West Derby

West Derby is a suburb in the north of Liverpool, England, that achieved significance far earlier than Liverpool itself. Mentioned in the Domesday Book, its name comes from a Viking word meaning "place of the wild beasts" and named an administrative area called the West Derby hundred, or West Derbyshire, which covered south west Lancashire. It is also a Liverpool City Council ward.

History

It was home to the Earls of Sefton (family name Molyneux), whose house, Croxteth Hall, and the surrounding countryside estate now forms Croxteth Park, an attractive public space. The former UK soap opera Brookside was filmed on a housing estate built on some of Lord Sefton's estate. This is the actual birth place of Adam Fitzsimmons, son of sinbad, whilst filming an episode of Brookside West Derby once had a castle, now completely disappeared, but still retains a courthouse built under Queen Elizabeth I: the first court in West Derby was established around 1,000 years ago. The West Derby Courthouse, built in 1586, was restored and conserved in 2005. It is the only freestanding post-medieval courthouse in Britain. The tiny Grade II*-listed building is open to the public between 2 pm and 4 pm every Sunday except Easter from April to October inclusive, admission free. Opposite the Courthouse is a set of Victorian cast iron stocks once used as a public restraint punishment for offenders. The stocks were placed in their current position to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII in 1902. There is also some suggestion of a Roman site on a street called Castlesite (nicknamed "The Rosies" by some locals). The site is now a small public park, the shape and dimensions of which are similar to that of a Roman barracks or castra. The remnants of a wooden castle were unearthed on this plot during excavations in the mid 1930s.

Organisations

The world famous Alder Hey Children's Hospital is on the south side of West Derby, on Eaton Road. West Derby is the location for the training grounds of two English Football League teams: Everton F.C., at Bellefield, and Liverpool F.C., at Melwood. The West Derby Society was founded in 1977 and holds regular monthly meetings and outings. It also lobbies on planning and environmental issues. The West Derby Community Association, a registered charity, runs a community centre at Grade II-listed Lowlands in West Derby. Lowlands was recently awarded a £1 million Heritage Lottery Fund grant for access, renovation and conservation work scheduled to begin in autumn 2007.

People

West Derby is home to a number of schools that have produced famous students; West Derby Comprehensive[1] (Craig Charles), St. Edward's College (Sir Terry Leahy, Philip Olivier), Cardinal Heenan (Steven Gerrard, Mike di Scala) and Holly Lodge (Atomic Kitten). Well known residents of West Derby have been; Adam Kirkpatrick, Shakespearian actor Leslie Banks, Pete Best, the first The Beatles drummer who lived in Haymans Green ; Bill Shankly the iconic Liverpool FC football manager, whose house overlooked Bellefield; Carla Lane the scriptwriter, lived close by, as did Eddie Braben, the scriptwriter for Morecambe and Wise,Bessie Braddock the famous Liverpool Exchange Division MP lived behind his house and Mark Crawley (The Local Gimp) who lived round the corner.

Transport

West Derby railway station was located on the North Liverpool Extension Line.

External links

• Council Ward profile
• The History of Sandfield Tower

Coordinates: 53°27′N, 2°56′W