- Upton, Merseyside
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Coordinates: 53°23′06″N 3°05′56″W / 53.385°N 3.099°W
Upton 
Upton
Upton shown within MerseysidePopulation 15,731 (2001 Census)[1] OS grid reference SJ270881 Metropolitan borough Wirral Metropolitan county Merseyside Region North West Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town WIRRAL Postcode district CH49 Dialling code 0151 6** Police Merseyside Fire Merseyside Ambulance North West EU Parliament North West England UK Parliament Wirral West List of places: UK • England • Merseyside Upton is a village in the parish of Overchurch on the Wirral Peninsula, England, situated close to Birkenhead. At the 2001 Census, the population was 15,731 (7,268 males, 8,463 females),[1] although as a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, encompassing a larger area, it was recorded as 16,200.[2]
Contents
History
Upton was originally settled as a farming community, during the Anglo-Saxon period. In Norman times, Upton was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Optone and was written as being in the possession of William Mallbank.[3] Upton was the primary economic centre of northern Wirral until the industrial development of Birkenhead during the mid-19th century. The main thoroughfare of the village was also the place of a weekly market. Fairs were also held in the village at Michaelmas and Easter.
A Runestone was discovered in the ruins of Upton's Norman parish church in Overchurch. The stone is now kept at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester.
In 1847, William Williams Mortimer said of Upton in his History of the Hundred of Wirral:[4]
- "..though now only a small village, Upton was formerly considered the metropolis of the lower mediety of Wirral, and had two annual fairs of considerable importance, and also a weekly market that was discontinued in 1620, the village having been recently almost entirely rebuilt, contains several good houses, among which may be particularly mentioned Upton Hall..."
A major contributor to the village was William Inman, owner of the Inman Line, who donated money for the construction of St. Mary's Church. Inman resided at Upton Manor, within the grounds of Upton Park.
Upton was a township in the parish of Overchurch in the Wirral Hundred, Its population was 141 in 1801, 227 in 1851 and 788 in 1901.[5]
Community
Upton has a number of schools: Overchurch Primary School, St. Joseph's Primary School, St. Benedict's High School (now closed and demolished), Upton Hall School FCJ, a grammar school for girls and Hayfield School on Manor Drive.
St. Mary's Church is Upton's Church of England parish church. It is a large church, which was consecrated on 28 April 1868.[6] St. Joseph's Church, the local Roman Catholic parish church, was opened on 31 August 1954.[6]
Victory Hall, a community hall rebuilt in 1963, was originally sited in a large Victorian villa, which had been purchased by public subscription.[6] Upton Library was opened in 1936 and built in the Art Deco style of architecture. The village's war memorial is located within its grounds.
The Village Youth Project, known as 'The Bank', is a youth club set up in 1999. It provides a range of activities for the youth of Upton. It runs various events for the community, including a popular annual fair, situated at Overchurch Primary School each summer. The club also organises many residential visits to various parts of the United Kingdom.
The village is represented in sport by Upton Cricket Club, which was established in 1901, and Upton Victory Hall Lawn Tennis & Badminton Club. In football, Upton FC has teams for both boys and girls of all abilities and ages from six onwards.
Upton Park is an area of recreational open space and woodland. The park was part of William Inman's Upton Manor estate and had included a racecourse between 1922 and 1924. Part of the Upton Park site is now the Moreton Spur road, connected to the M53 motorway.[6]
Transport
Upton today is most notable for its central location between Birkenhead and West Kirby. The consequence of this is that road transport through Upton is uncharacteristically efficient for the rural suburban area of Wirral. Upton is situated at the junction of roads from Birkenhead, Moreton, Greasby, Saughall Massie and Arrowe Park. The road network was further enhanced with the building of a bypass (the A5027) in the early 1980s. The M53 motorway, at Junction 2, is situated less than a mile from the centre of the village and connects directly to the bypass.
The exception to this is rail transport, as Upton is not part of the major rail link from Birkenhead to West Kirby, which instead passes around the more densely populated coast. Upton railway station exists as part of the Borderlands Line between Bidston and Wrexham. Due to its location, the station is more of service to the Noctorum community, rather than Upton. This is not considered a problem however, as the locality is well served by regular bus services.
Notable people
- Andrew Baddeley an English middle distance runner competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Upton in Literature
- Set Upon a Hill - Robert A. Pullan and Kenneth J. Burnley, (1993).
References
Notes
- ^ a b 2001 Census: Upton, Office for National Statistics, http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=5941373&c=upton&d=14&e=16&g=361982&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1, retrieved 20 February 2007
- ^ Wirral 2001 Census: Upton (Ward), Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, http://www.wirral.gov.uk/factsandfigures/census2001/oneward2recset.asp?ref=EC20, retrieved 2 April 2008
- ^ Cheshire L-Z: Upton, Domesday Book Online, http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/cheshire2.html#upton, retrieved 14 January 2008
- ^ W.W. Mortimer (1972 (republished)), The History of the Hundred of Wirral, E.J. Morten, ISBN 0-901598-57-7
- ^ Cheshire Towns & Parishes: Upton by Birkenhead, GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy, http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/uptonbybirkenhead.html, retrieved 2 April 2008
- ^ a b c d Upton in the Hundred of Wirral: History, http://www.upton.cx/, retrieved 15 January 2008
Bibliography
- pp53–64, Yesterday's Wirral No.7, Ian & Marilyn Boumphrey, (1992). ISBN 0-9507255-7-9
- pp111–113, The Wirral ~ Photographic Memories, Jim Rubery, (2003). ISBN 1-85937-517-0
- pp49–53, Wirral Champion Journal, Vol.12, No.2, (Summer 2004). ISSN 1470-2746-18
External links
- Upton In the Hundred of Wirral Local history website.
- St.Mary's Church
- Upton Library
- Upton Cricket Club
Categories:- Towns and villages in Wirral (borough)
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