landmarks

Until the beginning of the 19th century, members of the Church of England who lived in Rainhill had to travel to Prescot of Farnsworth to attend services. In 1836, the vicar of Prescot, the Reverend C.G.T. Driffield initiated an appeal for funds to build a chapel in Rainhill. The first church, consecrated in 1839, was

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

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