Issue 124 – October 2016
IT’S OUR 10TH BIRTHDAY!
Yes, 10 years old! Doesn’t time fly? Well we were 10 years old in July actually. And to celebrate we have increased our distribution. From this month we will be delivering a further 2,000 LINKs into homes in Liverpool 19. What started off as a “bright idea” when we were working together at the Liverpool Echo came to fruition in July 2006 and we started by distributing 8,000 copies (now 15,000 copies) of the West Derby and Croxteth Park LINK. In 2007 we launched South Liverpool LINK (now 28,000 copies) and the Liverpool LINK now has a total monthly distribution of 43,000. We have firmly established ourselves as a favourite local advertising paper and we remain a totally independent business. We are the first to recognise that the success of The LINK is entirely down to you – our readers and our advertisers. So we would like to thank you all for your constant support and loyalty over the last 10 years. And we thank you, our readers, for supporting our advertisers. We would also like to thank all our regular contributors who have helped us so much over the years with their great articles: Stephen Guy (whose wonderful local history articles continue to inform and entertain; Anton Valdemart for his Strange Tales; Jim Stanway (South Liverpool FC); Peter Harrison (Alder FC); Mick Titherington (Stoneycroft FC); Paul Coshott (Fighting Fit); Bill Chambers (Liverpool Sefton Hockey Club); Kevin Edgar (AFC Cronus); Jade Ainsworth (Life ‘n’ Style); all the other readers who kindly send in articles and, of course, Peter (my husband) who does all our competitions/quizzes and who writes and edits many of our articles for us. And where would we be without our designers and printers and of course our distribution team? Here’s to the next ten years! Best wishes and many thanks to you all, Moira, Dawn and Carol
TUDOR CROXTETH HALL
By Stephen Guy, West Derby Society
EDWARD IV (1442 – 1483), although dissolute and greedy, was an efficient statesman ruling during the troubled Wars of the Roses when the monarch and powerful barons struggled for supremacy. As well as much more pressing matters of state, he was involved in the day-to-day routine of ensuring that the country ran efficiently.
Towards the end of his reign Edward granted Croxteth Park and other land in Lancashire to Thomas Molyneux and his heirs. The family’s roots went back to a knight in William the Conqueror’s army who had distinguished himself at the Battle of Hastings. They were Liverpool’s oldest family, settling here when it was a wild backwater of swamps and forests. Henry III (1207 – 1272) ordered that the whole of Lancashire should
be deforested so the land could be used for agriculture. However, there were exceptions including West Derby, Croxteth and Toxteth which included royal hunting forests. Little is known about some early members of the Molyneux family. Throughout their 900-year history many were soldiers and warriors. They fought at momentous battles such as Agincourt, Flodden and Jutland. Continued on page 5
Services LINK Strange Tales Games Lilly LINK DONT’ MISS – THIS MONTH
Why Mum’s the Word for singer Michelle Heaton
– pages 8 and 9
Have a spooktacular Halloween
– pages 12 and 13
WHAT’S ON
Museum magic for kids at half term
– page 10
Twopence to cross The Mersey
– page 11
WIN, WIN, WIN
Tickets for Liver Birdsong
– page 11
LOOK OUT IN NEXT MONTH’S LINK
Four pairs of tickets to be won for The Ken Dodd Happiness Show at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall this December and EXCLUSIVE TO THE LINK one of the lucky winners will also win a pair of tickets to a Christmas Luncheon with Ken Dodd and Friends