Aigburth

Aigburth (/ˈɛɡbərθ/ (listen)) is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth.

Aigburth

The former Barclays Bank building on Aigburth Road
Aigburth
Location within Merseyside
OS grid referenceSJ385864
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLIVERPOOL
Postcode districtL17, L19 (part)
Dialling code0151
PoliceMerseyside
FireMerseyside
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament

Etymology

The name Aigburth comes from Old Norse eik and berg, meaning oak-tree hill. The name can be interpreted as "hill where oak trees grow" and is a hybrid place-name: the first part of the name is from Old Norse eik meaning "oak tree" (which is found in Eikton in Cumbria and Eakring in Nottinghamshire) and Old English beorg or berg meaning hill but as there is no real hill in Aigburth the sense here is more likely to be rising ground. Beorg or berg is more usually rendered -borough (as in Barlborough in Derbyshire) or more rarely as -barrow (as in Backbarrow in Cumbria).[1] The name was also recorded as Eikberei in an undated record.

A possible other meaning of Aigburth is Aiges' Berth, meaning the place where the Viking Aiges berthed his long boat. This is plausible because Aigburth is right on the Merseyside river mouth and not on a hill. The nearby hill has a Viking name Toxteth, which means the camp of Toces.

The spelling Aigburgh (or, more rarely, Aighburgh) is sometimes found in old publications and historical documents (for example, S. Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848)),[2] as well as in modern references to former residents[3] [4] and is occasionally seen as an alternative (if incorrect) spelling today.

History

Historically a part of Lancashire, the area was previously part of the Mossley Hill parliamentary constituency and, as such, returned David Alton (now Lord Alton of Liverpool) for many years. It is now part of the Liverpool Riverside constituency and returned Louise Ellman as MP in the 2005 and 2010 general elections.

Description

Aigburth is mainly residential and covers an area following Aigburth Road (A561) and the areas either side of it until it reaches Garston. The suburb is to the south of Sefton Park and adjoins Otterspool Park, which leads to Otterspool Promenade on the Mersey. Housing in the district is mostly a mixture of terraced and semi detached homes, with large detached houses (mostly converted into flats or hotels) in Aigburth Drive overlooking Sefton Park and modern estates containing detached and semi detached houses in the Riverside Drive area. Lark Lane (between Aigburth Road and Sefton Park) is a lively place with many independent shops, restaurants and bars. The Guardian published an article about Aigburth in 2007 in its 'Let's move to ...' series.[5]

Landmarks

Education

The Aigburth Park halls of residence of Liverpool Hope University are located close to the railway line on St Michael's Road. Up towards Mossley Hill are the former University of Liverpool Carnatic Halls of Residence built in between Elmswood and Carnatic Roads. These are closed, pending redevelopment. On the piece of land between Mossley Hill Road and Barkhill Road is the IM Marsh Campus of Liverpool John Moores University, where the Faculty of Education, Health and Community is based. Secondary schools in Aigburth include St Margaret's Church of England Academy and Auckland College, a private school for ages 5–18. State primary schools in Aigburth are Sudley Infants and Sudley Juniors as well as St Michael-in-the-Hamlet Primary.

Prior to the reorganisation of secondary education in Liverpool in the 1980s, Aigburth was also home to Aigburth Vale Comprehensive School for Girls, formerly Aigburth Vale High School for Girls, which merged with Quarry Bank School to form Calderstones School.

Transport

The area is served by Aigburth railway station on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, located some distance from larger residential areas. St Michaels railway station is also situated in the area, at the bottom of Southwood Road.

Sport

Liverpool Cricket Club, a regular home venue of Lancashire County Cricket Club, and Sefton Park Cricket Club, is located in Aigburth.

St Margaret's Cricket and Community Sports Centre houses Respect 4 All, an official charity of Liverpool Football Club offering free football sports coaching for the disabled.

Notable residents

References
  1. Your Dictionary, retrieved 5 July 2017
  2. Aigburth, or Aigburgh, British History Online, retrieved 15 February 2008
  3. The Waterhouse collection, University of Reading, retrieved 5 July 2017
  4. Venezuelan Orchids, retrieved 15 February 2008
  5. Dyckhoff, Tom (21 July 2007), Let's move to ... Aigburth, Liverpool, London: The Guardian, retrieved 4 April 2008
  6. Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896, Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963
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