Claughton, Merseyside

Claughton (/ˈklɔːtən/ KLAW-tən) is a village and suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. It is situated approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) to the west of Birkenhead town centre, adjacent to Birkenhead Park. Administratively, Claughton is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within the county of Cheshire.

Claughton
Village

The A5027 Upton Road seen from the junction with Shrewsbury Road. St Bede's Chapel and Community Centre is across the road.
Claughton
Location within Merseyside
Population14,705 (2011 Census)
OS grid referenceSJ297891
• London180 mi (290 km)[1] SE
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBIRKENHEAD
Postcode districtCH41
Dialling code0151
ISO 3166 codeGB-WRL
PoliceMerseyside
FireMerseyside
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament

At the 2001 census, the population of Claughton was 13,723,[2] rising to 14,705 at the 2011 census.[3]

History

The name is of Viking origin, deriving from the Old Norse Klakkr-tun, meaning "hamlet on a hillock".[4]

Claughton Manor House was built in about 1850 by local benefactor Sir William Jackson, with its gardens designed by Sir Joseph Paxton. It occupied a site between Egerton Road and Manor Hill until it was pulled down in the 1930s.[5]

Recalling his childhood in Claughton in the 1860s, the artist Harry B. Neilson wrote:

"My father still wore half-Wellington top boots and the old fashioned stocks. The ladies wore poke bonnets, crinolines, Paisley shawls, and many-flounced, voluminous skirts, while young men of fashion affected peg-top trousers, little pork-pie hats with fluttering ribbons, and Dundreary whiskers. Policemen still wore top hats. Croquet was practically the only outdoor game played by ladies."[6]

The Birkenhead Institute was founded in 1889 by a local philanthropist, George Atkin, who established the school as a commercial company with shareholders and directors.[7] Originally situated in Whetstone Lane, Birkenhead, it was relocated in the 1970s to premises on Tollemache Road in Claughton. The school closed in 1994[8] and was subsequently demolished. Wilfred Owen, the World War I poet attended the school at its original location.[9] A residential road has been named after him on the Tollemache Road site.

Geography

Claughton is in the north-eastern part of the Wirral Peninsula, approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) south-south-east of the Irish Sea at Wallasey, 8.5 km (5.3 mi) east-north-east of the Dee Estuary at Caldy and 3 km (1.9 mi) west of the River Mersey at Woodside. Claughton is situated on the eastern side of Bidston Hill, with the shops and college on the A5027 road at an elevation of between 25–36 m (82–118 ft) above sea level.[10]

Economy

The village has a large number of shops, as well as cafes, bakery, florist, post office, and local pubs such as the 'Claughton Hotel', the 'Heather Brow' and 'Houlihan's Variety Club'.

Education

Claughton is the location of Birkenhead Sixth Form College, which was established by the local education authority in 1988.[11]

Transport

Claughton Village lies on the A5027 road, which continues on westbound to Saughall Massie and joins the A553 road towards Birkenhead.

Birkenhead Park railway station is located apporoximately 1.4 km (0.87 mi) to the east of Claughton. This station is on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network.

Notable people

The artist Harry B. Neilson grew up in Claughton, living in a house in Forest Road called Airliewood which his father had built in 1863.[6]

War artist Edgar Downs was born in Claughton in 1876, as was Cecil Arthur Lewis, the First World War fighter ace and BBC executive, in 1898.[12]

Others

See also

References
  1. "Coordinate Distance Calculator". boulter.com. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  2. "2001 Census: Claughton". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  3. "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  4. Sulley, Philip (1889). The Wirral Hundred.
  5. Bidston, Carol E (1985). Birkenhead... Of Yesteryear. Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. ISBN 0-904582-07-8.
  6. Proudlove, Christopher. "Life and times of a Comic Genius". writeantiques.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  7. "History of Birkenhead Institute". Spirit of Birkenhead Institute. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  8. "Birkenhead Institute Grammar School". Spirit of Birkenhead Institute. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  9. "Wilfred Owen Biography". Britain Unlimited. Archived from the original on 12 November 2006. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  10. "SRTM & Ordnance Survey Elevation Data in PHP". Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  11. "Birkenhead Sixth Form College". Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  12. Who Was Who 1996–2000: Lewis, Cecil Arthur. London: A & C Black. 2001. p. 347. ISBN 0-7136-5439-2.

Bibliography
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