Mossley Hill

Mossley Hill
The "shelter in the middle of the roundabout" mentioned in the Beatles' song "Penny Lane"
Mossley Hill Location within Merseyside
Population	13,816 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SJ390873
Metropolitan borough	City of Liverpool
Metropolitan county	Merseyside
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LIVERPOOL
Postcode district	L18, L19
Dialling code	0151
Police	Merseyside
Fire	Merseyside
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Liverpool Riverside Liverpool Wavertree

Mossley Hill is a suburb of Liverpool and ward of Liverpool City Council. Located 3.5 miles southeast of the city centre, it is bordered by the suburbs of Aigburth, Allerton, Childwall, Garston, and Wavertree. At the 2001 Census, the population was 12,650,^[1] increasing to 13,816 at the 2011 Census.^[2]

Overview

Mossley Hill is considered an affluent area and is mostly residential with a few local businesses. Housing is mainly semi-detached, with occasional detached and numerous terraced streets. It lies on the border of two Parliamentary constituencies: Liverpool Riverside and Liverpool Wavertree. It is represented on Liverpool City Council by councillors from the Mossley Hill ward, though parts of it stretch into the Greenbank and Church wards.

The suburb is the location of Dovedale Primary School, whose alumni includes George Harrison, John Lennon, Peter Sissons, Jimmy Tarbuck, and John Power. Calderstones School, which Lennon attended when it was called Quarry Bank, is located nearby. Liverpool College, which was a fee-paying independent school until 2013, is also located within the area. Liverpool's only grammar school, the Liverpool Blue Coat School, is also nearby in the neighbouring suburb of Wavertree. The area is home to two student accommodation buildings, the Greenbank Halls of Residence and the now-defunct Carnatic Halls of Residence, both catering to students of the University of Liverpool.

Mossley Hill's local park is Greenbank Park, one of the most popular parks in Liverpool; two more of the city's most popular parks, Sefton Park and Calderstones Park, are also nearby. The Millennium Green, accessible from Penny Lane or Oakdale Road, is a small popular green space hosting wildflower fields and woods and is a popular dog walking area. Sudley House is one of seven museums and art galleries run by National Museums Liverpool, displaying paintings by Gainsborough and Turner, among others. Mossley Hill Athletic Club are a voluntary multi-sports club offering facilities for archery, crown green bowling, cricket, football, rugby, hockey, running, and tennis.^[3] There is also a women's football team, Mossley Hill LFC, who play in the Northern Combination Women's Football League.

Mossley Hill railway station on Rose Lane and West Allerton railway station on Booker Avenue are located in Mossley Hill. Both stations offer regular services to Liverpool city centre (an approx 11 minute journey time), Warrington (27 minute journey) and Manchester Oxford Road (a 57-minute journey). There are connections to Birmingham via Liverpool South Parkway.^[4]

Spire Hospital Liverpool, formerly Lourdes Hospital, on Greenbank Road is Liverpool's first private hospital. It faces Greenbank Park.^[5][6]

Mossley Hill has one mosque called the Islamic Institute and numerous churches, including Anglican parishes (St Matthew and St James and St Barnabas), Roman Catholic parishes (St Anthony of Padua), and four Free Churches (Dovedale Baptist Church, Allerton United Reformed, Elm Hall Drive Methodist, and Bethel Presbyterian Church in Wales). Dove Community Church ceased to exist in 2006 and was replaced by Wavertree Christian Fellowship. Another church in the area is Ramilies Road Chapel.

Penny Lane

Mossley Hill became famous when the Beatles' song "Penny Lane", written about the Mossley Hill street of the same name, was released in 1967.^[7] The street receives thousands of annual tourist visits.^[8][9] The street was also briefly the home of singer Freddie Mercury during his pre-Queen days in 1969, when he lived above the Dovedale Towers pub while fronting a local band called Ibex.^[10][11]

Notable residents

• Kim Cattrall, actress, born in Mossley Hill and grew up there for three months^[12]
• J. Bruce Ismay, director of the White Star Line and Titanic survivor^[13]
• Charles Lawrence, Mayor of Liverpool, lived in Carnatic Hall^[14]
• Danielle Lloyd, model and former Miss Great Britain, grew up on Penny Lane^[15]
• Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, lived above the Dovedale Towers pub on Penny Lane while fronting local band Ibex in 1969^[10][11]
• Derek Nimmo, actor, grew up in Mossley Hill^[16]
• Steven Pienaar, former footballer for Everton FC^[17]
• R. M. Qualtrough, the fake name given by an unknown person who convinced William Herbert Wallace to travel to a non-existent Mossley Hill address to discuss insurance in January 1931, during which time Wallace's wife Julia was murdered at their Anfield home^[18]
• Bertram Fletcher Robinson, sportsman and activist^[19]
• Darci Shaw, actress^[20]
• The Rathbone family, shipowners^[21]
• Russell Pritchard, musician, bassist of The Zutons and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds^[22]

References

1. 2001 Census: Mossley Hill, Office for National Statistics, retrieved 17 August 2007
2. "City of Liverpool ward population 2011". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
3. "Welcome". Mossleyhillathleticlcub.armsite.co.uk. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
4. "Welcome". Merseytravel.org. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
5. "COMMENT & ANALYSIS: A Vital Asset for Our City - Health News - redOrbit". Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
6. "Spire Liverpool Hospital (Previously Lourdes), private hospital Liverpool". Spirehealthcare.com. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
7. Coslett, Paul (15 February 2007). "Penny Lane". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
8. "Penny Lane signs defaced in Liverpool over slavery claims". BBC News. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
9. International Slavery Museum [@SlaveryMuseum] (12 June 2020). "There is some debate about whether Penny Lane was named after James Penny ... We are actively carrying out research on this ..." (Tweet). Liverpool. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via Twitter.
10. "Liverpool nightlife and music - Liverpool Echo". Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
11. Hodkinson, Mark (1995), Queen The Early Years, Omnibus Press, p. 117, ISBN 0-7119-6012-7
12. "Proud to be a Scouser". Liverpool Echo. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
13. "Titanic and Liverpool: the untold story". National Museums Liverpool. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
14. "Details of Estate - Legacies of British Slave-ownership". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
15. "Official Biography". daniellelloyd.com. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
16. The Illustrated London News, vol. 467, issue 2, Illustrated London News & Sketch Ltd, 1979, p. 432
17. "Pienaar seals permanent move to Everton". CNN. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
18. Richard Whittington-Egan; Molly Whittington-Egan (2013). Murder on File. Neil Wilson Publishing. ISBN 978-1-906476-53-3.
19. "A website which commemorates the life & works of Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870–1907)". BFRonline.BIZ. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
20. Weston, Alan (14 September 2019). "Liverpool teenager playing young Judy Garland in new Hollywood blockbuster". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
21. "The Rathbone Papers". JISC. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
22. "Q&A: The Zutons". cnn.com. 23 October 2006.

External links

• 2006 Liverpool City Council, Ward Profile: Mossley Hill
• Liverpool Street Gallery - Liverpool 18