> Metropolitan borough council ward in Liverpool, England

Central was an electoral division of Liverpool City Council in the Liverpool Riverside Parliamentary constituency.

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

The architecture of Liverpool is rooted in the city's development into a major port of the British Empire. It encompasses a variety of architectural styles of the past 300 years, while next to nothing remains of its medieval structures which would have dated back as far as the 13th century. Erected 1716–18, Bluecoat Chambers is supposed to be the oldest surviving building in central Liverpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkdale (ward)</span> Former metropolitan borough council ward in Liverpool, England

Kirkdale ward was an electoral division of Liverpool City Council centred on the Kirkdale and Vauxhall areas of Liverpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everton (ward)</span> Metropolitan borough council ward in Liverpool, England

Everton ward was an electoral division of Liverpool City Council in the Liverpool Walton Parliamentary constituency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool city centre</span> Commercial, cultural, financial and historical heart of Liverpool, England

Liverpool city centre is the commercial, cultural, financial and historical centre of Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region, England. Different definitions of the city centre exist for urban planning and local government, however, the border of Liverpool city centre is broadly marked by the inner city districts of Vauxhall, Everton, Edge Hill, Kensington and Toxteth.

Elections to Liverpool Town Council were held on Saturday 26 December 1835.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vauxhall (Liverpool ward)</span> Metropolitan borough council ward in Liverpool, England

Vauxhall ward is an electoral division of Liverpool City Council centred on the Vauxhall area of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breckfield (ward)</span> Former electoral district of Liverpool

Breckfield ward was an electoral district of Liverpool City Council from 1895 until 2004. It was part of the Everton and Anfield districts of Liverpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterfront North (Liverpool ward)</span> Metropolitan borough council ward in Liverpool, England

Waterfront North ward is an electoral district of Liverpool City Council within the Liverpool Riverside constituency.

References

  1. 1 2 2001 Census: Vauxhall (Ward), Office for National Statistics, retrieved 11 February 2008
  2. Boundary changes for Liverpool published, Liverpool City Council, 26 March 2003, archived from the original on 20 December 2004
  3. "1841 Liverpool Census map". Liverpool & South West Lancs FHS. Archived from the original on 4 October 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  4. The Mersey Times - Scotland Road, BBC, June 2002, retrieved 19 October 2020
  5. Lullabies and lessons in life (The Scottie 08 Reunion), Liverpool Daily Post, 31 May 2008, retrieved 8 June 2008
  6. Bowman, Jamie (21 June 2015). "Take a last look at Grade II listed Eldon Grove before renovations begin". Liverpool Echo.
  7. "Book marks 30 years of the Eldonian Village", Liverpool Daily Post, 12 June 2008, retrieved 22 June 2008
  8. Davis, Carol (23 January 2002), "Derelict site becomes model of inner city tranquility", The Guardian, retrieved 28 May 2008
  9. Parry, Josh (21 February 2016). "Look inside historic Eldon Grove as new plans revealed". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  10. North Liverpool Community Justice Centre, archived from the original on 20 August 2008, retrieved 4 July 2008