What were the Steels?
Message recieved from Timothy Bolton
I live near Hesketh Park and I’m currently researching the late medieval history of North Meols. I came across a reference about the Steels on your website ‘the Steels’ (the area around Hesketh Drive) in the Churchgate section. Please can you let me know what ‘the Steels’ was as I can‘t find any reference to it the material I have got.
[Reply > > ]
Reply from Ken Bridge
The first reference to the ‘steels’ was many years ago during a conversation with my father who was born in this area in 1912 and continued to live in the area until he died. Latter my father - in- law mentioned it when he was recounting his chilhood as again he was born and bred a Sandgrounder. He wrote down his memoirs before he died two years ago and again he mentions ‘the steels’. It was a area of land between what was then Peet’s Lane and Roe (or Row) Lane. Churchgate passed through this area. It was evidently called ‘the steels’ by some of the locals as part of the area was bounded by a steel fence and was used as a football ground.
To clarify - Peet’s Lane continued in a straight line beyond it’s present ending, until it reached the Southport to Preston railway line opposite to Allerton Road. When the railway was in existance there used to be a footbridge at this point. The line of which can still be seen in the passageway from Rawlinson Road to Preston Road. Chuchgate was only a footpath that continued on from the end of the present Little Churchgate through to Roe Lane near to where Hesketh Drive junction is now. Although it is not marked as 'the steels' the are can be seen on the 1911 OS maps of the area. During the First World War this was an area also used as a military encampment.