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Whiston, Merseyside

Coordinates: 53°24′47″N 2°47′53″W / 53.413°N 2.798°W / 53.413; -2.798

Whiston
Whiston Fire Station - geograph.org.uk - 43842.jpg
Whiston Fire Station
Whiston is located in Merseyside
Whiston

 Whiston shown within Merseyside
Population 13,629 
(2001 Census)[1]
OS grid reference SJ4791
Civil parish Whiston
Metropolitan borough Knowsley
Metropolitan county Merseyside
Region North West
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town PRESCOT
Postcode district L35
Dialling code 0151
Police Merseyside
Fire Merseyside
Ambulance North West
EU Parliament North West England
UK Parliament St Helens South and Whiston
List of places: UK • England • Merseyside

Whiston is a large village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley on Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 13,629.[1] It is located within the greater Liverpool Urban Area.

Whiston gave its name to and formerly administered the Whiston Rural District which operated under the county of Lancashire from 1895 until 1974 when it ceased to exist upon local government boundary changes and the formation of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside.

Whiston is crossed by the historic Liverpool to Manchester Railway with services operating from Whiston Railway Station.

St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust operates Whiston Hospital. The hospital supports the primary maternity department for the Knowsley and St Helens boroughs.[2] The Trust is member organisation of the teaching hospital system partnered with the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University.

Contents

History

Historically a part of Lancashire, it was known for its coal mines. Its recorded history begins in the 13th century but its roots are much older.

In the mid 14th century, the manors of Whiston, Skelmersdale, Parr, and Speke, were held by William Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre.[3]

A polished stone hand-axe, a relic of the Neolithic Age, was discovered there in 1941 and in 1986 fragments of flint tools were found on a local farm.

The church of St. Nicholas on Windy Arbor Road was consecrated on 30 July 1868. It hosts a war memorial, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, which was struck by lightning in 1928. The memorial was replaced in 1932.[4]

Governance

Whiston consists of the Whiston North and Whiston South wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. The North and South wards are separated by the Liverpool to Manchester Railway which runs directly through the town.

Whiston was formerly the headquarters of the Whiston Rural District.

Industries

The largest employer and health service provider in the local area is Whiston Hospital, which operates on behalf of the St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS trust. The trust, established in April 1991, consists of both Whiston Hospital and St Helens Hospital and employs approximately 4,500 people. It holds Clincial University Education Centre teaching status and is affiliated to both the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University for medical, nursing and allied health training. With over 900 beds, it is the regional centre for Burns & Plastic treatment and presently one of the largest acute hospitals on Merseyside. Plans to rebuild the hospital, which had previously served as a workhouse for the poor in the 19th century, were drawn up in 2001 and a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project began in 2006. This has seen the completion of a brand new multi-storey complex that opened its doors to patients in a phased move in March 2010, with full occupation of the new building achieved by the following April.

The new hospital was designed specifically to minimise disruption to the existing buildings and services. It was constructed fully within the hospital grounds and directly adjacent to the then-occupied Victorian ward estate on the north-west corner of the site. The land used for the construction of the new building was cleared before work commenced, having previously been the location of the historic workhouse hospital chapel, facilities management service and medical records block. Thus, when construction work began, the existing hospital buildings were able to provide an uninterrupted service to patients. Upon completion of the new hospital, inpatients were transported into the new building via a temporary sheltered walkway from the original main entrance of the old building.

Whereas the majority of the former hospital buildings were extended across the entirety of the hospital site, the redevelopment of Whiston Hospital has witnessed the centralisation of wards and departments into one single, six-storey complex. Many former buildings have been cleared to open up new land for car parking, drop-off and landscaping facilities. Buildings that have been demolished and cleared for land use included the main Victorian ward blocks (A-F and K) and Maternity & Gynaecology Unit (H wards, constructed in 1973). The only remaining building of the former hospital is the G-Ward block, which previously accommodated the A&E Department and Regional Burns Unit, located on the south-east corner of the hospital grounds, which has been redeveloped for Education, Training and Office accommodation and renamed as Nightingale House. The hospital's pathology laboratory and mortuary/bereavement centre are now located within Nightingale House, with the new mortuary housed within the former A&E department, which was completely refurbished for its present use. The original locations of the former pathology laboratory, mortuary and education centre on the main site, along with the recreation hall and ancillary buildings on the north site, have also been cleared to provide additional car parking and landscaping facilities.[5] The rebuild cost is estimated to be £338 million.[6]

In addition to the redevelopment of the hospital, the upper playing field of the former Higher Side School grounds (now St Edmund Arrowsmith) off Stoney Lane has been re-surfaced to serve as a designated helicopter landing site for the dedicated use of air ambulance, being in close proximity to emergency medical facilities at the hospital.

Other local employers include Glen Dimplex Home Appliances, producing kitchen appliances and employing approximately 1,000 people.

Education

Primary Education

  • St Luke's Catholic Primary School
  • Halsnead County Primary School & Training School
  • Whiston Willis Primary School
  • St Leo's Catholic Primary School

Secondary Education

Two of Whiston's secondary schools have recently been closed and redeveloped under the governments 'Building Schools for the Future' scheme. This £150 million programme will create seven new learning centres to replace the ten existing secondary schools within the Knowsley borough.[7]

  • Knowsley Higher Side Comprehensive, Cumber Lane.

Constructed in 1964, Knowsley Higher Side Comprehensive was one of the first comprehensive schools in the local area, purpose built under the Labour Party's education reforms to abolish the tripartite system of education and amalgamate grammar, technical and secondary modern schools into one appropriately named comprehensive system. In March 2010, after serving the local area for 46 years, Higher Side was permanently closed and subsequently demolished to make way for the new 'St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Centre for Learning' which was constructed on vacant land being the former school building. The land on which Higher Side Comprehensive School once stood now serves as a car park and recreational area for staff and pupils of the new St Edmund Arrowsmith.

The only remaining building of the former Higher Side School is the Whiston & Prescot City Learning Centre (CLC), which opened in 2000. Pupils of the school who were still enrolled at the time its closure now attend the replacement 'Knowsley Park Centre for Learning' based on Knowsley Park Lane, Prescot.

  • St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Scotchbarn Lane.

Closed, relocated and rebuilt behind the former Knowsley Higher Side Comprehensive School on Cumber Lane. Renamed as 'St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Centre for Learning'. The original St Edmund Arrowsmith Building has been retained and refurbished to serve as a youth training academy.

Notable people

References

  1. ^ a b 2001 Census: Whiston, Office for National Statistics, http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=790601&c=whiston&d=16&e=15&g=358163&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1235312394029&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779, retrieved 22 February 2009 
  2. ^ "Whiston Hospital Clinical Departments: Maternity & Gynaecology Services". St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals. http://www.sthk.nhs.uk/pages/Departments.aspx?iPageId=925. 
  3. ^ Edward Baines, William Robert Whatton, Brooke Herford, James Croston, The history of the county palatine and duchy of Lancaster, vol. 5 (J. Heywood, 1893), p. 2
  4. ^ Whiston Origins and History, Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, http://history.knowsley.gov.uk/information/print_text.msql?name=Whiston&ref=whorigins, retrieved 21 January 2008 
  5. ^ Redevelopment of Whiston Hospital, http://www.sthk.nhs.uk/pages/AboutUs.aspx?iPageId=884, retrieved 4 October 2008 
  6. ^ St.Helens & Knowsley NHS Trust Strategic Redevelopment Project, http://www.sthk.nhs.uk/pages/AboutUs.aspx?iPageId=882, retrieved 4 October 2008 
  7. ^ Future schooling in Knowsley, Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, http://www.knowsley.gov.uk/education/bsf/, retrieved 15 August 2007 

External links
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