St Helens, Merseyside

For the larger local government district, see Metropolitan Borough of St Helens.

St Helens
Town
Thumbnail IMG 1194
Aerial view of St Helens
St Helens is located in Merseyside
St Helens
St Helens
Location within Merseyside
Population102,629 
(2001 Census)
OS grid referenceSJ505955
• London174 mi (280 km)[1] SE
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townST. HELENS
Postcode districtWA9, WA10, WA11
Dialling code01744
PoliceMerseyside
FireMerseyside
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Merseyside
53°27′15″N 02°44′10″W / 53.45417°N 2.73611°W / 53.45417; -2.73611

St Helens (pronunciationⓘ) is a town in Merseyside, England, with a population of 102,629. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, which had a population of 183,200 at the 2021 Census.[2][3][4][5]

The town is 6 miles (10 kilometres) north of the River Mersey, in the south-west part of historic Lancashire. The town was initially a small settlement within the historic county's ancient hundred of West Derby in the township of Windle but by the mid-1700s the town had developed into a larger urban area beyond the townships borders. By 1838 the council was formally made responsible for the administration of Windle and the three other townships of Eccleston, Parr and Sutton that were to form the town's traditional shape. In 1868 the town was incorporated as a municipal borough, then later became a county borough in 1887. In 1974 the town was made a metropolitan borough within the new Metropolitan County of Merseyside by the Local Government Act 1972, with an expanded administrative responsibility for several nearby towns and villages.[6][7]

The town was famous for its heavy industry, particularly its role in the coal mining industry, glassmaking, chemicals and copper smelting and sail making that drove its growth throughout the Industrial Revolution. Originally home to a large number of industrial employers such as Beechams, the Gamble Alkali Works, Ravenhead Glass, United Glass Bottles (UGB), Triplex, Daglish Foundry, Greenall's brewery, the glass producer Pilkington is the town's only remaining large industrial employer.[8][9][19]

The town is today most famous for its Rugby League team St Helens R.F.C. who have won 3 World Club Challenge cups in recent years, and museums such as the North West Museum of Road Transport, the World of Glass and art installations such as Dream.

  1. ^ "Coordinate Distance Calculator". boulter.com. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  2. ^ Lewis, Samuel, ed. (1848). A Topographical Dictionary of England. Hedon - Helmington. pp. 466–470. ISBN 0-8063-1508-3.
  3. ^ GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. "History of St Helens in Lancashire". visionofbritain.org.uk.
  4. ^ Census 2001. "Census 2001 Key Statistics, Urban areas in England and Wales". ONS.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Census 2021, ONS. "How life has changed in St. Helens: Census 2021". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ University of Portsmouth. "Administrative Unit West Derby Hundred". visionofbritain.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016.
  7. ^ William Farrer & J. Brownbill (1907). "A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3".
  8. ^ House of Commons report. "Ravenheads cause taken to Parliament, 2001". parliament.uk.
  9. ^ Stephen Daglish (14 April 2007). "The Daglish Foundry, St. Helens". daglishfamily.blogspot.com.
  10. ^ Barker, T.C. & Harris, J.R. (1994). Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution: St. Helens, 1750–1900. Routledge. pp. 3–11. ISBN 0-7146-4555-9.
  11. ^ St. Helens Choral Society. "Origin of St. Helens". sthelenschoralsociety.org. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011.
  12. ^ Barker, T.C. & Harris, J.R. (1994). Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution: St. Helens, 1750–1900. Routledge. pp. 108–120. ISBN 0-7146-4555-9.
  13. ^ Barker, T.C. & Harris, J.R. (1994). Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution: St. Helens, 1750–1900. Routledge. pp. 202–223. ISBN 0-7146-4555-9.
  14. ^ Barker, T.C. & Harris, J.R. (1994). Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution: St. Helens, 1750–1900. Routledge. pp. 120–131. ISBN 0-7146-4555-9.
  15. ^ Barker, T.C. & Harris, J.R. (1994). Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution: St. Helens, 1750–1900. Routledge. pp. 223–246. ISBN 0-7146-4555-9.
  16. ^ Barker, T.C. & Harris, J.R. (1994). Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution: St. Helens, 1750–1900. Routledge. pp. 75–90. ISBN 0-7146-4555-9.
  17. ^ Head, George (1836). A home tour through the manufacturing districts of England, in the summer of 1835. Harper & Brothers. pp. 78–83.
  18. ^ Barker, T.C. & Harris, J.R. (1994). Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution: St. Helens, 1750–1900. Routledge. pp. 90–108. ISBN 0-7146-4555-9.
  19. ^ [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]