Woolston

Woolston has had a series of names over the centuries. Originally settled by the Vikings on the north bank of the River Mersey, it was first called Wulfiges Town. Over the years, that became Wuiston, Wulstone and even Ouston on Lancashire’s first ever road map, published in 1675.

This is another parish which has grown at an astonishing rate this century. The population, only 451 in 1921, now stands at some 8,500. It is a parish of three churches, three schools, and three shopping centres in Holes Lane, Dam Lane and Parksway.

The parish also has plenty of open space. New walks have been developed under the Mersey Valley Project and there is a linear park on both banks of Spittle Brook. The Woolston Playing Fields in Hillock Lane, run jointly by the parish council and the Education Department, provide facilities for soccer, rugby, hockey and netball, with a floodlit all-weather pitch.

For indoor sport and other activities, the Borough Council’s leisure centre in Hall Road provides for swimming, squash, dancing and bingo, amongst others, and the adjoining Playbarn has facilities for training, indoor games and children’s activities.