When Bartholomew Bretherton came to live in Rainhill opposite the Ship lnn he prospered from his coaching business and he decided to build a church in a prominent position near to his estate. The impressive design was based on the Church of ‘Santa Bartolomeo’ in Rome. The foundation stone was laid by his daughter, Mrs […]
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The name Kendricks Cross (without the apostrophe) was the original name for this area which is now Rainhill village. The Kendrick (Kenwrick) family owned land in the area in the 17th century. It is marked on 19th century maps as the cross-roads where two highways passed through Rainhill – one from Prescot to Warrington and the other
Briars Hey was a mansion built in 1868 for chemical manufacturer John Crossley. It is now a Grade II Listed Building on the Historic England website. In 1938 it was acquired by The Sisters of The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and became a convalescent home for children with heart problems. It was later known as
Bourne’s Tunnel built in the late 1820’s, is 104 feet long and goes under the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Line, the earliest locomotive passenger line in the world, near to Rainhill village. The tunnel was given Grade II listed status in 2010 for both architectural and historical reasons, due to its angled design and attention
In April 2019, along with two information boards displaying details of our new heritage trails, green plaques were installed around Rainhill Village, drawing attention to the importance of six well-known Rainhill landmarks. They were Kendrick’s Cross, St Ann’s Old Schoolhouse, the site of the Rainhill Trials, the skew bridge, and the Commercial and Victoria hotels.
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Welcome to the second of the two Rainhill Heritage Trails. It is believed that the name ‘Reynhull’ is derived from the name ‘Regna’. The ‘sub-manor’ was held by Roger de Rainhill in the 13th Century and after the death of his son, was divided into two parts – one part came into the possession of
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Welcome to the first of the two Rainhill Heritage Trails. The Rainhill Locomotive Trials in 1829 put Rainhill on the map! During the 18th century, Rainhill was a small agricultural community with scattered farms, a cluster of houses at Kendricks Cross and another at the Stoops. Sandstone for building was quarried locally and watch tool-making
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On Wednesday 24 April 2019, Christine Scott, president of Rainhill Civic Society unveiled two new information boards showing Heritage Walks in Rainhill. These were designed and partly funded by the Society. Funding was also provided via the Councillor Improvement Fund (CIF). Ward Councillors Barry Grunwald and Joe De Asha and the Clerk to the Parish
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The Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the first successful passenger carrying railway in the world, was begun in 1826. Routed around the estates of the Earls of Sefton and Derby, the line crossed the Liverpool – Warrington turnpike road at Kendrick’s Cross, in the centre of today’s Rainhill Village. The oblique angle at which the line
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The Rainhill Remembers website was launched on Remembrance Sunday 2015 by the Heritage Group of Rainhill Civic Society, and its contents are reproduced here on the new Rainhill Civic Society website, launched in 2024. Initially, the main focus of the website was the impact of the Great War on the village of Rainhill and here you
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