Billinge, Merseyside

Billinge
Billinge
Village
	The Beacon, Billinge Hill
	Billinge Location within Merseyside
Population	6,554 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SJ528998
Civil parish	Billinge Chapel End;
Metropolitan borough	St Helens;
Metropolitan county	Merseyside;
Region	North West;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WIGAN
Postcode district	WN5
Dialling code	01744
Police	Merseyside
Fire	Merseyside
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	St Helens North;
	List of places UK England Merseyside 53°29′36″N 2°42′46″W / 53.4932°N 2.7129°W

Billinge is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. It forms the larger part of the civil parish of Billinge Chapel End.

At the United Kingdom Census 2001, it had a population of 6,554.^[1]^[2]

Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Billinge is located by road approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) southwest of Wigan (town centre) and 3.7 miles (5.9 km) northeast of St Helens (town centre).

History

Etymology

Billinge may mean "(place at the) pointed hill", from Old English billa "ridge, bill of sword" and -ing "place at/people of the". The name was recorded as Bylnge in 1252. ^[3]

Governance

This township or civil parish lies within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. It was in Wigan ecclesiastical parish (Deanery of Wigan) and-, therefore, in the Diocese of Liverpool, previously Chester. A prison once stood in the village called Tower Prison, and during the English Civil War, it was used by Parliamentarians to imprison Royalists soldiers, with one dying from typhus.^{[citation needed]} In 1752, the prison was torn down and The Stork Hotel was built in its place. Parts of the prison are still preserved underneath the building with the old cells still intact.^{[citation needed]} In recent years^[which?], however the pub was shut down and suffered a fire. There are now plans to convert it into apartments.^{[citation needed]}

On 2 February 1837, with the commencement of the Wigan Poor Law Union, which merged the workhouses of 20 parishes in the Wigan area, the parish was divided into two separate townships, Billinge Chapel End and Billinge Higher End. In 1872 Billinge Local Board of Health was established for the area of these two townships and two detached parts of Winstanley township (one known as Blackley Hurst and the other situated in the Carr Mill area, both lying within the area of Billinge Chapel End township). In 1894 the area of the Local Board (together with the remaining area of Winstanley township) became Billinge Urban District. In 1927 the urban district was renamed Billinge and Winstanley Urban District. In 1974 the Billinge Higher End ward and most of Winstanley ward became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester; the Billinge Chapel End area (including the two detached parts of Winstanley township) became part of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside.^[4]

Churches

Two of Billinge's churches are listed buildings. The Church of St Aidan (Grade II*) is in the Wigan Deanery, which is part of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool. St Mary's Church (Grade II), built in 1828, is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool.^[5]

Notable people

Canon William Cadman, 19th century priest and evangelist
Heather Frederiksen, multiple paralympic swimming champion
Owen Farrell, England international professional rugby union player
Claire Jackson (stage name Georgia Taylor), actress – Coronation Street & Holby City
Ken Owen, drummer for extreme metal band Carcass
Thérèse Coffey MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Deputy Prime Minister
Colin Greenall, former professional footballer
Carley Stenson, actress, UK Drama Hollyoaks
Helen McCourt, murder victim
Guy Keegan- drummer for The Railway Children and The Tansads
Jonny Lomax, England and Great Britain professional rugby league player
Leon Osman, footballer, Everton F.C.
Richard D. Lewis, linguist and cross-cultural adviser

References

^ ^a ^b "2001 Census: Key Statistics (Northern England)" (PDF). Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2004. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
^ ^a ^b "2001 Census: Billinge CP". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
^ "Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerk Project - Parish of Billinge".
^ "Greater Manchester Gazetteer". Greater Manchester County Record Office. Places names – B. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2006.
^ Historic England, "Church of Saint Mary and Presbytery (1075919)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 16 August 2014{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

External links

[2001keystats-1] "2001 Census: Key Statistics (Northern England)" (PDF). Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2004. Retrieved 18 August 2008.

[2001census-2] "2001 Census: Billinge CP". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2008.

[3] "Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerk Project - Parish of Billinge".

[4] "Greater Manchester Gazetteer". Greater Manchester County Record Office. Places names – B. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2006.

[nhl-5] Historic England, "Church of Saint Mary and Presbytery (1075919)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 16 August 2014{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

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