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'Walton-on-the-Hill', usually shortened to 'Walton', is an area of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England, situated to the north of Anfield and the east of Bootle and Orrell. It has unfortunately gained a reputation as the drug and gangland centre of the north of Liverpool despite numerous attempts to improve its image.

Contents

History

Governance

Geography

Economy

Transport

Notable people

See also

External links

History

To the Saxons, the original Celtic Britons were 'Walas' or 'Wealas', from which the name Wales derives. Similarly Walton could be 'Walas'-town and this is why it is one of the biggest districts in Liverpool (in terms of size) today, as it was an old town. Walton lost it independence in 1836 when it was made part of Liverpool Borough Council.
Walton has a History of Animal Attractions. In 1884 the 'Liverpool Inner City Zoological Park & Gardens' opened on what is now the Cavendish Retail Park. Its star attraction was "Pongo", a Chimpanzee who lived in the Monkey House. The Zoo itself was known for its large bronze Liver Birds which sat atop of the entrance gates, and its splendid beauty. The gardens closed in the early 1900s and the only surviving remains is the Ticket Booth, which is now a cafe beside 'The Plough' public house. The 'Rice Lane City Farm' is also housed in Walton, this is situated at the end of Rawcliffe Road.
The Prince of Wales pub on Rice Lane, which has the nickname of "The Sod House", was given the nickname by King Edward VII, who after making a royal visit to the previously mentioned Zoo, entered the establishment for refreshments, and proclaimed the pub to be a "Sod House" for reasons unknown.
An alternative, or perhaps associated, explanation is that the landlord used clods of earth ("sods") draped over the beer barrels to keep the beer cool. He would water the sods and heat would be drawn from the barrels as the water evaporated.
The Shell Garage on Rice Lane (now Elite Fleet Car Dealership) was once the Official Workshop of Ferrari for their raceteam when competing at Aintree Grand Prix course in the 1950s.
Walton-on-the-Hill's Town Hall was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Queens Drive fly-over. Though no longer there, the side wall, which includes the name etched in stone, still stands on the northbound side of the A59 at the fly-over. The wall is currently owned by a garage which occupies the space.
Walton also housed the recently demolished Queens Drive Baths, which until 1981, was "Olympic Standard" in its size.
Walton Hospital traditionally had a high reputation for neurosurgical work and houses a pain research centre.
Walton is the location in which two-year-old James Bulger was brutally murdered by two ten-year-old boys on February 12, 1993.

Governance

The Walton constituency was long a bastion of the left in the Labour Party with a Marxist influence stretching right back to the 1950s. This came to a head when the Walton by-election in 1991 saw the official Labour Party candidate, Peter Kilfoyle, defeat Militant Tendency supporter, Lesley Mahmood, in the by-election caused by the death of left-wing MP Eric Heffer.
As of 2007 the M.P representing Walton-on-the-Hill is Labour's Peter Kilfoyle MP. Current councillors representing Walton are The Liberal Democrats.

Geography

The Walton area shares borders with other areas, some considered inner-city and some considered outer suburbs, these include Everton, Anfield, Kirkdale, Clubmoor, Fazakerley, and Norris Green. The area also borders the area of Bootle which is in the neighbouring Sefton.

Economy

Hartley's Village was built in the 19th century to house workers from the local Hartley's Jam Factory. Commissioned by Hartley himself, the Village and Jam Works are still there today, providing an insight into Walton's industrial past.
Moulded Plastics Company, Dunlop, had their UK head office and manufacturing plant based on what is now the Cavendish Retail Park (off Rice Lane, opposite Walton Hospital) until the mid-1990s. In September 1980 a severe fire at the plant closed Rice Lane and residents were told to stay indoors due to hazardous atmospheric pollution. The fire caused so much damage that the plant had to be demolished, and only a 1/3 of the site remained until its closure. The building used as the main headquarters was left abandoned for many years until a Chinese restaurant was opened in the late 1990s on the site. The last remaining plant, situated on Cavendish Drive, was demolished in 2004 to make way for a housing estate.

Transport

Walton is connected to Liverpool city centre via the A59 road.
There are currently three railway stations situated within Walton:

★ Rice Lane Railway Station (formerly 'Preston Road')

★ Orrell Park Railway Station

★ Walton Railway Station (formerly 'Walton Junction')
Though only three stations provide Walton with railway links today (Rice Lane on the Kirkby branch, Walton and Orrell Park on the Ormskirk branch), this wasn't always the case. The North Liverpool Extension Line, which was still in use up until the 1970s, saw Warbreck Station situated in Walton Vale and Spellow station, on the Canada Dock Branch, near Spellow Lane. Warbreck station is no longer in use, and the only remains are on a bicycle path underneath the shops.
Walton-on-the-Hill Station was situated by the Queens Drive flyover, on the Rice Lane side heading southbound. Though the station became disused in 1918, the line was used for transporting goods to Liverpool docks via the tunnel which runs through the Walton-Kirkdale area; this leads to Kirkdale Station and on to Sandhills.
What is now a bike path behind the site of Hartley's and Jacobs used to be known as "Fazakerley Junction". A train depot was regularly used until the 1960s. Walton has a rich history regarding railways.

Notable people

★ Ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney was born in Walton Hospital

★ The comedian Alexei Sayle attended Alsop High School as a teenager.

★ Professor Stephen Molyneux, Educational Technology Guru, lived in Bedford Road and attended Alsop High School from 1968-1972.

★ John Birt, ex-Director General of the BBC, was born in Walton Hospital.

★ A guitarist who formed part of the band The Farm, John Melvin, lived in Walton from 1982 until 1998.

★ Ricky Tomlinson, actor, lived off Queens Drive in Walton during the late 1990s.

★ Wigan Athletic F.C. manager, Paul Jewell, was raised in the Walton area.

★ Professional wrestler Andi Rush resides in Walton.

★ The stage actor Joseph Mee resides in Walton.

★ Former ''Brookside'' actress and TV presenter Claire Sweeney was born in Walton.

★ Murdered toddler James Bulger was killed in Walton.

★ Heidi Range, one third of the Sugababes also hails from Walton.

★ Robert Noonan who wrote ''The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists'' as Robert Tressell, is buried in Walton Cemetery. He was in Liverpool intending to migrate to America, but died before he could leave.

★ Gerard Houllier, the ex-Liverpool FC manager, and now manager of Lyon football club in France, once taught at Alsop Comprehensive.

★ Brian Jacques, children's author of among other titles, ''The Redwall Series'' and presenter for Radio City, presently lives in Walton.

★ Former comedian, turned television entrepreneur with Hat Trick Productions, Jimmy Mulville came from Walton and attended Alsop High School.

See also

★ The Walton Centre

★ Liverpool (HM Prison)

★ Everton F.C.'s Goodison Park is situated in Walton.

External links

★ Liverpool Pictoral: St. Mary's

★ MultiMap

★ Walton Hospital

★ Paul McCartney's Birth Certificate

★ What was in Walton Website - The Walton-on-the-Hill History Group