Wavertree | |
---|---|
Location within Merseyside | |
Population | 14,772 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SJ3889 |
Metropolitan borough | |
Metropolitan county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LIVERPOOL |
Postcode district | L15 |
Dialling code | 0151 |
Police | Merseyside |
Fire | Merseyside |
Ambulance | North West |
UK Parliament | |
Wavertree is a district of Liverpool, England. It is a ward of Liverpool City Council, and its population at the 2011 census was 14,772. [1] Located to the south and east of the city centre, it is bordered by various districts and suburbs such as Childwall, Edge Hill, Fairfield, Mossley Hill, Old Swan, and Toxteth.
Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the name derives from the Old English words wæfre and treow, meaning "wavering tree", possibly in reference to aspen trees common locally. [2] It has also been variously described as "a clearing in a wood" or "the place by the common pond". [3] In the past, the name has been spelt Watry, Wartre, Waurtree, Wavertre and Wavertree. The earliest settlement of Wavertree is attested to by the discovery of Bronze Age burial urns in Victoria Park in the mid-1860s, [3] [4] while digging the footings for houses, two of which were built for Patrick O Connor, patentee, ironmonger, merchant and chair to the Wavertree Local Board of Health. [5]
The Domesday Book reference is "Leving held Wauretreu. There are 2 carucates of land. It was worth 64 pence". Wavertree was part of the parish of Childwall in the West Derby Hundred.
Wavertree also boasts a village lock-up, commonly known as The Roundhouse, despite being octagonal in shape. Built in 1796, and later modified by prominent local resident and architect Sir James Picton, it was once used to detain local drunks. The lock-up was made a listed building in 1952. [6] A similar structure, Everton Lock-Up sometimes called Prince Rupert's Tower, survives in Everton. The village green, on which Wavertree's lock-up was built, is officially the only surviving piece of common land in Liverpool. [6]
In 1895, the village of Wavertree was incorporated into the city of Liverpool. Buildings of interest include Holy Trinity Church, Liverpool Reform Synagogue, the Blue Coat School, and the Royal School for the Blind, all of which are situated on the same road. King David High School, a Jewish-affiliated school that also accepts students of other faiths and backgrounds, is situated in Wavertree and has a primary school attached to it. Wavertree Town Hall was built in 1872 as the headquarters of the Wavertree Local Board of Health. Rescued from demolition in 1979, the town hall is now a restaurant. [7]
Wavertree is one of the areas in south Liverpool populated by students of Liverpool's three universities, especially the Smithdown Road area. This road is known for "The Smithdown Ten" pub crawl, although the number of pubs in business varies from year to year. [8] Wavertree is also home to the annual Smithdown Road Festival, with local bars and cafes hosting almost 200 bands every year. The community is ethnically diverse, with significant South Asian and black populations.
The elected councillors for Wavertree are Angela Coleman, Clare McIntyre and Dave Cummings, all of whom are members of the Labour Party. It has been represented since 2019 by Paula Barker, also of the Labour Party, in the parliamentary constituency of Liverpool Wavertree.
There are a number of both primary and secondary schools in this densely populated area of Liverpool. In addition to the aforementioned Blue Coat School, Royal School for the Blind, and King David High School, there is also Wavertree Church of England School, which was renamed from Trinity District in the 1990s. The school celebrated its 150th birthday in September 2017. There is another primary school on South Drive called Our Lady of Good Help. This used to be located in Chestnut Grove next to our Lady's Roman Catholic Church, which is now facing re-development. St Clare's Roman Catholic Primary School is also situated off Smithdown Road.
Wavertree Playground, known locally as The Mystery, was one of the first purpose-built public playgrounds in the UK. Opened in 1895, it is based on land donated to Liverpool Corporation by an anonymous donor (hence its nickname) to be a venue for organised sports, and a place for children from the city's schools to run about in, not a park for "promenading" in the Victorian tradition. [9] The donor expressed the hope that the City Council "might approve of giving it a fair trial for this purpose ... before appropriating it for any other use".
The land is currently home to Wavertree Athletics Centre, which boasts many sports facilities including tennis courts, an all-weather pitch, a bowling green, and an athletic track with grandstand. It also houses Liverpool Aquatics Centre, with two swimming pools, a sports hall, and a lifestyles fitness centre. The athletics centre has produced Olympic athletes such as Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who trains with the Liverpool Harriers team that has made its headquarters at the centre since 1990.
Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside.
Everton is a district of Liverpool, England. There is a Liverpool City Council ward of the same name, and it is part of the Liverpool Walton constituency. Historically in Lancashire, at the 2011 Census the population 14,782.
Childwall is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, located to the southeast of the city. It is bordered by Belle Vale, Bowring Park, Broadgreen, Gateacre, Mossley Hill, and Wavertree. In 2019, the population was 13,640.
Mossley Hill is a suburb of Liverpool and a Liverpool City Council ward. Located approximately 3.5 miles south east of Liverpool City Centre, it is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, Childwall, Garston and Wavertree. At the 2001 Census, the population was 12,650, increasing to 13,816 at the 2011 Census.
Old Swan is an eastern neighbourhood of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, bordered by Knotty Ash, Stoneycroft, Broadgreen, Fairfield and Wavertree. At the 2011 Census, the population was 16,461.
Mosborough is an electoral ward of the City of Sheffield, England, in the eastern part of the city, on the border with North East Derbyshire District. The population in 2011 was 17,097. It is one of the wards that make up the Sheffield South East constituency.
Holy Trinity Church is in Church Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Liverpool, and the deanery of Toxteth and Wavertree. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It was described by John Betjeman as "Liverpool's best Georgian church".
Belle Vale is a district of south-east Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward that covers both Belle Vale and Netherley.
Church ward is an electoral district of Liverpool City Council. The ward is within the Liverpool Wavertree Parliamentary constituency.
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.
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.
Smithdown Road is a historic street in Liverpool, England, which now forms part of the A562. The area was previously known as Smithdown and dates back to 1086 when it was listed in the Domesday Book. The causeway that actually became what is now Smithdown Road emerges in documentation around 1775.
Wavertree ward was an electoral division of Liverpool City Council centred on the Wavertree, Liverpool district of Liverpool.
The 2023 Liverpool City Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Liverpool City Council. Following a Boundary Review by The Local Government Boundary Commission for England, the size of the council was reduced from 90 to 85 seats with a change from three-member seats, elected in thirds, three years out of every four, following the British Government instigated Best Value Inspection Report which led to the appointment by the government of Commissioners and the subsequent boundary review for Council Wards in Liverpool which the government initiated with the proviso that the number of councillors be reduced and the predominant number of wards be reduced to single members with all-up elections every four years. The election also marked the end of Liverpool's directly-elected mayoralty. After the election the council reverted to having a leader of the council chosen from amongst the councillors instead. Labour retained control of the council and their group leader Liam Robinson became leader of the council after the election.
Smithdown ward is an electoral district of Liverpool City Council within the Liverpool Riverside and Liverpool Wavertree constituencies.
Wavertree Garden Suburb ward is an electoral district of Liverpool City Council within the Liverpool Wavertree constituency.