Wavertree is a district and 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 ...

, in the county of

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. It is a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

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 ...

, and its population at the 2011 census was 14,772. Located to the south and east of the city centre, it is bordered by various districts and suburbs such as Allerton, Edge Hill, Fairfield, Mossley Hill,

Old Swan Old Swan is an eastern neighbourhood of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, bordered by Knotty Ash, Stoneycroft, Broadgreen, Fairfield, Liverpool, Fairfield and Wavertree. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census, the population was 16,461. ...

, and

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Liverpool, Canning, Dingle, Liverpool, Dingle, and Edge Hill, Merseyside, Edge Hill ...

History

Within the boundaries of the historic county 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 ...

, the name derives from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

words ''wæfre'' and ''treow'', meaning "wavering tree", possibly in reference to

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

trees common locally. It has also been variously described as "a clearing in a wood" or "the place by the common pond". In the past, the name has been spelt ''Watry'', ''Wartre'', ''Waurtree'', ''Wavertre'' and ''Wavertree''. The earliest settlement of Wavertree is attested to by the discovery of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

burial urns in Victoria Park in the mid-1860s, while digging the footings for houses, two of which were built for Patrick O Connor, patentee, ironmonger, merchant and chair to the Wavertree Local Board of Health. 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 states: "Leving held ''Wauretreu''. There are 2

carucate The carucate or carrucate ( or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms of tax assessment. ...

s of land. It was worth 64 pence". Wavertree was formerly 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

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Childwall Childwall () is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England, located to the southeast of the city. It is bordered by Belle Vale, Bowring Park, Broadgreen, Gateacre, Mossley Hill, and Wavertree. In 2019, the population was 13,640. ...

in the West Derby Hundred, in 1866 Wavertree became a separate

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 ...

, from 1894 to 1895 Wavertree was an urban district, on 1 April 1922 the parish was abolished and merged with Liverpool. In 1921 the parish had a population of 45,991. Wavertree also boasts a village lock-up, commonly known as

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, a circ ...

, despite being

octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

al in shape. Built in 1796, and later modified by prominent local resident and architect Sir James Picton, it was once used to detain local drunks. The lock-up was made a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in 1952. A similar structure, Everton Lock-Up sometimes called Prince Rupert's Tower, survives in Everton. The village green, on which Wavertree's lock-up was built, is officially the only surviving piece of

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

in Liverpool. In 1895, the village of Wavertree was incorporated into the city of Liverpool. Buildings of interest include Holy Trinity Church, Liverpool Reform Synagogue, the Blue Coat School, and the Royal School for the Blind, all of which are situated on the same road. King David High School, a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

-affiliated school that also accepts students of other faiths and backgrounds, is situated in Wavertree and has a primary school attached to it. Wavertree Town Hall was built in 1872 as the headquarters of the Wavertree Local Board of Health. Rescued from demolition in 1979, the town hall is now a bar and restaurant. Wavertree Town Hall 2020

Wavertree is one of the areas in south Liverpool populated by students of Liverpool's three universities, especially the Smithdown Road area. This road is known for "The Smithdown Ten"

pub crawl A pub crawl (sometimes called a bar tour, bar crawl or bar-hopping) is the act of visiting multiple pubs or bars in a single session. Background Many European cities have public pub crawls that serve as social gatherings for local expatriates ...

, although the number of pubs in business varies from year to year. Wavertree is also home to the annual Smithdown Road Festival, with local bars and cafes hosting almost 200 bands every year. The community is ethnically diverse, with significant South Asian and black populations.

Governance

It has been represented in

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

by Paula Barker since 2019, of the Labour Party, in the parliamentary constituency of

Liverpool Wavertree Liverpool Wavertree is a borough constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1997 and every election since has been won by a Labour Party candidate. It has been represented by Paula Barker since 2019. An earlier co ...

. There are two

seats in Wavertree. Wavertree Garden Suburb represented by Julie Fadden of the Labour Party & Wavertree Village represented by Laurence Sidorczuk of the Liberal Democrats.

Education

There are a number of both

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and

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 ...

s in this densely populated area of Liverpool. In addition to the aforementioned Blue Coat School, Royal School for the Blind, and King David High School, there is also Wavertree

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, ...

School, which was renamed from Trinity District in the 1990s. The school celebrated its 150th birthday in September 2017. There is another primary school on South Drive called Our Lady of Good Help. This used to be located in Chestnut Grove next to our Lady's Roman Catholic Church, which is now facing re-development. St Clare's Roman Catholic Primary School is also situated off Smithdown Road.

Wavertree Playground (The Mystery)

Wavertree Playground, known locally as The Mystery, was one of the first purpose-built public playgrounds in the UK. Opened in 1895, it is based on land donated to Liverpool Corporation by an anonymous donor (hence its nickname) to be a venue for organised sports, and a place for children from the city's schools to run about in, not a park for "promenading" in the Victorian tradition. The donor expressed the hope that the City Council "might approve of giving it a fair trial for this purpose ... before appropriating it for any other use". The land is currently home to Wavertree Athletics Centre, which boasts many sports facilities including

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s, an all-weather pitch, a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, and an athletic track with grandstand. It also houses Liverpool Aquatics Centre, with two swimming pools, a sports hall, and a lifestyles fitness centre. The athletics centre has produced Olympic athletes such as

Katarina Johnson-Thompson Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson, (born 9 January 1993) is an English athlete. A multi-eventer, she is primarily known as both a heptathlete and an indoor pentathlete. In heptathlon she is a double world champion, double Commonwealth Games c ...

, who trains with the Liverpool Harriers team that has made its headquarters at the centre since 1990.

Notable people

* Frederick Noel Ashcroft, mineral collector and photographer * Ross Barkley, footballer * Tony Bellew, boxer * Joan Benesh, choreographer and dancer * Augustine Birrell, barrister, politician, and writer *

Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British, Canadian, and American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominati ...

, actress *

Kenneth Cope Kenneth Charles Cope (14 April 1931 – 11 September 2024) was an English actor and scriptwriter. He was best known for his roles as Marty Hopkirk in '' Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'', Jed Stone in ''Coronation Street,'' Ray Hilton in '' ...

, actor * Paul Dawber, actor * Paul Draper, musician * Georgia May Foote, actress * Cyril Edward Gourley, soldier * John Gregson, actor * Chelcee Grimes, singer-songwriter *

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 ...

, musician * Stewart Duckworth Headlam, priest * Holly Johnson, singer *

Bill Kenwright William Kenwright (4 September 1945 – 23 October 2023) was an English theatre and film producer. He was also the chairman of Everton Football Club for nearly two decades, from 2004 until his death in 2023. Early life Kenwright was born in ...

, theatre director *

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

, musician * Norman Rossington, actor *

Leonard Rossiter Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor. He had a long career in the theatre but achieved his highest profile for his television comedy roles starring as Rupert Rigsby in the ITV series '' Rising Damp'' from 19 ...

, actor * Bertram Peel, cricketer * Denis Peel, cricketer * Jimmy Tarbuck, comedian * James Valiant, cricketer * Dora Yates, linguist, Romani scholar. She lived in Marmion Road.1939 register

Transport

Wavertree Technology Park railway station Wavertree Technology Park railway station is in the suburbs of Liverpool, at the western end of Olive Mount cutting, on the original Liverpool-Manchester line. The station opened on 13 August 2000, at a cost of £2 million. Train services ...

Edge Hill railway station Edge Hill railway station is a Train station, railway station that serves the district of Edge Hill, Liverpool, England and is one of the oldest railway stations in the world. There have been two stations of that name. The first stood a shor ...

References

External links

Wavertree Today

Liverpool City Council, Ward Profile: Wavertree

Liverpool Street Gallery – Liverpool 15

wavertree.org.uk – Photo Mapping the history of L15

Smithdown Ten Pub Crawl
{{Authority control Areas of Liverpool Former civil parishes in Merseyside