Oxton, Cheshire
| Oxton | |
| Cheshire | |
|---|---|
 St Saviour's Church in Oxton | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SJ303876 |
| Location: | 53°22’51"N, 3°2’54"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 14,232 (2011) |
| Post town: | Birkenhead / Prenton |
| Postcode: | CH42 / CH43 |
| Dialling code: | 0151 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Wirral |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Birkenhead |
Oxton is a village on the Wirral peninsula in the west of Cheshire, and which has become effectively a suburb of Birkenhead, the Wirral's principal town, whose town centre lies to the east.
The old, Victorian part of the village is a conservation area. The north-east of this area, at the junction of Victoria Mount, Rose Mount, Village Road and Claughton Firs developed as a commercial centre with restaurants, pubs, cafés and shops.[1][2]
The name 'Oxton' is from the Old English Oxa tun, meaning, just as it sounds today, 'ox village'. In 1278, the name was recorded as Oxeton, and it was recorded as Oxon in 1549.[3]
History
Oxton Village pre-dates the conurbation that developed around Birkenhead, of which it now forms part.
Oxton was once one of the most affluent areas in Cheshire, itself an affluent county, due to its proximity to Liverpool and the fact that along with various other locations on the Wirral it was a favourite residential area for wealthy Liverpool merchants and tradesmen of the time. Oxton Village is a mainly early Victorian era settlement with fine sandstone and brick built houses, many of which now form part of a conservation area designated in April 1979.[4] Some of these buildings have been designated as Grade II listed buildings.
A significant part of the land on which Oxton is situated was part of the Estate of the Earl of Shrewsbury - this has been commemorated over the years in many of the road names, which bear the family names and titles of the various Earls: Alton Road, Beresford Road, Chetwynd Road, Ingestre Road, Shrewsbury Road, Talbot Road, Waterford Road and Wexford Road. The oldest pub in Oxton Village is called the 'Shrewsbury Arms' (presumably for the same reason) and the bar which is now known as the 'Oxton Bar and Kitchen' was formerly the 'Talbot Hotel'.
Parish church
Christ Church, Oxton opened in 1849[5] and has a Father Willis organ,[6] installed in 1888.
Sport
- Oxton Cricket & Sports Club[7]
Founded in 1875 as Oxton Cricket Club,[8] the club now encompasses such sports as tennis, lacrosse, squash and bowls.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Oxton, Cheshire) |
References
- ↑ "Oxton Village ‘A Voyage of Discovery'". The Birkenhead History Society. http://www.birkenheadhistorysociety.org.uk/page5/styled/page16.html. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ↑ "Oxton Village Wirral Merseyside Drive". Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xYYLO88fsc. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ↑ Oxton, National Museums Liverpool, http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/magical/placenames/oxton.asp, retrieved 11 July 2010
- ↑ Conservation Areas: Wirral Council
- ↑ Christ Church, Oxton, Birkenhead, Church of England, http://www.achurchnearyou.com/birkenhead-christ-church/, retrieved 11 September 2009
- ↑ 'Father Willis' organ, Christ Church, http://www.christchurch.birkenhead.net/pages/Organ/history.htm, retrieved 11 September 2009
- ↑ [http://www.oxtoncricketclub.com/ Oxton Cricket & Sports Club
- ↑ Club History, Oxton Cricket & Sports Club, http://www.oxtoncricketclub.com/club-history/, retrieved 11 July 2010
- Green, John:
- 'Oxton In History' (The Oxton Society, 2006)
- Acrobat pdf file
- Beazley, F.C. (1930). The Parish Church of S. Saviour, Oxton. Willmer Bros.. OCLC 12829561.
- Boumphrey, Ian (2007). Yesterday's Birkenhead: A Pictorial History 1860 to 1960 including Prenton, Oxton, Bidston, Upton, Woodchurch, Tranmere, Bebington, New Ferry and Rock Ferry. The Author. ISBN 9781899241262.
- Boumphrey, Ian and Marilyn:
- 'Yesterday's Wirral: Birkenhead, Prenton and Oxton' (1981) ISBN 9780950725512
- 'Yesterday's Wirral No. 7: More of Birkenhead, Oxton and Prenton Including Bidston and Upton (1992) ISBN 9780950725574
- Williams, William: 'The History of the Hundred of Wirral' (Whittaker & Co., 1847) pp 287-288