Issue 69 South Liverpool March 2013
TO CAL AD L T SE V OD EP E AG R A E2 T IS Y E
SOUTH
LINK
FREE
The monthly independent advertiser 22,000 copies 18,500 into Homes 3,500 into Businesses in Woolton, Gateacre, Childwall, L18, L17, L15, Woolton Hill, Woolton Park and Calderstones.
FIRST OF MANY by Stephen Guy
Officials compiling the Doomsday Book throughout England in 1087 found little to record on the windswept banks of the River Mersey. A few miles inland they documented such communities as Childwall, Walton and West Derby.
Just 21 years earlier William of Normandy had successfully invaded England, destroying King Harold and his army in the Battle of Hastings. The conqueror set about removing the defeated Saxons and replacing them with cronies and supporters who had helped his campaign.
Indian Retaurant Cocktail Lounge & Tapas Bar Bookings Now Being Taken for Mother’s Day (10th March)
544/548 Aigburth Rd, Liverpool L19 Telephone: 427 2273 www.gulshan-liverpool.com
In those days little disturbed the peace and quiet on the estuary. There was no Liverpool – just a manor farm called Esmedune held by a man called Edelmund. The Doomsday officials recorded that the farm was worth 32 pence and extended up to 180 acres. The poor quality land was tilled by a plough drawn by eight oxen. Smithdown Lane (pictured) led to the farm and is a later corruption of the name Esmedune, as is evident when you say the name. The lane is therefore probably the most ancient road in Liverpool –older even than the town’s original seven streets that clustered around the much-later castle. This was an age when there was no standard spelling of place names – that only happened when the Ordnance Survey maps were drawn up in the 19th century. Officials wrote down names in the way local people pronounced them. By 1221 the manor was interpreted as Shinthedun in a writ of inquiry. Some 75 years later the name has become Smitheden. Centuries passed and in the reign of Charles I it is recorded as Smithdon, from which the modern name derives. Smithdown Road was created at a much later date, developed in Victorian and Edwardian times as Liverpool expanded. Rows of shops
and businesses are still a big attraction. The cemetery contains many fascinating memorials and is well worth a visit. One stone that interests me records a lady with the lovely name True Guy, although she was not a relation. Further down stood Sefton General Hospital. As a small child I recall mother taking me to visit granddad, who was recover-
Cafe Sekander Indian Restaurant
0151 724 4300
ing from an operation. However, matron would not allow me to see him (he was a mass of tubes) and I remember having to wait alone in a desolate corridor. • Learn more about the history of Liverpool at the Museum of Liverpool, Pier Head, open 10 am to 5 pm every day, admission free.
SUNDAY ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET FEEL FREE TO BRING YOUR OWN DRINK FREE LOCAL TAKEAWAY DELIVERY SERVICE Mention this ad for Free Bottle of Wine with Table for 2 Open lunchtime from 1pm every day
BOOK NOW FOR MOTHER’S DAY www.cafesekander.co.uk 165 Allerton Road, Mossley Hill L18