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Rainhill is a village and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
Metropolitan Borough of St Helens The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a local government district with borough status in Merseyside, North West England. The borough is named after its largest settlement, St Helens. It is one of the six boroughs of the Liverpool City Region ...
,
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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The population at the 2011 census was 10,853. Historically part of
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 ...
, Rainhill was a
township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
in the ecclesiastical parish of
Prescot Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 femal ...
and hundred of West Derby. Following the
Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...
, it became part of the Whiston Rural District. The Rainhill Trials of 1829 resulted in the selection of Stephenson's ''Rocket'' as the world's first modern
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
.


History


Early history

Rainhill has been recorded since Norman times but its name is believed to come from the Old English personal name of Regna or Regan. It is thought that around the time of 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 ...
Rainhill was a part of one of the townships within the "Widnes fee". Recordings have shown that in the year 1246, Roger of Rainhill died and the township was divided into two halves for each of his daughters. One half was centred on the now-standing Rainhill Manor public house, see Rainhill Stoops below, and the other centred on Rainhill Hall, just off Blundell's Lane.


Industrial Revolution

Towards the end of the 18th century, four Catholic sons of a farmer, who came from the area around Stonyhurst, decided to seek their fortunes in Liverpool. The names of the brothers were Joseph, Francis, Peter and Bartholomew Bretherton. In 1800, Bartholomew decided to break into the coaching business. The partnership that he had with one or two of his brothers quickly built up and by 1820, he had the bulk of the coaching trade of Liverpool. He was running coaches to and from Manchester fourteen times a day from the Saracen's Head in Dale Street, Liverpool. Bartholomew chose Rainhill as his first stage and he developed facilities on the land alongside the Ship Inn (originally the New Inn by Henry Parr 1780) and on this site, he was believed to be stabling at least 240 horses, coach horses, and farriers, coachbuilders and veterinaries. Bartholomew had begun to purchase land in Rainhill, and in 1824, he bought the Manor of Rainhill from Dr James Gerrard of Liverpool. By 1830, he owned over around Rainhill. In 1824, across the road from the stables, he built Rainhill House and laid out beautiful gardens around it. Between 1923 and 2014 the house was known as Rainhill Hall, serving as a retreat centre run by the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
. Since 2017 it has reverted to Rainhill Hall and is a wedding venue. During the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
, Rainhill was the location of a notorious mass murderer; Frederick Bailey Deeming. In March 1892, the bodies of a woman and her four children were discovered buried under the concrete floor of Dinham Villa, Lawton Road, Rainhill. Rainhill was the site of the 1829 Rainhill trials, in which several railway locomotives were entered in a competition to decide a suitable design for use on the new
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 ...
. The winner was the
Rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
designed 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 ...
. In 1979 the 150th anniversary of the trials was celebrated by a cavalcade of trains through the ages, including replicas of the winner and runner-up in the trials.


Geography

The village of Rainhill lies east of
Prescot Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 femal ...
, south-southwest of St Helens, east-northeast of
Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, Liverpool Built-up Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Merseyside, Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Netherley, Liverpool, ...
and east of
Liverpool City Centre Liverpool city centre is the administrative, commercial, cultural, financial and historical centre of Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region, England. There are different definitions of the city centre for urban planning and local government; ...
.


Rainhill Stoops

The most southerly area of Rainhill is known as Rainhill Stoops. The name of junction 7 of 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, ...
and the A570 is known as "Rainhill Stoops". Warrington Road was a prominent road as a route between the larger settlements of Liverpool, Prescot and Warrington with Rainhill on the route. The stoops (a historic marker, waypost or similar guide) existed along the road at key positions. With the establishment in 1753 of the Liverpool to Prescot turnpike, and its subsequent extension to Rainhill and then on to Warrington, a system of toll bars was installed with one such barrier at the stoops.


Landmarks

Rainhill has several churches including St Ann's, St Bartholomew's and St James' – which are
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
,
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
, respectively. There is also an evangelical church. St Ann's well, a medieval stone-lined structure is on the border with Sutton. A feature of the village is the
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 ...
Skew Bridge, a
skew arch A skew arch (also known as an oblique arch) is a method of construction that enables an arch bridge to span an obstacle at some angle other than a right angle. This results in the faces of the arch not being perpendicular to its abutments and it ...
bridge of sandstone construction that carries the main road over the railway. It takes its name from the unusual diagonal angle at which the railway passes under the bridge. It is the world's first bridge to cross over a railway at an angle. The bridge was later widened to accommodate increases in road traffic. The milestone on the bridge that informs travellers of the distances to Warrington, Prescot and Liverpool was moved to the opposite side at the time of the expansion. Therefore, the distance markers pointed to the wrong destinations. This quirk was corrected in 2005 when the milestone was returned to the correct side of the bridge.


Economy

Rainhill is now primarily a commuter village, mainly for workers in
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 ...
but also St Helens and
Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...
. Housing on the southerly side of Rainhill is a mixture of semi-detached and detached dwellings, whereas homes to the north, across the Skew Bridge there is a more varied mixture of housing with examples of terraced with semi-detached as well as bungalows. Rainhill as a whole has a mixture of modern, inter-war and Victorian dwellings. Rainhill has several medical centres but the largest and most notable is Scott Clinic which once treated Michael Abram after he was convicted of stabbing
Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
member
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
. Rainhill was also home to Rainhill Hospital at one time the largest mental health asylum in the world; which, in December 1911, housed 1,990 patients. This was demolished in 1991. Its former site is now a housing estate as well as accommodating Reeve Court, an extra-care housing project for older people.


Transport

Rainhill railway station is situated on the Liverpool City Line, between the railway stations of Whiston and Lea Green. Regular buses are serving the area notably the 10A bus route which runs from Queen's Square in Liverpool city centre via
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
, Page Moss,
Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, Liverpool Built-up Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Merseyside, Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Netherley, Liverpool, ...
and Rainhill to St Helens. The 61 bus route runs from
Liverpool One bus station Liverpool One bus station is located in Canning Place, Liverpool, England. Formerly known as the Paradise Street interchange, it was situated on Paradise Street, Liverpool, Paradise Street close to Lord Street with access from the nearby Liver ...
via
Wavertree Wavertree is a district and suburb of Liverpool, in the county of Merseyside, England. It is a Ward (country subdivision), ward of Liverpool City Council, and its population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 14,772. Located to ...
and Rainhill to
Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...
' town centre. All public transport in Rainhill is coordinated by the
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 ...
county passenger transport executive
Merseytravel Merseytravel is a public transport body and the passenger transport executive of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority responsible for delivering Public transport and other transport functions in the Liverpool City Region. It was origin ...
.


Education

There are several primary schools in Rainhill: Oakdene, Longton Lane, St Ann's and St Bartholomew's. Secondary education is provided by Rainhill High School which caters for students aged 11–18. Rainhill High School has a Sixth Form Centre offering A-levels and Level 3 vocational qualifications. Part of the Stephenson Trust, Rainhill High School and Sixth Form Centre is the lead academy in the trust. Tower College is also situated in Rainhill and is a private independent school which provides education for children aged 3–16.


Sports

Rainhill is home to several sporting clubs including Rainhill Town AFC, Rainhill Cricket Club, Rainhill Rockets, Rainhill United JFC and Blundell's Hill Golf Club as well as Rainhill Forge Amateur Boxing Club. Mohammed Ashraful, the Bangladesh national cricket team captain made several appearances for Rainhill Cricket Club in 2006.


People and culture

Rainhill is a suburban area with households mainly of families and the elderly. Crime in Rainhill had a 3.6% decrease in total recorded crime from 2010 to 2011 however there was a 33% rise in vehicle theft, a 9% increase in drug offences and a 3% growth in criminal damage and arson. Former Beatles guitarist and famous Liverpudlian
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
makes a jokey reference to Rainhill in a lyric in the title song from his 1982 LP Gone Troppo. "Quite like, you ain't seen a sunset. Could be, living in Rainhill" - Gone Troppo (1982). The reference contrasts Harrison’s good fortune at spending part of his time living in tropical parts of the globe like Hawaii and the Solomon Islands with his Merseyside roots.


Notable people

*
Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974), commonly known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. W ...
(also known as ''Sporty Spice'') from the
Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...
was brought up in Rainhill before moving to
Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...
. * Frank Cottrell-Boyce, screenwriter and novelist, was brought up in Rainhill. *
David Yates David Yates (born 8 October 1963) is an English filmmaker, who has directed feature films, short films, and television productions. He is best known for directing the final four films in the Harry Potter (film series), ''Harry Potter'' series ...
, film and television director, was brought up in Rainhill. * Ian Nolan, former Tranmere Rovers F.C. footballer, lives in Rainhill. *
Les Dennis Leslie Dennis Heseltine (born 12 October 1953) is an English television presenter, actor and comedian. He presented '' Family Fortunes'' from 1987 to 2002. Early life Dennis was born as Leslie Dennis Heseltine on 12 October 1953 in the Liv ...
, a television presenter, lived in Rainhill. * Steve Coppell, ex-
Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. They compete in the Premier League, t ...
winger and ex- Reading F.C. manager, was brought up and lived in Rainhill. * Sue Smith, an international women's footballer, was a pupil at Rainhill High School and lives in Rainhill. *Jenny Welsby, an England women's international rugby league player, was brought up and lived in Rainhill. * Alan A'Court is an English footballer who mostly played for
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 ...
. *Cliff Hall of The Spinners lived in Rainhill. * Raheem Sterling, footballer for Chelsea F.C. and
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, attended Rainhill High School. * Andre Wisdom, footballer from Derby County F.C., lives in Rainhill. * Jordon Ibe, a footballer for
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...
, attended Rainhill High School. * Willy Russell, playwright, was born in Whiston Hospital and lived in Rainhill as a child. * Trent Alexander-Arnold, footballer for Liverpool and England, attended Rainhill High School. * Ben Woodburn, a Welsh footballer attended Rainhill High School.


References


External links

{{merseyside Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens Civil parishes in Merseyside