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Wavertree

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Wavertree
BERJAYA
Wavertree is located in Merseyside
Wavertree
Wavertree
Location within Merseyside
Population14,772 (2011)
OS grid referenceSJ3889
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLIVERPOOL
Postcode districtL15
Dialling code0151
PoliceMerseyside
FireMerseyside
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Merseyside
53°23′53″N 2°56′01″W / 53.398°N 2.9337°W / 53.398; -2.9337

Wavertree is a district and suburb of Liverpool, in the county of Merseyside, England. It is a ward of Liverpool City Council and its population at the 2011 census was 14,772.[1] 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 and Toxteth.

Toponymy

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Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the name derives from the Old English words wæfre and treow, meaning "wavering tree", possibly in reference to aspen trees common locally.[2] It has also been variously described as "a clearing in a wood" or "the place by the common pond".[3] In the past, the name has been spelt Watry, Wartre, Waurtree, Wavertre and Wavertree.

History

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BERJAYA
Wavertree Lock-up

The earliest settlement of Wavertree is attested to by the discovery of Bronze Age burial urns in Victoria Park in the mid-1860s,[3][4] while digging the footings for houses; two of these were built for Patrick O'Connor, patentee, ironmonger, merchant and chair to the Wavertree Local Board of Health.[5]

The Domesday Book of 1086 states: "Leving held Wauretreu. There are two carucates of land. It was worth 64 pence." Wavertree was formerly a township in the parish of Childwall[6] in the West Derby Hundred. In 1866, Wavertree became a separate civil parish, from 1894 to 1895 Wavertree was an urban district[7] and on 1 April 1922, the parish was abolished and merged with Liverpool.[8] In 1921, the parish had a population of 45,991.[9]

Wavertree also boasts a village lock-up, commonly known as The Roundhouse, despite being octagonal 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 1952.[10]

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 in Liverpool.[10]

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 these are situated on the same road. King David High School, a Jewish-affiliated school that also accepts students of other faiths and backgrounds, is situated in Wavertree and has a primary school attached to it.

BERJAYA
Wavertree Town Hall, now used as a pub

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.[11]

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, although the number of pubs in business varies from year to year.[12] 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

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The area is represented in the parliamentary constituency of Liverpool Wavertree by Labour's Paula Barker MP since 2019.

There are two Liverpool City Council seats in the district:

Education

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There are several primary and secondary schools 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 School, which was renamed from Trinity District in the 1990s; it celebrated its 150th birthday in September 2017.

There is another primary school on South Drive called Our Lady of Good Help, which used to be located in Chestnut Grove next to our Lady's Roman Catholic Church, which is now facing redevelopment. St Clare's Roman Catholic Primary School is also situated off Smithdown Road.

Transport

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The area has two railway stations, with services provided by Northern Trains:[13]

Wavertree has regular bus services operated by Arriva Merseyside and Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire; services connect the area with Liverpool city centre, Allerton, Birkenhead, Bootle, Halewood, Speke and John Lennon Airport.[14]

Wavertree Playground ("The Mystery")

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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 sport and a place for children from the city's schools to run about in, not a park for "promenading" in the Victorian tradition.[15] 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 courts, an all-weather pitch, a bowling green and an athletic track with grandstand. It also houses Liverpool Aquatics Centre, with two swimming pools, a sports hall and a lifestyle fitness centre. The athletics centre has produced Olympic athletes such as Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who trains with the Liverpool Harriers team that has made its headquarters at the centre since 1990.

Notable people

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References

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  1. ↑ "City of Liverpool Ward population 2011". Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Placenames: Wavertree". National Museums Liverpool. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Wavertree History" (PDF). Wavertree Cricket Club. ISBN 0-7524-3068-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  4. ↑ "Burial Urn". Liverpoolmuseums.org.uk.
  5. ↑ "The Wavertree Urns". The Wavertree Society. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "History of Wavertree, in Liverpool and Lancashire". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  7. ↑ "Relationships and changes Wavertree UD through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  8. ↑ "Relationships and changes Wavertree CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  9. ↑ "Population statistics Wavertree CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  10. 1 2 "The Village Green and Lock-up". Discovering Historic Wavertree. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  11. ↑ "Wavertree Town Hall". Discovering Historic Wavertree. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  12. ↑ Graves, Steve (30 July 2013). "Bell rings for last orders on 'Smithdown Ten' pub crawl". Liverpool Echo.
  13. ↑ "Train Timetables". Northern Railway. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "Wavertree bus services". Bustimes.org. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Wavertree Playground ('The Mystery')". Discovering Historic Wavertree. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
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