Anfield, Liverpool

Anfield

Anfield District Sign.
Anfield
Anfield shown within Merseyside
Population 14,510 (2011)
OS grid reference SJ367933
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LIVERPOOL
Postcode district L4, L5, L6
Dialling code 0151
Police Merseyside
Fire Merseyside
Ambulance North West
EU Parliament North West England
UK Parliament

Anfield is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council ward. The population of the Liverpool Ward at the time of the 2011 census was 14,510.[1] The district is home to 18-time English champions and five-times European champion football club Liverpool F.C. ever since the club's founding in 1892.

Toponymy

Originally common pasture land within the town of Walton on the Hill, the area had the name of Hanging-fields or Hangfield - the name originating from the deeply sloping (or 'hanging') nature of the terrain. The name was also frequently written as Hongfield or Honghfield. In Gore's paper of 26 July 1810, certain fields are advertised as "Fields in Walton-on-the-Hill, called Hanging-fields"

Development

In 1836, Walton lost its independence and was made part of Liverpool Borough Council. The Ordnance Survey map from 1851 shows a house here called Anfield House (then described as Annfield House), around which the district developed.[2]"For many years the family of Graves were very much part and parcel of the business scene of New Ross. For over one hundred and seventy five years, 1811 - 1986 they had a thriving Builders Providers and Sawmills on New Ross Quays. For some part of that time especially before and after the famine they were renowned as a firm of ship builders and shipping agents. Robert Samuel Graves left his home in Rosbercon Castle .Ireland and headed to Liverpool about the year 1860. He took on the running of the Graves shipping company in that city and did a fine job too. His popularity soared and he was elected mayor of Liverpool as well as a Member of Parliament for the area in 1865, and he held the seat until his death in 1873. In his capacity as mayor, it was he who put through a proposal to develop grounds on the outskirts of the city for a Liverpool Football Club.

These grounds ran directly behind the family business. Robert then sanctioned a proposal to build a roadway up to the new grounds, and duly named it Anfield Lane, after the one beside his ancestral home in Rosbercon Castle , New Ross, Co. Wexford, Ireland over the years and the famous ground of the renowned Liverpool football club is now just known as, Anfield. Robert Samuel Graves brought a little part of Rosbercon hill to the Mersey Side, where there is no doubt, but that it will live as long as the game of football is played at this famous venue."He also bequeathed an immortal legacy to Liverpool: The Graves family home in New Ross was in the townland of Annefield (Irish: Gort na hAbhann - the River Field) Annefield Lane ran just above Rosbercon Castle, and Samuel Robert Graves chose that name for his Liverpool home. Shortened to Anfield, it became the name for part of the city and today survives most famously as the name of the home of Liverpool Football Club - Anfield Stadium, one of the best known sports arenas in the world.


Most of the houses in Anfield are terraced houses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This type of property is particularly dense around Anfield stadium, although in 1991 the properties in Kemlyn Road were demolished to make way for a new stand at Anfield stadium.

Walton was an ancient seat of Christianity in Northwest England, and in line with other Victoria era developments, Anfield gained a number of churches, including:

From 1863, the City Council developed the 120 acres (49 ha) Priory Road Cemetery, to which later was added a crematorium.[3]

Present

Anfield is a residential district of Liverpool bordered by a number of areas including Walton, Clubmoor, Tuebrook and Everton.

Demolition of the now defunct Anfield Community Comprehensive School on Priory Road commenced towards the end of 2010 and have been completed in early 2011. Liverpool City Council is currently exploring options for the redevelopment of the site in conjunction with local stakeholders.

Although once a thriving area, Anfield has become increasingly run-down in recent years as its residents have been forced out of their homes on account of the government's controversial Pathfinder scheme.

Much regeneration in the area has taken place with the opening of the Liverpool FC Main Stand redevelopment and subsequent demolition of unused and run-down housing.

Landmarks

Anfield Stadium, the home of Liverpool F.C., is located within the district. Everton moved to Goodison Park in 1892 and the new Liverpool Football Club moved in.

The area also contains Stanley Park, one of Liverpool's grand Victorian parks, covering 110 acres of Anfield and is the primary separator between Anfield Stadium and Goodison Park in Walton. Liverpool F.C. once speculated building a new stadium in Stanley Park, however this would never come to be, with the club opting to expand Anfield Stadium.

Notable residents

The Whitney gang also lived in Anfield.[4]

See also

Government

The elected councillors for Anfield are Cllrs Jimmy Kendrick for the Liberal Democrats and two Labour councillors; Brian Dowling and Ian Francis.

References

  1. ↑ "City of Liverpool population 2011". Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Anfield OS sixth-inch map, Anfield 1851". National Library of Scotland. 22 September 1851. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "Priory Rd, Cemetery, Anfield". GENUKI. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Last member of Anfield Whitney drugs gang extradited from Spain". Liverpool Echo. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  • The District Placenames of Liverpool, Henry Harrison, 1898

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