Melling History

Melling is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 2,810, rising to 3,493 at the 2011 Census. The hamlet of Melling Mount is 1.2 miles (2 km) from the village of Melling and lies close to the nearby town of Kirkby. The town of Waddicar, of which most of the population of Melling consists, is usually regarded as part of Melling itself and is served by the parish council which is based in the local Melling Primary School.

Lying close to Liverpool, the area was settled by Maella’s family in the 6th century The village was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Melinge.. A ‘headless cross’ is located in the parish church and during surveys undertaken as part of the construction of the M57 motorway, a number of anomalies were found which were concluded as being the remains of a stone age settlement based around Melling Rock. It is also noted that the local Wood House Farm was the location of a very minor battle during the English Civil War which was concluded from a number of cannonballs dating from the era along with Melling House, which is shown to have been seriously damaged as a result of such action, evidence of which can be found at ground level where remains of a now-destroyed defensive wall can be seen.

Within the parish church situated at Melling Rock is the Church of St Thomas and the Holy Rood, a place of worship which can trace its history back as far as 1090, when a place of worship there instigated by the Monks of Cockersands Abbey. Within the church is a memorial to the 22 men from the area who fell in the First World War of whom 2 are buried within the grounds of the church. You can read more about the history of Melling and view pictures by clicking on this link: History of Melling.