Knowsley, Merseyside

{{For|the larger local government district|Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | country = England | type = Village and Civil Parish | coordinates = {{coord|53.4498|-2.8501|display=inline,title}} | official_name = Knowsley Village | static_image_name = Knowsley - Village Green.jpg | static_image_caption = Knowsley village green | civil_parish = Knowsley | population = 11,343 | population_ref = (2001 Census)<ref name=2001census /> | metropolitan_borough = Knowsley | region = North West England | metropolitan_county = Merseyside | constituency_westminster = Knowsley | post_town = PRESCOT | postcode_district = L34 | postcode_area = L | dial_code = 0151 | os_grid_reference = SJ435951 }} '''Knowsley''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|oʊ|z|l|i}}), commonly known as '''Knowsley Village''', is a large village and civil parish in Merseyside located on the north-east outskirts of Liverpool, within the much larger Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley It gave its name to the wider borough when it was formed in 1974.<ref name=knowsleymap>{{citation|url=http://www.knowsley.gov.uk/resources/174572/Knowsley_map.pdf |title=Knowsley Borough Map |publisher=Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council |format=pdf |access-date=19 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926142016/http://www.knowsley.gov.uk/resources/174572/Knowsley_map.pdf |archive-date=26 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Liverpool Museums - Knowsley |url=https://images.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/2020-01/Knowsley-Part-2.pdf |access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref>

Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, at the 2001 Census it had a population of 11,343.<ref name=2001census>{{citation|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=790598&c=knowsley&d=16&e=15&g=357750&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1232300884426&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 |title=2001 Census: Knowsley (civil parish)|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=19 January 2009}}</ref> The parish includes Knowsley Hall and Knowsley Safari Park.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Where to find us |url=https://knowsleyhallvenue.co.uk/find-us/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=knowsleyhallvenue.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Getting Here |url=https://www.knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk/plan-your-visit/getting-here/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=Knowsley Safari Experience |language=en}}</ref> There are three main built-up areas in the parish: the village of Knowsley itself, the southern end of the nearby '''Knowsley Business Park''' to the north, and in the south-west a suburban area including Stockbridge Village and the northern fringe of Huyton. To the west of Knowsley is the area of Woolfall Heath.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/?x=344409&y=393845&z=7&bnd1=CPC&bnd2=&labels=on |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk}}</ref>

==General information== Knowsley Village consists primarily of two residential areas: a council estate, and a private estate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Knowsley Council - Stockbridge Village Homes |url=https://www.knowsley.gov.uk/residents/regenerate-knowsley/stockbridge-village/homes}}</ref> There is a parade of shops on Sugar Lane that serve the local community.

The village has one public house, The Derby Arms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pub {{!}} The Derby Arms {{!}} Knowsley |url=https://www.thederbyknowsleyvillage.co.uk/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=The Derby Arms |language=en}}</ref> A second pub, the Pipe and Gannex, was demolished in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pipe & Gannex |url=https://whatpub.com/pubs/STH/136/pipe-gannex-knowsley |website=WhatPub |access-date=11 November 2019}}</ref> There are two public parks, The Rec, off Knowsley Lane, and Mill Lane, as well a woodland in the centre of the village, Syders Grove.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KNOWSLEY RECREATION GROUND Prescot L34 0HD |url=https://sports-facilities.co.uk/sites/view/1040936#google_vignette |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=sports-facilities.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Woodland Trust - Syders Grove |url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/syders-grove/}}</ref>

Millbrook Manor, a prominent building on the village green, served as the Village school until the 1980s, when it was redeveloped as a restaurant. As of 2019, it was being converted into residential accommodation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Check out this 9 bedroom house for sale on Rightmove |url=https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132230927 |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=Rightmove.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The village has two churches, the Anglican St Mary's and the Roman Catholic St John Fisher. St Mary's is a grade II listed building built by the Stanley family in the late 19th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerk Project - District of Liverpool |url=https://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Liverpool/Knowsley/stmary/index.html |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=www.lan-opc.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=St John Fisher, Knowsley {{!}} Church |url=https://www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk/places/st-john-fisher-liverpool-liverpool |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk |language=en}}</ref>

==History== The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon ''Cēnwulfes lēah'', meaning "Cēnwulf's wood/clearing".<ref>{{cite web|title=Knowsley|publisher=Key to English Place Names Online|url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Lancashire/Knowsley}}</ref>

The village of Knowsley is hundreds of years older than the neighbouring city of Liverpool. Its name occurs in the ''Domesday Book'' of 1086 as ''Chenulveslei'' in the ancient hundred of West Derby in South Lancashire,<ref>[http://opendomesday.org/place/SJ4395/knowsley/ Open Domesday Online: Knowsley], accessed July 2018.</ref> and has been recorded as ''Knuvesle'' (1199); ''Knouselegh'' (1258); ''Knouleslee'' (1261); ''Knusele'' (1262); and ''Knouslegh'' (1346).<ref name=localhistory1>{{citation|url=http://history.knowsley.gov.uk/show_photo.msql?reference=KNorigins1|title=Knowsley Local History: Knowsley Village (page 1)|publisher=Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council|access-date=19 January 2009|archive-date=10 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410010302/http://history.knowsley.gov.uk/show_photo.msql?reference=KNorigins1|url-status=dead}}</ref>

There are a few notable entries in Knowsley's history: *King Henry VII visited in 1495.<ref name=localhistorytimeline1>{{citation|url=http://history.knowsley.gov.uk/show_photo.msql?reference=KNtime1|title=Knowsley Local History: Timeline (page 1)|publisher=Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council|access-date=19 January 2009|archive-date=10 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410010324/http://history.knowsley.gov.uk/show_photo.msql?reference=KNtime1|url-status=dead}}</ref> *William Shakespeare is said to have performed in a play held in Knowsley in 1589.<ref name=localhistorytimeline1 /> *Capability Brown is responsible for creating some of Knowsley's landscaped gardens in the 1770s.<ref name=localhistorytimeline1 /> *Edward Lear wrote "The Owl and the Pussycat" while staying at Knowsley Hall.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prescot Museum - Edward Lear and Knowsley Hall |url=http://www.prescotmuseum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Edward-Lear.pdf}}</ref>

From 1895 the area was part of Whiston Rural District in Lancashire. On 1 April 1974 the village became part of the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in the nascent administrative county of Merseyside.<ref name=localhistory5>{{citation|url=http://history.knowsley.gov.uk/show_photo.msql?reference=KNorigins5|title=Knowsley Local History: Knowsley Village (page 5)|publisher=Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council|access-date=19 January 2009|archive-date=10 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010014745/http://history.knowsley.gov.uk/show_photo.msql?reference=KNorigins5|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Knowsley, Merseyside}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090210135400/http://liverpoolstreetgallery.com/thumbnails.php?album=36 Liverpool Street Gallery - Liverpool 34]

Category:Knowsley, Merseyside Category:Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley Category:Civil parishes in Merseyside