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The Huyton area was originally thickly wooded towards the forest (now Knowsley park) with marshland (present Asda car park) forming the headwaters of the River Alt. During recent excavations for the M62/M57 interchange signs of an Iron Age settlement was found. It is with the arrival of the Saxons in the 6th /7th centuries a church was established on the highest ground. The origin of Blue Bell Lane was probably the track which led to the forest.
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William the Conqueror crowned King of England on Christmas day and progresses over the next few years to occupy the whole of England. On the arrival of the Normans Huyton was a small village under the Saxon lord, Dot.
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William the Conqueror subsequently gave the lands between the rivers Mersey and Ribble to his Norman supporter, Roger of Poitou.
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The first reference to the settlement is found in the Domesday book of 1086 as ‘Hitune’ (possibly meaning high town) and ‘worth 20 shillings’. Nearby ‘Rabil’ (Roby) was originally held by the Saxon Uchtred.
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At the end of the 12th century the de Lathom family were lords of Huyton also founding Burscough Priory to whom they gave Huyton Church. The church we see today is, of course, a new one built on the same site.
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Like the rest of Lancashire, and England, Huyton suffered the death of about a third of its population during the outbreak of bubonic plague carried by rats and brought to England on ships from Europe. It took a century to restore the population to previous levels.
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The Stanleys had a presence in Roby as early as1380 with the marriage into the Lathom family and, as the Earls of Derby from 1485 became landowners in Huyton.
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After the Battle of Bosworth Field for his support in defeating Richard III to gain the crown of England.
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A new school was founded in 1555. This was established by local benefactors for the children of local people who mainly worked on the land in this rural community.
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After 6 years of war King Charles I was captured, imprisoned and beheaded on 30 Jan 1649. Oliver Cromwell headed the army and Parliament eventually becoming Lord Protector. On the 15 October 1851 the 7th Earl of Derby was executed at Bolton after capture and trial by Parliamentary forces.
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At the Restoration he was ejected as vicar in 1662 for non-conformity with the Church of England and was instrumental in setting up the first non-conformist chapel in Huyton.
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After 11 years of rule by Parliament, known as the Commonwealth Period, during which time the status of the parish church was greatly affected by the Puritans – celebration of Christmas was abolished!
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A census has been taken every 10 years since. The population of Huyton showed an increase from 2,013 at the first census to 6,551 in 1901 due to the influx of wealthy residents in the 19th century. Housing developments in the 1930s and post WWII greatly added to the numbers. Today, the population is 58,600!
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Parts of the ‘Orchard’ villa estate remain as a reminder but Sir Thomas Beecham’s ‘Ewanville’ was replaced by modern housing.
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The Huyton toll house was then converted to the Eagle and Child Inn. (Shown in the photo) The Inn was then demolished in 1932.
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At the first meeting of the Huyton with Roby board held at Huyton and Roby schools in Dam House Lane (now Rupert Road) on Tuesday the 23rd October 1877 the 10 members of the board made and signed a Declaration in accordance with the Public Health Act 1875
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The most well known resident was Sir Joseph Beecham who purchased the Ewanville mansion and estate in Blacklow Brow, Huyton in 1885. This building was one of the first properties in Lancashire to be lit by electricity and it also had central heating installed.
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The first electric tram cars reach Huyton along the route of the old Prescot Turnpike road. The last tram ran in 1956 by which time the motor car and bus had taken over as prime forms of travel. This shows the number 34 tram passing the old Blue Bell Inn about 1910. The Inn was demolished and rebuilt in the 1930s.
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The carriages used Blue Bell Lane to travel between Knowsley Hall and Huyton railway station. This photograph shows his royal visit to Huyton on 6 July 1909. King Edward VII was a frequent visitor to the Knowsley estate.
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Huyton provided its share of soldiers and sailors and suffered many casualties, commemorated on the war memorial now situated in front of the Huyton Suite. It also carries the names of those in the armed forces who died in World War II.
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On this date every year those lost in all conflicts are remembered with a ceremony at the war memorial.
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The first film shown was "The Plainsman" starring Gary Cooper. It closed on the 30th April 1960 with the showing of "I'm alright Jack" starring Ian Carmichael and Peter Sellers. The building is now occupied by Boots the chemists.
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Britan entered the war with Germany on the 3rd September 1939. This photograph shows bomb damage on Reva Road caused by a land mine dropped on the night of the 3rd/4th May 1941.
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The war in Europe officially ended with the VE (Victory in Europe) day celebrations on 8 May 1945. Details of how the war affected Huyton are found elsewhere on this website. The war in the Far East did not officially end until the signing of the surrender document by the Japanese on 2 September 1945.
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Councillor Tutte raised the question of developing th army camp site for the purpose of municipal housing.
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