A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



EVERTON 



Evreton, 1094; Euerton, 1201 ; Erton, 1380; 

 Everton, usual from xiii cent. 



This township lies on the hill to the north-east of 

 Liverpool, the highest point being at St. George's 

 Church. From that point there is a very rapid slope to 

 the north and to the west, the elevated ridge continuing 

 southward to Low Hill and Edge Hill. The height 

 allows an extensive panorama of the city of Liverpool, 

 including a distant view of the Cheshire side of the 

 River Mersey. At sunset the windows of the houses on 

 Everton Brow flash back the glowing radiance, show- 

 ing that nothing impedes the wide prospect westwards. 

 The foot of this ridge is the western boundary. The 

 area is 693 acres, the township being about a mile 

 and a quarter from north to south, and less than a 

 mile across. The population in 1901 was 121,469. 

 The geological formation is triassic, the lower ground 

 on the eastern side consisting of the basement beds of 

 the keuper series, which have been thrown down by a 

 deep fault running north and south ; the remainder 

 of the township, including all the higher ground, 

 consists of the pebble beds of the bunter series. 



Formerly the approach to it was by a road leading 

 eastward from Liverpool. 1 The old village ! stood at 

 the top of the ascent in what is now Village Street, 

 above the old roundhouse or bridewell, 3 which still 

 remains. About half way up the slope Netherfield 

 Lane turned away to the north, with a branch leading 

 up the hill. From the top of the village the road 

 led north tc the summit where the Beacon stood, 

 destroyed by a gale in 1803, and then dividing, down 

 the hill to Kirkdale and to Anfield ; * and south to 

 Low Hill; this road remains one of the main thorough- 

 fares of Everton, as Heyworth Street and Everton 

 Road. The road from Liverpool after passing through 

 the village divided, the more northerly branch, Breck 

 Lane, 5 leading to Walton Breck, and the other, which 

 also divided, to Newsham and West Derby. 6 The 

 mere, afterwards called St. Domingo Pit, was below 

 the Beacon, to the east ; Mere Lane led down to it. 



The commanding situation of the village occasioned 

 its earliest prominent connexion with the general his- 

 tory of the county, for here Prince Rupert fixed his 



head quarters when attacking Liverpool in 1 644.' In 

 more peaceful times the wealthier merchants of Liver- 

 pool chose it for their country mansions, and in 1824 

 it was thus described : ' This village has become a very 

 favourite residence of the gentry of Liverpool, and for 

 the salubrity of its air and its vicinity to the sea, may 

 not inaptly be called the Montpellier of the county.' 8 

 The roads were shaded with fine trees, and a walk to 

 the top of the hill was a pleasant exercise for dwellers 

 in the town. The growth of Liverpool northwards, 

 with the erection of chemical works and other factories 

 by the riverside, destroyed the amenities of the 

 situation, and within the last fifty years the great 

 houses in their spacious grounds have been replaced 

 by closely packed streets of small dwellings. The 

 roads above described remain the principal ones, 

 having been widened and improved. The Liverpool 

 electric tramways serve the district. 



There was a large sandstone quarry on the northern 

 slope of the hill. 



Until 1820 the shaft ot the market-cross stood 

 upon a flight of stone steps in the open space of the 

 village ; a sundial had been fixed upon it.' There 

 was formerly a holy well here, but the site has been 

 lost. 10 The Beacon, already mentioned, was a plain 

 rectangular tower of two stories, about 1 8 ft. square 

 and 25 ft. high, built of local red sandstone. 11 



The little open green by the roundhouse is main- 

 tained by the corporation of Liverpool, and has been 

 slightly extended by the demolition of some cottages 

 on the north side of it, among them being the Old 

 Toffee shop." In 1825 the Necropolis was enclosed 

 as a burial place for Nonconformists. 13 It is now a 

 public garden maintained by the corporation. Shaw 

 Street, the principal street on the Liverpool side of 

 Everton, was formed in 1828 by Thomas Shaw, a 

 councillor of Liverpool. 1 * On its eastern side is a 

 triangular piece of rocky ground called Whitley Gardens 

 maintained by the corporation. 14 



EfERTON was one of the six bere- 

 M4NOR wicks dependent on the royal manor 

 of West Derby in 1066 ; its separate 

 assessment was three plough-lands. 16 Subsequently 

 it formed part of the demesne of Roger of Poitou, 

 who gave its tithes to the abbey of St. Martin at 



