A description of
Speke in 1907:
This district
contains some of the best wheat growing land in the hundred, and has a
considerable river frontage opposite the widest portion of the River Mersey.
There are scattered plantations amongst open fields, where barley and oats as
well as wheat grow well in light, sandy, or stiff clay soils. There are no
brooks. The village of Speke consists of a small group of cottages near the
church, a mile from a railway station. Other houses are scattered thinly over
the district. The river bank in places is flat, but principally consists of
high clay banks. Upon and about these the botanist may find many plants locally
uncommon. The area is 2,504½ acres, of which Speke Hall occupies 765 acres.
Oglet is a hamlet by the Mersey. It is recorded that in 1901 the population
numbered 381.
The road from
Garston to Hale crossed Speke in two branches, and was met at the village
by the road coming south from Woolton. The London and North-Western Company's
line from Liverpool to Warrington passed through the northern part of the
Speke, where there was a station. The remains of Hunt's Cross were described in
1895 as 'a displaced massive square stone socket, lying in a barn, at the
crossroads, near the station.' At the boundary of Speke, Halewood, and Hale
there was a piece of land called Conleach. Here formal challenge fights used to
take place between the inhabitants of the adjoining villages. Speke was
governed by a parish council.
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| The North Entrance, Speke Hall |
Speke Hall stands
a little back from the shore of the Mersey, protected by belts of trees on the
west and north, and set in picturesque grounds. The house is an admirable
specimen of timber construction, being built round a central court and enclosed
by a wide moat, which is now dry. The chief entrance is on the east, reached by
a stone bridge of two arches spanning the old moat. The hall is at the north
end of the west wing, with the great chamber adjoining it on the north, the
kitchens and offices being in the south wing, and the chief living rooms on the
north and east. The buildings appear to be of two main dates, the south and
east wings, except the north end of the latter, being the parts built by Edward
Norris about 1598, while the north and west wings are of earlier detail, and
probably date from the beginning of the sixteenth century. There is nothing to
show that anything older than this is standing. Edward Norris's work follows
the older building in general design, and is apparently a completion of an
interrupted scheme, the main differences being in the smaller details, which
show a marked renaissance feeling completely absent from the older work. The
irregular setting out of the court is probably due to an alteration from the
design during the course of the later work, the kitchen wing being swung
southwards in order to allow room for a bay window in the southwest angle of
the court, making an architectural balance to the hall window in the north-west
angle. This care for symmetry is a sign of the growth of classical taste
characteristic of the latter part of the sixteenth century, and is worthy of
note in a building which in other respects is thoroughly Gothic in general
effect. The name of Molyneux frequently occurs in the Norris leases and
documents as that of farmers in the neighbourhood of Speke. In 1584 Edward
Norris granted a lease in Garston to Thomas Molyneux, Edward his son, and
Margaret wife of Edward, in consideration 'of the good, faithful, diligent, and
acceptable service of Thomas and Edward Molyneux.' The last named died about
1618, and the lease was renewed to his son Robert and Elizabeth his wife.
The final owner
of the house was Adelaide Watt, daughter of Richard Watt V who restored the
house fully in the mid 19th century. Adelaide never married, choosing to devote
her life to Speke Hall and its estate. When she died in 1921, she left it to
the trustees of the original Norris family who had built the original house.
She also included a second clause, bequeathing Speke to the National Trust, who
took over direct management in 1986. They have been restoring the hall and work
is continuing, especially on the contents and in the grounds. Adelaide Watt was responsible for the
building of the local, All Saints Church.
The Childe Of
Hale
John Middleton
was born in Hale in 1578, a normal and healthy baby of humble peasant stock.
Middleton grew to a height of nine feet and three inches (2.8m), so tall, it is
said, that he had to sleep with his feet sticking out of the window of his tiny
cottage. Because of his ‘formidable appearance’ Middleton was employed as a
bodyguard by a local landlord called Gilbert Ireland.
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| 20th Century housing development |
Until the 1930s,
Speke was a small village but in the 20th century along with Knowsley and
Kirkby, Speke became a prime site to build overspill housing and aid post war
reconstruction. By the end of the 1950s more than 25,000 people were living in
the area. Industrial estates began to spring up throughout the 1950s and 60s,
providing employment for the residents of this continually expanding area.
Industrial growth was focussed on the outskirts of the city, rather than inner
city Liverpool. The main industries were motor works, such as Fords, light
engineering firms, chemicals and pharmaceutical companies. The industrial rise
of Speke continued until the mid-1970s, when an equally rapid decline ensued.
The closure of the Bryant and May match factory was a noted example of these problems,
as was the closure of the Triumph car plant. The area has however retained a
cluster of pharmaceutical facilities, with companies operating there and the
former Fords plant now operated by Jaguar remains in the area.
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| The Mersey Wave |
The New Mersey
Shopping Park was re-developed in 1999 from an older retail site. It houses
many large retail and textile outlets as well as mainstream restaurants. The
New Mersey Retail Estate is situated between Speke and Garston, directly
opposite to the Old Liverpool Airport main terminal building, which is now a
hotel complex. Estuary Commerce Park under construction in June 2012 The area
also features the Mersey Wave, officially opened on 15 December 2003, a 200
ft-long (61 m) and 100 ft (30 m) high illuminated sculpture comprising two sets
of six aluminium fins.
Sources
British History
Liverpool
Central Library
Liverpool
Records Office
The National
Trust
Psaropoula
Robert F Edwards
