The Merseyside ex Coal Town with a history that goes back to the Bronze Age.

St Helens is in Merseyside which lies to the northwest of England. Not to be confused with Mount St Helens, this borough covers 12 square miles of lovely green pastures, replaced with housing. Although ancient, the town received its status as a municipal borough in 1868, about two hundred years after they started pulling coal from the ground. With a population close to reaching 200,000 people, we decided it was high time we uncovered the best bits of this town using our own homegrown knowledge earned through writing hundreds of travel guides for the UK.

What is St Helens Famous for?

St Helens is famous as the home of the St Helens Rugby League Football Club. It was a famous coal town but later became a centre for glassworking. St Helens is the town responsible for both the Beecham and Pilkington brands.

The Early History of St Helens

In the early days, the town was known as Neweton, or Newton-le-Willows. This suggests a Norman influence somewhere back at the beginning of it all. The town didn’t become St Helens until the days of coal mining here.

Fairly recently a metal detectorist uncovered a very rare Bronze Age axe head. It was rare due to the metal used to make it. The Bronze Age is when humans discovered basic metalworking, but few of these artefacts survive today. This one did. It is one of 1,000 known pieces throughout the whole of the UK. Experts place it to the early-middle Bronze Age, dating the axe head to Found in Fir Tree Farm, the detectorist presented it to them to display within their shop. Odd, perhaps, that it didn’t go to Merseyside Museum, being the only piece of its like found in the entire Merseyside area.

Coming down slightly through history, we can then trace the early Celtic tribe which inhabited this area before AD. The Romans arrived in Britain around 40 AD and stayed until the Romans left circa 383 AD. Before that, though, were the tribes that Rome had to conquer to claim the land. The Cornovii tribe occupied the Merseyside area, with the ginormous Brigantes tribe on their northern border. Their lands stretched across the Midlands, although their name means ‘of the horn,’ which suggests their main HQ was on the ‘horn’ slightly south along the coast from Liverpool. Historians argue that they were not a coastal people and that their name actually comes from their god. Herne the Hunter was a horned god. And that is all we will say about that.

There are 30 total records of archaeological digs in St Helens. Four of these were Roman. One interesting story tells of a man who found a coin from the 2^nd century while he was picking litter with his girlfriend. The coin was found in a park, perhaps suggesting it was dropped rather than unearthed. You can view the old maps of the area and dig sites online.

After the Romans left the area, they left behind straight roads and well-built buildings. The Romans built in wood and then stone, so they left abandoned towns in their wake. The Angles and the Saxons, the Picts and others all came next, keeping the population of St Helens small, but working. The next real record we have from the town is in the Domesday Book.

The Medieval Era

St Helens appears in the Domesday Book as a small town of 4 households, located in Merset. The land belonged to the Earl Roger of Shrewsbury and although there are questions over where Neweton was, these questions probably arose due to the name change in the 1500s. Roger of Shrewsbury owned 2 ploughlands and half a team to plough them. There were two villagers and two smallholders living here, probably all paying rent to the lord. The annual value dropped from 7 shillings to 5 shillings between 1066 and 1086. This usually indicates that the people who lived there did not want to accept this new rule.

In 1212, Adam de Billinge, another Norman, occupied the manor at Billinge. In 1220, lands at Rainhill passed from the Ecclestons to Roger of Rainhill. In 1246 he would eventually build his manor there. From then on, the area became known as a place where the wealthy placed manors.

In 1257 the town gained a charter from Henry III. The charter allowed them to have a weekly market and yearly fair. Again, the town’s name is recorded as Newton-le-Willows. By 1415 the town had the Windleshaw Abbey Chantry Chapel.

As of 1321, the town had a strong connection to Roman Catholicism. It was the Lords of Sutton Manor who caused this change. They were a Norman family called the De Hollands.

St Helens finally received its name in the 1550s when the chapel became the focal point of the town. Known as “St Helens Chapel of Ease,” it was only a small subsidiary of the Eccleston Parish which is nearby. Around the same time, during the 16^th century, landowners found coal in the area. Now: most coal towns are from the industrial period. During our travel guides of England, the earliest we have heard of coal pits is in the late 17^th, and early 18^th centuries. It would seem from the outside that St Helens were digging coal out roughly a hundred years before other towns. Coal from St Helens would power the beginning of the industrial revolution, and that’s pretty cool.

In 1539 there was a church at Billinge, later this church would become the Chapel of Ease. In 1552, St Elyn’s Chapel was a chapel of ease for travellers between Prescot and Warrington. Records mention it was no more than a ‘challis and a lytle bell.’ In 1569 the town gained Eccleston Hall, which has since been rebuilt.

Let’s stop there because St Helens is about to enter the Industrial era. In the meantime, enjoy these fun facts about the town.

Fun Facts and St Helens Trivia

St Helens is pretty amazing. Not only did they have huge progress back in the Norman era, but the town was so well advanced that it started the Industrial Revolution before everyone else did. There are plenty of fun facts from this town that we would love to share with you. Here are our favourites:

• St Helens sent two MPs to parliament in 1559. What does that mean? It means that between that 1086 Domesday Survey and the 1500s, the town grew so much that it became big enough to submit not one MP, but two. What’s special about this? The timing. Which English towns were growing that fast in the 1500s? Most didn’t hit the industrial revolution for another one, two, or even three hundred years.
• The town hall had a clock tower; however, the whole building was damaged by fire in 1871. While the town hall was rebuilt in 1876, the steeple was not replaced. Just one more artefact of town history gone forever.
• St Helen’s people were nicknamed the woolly-backs in historic times. There are many theories as to why. One theory is that the townsfolk carried wool on their backs – but why would they in a coal and glass town? Another is that it was a slur for there being nothing in town but sheep. A third legend holds that the taxmen would ride out to the town with wool cloaks on their backs. Honestly? We might never know.
• One of the oldest meeting houses in town – the Friends’ Meeting House – was the product of the Quakers back in 1678.
• The town’s first public house was called Ye Olde King’s Head and dates to 1629. The pub met its end in 1878.
• Much of the town can thank it’s history to Sarah Cowley. She died in 1714, leaving the bulk of her estate to teach the children of the town.
• The Sankey canal was the first of its kind in Britain. In 1830 it received a viaduct for the railway, again, the first of its kind. Most English towns gained the railway around 1850, another thing that St Helens was first at.

And on that note, let’s return to the happy history of this bustling coal town.

Industrial Era St Helens

In 1634 St Helens gained new residents. The Blackburne family built Newton Hall, yet another manor house. While the first landowners were already profiting from the coal mines, Oliver Cromwell was forming his mutiny all over England. He defeated the Duke of Hamilton in battle at Red Bank, near to Newton and Winick. In 1692 the Saunders family built Garwood Hall. Rainford church opened in 1702.

In 1721 the Foot O’th Causeway Inn opened in Billinge. In 1726 a new road connected Liverpool to Prescot. Twenty years later the road reached St Helens. The 1700s also brought massive growth to the town, leading to the building of the Red Lion Hotel, the Eagle and Child Inn, The Black Bull, Greenall’s Brewery, and the St Helens Foundry. In 1757 the town gained the Sankey Canal. As we have mentioned once or twice, this was a revolutionary act. Built by Henry Berry, it was the first canal of the Industrial period. St Helens was on the ball. Also in the 18^th century, Jonathan Greenall of Parr patented a fire engine for drawing mines, coal pits, land, and water.

In 1773 the first glassworks opened in St Helens, named the British Cast Plate Glass Company. Another big player in town was the Parys Mountain Company, who owned the copper smelters.

During the 19^th century, the town of St Helens gained:

• A Wesleyan Chapel in 1800
• Cherley House in 1805
• Oil lamp lighting in 1810
• A post office in 1825
• Pilkington Glass the following year.
• A glass bottle maker in 1828 and a chemical works the following year.
• A railway station in 1830 – about twenty years before the rest of us.
• Another foundry, then a town hall, then another foundry.
• Waterworks happened in 1844.
• Another chemical works
• A hospital
• A newspaper
• St Helens Football Club
• Beecham’s
• Rainhill Gas and Water Company…
• … the whole list is here, we have had enough. Needless to say the town grew, and grew, and grew.

As late as 1842 the mine owners in St Helens used children to recover the smallest pieces from the smallest shafts. Records say that children as young as six would work in the mines, but we are fairly certain nobody was checking birth certificates. They would work the same hours as the adults, 12 hours per day and 7 days a week. Fun fact: that 9 to 5 working day was developed in the early 1800s by Robert Owen, a Welsh philanthropist and engineer who designed a model village up in Scotland. New Lanark was the first town to experience it. If it weren’t for his experiment proving that people completed more work when they had downtime. Otherwise, we would all still be working 12-hour days, 7 days a week.

From 1893 until 1900 the town used steam trams in place of the modern bus. The trams would switch to electric in 1899, forcing the steam-powered trams off the road. Just to be clear, it has taken around two decades for us to NOT switch to electric cars. Back in the Industrial Era, the people knew how to get ahead. And around.

The Modern Day Town

The industrial era kept gaining momentum in St Helens right up until the wars. The town was still mining coal in the thirties, when an explosion at Lyme Colliery demonstrated how truly dangerous the job was. After WWII, St Helens twinned with Stuttgart in another great first. They were the first town to twin with a German town since either war. The 1900s were another steady period of growth as the industries refined themselves into corporate headquarters and office blocks. The coal mining era ended here in 1993 when the last deep coal mine in Merseyside closed at Parkside.

The modern day St Helens is a vibrant and diverse town. The economy revolves around retail and service, a far cry from the pits of old. The damage done by chemical works and coal mining is long lasting, but rewilding is breaking down those areas and returning them to nature. The town is peaceful, and calm, and has a lot of commuters living in it. It’s a nice place to visit and a nicer place to live.

Famous People from St Helens

St Helens has produced some excellent famous people over the years. From historical figures to modern-day celebs, here are the famous people from St Helens that you should know about:

• The first Prime Minister of New Zealand was a Brit and his name was Mr R.J. Sneddon. He was born here in 1845.
• The first mayor of the town was Sir David Gamble in 1868. You might see him mentioned around town.
• Famous footballer Lily Parr was born in 1905.
• Frank Cottrell-Boyce is from here. He wrote the opening sequence for the 2012 Olympics.
• A local park was renamed after a famous St Helens resident in 2015. The Vera Page Park is still open today.
• The actor Johnny Vegas is from here.
• David Yates, a Harry Potter director, is another famous resident.

Other famous people from St Helens include Emma Catherine Rigby, Phil Gwilliam, and Andrew Langtree.

The Best Attractions in St Helens

Now all that is left is to share where the best things to see and do in St Helens are. Is it a great place to visit? See for yourselves…

Historic Sites

Most of the listed buildings in town are churches. Visit St Peter’s, St John’s, and the URC church. You can also visit the Windleshaw Chantry and talk to Ned, who runs the site and knows everything about it. There are still halls near St Helens, although most are newer than those old 1300s halls. There is The Bold Hall, St. Michaels House, Leach Hall, and Brook House all in the area.

Landmarks

There are few landmarks in St Helens more interesting than the Dream sculpture. This landmark is a 20-metre high head, which marks the site of the Sutton Manor Colliery. Dream is the work of artist Jaume Plensa.

Take a trip to Inglenook Farm in late spring to see the beautiful purple, fragrant lavender fields in bloom.

Cultural Sites

The World of Glass is a favourite attraction in town. This is a walk back through the glass-making history of the town. You can try glass blowing, see a whole collection of artworks, and browse through past processes that will shock you. Industry has not always been safe for its workers.

Another hit site of cultural significance in St Helens is the North West Museum of Road Transport. Little kids and big kids alike love the thrill of old buses, cars, trucks, and vans. Get along with the kids to make the most of this day out.

Recreation

The town of St Helens is known in theatrical circles because of the Theatre Royal. They run regular shows, have an am-dram group, and offer entertainment most weekends of the year. Get along and catch a show to keep the town’s history of theatre-going alive.

Murrays Antiques and Collectibles is a popular shop/recreational site in town. Those that like shopping for bargains or picking up antiques to resell will love this place.

Outdoor Attractions

The Carr Mill Dam is a lovely hiking and biking area. Take the kids and make a picnic of it. The dam is gorgeous, having succumbed to rewilding in recent years. It is just north of the town centre and is the home of the Lancashire Powerboat Racing Club.

Sports and Teams of St Helens

The local football club is FC St Helens. They play in red and white and offer a junior team for the locals to get involved in. They have regular new intakes, so if you are new to the area get along and try out.

St Helens RLFC has been running for more than 150 years. They run a woman’s team who are outstanding in the league. The men’s first team are regulars in the league finals and semi-finals. You will also notice that they have several teams here. Rugby is a big part of Merseyside culture.

If you prefer golf, then head to the Grange Park Golf Club in St Helens, or to the Sherdley Park Golf Course, also in town.

Shopping and Retail

If you head into the centre of town, you will find the best shops. Also, check out St Helens Retail Park while you are there. There is a third retail park to the south of town named the Ravenshead Retail Park.

Where to Eat and Drink in St Helens?

If you want to try cool British fusion foods, head to Vigour. Mr Chan’s is regarded as the best Chinese restaurant in town and you can have brilliant Greek and Mediterranean food in Limassol. If you want to go for a pint with your mates, the Glass Horse and the Cinema Bar are favourites. You can grab a cocktail at Duke Street Bar.

Other Notable Nearby Attractions

There are other nearby towns you should visit if you are in this area for any length of time. Try to fit the following attractions into your journey:

• Ormskirk is famous for gingerbread, go and taste it.
• Go to the seaside at Lytham St Annes and avoid the Blackpool crowds.
• Have a Skelmersdale shopping spree.
• Visit Poulton-le-Fylde
• Climb Pendle Hill from Nelson.

There is lots to explore for all ages in this area. Get out and have some fun.

How to Get to St Helens

We told you everything we could about the wonderful town of St Helens. Now let us share how you get there.

By Road

If you follow the A580 from Liverpool to Haydock, you will hit St Helens.

By Rail

St Helens Central Station is on the Northern Line.

By Air

The nearest airport is Liverpool John Lennon.

By Sea

And the nearest docks are in Liverpool.

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