WELCOME to St Helens - a
borough with a proud industrial and sporting heritage stepping into the future
with confidence.
From a tiny hamlet in the 14th century, St Helens has grown into a thriving
community of 180,000 people. The roots of its prosperity can be found in the coal, chemical and glass
industries and through Pilkington, which still has its world HQ in the town, the
name of St Helens is kept at the cutting edge of glass technology around the
globe.
St Helens is also home to the legendary Saints Rugby League team which has
soared to new heights in
recent seasons.
ST HELENS sits on the Lancashire plain mainly at 100-150 feet above sea level,
but rises westwards towards Rainhill and Prescot with a maximum elevation of
just over 275 feet.
The area around St Helens Chapel was a well-wooded township until 1750 when
industrialisation began. The population of the four townships of Parr, Sutton,
Eccleston and Windle, (prior to the formation of St Helens Borough) was 7,573 in
1801.
Glass and copper industries on the coalfield turned what was only an inn, a
crossroads, and a chapel into the modern St Helens.
St Helens takes its name from the chapel dedicated to St Helen, first mentioned
in 1552. The chapel of ease was probably of medieval origin, and stood at the
junction of the Warrington to Ormskirk, and Preston to Ashton roads.
The population of St Helens town doubled between 1830 and 1845. A charter of
incorporation as a borough was granted in 1868, and 20 years later St Helens
became a county borough. It received its grant of armorial bearings from the
College of Arms. The old coat of arms is representative of the notable families
which have had a close association with the borough in the past. The motto on
the scroll reads: "Ex Terra Lucem", roughly translated as, "Out
of the earth, light".
On the 2nd February, 1868, Queen Victoria, granted St Helens a municipal
charter.
By 1885 St Helens had achieved such a size that with the parliamentary
redistribution of 1884 it was able to return H. Seton-Karr as its first Member
of Parliament.
In 1890 a meeting was called by Thomas Glover, (born in Prescot in 1852), who
was the miner's agent, to form a Trade Union. This was successful, and Glover
became the Union's first secretary. He was adopted as a candidate for the next
parliamentary election and became the town's first Labour Member of Parliament
in 1906.
The population in 1871 was 45,000 and in the census of 1901 was 84,310.
St Helens had enlarged at an astonishing rate after 1850, mostly due to the
glass and chemical industries. The growth of the glass industry was to propel
Pilkingtons into the role of an international industrial giant.
The Sankey Navigation (open four years before the Bridgewater Canal), was the
first artificial waterway to be constructed in England in modern times. It was
completed around 1757, and cost £200,000.
In 1829, the famous Rainhill steam locomotive railway trials were held here with
the winner, George Stephenson's Rocket, averaging some 16mph... despite making
around 40 stops.
Combined with this rapidly expanding transport network, the town's richness in
mineral deposits lead to the amazing prosperity witnessed throughout the 18th
century, with the town benefiting enormously as the glass, coal and chemical
industries made giant strides... with names like Pilkington and Beecham becoming
household names.
Today, the borough is home to more than 180,000 people and though heavy industry
is no longer the potent force of yesteryear, the area continues to prosper.