Town in Merseyside, England
Town in England
Moreton
is a town in the
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
in
Merseyside
, England. Located on the north coast of the
Wirral Peninsula
, it is approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) to the west of
Wallasey
.
Historically
part of
Cheshire
and now within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, the town was divided in 2004 between the local government wards of
Leasowe & Moreton East
and
Moreton West & Saughall Massie
. Moreton is also part of the parliamentary constituency of
Wallasey
.
In the
2001 census
it had a population of 17,670.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
Prior to the
Norman conquest
, the Lingham area of Moreton was a possible location for
Dingesmere
, mentioned with regard to the
Battle of Brunanburh
, in
Egil's Saga
.
[
citation needed
]
At the time of the
Domesday Book
, the area was a township in the parish of
Bidston
, within the
Wirral Hundred
. In the twelfth century, it formed part of the estates of
Hamo de Mascy
. The name Moreton was first recorded in 1278, as Meretun, and derives from Anglo-Saxon words meaning a settlement (
tun
) beside a lake (
mere
).
[3]
The village joined with neighbouring Lingham to form the parish of Moreton-cum-Lingham in the late nineteenth century. It was absorbed into the County Borough of
Wallasey
in 1928.
[4]
Geography
[
edit
]
The town is located between
Great Meols
to the west and
Bidston
and
Upton
to the south and east. Before the sea embankment was constructed, the area included 3000 acres of tidal lagoon, at between one and two metres below sea level, with most of the remainder little more than one metre above.
[
citation needed
]
The coast at Moreton is part of a stretch of sand that runs from Meols to
Leasowe
known as Mockbeggar Wharf, named after Mockbeggar Hall, otherwise known as
Leasowe Castle
. 'Mockbeggar Hall' is also the name of Moreton's
Wetherspoons
pub (The name Mockbeggar apparently being an old sailors' term for a lone house). The
North Wirral Coastal Park
also runs for four miles along this coast, including public open space, common land, natural foreshore and sand dunes. The park provides a wide variety of recreational activities; some of the more popular being sailing, sea angling, swimming, cycling, picnicking, walking, jogging, ball games, bird watching and horse riding.
The low-lying land behind the coast is protected by a large concrete embankment. Some of the coastal land is in the Moreton
Conservation Area
and provides important natural habitat. The embankment gives a good view at low tide to see a variety of wading birds. There are also good views of
Bidston Hill
and
Caldy Hill
. Further afield,
Winter Hill
is often visible beyond Liverpool and, in the opposite direction, much of North Wales can be seen from the embankment, including
Moel Famau
,
Snowdonia
, the
Great Orme
and
Anglesey
.
[
citation needed
]
On clear days,
Black Combe
in
Cumbria
can also be seen.
[
citation needed
]
Arrowe Brook
merges with
the Birket
at Moreton. The Birket then continues towards
West Float
at the site of the former
Wallasey Pool
.
Demography
[
edit
]
The population was 210 in 1801, 350 in 1851 and 597 in 1901.
[4]
At the
2001 census
, the population was 12,532 (5,980 males, 6,552 females),
[5]
although sharing split
wards
of the
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
, encompassing a larger area, it was recorded as 13,735 (6,442 males, 7,293 females) for Leasowe and Moreton East,
[6]
and 14,423 (6,879 males, 7,544 females) for Moreton West and Saughall Massie.
[7]
At the
2011 Census
, the population is solely recorded as sharing split wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, encompassing the larger area, being recorded as 14,640 (7,005 males, 7,635 females) for Leasowe and Moreton East,
[8]
and 13,988 (6,732 males, 7,256 females) for Moreton West and Saughall Massie.
[9]
Governance
[
edit
]
Moreton is part of the
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
, in the
metropolitan county
of Merseyside. Moreton is also part of the parliamentary constituency of
Wallasey
. The current
Member of Parliament
is
Angela Eagle
, a
Labour
representative who has held the seat since 1992. The previous incumbent of the post was
Lynda Chalker
, a
Conservative
MP.
The area is also split amongst two of the
local government
wards
of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. These being
Leasowe & Moreton East
and
Moreton West & Saughall Massie
. Moreton is represented on
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
by six councillors: three from the Labour Party (Moreton East) and three from the Conservative Party (Moreton West).
[10]
The most recent
local elections
took place on 6 May 2021.
Economy
[
edit
]
Food manufacturing
[
edit
]
Moreton is also known for being the home of the
Burton's
factory, and now owned by
Duke Street Capital
.
[11]
This factory was also the producer of
Cadbury's
biscuits. Manor Bakeries, the former Cadbury's cakes department, (now owned by
Premier Foods Group
) is located in the town at Reeds Lane, near to
Leasowe railway station
.
Moreton is also home to
Typhoo Tea
, with the factory which manufactures Typhoo, being located next to the Burton's factory.
Pharmaceuticals
[
edit
]
Until the 1990s,
Bristol-Myers Squibb
was also a major employer to the local workforce, with a large factory located on the opposite side of Reeds Lane to Burton's, next to Leasowe Station. However, in the mid-90s, manufacturing was moved out of Moreton which led to the closure of the factory. At the same time, there was actually heavy investment into modern drug development and research labs on the site, which are still operated by Bristol-Myers Squibb. In 2009, the company provided further investment into the site.
[12]
Tarran Way Industrial Estate
[
edit
]
The Tarran Way Industrial Estate is mainly home to various car repair facilities, and other light industry businesses.
Dantec
is the UK's biggest manufacturer of composite hoses, which are used in the transfer of petrochemicals. The company was established in 1969,
[13]
and the business is situated on Tarran Way.
[14]
Former brickworks
[
edit
]
Della Robbia Pottery
used local red clay from Moreton. Barker and Briscoe Brickworks
[15]
was situated on Carr Lane, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the centre of the village.
Schools
[
edit
]
Moreton Christ Church CofE Primary School, located on Upton Road, is a
Church of England school
that educates around 400 pupils in ages 4?11. It was opened, as the 'Moreton Church of England School'in 1861, in the centre of Moreton. It was established in its current location in 1974.
Other schools include Sacred Heart Primary School, Lingham Primary School, Eastway Primary School, Sandbrook Primary School, Foxfield School (formerly St Thomas Becket Catholic School demolished around 2012/13), Orrets Meadow Special School and Clare Mount Specialist Sports College (formerly Moreton Middle School).
Churches
[
edit
]
Moreton has various religious establishments, though all of
Christian
denominations. The most substantial building is the
Church of England
's Christ Church
[16]
on Upton Road, which was built in 1863 and replaced an earlier building known as a chapel-of-ease. This earlier building had been pulled down by 1690, and was then within the parish of Bidston.
[17]
The church, vicarage and school were built at a cost of £8,000, paid for by a donation from
William Inman
,
[18]
[19]
with the church being designed by
Cunningham
and
Audsley
.
[20]
[21]
The church has a spire, and used to have a rectory which was demolished in 1922.
[18]
Christ Church became a Grade II
listed building
in 1987.
[21]
The other significant churches include Sacred Heart
Catholic
Church and the Moreton
Methodist
Church. The smaller establishments include the Moreton
Presbyterian
Church, the Moreton Christian Assembly, the Moreton
Baptist
Church and a building belonging to
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
.
Leisure
[
edit
]
Moreton Library is situated on Pasture Road,
[22]
with a nearby
youth club
and boxing club.
[23]
[24]
A dance club is further along Pasture Road,
[23]
near to Moreton Shore and the lighthouse. The 4th Moreton Scout Group is situated on Upton Road.
Public Houses
[
edit
]
Public houses include the
Coach & Horses Inn
which opened in 1928,
[23]
The Grange
,
The Mockbeggar Hall
, which is a branch of
JD Wetherspoon
,
The Farmers Arms
,
The Sandbrook
and
The Armchair
. Former pubs included the
Morton Arms
, noted for its incorrect spelling, although it is thought to be an external source and not intended as Moreton, the
Millhouse
(demolished 2018) and the
Plough Inn
(demolished).
[23]
Parks and Commons
[
edit
]
Parks include Lingham Park and Upton Park. Meanwhile, Ditton Lane
Nature Reserve
is towards the coast, along with the North Wirral Coastal Park. In the North Wirral Coastal Park,
Leasowe Lighthouse
was built in 1763 and is the oldest brick-built lighthouse in Britain.
[25]
[26]
The lighthouse was built because of the sandbanks just offshore.
It has been restored and is open to the public at times.
Sport
[
edit
]
The Moreton Hills Golf Centre has a
driving range
which is situated adjacent to the Tarran Way Industrial Estate.
[27]
Moreton Football Club was on Upton Road, and is now based at Sandbrook Lane, as Sandbrook FC.
[23]
[28]
Transport
[
edit
]
Road
[
edit
]
Moreton is situated at the roundabout junction of roads from Bidston (the
A553
), Leasowe (the
A551
), Meols (the A553) and Upton (the A551). The
A5027
Upton bypass continues into Junction 2a of the
M53 motorway
, known as Moreton Spur, to the south of Moreton.
[29]
[30]
[31]
Boat
[
edit
]
Moreton witnessed the world's first commercial passenger and mail
hovercraft
service. A
Vickers-Armstrong VA-3
hovercraft was operated by
British United Airways
and ran from Leasowe embankment to
Rhyl
in
North Wales
.
[32]
The service commenced on 20 July 1962.
[32]
However, due to varying reasons including bad weather and technical difficulties the service was cancelled after its final journey on 14 September 1962.
[32]
Rail
[
edit
]
There are two stations serving Moreton, these are
Moreton
and
Leasowe
. Both stations are on the West Kirby branch of the
Wirral Line
and have direct electric services, operated by
Merseyrail
, to
West Kirby
and
Liverpool Central
via
Birkenhead
. Both Leasowe and Moreton offer
park and ride
facilities.
A
third station
has been proposed to serve the Town Meadow / Millhouse areas but this is currently seen as a long term project by the
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
.
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Lottie Dod
, English sportswoman, established a ladies' golf club in Moreton, in 1894.
- Daniel Ilabaca
, Founder of World Freerunning and Parkour Federation, born in Moreton.
- William Inman
, English industrialist, buried in Moreton.
- Paul Rutherford
, English footballer, born in Moreton.
- Jonathan Walters
, Irish international footballer, born in Moreton.
- Helen Forrester
, English author, lived in Moreton during World War 2.
- Frank 'Titch' Mason
, prize winning jockey, died in 1969. He used his prize money to help build many shops in the area.
References
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Appleyard, John (2004).
A heritage trail around Moreton and Saughall Massie
. Irby: Impact Communication.
ISBN
9780954722302
.
OCLC
62306101
.
- Biddle, Frank; Fellowes, Alan (1992).
Moreton Wirral: A Pictorial History
. Vol. 1. Birkenhead: Countryvise.
ISBN
9780907768562
.
OCLC
316151639
.
- Biddle, Frank; Fellowes, Alan (1995).
Moreton Wirral: A Pictorial History
. Vol. 2. Birkenhead: Countryvise.
ISBN
9780907768593
.
OCLC
264892270
.
- Biddle, Frank; Fellowes, Alan (1995).
Moreton Wirral: A Pictorial History
. Vol. 3. Birkenhead: Countryvise.
ISBN
9780907768784
.
OCLC
264892270
.
- Biddle, Frank; Fellowes, Alan (2001).
Moreton Wirral: A Pictorial History
. Vol. 4. Birkenhead: Countryvise.
ISBN
9781901231229
.
OCLC
51234222
.
- Boumphrey, Ian (1988).
Yesterday's Wirral 5: Wallasey, New Brighton & Moreton
. Ian & Marilyn Boumphrey.
ISBN
9780950725543
.
OCLC
655904123
.
- Mortimer, William Williams (1847).
The History of the Hundred of Wirral
. London: Whittaker & Co. pp205-206.
External links
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]
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Metropolitan districts
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Major settlements
(cities in italics)
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Rivers
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