Liscard

LISCARD, a township, in the parish of Wallasey, union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester, 3 miles (N. by W.) from Birkenhead; containing, in 1841, 2873 inhabitants. In the reign of Edward I., the manor was held under the barons of Halton by Richard de Aston; it afterwards passed to the family of Meolse, the last of whom of the male line, in 1739, bequeathed the property to the Houghs. In 1804, it was sold by the executors of that family to the late John Penketh, Esq.; and by the marriage of his daughter and heiress with John Dennil Maddock, Esq., the manor has become vested in that gentleman. Some years ago this township presented an almost barren waste, large heaps of sand lying in many parts, and there being only a village, with a few small hovels the abode of fishermen, and a range of low cottages used for a magazine. An extensive and rapid change has, however, been effected; several settlements have been made, and labour and enterprise have succeeded in fertilizing and enriching a district for which nature seemed to have done so little. The shore for a great distance is now studded with elegant houses, and even among the sand-hills many spots have been chosen for villas, which are the residences of opulent families from Liverpool.

New Brighton, in the township, has sprung up since 1830. In that year the late James Atherton, Esq., conceived the design of founding a watering-place at the north-east angle of the township, and in furtherance of his plan purchased 180 acres of ground in that quarter, where the convex form of the coast, presenting one front to the Mersey and another to the open sea, appeared well adapted to the purposes of a marine village. Here streets fifteen yards in width, and nearly a mile in extent, now ascend from both shores, and intersect each other at right angles; the whole being laid out on a regular and symmetrical plan, with a pier having the requisite landing-stages, an hotel and other accommodation for visiters, hot and cold baths, &c., and, in short, every convenience for either permanent or temporary residence. The erection of buildings continues on every side, many of them being highly ornamental and elegant; and the village promises to be, at no distant day, one of the most fashionable watering-places in this part of the kingdom. The hamlet of Egremont is also in the township, and on the Mersey, nearly opposite to Liverpool, from which it is distant one mile and a half; it contains several handsome dwellings, hotels, and lodging-houses, and is likewise a favourite and genteel bathing-place. Near this hamlet is the magazine where all ships entering the port of Liverpool deposit their gunpowder, prior to admission into the docks. Steam-boats ply every half hour from New Brighton and Egremont to Liverpool.

Liscard comprises 896a. 2r. 33p., of which the soil is sand and clay: 131 acres are the property of Mr. Maddock. A church, dedicated to St. John, and in the Grecian style of architecture, was erected at Egremont in 1833, at a cost of £10,000: the living is a perpetual curacy, with an income of £200, and in the patronage of Trustees. The tithes of the township have been commuted for £115, equally divided between the rector of Wallasey and the lessee of the Bishop of Chester. There are places of worship for Independents and Primitive Methodists; and a Roman Catholic chapel (St. Alban's), built in 1842: the Rev. Ambrose Lennon is the priest.See Brighton, New.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.