Huyton ( ) is a town in the

Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough in Merseyside, North West England. It covers several towns and villages, including Kirkby, Prescot, Huyton, Whiston, Halewood, Cronton and Stockbridge Village; Kirkby, Huyton, a ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, England. Part of the

Liverpool Built-up Area The Liverpool Built-up Area (previously Liverpool Urban Area in 2001 and prior) is a term used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to denote the urban area around Liverpool in England, to the east of the River Mersey. The contiguous bui ...

, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot,

Knotty Ash Knotty Ash is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and a Liverpool City Council Ward. Historically in Lancashire, the population at the 2001 Census was 13,200, increasing to 13,312 at the 2011 Census. Knotty Ash is well known as the hom ...

and Netherley.

Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Huyton was an ancient parish which in the mid-19th century contained

Croxteth Park Croxteth Hall is a country estate and Grade II* listed building in the West Derby suburb of Liverpool, England. It is the former country estate and ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton. After the death of the seventh and ...

, Knowsley and

Tarbock Tarbock is a village and former civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, England. It is situated to the south east of Huyton and to the east of Netherley. The village itself is from Liverpool city centre, from ...

. It was part of the

hundred of West Derby The West Derby Hundred (also known as West Derbyshire) is one of the six subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire, in northern England. Its name alludes to its judicial centre being the township of West Derby (the suffix ''-shire'' me ...

, an ancient subdivision of Lancashire covering the south-west of the county.

History

Medieval

Huyton was first settled about 600–650 AD by

Angles Angles most commonly refers to: *Angles (tribe), a Germanic-speaking people that took their name from the Angeln cultural region in Germany *Angle, a geometric figure formed by two rays meeting at a common point Angles may also refer to: Places ...

. The settlement was founded on a low hill surrounded by inaccessible marshy land. The first part of the name may suggest a landing-place, probably on the banks of the

River Alt The River Alt is an urban river that flows across Merseyside in England. The river has suffered from heavy pollution from industry and sewage upstream and run-off from farmland in its lower reaches. It empties into the River Mersey, near to whe ...

. Both Huyton and Roby are mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086, Huyton being spelt ''Hitune''.

Industrial development

Huyton-with-Roby is situated near to the south-western extremity of the former Lancashire coalfield. In the 19th century,

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

workers settled in the area to work in nearby collieries. A Welsh-speaking Non-conformist chapel (

Calvinistic Methodists Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

) was founded in Wood Lane, Huyton Quarry. Nearby Cronton Colliery ceased production in March 1984, shortly before the

UK miners' strike (1984–1985) UK miners' strike may refer to: *1893 United Kingdom miners' strike *South Wales miners' strike (1910) *1912 United Kingdom national coal strike *UK miners' strike (1921) *UK miners' strike (1953) *1969 United Kingdom miners' strike, a widespread u ...

. Both Huyton and Roby have stations on the

Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It ...

(another station, Huyton Quarry, closed in 1958). The railway's construction was supervised by

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was an English civil engineer and Mechanical engineering, mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victoria ...

and, when it opened in 1830, it became the world's first regular passenger train service. On the day of the railway's official opening,

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British Army officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during t ...

alighted the train at Roby station.

Second World War

During

WW2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...

, Huyton suffered bombing from the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

but the scale of destruction was far less than that experienced in Liverpool,

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

, and

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

. Schoolchildren were not evacuated from Huyton, instead schools and homes were provided with

air-raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...

s. Huyton hosted three wartime camps: an

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

, a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

, and a base for American servicemen. The internment camp may have been one of the largest in the UK. Some internees were refugees from the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s, including

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

s such as

Kurt Hager Kurt Hager (24 July 1912 – 18 September 1998) was an East German statesman, a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany who was known as the chief ideologist of the party and decided many cultural and educational policies in the Germ ...

and a large number of artists attacked in Germany and elsewhere for their "degeneracy". Huyton internees included artists Martin Bloch, Hugo Dachinger, and Walter Nessler, dancer

Kurt Jooss Kurt Jooss (12 January 1901 – 22 May 1979)Kurt Jooss
Internationales Biographisches Arch ...

, musicians, sociologist

Norbert Elias Norbert Elias (; 22 June 1897 – 1 August 1990) was a German-Jewish sociologist who later became a British citizen. He is especially famous for his theory of civilizing/decivilizing processes. Life and career Elias was born on 22 June 1 ...

, anthropologist

Eric Wolf Eric Robert Wolf (February 1, 1923 – March 6, 1999) was an anthropologist, best known for his studies of peasants, Latin America, and his advocacy of Marxist perspectives within anthropology. Early life Life in Vienna Wolf was born in Vi ...

and composer

Hans Gál Hans Gál Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (5 August 1890 – 3 October 1987) was an Austrian composer, pedagogue, musicologist, and author, who emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1938. Life Gál was born to a Jewish family in ...

. More than 40 per cent of Huyton's internees were over 50 years old. The camp, first occupied in May 1940, was formed around several streets of new, empty council houses and flats and then made secure with

barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...

fencing. Twelve internees were allocated to each house, but overcrowding resulted in many sleeping in tents. Initially, the camp was only meant to hold the internees until they could be shipped to the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. However, largely in response to the torpedoing of the transport ship, ''

Arandora Star SS ''Arandora Star'', originally SS ''Arandora'', was a British passenger ship of the Blue Star Line. She was built in 1927 as an ocean liner and refrigerated cargo ship, converted in 1929 into a cruise ship and requisitioned as a troopship in t ...

'' (and the loss of 805 lives, including the Captain, 12 of his officers, 42 of his crew and 37 military guards), the deportations ended. Most of the internees were released before the camp closed in 1942. The camp was sited in and around what became known as the "Bluebell Estate" and many of the streets were given names of the great battles of WWII. The prisoner of war camp closed in 1948. Some inmates "went native", stayed in Britain and married local women. Among those in the Huyton camp was

Bert Trautmann Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann (22 October 1923 – 19 July 2013) was a German professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Bremen in 1923, he joined the Jungvolk, the junior section of the Hitler Youth in August 1933. Trautmann ...

, who later went on to be the 1950s

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. From 1944, American servicemen were temporarily stationed in Huyton.

Crime

Murders

Huyton was brought to national attention in 2005 after the racially motivated murder of black teenager Anthony Walker in McGoldrick Park. Two local youths were later found guilty of his murder and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

. They were 17-year-old Michael Barton (brother of footballer

Joey Barton Joseph Anthony Barton (born 2 September 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Barton made 269 appearances in the Premier League, including 130 for Manchester City; he was most recentl ...

) and 20-year-old Paul Taylor. In July 2008, an 18-year-old teenager Michael Causer was battered to death in a

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

attack at a house in Huyton.

Organised crime

The

Huyton Firm The Huyton Firm, also known as the Cantril Farm Cartel, is an organized crime group based in the Huyton area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Founded in the 1990s, the group has been involved in large-scale drug trafficking, blackmail, contract ...

, also known as the Cantril Farm Cartel, is an

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

group based in the Huyton area. Founded in the 1990s, the

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

has been involved in large-scale

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

contract killing Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

and

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful Force (law), force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, vio ...

. The gang rose to prominence by filling a

power vacuum In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has replac ...

left by other notorious Liverpool criminals, such as

Curtis Warren Curtis Francis WarrenBarnes, Tony; Richard Elias; Peter Walsh. 2003 ''Cocky: the rise and fall of Curtis Warren, Britain's biggest drug baron'' (also known as Cocky; born 31 May 1963) is an English gangster and drugs trafficker who was formerly I ...

and Colin "Smigger" Smith, after their arrests and deaths. Over three decades, the Huyton Firm became one of the most powerful and secretive UK crime organizations, with significant international connections.

Governance

In 1894, the township was included in the

Huyton with Roby Urban District Huyton with Roby Urban District was a local government district in Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It consisted of the civil parish of ''Huyton with Roby'' which comprised the settlements of Huyton and Roby. It replaced the Huyton with Ro ...

. "Since the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Huyton-with-Roby has been transformed into a residential suburb of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, while agriculture, formerly the area's main occupation, has almost disappeared". In 1932

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous ...

purchased a large area of the

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

's Knowsley estate. Thereafter, throughout the 1930s, the city built four large housing estates in the north-west of Huyton-with-Roby. These Liverpool ‘overspill' housing estates were Fincham, Huyton Farm, Longview and Woolfall Heath. Other smaller developments were commissioned by the

urban district council In England and Wales, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local government responsibilities with a county council. ...

or privately commissioned. By 1950 the population was over 55,000, the vast majority of whom had moved to the area from the city of Liverpool. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the district successfully fought off absorption into the Liverpool City Council boundaries. However, its application for

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

status failed in 1952.

Huyton Municipal Building Huyton Municipal Building is a municipal building in Archway Road, Huyton, a town in Merseyside, England. The building currently serves as the headquarters of Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council. History Following significant population growt ...

was completed in 1963. On 1 April 1974, Huyton-with-Roby became part of the new

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

of Knowsley. By convention, Huyton-with-Roby contains Huyton Park, Roby, Longview, Huyton Quarry,

Page Moss Page Moss is an area in the borough of Knowsley, Merseyside. It borders the city of Liverpool to the east. Previously known as "The Horns" due to the crime and previous people using guns naming them horns. The population of the Knowsley ward tak ...

, Woolfall Heath, Bowring Park, Fincham, and Court Hey. Today this area is covered by six local government wards: Stockbridge, Page Moss, Roby, St. Gabriel's, St. Michael's, and Swanside. Stockbridge ward includes Longview (in Huyton) as well as Stockbridge Village (outside Huyton).

Transport

Huyton is located just west of the

M57 motorway The M57 motorway, also known as the Liverpool Outer Ring Road, is a motorway in England. Designed as a ring road for Liverpool, it is long between Tarbock Green and Switch lsland, and links various towns east of the city, as well as the M62 m ...

which marks its border.

city centre is to the west via the

M62 motorway The M62 is a west–east Pennines, trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Kingston upon Hull, Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route Concurrency (road), is shared with the M60 motorway, ...

. There are three surrounding motorway junctions (M57 J2, M62 J5 and J6) making Huyton very easily accessed via road.

Huyton railway station

Huyton railway station Huyton railway station serves Huyton in Merseyside, England. The station is an interchange between the Liverpool-Wigan Line and the northern route of the Liverpool-Manchester Line which diverge soon after the station. It is one of the busier st ...

, formerly called Huyton Gate, is served by regular City Line services to and from Liverpool, St. Helens,

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

and further afield.

Huyton bus station

Huyton bus station is on Huyton Hey Road, adjacent to the shopping centre and 140 metres away from the

. Buses from Huyton bus station serve destinations as far afield as

Kirkby Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, Historic counties of England, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 wa ...

, St. Helens,

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

and

Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are oper ...

Education

Huyton has one

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

—

Lord Derby Academy Lord Derby Academy (LDA) is a coeducational secondary school founded in the mid-20th century. It has an academy status and is located in Huyton in the English county of Merseyside. Previously known as Knowsley Hey High School, in 2009 the scho ...

on Seel Road—and fifteen

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s. A construction training college is on Princess Drive.

Amenities

The shopping centre of Huyton is still referred to by local people as "the village" or "the villie", which dates back to the days when the centre was a rural village community. An

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

complex has been built nearby. There are also around 100 other independent shops and previously hosted an indoor market, which has since been closed. The area is host to Huyton Library (Civic Way) and before 2014 was also served by Page Moss Library (Stockbridge Lane). There is also a

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

gallery at Huyton Library. There are eight public parks: Court Hey Park, Bowring Park (the oldest public park in Knowsley, opened in 1907), Huyton Lane Wetland, Jubilee Park (Twig Lane/Dinas Lane), McGoldrick Park (Rydal Road), Sawpit Park (Hall Lane/Sawpit Lane), Stadt Moers Park (covers more than of land between Whiston and Huyton) and St. John's Millennium Green (Manor Farm Road). There are also nine children's playgrounds. Huyton has a King George's Field in memorial to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

. It also has one of the biggest dogs' homes in Merseyside, Dogs' Trust, located on Whiston Lane. Huyton has many public houses including The Huyton Park Hotel, The Stanley Arms (named after

Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby (15 January 1841 – 14 June 1908), known as Hon. Frederick Stanley until 1886 and Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886–1893, was a Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician in the Un ...

), The Crofters, Seel Arms, Queens Arms, Oak Tree, The Old Bank, Longview Social Club and The Swan. The former Wheatsheaf/Rose And Crown reopened as The Barker's Brewery on 23 January 2011, as part of the Wetherspoon chain of pubs. Several former landmark pubs have been demolished for new projects since the late 1990s: The Dovecot, Bluebell Inn, Farmers Arms, Hillside, Eagle and Child, The Quarry Inn and The Quiet Man. In January 2012, the Longview Social Club was destroyed by a fire on the premises. In the early hours of 16 April 2015, four supermarkets at Longview Shops were destroyed by fire and later demolished due to extensive damage. The fire started at a One Stop store and spread across another three businesses.

Merseyside Police Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The service area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million. As of September 2017 the service has 3,484 police o ...

later revealed the blaze was caused by an attempted burglary.

Sport

The area is served by Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park (Longview Drive) and King George V Sports Centre (Longview Lane). Huyton-with-Roby has two 18-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

s: Huyton & Prescot Golf Club (founded in 1905) and Bowring Golf Club (according to a sign at the course, the oldest municipal golf course in England). Huyton has its own

cricket club Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are obse ...

, located off Huyton Lane which was founded in the mid-1860s by the Stone family and the town has produced at least one first class cricketer: Reginald Moss. Huyton also had a professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

club from 1968 to 1985. It was formed from

Liverpool Stanley Liverpool Stanley was a semi-professional rugby league club from Liverpool, England. It was renamed Liverpool City in 1951, but was otherwise unrelated to the Liverpool City (1906) (rugby league), original Liverpool club of the same name. The c ...

(1934–1951) and Liverpool City (1951–1968). Huyton RLFC struggled in the second division of the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Footb ...

until 1985 when they were replaced by Runcorn Highfield. This club, later renamed Highfield, struggled on near the bottom of the pro game: in 1995–1996 they gained just one point all season and changed their name to

Prescot Panthers Liverpool Stanley was a semi-professional rugby league club from Liverpool, England. It was renamed Liverpool City in 1951, but was otherwise unrelated to the original Liverpool club of the same name. The club's origins date back to 1880 when ...

, before folding at the end of the 1997 season. (Huytonians still interested in supporting pro rugby league have the choice of either St. Helens or

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the RFL Championship, Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at DCBL Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twe ...

, both of whom are away from Huyton). In football, the town has produced the England midfield internationals

Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...

( Everton) and

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

). Other footballers include

Craig Hignett Craig Hignett (born 12 January 1970) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker and later in his career as a midfielder. Born in Whiston, he started his senior club career with Crewe Alexandra in 1988. After making ...

Tony Hibbert Anthony James Hibbert (born 20 February 1981) is an English former professional footballer. Originally a midfielder, Hibbert converted to play at right-back. He spent his entire professional career with Everton, having joined the club in 1991. ...

David Nugent David James Nugent (born 2 May 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his career in 2002 when he signed his first professional contract with Bury. He left the club in 2005, when he joined Pres ...

, Lee Molyneux,

Leon Osman Leon Osman (born 17 May 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent almost all of his career at Everton, making 433 appearances and scoring 57 goals. Earlier in his career he spent time on loan at Foo ...

John Relish John Relish (born 5 October 1953) is an English football manager and former player, who previously managed Conference South side Bath City before moving aside to develop a football academy at the club in October 2008. He was also involved in the ...

Greg Tansey Gregory James Tansey (born 21 November 1988) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Tansey started his career at Stockport County F.C., Stockport County, progressing through the youth syste ...

, Lee Trundle, Callum McManaman and Cole Stockton. On 28 March 2007, two of Huyton's most prominent footballers starred for England in a 3–0 away win in Andorra. Goals came from Steven Gerrard (2) and David Nugent. Both players were educated at Cardinal Heenan High School. Huyton has many amateur football teams at both junior and senior level, but only one FA Charter Standard Club, Paramount Community Football Club. Despite producing so many pro footballers, Huyton has never been able to sustain a semi-pro club for long. Nearby Kirkby Town changed their name to Knowsley United Football Club, Knowsley United in 1988 and moved to Alt Park, the former home of Huyton Rugby league Club. In United's first five seasons they were successful. In 1988–89 they finished runners-up in the North West Counties Football League. The following season they were champions and won promotion to the Northern Premier League Division One. They were accordingly promoted to the Premier Division. The following season they reached the first round proper of the FA Cup, only to be beaten by Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United at home. The momentum did not last and Knowsley United ceased to be a senior semi-pro side in 1998. Huytonians wishing to support a local semi-pro outfit have Prescot Cables F.C., Prescot Cables located at Valerie Park in the Northern Premier League (Premier Division) less than away.

Notable people

Huyton-with-Roby has several Beatles connections. As The Quarrymen, the Fab Four played the MPTE Social Club in Finch Lane. The Beatles also played 15 times in a hall in Page Moss (Hambleton Hall, St David Road; later became a Probation Office) between January 1961 and January 1962. On 21 March 1961, The Swinging Blue Jeans, fronted by Huyton-born Ray Ennis (born Raymond Vincent Ennis on 26 May 1942), introduced the Beatles to their first-ever Cavern Club evening slot. Paul McCartney's aunt Jin lived in Dinas Lane. In 1963, this was the site of McCartney's eventful 21st birthday party, at which John Lennon got drunk and assaulted a local DJ for insinuating he was a homosexual. Huyton Parish Church churchyard is the final resting place of the Beatles' original bass guitarist, Huytonian Stuart Sutcliffe.

Notable music

*Black (English band), Black – 7 UK Top 70 singles between 1986 and 1991 including 'Wonderful Life' (No.8). *The Crescent (English band), The Crescent – 3 UK Top 70 singles between May 2002 and Sept. 2002 including 'On The Run' (No.49). *The La's – 4 UK Top 70 singles between 1990 and 1997 including 'There She Goes' (No.13). *Space (English band), Space – 8 UK Top 30 hit singles between 1996 and 1998 including 'Avenging Angels' (No.6).

List of notable people

*Although born in St Helens, Sir Thomas Beecham (1879–1961), the classical music conductor, was brought up in the Blacklow Brow area of Huyton. In 1947 he founded the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. *Alan Bleasdale, playwright known for ''Boys from the Blackstuff'', attended St. Aloysius RC Infant and Junior Schools, Huyton, 1951–1957. *Stan Boardman, comedian. *Henry Brunner (chemist), Henry Brunner, chemist, who co-founded Brunner Mond, later part of Imperial Chemical Industries, ICI. Resident in Huyton until his death. *John Christopher, novelist. *Peter Culshaw: Professional boxer, former world World Boxing Union, WBU and Commonwealth Boxing Council, Commonwealth flyweight champion. *Carol Decker, rock singer. *Alicya Eyo, actress. *Rebecca Ferguson (singer), Rebecca Ferguson, singer. *Edward Fieldwick, cricketer. *

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Tony Hibbert Anthony James Hibbert (born 20 February 1981) is an English former professional footballer. Originally a midfielder, Hibbert converted to play at right-back. He spent his entire professional career with Everton, having joined the club in 1991. ...

, footballer. *Cole Stockton, footballer. *Clint Hill (footballer), Clint Hill footballer. *Paul Lewis (pianist), Paul Lewis, pianist. *Chris Long (footballer), Chris Long, footballer. *Lee Mavers, frontman of band The La's. *John McCabe (composer), John McCabe, composer. *Callum McManaman, footballer. *Sally Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Huyton, politician. * Reginald Moss, cricketer. *Matthew Murphy, guitarist / lead vocals of The Wombats *Although originally from Manchester, Peter Noone (born 1947), of 1960s group Herman's Hermits, settled in Chestnut Avenue, Huyton, before becoming famous. *

, footballer. *Paddy Pimblett, mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist *Barbara Pym, novelist who was privately educated at Huyton College. *Rain (British band), Rain, early 1990s band from Huyton. *Phil Redmond, the creator of Hollyoaks, Grange Hill and Brookside (television programme), Brookside. *

, former England national football team midfielder who played for clubs including Everton and has since worked in management for clubs including

and Sunderland A.F.C., Sunderland. *Tony Schumacher (British author), Tony Schumacher, author and broadcaster. *Paul Simpson (musician) *Freddie Starr, comedian. *Stuart Sutcliffe, the fifth Beatle. *Lee Trundle, footballer. *Harold Wilson, former Labour Party (UK), Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister (1964–70 & 1974–76) was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliament (MP) for the former Huyton (UK Parliament constituency), Huyton constituency 1950–83. A statue of Wilson was erected in Huyton town centre in 2006, 11 years after his death.

TV and radio

The ''Boys from the Blackstuff'' episode "Jobs for the Boys" was partly filmed in Woodlands Road, Roby. Huyton is also home to 99.8FM KCC Live, a radio station based at Knowsley Community College in Stockbridge Village. Founded in December 2003, it can be found on the 99.8 FM radio frequency.

References

External links

Huyton Parish Church, HuytonLiverpool Street Gallery – Liverpool 36Knowsley local history website
– Detailed summary of the history of Huyton.
The Huyton Times
– Contains a message board and photos comparing old and new Huyton sites.
Paramount Community Football Club
{{authority control Huyton, Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley Towns in Merseyside Liverpool Urban Area World War II internment camps