Aigburth

Aigburth

The former Barclays Bank building, on Aigburth Road
Aigburth
 Aigburth shown within Merseyside
OS grid referenceSJ385864
Metropolitan boroughCity of Liverpool
Metropolitan county Merseyside
RegionNorth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town LIVERPOOL
Postcode district L17
Dialling code 0151
Police Merseyside
Fire Merseyside
Ambulance North West
EU Parliament North West England
UK ParliamentLiverpool Riverside
List of places
UK
England
Merseyside

Coordinates: 53°22′01″N 2°56′31″W / 53.367°N 2.942°W / 53.367; -2.942

Aigburth (i/ˈɛɡbərθ/, locally /ˈɛɡbʌθ/) is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Toxteth, Sefton Park, Mossley Hill, Garston and Grassendale.

History

Historically a part of Lancashire, Possible other meaning of Aigburth - Aiges' Berth meaning the place where the Viking Aiges berthed his long boat.This is more plauseable because Aigburth is right on the Merseyside river mouth and not on a hill. The nearby hill has a Viking name Toxteth which means The camp of Toces (hard C ) Teth means camp. There is another camp nearby - Croxteth.

Aigburth means "hill where oak trees grow" and is a hybrid place-name: the first part of the name is from Old Norse eikr "oak tree" (which is found in Eikton in Cumbria and Eakring in Nottinghamshire) and Old English beorg meaning " hill, tumulus" but here in the sense "rising ground". This element usually occurs as "-borough" (as in Barlborough in Derbyshire) or more rarely as "-barrow" (e. g. Backbarrow in Cumbria). The meaning is probably derived from the presence of a sacred oak grove in the area. The name was also recorded as Eikberei in an undated record.

The spelling Aigburgh (or, more rarely, Aighburgh) is sometimes found in old publications and historical documents (for example, S. Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848)),[1] as well as in modern references to former residents[2][3] and is occasionally seen as an alternative (if incorrect) spelling today.

The area was previously part of the West Allerton parliamentary district and, as such returned (now Lord) David Alton for many years. It is now part of the Liverpool Riverside constituency and returned Louise Ellman as MP in the 2005 and 2010 general elections.

Description

Aigburth is mainly residential and covers an area following Aigburth Road, (A561) and the areas either side of it. The suburb is to the south of Sefton Park and adjoins Otterspool Park, which leads to Otterspool Promenade on the Mersey. Housing in the district is mostly a mixture of terraced and semi detached homes, with large detached houses (mostly converted into flats or hotels) in Aigburth Drive overlooking Sefton Park and modern estates containing detached and semi detached houses in the Riverside Drive area. It is considered by most Liverpudlians to be one of Liverpool's more prosperous and green areas, and is widely regarded as the most bohemian part of Liverpool . Lark Lane (between Aigburth Road and Sefton Park) is one of the most popular areas to eat/drink/pass the time of day in Liverpool. The Guardian published a semi-accurate article in its 'Let's move to ...' series.[4]

Landmarks

Education

There are the Aigburth Park halls of residence of Liverpool Hope University, close to the railway line on St Michael's Road. Close by towards Mossley Hill are the Carnatic and Elmswood Road halls of residence for the University of Liverpool. On the piece of land between Mossley Hill Road and Barkhill Road is the IM Marsh Campus of Liverpool John Moores University, where the university's Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure is based. There is a student bar and refectory. On Aigburth Road, is the St Margaret's Church of England High School. Opposite this is the junior section of Sudley County Primary School, whose infant section is situated on Dundonald Road.

Prior to the reorganisation of secondary education in Liverpool in the 1980s, Aigburth was also home to Aigburth Vale Comprehensive School for Girls, formerly Aigburth Vale High School for Girls, which was merged with Quarry Bank School to form Calderstones School.

Transport

The area is served by Aigburth railway station on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, located some distance from larger residential areas. St Michaels railway station is also situated in the area, at the bottom of Southwood Road.

Sport

Liverpool Cricket Club, a regular home venue of Lancashire County Cricket Club, and Sefton Park Cricket Club, is located in Aigburth.

St Margaret's Cricket and Community Sports Centre houses Respect 4 All, an official charity of Liverpool Football Club offering free football sports coaching for the disabled.

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ Aigburth, or Aigburgh, British History Online, retrieved 15 February 2008
  2. ↑ The Waterhouse collection, University of Reading, retrieved 15 February 2008
  3. ↑ Venezuelan Orchids, retrieved 15 February 2008
  4. ↑ Dyckhoff, Tom (21 July 2007), Let's move to ... Aigburth, Liverpool, London: The Guardian, retrieved 4 April 2008
  5. ↑ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896, Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963

External links

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