37-558: Bartholomew Bretherton (c.1775–1857) was a coach proprietor and landowner who lived in Rainhill , near Liverpool . He founded St Bartholomew's Church, Rainhill and owned Rainhill House, which became Loyola Hall . He was born at Stonyhurst, Aighton, near Clitheroe, in North Lancashire, where his father is believed to have been a farmer In that area. Later he and his brothers moved to Liverpool. In 1799 Bartholomew married Jane Atkinson at
74-413: A coach proprietor, and a brother to the better known Bartholomew Bretherton, coach proprietor of Liverpool . On 19 August 1907, she married Gebhard Blücher von Wahlstatt , the fourth Fürst (Prince) Blücher (1865–1931), an Anglophile descended from the great Prussian General-Field-Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742–1819), the first Prince, who had contributed notably to the allied victory at
111-658: A minor classic. Rainhill Rainhill is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens , Merseyside , England . The population at the 2011 census was 10,853. Historically part of Lancashire , Rainhill was a township in the ecclesiastical parish of Prescot and hundred of West Derby . Following the Local Government Act 1894 , it became part of the Whiston Rural District . The Rainhill Trials of 1829 resulted in
148-575: A small coaching business, but he was never part of the Liverpool traffic and died aged 29. Bartholomew operated from the Saracen's Head, Dale St and his coaches included Alexander, Bang Up. Lord Exmouth, North Britain, Defiance, Regulator, Royal Mail, Telegraph and Umpire. By 1822 he ran coaches to and from Manchester fourteen times a day and four left for London every day. The first stage where horses were changed on journeys from Liverpool to Manchester or London
185-564: A source of information on life in Germany during World War I. During the cold winter of 1916/1917 she noted the shortages of fuel and food in Berlin which caused public morale, especially of the poorest, to plummet. Also described are the last weeks of the German Empire , with the decline of the old order, the fall of the monarchy, and the appalling social conditions that led to Spartacist uprisings and
222-430: A standard account of life as a civilian aristocrat in Germany during World War I . Princess Blücher was an Englishwoman, the daughter of Frederick Stapleton-Bretherton of a Catholic landed gentry family by Isabella, daughter of William Bernard Petre, 12th Baron Petre . They settled in Rainhill , Lancashire, living in what was then Rainhill Hall, now Loyola Hall . She was the great-granddaughter of Peter Bretherton,
259-568: A sunset. Could be, living in Rainhill" - Gone Troppo (1982). The reference contrasts Harrison’s good fortune at spending part of his time living in tropical parts of the globe like Hawaii and the Solomon Islands with his Merseyside roots. Evelyn, Princess Bl%C3%BCcher Evelyn Fürstin Blücher von Wahlstatt (10 September 1876 – 20 January 1960) was an English diarist and memoirist, who wrote
296-473: Is a suburban area with households mainly of families and the elderly. Crime in Rainhill had a 3.6% decrease in total recorded crime from 2010 to 2011 however there was a 33% rise in vehicle theft, a 9% increase in drug offences and a 3% growth in criminal damage and arson. Former Beatles guitarist and famous Liverpudlian George Harrison makes a jokey reference to Rainhill in a lyric in the title song from his 1982 LP Gone Troppo . "Quite like, you ain't seen
333-632: Is coordinated by the Merseyside county passenger transport executive Merseytravel . There are several primary schools in Rainhill: Oakdene, Longton Lane, St Ann's and St Bartholomew's. Secondary education is provided by Rainhill High School which caters for students aged 11–18. Rainhill High School has a Sixth Form Centre offering A-levels and Level 3 vocational qualifications. Part of the Stephenson Trust, Rainhill High School and Sixth Form Centre
370-492: Is known as Rainhill Stoops. The name of junction 7 of the M62 motorway and the A570 is known as "Rainhill Stoops". Warrington Road was a prominent road as a route between the larger settlements of Liverpool, Prescot and Warrington with Rainhill on the route. The stoops (a historic marker, waypost or similar guide) existed along the road at key positions. With the establishment in 1753 of
407-515: Is on the border with Sutton. A feature of the village is the George Stephenson Skew Bridge , a skew arch bridge of sandstone construction that carries the main road over the railway. It takes its name from the unusual diagonal angle at which the railway passes under the bridge. It is the world's first bridge to cross over a railway at an angle. The bridge was later widened to accommodate increases in road traffic. The milestone on
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#1733092989251444-528: Is said to have raced one of the first trains from Liverpool to Manchester, and beaten it by twenty minutes. Bartholomew had two daughters, Jane (1805–1806) and Mary (1809–1883). Mary married William Gerard (1806–1844) (of the same family who had once owned a moiety of Rainhill) and later Gilbert Stapleton (1808–1856) but had no children. In 1869, she changed her surname to Stapleton-Bretherton. On Bartholomew's death in 1857, Mary inherited his properties. She enlarged Rainhill House renaming it Rainhill Hall (later it
481-493: Is situated on the Liverpool City Line , between the railway stations of Whiston and Lea Green . Regular buses are serving the area notably the 10A bus route which runs from Queen's Square in Liverpool city centre via Kensington , Page Moss , Huyton and Rainhill to St Helens. The 61 bus route runs from Liverpool One bus station via Wavertree and Rainhill to Widnes ' town centre. All public transport in Rainhill
518-567: Is the lead academy in the trust. Tower College is also situated in Rainhill and is a private independent school which provides education for children aged 3–16. Rainhill is home to several sporting clubs including Rainhill Town AFC, Rainhill Cricket Club, Rainhill Rockets, Rainhill United JFC and Blundell's Hill Golf Club as well as Rainhill Forge Amateur Boxing Club. Mohammed Ashraful , the Bangladesh national cricket team captain made several appearances for Rainhill Cricket Club in 2006. Rainhill
555-739: The Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Her sister, Gertrude Stapleton-Bretherton, married Vice-Admiral Kenneth Dewar (1879–1964). After leaving the Channel Islands , where the family had taken the lease of Herm , the smallest of the habitable islands, she spent the War years with the Prince in Germany, where he commanded a hospital train for the Silesian Order of Malta . Here she kept a diary, describing life in Berlin and at
592-470: The German Revolution as the country became a failed state: There is intense cold here, such as has not been known for more than half a century. There are shivering throngs of hungry care-worn people picking their way through snowy streets... We are all gaunt and bony now, and have dark shadows around our eyes. Our thoughts are chiefly taken up with wondering what our next meal will be, and dreaming of
629-436: The 150th anniversary of the trials was celebrated by a cavalcade of trains through the ages, including replicas of the winner and runner-up in the trials. The village of Rainhill lies 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Prescot , 2.9 miles (4.7 km) south-southwest of St Helens , 3.7 miles (6.0 km) east-northeast of Huyton and 9.3 miles (15 km) east of Liverpool City Centre . The most southerly area of Rainhill
666-738: The Golden Lion in Dale St. Francis (c 1770 – 1833) lived at Maghull, where he owned stables and had a small coaching business. He had coaches (one called The Rocket) running from the Crown Inn, Redcross St and from the White Horse Inn, Dale St. Later Peter moved his business to the Birmingham area and settled in Yardley, Worcestershire . Joseph ( 1781–1810) lived at Sharples, near Bolton, Lancashire , where he had
703-427: The Liverpool to Prescot turnpike, and its subsequent extension to Rainhill and then on to Warrington, a system of toll bars was installed with one such barrier at the stoops. Rainhill has several churches including St Ann's, St Bartholomew's and St James' – which are Church of England , Roman Catholic and Methodist , respectively. There is also an evangelical church. St Ann's well, a medieval stone-lined structure
740-454: The bodies of a woman and her four children were discovered buried under the concrete floor of Dinham Villa, Lawton Road, Rainhill. Rainhill was the site of the 1829 Rainhill trials , in which several railway locomotives were entered in a competition to decide a suitable design for use on the new Liverpool and Manchester Railway . The winner was the Rocket designed by George Stephenson . In 1979
777-496: The bridge that informs travellers of the distances to Warrington, Prescot and Liverpool was moved to the opposite side at the time of the expansion. Therefore, the distance markers pointed to the wrong destinations. This quirk was corrected in 2005 when the milestone was returned to the correct side of the bridge. Rainhill is now primarily a commuter village, mainly for workers in Liverpool but also St Helens and Widnes . Housing on
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#1733092989251814-525: The brothers were Joseph, Francis, Peter and Bartholomew Bretherton. In 1800, Bartholomew decided to break into the coaching business. The partnership that he had with one or two of his brothers quickly built up and by 1820, he had the bulk of the coaching trade of Liverpool. He was running coaches to and from Manchester fourteen times a day from the Saracen's Head in Dale Street, Liverpool. Bartholomew chose Rainhill as his first stage and he developed facilities on
851-534: The family estate of Krieblowitz (now Krobielowice ) in Silesia , Poland ), from the point of view of an English exile among the deeply conservative Prussian nobility . This became the basis for her account of the war published as Princess Blucher, English Wife in Berlin: a private memoir of events, politics and daily life in Germany throughout the War and the social revolution of 1918 (Constable, 1920). The journal remains
888-418: The good things that once existed. Her memoirs were translated into French and German and reprinted many times, becoming a minor classic. With Major Desmond Chapman-Huston , she edited her husband's Memoirs of Prince Blücher , describing his life and family, with an account of his great ancestor, Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. In later life, Princess Blücher returned to England, where she lived near
925-571: The land alongside the Ship Inn (originally the New Inn by Henry Parr 1780) and on this site, he was believed to be stabling at least 240 horses, coach horses, and farriers, coachbuilders and veterinaries. Bartholomew had begun to purchase land in Rainhill, and in 1824, he bought the Manor of Rainhill from Dr James Gerrard of Liverpool. By 1830, he owned over 260 acres (1.1 km ) around Rainhill. In 1824, across
962-510: The older of whom was also named Bartholomew Bretherton (1839–1863). The younger one, Frederick (1841–1919) became the inheritor of much of the Bretherton wealth through his relative (first cousin once removed) Mary Stapleton-Bretherton (1809–1883), who was the only surviving child of Bartholomew Bretherton senior (1775–1857). Mary had inherited all of her father's properties and enlarged Rainhill House which later became Loyola Hall in 1923. She made
999-529: The parochial chapel of St Nicholas, Liverpool. Although he was a Catholic, it was not legal to marry in a Catholic church at that time. On his marriage certificate, he gave his occupation as 'flour dealer'. Bartholomew's brother, Peter (c.1770–1844) was originally a 'coachman' but in 1800 he purchased a coaching business, and soon after Bartholomew and his brothers Francis (c 1770–1833) and Joseph (c. 1781 – 1810) followed suit. Peter settled in Parr and his coaches ran from
1036-842: The proviso in her will that to inherit, Frederick must change his surname to Stapleton-Bretherton, which he quickly did. His father, Bartholomew Bretherton, Peter's son, had lived in the Birmingham area until the mid 1840s but after the coaching business failed, he moved to Heyes House in Rainhill. In 1851 he was working there as a "house and land agent.' He was widowed in 1873 and died at his brother Joseph's house in Liverpool in 1874. His granddaughter, Evelyn Stapleton-Bretherton 1876–1960 , daughter of Frederick Stapleton-Bretherton, married Prince Gebhard Blücher von Wahlstatt (1865–1931), becoming Princess Evelyn Blücher. Her memoirs, Princess Blucher, English Wife in Berlin (Constable, 1920) were translated into French and German and reprinted many times, becoming
1073-512: The road from the stables, he built Rainhill House and laid out beautiful gardens around it. Between 1923 and 2014 the house was known as Rainhill Hall , serving as a retreat centre run by the Society of Jesus . Since 2017 it has reverted to Rainhill Hall and is a wedding venue. During the Victorian era , Rainhill was the location of a notorious mass murderer; Frederick Bailey Deeming . In March 1892,
1110-543: The selection of Stephenson's Rocket as the world's first modern steam locomotive . Rainhill has been recorded since Norman times but its name is believed to come from the Old English personal name of Regna or Regan. It is thought that around the time of the Domesday Book Rainhill was a part of one of the townships within the "Widnes fee". Recordings have shown that in the year 1246, Roger of Rainhill died and
1147-581: The son of Peter, was a coach proprietor based in Yardley, Worcestershire. Bartholomew, the son of Francis, was a jockey, and lived in Maghull, north of Liverpool. Bartholomew Bretherton (1806–1874) son of Peter, was his sixth child and fourth son who inherited the coaching business based in Yardley in the Birmingham area, from his father. This Bartholomew Bretherton married in Worcestershire in 1837 and had two sons,
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1184-512: The southerly side of Rainhill is a mixture of semi-detached and detached dwellings, whereas homes to the north, across the Skew Bridge there is a more varied mixture of housing with examples of terraced with semi-detached as well as bungalows. Rainhill as a whole has a mixture of modern, inter-war and Victorian dwellings. Rainhill has several medical centres but the largest and most notable is Scott Clinic which once treated Michael Abram after he
1221-404: The township was divided into two halves for each of his daughters. One half was centred on the now-standing Rainhill Manor public house, see Rainhill Stoops below, and the other centred on Rainhill Hall, just off Blundell's Lane. Towards the end of the 18th century, four Catholic sons of a farmer, who came from the area around Stonyhurst , decided to seek their fortunes in Liverpool. The names of
1258-447: Was Rainhill and Bartholomew's first purchase of land there was in 1804. By 1807 he was living there and established stabling for 240 horses next to The Ship Inn. In 1824 he purchased a moiety (half) of Rainhill from James Gerard, a doctor. Soon after this he built himself a large house, Rainhill House (later it became Loyola Hall ), and the beautiful St Bartholomew's Catholic Church in 1838–40. St Bartholomew's Church, Rainhill . Bretherton
1295-467: Was an important and influential resident of Rainhill, and was very much involved in the Rainhill locomotive trials in 1829, the route of which ran across part of his land. The only entrant to complete this trial successfully was the Rocket entered by George Stephenson and his son Robert. He continued as a coach proprietor until 1843. According to Prince Blucher (who married Evelyn Stapleton-Bretherton, Bartholomew
1332-453: Was convicted of stabbing Beatles member George Harrison . Rainhill was also home to Rainhill Hospital at one time the largest mental health asylum in the world; which, in December 1911, housed 1,990 patients. This was demolished in 1991. Its former site is now a housing estate as well as accommodating Reeve Court, an extra-care housing project for older people. Rainhill railway station
1369-483: Was sold to the Catholic Church and renamed Loyola Hall). In 1881 she purchased the second moiety of Rainhill, becoming a very wealthy woman. Bartholomew is buried in the family vault under the church he built, St Bartholomew's in Rainhill. Bretherton's brothers Peter and Francis each had sons who were also named Bartholomew Bretherton, – his nephews. They have often been confused in historical anecdotes. Bartholomew,
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