Aintree
Described in 1907 as a triangular township that forms the south-eastern corner of the parish; its area is
850 acres, the population in 1901 was 261. The area is extremely flat, and in
the northern portion of the township the level of the landscape is scarcely
broken by even the smallest trees, and the hedges are but scanty. The surface,
occupied by cultivated fields, where corn and potatoes find a congenial soil,
is a mixture of clay and sand. A few farms are dotted about the district. A
patch or two of undrained mossland near one of the railways discloses the
nature of the surface before the time of reclamation.
The main road
from Liverpool to Ormskirk passes through Aintree and the Mersey branch of the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway joined the Liverpool and Wigan line at the
south-eastern corner. Aintree, is famous for its great racecourse, which was
opened 8 July, 1829. The old village was in the centre of the township, about
two miles south-east of Sefton church, but housing in the area developed
quickly joining Aintree with Walton and adding to the growth of Liverpool.
At the beginning
of the thirteenth century the land in Aintree was held by Henry de Holland of
Downholland in Halsall, and in 1387 Sir Thomas Nevill, son of Sir Robert Nevill
of Hornby, held the manor of Aintree. The Molyneux family of Sefton purchased
the greater part of the manor in the sixteenth century. The name Aintree,
thought to be of Saxon origin, means "one tree" or "tree
standing alone." It is first recorded in 1226, also as Ayntre (the usual
mediaeval spelling) in 1292. Eyntre occurs; Ayntree and Ayntrie, 16th century.
Local legend
held that an oak tree on Bull Bridge Lane (removed in 2004) was "the Ain
tree" though the antiquity of the name excludes the possibility. The
historic core of the village was a small linear settlement near the junction of
School Lane, Bull Bridge Lane and Wango Lane. Much of the nearby flat, wet and
boggy land was reclaimed for agriculture following the Alt Drainage Act of
1779.
 |
| Moss Lane Aintree |
The village has
two primary schools, Aintree Davenhill and Holy Rosary and a Music School, five
churches, the Anglican church of St. Giles, The Roman Catholic church, the Holy
Rosary, Old Roan Methodist Church, Old Roan Baptist Church, and Aintree Village
Family Church, (a Baptist church, meeting at Old Roan Methodist Church Hall,
Altway). There are three public houses,
the Blue Anchor, the Village Inn (formerly the Valentine, named after a fence
on the racecourse), and the Old Roan, which gives its name to a railway station
in the village. There is now a large retail park along Ormskirk Road on former
industrial land which brought a significant number of major out-of-town shops
to the area.
Aintree
Davenhill Primary School has a large field with a metal building that was built
in the 1950s. The building was going to be a hospital building, but was turned
into a school. The classrooms are along corridors that were originally going to
be hospital wards. There is also Holy Rosary Primary School, a split-site
school until 2008 with an approximate ½ mile between the reception and infant
schools, based at a site at the Old Roan end of the village between Altway and
Aintree Lane, and the junior classes based at the Village Inn (ex-Valentine)
end of the village in the Oriel Drive site.
 |
| Old Road Public House |
 |
| Aintree Racecourse |
Aintree is of
course most noted as the home of the Grand National. Since the inaugural running in 1839, when
Lottery etched his name on the roll of honour, victory in the Grand National
has been the pinnacle of ambition for owners, trainers and jockeys worldwide.
Hollywood actors, moguls, pop stars, comedians, coiffeurs, celebrities of all
hues, sporting heroes, politicians, aristocrats, business people of every
variety, Kings, Queens and Princes have all tried for success; just a fortunate
few have succeeded. It is the most famous chase in the world and one of the
biggest tests for racehorse and rider around two circuits of the Grand National
course - with 30 fences to be jumped as four miles, three furlongs and about
110 yards are covered. There are numerous famous landmarks which are an
integral part of Grand National folklore; Becher’s Brook, the Canal Turn,
Valentine’s and the Chair are fences known around the globe.
 |
| 1955...Stirling Moss won the British Grand Prix at Aintree |
Aintree has also
been used as a venue for motor racing. The British Grand Prix was staged there
on five occasions, in 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961 and 1962. In addition to the Grand
Prix, the circuit also held 11 non-championship Formula 1 races, known as the
Aintree 200, first won by Stirling Moss in 1954 with the last winner being Jack
Brabham, in April 1964. The only driver to have competed in both horse and
motor race is Alfonso de Portago, who competed at the Grand National in his
early days as well as in a sportscar race. He was to compete at the 1957
British Grand Prix at Aintree, but he was killed in the Mille Miglia.
 |
| Harbreck House |
Aintree
University Hospital, known as Fazakerly Hospital dates back to 1898, when 118
acres of land were bought by the City Council for £39, 915. Prior to the sale,
the land had been the Harbreck Estate which included a country house.
Originally there was just Fazakerley sanatorium for tuberculosis patients and
the City Hospital in Walton for infectious diseases like smallpox, polio and
scarlet fever which were very serious at that time. The sanatorium was a
long-term hospital and patients maybe stayed there for as long as four years at
a time. The Hosptal now serves a population of around 330,000 in North
Liverpool. South Sefton and Kirkby. Aintree Hospital is a teaching hospital,
and offers specialist services with a world-class reputation to a population of
1.5m residents across the North West.
Hartley's
Village, Aintree, was founded in 1886, and was a manufacturing base for
Hartley's Jam until the mid 1900s. It includeed a purpose built factory, model
village and recreation land. The village
was proposed for conservation status as an example of Victorian manufacturing
philanthropy and has since been named a conservation area.
 |
| Aintree Institute |
Aintree
institute, which is sadly no longer there, was founded in the 1890s by Sir
William Pickles Hartley. In the early 1960s, promoter Bill Kelly hosted
concerts at the Institute billed as "sensational jive dances". The
Beatles headlined a number of these evenings, billed as "The Dynamic
Beatles"or the "Great Boppin' Beatles".The Beatles performed a
total of 31 shows at the venue. Other notable performances by musicians in
Aintree include: Michael Jackson performing the European leg of his 1987-1989
Bad World Tour at Aintree Racecourse on 11 September 1988, to more than 125,000
people. McFly performing for the Liverpool Summer Pops in 2005. Pink performing
at Aintree during her I'm Not Dead Tour on 16 July 2007. Kaiser Chiefs and The
Chemical Brothers also performed in concert at Aintree Pavilion as part of
Liverpool Music Week 2007.
Sources
British History
Liverpool
Central Library
Liverpool
Records Office
Wikipedia
Encyclopedia
Brittanica
Liverpool Echo
Robert F Edwards
