# Aintree

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This article is about the village in the United Kingdom. For the suburb in Melbourne, Australia, see [Aintree, Victoria](/source/Aintree,_Victoria).

**Aintree** is a village and [civil parish](/source/Civil_parishes_in_England) in the [Metropolitan Borough of Sefton](/source/Metropolitan_Borough_of_Sefton), [Merseyside](/source/Merseyside), England. [Historically](/source/Historic_counties_of_England) in [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire), it lies between [Walton](/source/Walton,_Merseyside) and [Maghull](/source/Maghull) on the [A59 road](/source/A59_road), it is considered a [suburb](/source/Suburb) of [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool) and is located 6 miles (10 kilometres) northeast of [Liverpool city centre](/source/Liverpool_City_Centre).[2] In 2011 the parish had a population of 6,689.

It is best known as the site of [Aintree Racecourse](/source/Aintree_Racecourse), which since the 19th century has staged the [Grand National](/source/Grand_National) horserace. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was also a three-mile-long international Grand Prix [motor racing circuit](/source/Aintree_Motor_Racing_Circuit) on the site, which used the same grandstands as the horserace. A shorter form of the racing circuit is still used for various motorsport events.

The northern terminus of the Aintree district is commonly referred to by the local populace as "Old Roan". This nomenclature is a colloquial moniker employed by residents and lacks formal legal recognition as a distinct geographical location.

## History

The name Aintree, thought to be of [Saxon](/source/Old_English_language) origin, means "one tree" or "tree standing alone". It is first recorded in 1226, also as Ayntre (the usual mediaeval spelling) in 1292. Eyntre occurs; Ayntree and Ayntrie, 16th century.[3] Local legend held that an oak tree on Bull Bridge Lane (removed in 2004) was "the Ain tree" [4] though the antiquity of the name excludes the possibility.

The historic core of the village was a small linear settlement near the junction of School Lane, Bull Bridge Lane and Wango Lane.[5] Much of the nearby flat, wet and boggy land was reclaimed for agriculture following the [Alt Drainage Act 1779](/source/Alt_Drainage_Act_1779) ([19 Geo. 3](/source/19_Geo._3). c. 33).

## Today

The village itself has two [primary schools](/source/Primary_school), Aintree Davenhill and Holy Rosary ; five churches, [St. Giles](/source/St._Giles) ([Anglican](/source/Anglican)), Holy Rosary ([Roman Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic)), Old Roan [Methodist](/source/Methodist) Church, Old Roan Baptist Church (which met in Davenhill Primary School until recently and now meets at the former site of Holy Rosary Infants School) and Aintree Village Family Church (a Baptist church, meeting at Old Roan Methodist Church Hall, Altway); two small local shopping areas (on Altway and at the Old Roan); and three public houses, the Blue Anchor (which backs onto the [Leeds and Liverpool Canal](/source/Leeds_and_Liverpool_Canal)), The Valentine, named after a fence on the racecourse, and the Old Roan (now closed), which gives its name to a railway station in the village. The village also had a public library (now closed). A [retail park](/source/Retail_park) along Ormskirk Road on former industrial land has brought a significant number of major out-of-town shops to the area.

Aintree Davenhill Primary School has a large field with a metal building that was built in the 1950s (since been rebuilt). The building was going to be a hospital building, but was turned into a school. The classrooms were along corridors that were originally going to be hospital wards.

Holy Rosary Primary School was a split-site school until 2008 with an approximate 1⁄2 mile (800 metres) between the schools. The reception and infant classes were based at a site at the Old Roan end of the village between Altway and Aintree Lane, and the junior classes based at the Valentine end of the village in the Oriel Drive site. After substantial building work to extend the Oriel Drive school, the Aintree Lane/Altway site was closed as a school at the beginning of the 2008–09 academic year, was taken over by Old Roan Baptist Church and is now called the Hope Centre, providing various services for the local community. The school has a large field used for events such as their sports day and an all-weather sports pitch. The original building was built in the 1970s and 1980s.

## Transport

The main road from [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool) to Aintree is the [A59](/source/A59_road) (known as [Ormskirk Road](/source/Ormskirk) as it passes through Aintree) - with the road passing through Aintree's retail parks. The [M57](/source/M57_motorway), [M58](/source/M58_motorway), A59, and [A5036](/source/A5036_road) meet at a complex junction called [Switch Island](/source/Switch_Island), between Aintree and [Maghull](/source/Maghull).

Although [Aintree railway station](/source/Aintree_railway_station) is convenient for the racecourse, the village itself is closer to [Old Roan railway station](/source/Old_Roan_railway_station). Both are on the [Merseyrail](/source/Merseyrail) [Northern Line](/source/Northern_Line_(Merseyrail))'s Ormskirk branch, with regular service between [Liverpool Central](/source/Liverpool_Central_railway_station) and [Ormskirk](/source/Ormskirk_railway_station). In the past, it was also served by [Aintree Central railway station](/source/Aintree_Central_railway_station) on the [North Liverpool Extension Line](/source/North_Liverpool_Extension_Line), located behind Aintree railway station. The [North Mersey Branch](/source/North_Mersey_Branch) also ran through, close to the station, and had [Aintree Racecourse railway station](/source/Aintree_Racecourse_railway_station).

Bus services are regular: a bus every 20 minutes to [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool) runs through the village, while various other routes to Liverpool and destinations to the north and south—including [Maghull](/source/Maghull), Ormskirk, Aintree Hospital, and [Southport](/source/Southport)—stop near the Old Roan.

The [Leeds and Liverpool Canal](/source/Leeds_and_Liverpool_Canal) runs through the village.

## Notable residents

- [Ted Sagar](/source/Ted_Sagar), the former [Everton](/source/Everton_F.C.) goalkeeper, ran a pub in Aintree after retiring as a player in 1952.[6]
- [Phil Thompson](/source/Phil_Thompson), former Liverpool captain and now Sky Sports pundit, lived on Bull Bridge Lane.[citation needed]
- [Andy Burnham](/source/Andy_Burnham), a leading [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) MP from 2001 to 2017, and currently [Mayor of Greater Manchester](/source/Mayor_of_Greater_Manchester), was born in Old Roan in Aintree in 1970,[7]
- [Richard Crawshaw, Baron Crawshaw of Aintree OBE](/source/Dick_Crawshaw,_Baron_Crawshaw_of_Aintree), known as Dick Crawshaw, lived for most of his life on Aintree Lane.
- [Ronald Sugden](/source/Ronald_Sugden) (1896–1971), first-class cricketer and Royal Air Force officer

## See also

- [Listed buildings in Aintree Village](/source/Listed_buildings_in_Aintree_Village)

## References

1. ["Aintreevillageparishcouncil"](https://aintreevillageparishcouncil.gov.uk/). *Aintreevillageparishcouncil*

1. ["Aintree"](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/aintree). *Collins Dictionary*. 2026.

1. William Farrer & J. Brownbill (editors), *A History of the County of Lancaster (Volume 3)*. Institute of Historical Research, 1907. pp99-101.

1. ["Aintree Village Parish Council"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131023120529/http://aintreevillageparishcouncil.org/history.aspx). Archived from [the original](http://aintreevillageparishcouncil.gov.uk) on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.

1. Farr, Sarah-Jane. ["Sefton Historic Settlement Study"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140327021132/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/collections/historic-characterisation-project/Sefton-Part-6.pdf). Museum of Liverpool/English Heritage. Archived from [the original](http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/collections/historic-characterisation-project/Sefton-Part-6.pdf) on 2014-03-27. Retrieved 10 December 2013.

1. ["Everton FC - Undergoing Maintenance"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120625045102/http://www.evertonfc.com/history/ted-sagar.html). *evertonfc.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.evertonfc.com/history/ted-sagar.html) on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.

1. ["Andy's biography from his Andy4Leader web-site"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://andy4leader.com/about). Archived from [the original](http://andy4leader.com/about) on 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2015-09-12.

## External links

- [Liverpool Street Gallery - Liverpool 9](https://web.archive.org/web/20090210114409/http://liverpoolstreetgallery.com/thumbnails.php?album=19)
- [Liverpool Street Gallery - Liverpool 10](https://web.archive.org/web/20090210121448/http://liverpoolstreetgallery.com/thumbnails.php?album=12)
- [[https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/aintree/](https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/aintree/) [https://aintreevillageparishcouncil.gov.uk/the-parish/parish-history/](https://aintreevillageparishcouncil.gov.uk/the-parish/parish-history/)
- [St. Giles Parish Church](http://www.stgilesaintree.org.uk/)
- [Aintree Circuit Club - founded by the owners of Aintree Racecourse in 1954](https://www.aintree.org.uk)
- [Liverpool Motor Club](https://liverpoolmotorclub.com)
- [Multimap.com Aerial photograph](http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=338034&Y=398617&width=700&height=410&gride=337892.461920096&gridn=398471.344782586&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=freegaz&pc=&zm=0&out.x=5&out.y=9&scale=10000)
- Get-a-Map from Ordnance Survey

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aintree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aintree) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aintree?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.