Issue 116 – January 2017
All Aspects of PLUMBING & HEATING SERVICES Fully Qualified Insured 14 years’ experience
Call Kevin 07749 867 776
Happy New Year to all our advertisers and readers
WHAT’S IN A NAME? By Stephen Guy
MANY place names have intriguing histories sometimes going back centuries or even longer. South Liverpool is made up of many former villages joined together as the city grew and populations expanded. Both Childwall and Allerton were mentioned in the Doomsday Book but the origins of these names are obscure. It is easier to trace the names of later landmarks and structures, many linked to prominent people and their houses. Calderstones Park is named after the famous ancient stones. These in turn are linked to nearby Druids Cross Road named after a big mansion of the same name. I visited Druids Cross around 1972 when it was empty and awaiting demolition. My uncle Roger Guy died there after being gassed in the First World War. We often passed Bishop Eaton
DON’T MISS – THIS MONTH
Paul Carrack’s not had his Phil of Liverpool yet
– interview inside
monastery on the 61 bus and from the top deck saw the monks working on allotments. There was, in fact, no Bishop Eton. Its name is said to be derived from two sources: it was a school branded “The Eton of the North” which became a residence for Roman Catholic bishops. It stands off Cromptons Lane,
named after local worthy Dr Peter Crompton. Better known was Victorian historian Sir James Picton commemorated by Picton Road and Picton Clock. He helped to preserve several Wavertree landmarks, near his home. His two volume work, Memorials of Liverpool, is my favourite early history of our city, brimming with fascinating facts and meticulous detail. Rathbone Road is named after the prominent merchant banking family who still have a presence in Liverpool. Binns Road, once home of Meccano and Dinky Toys, remembers another doctor, Jonathan Binns (1747 – 1818). Many years ago I sat in the Central Library going through Kelly’s street directories to discover the earliest telephone listed in Liverpool. It was 1882.
I’ve read that the oldest Liverpool phone number still in use has its origins in Edwardian times. Verdala Park off Booker Avenue is named after a vanished mansion called Verdala, Towers, said to be the first house in Liverpool with a telephone. It is unlikely they were pestered with nuisance calls. Hunt’s Cross (pictured) gives its name to the district. It may have been named after someone called Hunt or perhaps marked the meeting place of the local hunt. Visit Sudley House, Mossley Hill, and its art collection featuring old master oil paintings, open 10am to 5pm every day, admission free. n Learn more about the history of Liverpool at the Museum of Liverpool, Pier Head, open 10 am to 5 pm every day, admission free.
WIN, WIN, WIN Four pairs of tickets to be won to Gangs of Victorian Liverpool Catacombs Tours
– see inside
SERVICES LINK
Need a decorator, plasterer, gas fitter, electrician, plumber, cleaner etc...
WHAT’S ON
Advertise your event, charities etc...
STRANGE TALES by Anton Valdemart
GAMES PAGE
Sudoku, Quick Crossword, Music Quiz, General Knowledge Quiz
FIND LILLY LINK
and you could win £10
BUY OR SELL
your unwanted items. See coupon inside
LIFE ‘N’ STYLE
with Jade Ainsworth