Toxteth

infobox UK place
country= England
latitude= 53.3894
longitude= -2.9713
map_type= Merseyside
official_name= Toxteth
population=
metropolitan_borough= Liverpool
metropolitan_county= Merseyside
region= North West England
constituency_westminster= Liverpool Riverside
post_town= LIVERPOOL
postcode_district= L8
postcode_area= L
dial_code= 0151
os_grid_reference= SJ355885

Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool, England. It is located to the south of the city, bordered by Liverpool city centre, Edge Hill, Wavertree and Dingle.

History

Etymology

There is some ambiguity as to the origin of the name. One theory is that the etymology is "Toki's landing-place". However, Toxteth is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and at this time, it appears as "Stochestede",citeweb|title='Townships: Toxteth Park', A History of the County of Lancashire: Volume 3 (1907), pp. 40-5|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=41287|publisher=British History Online|accessdate=2006-10-29] "i.e." "the stockaded or enclosed place", from the Anglo-Saxon "stocc" (German "stock") "stake" and Anglo-Saxon "stede" (German "stadt") "place".

The Manor

Before the time of the Norman Conquest, Toxteth was divided into two manors of equal size. One was owned by Bernulf and the other by Stainulf. After the conquest part was granted by Count Roger of Poitou to the ancestor of the Earl of Sefton. From this time to about 1604 the land formed part of West Derby forest. The boundaries of the manor are described in the perambulation of 1228 as follows, "'Where Oskell's brook falls into the Mersey; up this brook to Haghou meadow, from this to Brummesho, following the syke to Brumlausie, and across by the old turbaries upon two meres as far as Lombethorn; from this point going down to the "waterfall" of the head of Otter pool, and down this pool into the Mersey." In 1327, Toxteth was granted to Henry Plantagenet, brother of Thomas Plantagenet.

Over the years various leases and grants were made and the park was owned by Adam, son of William de Liverpool in 1338. In 1385, William de Liverpool had licence "to take two cartloads of gorse weekly from the park for 12d. a year rent." In 1383 a grant was made to William Bolton and Robert Baxter, in 1894 the lease was resigned and handed over to Richard de Molyneux. The park finally came into the hands of Sir Thomas Stanley in 1447. The parkland descended within the Stanley family until 1596 when the land was sold by William Stanley, Earl of Derby, to Edmund Smolte and Edward Aspinwall. In 1604, the Earl sold the same at a cost of £1,100 to Richard Molyneux of Sefton, the estate has descended from this time until 1972 with the death of the the 7th Earl.

Toxteth Park

The ancient township of Toxteth, contains the ancient village of "Smeedon" or "Smithdown". It stretches over an area of three miles along the River Mersey and two miles inland, the highest point being on the corner of Smithdown Lane and Lodge Lane. An ancient brook ran from the northern end of the area towards the river, near the boundary of Parliament Street, where it was used to power a water wheel before it ran into the river. Along the river are two creeks, one near the middle is known as Knot's Hole and another further south called Dickinson's Dingle received a brook which ran past the east end of St Michael's Church.

At some time in history the creeks were filled in. The Dingle is now in the area where the old northern creek was situated, and St Michael's Hamlet is situated around the southern creek. Outside the southern boundary of the area lies the creek known as Otterspool, which formed the boundary between Wavertree and West Derby. The major road through the area was Park Lane, now Park Place, Park Road. The road ran from the Coffee House, which stood near Fairview Place, down towards the Dingle, and the old Toxteth Chapel.

In 1796 the Herculaneum Pottery was established on the site of an old copper works, the site later became Herculaneum Dock, which was filled in during the 1980s. Toxteth has two parks within its bounds, Sefton Park and Princes Park. The earlier Princes Park was laid out by Richard Vaughan Yates around 1840, intending it to be used as open space, funded by the grand houses to be constructed around its edge, as would later happen with Sefton park also. Sefton Park was formed in 1872 by the Corporation of Liverpool, inspired partly by Birkenhead Park, across the River Mersey. Sefton Park has a large glass Palm House, which contains a statue of William Rathbone, which was presented in 1877, and originally had many other features including an aviary and an open-air theatre. As of 2008, the park is undergoing an extensive renovation.

Toward the end of the 16th Century the Royal park ceased to be, and Puritan farmers from Bolton settled in the area. Setting up 25 farms on land outside Church of England control, which became Toxteth Village, they worshiped at the "Ancient Chapel" of Toxteth on Park Road. In 1611, they built a school at the Dingle, appointing Richard Mather as the master. Some years later he began preaching to the local farmers in the Ancient Chapel [citeweb|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mather/Mather/Liverpool/Liverpolitan1948.jpg|title=The Ancient Chapel of Toxteth|publisher=The Liverpolitan, August 1948|accessdate=2006-10-29] .

In the 18th and 19th Centuries, as Liverpool expanded the ancient park of Toxteth was gradually urbanised. Large Georgian and Victorian houses were built, especially along the tree-lined Princess Road/Avenue Boulevard area, and the district quickly became home to the wealthy merchants of Liverpool. Toxteth features many fine examples of Georgian architecture, including many fine examples of buildings constructed for ritual use. Due to all of the Georgian architecture it is known as "The Georgian Quarter."

Toxteth is the home of the last remaining significant part of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, the underground sections of the Park Road station at the end of the railway's south extension tunnel.

Liverpool's post-Second World War decline took its toll on Toxteth. Continued rises in unemployment in the city, lack of government action, and general poverty, led to the Toxteth riots that took place in July 1981, for which the area is probably most famous.

Immigration and 1981 Riots

Mass immigration to Toxteth has taken place from the 1950s to the present day, mostly from the Indian sub-continent, Africa and the Caribbean. In July 1981, the Toxteth riots took place, in which dozens of young males, both black and white, caused a great deal of damage and many injuries because they objected to stop and search, and police brutality, in what by then had become a high-crime area.

mithdown

Smithdown, referred to as "Esmedune" in the Domesday Book, and variously as "Smededon", "Smeddon", "Smethesdune", "Smethedon", "Smethdon", "Smethden", has been merged into Toxteth Park since the granting of the Liverpool Charter in 1207. The definite boundaries of Smithdown have never been fully recorded, but continued to be used from 1207 up until the 16th Century, although it is thought to have reached from Lodge Lane to the eastern boundary of Toxteth Park. In 1066, Smithdown was held as a separate manor, by Ethelmund. During the reign of King John the Manor of Smithdown was taken from its owner, and the king gave him Thingwall in its stead.

As the area began to develop and become more urbanised several buildings of worship were erected to serve the growing community. The first church to be built was St James' Church, in 1774. St Michael's was built in 1817 to the designs of Thomas Rickman, the church houses a monument to commemorate Jeremiah Horrocks. Other churches built during the 19th Century include St John the Baptist's, 1832; St Paul's, 1848; St Thomas's, 1840; St Barnabas's, 1841; St Clement's Windsor, 1841; St Matthew's, 1847; St Silas's, 1865; Holy Trinity, 1858; St Margaret's, 1869; St Cleopas's, 1866; Christ Church, 1870; St Philemon's, 1874; All Saints', 1884; St Gabriel's, 1884; St Bede's, 1886; St Agnes's, 1884; St Andrew's, 1893.

Description

The area starts approximately a mile south from the city centre. The area is roughly located in the pseudo triangle formed by Sefton Street (A5036 road, along the river), Upper Parliament Street leading into Smithdown Road (A562 road) and Ullet Road (B5342 road). This "triangle" is known locally as the "Toxteth Triangle", although it also includes the Dingle district and parts of Wavertree. It is also known as "Liverpool 8" after the former postal district. However, the L8 post code also includes several other adjoining areas such as Canning.

Politically, the parliamentary constituency (Liverpool Riverside) is held by the Labour Party (although the MP, Louise Ellman, actually represents the Co-operative Party, a Labour Party affiliate whose candidates stand as "Labour and Co-operative"), whilst the council ward (Princes Park) has three Labour councillors.

Although things are improving steadily, some of the area continues to suffer from poverty and urban degradation. House prices reflect this; in summer 2003, the average property price was just £45,929 (compared to the national average of £160,625).

Housing in Toxteth tends to be in terraces but there is a growing number of flats available as larger Victorian properties (particularly around the Princes Road/Avenue boulevard) are broken up into separate dwellings. Many of the examples round around Princes Park have enjoyed improvement work to create a neater appearance, to tie-in with the forthcoming European Capital of Culture 2008 title.

Regeneration

Extensive regeneration has taken place in Toxteth over the last few years, including demolition of many of the Victorian terraces in the area creating much new development, particularly aimed at middle class people. The most recent scheme, costing £54 million, will see the clearance of 11 streets near Princes Park, nicknamed the "Welsh Streets" due to the streets being built and lived in by the Welsh workers who built a large percentage of buildings around Liverpool city centre around the turn of the 20th century. The streets were named after Welsh towns and villages because of this. In 9 Madryn Street, Ringo Starr was born and lived until the age of 4 when his family moved a minutes walk away to Admiral Grove where he still lived when he joined The Beatles.

The threat of Starr's birthplace and one time home being demolished prompted uproar throughout the neighbourhood and among fans all over the world. The decision was made in September 2005 to take down the house brick-by-brick and rebuild it at the Museum of Liverpool Life as its centre piece after the council made a rapid U-turn after a councillor first stated that the house had no historic value (the council still doesn't have any planning permission for its proposed demolition plans, as of July 2007). This has not been a successful decision, even Ringo remarked not to bother taking it down to rebuild it elsewhere, some suggesting demolition of the area surrounding Starr's home was unsatisfactory, claiming "People liked the city's character, not packaged replicas". [citeweb|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/19/nringo19.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/09/19/ixhome.html|title=Ringo Starr's old house to be taken down and stored as 11 streets are demolished|work=Daily Telegraph newspaper|date=2005-09-19] . The Welsh Streets had been one of Liverpool's popular landmarks.

Attractions

* Toxteth Unitarian Chapel
* Unitarian Chapel, Liverpool and its Church Hall in Ullet Road
* Church of St. Agnes and St. Pancras, Toxteth Park also in Ullet Road
* Church of St Clare on the corner of Arundel Avenue and York Avenue
* Sefton Park, one of the last remnants of the royal hunting park.
* The Belvedere Academy
* Welsh Streets

Transport

The closest railway station is Brunswick, located on the border of Toxteth and Dingle. Regular Northern Line trains depart for Liverpool city centre, Southport and Hunts Cross. The trains are operated by Merseyrail.

Famous people

*Victor Anichebe, footballer.
*Ian Callaghan, footballer.
*Alex Cox, filmmaker. Cox was responsible for the films "Repo Man", "Sid and Nancy", and "Revengers Tragedy".
*Robbie Fowler, football player.
*Howard Gayle, former Liverpool FC player. Most famous for his performance against Bayern Munich during the semi-final second-leg of the 1981 European Cup championship.
*Niall Griffiths, author.
*William Patrick Hitler Nephew of Adolph Hitler David Gardner, "The Last of the Hitlers", BMM, 2001, ISBN 0-9541544-0-1] .
*Jeremiah Horrocks, astronomer. First to observe the Transit of Venus. A plaque dedicated to him can be found in Toxteth Ancient Chapel.
*Holly Johnson, former lead singer of Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Fact|date=February 2007
*Mark Moraghan, an actor. Best known for roles in "Holby City" and "Where the Heart Is".
*Purple Aki, urban legend.
*Willy Russell writer and playwright.
*Herbert Louis Samuel, the first Viscount Samuel of Mount Carmel and of Toxteth, who became the first Jewish Home Secretary.
*The Real Thing, soul band of the 1970s/1980s still active today.
*Ringo Starr, Beatle and also well-known as the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine, was born in 9 Madryn Street, Toxteth and lived in Admiral Grove (a minute walk away) from age 4 until he became famous in The Beatles.
*Allan Ivo Steel (1892-1917) was born in Toxteth and was an English cricketer.
*Curtis Warren, drug baron.

Fictional people

*Toxteth O'Grady, a fictional American, famously referred to in the classic 1980s BBC TV comedy, "The Young Ones".

References

Bibliography

*"Liverpool District Placenames", Henry Harrison 1898

Notes

External links

* [http://liverpoolstreetgallery.com/thumbnails.php?album=11 Liverpool Street Gallery - Liverpool 8]
* [http://www.toxteth.net/ History of Toxteth]
* [http://canning.merseyworld.com/ Canning area]
* [http://www.transit-of-venus.org.uk/history.htm Jeremiah Horrocks and the Transit of Venus]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1419981.stm A series of accounts of the Toxteth riots]
* [http://www.bwpics.co.uk/gallery/riot.html Photographs from the period of the riots]
* [http://www.seftonparkliverpool.info/History.htm History of the Sefton Park]