Lydiate

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Lydiate is a village in Sefton, Merseyside, England, it is located to the north of Maghull, with which it probably has a common history.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Famous connections
4 Location
5 External links

[edit] History

There is evidence that settlement of the area dates back to at least the middle of the 10th century. Indeed, one possible root of the name is the Old English 'hlid-geat' meaning 'swing gate', which would have an association with animal farming. Lydiate is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and is described as having a "wood a mile long", and there is evidence of the existence of extensive forests at that time, particularly of oak and elm.

The Scotch Piper pub, located today on the A5147, Southport Road, is reputed to be the oldest inn in Lancashire and dates from the 14th century.

The Ireland family were very influential in the area in the early 15th century, and Lydiate Hall was built by Lawrence Ireland sometime around 1470. The eastern part of the Hall was destroyed about 1780, and the Hall was abandoned completly by the late 1800s. Only ruins exist today.

Nearby St. Catherine's chapel, commonly known as Lydiate Abbey, appears to date from the same period, with the initials of Lawrence Ireland and his wife, Catherine Blundell, located on the porch. The abbey appears to have been abandoned when the practice of the Catholic religion was prohibited. Local legend holds that a tunnel exists between the Abbey and the Hall to allow the escape of a priest. There is no documented evidence of this however. The adjacent graveyard continued in use by local Catholic families into the later 1800s.

[edit] Geography

The south of the village is suburban in nature with residential and some light industry. The remainder of the village, especially to the north and west, is more rural, consisting largely of flat arable farmland.

The Parish church of St Thomas is at the very north of Lydiate as is the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady.

The Weld Blundell, pronounced "Well Blundell", pub is opposite Lydiate Village green, which is little more that a few tens of square metres in area and is dominated by a bus stop. The Weld Blundell in Lydiate is sometimes confused with the Weld Blundell in Ince Blundell.

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs through the village on its way to the Liverpool Pier Head. The A59 road and A5147 road run through the village. Until 1952 Lydiate was served by the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway, with a railway station in Station Road in the far north of the village. The old railway right-of-way is now part of the Trans Pennine Trail.

[edit] Famous connections

Gerard Manley Hopkins lived in Lydiate between 1880 and 1881, during the 19th century a school of painters inhabitited the area.
Brian Labone lived in Lydiate.
Ian Callaghan owned an insurace agents near the Weld Blundell
Bill Hartley, a British athlete, was raised in Lydiate and now runs a local florist business.