Knowsley

From Free net encyclopedia

Borough of Knowsley
Image:EnglandKnowsley.png
Geography
Status:Metropolitan borough
Region:North West England
Ceremonial County:Merseyside
Area:
- Total
Ranked 257th
86.47 km²
Admin. HQ:Huyton
ONS code:00BX
Demographics
Population:
- Total (2004 est.)
- Density
Ranked 111th
149,800
1,732 / km²
Ethnicity:98.4% White
Politics
Image:Arms-knowsley-mbc.jpg
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
http://www.knowsley.gov.uk/
Leadership:Leader & Cabinet
Executive:Labour
MPs:George Howarth, Edward O'Hara

Knowsley is a metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is broken down into six areas Kirkby, Prescot, Huyton, Whiston Halewood and Cronton. The main towns are Kirkby, Huyton and Prescot. It is famed for Knowsley Hall and has its own radio station, The Rocket.

The district was formed on April 1, 1974 by the merger of Huyton-with-Roby Urban District, Kirkby Urban District and Prescot Urban District, along with most of Whiston Rural District and a small part of West Lancashire Rural District.

The village of Knowsley (one of those in the Whiston RD) pre-dates the neighbouring city of Liverpool by hundreds of years — it was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, whereby it was known as Chenulveslei. The name of Knowsley, along with other names throughout England, could possibly find root in the surname "Cenwulf" and the latter part, from leah (or lei), meaning "clearing". Knowsley could mean the clearing belonging or inhabited by Cenwulf. The name Knowsley has also been taken to mean "glade of the wolves."

Due to this, pronunciation can vary when referring to the name "Knowsley" — it can be pronounced "Nowsley" or "Nosely", though inhabitants of Knowsley Village and the surrounding area usually use the latter.

History

There are a few notable entries in Knowsley's history — Henry VII visited in 1495; Shakespeare is said to have performed in a play held in Knowsley in 1589 and Capability Brown is responsible for some of the fine landscaping of Knowsley in the 1700s. Edward Lear wrote "The Owl and the Pussycat" whilst staying at Knowsley Hall.

The district contained the Cronton and Sutton Manor collieries, which closed in 1984 and 1991 respectively.

Parliamentary Constituencies

External links


Districts of North West England Image:Flag of England.svg

Allerdale | Barrow-in-Furness | Blackburn with Darwen | Blackpool | Bolton | Burnley | Bury | Carlisle | Chester | Chorley | Congleton | Copeland | Crewe and Nantwich | Eden | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Fylde | Halton | Hyndburn | Knowsley | Lancaster | Liverpool | Macclesfield | Manchester | Oldham | Pendle | Preston | Ribble Valley | Rochdale | Rossendale | St Helens | Salford | Sefton | South Lakeland | South Ribble | Stockport | Tameside | Trafford | Vale Royal | Warrington | West Lancashire | Wigan | Wirral | Wyre

Counties with multiple districts: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside

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